We Meet Again

After walking for about an hour outside Heaven Dou City, they reached the outermost edge of Sunset Forest. Though Duanyu Fan did not know the exact location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he guessed it should not be far in the direction facing Heaven Dou City.

People who came to Sunset Forest to hunt Soul Rings had probably seen the poison barrier protecting the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Coupled with Dugu Bo's poison, even if someone had seen it, no one dared approach.

So Duanyu Fan guessed that the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was not located deep in the center of Sunset Forest.

When Duanyu Fan, Bibi Dong, and the others arrived at the outermost edge of Sunset Forest, they chose a trail marked by years of foot traffic.

"Teacher, let's take this path. It looks like people walk here often," Duanyu Fan said, looking at a path that led deep into Sunset Forest.

"Mm! You have a good eye. Yue Guan, lead the way," Bibi Dong said with a slight nod to Chrysanthemum Douluo.

"Of course, Your Majesty, Holy Son." Chrysanthemum Douluo had no objections and immediately went ahead.

Duanyu Fan followed in the middle, with Bibi Dong at the rear. After they had entered Sunset Forest for over an hour, the tracks on the ground grew fewer and fewer, and the path narrowed slightly. They continued forward along a route with a little more footprints.

After nearly another hour of walking, thorny weeds around them began growing dense.

"This should be about right. Teacher, Chrysanthemum Elder, it should be somewhere nearby. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well should be protected by a veil of poisonous gas," Duanyu Fan said, glancing around before stopping and explaining his reasoning.

"Mm, what the Holy Son says makes sense. Some Immortal Herbs are themselves extremely poisonous. If a large area of flowers and plants has survived here, years of accumulation could form a poisonous gas barrier," Chrysanthemum Douluo said, agreeing with Duanyu Fan's view.

"Then, Yue Guan, go check the area to the left. Xiao Fan and I will search the right. If we don't find it, we gather back here in an hour. If we do, send a signal." Bibi Dong casually arranged things, then knocked down a tree as a marker. A beam of sunlight shone down on the original spot.

"Yes, Your Majesty the Pope." Chrysanthemum Douluo flashed away, quickly checking whether there was a suitable location nearby on the left.

Duanyu Fan and Bibi Dong began searching to the right.

Half an hour later, a sudden fluctuation of Soul Power disturbed Duanyu Fan and Bibi Dong.

"Teacher, should we go take a look? Someone is probably hunting a Soul Ring. It's not far ahead," Duanyu Fan said. The Soul Power he and Bibi Dong sensed was not especially strong, roughly around Level 30.

"That works. We can also ask them whether they've seen an area covered in a poisonous barrier."

Before long, they saw the scene. There were three people: one was an older-looking young man with medium-short hair, and the other two were a blond, blue-eyed boy around thirteen and a girl with dark green hair.

Duanyu Fan had seen this girl before. She was Dugu Bo's granddaughter, whom he had met a year ago, only her hair and lips were now even darker.

After one year, she actually had Level 26 Soul Power, while the boy was Level 30.

The girl and boy were working together to besiege a Thunder Serpent, a Soul Beast of just under two thousand years or so.

"Tianheng, be careful. Strike seven inches down. Xiaoyan, interfere with the Thunder Serpent," the watching young man instructed. Five Soul Rings hovered around him, an optimal configuration. A Level 58 Soul King at around twenty-seven years old—he could be considered a talented person as well.

"Got it! Teacher Qin." The boy answered without turning his head, focusing on dealing with the Thunder Serpent.

"So it's Teacher Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng, and Dugu Yan. That means they're already students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy," Duanyu Fan thought silently.

"Teacher, that boy's Martial Soul is the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, right? As for the girl, we met her when we came to Sunset Forest last year. She's Dugu Bo's Granddaughter. Her poisoning has worsened," Duanyu Fan said softly beside Bibi Dong.

"Mm, it is indeed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul. His talent isn't bad. He's probably a core descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan," Bibi Dong nodded and explained.

"Second Soul Skill, Thunderbolt." A large swath of lightning struck the Thunder Serpent's body, making it writhe violently for around three minutes.

"First Soul Skill! Thunder Dragon Claw." The young Yu Tianheng condensed his Soul Power into a dragon claw and struck the Thunder Serpent squarely seven inches down.

Slowly, the Thunder Serpent lost its ability to resist. Its serpent body stopped twisting and became barely alive. After Yu Tianheng finished his attack, he was also panting heavily. He bent forward slightly, both hands braced on his thighs and knees.

"Sit down and regulate your breathing. Prepare to absorb the Soul Ring. The Thunder Serpent still has one breath left; it won't die for now. Xiaoyan, you recover your Soul Power too." Seeing this, Yu Tianheng's teacher, Qin Ming, hurriedly guided them.

"Both attacks are pretty strong. As expected of a top-tier beast Martial Soul." Duanyu Fan acknowledged Yu Tianheng's attack power. There really were quite a few geniuses in this era.

"Mm! Not bad indeed, but compared to Xie Yue's attacks, he's still a little lacking," Bibi Dong also acknowledged the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's attack power.

After about ten minutes, Yu Tianheng's aura was no longer chaotic. He opened his eyes, looked at the Thunder Serpent, finished it off with one more blow, and began absorbing the thousand-year Soul Ring.

Once Yu Tianheng finished absorbing it, Duanyu Fan and Bibi Dong appeared before the three of them.

"Clap... Truly not bad at all!" Duanyu Fan's applause entered the three people's ears.

"Who's there!" Qin Ming was startled. Someone had come so close, yet he had not sensed them.

"It's you! Spirit Hall Holy Son." The girl, Dugu Yan, still recognized Duanyu Fan. After all, Duanyu Fan's appearance had not changed much; he had only grown a little taller.

"Spirit Hall Holy Son!" Qin Ming and Yu Tianheng were not ordinary people, so naturally, they had heard of the Spirit Hall Holy Son's deeds.

"Heh, I didn't expect you to still recognize me. But your poisoning has grown even deeper. Look at how much darker your hair and lips have become," Duanyu Fan said with a faint smile.

"You're the one who's poisoned. This is just the state granted by my Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul." She glared and immediately retorted to Duanyu Fan.

Seeing that Dugu Yan refused to admit it, Duanyu Fan did not continue on the matter. If she wanted to deny it to death, the one who suffered would not be him.

"All right! Let's not talk about that. Have the three of you seen an area covered by a poisonous barrier?" Duanyu Fan asked directly, while also observing Dugu Yan's expression.

"A poisonous barrier? We haven't seen one," Yu Tianheng and Qin Ming answered with normal expressions, but Dugu Yan's face shifted uncertainly.

Bibi Dong naturally observed the three of them as well and noticed the subtle change in Dugu Yan's expression.

"Xiao Fan, notify Yue Guan," Bibi Dong said calmly.

"Understood, Teacher." Duanyu Fan took out a signal flare and fired it into the sky.

"Mm! A signal flare. Could the Pope and the Holy Son have already discovered it?" Chrysanthemum Douluo saw the signal flare, murmured softly, and quickly moved toward its location.

"Why is there a signal flare? Could Yan'er and the others have encountered a powerful Soul Beast?" Dugu Bo was at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. When he saw the signal flare, he thought Dugu Yan and the others had fired it. Dugu Yan had come to Sunset Forest to accompany her classmates in obtaining a Soul Ring, and of course Dugu Bo knew that.

"Teacher! The Holy Son called her teacher. Could she be Your Majesty the Pope of Spirit Hall, or is she a teacher from the academy?" Qin Ming was secretly shocked by his own guess.

"Holy Son! Is the person beside you a teacher from the academy, or Your Majesty the Pope?" Qin Ming asked uncertainly.

"What do you think?" Duanyu Fan replied lightly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Pope. Please forgive my students and me for our poor eyes. We failed to recognize Your Majesty the Pope's honored presence at once. We have been discourteous." Qin Ming spoke, saluting respectfully.

"No matter."

Bibi Dong naturally would not take offense, especially since they were not members of Spirit Hall.

I want to say something, but I don't know what to say, so what I want to say is something even I don't know.