The Nine Heart Begonia shimmered with radiant colors, and beside it was a blue-and-white dolphin.
The power emanating from the two enveloped the entire courtyard, preventing the eerie toxic mist from spreading even a step further.
This stalemate lasted for an unknown amount of time. The nearly liquefied poison fog had thinned slightly compared to before, but it would still take a long time to completely dissipate.
Ye Renxin and Shui Cangyue were struggling to hold on.
As auxiliary-type healing Soul Masters, they were only at level 83. Normally, they would only provide buffs to others, but now they had to use their healing abilities to purify toxins while continuously outputting soul power—completely different from ordinary support roles.
Beads of cold sweat slowly dripped from their foreheads.
Suddenly, the space within the toxin-filled courtyard trembled slightly before slowly splitting apart.
"What now?" The two of them tensed up, bracing for danger.
An arcane rule overlapped the courtyard with another space.
Then, several figures emerged—Ning Rongrong and the others.
"Be careful of the poison mist!"
Seeing familiar faces, Shui Cangyue instinctively shouted.
"Don't worry, leave the rest to us!" Tokisaki Kurumi pushed the barrier containing Shui Yu'er and Shui Bing'er toward Shui Cangyue.
The hissing poison mist collided with the barrier but was blocked by its protective shield.
A few seconds later, the barrier dissipated upon reaching Shui Cangyue's side, revealing Shui Yu'er and Shui Bing'er.
"Grandpa, what happened?"
Shui Bing'er and Shui Yu'er were both confused. Why was there such a huge commotion?
"It's poison. For some reason, a distorted rift appeared in the courtyard, leaking an extremely terrifying poison mist that could even kill a Soul Sage on contact."
Recalling the earlier scene, Shui Cangyue still felt a lingering fear.
Fortunately, it was him and Ye Renxin who were here to contain it. If it had been anyone else, wouldn't they have been finished?
After quickly evacuating the area, the two of them—Ye Renxin with his unique support abilities and Shui Cangyue, the strongest expert of the Shui family—remained behind.
"So that's what happened!" After hearing her grandfather's explanation, Shui Bing'er nodded, her gaze worriedly shifting toward the distant courtyard.
Now that she understood the cause, she realized just how terrifying this poison was—especially since the one who released it was Dugu Yan, a mere Soul King. It was simply horrifying.
At that moment, the Martial Soul revealed in Ning Rongrong's palm caught the attention of the onlookers—especially Ye Renxin, who had no prior knowledge of it.
Ye Renxin's eyes widened, his lips trembling as he muttered:
"Seven… rings? A Soul Sage?" Compared to Ning Rongrong and the others appearing unscathed within the poison mist, the sight of her soul rings was far more shocking.
"The first soul ring is already ten-thousand-year? How is that possible?"
Black, black, black, black, black, black, and brilliant gold.
Ye Renxin didn't recognize the seventh soul ring on the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda, but he knew black soul rings symbolized ten-thousand-year levels.
A 12-year-old Soul Sage?
Starting with ten-thousand-year soul rings—is this something a human can achieve?
"This is a bit troublesome. Let's first contain the area." Ning Rongrong murmured.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda flew into the sky, growing larger and larger until it resembled a four- or five-story building hovering above. The six black and one brilliant gold soul rings were especially dazzling.
"You really don't hold back, do you? Qian Renxue and her people are still nearby."
Tokisaki Kurumi couldn't help but complain. As soon as Ning Rongrong released her Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda, she immediately activated her domain.
She directly opened Zafkiel: City of Devouring Time, enveloping the surrounding space to prevent the glow of the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda from being seen by anyone near the Shui family.
Additionally, she distorted the vision of others within the range to prevent Ning Rongrong from being exposed.
After sealing the surrounding poison mist, Ning Rongrong turned her gaze to the side. "Sister Yan, the rest is up to you."
"Understood." Dugu Yan activated her Martial Soul.
Two yellow, two purple, and one black—five soul rings abruptly appeared.
With Ning Rongrong's absurd soul ring colors as the precedent, Dugu Yan's five-ring Soul King status, while still outrageous for her age, no longer made Ye Renxin's heart skip a beat.
As the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor Martial Soul emerged, the green poison mist floating in the air began to gather.
Dugu Yan manipulated the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, opening its massive jaws.
"Whoosh—"
Like a whirlwind devouring the remnants of clouds, the thick mist surged from all directions like flowing streams.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds…
Over a minute passed.
The poison mist lingering in the air, even the liquefied toxins dissolved in the lake, were all absorbed by Dugu Yan's Martial Soul.
Completely separated from the water, the toxins rapidly flowed into the gaping maw of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor.
Once all the dispersed poison mist had been absorbed, Dugu Yan retracted her Martial Soul.
She took a deep breath. "Rongrong, my soul power is about to break through."
"Hold on for a bit." Ning Rongrong instinctively took a step back, black lines creeping across her face.
"Wait until you can fully control the Misfortune Poison Body before advancing to Soul Emperor."
"I don't want to wake up one day and find that the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda Sect has been wiped out, leaving only me and a few Title Douluos."
Dugu Yan: "..."
It's not that bad, is it? I've been very careful.
After confirming there were no residual toxins, Ning Rongrong recalled the Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and Tokisaki Kurumi lifted her domain.
Ning Rongrong swept her gaze across the courtyard.
The once beautifully maintained, picturesque garden had turned into ruins, most of it eroded and corroded by the Misfortune Poison.
Once everything was confirmed to be safe, Shui Cangyue and Ye Renxin approached Ning Rongrong.
Compared to Shui Cangyue, Ye Renxin had far more questions he wanted to ask.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Pagoda slowly descended, shrinking rapidly before settling in Ning Rongrong's palm.
"Dean Shui, we've caused you trouble. The Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda Sect will cover all repair costs, compensation, and other expenses."
Ning Rongrong bowed to Shui Cangyue.
"No, no need to worry. The damage was minimal since we acted quickly, and all personnel were safely evacuated."
"Young Master, may I ask what that poison was just now?" Shui Cangyue cautiously inquired.
She knew the poison was likely related to Dugu Yan.
But…
This toxin was so terrifying that even a Soul Sage could die upon contact.
Could a Soul King really release something like this?
Dugu Yan stood slightly behind Ning Rongrong, tugging at her sleeve instead of answering Ye Renxin's question directly.
Understanding her intention, Ning Rongrong organized her words. "Sister Yan's Jade Phosphor Serpent Martial Soul underwent a mutation a few years ago, becoming similar to Lord Dugu's Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor."
"But it's also different from the usual Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor—seemingly even stronger."
"As a result, Sister Yan hasn't fully mastered her Martial Soul yet."
Making up stories? Who couldn't do that?
Even if you don't believe it, what can you do? Bite me?
"I see!" Ye Renxin nodded in realization.
The last time he met Dugu Bo, he had indeed heard about Dugu Yan's Martial Soul undergoing changes, and Dugu Bo had seemed deeply worried.
Given the current situation, it made sense why Dugu Bo would be concerned.
Ye Renxin managed to restrain himself and didn't ask about Ning Rongrong's circumstances.
But Ning Rongrong wasn't sincere—she actually hoped to take this opportunity to drag Ye Renxin and Ye Lingling onto their "pirate ship"—
Ahem!
Onto the path of prosperity.