Ning Yunche slowly closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions.
When he opened them again, he had already regained his composure.
"Your Excellency, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is willing to pay any price in exchange for this immortal herb. Name your terms."
Mu En smiled faintly and no longer beat around the bush. "Two conditions."
"First, I want that ownerless soul bone your sect has safeguarded for thousands of years."
"Second, from this day forward, in all matters concerning the Sun Moon Empire, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect must stand with Shrek Academy."
The moment those words fell, Ning Yunche's expression changed drastically.
Xia Ming, standing nearby, was deeply puzzled.
Xia Ming keenly caught the flash of struggle in the sect master's eyes.
What kind of soul bone could make Mu En, a Limit Douluo, value it so highly that he would trade an immortal herb for it?
And what kind of soul bone could make the master of the immensely wealthy Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, with its foundation of ten thousand years, reveal such an expression?
"Could it be a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone?" Xia Ming secretly guessed.
"It seems you are rather confused." Mu En turned his head toward Xia Ming, his voice still gentle.
"The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect possesses a head soul bone that has been passed down for more than five thousand years.
Its absorption requirements are extraordinarily harsh, and to this day, no one has been able to fuse with it.
This bone is far too precious. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has tightly sealed all information about it throughout the generations, not daring to leak even the slightest detail.
Otherwise, even with a Title Douluo guarding their sect, they might not have been able to keep such a treasure."
Xia Ming's pupils narrowed slightly. "A soul bone that even the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect cannot protect? What level could it possibly be?"
Mu En's gaze was profound as he slowly said,
"I can tell you about this, but you must never spread it.
Otherwise, even with Shrek's protection, it would be difficult to stop Soul Masters across the world from taking desperate risks."
Hearing this, Xia Ming solemnly nodded, indicating that he would absolutely not tell anyone.
"Good." Mu En lowered his voice and told Xia Ming,
"It is a head soul bone from a five-hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast, and it belonged to the Mermaid Clan."
A five-hundred-thousand-year Mermaid Skull Bone!
Xia Ming sucked in a sharp breath.
A five-hundred-thousand-year sea soul beast was enough to rival a human Limit Douluo in the ocean!
Not to mention that it came from the Mermaid Clan, a race of naturally spiritual-type soul beasts. The value of this skull bone was simply impossible to estimate.
"Could it be... the Sea Princess's husband?" This terrifying thought flashed through Xia Ming's mind.
If that were true, then the couple would both be at the Limit Douluo level, perhaps not even weaker than the Evil Emperor.
If they joined forces, even if all the strongest experts of the present era gathered together, they might not gain any advantage.
Of course, it would be another matter if Mu En and Long Xiaoyao could still use their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
"It was not obtained by killing him." Seeing Xia Ming's shock and doubt, Mu En explained,
"About five thousand years ago, a Sea God Pavilion master from Shrek and the guardian Douluo of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect at the time
happened upon that mermaid failing its six-hundred-thousand-year heavenly tribulation. Only this bone remained, floating upon the sea.
It took the combined efforts of those two predecessors to bring it back."
So that was it. It had been purely a coincidence.
Xia Ming's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.
A five-hundred-thousand-year head soul bone produced by a spiritual-type soul beast.
Its value was likely more than ten times that of an ordinary Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!
It could even be said that all of Mu En's soul bones combined were probably worth far less than this skull bone.
"No wonder it was worth an immortal herb." Xia Ming suddenly understood.
Compared with this skull bone, the promise Mu En wanted could even be considered nothing more than an added bonus.
And such a precious soul bone had actually already been designated for him?
Xia Ming felt somewhat moved, though also slightly worried.
He knew his own weakness very well: spiritual power.
Compared to his strength and defense, which far exceeded his rank, his spiritual power was only somewhat stronger than that of Soul Masters at the same level.
But compared to Huo Yuhao from the original story, let alone ordinary spiritual-type Soul Masters, he fell far short.
Clearly, this skull bone was also meant to help him make up for that weakness.
However, if his spiritual power was insufficient, how could he absorb this skull bone?
After all, this soul bone's absorption requirements were clearly not low.
Otherwise, it would not have remained in the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect for thousands of years without anyone being able to absorb it.
Still, since Mu En had obtained such a soul bone for him, he should have a way for him to absorb it, right?
He looked at Mu En, his eyes filled with inquiry.
As if sensing it, Mu En gave him a slight nod, his gaze conveying a certainty that needed no words.
Xia Ming relaxed and turned to look at Ning Yunche.
At this moment, after the initial shock had passed, the sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect actually wore an expression of almost ecstatic excitement.
He barely hesitated before stepping forward, his voice trembling slightly from excessive excitement.
"Deal! The skull bone is in the sect's secret treasury. Your Excellency may retrieve it whenever you wish!
"As for the promise to stand alongside Shrek, my Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect agrees to it. We would not shrink back even unto death!"
His demeanor made it seem nothing like he was being asked to surrender a priceless treasure.
Instead, it was as though he had cast off a scorching burden he had carried for a thousand years and unexpectedly obtained the key to the sect's revival.
"Decisive." Mu En rose to his feet, a sharp glint passing through his aged eyes. "Time is of the essence. We will retrieve the bone now."
He looked at Xia Ming. "You will come as well."
"Yes."
Just as the group prepared to leave, Mu En stopped them.
"Wait."
The next moment, everyone present—including Xia Ming, Zhang Lexuan, Ning Yunche, and Wu Long—felt the scene before their eyes suddenly blur.
Before they could sense even the slightest spatial fluctuation or movement of Soul Power, they had vanished from the hotel's top floor and appeared out of thin air before a towering mountain gate shrouded in clouds and mist.
"This is the sect gate!" Wu Long cried out.
Even with the composure of a Title Douluo, he found it difficult to suppress the shock rising from the depths of his soul.
The others were likewise shaken, but only he understood how astonishing this truly was!
Carrying others across such an immense distance in an instant was something that even Title Douluo specializing in space could not accomplish.
Much less the Dragon God before him, whose Martial Soul and renowned abilities had nothing whatsoever to do with space.
Was this what a Limit Douluo was like? Compared to ordinary Title Douluo like them, the difference truly was that between heaven and earth.
Ning Yunche was the first to recover.
"Your Excellency, please come in."
The two Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect disciples standing guard before the mountain gate saw a flicker of light and shadow, and several figures suddenly appeared before them.
One of them immediately grew alert and sternly demanded, "Who goes there?"
"It's me."
Ning Yunche stepped forward and revealed his face.
"The sect master has returned!" The two disciples were startled and immediately bowed to him.
"No need for formalities." Ning Yunche waved a hand, then turned sideways and gestured for Mu En to proceed. "Your Excellency, this way."
With the sect master and the sect's guardian Douluo personally leading the way, there were naturally no further inspections along the route.
The group traveled through the sect, passing layer after layer of halls before finally stopping before an utterly unremarkable stone wall. Behind it lay the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's most precious treasury.
The guardian of this treasury was the remaining Title Douluo of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. He was already over a hundred years old, not even much younger than the sect's Super Douluo.
At that moment, he looked like an old man on the verge of death, even older than Mu En, who had regained his vigor.
"Sect Master."
Seeing Ning Yunche arrive, he nodded slightly and looked at him with a hint of inquiry, waiting until Ning Yunche nodded in return.
Then, he turned toward Mu En and solemnly said,
"Greetings, Dragon God. I will open the treasury at once."
Ning Yunche led the group into the treasury. As they walked toward its deepest reaches, he said,
"These are the most precious treasures accumulated by my Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect over ten thousand years. If Your Excellency desires anything else, please feel free to take it.
"To the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the value of one Aromatic Silk Beauty exceeds that of everything in this treasury combined."
He then turned to Xia Ming and Zhang Lexuan, saying gently, "The same goes for you two. You may take anything you fancy."
The two naturally shook their heads, while Mu En merely smiled. "There is no need for that. Shrek Academy has been passed down for ten thousand years, so we still possess some foundation."
Ning Yunche nodded, yet there was actually a faint trace of regret in his eyes.
He genuinely wanted to befriend Xia Ming and Zhang Lexuan!
As the sect master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, he could tell at a glance how much Mu En valued the two of them.
Although he did not yet know their exact talents, these two before him were undoubtedly geniuses whom Shrek Academy valued immensely.
For the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, building ties with geniuses had long become a habit.
The group soon reached the deepest part of the treasury. This was a stone chamber only about thirty feet square, its walls smooth as mirrors and its floor spotless.
There was nothing else in the room, save for a three-foot-high square platform at its center.
Atop the platform was not a brocade box or crystal case, but a bone floating in midair.
It was a crystal-clear skull bone, as though carved from the finest purple crystal.
Merely gazing at it from afar made Xia Ming feel as though his consciousness had been cast into a deep, tranquil ocean, while a gentle yet boundless pressure silently crept into his heart.
"This is that soul bone."
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