The First Layer of Betrothal Gifts: Primordial Spirit Pearl

For three days and three nights, that scroll of the Purple Gold Marriage Contract hung above Martial Soul City, neither rising nor falling, neither dimming nor brightening, suspended there as quietly as if it had been nailed into the sky.

The entire Martial Soul City was fixated on its every change.

In teahouses, taverns, and military camps, everyone was discussing the same thing.

Some claimed the Celestial Master was an ancient monster from ten thousand years ago, others insisted he was an immortal descended from the God Realm, and some even swore on their lives that their ancestors had once seen a Taoist from Taixu Temple.

Hu Liena went nowhere.

For three days, she had locked herself in her bedchamber, trying a hundred different ways to erase the Demon Fox mark on her forehead.

Soul power shocks, medicinal baths, and even having Xie Yue bring over the secret curse-breaking techniques treasured by Martial Soul Hall—none of it worked.

That pale purple Nine-Tailed Fox Seal rested firmly on her forehead, warm and pulsing as if it had a heartbeat of its own.

On the fourth day, at dawn.

Hu Liena was jolted awake by a searing heat.

The fox mark on her forehead suddenly turned scorching, the intense heat spreading through her meridians to every limb and bone. Her internal Demon Fox martial soul released uncontrollably, and six soul rings lit up in unison.

"What is happening—"

She sat up, but before she could steady her mind, a blinding purple-gold light erupted outside her window.

The entire Martial Soul City was illuminated as bright as day.

By the time Hu Liena rushed out of her bedchamber, Bibi Dong and Xie Yue were already standing on the plaza in front of the Pope Palace.

They were not alone; Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo, over a dozen elders, and thousands of soul masters stationed in Martial Soul City were all looking up, staring fixedly at the sky.

The Purple Gold Marriage Contract, which had been silent for three days, was now radiating light ten times more intense than before!

Purple-gold divine light poured down from the marriage contract, enveloping the entire Martial Soul City.

At the same time, clear, crisp fox cries echoed from the eastern horizon—the sound pierced through the clouds, through the city walls, and through everyone's eardrums, reaching deep into their very souls.

"It has arrived."

Bibi Dong spat out the two words, her Rakshasa God power instinctively beginning to circulate.

No sooner had she spoken.

On the eastern horizon, a brilliant purple light tore through the sky, shooting toward Martial Soul City at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to track.

It was too fast.

From its appearance to its arrival above the Pope Palace, not even a single breath of time had passed.

The purple light suddenly halted and dissipated.

Everyone's breathing hitched.

A bead.

Perfectly round, about the size of a pigeon's egg, it was so crystal clear that it did not look like an object of the mortal world.

Something was slowly flowing inside the bead—not liquid, not light, but a miniature galaxy.

Countless tiny specks of light drifted, intertwined, and flickered within the bead, emitting a soft and sacred white glow.

The moment the bead hung suspended, that grand and solemn Sanskrit chant echoed through the world once more.

It was the exact same voice as three days ago, crossing time and space to fall clearly into everyone's ears:

"The first layer of the Celestial Master's betrothal gifts—the Hunyuan Spirit Bead!"

"Awaken the Green Hill bloodline, purify the erosion of evil spirits, reshape the foundation of the martial soul, and nourish the origin of the divine soul!"

The plaza fell into a deathly silence for three full seconds.

Then, it exploded.

"Awaken the bloodline?!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan stood bolt upright, the wrinkles on his aged face trembling.

"Purify evil spirits... reshape the foundation..."

Ghost Douluo muttered these words repeatedly, his usually gloomy face showing a look of uncharacteristic loss of composure for the first time.

Any one of these effects, taken individually, was a heaven-defying ability capable of driving the entire continent into a frenzy.

Awakening the bloodline meant the ability to activate dormant ancient lineages, causing a qualitative change in a martial soul.

Purifying evil spirits—how many soul masters had been trapped for life, driven to madness after absorbing an evil soul ring?

Reshaping the foundation—soul masters with flawed foundations were locked beneath a bottleneck for their entire lives; with this item, it was equivalent to a second chance at life.

Nourishing the divine soul—that went without saying; the strength of the divine soul directly determined a soul master's upper limit.

Four effects, each one worth a king's ransom.

And this was only the first layer.

The first of eighteen layers of betrothal gifts.

"Insane..."

A young spirit master murmured, his legs turning to jelly:

"Who on earth is this person? To casually bring out something like this as a betrothal gift?"

No one could answer him.

Because everyone present was thinking the same question—

If there were seventeen more layers to follow, and each one was even more precious than this, what kind of terrifying foundation did that man named Shen Yichen possess?

Bibi Dong stood motionless where she was.

Her gaze was locked onto the floating Primordial Spirit Pearl, the power of the Rakshasa God churning endlessly within her.

Purifying the erosion of evil spirits—these five words struck her deepest pain point.

The evil power of the Rakshasa martial soul had been eroding her for decades.

Every time she used the power of the Rakshasa God, that cold, corrosive force sank a layer deeper.

She had used countless methods to suppress it, but they only treated the symptoms, not the root cause.

And this Primordial Spirit Pearl could purify evil spirits.

Her fingertips trembled slightly, but she forced them still.

It was not for her.

It was for Hu Liena.

Hu Liena stood three paces behind Bibi Dong, her entire body frozen.

Her Demon Fox martial soul was churning frantically within her, her six spirit rings flickering uncontrollably, and the Fox Seal on her forehead felt hot enough to burn through her skin.

The feeling was not pain, but... joy.

Pure, instinctive joy originating from the source of her bloodline.

The Demon Fox martial soul was cheering in her mental world, its nine tails swaying wildly, prostrating and kowtowing toward the Primordial Spirit Pearl while emitting urgent whimpers.

It was the excitement of a wanderer seeing their homeland.

Hu Liena's heart skipped a beat.

For three days, she had been telling herself that this Shen Yichen was just a lunatic of unknown origin, trying to seal her life with a marriage contract—it was utterly absurd.

But now...

Every function of the Primordial Spirit Pearl corresponded precisely to the needs of her Demon Fox martial soul.

Awakening the Green Hill bloodline—the Fox Seal on her forehead was the proof of that very bloodline.

Purifying evil spirits—the Demon Fox martial soul was inherently susceptible to such corruption.

Reshaping the foundation—although her martial soul foundation was not poor, it was far from reaching its limit.

This was not something pulled out at random.

This was prepared specifically for her.

How could someone she had never met understand her martial soul so thoroughly?

The first crack appeared in Hu Liena's mental defenses.

Just then, the Primordial Spirit Pearl moved.

It began to rotate slowly, the galaxy within it accelerating, the white light becoming softer and warmer.

Then, it transformed into a gentle arc of light, drifting toward Hu Liena.

Neither hurried nor slow, neither arrogant nor servile.

Finally, it hovered steadily three inches in front of her.

The warm white light spilled onto her face, dispelling the morning chill.

The Primordial Spirit Pearl floated there quietly, radiating an intimate and docile aura.

It was not coercion.

It was waiting.

Waiting for her to reach out and touch it.