Her Choice Was Right
The man on the right appeared much more "normal," with a thick, unruly beard covering most of his face, revealing only a pair of bright, clear, slightly upturned almond-shaped eyes that looked tired at the moment. His clothes were tattered and covered in dust, clearly indicating that he had been escorting goods on a long journey, and he looked disheveled.
These two were none other than Ma Hongjun and Oscar, who had been secretly escorted to Spirit City after many twists and turns.
They were forcibly infused with Soul Power by that mysterious man in black, which caused their strength to surge in a short period of time, but it also planted a deadly hidden danger.
Now, these aftereffects are beginning to have a severe backlash.
Chapter 335 Her Choice Was Right
Oscar is in slightly better condition. His improvement was relatively small at the time, and the damage to his foundation was limited. Although his Soul Power is unstable and he is in a sorry state, at least his life and foundation are not in danger.
Ma Hongjun's situation was far more dire.
He was already affected by the Evil Fire due to the flaws in his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul. Forcing him to grow stronger not only depleted his potential and vitality but also severely damaged his cultivation foundation.
After suffering severe injuries, his forcibly increased Soul Power Level is plummeting, while the Evil Fire within his Martial Soul is not diminishing. Instead, it is becoming even more agitated due to his extreme physical weakness and loss of control over his Soul Power, causing him immense suffering from both internal and external torment.
Judging from the current situation, it seems that he can hardly hope to advance any further in his life, let alone even maintain his current level of cultivation. It would be lucky if he could even save his life.
Ma Hongjun and Oscar naturally recognized Gu Yuena as well.
They had both awakened memories of their past lives, yet they remained silent upon meeting.
Gu Yuena's relationship with Oscar and Ma Hongjun wasn't great either.
Before the two became gods, Gu Yuena was recuperating in the Star Dou Great Forest, and naturally had no interaction with the two mortals who were as weak as ants.
After the two became gods, their status reversed, and Gu Yuena ended up in a lower position.
Even after Gu Yuena became a god, she mainly interacted with the Tang family. If Oscar and Ma Hongjun, two Second-Level God, hadn't known Tang San, Gu Yuena wouldn't have paid them any attention.
Unfortunately, it was Tang San who caused Ma Hongjun and Oscar to end up like this...
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"Clang--!"
The heavy chains were untied and thrown to the ground, making a jarring sound that was particularly clear in the silent dungeon.
The guard glanced indifferently at the newly locked cell, and after confirming that everything was in order, he turned and left without looking back.
With a dull thud as the heavy iron door slammed shut again, the dungeon plunged back into darkness.
"You..." Gu Yuena finally broke the silence, her voice ringing out in the darkness, slightly hoarse, "How were you captured and brought here?"
She asked about Ma Hongjun and Oscar, her gaze drifting through the fence to the two pitiful newcomers.
"Ugh!" Gu Yuena was the first to frown, her face showing undisguised disgust, and she subconsciously shrank back.
Although Bo Saixi remained seated, his brows furrowed involuntarily.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to comprehend how this newcomer could do such a thing under these circumstances.
"Are you crazy?!" Gu Yuena's voice was filled with anger, but even more so with disbelief and disgust. "In a place like this, at a time like this, you still have the mind to do such a thing?!"
"Disgusting!" she couldn't help but mutter, feeling as if even the air around her was polluted.
Although the dungeon had simple ventilation holes, they were not very effective, and it would probably take a considerable amount of time to dispel the strong foul odor.
Unlike Gu Yuena and Bo Saixi's intense reactions, Oscar, who was imprisoned with Ma Hongjun, seemed to have no reaction at all.
He remained seated in his corner, his expression almost numb and indifferent, not even raising an eyebrow.
There was no other way; during the long journey of escort, he and Ma Hongjun were almost always in the same cramped and filthy prison van.
Ma Hongjun was tormented by Evil Fire, and his loss of control was not a one-off occurrence. Oscar had long been forced to "get used to it" and even developed a certain degree of olfactory fatigue.
Ma Hongjun gradually calmed down, but his overall condition worsened. His already pale and bluish face became even more unsightly, his lips were bloodless, and his breath was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.
His outburst just now had clearly further depleted his already fragile body. His eyes were unfocused, his pupils slightly dilated, and he showed no reaction to the rebukes and comments from the outside world, only unconsciously emitting soft, painful groans.
The Evil Fire not only scorched his body, but also continuously eroded his mind, pushing him to the brink of collapse. The debts he had accumulated in the past and the foundations damaged by forced enhancements erupted completely at this moment, and his body had already collapsed.
"Don't ask him anymore." Oscar's voice rang out in the darkness, unusually calm, with a resigned acceptance. "He's... his brain has been burned out by Evil Fire. He can't understand human speech and can't control himself."
Gu Yuena suppressed her discomfort, her purple eyes still shining brightly in the darkness. "What on earth is going on? His Evil Fire backlash... how could it be this serious?"
She remembered that Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul had a flaw, but in her previous life it didn't seem to have developed to such an uncontrollable, almost beast-like state. Later, the flaw in his Martial Soul was cured, and his Martial Soul evolved step by step, eventually becoming the Evil Fire Phoenix.
Oscar paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before finally speaking in a hoarse voice that echoed through the dungeon. He recounted their ordeal—how Tang San appeared with a mysterious man in black robes, how the man forcefully recruited (in reality, coerced) them, how he forcibly raised their Soul Power Level in a bizarre way, and how they were subsequently devoured by this uncontrollable force, captured by the Spirit Hall Empire, and transported here over a long distance... He gave a brief but clear account of it all.
In his narrative, Oscar deliberately omits all details related to "rebirth".
Gu Yuena, in turn, tacitly refrained from asking any further questions about the topic.
However, as Oscar's narration neared its end, he mentioned that Tang San had survived and been rescued...
In the darkness, Gu Yuena's eyes suddenly lit up!
Tang San is alive! Not only did he survive a situation where death seemed certain, he even received another opportunity to help him!
What does this tell us?
This shows that his luck is still strong, and that he is still the chosen one!
As for the implicit hint in Oscar's words that Tang San and the mysterious man used methods that damaged their foundations to forcibly enhance his and Ma Hongjun's cultivation, resulting in Ma Hongjun's current state, Gu Yuena selectively ignored it at this moment.
She only heard what she wanted to hear: Tang San was not dead, and was being protected by an even stronger being.
A new flame of hope reignited in her heart.
Yes, she made the right choice! Tang San is the key to leading her out of her predicament, reviving the Dragon Clan, and even achieving higher goals!
Her current misfortune, imprisonment by the Spirit Hall Empire, and Arthur's unexpected ascension to godhood... these are all temporary setbacks, tests from fate!
As long as Tang San is still alive, she still has a chance to turn the tables!
Now that Gu Yuena has nothing left, she can only believe, and must believe, that Tang San will come to save her. This is the driving force that keeps her going in this dark and hopeless dungeon.
Those around them, however, found the conversation between the two rather strange. They had no memories of being reborn, and were not familiar with Tang San in this life. They only knew that Tang San was the human-beast hybrid whose fame had spread throughout the continent.
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Deep within the dungeon, Bo Saixi, who had been sitting against the wall, finally showed a Sisi ripple on her face, which was as calm and still as the deep sea.
It wasn't anger, nor surprise, but an extremely complex expression.
Tang San... Tang Chen's great-grandson.
This name, this identity, forcibly pried open the deepest door to her heart, a door long sealed away.
As the High Priestess of Sea God Island, although she was bound by her duties and unable to leave the Sea God Island, she was not entirely ignorant of matters concerning the mainland.
She possessed certain privileges and secretly dispatched trusted confidants year after year to discreetly investigate the whereabouts of Tang Chen, the man she had longed for her entire life.
Therefore, she knew the ins and outs of the upheaval in the Clear Sky Sect more clearly than most people.
Tang San's existence is "ironclad proof" of Tang Hao's love for the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin, and also marks the beginning of the Clear Sky Sect's decline.
Even more heartbreaking news followed: it was said that Tang San, along with Tang Chen, had gone to the Spirit Hall to rescue Tang Hao.
As a result, Tang Chen, the lover she had waited for her whole life, loved her whole life, and missed her whole life, perished in Spirit City!
Tang San, the child whose birth brought disaster and indirectly led to the death of his great-grandfather, survived.
This plunged Bo Saixi's heart into unprecedented turmoil and inner turmoil.
On one hand, she couldn't help but feel angry at Tang San. If it weren't for his birth, the Clear Sky Sect might not have been in trouble, and Tang Chen... might not have died.
On the other hand, reason and lingering warmth constantly reminded her that Tang San was Tang Chen's only remaining bloodline outside the home, a continuation of Tang Chen's life in some sense.
Meanwhile, from a dark cell in another corner of the dungeon, an even more ominous sound echoed.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
It was the dull thud of flesh and blood colliding violently against the cold stone wall, one after another, mechanical and stubborn, carrying a chilling force of despair.
Accompanying the impact was a suppressed, trapped beast-like roar, indistinct yet vaguely discernible fragments of words like "Tang Hao," "Tang San," "Clear Sky Sect," and "Spirit Hall," like curses.
That was Tang Xiao.
This former Clear Sky Sect, who was among the first to be imprisoned, finally suffered a complete mental breakdown after enduring a long period of confinement, learning the devastating news of the sect's annihilation, and witnessing Ning Fengzhi and others being taken away, seemingly "submitting" to the Spirit Hall Empire.
He was no longer the spirited sect leader who tried to uphold the sect's honor amidst adversity, nor was he the elder brother who worried about his younger brother and nephew.
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The once deep blue sea has now been transformed into a terrifying crimson inferno.
The boundless sea was stained with viscous blood and broken tissue, turning into a terrifying mix of dark red, purplish-red, and turbid yellow. The air was filled with a strong stench of blood and a strange, sweet, metallic scent that seemed to emanate from the burning of spiritual energy.
The sea was no longer calm. The raging waves were as if they were being repeatedly stirred up by an invisible giant hand, rising into the sky without any pattern and crashing down with deafening roars, throwing up and scattering more broken pieces of tentacles and indescribable eyeball-like tumors.
The remains of those evil-eyed tyrants, which once contained terrifying spiritual power, now floated like the cheapest sea garbage, rising and falling with the blood-red waves, forming a hellish picture.
At the very heart of this vortex of chaos and destruction, the battle is reaching its most brutal stage.
The colossal Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, as large as a mountain and Entanglement with countless broken tentacles and destructive purple light, was emitting a silent yet soul-shaking shriek of rage.
Its huge, bloodshot main eye was fixed on a nimble and swift figure in front of it, the hatred surging within it almost solidifying, scorching the surrounding seawater.
How could it not hate?
They thought escaping into the sea was a temporary measure to avoid threats on land, but little did they expect to stumble into an even more terrifying hunting ground! The seemingly beautiful and delicate Doria, who moved through the water like a dream, was actually a terrifying being!
Her affinity with this vast ocean is beyond comprehension; it's as if she is an extension of the ocean's will, a spirit condensed from the seawater itself.
In this ocean arena, the physical power that the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler was so proud of—powerful enough to tear the earth apart—was met with endless resistance and delay from the seawater.
Its giant tentacles, capable of easily shattering cliffs and Entanglement and killing Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, appeared clumsy and slow when waving them now. Just as they were about to touch Doria, they were pushed away by a gentle but irresistible current of water, or swerved by a suddenly accelerating undercurrent, futilely striking empty air and stirring up more bloody waves, but without harming the other party in the slightest.
On the other hand, Doria, like a fish returning to the sea, was incredibly agile.
With each gentle sway of her long, slender fishtail, she caused a large expanse of seawater to ripple, creating a force field that either propelled or deflected it.
Her exquisite face held no ferocious killing intent, but rather an almost innocent joy, an immersion in the battle.
Wherever she went, the seawater seemed to come alive, no longer just a medium, but an extension of her body, her weapon, her shield.
"Gurgle..." A deep, rumbling sound came from the depths of the ocean.
Beside the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler, the seemingly calm seawater suddenly twisted and spun, and several invisible vortexes containing terrifying strangulation power silently formed, like the tentacles of a deep-sea monster, wrapping around its massive body from all directions, trying to drag it into the deeper, more pressure-filled abyss of the seabed, or directly squeeze and tear it apart!
Having failed in his physical attack, the Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler immediately changed his strategy.
Its enormous main eye suddenly erupted with a blinding purplish-red spiritual light, flashing at a high frequency. A spiritual shockwave, condensed with its overwhelming rage and destructive will, powerful enough to shatter the soul of an ordinary Titled Douluo, blasted directly towards Doria like an invisible torrent of destruction, ignoring the obstruction of the seawater!