A Deeper Exchange

The turbulent Sea of Consciousness was soothed by a calming force that came from nowhere. Specks of golden light shimmered across its surface, and not a ripple disturbed its mirrorlike calm.

Xu Lanqing stood upon the Sea of Consciousness.

He felt better than ever, refreshed and clearheaded.

Looking around, he was surprised to find that his Sea of Consciousness seemed to have expanded considerably—at least twice its previous size.

"Judging by its size, I should be at the Soul Elder level now. I'll get it tested once I'm out."

But what exactly had happened?

And who was that person who had suddenly appeared?

Wasn't it supposed to be impossible for anyone else to enter? Where had she come from?

He had regained consciousness inside the Sea of Consciousness, but when he tried to leave, he discovered that he was trapped there. A seven-colored mental barrier surrounded him like a city wall.

Not only that, but he couldn't even sense the outside world or check the state of his own body. He was completely in the dark, with no idea what was going on.

It must have been the person outside who'd done this.

But what was the point?

She had saved him, yet wouldn't let him find out who she was. Was she worried about something?

It couldn't be that she'd simply done a good deed without wanting recognition, could it?

"Forget it. Thinking about it is giving me a headache."

Since he couldn't figure it out, he gave up. There was nothing he could do about it anyway, so he might as well wait here quietly.

He didn't know her, but since she'd gone to the trouble of saving him, surely she wouldn't kill him now.

In any case, it was wonderful to still be alive. Only after experiencing the despair of death could one understand how precious life was.

This was the first time he'd come so close to dying. As for that time in the Far North, at least he'd had some confidence he'd make it through.

Even further back, in his previous life, he'd died peacefully after pulling too many all-nighters writing. He hadn't experienced what death felt like at all.

"Bzzzz..."

What was that sound?

Xu Lanqing whipped around, looking toward its source.

That was...

"Teacher?!"

Xu Lanqing cried out in delight, unable to hide his joy.

Electrolux's figure stood beside the Golden Dragon King's God Core. The God Core had long since stopped releasing power, but the breach in the seal remained.

Electrolux looked incredibly indistinct, like a swaying willow catkin that might be carried away and scattered by the wind at any moment.

Xu Lanqing ran over excitedly, his voice full of concern.

"That's wonderful, Teacher! Have you recovered? I thought it would be ages before I could see you again. I never expected to see you so soon.

"Teacher, when did you recover? How are you suddenly able to appear in the Sea of Consciousness..."

Xu Lanqing came to a halt, the smile on his face gradually freezing. By the time he reached the end of his sentence, it was as if his throat had closed up and he couldn't speak.

He stared at Electrolux's figure. The familiar spiritual sense and the same dignified, elderly face were there, but there wasn't a hint of expression.

Electrolux paid no attention to what Xu Lanqing had just said, as if he hadn't heard him at all.

He turned to look in the other direction.

Just as he'd expected, a gray bead floated there quietly, as silent and lifeless as ever.

He turned back to Electrolux's figure. No—he should have called it an afterimage.

"Tsk..."

His gaze dimmed, his excitement doused in an instant.

As expected, recovery wasn't that easy. Besides, it had only been a few days. He'd been so overwhelmed by the surprise that he hadn't thought it through and had assumed Electrolux had recovered.

Now that he'd calmed down, he could see how impossible that was.

But why had Teacher left an afterimage here? Had he anticipated that he might not be around? Was there something he wanted to tell him?

"Lan Qing, while I was casting the seal earlier, I vaguely sensed that a remnant soul was hidden within this power.

"But the power was far too frenzied and violent at the time, and the remnant soul seemed to have lost consciousness, with only its killing instinct remaining. So I could only seal it first.

"After the seal was in place, the remnant soul fell silent as well. I could sense that even without its consciousness, it was still doing its best to suppress itself rather than deliberately lashing out. That was why I was able to seal it so easily.

"So I suspect that it had an unfulfilled wish and was unwilling to let go. That wish became an obsession, and a fragment of its soul attached itself to it.

"To be safe, I left this afterimage on the seal, in case I wasn't around later and you needed a way out.

"If the remnant soul shows any signs of stirring, this afterimage will be triggered.

"I left a Purification Fire in the afterimage. It can let you approach the remnant soul and restore its consciousness for a short time.

"This is as far as I can help you. What happens next will depend on your own fortune.

"Only those who have endured the torment of hell possess the strength to conquer heaven..."

Electrolux spoke in a voice utterly devoid of emotion. When he finished, his afterimage faded away, leaving only a palm-sized white flame that drifted toward Xu Lanqing's hand.

Xu Lanqing lowered his gaze to the white flame in his palm, its aura sacred and pure, and did his best to analyze the situation rationally.

After hearing Electrolux's explanation and combining it with his memories from his previous life, he had pieced everything together.

He looked up at the Golden Dragon King's God Core.

The remnant soul inside it was undoubtedly the Golden Dragon King.

He took a deep breath. His eyes were filled with determination, and his steps held no hesitation or uncertainty.

One step, then another...

In the past, he might have hesitated, wavered, or been afraid, because this was a deadly risk.

But after everything he'd been through, he understood that only by possessing great power could he take control of his own fate and do what he wanted, instead of living every day in fear of death that might come at any moment.

He raised his hand and, without the slightest hesitation, slapped the Purification Fire onto the breach in the seal.

"Whoosh—"

The flame surged, swallowing Xu Lanqing and the Golden Dragon King's God Core in an instant.

The frenzied God Core fell into an extraordinary stillness at that very moment. The power that had been leaking out abruptly stopped, and even the power that had already escaped began deliberately flowing back inside.

Only the roar of the blazing flames remained within the Sea of Consciousness.

In a separate space, a figure knelt on one knee. Before her lay a boy with a peaceful expression.

One of the figure's hands rested on the boy's chest. With the other, she directed the last of her vast Soul Power into an ice-blue crystal.

"Hm?"

The figure paused. She suddenly sensed that the Golden Dragon King's divine power inside the boy had withdrawn of its own accord.

That was fine, though. It saved her the effort of sealing it herself at the last moment.

And she had finished guiding the Soul Power as well.

She lifted her hand and withdrew her own power. The boy's body gradually returned to normal.