Three Days Later, Arriving at Holy Soul Village!

Three days later.

Fasinuo Province, borderlands.

A figure in a Profound Black Robe slowly descended from the sky, landing atop a small hill.

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, his Dark Golden Dragon Eyes gazing toward the peaceful village ahead.

Holy Soul Village.

He had arrived.

Though it was called a village, it was actually quite sizable.

Over a hundred households had been built against the mountain, their scattered homes sending wisps of smoke into the sunset.

A bluestone stele stood at the village entrance, engraved with the three words "Holy Soul Village." The strokes were vigorous and forceful, and it was clearly quite old.

Dugu Bo did not enter the village immediately.

He restrained his aura, suppressing the power of the Nine Nether Divine Dragon Martial Soul to its lowest point. He now looked like nothing more than an ordinary traveler passing by.

If a Titled Douluo wished to conceal himself, not to mention a group of ordinary people, even a Soul Douluo standing before him might not discover anything amiss.

Standing atop the hill, he silently spread out his spiritual power.

Everything within several miles, every rustle of grass and stir of wind, fell within his perception.

The situation within the village soon became completely clear to him.

The villagers were busy with their own affairs. Some worked in the fields, some cooked at home, and some chatted at the village entrance.

Everything was normal.

A normal village, a normal life.

Yet Dugu Bo's brow furrowed slightly.

At the western end of the village stood a small house near the back mountain.

It was the village's only blacksmith shop.

No one was there now.

It was not the kind of empty house whose owner had merely stepped out temporarily. It was the kind that had been unoccupied for quite some time.

Dust covered the interior, the stove was cold, and weeds had grown thick in the courtyard.

Judging from the thickness of the dust and the height of the weeds, Dugu Bo roughly estimated—

They had left at least several months ago.

"Tang San... has already left."

Dugu Bo murmured to himself, a trace of contemplation flashing through his Dark Golden Dragon Eyes.

He continued searching.

The forests around the village, the cliffs behind the mountain, and the place where Tang San was rumored to have practiced his hidden weapons.

There was no one anywhere.

That slovenly old man, hunched over and reeking of alcohol, was gone as well.

Tang Hao was gone too.

"Looks like he left with Tang San."

Dugu Bo withdrew his spiritual power, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

This result was both unexpected and perfectly reasonable.

In the original work, Tang San had lived in Holy Soul Village until he was six, then entered Notting City Academy after awakening his Martial Soul.

Although Tang Hao appeared to neglect him, he had actually followed and protected him in secret all along.

At this point in the timeline, Tang San had already gone to Notting City.

Naturally, Tang Hao had followed him there as well.

"Even better."

Dugu Bo spoke softly.

If Tang Hao were still here, things would have been more troublesome.

That Clear Sky Douluo had lived in seclusion for years, but his strength was undeniable.

A Peerless Douluo of the assault type above rank ninety-five, possibly even close to rank ninety-six, coupled with the tyrannical offensive power of the Clear Sky Hammer—Dugu Bo did not fear a direct confrontation, but he had no desire to create unnecessary complications.

After all, he had come here to retrieve something, not to fight.

Moreover, Tang Hao was extremely sensitive to the Blue Silver Emperor.

Both that Soul Bone and that sapling had been left behind by Ah Yin.

If Tang Hao discovered that someone had touched Ah Yin's relics—

That man would definitely go mad.

"But now... he isn't here."

A trace of coldness flashed through Dugu Bo's Dark Golden Dragon Eyes.

Tang San was gone, and Tang Hao was gone.

Holy Soul Village was merely an ordinary village.

And he could take his time searching.

Dugu Bo did not act immediately.

He found a sheltered spot on the hill and sat down, taking out a jug of wine and a packet of dried meat from his Storage Soul Guidance Ring. He ate at an unhurried pace.

Though three days of travel had not tired him, he had not properly eaten much either.

He had passed through several towns along the way and had indeed stopped to sample the local cuisine.

Fasinuo Province lay near the border, and its food was quite different from that of Heaven Dou City.

The flavors were stronger, spices were used liberally, and most meats were roasted or stewed.

Dugu Bo had eaten roasted lamb leg, stewed wild boar, and a wild vegetable soup whose name he could not recall.

The flavors were not particularly stunning, but everything had been fresh.

For someone accustomed to the refined dishes of Heaven Dou City, it had been a different sort of experience.

"Fasinuo's roasted lamb leg is better than Heaven Dou City's."

Dugu Bo took a bite of dried meat, savoring the roasted lamb leg he had eaten in some small town yesterday.

Crisp on the outside and tender within, with the spices thoroughly infused—it had truly been good.

If he had the chance, he could bring Yan Yan here to try it next time.

After he had eaten and drunk his fill, the sky had darkened as well.

Dugu Bo rose to his feet and brushed the dust from his robe.

"About time."

He descended from the hill and followed the path between the village homes, heading unhurriedly toward the western end of the village.

Holy Soul Village was almost excessively quiet at night.

There was none of Heaven Dou City's clamor, none of the bustle of its night markets—only the occasional barking dog and chirping insect.

Most villagers had already extinguished their lamps and gone to rest. Only a few homes still had faint light filtering through their windows.

Dugu Bo walked along the village path, his Profound Black Robe blending into the darkness until his figure was nearly impossible to make out.

His footsteps were so light that even the watchdogs failed to notice him.

Dugu Bo stopped before the small house at the western end of the village.

This house was indeed utterly ordinary.

Mud walls, a thatched roof, a wooden door, and paper windows.

It was no different from the homes of the other villagers.

Who would have thought that a Clear Sky Douluo had once lived in this inconspicuous little house?

Who would have thought that the back mountain behind it hid the relics of a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor?

Dugu Bo did not enter the house.

According to the original work's description, the Blue Silver Emperor's relics were not inside the house, but within a waterfall behind the mountain.

His spiritual power swept across the entire back mountain, and he quickly found his target.

Deep within the back mountain was a waterfall.

Its roaring waters sounded especially clear in the stillness of the night.

Dugu Bo went around the small house, passed through a tangled stretch of forest, and headed toward the sound of the water.

After walking for about the time it took an incense stick to burn, the waterfall appeared before him.

It was not particularly large, but it was not small either.

Water poured down from a cliff more than ten meters high, crashing into the pool below and spraying countless droplets into the air.

Moonlight spilled across the water, making it shimmer.

Dugu Bo stood at the edge of the pool, his gaze settling on the rock wall behind the waterfall.

There was a cave there.

Its entrance was concealed by the curtain of water, making it impossible to spot from outside.

If one did not already know, no one would have imagined there was another world behind the waterfall.

Dugu Bo leaped forward and passed through the water curtain.

The spray struck his body, only to be repelled by a thin layer of Soul Power. His robe was not wet in the slightest.

He landed at the cave entrance.

The cave was not large, roughly the size of a room.

It was dark inside. Only a few strands of moonlight filtered through gaps in the water curtain, barely illuminating its outline.

The air was thick with the damp scent of earth, mixed with a faint fragrance of grass and wood.

Dugu Bo did not enter in haste.

His spiritual power probed into the cave first, thoroughly examining every corner.

There were no living creatures inside.

No Soul Beasts, no insects or snakes.

Only something buried beneath the ground at the very center of the cave.