After Murong Chayue and Xiao Qingmei awoke, everyone let out a long sigh of relief. They also informed Qian Daoliu that the two had regained consciousness. When he heard the news, the heavy stone in his heart finally dropped.
Qian Daoliu also sent word that Murong Huai could do as he pleased with the Immortal Grade Herbs in Sunset Forest.
Afterward, Murong Huai went to Sunset Forest with Gui Mei and Yue Guan, as well as Murong Fuhai and Wu Xianyun, to gather the remaining Immortal Grade Herbs and find one that could heal Murong Fuhai.
They passed through the poison formation and entered the valley where the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was located.
The moment the five of them entered the valley, three figures appeared. They were Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, with Dugu Bo obediently following behind them.
"Greetings, Holy Son, Marshal Murong."
Murong Huai nodded. Then they walked into the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
"Yue Guan, find a herb each for my parents first."
"Yes, Holy Son." Hearing Murong Huai's words, Yue Guan immediately set off to search.
Yue Guan knew these herbs even better than he knew Gui Mei. In no time at all, he returned carrying two herbs, one golden and one red.
"Holy Son, the two herbs are the Nine Heavens Sword Soul Herb and the Scorching Delusion Nightshade Flower. The former has incredibly sharp leaf veins and radiates a dense sword intent. The latter is a fire-attribute herb with flames that burn at the source. After Marshal Murong takes it, it should be able to clear the hidden injuries in his body."
After hearing Yue Guan's explanation, the two accepted the herbs. Seeing this, Murong Huai said:
"Dad, Mom, you can take them here. There should be some quiet chambers for secluded cultivation, right?"
As he spoke, Murong Huai looked at Dugu Bo behind him. At his words, the latter hurriedly replied:
"Yes, yes, there are. They're just above the valley. I'll lead the way."
"Elder Jiang Mo, sorry for the trouble. Please protect my parents while they take the herbs."
"Your Highness, the Holy Son, you're too kind."
Seeing this, Murong Fuhai and the others followed Dugu Bo to the quiet chambers in the valley to take the herbs.
Next, it was time to find a suitable herb for himself. Seeing this, Yue Guan shook his head.
"Um, Your Highness, the Holy Son, I'm sorry, but I couldn't find an Immortal Grade Herb with a metal attribute here. As for ones suited to swords, the only one was the Nine Heavens Sword Soul Herb that Hall Master Wu just took."
Hearing Yue Guan's words, Murong Huai waved a hand. "My Martial Soul already has the Ultimate Gold attribute. Even if there were a metal-attribute herb, how much could it improve it? But... my Immortal Lord Nine-Arrival Sword doesn't only have a metal attribute.
"Yue Guan, are there any herbs with a spatial attribute here?"
Murong Huai's Immortal Lord Nine-Arrival Sword had both the Ultimate Gold and spatial attributes. The former's power went without saying, but the latter was even more mysterious and unfathomable.
At this, Yue Guan froze, then thought for a moment before replying:
"A spatial attribute...? Your Highness, the Holy Son, please wait a moment."
Yue Guan flew off in one direction. A while later, he returned carrying a piece of bamboo as wide as two fingers, its surface shimmering with a soft glow.
"Your Highness, the Holy Son, this is called the Empty Realm Severed Thought Bamboo. It has a spatial attribute and is also fairly resilient."
Murong Huai took the Empty Realm Severed Thought Bamboo. His Martial Soul, the Immortal Lord Nine-Arrival Sword, rang out with a tremor. Murong Huai nodded in satisfaction and said:
"Good. This will do."
After saying this, Murong Huai sat cross-legged on a nearby rock. Following Yue Guan's instructions, he absorbed the energy of the Empty Realm Severed Thought Bamboo. The space around him rippled, as though he were no longer in the same space as everyone else.
Qian Jun, Gui Mei, and Yue Guan stood guard nearby.
Half an hour later, Murong Huai completely absorbed the energy of the Empty Realm Severed Thought Bamboo. As he abruptly opened his eyes, the golden light in them was gone, replaced by an ethereal quality. A ripple in space spread out, enveloping an area roughly ten meters around him.
Qian Jun and the others were caught within it, too. They could feel as though they were no longer in the same space as their surroundings.
"Could this be... a domain?!"
Domains were exceedingly rare. Generally speaking, there were two kinds: innate domains and acquired domains. The former came with a Martial Soul upon its awakening. The Martial Souls they belonged to were either incredibly powerful or possessed special effects. For instance, the Six-Winged Angel came with the Angel Domain upon awakening, while Tang Yuehua of the Clear Sky Sect had the Noble Domain... and so on.
The latter were domains obtained through understanding one's Martial Soul after the fact, or by some fortuitous coincidence. Examples included the Divine Slaughter's Domain obtained through Slaughter City and the Seven Kill Domain comprehended by Chen Xin upon reaching the Titled Douluo rank... and so on.
The domain Murong Huai had now awakened was an acquired one. By gaining insight into the spatial attribute contained in the Immortal Lord Nine-Arrival Sword, he had comprehended a domain of his own.
"Sword Domain Empty Realm, open!!!"
As Murong Huai's voice fell, the space within the domain suddenly began to tremble. Tiny cracks appeared, and then countless golden streaks of light flew out, darting freely through the domain.
Looking closer, they weren't streaks of light at all, but golden swords. The swords shot toward Yue Guan's brow. He casually flicked out a wisp of Soul Power, but just as it was about to hit one, the sword plunged straight into the space before it. The next second, it flew out of the space directly ahead, then slipped back into space just as it was about to reach Yue Guan.
Qian Jun and Gui Mei noticed the same thing. It was as if the space they occupied had been divided into countless small spaces. The countless swords could dart through them freely, disappearing from any angle and appearing from any angle, impossible to track.
The swords wove together, forming a vast net of blades with nowhere to hide and no way to defend.
Then the swords turned into golden motes of light and vanished. The surroundings returned to normal, and Murong Huai withdrew his domain.
"Whew... I didn't expect to awaken a domain. This trip was worth it."
The domain Murong Huai had awakened was called Sword Domain Empty Realm. Once expanded, its user or their attacks could travel freely through the space within it. However, the domain's effect was incredibly powerful, dealing as it did with space, so maintaining it consumed a great deal of Soul Power.
Murong Huai estimated that he could keep the domain expanded for only two or three minutes at most. Naturally, the time limit would increase as his cultivation improved. And three minutes would be enough to deal with quite a few enemies—provided, of course, that their cultivation wasn't too high.
"Your Highness, the Holy Son, did you just awaken a domain?" Qian Jun asked.
Murong Huai nodded. "Mm. I was pretty lucky."
Damn, was this really luck? Qian Jun looked like he was about to cry. He was already a Titled Douluo and still hadn't comprehended a domain, while Murong Huai had only reached the Soul Elder rank and had already awakened one!
Qian Jun was officially green with envy!
Gui Mei and Yue Guan hugged each other, tears streaming down their faces. Boo-hoo-hoo, they were both dignified Soul Douluo, and they hadn't even touched the edge of a domain. The only domain skill they had was their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. People really could make you sick with envy.
Gui Mei and Yue Guan were officially green with envy!
Jiang Mo was officially green with envy!
Dugu Bo was officially jealous!
(＞人＜;)
?
The group turned to look and saw Murong Fuhai and the others behind them. Murong Fuhai and Wu Xianyun looked pleased, while Jiang Mo stood there, dumbfounded.
Dugu Bo bit his lip, on the verge of tears.
Those were all my herbs!!!
(ㄒoㄒ
Before you continue