Crossing into Douluo, I Split into Five People — Chapter 38

"Uncle Ning, Seniors."

By rights, she should have changed how she addressed him. But she couldn't quite get over it. Although she had lived in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for quite some time, she wasn't like Ning Yulin, who could so simply and directly call Dugu Bo Grandpa without any psychological burden, completely shameless and shamelessly persistent.

Ning Fengzhi gave a slight nod, his voice warm and gentle.

"Yanyan is back."

"Father, when we returned, we met two people at the gate claiming to be from the Clear Sky Sect. Would you like to see them?"

The Clear Sky Sect?

Those sensitive words struck a nerve with Ning Fengzhi. It had only been a little over a year since the incident between Tang Hao and Qian Xunji. Why would people from the Clear Sky Sect come knocking now?

The words he often repeated suddenly rang in his ears.

The Upper Three Sects were bound together by a shared fate.

For no apparent reason, cold sweat began to form. Could it be that the Clear Sky Sect wanted to drag the Seven Treasures Sect into a war against Spirit Hall?

"Who are they? Did they give their names?"

Ning Yulin looked utterly unfamiliar with them as he recalled.

"A man and a woman. The woman called herself Tang Yuehua, while the man was about my age."

"Tang Yuehua? Why would it be her?"

Ning Fengzhi found it even stranger. He turned, intending to ask Sword and Bone which one of them would accompany him. Gu Rong beat him to it.

"Old Sword Man, this old man has a bad temper. I can't say more than a few words to those hammer-wielding bastards from the Clear Sky Sect. You go with Fengzhi."

He snatched Ning Rongrong up and vanished in a flash. The sight left everyone dumbfounded, while Dugu Yan somehow found it familiar.

Chen Xin pretended nothing had happened. Standing there coldly with his hands behind his back, he glanced at Ning Yulin.

"Let's go."

Side hall.

Hearing approaching footsteps, Tang Yuehua instinctively rose to her feet. Tang Yin had no choice but to stand as well. After all, they had come to ask for help, and they had no reward to offer.

"Miss Yuehua, it has been a long time. Have you been well lately?"

Quietly observing the two, Ning Fengzhi noticed faint weariness on their faces, though their mental state seemed fairly good. It appeared their visit was not over some major matter.

"Barely well. It has been a long time, Sect Leader Ning."

Tang Yuehua had been somewhat uneasy before their arrival, but now she appeared composed and graceful. Chen Xin showed himself briefly, and seeing that they were not important figures from the Clear Sky Sect, casually nodded before leaving. Ning Yulin had originally wanted to leave with Dugu Yan as well, but Ning Fengzhi gave him a look, so he stayed.

He turned to Dugu Yan.

"Do you want to go out, or stay here?"

There was nowhere particularly fun to go outside. She had already become familiar with both the sect and Seven Treasure City beyond it. She was still a little curious about the Clear Sky Sect's affairs, so she shook her head at Ning Yulin.

"And this is...?"

After looking at Tang Yuehua, Ning Fengzhi's gaze landed on Tang Yin. Tang Yuehua had little strength, but from what he knew, as Tang Hao and Tang Xiao's sister, her status within the sect was special. Could someone following her be some talented disciple?

"This junior is Tang Yin. Greetings, Sect Leader Ning."

Tang Yin introduced himself neither humbly nor arrogantly. He said only that, without adding anything else.

Hiss. This child...

For some reason, Ning Fengzhi felt that Tang Yin carried the same air as his own little sixth. He subconsciously looked back at Ning Yulin, who was examining Tang Yuehua.

It must have been an illusion.

After exchanging pleasantries, Tang Yuehua explained her purpose.

"Sect Leader Ning, during the battle between Spirit Hall and my Clear Sky Sect, someone else scattered the retreating group of our sect's younger disciples. I became separated from my eldest brother and the others, losing contact with the sect. Do you happen to know my sect's current location?"

"I'm sorry, Miss Yuehua, but I truly do not know about this matter. However, the two of you may stay here for a few days while I investigate first."

"Then I'll trouble Sect Leader Ning."

"What level are you at now?"

After spending several days playing around Heaven Dou City, An Lan found it boring. Qian Renxue, on the other hand, remained full of enthusiasm, so he asked about her current Soul Power Level.

"Thirty-six, almost thirty-seven."

Tch. She was the true chosen child of this era, wasn't she? Heaven was practically spoon-feeding her. She woke with innate level twenty, then absorbed two Spirit Rings. Relying on the Soul Power directly granted by those two rings, she broke through level thirty in just over a year. At this rate, she would reach Level Forty next year, at only eleven years old.

An Lan felt that speed was a little slow. Perhaps Qian Daoliu had other considerations.

"The Great Enshriner must have already planned out your Spirit Rings, right?"

"Grandfather said there's no need to immediately add a Spirit Ring after I break through. I can stabilize for ten days or half a month first. It won't be too late to accumulate some Soul Power."

Qian Daoliu seemed extremely cautious, striving to ensure that the foundation of every one of his granddaughter's Spirit Rings was exceptionally solid. He was likely preparing for divine trials.

"All right, then."

An Lan had actually wanted her to attempt a Ten Thousand Year Fourth Ring. If he gave her Whale Rubber, then had her return to absorb a piece of Angel Set Spirit Bone, there should not have been any problem. But Qian Daoliu probably would not agree.

A Thousand-Year Second Ring had exceeded the limit, but it merely made people's eyes light up. A Ten Thousand Year Fourth Ring, however, was beyond the bounds of reason. Soul shocks could cause a serious incident with the slightest mistake.

But for a God-Given Martial Soul to simply follow the crowd like this felt rather mediocre.

Though after becoming a god, Spirit Rings and Spirit Skills were hardly used. Still, if the Spirit Rings had higher age limits, perhaps that could correspondingly improve the quality of the divine rings?

After much thought, An Lan still abandoned the idea. Qian Daoliu would never agree unless An Lan first proved through practice that absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring ahead of time was feasible.

If she absorbed an Immortal Herb now, could she achieve a Ten Thousand Year Third Ring?

With a silent sigh, he could only temporarily abandon the idea of having Qian Renxue absorb beyond her limits.

At Zhou Xuefeng's place, he used the funds provided by Ning Yulin to purchase a small courtyard as temporary lodging. The first thing he did was find several wet nurses for Zhu Zhuqing. Constantly feeding her beast milk was not really appropriate.

Then Zhu Zhuyun's hell descended once more. This time, it included some "academic lessons."

She no longer complained. Secretly, she resolved to cultivate diligently, so that one day, once she surpassed Zhou Xuefeng, she would make him lick the soles of her feet instead!

After finishing everything, Zhou Xuefeng calculated his Soul Power. If he did not use Blue Silver Grass to devour the energy of other Plant-type Spirit Beasts, relying solely on cultivation would still leave him quite a ways from Level Forty.

"It's time to experiment with using Soul Power to cleanse other people's meridians."

He beckoned to Zhu Zhuyu, signaling her to come over.

"What do you want? She's still young. If you have something to do, come at me!"

Zhu Zhuyun stood in front of Zhu Zhuyu, extremely nervous despite her fierce appearance.

Having someone whose Martial Soul had already awakened as a control group would be useful too. It would allow him to observe the differences in results more directly.

Zhu Zhuyu also had a Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul, right?

Research: Soul Power Meridian Cleansing

Having decided, he nodded to Zhu Zhuyun.

"Fine. You can come too."

Zhu Zhuyun: "?!"

Her heart gave a violent jolt. Though she was afraid herself, she still softly comforted the trembling Zhu Zhuyu.

"Don't worry. Your sister is here."

Pulling Zhu Zhuyu along behind Zhou Xuefeng, she entered the room.

"Take off your clothes..."

"You!"

"Put on those."

Ignoring Zhu Zhuyun's reaction, Zhou Xuefeng had the sisters change into bathrobes before preparing to begin.

Once they had changed, Zhu Zhuyun wore a deathly expression, her eyes filled with the heroic resolve of one walking to her execution. Her voice was hollow.

"I'll go first."

"If you want to go first, then go first. Lie down and don't move."

Lying on the massage table Zhou Xuefeng had prepared beforehand, Zhu Zhuyun felt his hands moving across her body and could not help closing her eyes. After quite a while, however, she realized that Zhou Xuefeng seemed to be merely touching her all over, so she opened her eyes in confusion.

What was he doing?

She saw Zhou Xuefeng half-closing his eyes, his left hand resting near her dantian. In his hand were numerous Blue Silver Grass-colored threads, finer than hairs. A single thread would be impossible to notice without looking carefully.

The Blue Silver Fine Thread was Zhou Xuefeng's medium for releasing Soul Power, allowing for more delicate control. If he released Soul Power directly inside Zhu Zhuyun without using his Martial Soul, that would be murder, not an experiment.

Since this was his first attempt, he first had to map out the path of Zhu Zhuyun's meridians. Maintaining the same posture and controlling the Blue Silver Fine Thread for more than four hours, Zhou Xuefeng finally got a general grasp of her meridians after Zhu Zhuyun had fallen asleep on the massage table.

His Soul Power consumption was not high, but his spiritual power had remained stretched to its limit. As the Blue Silver Fine Thread sensed Zhu Zhuyun's meridians, the expenditure became excessive. He was terribly dizzy and wanted to sleep.

He sat quietly for a while and recovered somewhat.

Zhu Zhuyu had remained seated in the corner of the room, curious yet afraid throughout the process.

This little girl would have to wait until tomorrow.

Supporting himself on the massage table, Zhou Xuefeng stood and shook his head. His spiritual power had clearly been greatly depleted, so why did his waist and legs feel a little weak and sore?

He waved at Zhu Zhuyu.

"There's nothing for you today. Go play."

Zhu Zhuyu timidly glanced at Zhou Xuefeng, then at the sleeping Zhu Zhuyun. Gathering her courage, she asked softly.

"Big Sister... what happened to her?"

Zhou Xuefeng staggered toward the door and carelessly walked straight into the frame with a thud. That was one sturdy head. Zhou Xuefeng sucked in a breath. His physical fitness needed improvement.

"You'll know tomorrow."

He walked into the courtyard and sat down, releasing his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and hurriedly cultivating. Borrowing the resonance of the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, he quickly recovered his condition.

"I wonder when my Blue Silver Domain will fully take shape. Hopefully, it can happen after I absorb an Immortal Herb."

Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor Domain could, aside from sensing, directly draw the power of Blue Silver Grass for his own use. Zhou Xuefeng, meanwhile, could currently only use resonance to slightly expand his sensory range.

"His should be called the Blue Silver Emperor Domain, right? Tch."

"Blue Silver Emperor, Spirit Bone..."

By evening, Zhu Zhuyun awoke. She felt that she had slept so damn comfortably. Opening her eyes hazily, she tried to sit up, but she seemed to have no bones at all, her entire body weak and limp.

Her heart tightened.

"Big Sister, are you all right?"

Seeing Zhu Zhuyun awake, Zhu Zhuyu, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly came forward and asked with concern.

"I think... I'm fine?"

Her whole body lacked strength because her muscles were overly relaxed. But after that brief moment, her body received signals from Zhu Zhuyun's brain again and quickly recovered. She gave herself a simple examination, but there seemed to be no changes. When she asked Zhu Zhuyu what Zhou Xuefeng had done, she could not explain it clearly either.

"Forget it. It's getting late. Let's go eat."

The two sisters left the room and first went to check on Zhu Zhuqing. Their little sister was plump and well-nourished. Seeing that there was no problem, they finally went to eat.

Zhou Xuefeng had already finished eating some time ago. When he saw them arrive, he merely raised his eyes and gave no other reaction.

After eating their fill, with no one else around, Zhu Zhuyun desperately wanted to know what Zhou Xuefeng had done while she slept, but she did not dare ask. She could imagine exactly what Zhou Xuefeng would say if she opened her mouth.

Has my attitude these past few days given you some misunderstanding?

Don't forget your status!

Something like that.

A few remarks would not truly hurt, but they would still make her feel stifled and furious. Better not to ask. Since she was weaker than him, she had to endure it.

A few days later, Ning Fengzhi investigated and found the Clear Sky Sect's outpost: a small village. With so many people in the Clear Sky Sect, they needed plenty of resources for daily supplies, constructing a new sect gate, and countless other matters. Though they did their best to hide, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had nothing else if not a great deal of business.