Embracing each other, their auras intertwining, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi were clearly in the bustling, crowded streets of Brilliant Dragon City, yet it was as if they existed in another parallel space and time. No one could discover their presence.
If anyone approached, they would be gently repelled by an invisible soft force, without even noticing anything unusual.
This was precisely the ability of Xu Zihuang's Golden Eyed Martial Soul. As his cultivation advanced, his understanding of his own Martial Soul's abilities deepened subtly and naturally. At the current stage, his mastery over the power of time and the power of space had already made him the foremost person below the God level on Douluo Star. What he lacked was only cultivation level.
However, ever since he broke through to the Soul Saint realm, the potential of his Ultimate Martial Soul had been completely unleashed.
Soul Masters possessing Ultimate-Attribute Martial Souls cultivated extremely slowly between ranks 30 and 70, but once their soul power broke through the bottleneck of rank 70, they would truly soar, entering a period of rapid growth.
The reason Xu Zihuang could raise his soul power by one level after just over a month of sailing with Wang Qiu'er in the deep sea was also due to this.
At his current cultivation speed, even without any special opportunities, he would inevitably step into the rank of eight-ring Soul Douluo within one to two years. At that time, he would still be under twenty years old. In another five years, he might even have the chance to touch the Title Douluo level.
After a long while, Ye Guyi ended this exchange with slightly hurried breathing. The warm touch and the familiar aura emanating from Xu Zihuang confirmed that everything before her eyes was not an illusion.
During the five months Xu Zihuang had been missing, Ye Guyi had thought about many things. It was undeniable that she had an almost pathological possessiveness toward Xu Zihuang, but she did not want to make things difficult for him. In the past, she had indeed been too domineering. Even if that stemmed from their special experiences in childhood.
Now she had decided to change herself, to become a support. Who could help Xu Zihuang, rather than doing excessive things to satisfy her own selfish desires as before.
Ye Guyi smiled and moved to Xu Zihuang's side, wrapping her jade-like arms around his.
"It's been over ten years since I came back. Zihuang, accompany me for a walk around Brilliant Dragon City."
"Alright." A smile also bloomed on Xu Zihuang's face as he nodded gently and took the initiative to hold Ye Guyi's hand. Their ten fingers interlocked, just like those countless nights filled with memories from over ten years ago.
In their line of sight, it seemed as though scenes of light and shadow appeared.
Within the light and shadow, a little golden-haired girl smiled brightly while holding the hand of a black-haired, purple-eyed little boy, running joyfully through the streets. Several guards followed anxiously behind them, their faces full of tension, fearing any mishap might occur.
These guards were all Soul Masters of considerable strength, but the two little masters ahead had identities far too sensitive.
The past was all warmth, yet the Brilliant Dragon City of today, though still prosperous, had already changed beyond recognition. Even the once vast and luxurious Zihuang Prince's Mansion had turned to ashes amid flames.
Unknowingly, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi arrived at the former site of the Zihuang Prince's Mansion. Towering buildings now stood everywhere, but they no longer held the grandeur of the past.
All signs indicated that Xu Tianran and his son, who had usurped power, were doing their utmost to erase the existence of the Zihuang Prince's Mansion. After all, back when Xu Zihuang's father was alive, his prestige in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire had been too great, and he enjoyed deep popular support. For decades, he had suppressed the Star Luo Empire's White Tiger Duke Dai Hao, preventing him from daring to step into Sun Moon Empire territory, allowing the southern region of the Sun Moon Empire to enjoy a considerably long period of peace and prosperity.
Reality overlapped with the scenes in memory, and everything became illusory. Moon in the water, flower in the mirror, boundless mortal world, several lifetimes of splendor.
Ye Guyi's hands unconsciously tightened their grip a little, and the delicate body leaning in Xu Zihuang's embrace trembled slightly.
Noticing Ye Guyi's abnormality, Xu Zihuang stepped forward with a gentle smile and tenderly smoothed the slightly disheveled strands of hair by her ear.
"Sister Lingyi, let's find a place to rest first. I also want to tell you everything that happened to me these past five-plus months."
"Mm." Ye Guyi raised her head to meet Xu Zihuang's gaze, gradually calming her emotions. Then the corners of her mouth curved into a subtle arc again.
"The Zihuang who used to only know how to cling to me and act spoiled has now become reliable. I just wonder if you became Wang Qiu'er's supporter this time?"
Xu Zihuang, who had originally been quite sentimental, froze instantly upon hearing the latter part of Ye Guyi's words.
Mm, still the familiar taste.
"Let's go." Ye Guyi seemed to have planned this. Taking the lead, she pulled Xu Zihuang into a nearby high-end hotel and continued with a smiling expression,
"There will be plenty of time later. I'll wait for you to tell me slowly."
The moment they entered the hotel, she deliberately turned back to look at Xu Zihuang and emphasized meaningfully,
"For some things, I can verify them personally, so I hope Zihuang won't hide anything from me. Even if something really happened, as long as you're honest about it, it won't matter. Just like when we were little, no matter what mistake you made, I would forgive you."
Indeed, in some matters, women possess an innate talent.
Xu Zihuang couldn't help but complain inwardly. What made him even more embarrassed was Ye Guyi's special verification method.
Fortunately, nothing improper had truly happened between him and Wang Qiu'er, so he wasn't afraid of Ye Guyi's verification.
The night sky in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire remained as clear as ever. Only when the silver moon, scattering hazy moonlight, shifted outside the huge crystal floor-to-ceiling window did the activity in the spacious room on the hotel's top floor finally quiet down.
During the exchange with Ye Guyi, Xu Zihuang told her everything, from the time he went missing in Mingdu until his return to the Douluo Continent. He hadn't even concealed that Wang Qiu'er's true form was the Emperor auspicious beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
However, Ye Guyi didn't care much about Wang Qiu'er's true identity as the Emperor's auspicious beast, Three-Eyed Golden Lion. Instead, she cared most about one other matter.
Light and shadow intertwined. Ye Guyi arched her body and looked up at Xu Zihuang in front of her. A captivating smile bloomed once more on her delicate face, extremely satisfied with Xu Zihuang's honesty.
Three days later, in the early morning, Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi finally left Brilliant Dragon City and arrived at an uninhabited deep mountain in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire.
Ye Guyi stood at the edge of a cliff. An icy cold aura suddenly erupted from her without warning. Beneath her feet rose a circle of strange gray light rings.
Xu Zihuang stood right behind Ye Guyi. Before returning to Shrek Academy, they planned to take care of some matters first.
At this moment, Ye Guyi's eyes turned a faint gray. Her slender, fair right index finger extended forward, swiftly drawing a gray six-pointed star array in the air. Immediately after, the six-pointed star array drifted down and landed on the ground.
In the next instant, gray light surged upward violently, engulfing the bodies of Ye Guyi and Xu Zihuang. Their figures simply vanished from this desolate place.
At the same time, in another world, the bodies of Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi appeared out of thin air.
All senses restored, Xu Zihuang looked around this world with interest.
It was a dim world, oppressive as if the end of days had come. A bizarre black sun hung in the sky, radiating strange purple light around it.
The purple light was not intense, causing the illumination in this world to appear extremely gloomy. This place was precisely the undead demiplane that Electrolux had passed on to Ye Guyi.
The surrounding terrain was uneven. Looking far, it was barren, without any plants. The ground was pitch black, as if dyed with ink. Chilling cold auras constantly surged from all directions.
Ahead lay a hilly area; anything farther could not be seen. This undead demiplane seemed to have special laws. Even when Xu Zihuang released his Golden Eyed Martial Soul, he could not probe everything here.
Behind them was a gate, from which they had just emerged.
This was Xu Zihuang's first time entering this undead demiplane. Looking around, he couldn't help but sigh,
"Old Yi left behind an undead demiplane that truly has its unique aspects."
At the very least, it was more advanced than the Huanglong Space he controlled. Of course, that was because the Huanglong Space had been casually opened by the Huanglong King at the moment of his fall and was definitely not as perfect as this undead demiplane, which possessed a complete ecosystem.
"The ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow I stored here last time is just ahead." Ye Guyi reminded softly. Compared to three days ago, her complexion was noticeably rosier, and there was an indescribable charm between her brows.
"Sister Lingyi, there's no rush for Tianmeng to absorb the ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow. First, you should fuse this soul bone."
Xu Zihuang smiled faintly and took out the head soul bone dropped by the Demon Soul Great White Shark King Xiaobai after its death from the Huanglong Ring. This deep-blue head soul bone refracted brilliant purple halos. Within the undead demiplane, it gave off a profound and abyssal texture.
Rich soul power and mental fluctuations emanated from it, dispersing much of the chilling cold aura in this space.
"This is the soul bone left by that Demon Soul Great White Shark King. Although the Demon Soul Great White Shark clan lives in the sea, they also possess some powerful mental-attribute innate soul skills. This head soul bone mainly enhances the mental aspect, which is just right for you, Sister Lingyi. Fuse it here."
Ye Guyi received the soul bone and nodded solemnly.
Given their relationship, there was naturally no need for more words. Moreover, with the amplification from this top-grade head soul bone, she would have greater confidence in completing her plans and thus be able to help Xu Zihuang.
She then pointed out the location of the ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow to Xu Zihuang and drove away the surrounding undead creatures. After that, Ye Guyi sat cross-legged on the spot and began fusing with the head soul bone using her soul power to guide it.
The soul of the Demon Soul Great White Shark King resided within the shark pearl that had been taken by the Demon Emperor. Ye Guyi fusing its soul bone required no need to endure backlash from soul resentment; she only needed to gradually absorb the soul bone's energy.
But no matter what, this was a soul bone from a ferocious beast with over 300,000 years of cultivation. Fusing it would definitely take some time, just like when Xu Zihuang had previously fused with the Huanglong King's torso soul bone.
Only after Ye Guyi's aura stabilized did Xu Zihuang locate those ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrows. There were forty-five roots in total, pure white as jade, of varying sizes, crisscrossing one another, exuding a bone-chilling cold that seemed capable of freezing the soul.
"Tianmeng." Xu Zihuang sent a mental call to the sleeping Tianmeng Iceworm in his sea of consciousness. As usual, whenever he was intimate with Ye Guyi, he had Tianmeng Iceworm return to his sea of consciousness and blocked all the soul spirits' perception.
A flash of light appeared, and a handsome young man suddenly manifested beside Xu Zihuang. The youth was slightly shorter than Xu Zihuang, with long white hair and ten dim golden rings coiling around his body. His lazy face was full of resentment.
Without a doubt, this handsome youth was the human form of Tianmeng Iceworm. In fact, Tianmeng Iceworm had been able to take human form long ago, but like most beast-type soul beasts, it preferred its original form and thus rarely appeared in this form.
Noticing the eerie surroundings and the ten-thousand-year-old Mysterious Ice Marrows in front of him, Tianmeng Iceworm immediately widened its eyes in surprise.
"Zihuang, this is that old fellow's undead demiplane?"
"Correct."
Hearing Xu Zihuang's affirmative answer, Tianmeng Iceworm's face immediately fell again.
Is this old man actually this powerful?
Though he was unwilling to admit it, the level Electrolux had reached in life was indeed not something he could compare to.
"Alright, hurry up and absorb the ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrows." Xu Zihuang urged impatiently.
"How long will it take you to absorb all these ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrows?"
Tianmeng Iceworm was naturally lively and jumpy. It had just been depressed, but now it immediately became smug and laughed.
"Hehe. When it comes to fighting, I'm not good at it. But when it comes to absorbing and sealing various energies, I dare say no one on the entire continent can compare to me. Zihuang, rest assured. I've absorbed a ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrow before. Give me three days, and it'll be done. The energy I absorb, I'll seal into these ten rings around me. Later, you'll be able to directly use it to increase soul ring years and mental power."
After saying that, Tianmeng Iceworm struck a flamboyant pose on its own, one hand on its hip, the other pressed against one of the ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrows, and began absorbing.
White light surged, and the first dim golden ring around it visibly brightened at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.
Xu Zihuang stepped forward to Tianmeng Iceworm's side, smiling lightly as he looked into the distance. These ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrows were enough to fill Tianmeng Iceworm's ten rings with energy. In other words, as long as he could kill the Evil-Eyed Tyrant Ruler Evil Emperor, the Beast God Di Tian, and the Demon Emperor in the future, he could use the energy in the rings to elevate the soul rings of these three top ferocious beasts to a million-year level.
At that time, he might become the first Soul Master on the continent to possess four million-year soul rings.
Xu Zihuang extended his right hand and placed it on Tianmeng Iceworm's shoulder.
"Tianmeng, if there are any ten-thousand-year Mysterious Ice Marrows left over, leave one for Ice Empress."
Tianmeng Iceworm was visibly moved and opened its mouth, but then seemed to think of something. It simply exchanged a smile with Xu Zihuang.
"Zihuang, thank you."
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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