"What is it?" Chen Junting asked, sinking his consciousness into his spiritual sea.
There, his attention was immediately drawn to Electrolux's actions. Part of the spiritual sea's usual emerald expanse had turned ashen gray—and upon this gray canvas, Electrolux was inscribing golden runes.
"This is…"
The moment the golden pattern was complete, Chen Junting's brow furrowed. He scrutinized it intently. Electrolux drifted beside him, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in silent observation.
"This is what I discovered beneath this region," Electrolux said. "Carved runes. What do you make of it?"
"That's the same pattern from before," Chen Junting said, pointing to the circular rune. He'd studied it for days—he couldn't be mistaken.
Though still incomplete…
it was far more whole than the last fragment.
But his focus shifted from the pattern itself.
What are these evil soul masters truly after? First the Great Star Dou Forest—now Sunset Forest?
He didn't need to understand their plan. Whatever they sought, destroying it was always the right choice.
Shaking off the thought, he turned to Electrolux. "Elder—can you erase this?"
"Not difficult at all."
Understanding Chen Junting's intent, Electrolux didn't refuse. With a casual wave, he etched the incomplete golden rune into Chen Junting's spiritual sea for future study—then vanished.
Chen Junting returned his awareness to the physical world. Now isn't the time to analyze these runes.
"Sect Master."
A black-clad figure descended through the gap in the miasma—Zhang Ming had returned.
"Uncle Zhang—how did it go?"
"No survivors."
"Good." Ning Bowen nodded dismissively, already turning his mind to the path ahead. "Let's move."
Unnoticed by all, a wisp of gray spiritual energy seeped from the back of Chen Junting's head, drifting silently toward another part of Sunset Forest. It settled over a field littered with soul beast remains.
In the next second, the gray energy coalesced.
Electrolux's translucent form hovered in midair.
"Here it is."
His ancient gray eyes gleamed. He raised a finger—a faint gray flame flickered at its tip. Instantly, the scattered corpses ignited.
Yet the gray fire caused no harm. Instead, it flowed like liquid into the earth beneath the bones.
Suddenly—crimson runes flared to life underground.
Electrolux sneered. "A grain of sand dares to mimic the sun?"
He flicked his finger. The gray flame clung to the crimson runes like a parasitic curse.
Within moments, the blood-red patterns collapsed. But Electrolux changed his mind. With swift motions, he inscribed golden and gray magical sigils—a hexagram—over the ruins. The crimson runes stilled… then sank back into the earth, as if nothing had happened.
"Heh… I hope you death-worshippers enjoy the little gift I've left you."
His sly chuckle faded as the spiritual wisp dissipated into nothingness.
---
Meanwhile – Outer Sunset Forest
"Senior Sister—look."
Several figures in Shrek Guardians uniforms stood by a riverbank. Following last night's leads from Sunset Town, they'd tracked the evil soul masters here—only to find their corpses already dealt with.
The team leader—"Senior Sister"—knelt, examining the bodies. Their faces were eerily serene.
"At least a Soul Douluo's work," she judged. Realizing she couldn't have dispatched them so cleanly herself, she revised her estimate upward. "Either a stealthy Attack Soul Douluo… or a Title Douluo."
"Senior Sister—status?" a teammate asked.
"Definitely evil soul masters," she confirmed, disgust in her voice. "Likely all responsible for the disappearances." She issued orders: "Qing Tian—search for more bodies. Ming'er—help me loot these. Once confirmed, we return."
"Yes!" ×N
---
Deeper in Sunset Forest
The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect group halted before a sea of emerald green.
Before them stretched countless plants—each half a meter tall, bearing seven- or nine-fingered leaves resembling human hands. At their crowns bloomed large jade green flowers, exhaling toxic mist that merged with the rainbow-hued miasma.
"So many Jade Phosphor Absolute Seven Flowers!" Yang Zihan gasped, horrified. Even knowing they'd face a poison array, the sheer scale stunned her. "This is… monstrous."
Her face paled. "If these plants gain sentience and merge their toxins with the miasma… Sunset Forest will become hell on earth!"
"Who could be so cruel?" she whispered, then turned to Ning Bowen with grim urgency. "Bowen—if we preserve this flower field to hide the immortal herb grove, we must restrict it. The consequences otherwise are unthinkable!"
"I understand," Ning Bowen said solemnly.
Just then—
"Watch out!" Ye Xuanji roared, his Star Saint Sword slashing outward.
The jade green mist surged like a living tide, corroding their outer soul power barrier in seconds. Unfazed by the sword's radiance, the mist swelled as thousands of flowers pulsed—eroding the blade's energy until it vanished.
The attack enraged the sentient Absolute Nine Flowers. The miasma coalesced overhead into a towering mushroom cloud.
"Use ice!" Ning Bowen shouted. "Jade Phosphor Flowers fear cold!"
Eight ice-attribute fixed-ammo soul engineering shells appeared in the Elders' hands. Launched skyward, they detonated with bone-chilling force.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Frost exploded outward. The mushroom cloud crystallized into powder, dissipating. The flowers recoiled like ocean waves—but their resilient stems remained unharmed.
As ice blanketed the land, the blossoms clamped shut, halting toxin emission.
"Press the advantage!" Ning Bowen ordered.
The group unleashed their prepared ice devices—but the deeper they advanced, the weaker the effect grew. By the time they faced a wall of Nine-Death Flowers, the cold no longer forced the blooms closed.
"Fall back!" Ning Bowen commanded.
They blasted through the miasma ceiling just as the flowers reopened, unleashing a fresh wave of poison. A moment's delay would've trapped them.
On safer ground, Yang Zihan grimaced. "Ordinary cold can't suppress them. We likely need… Ultimate Ice."
She sighed. "We must find another way."
Just then, Ning Tian exclaimed, "What a coincidence!"
"What is?" Chen Junting asked.
Seeing Yang Zihan's confusion, Chen Junting explained Huo Yuhao's second martial soul plan—and inwardly sighed:
'So it's true. This place isn't meant to be entered easily.'
Eight Title Douluos.
Eight!
Yet even they were forced to retreat.
Only Ultimate Ice could open the path.
Yang Zihan, grasping the implication, immediately took charge as Sect Master's wife. She called to Ning Bowen:
"Bowen—send Uncle Ye and Uncle Zhi with Huo Yuhao to awaken his second martial soul. That's our only chance. And to be safe—capture a live Ice Jade Scorpion too!"
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