As Long as You're Happy

Di Tian's figure disappeared into the spatial rift, and the black rift closed without making a sound.

The heavy pressure that had been weighing on everyone's hearts dissipated, and Tang Wulin stood up, supporting himself on the ground, as gravel fell from his kneecaps.

Xie Xie gasped for breath, and the Light Dragon Dagger transformed into rays of light that scattered in all directions.

Yuanen Yehui loosened her fist, and two drops of blood dripped from her palm between her fingers before stopping.

Xu Xiaoyan wiped her face with her sleeve.

No one spoke.

It wasn't because I didn't know what to say, but because the conversation we just had was so heavy, so heavy that anyone speaking would feel like an intrusion.

Yun Jingheng stood there, looking in the direction where Di Tian had disappeared.

Then he turned around.

Gu Yuena stood a few steps away. Yun Jingheng's Martial Soul Avatar was still active, and the moonlight shone from behind her, casting a long shadow.

She looked at Yun Jingheng, her pupils still shimmering with the lingering ripples of the earlier turmoil.

Yun Jingheng had known her for so long that he could tell that the very faint teeth marks on her lips weren't from pursing her lips, but from clenching her teeth.

"Gu Yue..."

"Mmm," Gu Yuena responded softly.

"Actually, we can rely on bloodline resonance to extract the Golden Dragon King's bloodline. You know that the Silver Dragon King share the same origin. As long as Wulin is willing, it will be very easy."

Gu Yuena remained silent.

He didn't wait for a response, "Di Tian's loyalty... is admirable."

Silver particles of light began to dissipate from the edges of Yun Jingheng's soul, like moonlight shattered by the wind, drifting outwards piece by piece.

Faster and more than before.

He didn't look down, but his body was no longer under his control. The outline of his soul was trembling slightly, and with each tremor, more particles of light were peeled away from his shoulders, cuffs, and the edges of his clothes by an invisible force.

"Jing Heng--!" Yuanen Yehui the first to notice something was wrong.

Yun Jingheng looked down at his hands.

His fingertips were turning transparent, and moonlight passed through his palms, illuminating the ground, leaving only a fainter and fainter outline.

He knew what this meant; the time limit given by the Lunar Primordial Sovereign was almost up.

The price for his forced stay began to be levied on him.

He didn't panic; he simply lowered his hand and smiled at Yuanen Yehui.

The smile was faint, much less pronounced than his usual smug raised eyebrows, but much more relaxed than when he was speaking to Di Tian earlier.

He's already said the hardest things; there's no need for him to do anything else.

"Don't be nervous, it's not like you're going to die. You're just going back to continue the exam."

The beam of light shone again from the Moonlight Mark on Ye Xinglan's neck. This time, it was no longer a soft silver, but an extremely bright, almost blinding white.

The edges of the pillar of light began to converge toward the center, and with each inch it converged, Yun Jingheng's soul was pulled back a fraction of an inch.

He felt a force emanating from the altar pulling at him, an extremely strong and intense suction, as if it were uprooting him from this world.

He looked at Gu Yuena.

She stood still, her lips moved slightly, but no sound came out.

But Yun Jingheng saw the lip movements.

"Sorry."

Yun Jingheng was taken aback.

Then he shook his head slightly, as if to say "no need".

"Gu Yue," his voice was already being drowned out by the hum of the pillar of light, but every word was still clear, "You came here for the revival of Soul Beast, but revival is not about creating new hatred. You have already embarked on this path. We will accompany you to the end."

He turned to Tang Wulin.

"Wulin, I've already presented the plan. You guys... discuss it yourselves?"

Tang Wulin wanted to say something.

His lips parted, but his throat seemed to be blocked by something.

In the end, he could only nod, nod hard and forcefully.

The beam of light contracted to its final stage.

Yun Jingheng's soul began to dissipate rapidly, from his limbs to his torso, and from his torso to his chest, the light particles flying towards the sky like rain flowing backward.

He glanced one last time in Ye Xinglan's direction. She had already taken a step forward, her knuckles white from the effort, as if she wanted to rush over, but she didn't.

"Let me know in advance next time you come."

She said it in a very gentle voice.

"Okay, I'll let you know in advance next time."

Yun Jingheng smiled, a smile that finally resembled his usual demeanor.

The beam of light suddenly receded.

His soul shattered into countless streaks of silver light in that instant, each streak trailing an extremely thin arc across the sky above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, before converging in the same direction—the direction of Shrek.

The Full Moon in the sky disappeared, and sunlight poured down from the top of the barrier again, illuminating every corner of the valley.

The dewdrops on the Immortal Herb still refracted seven-colored light, the spring water still steamed with a mixture of hot and cold mist, and the cracks on the rock wall were still there, as if everything just now was not a dream.

"Whoosh--! Haha----"

"Son of Nature! Are you... alright?" Aromatic Silk Beauty's voice rang out.

"It's nothing," Tang Wulin shook his head.

"Wulin--! Wulin--!" A panicked voice rang out.

Zang Xin descended from the sky, shattering several pieces of rock that had been cracked by Di Tian when he landed, almost losing his footing.

His hair ornament was crooked, and his robes were still covered with the colored powder from the outer edge of the poisonous miasma. He looked so disheveled that he didn't resemble the deputy hall master of the Tang Sect's Douluo Hall.

"Chovy! What happened here? That wasn't the moon! How come I'm stuck here and can't move?!"

As he spoke, he rushed over, his eyes scanning the six people twice to make sure no one was missing an arm or a leg. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. "How are you? Are you all alright?"

"How are you? Are you hurt?"

Tang Wulin faced Zang Xin.

He took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Vice Hall Master, a strange creature claiming to be the Abyss Monarch suddenly appeared. He tried to plunder the Immortal Herb of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and even attacked us."

Gu Yuena looked up at Tang Wulin, but Ye Xinglan stepped forward and blocked her way, Xu Xiaoyan quietly took her hand.

Tang Wulin's tone was calm, as if he were stating a fact that had actually happened. "At the critical moment, the backup plan that Jing Heng left on Ye Xinglan was triggered. His soul Cross-Space Descent and repelled that Abyss Monarch."

Zang Xin's expression changed the moment he heard the words "Abyss Monarch".

It was an extremely rapid shift from astonishment to cold indignation; the panic in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a razor-sharp chill.

"The Abyss Monarch?"

His voice was very low, "Are you sure it's something from the Abyss Plane?"

"He calls himself the Abyss Monarch," Tang Wulin didn't answer directly, but his gaze didn't waver.

"The power is bizarre; I've never seen an attack like that before. His goal is clear—to steal the immortal Immortal Herb and kill us."

Zang Xin fell silent.

His brows furrowed deeply, and something more complex than anger surged in his eyes—a fear etched into the bones of someone who had experienced the war in the Abyss Plane.

"The Abyss Plane... how dare they extend their reach here?"

His voice was as cold as ice, "We've been monitoring the anomalies in the Abyss for the past few years, but we never imagined they'd be able to bypass the Far North and directly infiltrate the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

"If it truly is an existence at the level of Abyss Monarch, then this matter is beyond the capacity of you children to handle. I will report to the Sect Master immediately upon returning; the Tang Sect must strengthen the defenses of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well."

He raised his head and looked at Ye Xinglan.

"What backup plan did Yun boy leave behind? Did he pre-position trigger-based Soul Skill on you?"

Ye Xinglan was silent for a moment.

"It's the Moonlight Mark," she said, her voice as steady as ever. "He left it a long time ago, and I only found out today."

Zang Xin nodded, without asking for further details.

He was the deputy hall master of the Tang Sect's Douluo Hall and had seen far too many Soul Master leave themselves a backup plan for those they cared about.

This kind of mark can usually only be triggered once, and it's gone after that. Yun Jingheng can turn a one-time mark into a channel for Cross-Space Descent, which is no longer within the scope of ordinary Soul Skill.

He guessed that the kid was hiding a lot of secrets, but since the other party was unwilling to talk about them, he wouldn't pry into it in this situation.

"It's that kid again. It was him in Eastsea City last time, and it's him again this time—I'll have to thank him properly later."

Zang Xin shook his head, his tone tinged with emotion, then his expression hardened again. "Did he say anything? About the origins of that Abyss Monarch? Did he leave any clues?"

"He didn't have time to say much."

Xie Xie got up from the ground, brushed the gravel off his pants, and his tone returned to its usual nonchalant manner.

"After being repelled by a single palm strike, that Abyss Monarch fled. Jing Heng also exhausted his backup plans and was forcibly recalled by the mark. Before he left, he told us to be careful, Abyss Plane might still have some actions to take."

Tang Wulin glanced at Xie Xie.

Xie Xie glanced back at him without changing his expression, his eyes clearly saying, "Don't worry, I'll cooperate. Lying is something I'm best at."

The petals of the Aromatic Silk Beauty next to it trembled slightly.

As the king of Immortal Herb that had lived for countless millennia, he could naturally tell that these young people were lying.

What Abyss Monarch? What strange creature? That Golden-Eyed Black Dragon just now didn't have even the slightest trace of the Abyss Plane's aura.

That was clearly Beast God Di Tian of the Star Dou Great Forest, the second-in-command of the Soul Beast faction, and the Silver Dragon King's most loyal subject.

They even saw the Silver Dragon King himself, standing right behind the boy named Tang Wulin.

But they didn't expose it.

He's not asking for trouble. There are two people here he can't afford to offend, not to mention that he just had one of those people forcibly dragged away.

He glanced at Tang Wulin, his petals slightly closing, then turned to Zang Xin, his tone returning to its usual composed and dignified manner.

"Indeed. That being who calls himself the Abyss Monarch arrived extremely suddenly, his aura is strange, and he is unlike any Soul Beast we know."

"If that mark hadn't been triggered in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable. What Tang Wulin said is consistent with what I saw with my own eyes."

When he finished speaking, all the Immortal Herb in the valley swayed gently.

Not a single Immortal Herb raised any objection. Since even the Son of Nature has spoken, let it be so.

As long as the adults are happy.