Black Rabbit Swallows Immortal Herb, Ice Phoenix Descends

Ning Rongrong's tearful scream and running footsteps vanished at the end of the corridor. In the room, only Yang Yu remained, along with the Aromatic Silk Beauty on the floor, knocked into the dust yet still shimmering brilliantly.

Zhu Zhuqing sat cross-legged nearby, Soul Power fluctuations raging around her. The energy from that Immortal Herb petal was dissolving within her, repairing the cracks in her foundation. Her aura became more solid and powerful at a visible rate, even faintly beginning to assault the bottleneck of level thirty! She seemed oblivious to everything happening outside.

Yang Yu did not even glance at the Immortal Herb on the ground, one that could stir up a bloody storm throughout the soul master world. His gaze seemed to pierce through the wall and settle on a restless shadow outside the window, the cold curve of his lips becoming increasingly distinct.

It had come.

Just then!

A pink figure lunged in through the open window like a starving wolf pouncing on prey, carrying a savage aura of desperate madness! She moved with incredible speed, aiming straight for the Immortal Herb on the floor!

It was Xiao Wu!

Her eyes were bloodshot, filled with greed, fear, and a do-or-die madness! She had waited too long and endured too long! The Immortal Herb was right before her eyes, Ning Rongrong had stormed off in anger, and Zhu Zhuqing was absorbed in refining the medicine with no attention to spare! This was her only chance! Even if she offended Yang Yu, even if the consequences were unimaginable, she had to swallow this Immortal Herb! It was her only hope of survival!

She snatched up the dust-stained Aromatic Silk Beauty from the floor and, without even looking at it, opened her mouth and viciously bit down on the multicolored flower! Her movements were rough and urgent, like a dying beast gnawing at its last lifeline!

"Heh." A faint, mocking chuckle pierced Xiao Wu's frenzied mind like an icy needle.

It was Yang Yu. He still stood where he was, showing no intention of stopping her. He merely watched her with those calm, unruffled eyes, as though he were watching a clumsy performance he had foreseen long ago.

Xiao Wu's heart suddenly clenched! A chill instantly overwhelmed her greed! But the arrow was already on the string—she had no choice but to fire! Gritting her teeth, she bit down hard!

Crack!

A crisp cracking sound rang out. It was not the Immortal Herb breaking. Xiao Wu felt as though her teeth had bitten into the hardest diamond! The impact numbed her gums and made her head buzz!

At some point, the surface of the seemingly delicate Aromatic Silk Beauty had become covered in an extremely fine, nearly invisible green film of light! As it flowed, the film emitted a gentle yet incomparably resilient Power of Creation, firmly blocking her teeth!

At the same time!

Buzz!

The vast, unimaginable Spirit Qi contained within the Immortal Herb seemed to have been thoroughly enraged by her brutal act and erupted with a roar!

Boom!!!

Multicolored radiance exploded like a miniature sun, illuminating every detail in the room! An indescribably pure energy, like a mountain flood and raging tsunami, surged through Xiao Wu's mouth and violently crashed into her body!

"Ugh, aaahhh—!"

Xiao Wu let out an incomparably shrill scream! She felt her meridians, blood vessels, even every cell in her body being blown apart by that violent energy! Countless tiny cracks appeared across her skin, multicolored light shining through them. Her entire body looked like a glazed doll on the verge of shattering! The intense pain instantly drowned her consciousness!

How could an Immortal Grade Herb be swallowed so brutally? Especially a top-grade Immortal Herb like the Aromatic Silk Beauty! The energy it contained was enough to make an unprepared soul master explode and die instantly!

Xiao Wu's body swelled as if being inflated, on the verge of exploding completely!

At that moment.

Yang Yu moved.

He took a single step and instantly appeared before the writhing Xiao Wu. His right index finger shot out like lightning, its tip wreathed in the Power of Creation from the Chaos Creation Lotus and faint ripples of time from the Dragon of Eternity and Time, striking Xiao Wu precisely between the brows!

"Seal!"

A gentle yet profoundly mysterious force instantly entered Xiao Wu's body. Like the most exquisite dam, it forcibly restrained and guided the terrifying torrent of energy about to erupt! The violent energy seemed to have been put on pause. Its surging abruptly slowed and became relatively orderly, slowly yet irreversibly merging into every part of Xiao Wu's body, transforming her physique and battering her soul!

Xiao Wu's swelling stopped, and the cracks on her skin slowly healed beneath the Power of Creation. Yet the intense pain remained, leaving her curled on the floor, letting out unconscious groans of agony as her body convulsed uncontrollably. The Immortal Herb's energy was too immense. Yang Yu had only temporarily sealed it to prevent her immediate death, but the process of digesting and absorbing it was destined to be long and painful.

"You got off easy." Yang Yu looked coldly at Xiao Wu, who looked as though she had been pulled from the water, her consciousness blurred by torment. There was not the slightest warmth in his voice. Forcibly devouring an Immortal Herb meant nine chances of death and one of survival, but if she endured it, the benefits would be tremendous. As for how much she could absorb, that depended on her own fate.

He ignored Xiao Wu and turned his gaze outside the window, his brows knitting almost imperceptibly.

Almost at the exact moment the Immortal Herb's energy erupted!

In the distant skies beyond Nuoding City, an incredibly powerful Soul Power fluctuation carrying an icy chill streaked toward the academy at astonishing speed like a meteor! That aura... pure and powerful, carrying the majesty of the king of birds. It was clearly at the Soul Emperor level, and far from an ordinary Soul Emperor!

"Hm?" A trace of surprise flashed through Yang Yu's eyes. At this time, from that direction... who was it?

At that moment.

Boom!

A tremendous crash came from the dormitory building's entrance, accompanied by Zhao Wuji's shocked and furious roar and the thunderous clash of spirit abilities! Clearly, the uninvited guest had chosen the most direct method of entry!

Immediately afterward, a cool and urgent female voice cut through the commotion and rang out clearly:

"Bing'er! The sensation is coming from this way! Hurry!"

Before her words had faded!

Whoosh!

A slender blue figure, like an ice phoenix sweeping through the sky, instantly appeared in midair outside Yang Yu's window!

She was a girl who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen. A fitted aqua-blue outfit outlined her lovely figure, and her skin was fair and her features exquisitely beautiful, though an inescapable coolness and worry lingered between her brows. Beneath her feet, five soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and one black—slowly revolved. Icy mist radiated around her, freezing tiny ice crystals in the air! It was Shui Bing'er!

Her anxious gaze swept through the room before instantly locking onto Xiao Wu, curled on the floor, shrouded in multicolored light and groaning in pain. Especially when she sensed the Spirit Qi within Xiao Wu, violent yet producing a strange resonance with her martial soul, incomprehensible shock and... a trace of wild delight erupted in her cool eyes?!

"The Spirit Qi of the Aromatic Silk Beauty?! How could it be here?!" Shui Bing'er cried out in shock. But then she saw Yang Yu standing calmly beside Xiao Wu, as well as Zhu Zhuqing nearby, absorbing the medicinal energy as her aura continued to grow stronger.

Her expression immediately darkened, and icy killing intent spread outward. "What did you do to her?! Hand over the Immortal Herb!"

Clearly, she had mistaken Yang Yu and the others for having seized and harmed Xiao Wu through some evil method—Xiao Wu did indeed look miserable at the moment—and the Immortal Herb's aura made her regard Xiao Wu as both a victim and a target.

Without waiting for Yang Yu's answer, Shui Bing'er attacked! Desperate to save someone—or perhaps desperate to seize the Immortal Herb—the fifth soul ring beneath her feet instantly lit up!

"Fifth Spirit Ability, Ice Phoenix Dive!"

A clear phoenix cry resounded through the night sky! A massive ice phoenix formed entirely from Extreme Ice Attribute ice plunged fiercely toward Yang Yu, carrying a terrifying chill that could freeze the soul! Wherever it passed, even space itself seemed frozen!

A full-force strike from a Soul Emperor! Its power far exceeded that of Dai Mubai and his ilk!

Yang Yu's eyes turned cold. What a nuisance. He did not want more complications at a time like this.

Just as he was about to act.

"Insolence!"

An eerie, cold shout rang out!

Countless golden chrysanthemum petals appeared out of thin air, instantly gathering into an enormous floral shield before the ice phoenix!

Boom!!!

Ice shards and golden light scattered in all directions! The terrifying shockwave completely shattered the room's windows!

Yue Guan appeared before Yang Yu like Gui Mei. The bewitching smile vanished from his face, leaving only cold killing intent. "Where did this wild girl come from, daring to attack His Highness the Holy Son!"

Shui Bing'er was blasted several steps back. Sensing the unfathomable Titled Douluo aura from Yue Guan, her face instantly turned pale and her eyes filled with horror! A Titled Douluo?! Who exactly was this youth?!

Yet the temptation of the Immortal Herb and her misunderstanding of Xiao Wu's condition made her grit her teeth and hold firm. "So what if you're a Titled Douluo? You used wicked arts to harm someone and forcibly seized an Immortal Herb. Skywater Academy will never stand idly by!"

"Wicked arts? Forcibly seized?" Yue Guan sneered, about to capture this ignorant girl.

"Stop."

Yang Yu's calm voice rang out. He stepped forward, his gaze falling on Shui Bing'er before shifting to the suffering Xiao Wu on the floor. A glint of understanding passed through his eyes. So she had been drawn here by sensing the Immortal Herb's aura... Skywater Academy... Shui Bing'er... interesting.

"She grabbed it and swallowed it herself. It has nothing to do with me," Yang Yu said flatly. "As for whether she survives, that depends on her own fate."

Shui Bing'er froze. She looked at the savage expression lingering on Xiao Wu's face after her madness, at the traces of her rough biting, then at Yang Yu's calm eyes that did not seem false. Doubts surged within her. Could it... really not have been him?

But the Immortal Herb's aura could not be false! This thing was of critical importance to Skywater Academy and to her martial soul! She could not miss this opportunity!

"Even so, the Immortal Herb was ownerless to begin with. Whoever sees it has a share!" Shui Bing'er argued stubbornly, her eyes still fixed firmly on Xiao Wu. "She'll die from absorbing it so recklessly! Only Skywater Academy's Extreme Ice Attribute Soul Power can neutralize part of the medicinal energy and help her absorb it! Give her and the Immortal Herb to me!"

"Oh?" Yang Yu slightly raised a brow. Looking at Shui Bing'er's urgent yet determined gaze, he suddenly smiled. That smile carried a knowing, teasing amusement.

"You want the Immortal Herb?"

"Fine."

Shui Bing'er was stunned. She had not expected Yang Yu to agree so readily.

"But not now." Yang Yu changed the subject and pointed at Xiao Wu, who was struggling painfully on the floor. "She's currently a humanoid medicinal pill, filled with violent energy. You can't take her away, and you can't save her. If you want it, stay."

"Stay?" Shui Bing'er watched him warily. "What do you mean?"

"Simple." Yang Yu's voice carried an unquestionable edge. "Stay at Nuoding Academy. Help me watch over her. Use your ice-attribute Soul Power to keep her alive and make sure she doesn't really explode. Once she completely absorbs the medicinal energy and stabilizes..."

Yang Yu's gaze deepened. "The remaining medicinal energy—or rather... the person herself—will be yours."

Shui Bing'er's pupils constricted! Turmoil rose in her heart! This youth before her was terrifyingly calculating! He actually wanted to keep her here as a vessel and bodyguard to watch over this "humanoid medicinal pill"?! And from what he said, he did not seem to value the Immortal Herb itself all that much. Instead, what he cared about more was...

Her gaze involuntarily shifted to Zhu Zhuqing, who was still absorbing the petal's medicinal energy as her aura grew stronger and stronger. Then she looked in the direction Ning Rongrong had left through the window. An absurd and shocking thought flashed through her mind: could his true target have never been the Immortal Herb, but... people?!

"You..." Shui Bing'er stared into Yang Yu's calm yet unfathomable eyes, feeling a chill for the first time. This choice concerned the Immortal Herb, but even more, her own freedom.

At that moment, Xiao Wu let out another agonized whimper. The multicolored light around her body flickered violently, as if she were about to lose control again.

Shui Bing'er gritted her teeth. The temptation of the Immortal Herb and her desire for her martial soul to evolve ultimately overwhelmed everything else. She nodded heavily. "Fine! I agree! But if she ultimately cannot absorb it..."

"Then you're simply not capable enough. It has nothing to do with me," Yang Yu cut her off indifferently.

Shui Bing'er took a deep breath and said no more. She immediately walked to Xiao Wu's side and crouched down, pressing both hands against Xiao Wu's burning forehead. Pure Extreme Ice Attribute Soul Power slowly flowed in, helping guide and suppress the violent Spirit Qi.

The room temporarily returned to calm, leaving only Xiao Wu's pained groans and the faint sound of Shui Bing'er's Soul Power flowing.

Yang Yu glanced at Xiao Wu, temporarily stabilized for now, then at Zhu Zhuqing cultivating with her eyes closed. Finally, his gaze fell on the distant night sky beyond Nuoding City.

The turmoil over the Immortal Herb had temporarily come to an end.

But the people and events it had drawn in made these waters even murkier.

Shui Bing'er...

Skywater Academy...

An unexpected gain, indeed.

His gaze seemed already to see a more distant future.