Crisis

The two dragons exchanged a glance, a look of resolve flashing in their eyes simultaneously, causing the surrounding spiritual fluctuations to stagnate.

Without the slightest hesitation, that simple look was enough for them to understand each other's intentions.

Immediately, they rushed toward the spiritual sea of Ye Guchen in unison, trailing two streaks of light invisible to the naked eye.

At this moment, Ye Guchen was buried deep within the pit. Fearing he might damage the immortal herb Earth Dragon Golden Melon, he had used his soul power to clear away most of the soil before resorting to the most primitive method for the final excavation.

He gripped the iron pickaxe with both hands, sweat dripping from his chin, while chatting unhurriedly with Tian Meng about how to unearth the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow beneath the spring water.

He had no inkling of the approaching danger; before he could even react, the two dragon souls had already dived into his spiritual sea.

The entire process was completed in an instant, without the slightest fluctuation of soul power, leaving even Tian Meng caught off guard.

"This!"

As soon as the two dragon souls entered, their forms jolted, and they drew a sharp breath in unison.

They saw that Ye Guchen's spiritual sea was vast beyond measure, resembling a real ocean with shimmering waves and vapor rising from the condensed spiritual power.

The Fire Dragon King scanned this spiritual sea in shock, its voice filled with disbelief:

"Although the quality of this spiritual power is only at the level of a Soul Emperor, in terms of sheer quantity alone! It is already comparable to a hundred-thousand-year spiritual-type soul beast!"

At this moment, Ye Guchen finally sensed that something was wrong. A sudden, tearing pain erupted from the depths of his mind, causing his breath to hitch.

"Not good!"

His digging motion stiffened, the iron pickaxe slipped from his hands and clattered against the stones, and he quickly shifted his consciousness into his spiritual sea.

The two dragon souls felt Ye Guchen's arrival in the spiritual sea simultaneously, and the willpower unique to him condensed instantly upon the surface of the sea.

"Damn it! He's discovered us. We must finish this quickly to avoid any further complications!"

Just as Ye Guchen's spiritual projection began to take shape, the Fire Dragon King swung its dragon claw violently, unleashing a scorching flame that incinerated the newly formed projection.

The Ice Dragon King whipped its tail, sending ripples of extreme cold spreading outward. The entire spiritual sea froze instantly, emitting a teeth-gritting, cracking sound.

Pain—a piercing, agonizing pain struck him, as if his soul were being crushed inch by inch. This pain far exceeded any physical agony he had ever endured before.

Yet, even now, Ye Guchen still did not understand what was happening. As the spiritual sea froze, his thoughts began to slow, as if it were not just the sea that had been frozen, but his very mind.

In the face of such absolute power, all resistance was ultimately in vain.

Fortunately, the spiritual sea of his Dou II body remained independent; otherwise, Ye Guchen would likely have fallen into an unconscious state by now.

Ye Guchen's voice echoed within the spiritual sea of his Dou I body, weak yet steady.

"Who are you? Why have you come here!"

His voice was calm, devoid of the panic of a dying man. On the frozen surface of the spiritual sea, his tone seemed capable of stirring ripples nonetheless.

The two dragon souls froze in unison. A flash of horror crossed the Ice Dragon King's eyes as it exchanged a subconscious glance with the Fire Dragon King.

"How can someone still be conscious after their spiritual sea has been frozen!"

However, this only served to strengthen the Ice and Fire Dragon King's murderous intent. They no longer hesitated, their dragon pupils gleaming with lethal intent.

"Shatter his soul first! We can search his memories later to find out the truth."

As soon as the words fell, the two dragon souls launched an attack on Ye Guchen's spiritual sea. The intertwined power of ice and fire surged like a tide, an attack that not only ravaged the spiritual sea but struck directly at the origin of his soul.

Throughout the spiritual world, ice shards and raging flames ran wild, tearing through every inch of space.

Since both souls shared a single consciousness, the pain of the Dou I body's soul being torn apart swept through his singular mind.

The agony was like thousands of steel needles piercing him all at once.

Meanwhile, in the secret chamber of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, candlelight flickered. Ye Guchen had just been resting quietly on Ma Xiaotao's soft lap, a faint smile on her lips as her fingers unconsciously massaged his temples.

But suddenly, the veins on the forehead of his Dou II timeline body bulged, and he began to tremble, his teeth grinding together.

"What's wrong!?"

This sudden turn of events left Ma Xiaotao at a loss. She looked down abruptly, her smile freezing on her face.

But this pain was far greater than any death he had experienced before.

Although Ye Guchen did not worry about dying, this pain flooded his consciousness in real, relentless waves.

At this moment, because his spiritual sea was frozen, he could not even trigger a self-detonation in his Dou I body.

Because his spiritual sea was frozen, Ye Guchen, having lost control of his Dou I body, could not even let out a scream.

Only his Dou II body gritted its teeth to endure, cold sweat instantly soaking his clothes, his face pale as paper.

But after only a moment, Ye Guchen's consciousness began to blur from the unbearable pain; his eyelids drooped heavily, and he gradually slipped into a coma.

The Ice and Fire Dragon King's attack did not stop just because Ye Guchen had fallen unconscious.

They continued to wreak havoc in his spiritual sea, their dragon claws flailing as they sought to drag out every bit of Ye Guchen's soul origin and crush it entirely.

Shattered spiritual fragments splattered everywhere like glass.

Everything had happened too suddenly. Even Tian Meng, who had been full of excitement upon discovering the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, only reacted after Ye Guchen collapsed into the pit, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Its plump body shuddered violently, and it let out an anxious hiss.

But with the spiritual sea frozen by the Ice Dragon King, it could not even retreat to defend, and could only writhe in place to no avail.

The entire process occurred within his spiritual sea without a single shred of soul power leaking out. Even Dugu Bo, who was sitting cross-legged recovering his soul power a hundred meters away from Ye Guchen, merely felt a gentle breeze brush past and noticed nothing at all.

Shortly after Ye Guchen fell unconscious, that strange bead began to vibrate slowly, a faint halo of light flowing across its surface.

A peculiar radiance instantly sealed off the spiritual sea, spreading out like water ripples—gentle, yet impossible to resist.

Simultaneously, a tangible force of suppression swept through the entire spiritual sea, instantly freezing the Ice and Fire Dragon King in mid-air, like an insect trapped in amber.

The Ice and Fire Dragon King remained in its state of frenzied destruction, claws raised high and dragon maws agape. Though filled with disbelief, it found itself utterly unable to act.

Both dragon souls were now filled with terror—not because they feared the dissipation of their final remnants of consciousness, but out of deep despair for the future of soul beasts reflected in their dragon eyes.

"What kind of existence have we provoked?"

Before the two dragon souls could even repent, that power of erasure emerged once more. It wrapped silently around their soul bodies, and to the shock of the Ice and Fire Dragon King, began to erase their remaining consciousness bit by bit.

There was no room for negotiation; the very nature of an unforeseen event is its unpredictability.

The two dragon souls felt their memories receding like a tide, countless images blurring and drifting away. They tried desperately to circulate their soul power to stop the dissipation of their memories, but it was ultimately a futile struggle.

Left with nothing but resentment, their dragon forms gradually turned transparent, eventually transforming into two purely unconscious dragon souls that floated quietly within Ye Guchen's spiritual sea. At the same time, two points of light drifted out from the bead martial soul, tracing two elegant arcs before sinking into the centers of the dragon souls' brows, leaving behind a faint mark.

It must be said that the two dragon souls had been decisive in their actions, avoiding the villainous mistake of dying from talking too much. Had it been anyone else, they might have been dead beyond saving.

Yet, they never could have anticipated that hidden within Ye Guchen's soul was such a strange bead.

Although the crisis was resolved in this muddled fashion, Ye Guchen showed no signs of waking up.

He lay there quietly, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible.

In the Dou I timeline, his body remained sprawled in the pit, dappled sunlight falling upon his pale face.

The body in the Dou II timeline, however, was a bit more fortunate.

After Ye Guchen lost consciousness, Ma Xiaotao wiped away her panicked expression, took a deep breath to steady her mind, and reached out to gently pat his cheek.

"Hey, it's only been two hours today. Even if you couldn't win, you shouldn't have passed out. Besides, could you at least try to make it look real? Who faints after only a dozen seconds?"

But Ye Guchen kept his eyes tightly shut, his eyelashes not even trembling once.

After two or three minutes passed and Ye Guchen still showed no movement, with only the sound of her own rapid breathing filling the room, Ma Xiaotao realized this wasn't one of Ye Guchen's pranks. A sense of panic began to grow, spreading from her heart to her limbs.

She scooped up Ye Guchen's body and shook him, her voice now laced with a tremor:

"Hey, wake up! Don't scare me like this!"

But Ye Guchen remained motionless, his head lolling limply to one side.

Panic instantly swallowed her whole, and Ma Xiaotao's eyes turned red in an instant.

She scrambled to her feet, fumbling to dress Ye Guchen with trembling fingers.

"No way! Did I use too much strength today?"

Caught in a cycle of doubt, Ma Xiaotao gritted her teeth, scooped Ye Guchen up, and hurried through the corridor to a guest room in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

The room was elegantly furnished with curling incense smoke. Jiang Nannan happened to be in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, leaning against the window reading a ledger; she looked up only when she heard the commotion Ma Xiaotao made.

Ma Xiaotao carefully handed Ye Guchen over to her care, giving a few instructions in a rapid-fire tone.

She then turned into a streak of fire and rushed out the door, heading quickly toward the Shrek inner courtyard to find Elder Zhuang.

In the Dou I timeline, the sunset glow dyed the earth gold.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm guarded Ye Guchen anxiously, its plump, snow-white body curled into a ball. It would occasionally nuzzle Ye Guchen's body, emitting low whimpers.

"Boss! You can't be hurt! Wuwuwu!"

It wanted to ask the two humans nearby for help, and its round eyes glanced at Dugu Bo sitting in the distance, but Tian Meng ultimately couldn't trust humans. It had no choice but to turn back and inject its spiritual power into Ye Guchen's body, the pale golden light stroking him over and over in an attempt to wake him.

But it was all in vain. This time, Ye Guchen's spiritual sea had been completely sealed by that strange bead; not a single shred of external spiritual power could penetrate it, and everything was deflected.

Time slipped away slowly, and the sky gradually darkened.

Half an hour later, Dugu Yan, who had been keeping an eye on Dugu Bo, scanned her surroundings. The forest was quiet, and not seeing Ye Guchen, she looked into the distance and spotted a pit with a pile of freshly turned soil, which looked quite abrupt near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"What is he doing?"

Driven by curiosity, Dugu Yan crept toward the pit, her skirt rustling against the grass as she moved on tiptoe.

But the moment she peeked over, her pupils shrank—she saw that Ye Guchen had already fainted, lying pale beside the dirt pile. Beside him, a ridiculously large white worm was sneakily nudging his body.

"Ah!"

The sight terrified her, and she let out a sharp cry, stumbling back two steps.

"Grandfather! Ye Guchen has been... been knocked out by a worm!"

Hearing his granddaughter's scream, Dugu Bo snapped out of his meditation, his eyes flying open as emerald soul power surged.

With a flicker, he appeared before Dugu Yan like a ghost, bringing with him the scent of grass and trees.

"What is it, Yanyan?"

Seeing her grandfather arrive, Dugu Yan regained some composure. She gripped his sleeve tightly and pointed toward the pit, her voice still trembling.

"Grandfather, Ye Guchen was knocked out by a worm! Please, go take a look!"

Seeing that Dugu Yan was unharmed, Dugu Bo finally set his mind at ease.

Dugu Bo was full of confusion, feeling that Dugu Yan was just pulling his leg.

He unhurriedly retracted his soul power, looked at his granddaughter with doting eyes, and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Yanyan, if you want to fool Grandpa, you should at least come up with a better excuse. A bug..."

As he spoke, Dugu Bo could barely hold back his laughter, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

Seeing her grandfather's expression, Dugu Yan stomped her feet in anxiety, her eyes turning slightly red.

"Oh! Grandpa, I'm telling the truth! Come and take a look!"

However, looking at his granddaughter, she didn't seem like she was joking; that anxious expression could not be faked.

Immediately, Dugu Bo walked quickly to the side of the pit. He first dotingly ruffled Dugu Yan's hair before casting his gaze into the pit, casually teasing:

"Alright, alright, let Grandpa see what kind of bug could knock out a dignified Soul King soul master?"

But when he saw the situation inside the pit clearly, even as a Titled Douluo, Dugu Bo couldn't help but have his pupils shrink violently, and he let out a curse.

"Damn! It really is a bug. Little Friend Ye! Are you alright?"

Seeing the unconscious Ye Guchen, Dugu Bo's face darkened, and he moved to bend down and scoop him up.

As for the fat bug on the side, it was automatically ignored.

After all, in Dugu Bo's view, as a dignified Titled Douluo, the creature before him was nothing more than a slightly larger bug, not worth fearing.

However, just as he reached out, a powerful mental force struck him suddenly, causing the air to ripple with visible distortions.

Even Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, felt a wave of dizziness assault his mind at this moment.