Crisis

The two dragons exchanged a glance, resolve flashing in both their eyes. The spiritual fluctuations around them seemed to freeze.

Without the slightest hesitation, a simple glance was all it took for them to understand each other's thoughts.

Then, in perfect unison, they charged toward the Sea of Consciousness within Ye Guchen, trailing two streaks of light too faint for the naked eye to discern.

At that moment, Ye Guchen was bent over inside the pit. Afraid of damaging the Immortal Herb, the Earth Dragon Golden Melon, he had used Soul Power to remove most of the soil, then resorted to the most primitive method for the final excavation.

He gripped an iron pickaxe in both hands, sweat trickling from his forehead down his jaw. He was still chatting unhurriedly with Sky Dream about how to haul up the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow beneath the spring.

He had no idea danger was closing in. Before he could react, the two Dragon Souls had already burrowed into his Sea of Consciousness.

The whole process was over in an instant, without the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power. Even Sky Dream failed to react.

"What!"

The moment the two Dragon Souls entered, they abruptly halted and sucked in a sharp breath.

Ye Guchen's Sea of Consciousness was vast, like a real ocean. Sunlight rippled across its surface, and mist formed from condensed spiritual power billowed above it.

The Fire Dragon King stared at this Sea of Consciousness in shock, its voice full of disbelief:

"Though its spiritual power is only at the quality of a Soul Emperor's, in sheer quantity alone... it may already rival that of a hundred-thousand-year-old spiritual Soul Beast!"

At last, Ye Guchen sensed that something was wrong. A tearing pain suddenly struck deep inside his mind, stealing his breath.

"Not good!"

His digging hand froze. The pickaxe slipped from his grip and struck a stone with a dull thud as he swiftly shifted his consciousness into his Sea of Consciousness.

The two Dragon Souls sensed Ye Guchen's arrival in his Sea of Consciousness. The distinct fluctuations of his will suddenly gathered over the sea.

"Not good! We've been discovered. We have to finish this quickly, before anything else goes wrong!"

The instant Ye Guchen's spiritual projection began to take shape, the Fire Dragon King swept out a dragon claw. A fierce blaze surged forth, burning the nascent projection to nothing.

The Ice Dragon King lashed out with its tail. Frost spread like ripples, freezing the entire Sea of Consciousness at once with a grating series of crackles.

Pain—a piercing agony tore through him, as though his soul were being crushed piece by piece. It far surpassed the pain of any of the times his body had been shattered.

Yet even now, Ye Guchen still had no idea what was happening. As his Sea of Consciousness froze, his thoughts began to slow, as if not only the sea but his very mind had been locked in ice.

Before such overwhelming power, all resistance was ultimately futile.

Fortunately, the Sea of Consciousness in his Dou II body was independent. Otherwise, Ye Guchen would likely have already fallen into unconsciousness.

Ye Guchen's voice echoed through the Sea of Consciousness in his Dou I body. Though weak, it remained steady.

"Who are you? What have you come here for?"

His voice was calm, without the panic of someone facing death. Even upon the frozen surface of his Sea of Consciousness, his words seemed capable of stirring faint ripples.

Both Dragon Souls stiffened. A flash of alarm crossed the Ice Dragon King's eyes, and it instinctively exchanged a glance with the Fire Dragon King.

"How can anyone still be conscious after their Sea of Consciousness has been frozen?"

If anything, this only strengthened the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' murderous intent. They hesitated no longer, killing intent blazing in their dragon eyes.

"Shatter his soul first! Then we can search his memories and find out."

As soon as the words fell, the two Dragon Souls attacked Ye Guchen's Sea of Consciousness. Ice and fire wove together like a tide. Their assault sought not only to destroy the Sea of Consciousness but to strike directly at the soul's origin.

Ice spikes and raging flames ran wild throughout the entire spiritual world, tearing through every inch of space.

The two souls had always shared a single consciousness. Now, the pain of the soul in his Dou I body being torn apart swept through that one consciousness.

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

Meanwhile, in a private room in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, candlelight swayed. Just moments ago, Ye Guchen had been resting quietly on Ma Xiaotao's soft lap. A faint smile still played on her lips as her fingers absently massaged his temples.

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

"What happened!?"

The sudden change left Ma Xiaotao at a loss. She bent down abruptly, her smile frozen on her face.

But this time, the pain far surpassed the agony of any previous death.

Ye Guchen wasn't worried about dying, but the pain surged into his consciousness for real, wave after wave.

At that moment, with his Sea of Consciousness frozen, his Dou I body couldn't even self-destruct.

With his Sea of Consciousness frozen and his control over his Dou I body gone, Ye Guchen couldn't even scream.

Only the body in Dou II gritted its teeth and endured. Cold sweat soaked his clothes in an instant, and his face turned deathly pale.

But before long, unable to bear the pain, Ye Guchen's consciousness began to blur. His eyelids grew heavy and drooped as he gradually lost consciousness.

The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' attack did not stop when Ye Guchen passed out.

They continued wreaking havoc in his Sea of Consciousness, their claws lashing out as they tried to rip out every fragment of Ye Guchen's soul and shatter it all.

Shattered fragments of spiritual power flew in every direction like glass.

Everything had happened too suddenly. Even Sky Dream, who had been beside him, thrilled at the discovery of the Ten Thousand Year Mysterious Ice Marrow, only realized what had happened when Ye Guchen collapsed into the pit and sent up a cloud of dust.

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

With the Ice Dragon King having frozen Ye Guchen's Sea of Consciousness, it couldn't even defend him. All it could do was wriggle helplessly nearby.

It had all happened inside his Sea of Consciousness. Not a trace of Soul Power had escaped. Even Dugu Bo, meditating a hundred meters away to restore his Soul Power, had only felt a passing breeze and noticed nothing.

Not long after Ye Guchen passed out, the strange bead began to vibrate gently. A faint glow flowed across its surface.

A strange light instantly sealed off the Sea of Consciousness, spreading like ripples in the water—gentle, yet impossible to resist.

At the same time, a tangible force of suppression swept through the entire Sea of Consciousness, instantly imprisoning the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings in midair like insects trapped in amber.

The Ice and Fire Dragon Kings remained frozen in the midst of their frenzied destruction, claws raised and mouths gaping. Their hearts were full of disbelief, but they could do nothing.

The two Dragon Souls were now filled with terror. They weren't afraid that the last traces of their souls would vanish completely; they feared for the future of the Soul Beasts. Deep despair was reflected in their dragon eyes.

"What sort of existence have we provoked?"

Before the two Dragon Souls could repent, that force of erasure appeared once more, silently coiling around their spiritual forms. In the Ice and Fire Dragon Kings' astonished gaze, it began erasing their remaining consciousness bit by bit.

There was no room for negotiation. The very nature of a calamity was that it could not be predicted.

The two Dragon Souls felt their memories recede like the tide. Countless scenes blurred and faded into the distance. They tried to stop their memories from vanishing, desperately channeling their Soul Power, but it was all in vain.

In the end, unwilling to accept it, their dragon bodies gradually turned transparent, until they became two Dragon Souls devoid of consciousness and floated quietly in Ye Guchen's Sea of Consciousness. At the same time, two points of light drifted out of the Bead Martial Soul, tracing graceful arcs before sinking into the brows of the Dragon Souls and leaving behind faint marks.

The two Dragon Souls had to be given credit: they'd acted decisively and hadn't made the mistake of letting the villain talk too much before dying. If Ye Guchen had been anyone else, he might already have been well and truly dead.

But they had never expected that a strange bead like this was hidden within Ye Guchen's soul.

The crisis had been resolved in such a muddled fashion, but Ye Guchen showed no sign of waking.

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

His body on the Dou I timeline still lay collapsed in the pit, dappled sunlight falling across his pale face.

His body on the Dou II timeline, meanwhile, was somewhat luckier.

After Ye Guchen lost consciousness, Ma Xiaotao put away her panic, took a deep breath, and forced herself to steady her nerves. She reached out and gently patted his cheek.

"Hey, it's only been two hours today. Even if you lost, you wouldn't need to pass out. And couldn't you at least make it convincing? Who passes out after just ten-odd seconds?"

But Ye Guchen kept his eyes tightly shut. His eyelashes didn't even twitch.

Two or three minutes passed, and Ye Guchen still hadn't moved. Only her own hurried breathing filled the room. Only then did Ma Xiaotao realize this wasn't one of Ye Guchen's pranks. Panic began to rise, spreading from her heart to her limbs.

She lifted Ye Guchen and shook him, her voice trembling slightly.

"Hey, wake up. Don't scare me!"

But Ye Guchen remained completely still, his head lolling weakly to one side.

Fear swallowed her whole. Ma Xiaotao's eyes reddened at once.

She hurried to her feet in a fluster and clumsily dressed Ye Guchen, her fingers trembling.

"No way! Did I go too hard today?"

Ma Xiaotao doubted herself as she gritted her teeth, scooped Ye Guchen into her arms, and hurried down the corridor to a room in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion.

The room was elegantly furnished, incense curling through the air. Jiang Nannan happened to be in the Hundred Treasures Pavilion too, leaning by the window and looking over the account books. She raised her head when she heard Ma Xiaotao's commotion.

Ma Xiaotao carefully handed Ye Guchen over to her and quickly explained what had happened.

Then she turned and shot out the door like a streak of fire, racing toward Shrek Inner Court to find Elder Zhuang.

On the Dou I timeline, the evening sun bathed the land in gold.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm anxiously kept watch beside Ye Guchen, its plump white body curled into a ball. From time to time, it rubbed against Ye Guchen and let out a low whimper.

"Boss! You can't let anything happen to you! Wuwuwu!"

It had wanted to ask the two humans nearby for help. Its round eyes glanced toward Dugu Bo, who was seated in the distance, but Sky Dream just couldn't trust humans. It could only turn back and pour spiritual power into Ye Guchen's body. A pale golden glow washed over him again and again, in the hope that this would wake him.

But it was all in vain. This time, Ye Guchen's Sea of Consciousness had been completely sealed by that strange bead. Not a trace of outside spiritual power could seep in; all of it was repelled.

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually darkened.

Half an hour later, Dugu Yan, who had been watching over Dugu Bo, looked around. The forest was quiet, and Ye Guchen was nowhere to be seen. From a distance, she spotted only a pit and a pile of freshly turned earth beside it, looking out of place at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"What's he doing?"

Curious, Dugu Yan crept toward the pit, tiptoeing as her skirt brushed the grass with a soft rustle.

But the instant she peeked inside, her pupils contracted. She saw Ye Guchen lying unconscious beside the mound of dirt, his face pale, while an absurdly large white worm furtively nudged his body.

"Ah!"

The sight frightened her so badly that she screamed and stumbled back two steps.

"Grandpa! Ye Guchen was... was knocked out by a bug!"

Hearing his granddaughter's scream, Dugu Bo snapped awake from his cultivation, his eyes flying open as green Soul Power surged around him.

With a single flash, he appeared before Dugu Yan like a ghost, bringing with him the fresh scent of plants and trees.

"What's wrong, Yanyan?"

Seeing her grandfather, Dugu Yan began to calm down. She clutched his sleeve tightly and pointed at the pit ahead, her voice still trembling slightly.

"Grandpa, Ye Guchen was knocked out by a bug! Please go take a look."

Only after seeing that Dugu Yan was unharmed did Dugu Bo relax.

Dugu Bo looked puzzled, thinking his granddaughter was just pulling his leg.

He calmly reined in his Soul Power, looked at her with an affectionate smile, and ruffled her hair.

"Yanyan, if you're going to fool Grandpa, at least come up with a better excuse. A bug..."

As he spoke, even Dugu Bo could barely suppress his laughter; the corners of his mouth twitched.

Seeing him like this, Dugu Yan stamped her feet in a hurry, her eyes reddening.

"Grandpa! I'm telling the truth! Come and look!"

But his granddaughter didn't look as if she were trying to fool him. The worry on her face was unmistakable.

So Dugu Bo quickly went to the pit. First, he affectionately ruffled Dugu Yan's hair, then looked into the pit and teased casually:

"All right, all right. Let Grandpa see what kind of bug could knock out a dignified Soul King Soul Master."

But when he saw what was inside, even Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, couldn't help widening his eyes and swearing.

"Damn! It really is a bug! Young Friend Ye, are you all right?"

Seeing Ye Guchen unconscious, Dugu Bo's face darkened, and he started bending down to pull him out.

As for the enormous fat worm beside him, Dugu Bo simply ignored it.

After all, in Dugu Bo's eyes, he was a dignified Titled Douluo, and the creature before him was nothing more than a slightly oversized worm. It was nothing to worry about.

But just as he reached out, a powerful wave of spiritual force rushed at him, and the air warped in ripples visible to the naked eye.

Even Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, felt a wave of dizziness sweep through his mind.