Zhu Ziyang and his group had already advanced several hundred meters into the depths, clearing over a hundred Jade Scale Seven Absolute Flowers, and even three or four Jade Scale Nine Absolute Flowers.
As a result, Zhu Ziyang's gains were considerable. The age of his first spirit ring reached 999 years. If it weren't for the fact that breaking through the spirit ring's age limit required more immense and purer life force, and the current environment prevented him from concentrating on condensing it, his first spirit ring would have already reached one thousand years. After his first spirit ring reached its hundred-year limit, he gave up on improving it and instead focused on improving his second spirit ring. Currently, his second spirit ring's age has reached three thousand years, and his third spirit ring has reached five thousand years.
While improving the age of his spirit rings, his physique and soul also benefited greatly. The strength of his physique could already withstand the pressure of seventy-five thousand years, and the improvement of his soul was in its strength, which, to put it plainly, was his mental force cultivation; both the quality and quantity of his mental force were enhanced.
It could be said that even if they left immediately, Zhu Ziyang would suffer no loss at all.
Of course, they would naturally not leave at this point, as their goal was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Just as they continued forward, an unexpected change occurred.
"Boom—"
After a loud bang, a short-haired strong man descended from the sky, passing through the thick miasma cloud layer above the forest and landing on the ground in front of Zhu Ziyang and the other three. His immense aura directly blew away the Jade Scale Seven Absolute Flowers around him and dispersed the surrounding miasma.
The sudden change made Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier instantly alert. They immediately flashed in front of Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, shielding them behind them, and looked warily at the suddenly appearing man. They felt a terrifying pressure from this man, a pressure they had only ever felt from Mu En!
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier couldn't help but exchange glances, seeing the heavy solemnity in each other's eyes.
The short-haired strong man had his back to the four, not even looking at Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier. His voice was like thunder, and he rumbled, "This is not where you should be. Leave immediately!"
"Who are you, sir?" Yan Shaozhe was very displeased with the man's arrogant attitude, a flicker of anger in his eyes, and he questioned, "This Sunset Forest seems to be ownerless, doesn't it? Or are you saying that all the miasma in this forest is related to you?"
"Hmph!" The strong man snorted, his voice like thunder shaking the surrounding space. Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier felt a trace of pressure, while Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan felt their bodies numb and their spirits tremble from the snort. The strong man said, "This has nothing to do with you. Leave quickly! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"
The strong man's voice was full of menace, and perhaps to make the four believe him, he directly turned around, unleashing his full aura. Nine spirit rings rose behind him, and the powerful aura made Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier involuntarily retreat a few steps.
Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red, Red!
Zhu Ziyang and the other three looked at the strong man's spirit rings in disbelief, as if they had seen someone resurrected from the dead.
"Limit Douluo!" Yan Shaozhe spat out a few words with difficulty, his eyes filled with terror. With almost no hesitation, he immediately conceded, saying, "We have offended you, please forgive us!"
He immediately turned around, grabbed Zhu Ziyang's hand, and flew towards the outside of Sunset Forest. Cai Meier followed closely with Jiang Nannan, the two Super Douluo of Shrek Academy fleeing in such a hurry for the first time.
The strong man stood still, watching the four figures until they disappeared before retracting his gaze. He murmured, "Shrek Academy, huh? They were a bit reckless! Never mind, just complete the mission. Let's go back."
He leaped directly, soaring into the sky, and disappeared into the horizon.
—
Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier flew with Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan hundreds of miles away from Sunset Forest before stopping. Seeing that the other party truly had no intention of pursuing them, they finally breathed a sigh of relief, their faces pale, their eyes filled with lingering fear.
"Fortunately, the other party had no intention of making things difficult for us!" Yan Shaozhe said, patting his chest, infinitely relieved.
"Yes!" Cai Meier was also filled with lingering fear, her voice trembling slightly as she said, "An unknown Limit Douluo! It seems we need to re-evaluate this Sunset Forest!"
"Exactly!" Yan Shaozhe fully agreed with Cai Meier's view, then looked at Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, concerned, "Junior Brother, Junior Sister Nannan, are you two alright?"
"I'm fine, Senior Brother." Zhu Ziyang replied. Aside from his slightly pale face, he was fine. To be honest, this was the first time he had a direct realization of a Limit Douluo's power. A mere cold snort could make him feel a mountain-like pressure. It was truly terrifying.
"I'm fine too." Jiang Nannan also replied.
"Then let's return to the Academy first and tell the teacher about this." Yan Shaozhe said, his face solemn, "An unknown Limit Douluo, this could very well change the situation on the Douluo Continent! As for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, we'll leave it for now."
The four present had all understood one thing: the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was not something they could easily covet at their current level.
"Let's go!" Cai Meier nodded silently.
The two led Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan swiftly towards Shrek Academy.
On the way back to Shrek Academy, Zhu Ziyang's mind was immersed in his mental force sea.
"Teacher, has your divine soul completely stabilized? You don't have to worry about it dissipating anymore, right?" Zhu Ziyang looked at Electrolux with anticipation. He could clearly see that Electrolux's divine soul was more solid than it had been half a year ago, and his body and limbs were already tending towards a complete soul body.
"Hahaha, that's right!" Electrolux laughed heartily, "Not only that, but I also prepared a gift for you. You'll see it when we get back to the Academy."
"Really? What is it?" This was rare good news, which invigorated Zhu Ziyang's spirit, and he immediately asked curiously.
"Hahaha, no rush." Electrolux said, "Let's talk about the person you just encountered instead."
"Teacher, do you know him?" Zhu Ziyang asked, shocked, upon hearing this. Then he immediately realized he had been so startled that he had lost his head, asking such a foolish question.
"Hahaha, it seems that person had a serious impact on you, making you lose your composure as soon as he's mentioned." Electrolux couldn't help but laugh heartily, saying, "But I don't blame you, after all, that person's strength is quite a bit stronger than that Mu En."
"What?!" This time, Zhu Ziyang was truly frightened. Someone stronger than Mu En? How was that possible? Mu En was a Level 99 Limit Douluo, and that person was also a Limit Douluo. At most, it would be a draw. How could he be stronger than Mu En? Was it because Mu En was paralyzed, so in Electrolux's eyes, he was not as good as that strong man?
"No need to be surprised." Electrolux said, "That strong man was merely hiding his strength. I sensed a trace of divinity on him."
"Divinity?"
"That's right, divinity." Electrolux nodded silently, saying, "Through my understanding of the Douluo Continent over these years, there are only two possibilities for a person to possess divinity: either he is a sacrifice left by a god in the human world, or his spirit power has reached Level 100. Either of these is stronger than Mu En."
"God's sacrifice! Level 100 spirit power!" Zhu Ziyang's eyes widened. "Teacher, which one do you think that person is?"
"Hard to say, I lean towards the first kind." Electrolux pondered, saying, "Because I found a wisp of divine consciousness in that miasma cloud layer just now. That wisp of divine consciousness is very likely left by the god that strong man is loyal to, and that divine consciousness does not match the strong man's aura. So I speculate that the reason the strong man suddenly appeared is very likely because your Senior Brother's attack on that cloud layer startled that god, and that god issued a divine decree."
"Doesn't that mean that everything in Sunset Forest is the work of that god?" Zhu Ziyang's eyes widened, his heart pounding rapidly. He suddenly realized that he might have discovered a shocking secret! The mist shrouding Sunset Forest seemed to dissipate before his eyes.
"Highly likely." Electrolux reasoned, "I guess that god should be hiding something, right within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well that you are looking for."
"Ah!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but show disappointment, saying, "Then doesn't that mean the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is not for me?"
"No." Electrolux shook his head and said, "Actually, as long as you don't touch that layer of poisonous cloud, you won't alarm that god's divine consciousness. That god seems very confident in the poisonous flowers on the ground and did not leave any divine consciousness on the ground. So, if you just pass through that group of poisonous flowers alone, you should not attract that strong man."
"Is that so?" A glimmer of hope rose in Zhu Ziyang's heart, and he said, "How about we try again after a while?"
"You can certainly try, because I am here!" Electrolux declared grandly.