Yan Shaozhe: Xuan Zi Not Only Committed No Offense, But Rendered Meritorious Service

Yan Shaozhe hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over. "Mei'er, how can you speak of Elder Xuan like that? Elder Xuan feels deeply guilty too, but that is simply his martial soul—Godly Taotie Bull needs to keep eating. Besides, Elder Xuan had already helped Xiaotao and Lexuan hunt their soul rings. Who could have expected the Soul Beasts to riot on their way back? We all know how severely Elder Xuan was injured when he returned that day. It was all Du Busi's fault!"

"Yan Shaozhe! You... Xiaotao was your direct disciple!"

Yan Shaozhe sighed. "I'm heartbroken too, but what can we do now? The dead are gone. We cannot place every bit of blame on Elder Xuan."

Cai Mei'er glared at Yan Shaozhe in furious disbelief.

At that moment, Elder Xuan suddenly rose to his feet, tears already streaming down his aged face. Looking at Yan Shaozhe, he said heavily, "Shaozhe, there is no need to say any more. I bear responsibility for what happened to Xiaotao. I will resign from all my positions at the academy, then go to the Body Sect and demand an explanation from that Poison Old Freak! Even if it costs me my life, I will avenge your disciple!"

The Elders present were all alarmed and hurriedly held Elder Xuan back, afraid that in a fit of impulse, he would truly rush off to the Body Sect to throw his life away.

Yan Shaozhe hurriedly said, "Elder Xuan, I did not mean to blame you. I believe that girl Xiaotao, as well as Lexuan, would not blame you either. Please calm down."

Elder Xuan shook his head, his voice filled with grief. "How could they not blame me? It was my negligence that—"

Yan Shaozhe quickly cut him off. "Elder Xuan, let me ask you this. Did you encounter Di Tian in the Star Dou Great Forest this time? If you had not let Lexuan and Xiaotao leave first, how could they possibly have escaped Di Tian's hands? Lexuan was able to survive entirely because of you, Elder Xuan."

Only then did the remorse in Elder Xuan's heart gradually fade. He looked toward Yan Shaozhe and the other Elders, hope in his eyes as he asked, "Is that truly so?"

Yan Shaozhe hurriedly gave Zhang Lexuan, lying in the sickbed, a meaningful look.

Zhang Lexuan's face and lips were pale, her lips pressed tightly together. Her gaze swept across the Elders present before finally settling on Elder Xuan's aged face, full of hope. She opened her mouth.

"Xiaotao and I were only able to obtain our soul rings thanks to Elder Xuan's help. I was also able to survive the Star Dou Great Forest this time because of you. If you had not held Di Tian back, Xiaotao and I would both have perished in the jaws of Soul Beasts."

Zhang Lexuan lowered her eyes and spoke hoarsely. She did not even know how she had managed to say those words. It felt as though she were in a dream.

Only then did Elder Xuan reveal a trace of a smile. He waved his hand and said, "You escaped because you were strong enough, Lexuan. As for Xiaotao... I am deeply saddened as well. But when we encountered Di Tian, there was nothing I could do. It was difficult for me to look after the two of you."

"Shaozhe is right. It was all that Poison Old Freak's fault. He drew Di Tian here and triggered the Soul Beast riot, which led to Xiaotao dying in the beasts' jaws! Shrek must remember this grudge. I, Xuan Zi, swear that I will avenge that girl Xiaotao!"

The other Elders all voiced their agreement.

When internal conflict arose, establishing a common enemy often allowed the internal chaos to temporarily subside.

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Mu En's cloudy eyes remained half-open as he let out a deep sigh. His tone carried not the slightest ripple of emotion. "Since you have reached an agreement, then disperse. That child Xiaotao was an orphan and grew up at the academy. Since this has happened, Mei'er, go and erect a memorial tomb for her."

"Yes." Cai Mei'er lowered her head in acknowledgment, her expression blank as she turned and left alone.

Xian Lin'er followed Cai Mei'er. Cai Mei'er was somewhat surprised. Why was this woman, who had never gotten along with her, following her?

Xian Lin'er said indifferently, "I watched Xiaotao grow up too. I'll go with you."

Seeing this, Yan Shaozhe hurriedly chased after them. "Mei'er, Lin'er, wait. I'll go with you. As her teacher, I should pay my respects to that child as well."

"Get lost!" Cai Mei'er and Xian Lin'er shouted coldly in unison.

Yan Shaozhe froze awkwardly where he stood.

The other Elders all dispersed as well.

The Sea God Pavilion fell silent after the commotion.

Only cold sunlight spilled down, dividing the room into two sharply distinct halves of light and shadow.

Mu En lay beneath the sunlight, drowsy and on the verge of sleep. Zhang Lexuan remained on the sickbed hidden in the shadows, her moonlike eyes dim as no one knew what she was thinking.

In the blink of an eye, night had fallen.

In the small courtyard of Heaven Dou City, everyone had returned to their rooms to rest.

Lin Ran sat cross-legged on his bed. With a flip of his hand, a soul bone appeared in his palm.

The soul bone was a pair of wings, blood-red all over like crimson jade. Something seemed to flow across their surface like blood, beautiful and bewitching.

This was the External Soul Bone he had obtained from the Blood Phoenix: Blood Phoenix Wings.

As a type of super Soul Beast, Blood Phoenixes possessed an ultimate life attribute. The power of Nirvana was the finest manifestation of that life attribute.

Holding the icy soul bone, Lin Ran recalled the information he knew about Blood Phoenixes.

Aside from their incomparably powerful vitality, Blood Phoenixes were most famous for their bloodthirsty, murderous nature. They also possessed an almost ultimate evil attribute, and were therefore often called Fallen Blood Phoenixes.

This External Soul Bone clearly possessed not only the Blood Phoenix's immensely powerful ability of Nirvana, but also a trace of the origin of its evil attribute.

Du Busi had once warned him that when absorbing a soul bone, he had to guard his mind carefully and not allow that trace of evil attribute to exploit an opening. Otherwise, he could very likely become bloodthirsty and murderous as well.

After making his preparations, Lin Ran let out a long breath, pressed the soul bone against his back, and began absorbing it.

The blood-red wings turned into liquid and flowed into Lin Ran's body like blood.

Lin Ran only felt a scorching sensation surge into his back and merge with his Soul Power.

The soul bone fused very quickly. Just as it was about to succeed, a black line suddenly traveled up from his back toward the space between his brows. At the same time, a savage, vicious emotion welled up within his heart.

At some point, his pupils had changed. They were no longer purely blood-red, but had instead been tinged with an eerie shade of black.

Lin Ran remained seated cross-legged, neither shocked nor panicked. He merely circulated the Longevity Skill and the Marrow Cleansing Scripture in silence.

Very soon, that savage feeling dissipated, and the black line grew increasingly faint.

That was why he had not been concerned about the evil attribute within the Blood Phoenix Wings.

He cultivated authentic Buddhist and Daoist methods. When external demons encountered him, they could only scatter—how could they possibly affect his mind?

Very soon, Lin Ran felt a tingling numbness across his back. Then, a pair of blood-red wings unfurled behind him.

Lin Ran suppressed the joy in his heart and sensed the abilities granted to him by the External Soul Bone.

The Blood Phoenix Wings suited him remarkably well. His Blood Martial Soul had always possessed the life attribute, and the Ultimate Life force and Nirvana power contained within the Blood Phoenix Wings fused with it at once, blending with the Blood Martial Soul and complementing each other.

The blood within his body flowed throughout him, and Lin Ran felt pleasantly warm all over. As the Nirvana power spread through his blood, it continuously nourished his body.

After suffering severe injuries, he would be able to activate the Nirvana power and be reborn through blood.

Lin Ran could not resist climbing out through the window. He flapped his wings and circled through the sky twice before returning to his bed and controlling the wings as he retracted them.