Titled Transformation, Shadows Lurk

Titled Transformation, Shadows Lurk

A warm, jade-like semitransparent crystal stood quietly at the center of the Ice and Fire Immortal Grass valley like a massive amber, radiating a gentle yet vast glow of life. Within the crystal, Dugu Bo's figure flickered in and out of view. His withered appearance was gone, his muscles full, his skin gleaming with a jade-like luster, and his dark green hair had become black and thick. A brand-new, vast, profound aura steadily rose and stabilized as he slept.

It worked!

Ling Feng leaned against the cold mountain wall. Though his Soul Power and Spiritual Power were both utterly depleted and his muscles and bones ached in waves, a relieved smile hung on his lips. This gamble had paid off! Not only had he completely won over Dugu Bo, an ally who was about to become an even stronger Titled Douluo, but the doors to the treasure vault that was the Ice and Fire Immortal Grass had truly opened to him! More importantly, the system's generous reward—the Ten Thousand Year God-Bestowed Spirit Ring! This would be his crucial trump card for establishing himself in Heaven Dou City and standing against Tang San!

Warning! The violent energy fluctuations of the Ice and Fire Immortal Grass have been detected from outside! More than three powerful auras are rapidly approaching from the direction of Heaven Dou City! Estimated arrival time: half an incense stick!

Ding! Sudden crisis: "Uninvited Guests"!

Options triggered!

Option One: Awaken Dugu Bo and join forces to wipe out all incoming enemies outside the valley. Reward: Intimidation effect. Risk: Dugu Bo's transformed strength and the valley's secret will be exposed, possibly attracting divine-level attention.

Option Two: Activate the Ice and Fire Immortal Grass's natural Poisonous Fog barrier, conceal your aura, and avoid the confrontation. Reward: Advanced Stealth Talisman x1. Risk: Passive defense; the barrier may be forcibly breached by powerful enemies.

Option Three: Have Dugu Yan negotiate while Ling Feng hides and absorbs the Spirit Ring, observing the situation. Reward: Intelligence acquisition (enemy identities and objectives). Risk: Dugu Yan may be endangered, and the Spirit Ring absorption process may be disrupted.

Ling Feng's gaze sharpened as his mind raced. Option One was too aggressive. Dugu Bo had just completed his transformation, and his realm had yet to stabilize; it was unwise to immediately expose all his strength, and it could easily alert the enemy. Option Two was too passive, and with the valley's energy fluctuations so intense, the natural barrier might not be able to conceal everything. Only Option Three could buy him time to absorb the critically important God-Bestowed Spirit Ring while using Dugu Yan's identity and the valley's advantageous terrain to stall them and gather intelligence!

"Option Three!" Ling Feng answered decisively in his mind.

Choice confirmed. Host, please absorb the God-Bestowed Spirit Ring as soon as possible. Stealth status applied (Judgment Angel trait: Shadow of Light).

A faint yet pure aura of light enveloped Ling Feng. His figure swiftly became blurry and translucent, like a shadow blending into the mountain wall. His aura completely withdrew, as though he had merged with the stone itself.

"Miss Yan!" Ling Feng's voice reached Dugu Yan directly through Spiritual Power as tears streamed down her face in excitement. "Senior has successfully transformed and is stabilizing his realm. He must not be disturbed! Powerful experts have been drawn here by the disturbance and will arrive within half an incense stick! You need to negotiate with them. Say that Senior was trying to refine a new medicinal catalyst just now, which stirred the energy of heaven and earth. He is currently in seclusion, digesting the medicine's effects, and cannot be disturbed! Remember, guard the valley entrance and delay them! I'll support you from the shadows!"

Dugu Yan's delicate body trembled, and she abruptly snapped out of her wild joy. Her strange vertical pupils swept toward the valley entrance before turning to the jade cocoon encasing her grandfather. Determination flashed in her eyes. Her grandfather was being reborn. The responsibility of protecting him now rested on her shoulders!

"I understand!" She nodded firmly, quickly wiped away her tears, and the pride and chill of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor reignited in her strange vertical pupils. She straightened her slightly disheveled purple academy uniform, took a deep breath, and dark green Soul Power surged around her as she strode toward the valley entrance. She would stop those uninvited guests at the mouth of the valley!

Ling Feng hesitated no longer. He immediately sat cross-legged, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness. A strange ring hovered within it, radiating a gentle golden glow, with countless stars seemingly flowing inside— a Ten Thousand Year God-Bestowed Spirit Ring! Without hesitation, he guided the Spirit Ring, which contained immense energy, into the origin of his Martial Soul!

Buzz—!

The instant the God-Bestowed Spirit Ring touched the origin of the Judgment Angel Martial Soul, a torrent of pure and majestic energy erupted, far surpassing that of an ordinary ten-thousand-year soul beast! Like a breached celestial river, it instantly flooded into Ling Feng's limbs, bones, Meridians, and dantian! This energy was gentle yet sacred, carrying a trace of the will to create life and pass judgment. It perfectly matched the Judgment Angel Martial Soul!

Ling Feng immediately circulated his cultivation technique, guiding the torrent as it washed through, expanded, and strengthened his Meridians and dantian. His Soul Power soared as if riding a rocket! The Level 22 bottleneck shattered instantly! Level 23! Level 24!... His Soul Power Level rose madly beneath the infusion of god-bestowed energy! At the same time, his bones, flesh, and blood were tempered by this sacred energy, producing faint crackling sounds as his physique rapidly strengthened! Nourished by the system's permanent enhancement and the Spirit Ring's energy, his Spiritual Power rose in tandem, making his senses even sharper and clearer!

Just as Ling Feng immersed himself in the thrill of his soaring Soul Power, an abrupt change occurred at the valley entrance!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three figures shot through the dense, multicolored Poisonous Fog at the valley entrance like meteors and landed at the edge of the valley. Powerful Soul Power fluctuations spread without concealment, stirring the mist around the entrance.

The leader wore the bright silver armor of the commander of the Heaven Dou Empire's royal guards. His face was cold and stern as iron, his aura thick and steady. He was unmistakably a Soul Douluo-level expert! He was the very guard commander who had previously reported to Xue Qinghe! To his left stood an elderly man in the black robes of a Spirit Hall Officer, his eyes as sinister as an eagle's, with Soul Power fluctuations at the peak of Soul Sage. On his right stood a middle-aged man in the distinctive moon-white robes of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, his expression arrogant and his cultivation likewise at Soul Sage level!

The three men's eyes were instantly drawn to the massive jade cocoon at the center of the valley and the dense, almost tangible multicolored primordial energy. Greed and shock burst from their eyes!

"What a blessed paradise! What rich life energy!" the royal guard commander exclaimed. Then, his sharp gaze swept toward Dugu Yan, who stood at the valley entrance with a cold expression. "Miss Dugu? A violent energy fluctuation erupted here just now, shaking heaven and earth. Is His Excellency Dugu cultivating some earthshaking secret technique? His Highness the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, is concerned for His Excellency's safety and has sent us to investigate." Though his words were polite, the probing in his eyes and faint air of superiority were impossible to hide.

The Spirit Hall Officer also stepped forward, his voice hoarse like sandpaper scraping together. "Miss Dugu, the abnormal energy here has already attracted the Spirit Temple's serious attention. The earlier fluctuations could never have been caused by ordinary cultivation. Where is His Excellency Dugu? Could this be related to Ling Feng, the Spirit Hall student who entered this place earlier?" His gaze slithered like a venomous snake over Dugu Yan and the valley, trying to uncover a flaw or find traces of Ling Feng.

The man from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was even more direct. His burning gaze fixed on the immortal herbs around the spring, especially the purple-gold Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. "Miss Dugu, the spiritual medicine here is brimming with spiritual energy. Could the earlier disturbance have been caused by an immortal herb maturing? Is His Excellency Dugu refining a divine pill? Would you permit us to broaden our horizons? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has always studied rare treasures across the world. Perhaps we can offer a little assistance." His words carried undisguised covetousness and a patronizing tone.

The three formed a triangular formation, faintly surrounding Dugu Yan. Their powerful Soul Power pressure was released intermittently, full of coercive intent! Faced with the combined pressure of a Soul Douluo and two Soul Sages, Dugu Yan's face paled slightly. Yet there was no fear in her strange vertical pupils. Instead, she lifted her chin, her voice carrying the cold arrogance of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor.

"You are all worrying too much! My grandfather was merely attempting to refine a new medicinal catalyst just now, which stirred the yin-yang energy accumulated here and caused a small disturbance. The medicinal effects have now been absorbed by my grandfather, and he is in seclusion to digest them. No one is allowed to disturb him!" She deliberately stressed the words "no one is allowed to disturb him," while releasing the smooth Soul Power fluctuations that had returned after her suppression was lifted, showing that she was in good condition. "As for Ling Feng? He was only a student leading the way and left long ago! What? Are His Highness the Crown Prince, the Spirit Temple, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect planning to force their way into my grandfather's place of seclusion and seize his prescription and immortal herbs?"

Her words were like sharp blades, mercilessly tearing through their hypocritical pleasantries! At the same time, dark green Soul Power exploded from her body, and the phantom of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor flickered behind her. Though she was only a Soul Grandmaster, the pressure of her top-tier beast Martial Soul, mixed with the far purer venomous snake aura within her body, formed a cold and tyrannical shockwave that surged back toward the three men! She was buying time for her grandfather! And for Ling Feng in the shadows!