The Soul Spirit Method Shocks Mu En and Yan Shaozhe
Tang Ya was momentarily stunned.
She had not expected an expert like Wei Goat to make such a cold joke.
It was not funny at all.
But she knew her hopes of bringing her parents back to life rested with the Zodiac Temple.
Before leaving, she asked one last question to make sure.
"Senior Wu Horse, can the dead really be brought back to life?"
Wu Horse smiled and said,
"In the hands of our Zodiac Temple, even a statue of Sea God Tang San can be brought to life. What do you think?"
Tang Ya was stunned again. "You were the ones who brought that statue to life?"
"Then was the Sea God's clone that was driven away at the end real?"
Wu Horse laughed. "Well? Surprised?"
Tang Ya's mouth twitched at his words.
So the one who had taken a terrible beating really was the Sea God's clone.
The Zodiac Temple was terrifying.
As she saw it, even Elder Mu En did not know that.
Even so, after learning what kind of power the Zodiac Temple represented,
Tang Ya did not lose her senses.
She knew all power came at a price, and she had no capital with which to pay those prices.
She planned to return to Shrek Academy first, to keep the academy from overreacting.
"Was that Di Tian's presence just now?"
Mu En frowned.
As he looked at the tower that had suddenly risen into the sky, he grew wary.
Yan Shaozhe nodded. "It was definitely Di Tian's presence! Could the Zodiac Temple have ties to Di Tian as well?"
Bei Bei's eyes were red as he cried, "Great-great-grandfather, the Zodiac Temple must be behind this!"
Mu En patted Bei Bei's shoulder and said,
"Bei Bei, you must stay calm."
He recalled the days he had spent with Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui. With a sigh, he said,
"Tang Ya will be fine."
"Don't worry. Leave it to me."
Bei Bei nodded firmly.
Just after he finished comforting Bei Bei, Mu En raised an eyebrow.
Yan Shaozhe asked, "Elder Mu, is something the matter?"
Mu En said, "The person down there should be Tang Ya."
Yan Shaozhe was astonished. "Tang Ya?"
Mu En nodded, then took the two of them down to the ground.
At the sight of that familiar figure,
Bei Bei's eyes grew even redder. They had been red with anger before, but now they were red with emotion at their reunion.
He cried out, "Teacher Xiao... Ya!"
Tang Ya's face lit up. "Elder Mu, Dean Yan, Bei Bei, what are you doing here?"
Bei Bei was beside himself with excitement. "It really is you! Are you all right?"
Tang Ya nodded. "I'm fine. This misfortune even turned out to be a blessing."
She pointed to the adorable Golden Radiant Bamboo atop her head.
Yan Shaozhe, who had come with them, was astonished. She had been abducted by the Zodiac Temple, only to be released without a scratch. What on earth was the Zodiac Temple doing?
He frowned and asked,
"Tang Ya, why exactly did the Zodiac Temple take you? And what is that thing on your head?"
Tang Ya's heart tightened.
She wanted to lay everything out in the open.
But then she thought of how the chance to resurrect her parents was likely connected to the Zodiac Temple.
So she chose to keep the secret that Wu Horse could heal the Silver Dragon King's injuries to herself.
"Senior Si Snake took me, but she didn't hurt me. Instead, she brought me to the Lake of Life in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest."
"There, I saw many ferocious beasts, including the Black-Eyed Dragon King Di Tian, the Emerald Swan Bi Ji, and the Scarlet King."
Yan Shaozhe was startled. "You went to the core region?"
Mu En frowned. Even if he entered the core region alone, he might not come away unscathed.
Why had the Zodiac Temple brought Tang Ya there?
Mu En then said,
"This has something to do with that bamboo-like thing on your head, doesn't it?"
Tang Ya nodded and pointed to the little golden bamboo on her head.
"Another mysterious expert has appeared in the Zodiac Temple. Her name is Wei Goat, and she calls herself the master of the Spirit Pagoda."
"They created a secret method called the Soul Spirit Method, which allows a Soul Beast to leave its physical body and merge into a Soul Master in the form of a soul."
"The Soul Beast and the Soul Master sign an equal contract. The Soul Beast can retain its intelligence, which is why it's called a Soul Spirit, and it can also fight on its own."
"The Soul Spirit on my head is a ten-thousand-year Golden Sovereign Bamboo. It mutated from Purple Radiant Bamboo, but the mutation consumed a great deal of its life force, so it became my Soul Spirit."
To prove her words, Tang Ya stirred her thoughts, and three Soul Rings-two yellow and one black-rose from beneath her feet.
"A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as your third Soul Ring?"
Yan Shaozhe's eyes widened.
Bei Bei was petrified on the spot.
His own third Soul Ring was only purple, yet Teacher Xiao Ya had surpassed him just like that.
The limit a person could generally withstand for a third Soul Ring was only around 1,700 years. By all rights, a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring should have far exceeded the limit of what Tang Ya could absorb.
Yet not only was Tang Ya unharmed, she was also full of vigor.
How could this be?
Tang Ya continued,
"According to Senior Wei Goat, the master of the Spirit Pagoda, Soul Spirits are different from Soul Rings. A Soul Ring is a one-time thing, but a Soul Spirit can grow."
"My Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Radiant Bamboo Soul Spirit didn't just give me a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as my third Soul Ring. In the future, when I break through to level 40, 50, or 60, it can give me the corresponding Soul Rings whenever I need them, without me having to hunt any Soul Beasts."
Everyone was shocked once again.
One Soul Spirit could grant multiple Soul Rings?
It could retain its intelligence and fight alongside its master. What did that mean?
Everyone present knew. Even Mu En's eyes were filled with astonishment.
The Spirit Pagoda master's secret technique was extraordinary. He knew all too well what it meant.
If the Soul Spirit Method could become widespread, the conflict between humans and Soul Beasts could be greatly eased in the future.
Mu En frowned.
"No matter how miraculous the Spirit Pagoda's Soul Spirit Method is, the problem is that the impact of merging with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's own soul power would presumably be tremendous. How did you manage it?"
Tang Ya ventured a guess.
"For one thing, the Golden Radiant Bamboo's life force may have already been nearly spent, and it wanted to find a way out for itself, so the impact wasn't very strong."
"Another possibility is that I've cultivated the Purple Demon Eye, so my spiritual power is much stronger than an ordinary person's."
"And with Senior Wei Goat coordinating the process, I felt the burden on me was much lighter."
"So I think it will probably be difficult for the Soul Spirit Method to become widespread anytime soon."
Mu En nodded.
"That would make sense."
He then sighed and said,
"It seems the revival of the Tang Sect is the choice of the times and of fate."
"Tang Ya, you bear a heavy responsibility."
Tang Ya nodded.
Once, she might have been thrilled.
But now she knew: even if she revived the Tang Sect, so what? Could it bring her parents back to life?
The only path was to become a god, but for someone with her aptitude to become a god was simply a joke.
She would be better off placing her hopes on the Zodiac Temple.
After this encounter, she had a feeling that the Zodiac Temple was not simply an evil force, as everyone at Shrek had previously believed.
Instead, she had a strange feeling about it, as though it simply wanted to play tricks on people.
But she shook her head. How could that be?
Would they really go to all that trouble just to play tricks on people?
That was far too unlikely.
Mu En then asked, "You came from the direction of the Spirit Pagoda. Is that tower up ahead the so-called Spirit Pagoda?"
Tang Ya nodded. "Yes."
Mu En turned to Bei Bei and said,
"Bei Bei, take Tang Ya back to Shrek first. Shaozhe and I will go investigate the Spirit Pagoda."