Their lips parted, a glistening thread between them. The taste lingered on their lips, leaving them savoring every last moment.
"Ah-Ci..."
Huo Wu let out a soft moan, her voice husky with passion.
Murong Ci gently patted her shoulder. "All right. Absorb the Soul Ring first, before it dissipates."
Huo Wu turned and saw the pitch-black Soul Ring, dark as ink. Its color seemed to have faded a shade since before, and she couldn't help panicking.
"You should've said so sooner!"
Huo Wu hurriedly slipped from Murong Ci's embrace and ran toward the Soul Ring.
She sat cross-legged beside the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard's corpse, formed a hand seal, and guided the Soul Ring as it slowly floated toward her.
She couldn't help glancing at Murong Ci, panic mingling with a trace of resolve.
Murong Ci raised his forearm, clenched his fist, and gave her a downward pump.
"Good luck."
Huo Wu didn't hesitate any longer. At once, she guided the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring into her body.
Her Fire Shadow appeared, and the scorching heat of her Ultimate Fire spread outward. Golden-red light blazed in an instant.
But the moment that light touched the Soul Ring, a domineering surge of Wraith Qi enveloped Huo Wu, crushing the golden-red glow to pieces.
Huo Wu's face went deathly pale. She let out a muffled groan, her body tensing.
Murong Ci panicked too. His usual air of gleeful disregard for the chaos of the world vanished as he stared fixedly at Huo Wu.
Murong Ci immediately stepped forward, wanting to place a hand on her and soothe the Soul Beast, lending Huo Wu support with his Soul Power.
But Huo Wu suddenly glared at him, her gaze resolute, and shook her head.
Yes, she was a genius, a genius recognized throughout Heaven Dou City. But ever since Murong Ci arrived, her light had been eclipsed.
He was stronger than her, more outstanding, and calmer.
It seemed there was nothing she could do better than him.
She wasn't angry about it. She leaned on him, asking only to stay by his side.
But she wasn't an ornament. She had pride and a stubborn streak. She wasn't some pretty vase, and she wouldn't allow herself to truly be inferior to him.
She would prove that she could stand as his equal.
Murong Ci clenched his fist. At last, he understood: Huo Wu's pride had never disappeared. She had only kept it in check for his sake.
But she wasn't the little woman she used to be, the kind who believed "a husband is heaven."
[If you go over there now, you'll only hurt her. Trust her. She's stronger than you think.]
The system, too, had dropped its usual flippant tone.
Murong Ci felt the same sensation he'd felt when he sealed the Ice Jade Scorpion: a barrier enveloped Huo Wu, isolating her from the outside world.
Murong Ci kept staring at her, his tightly clenched fist already deathly white, drained of all color.
Huo Wu gritted her teeth and held on, cold sweat pouring from her body.
Though Ultimate Fire could suppress the lizard's flames, it couldn't suppress the hatred and lingering resentment it had carried into death.
"I'll burn you to ashes!"
Huo Wu roared in her heart. In an instant, the flames surged, each wave higher than the last.
Huo Wu's body had already begun to tremble, and sweat soaked through her clothes.
Even outside the barrier, Murong Ci could still feel the searing heat of the flames. But Wraith Qi was mixed into them too, twisting and merging with the fire.
[Black flames? She's fusing Wraith Qi with fire. It's similar to Ma Xiaotao's Black Phoenix. But did that lizard have such immense resentment? As expected, despite its dragon bloodline, it inherited the dragons' violent, bloodthirsty nature.]
Murong Ci was deeply surprised. How had Huo Wu become like Ma Xiaotao's mutated Black Phoenix?
But Huo Wu's Wraith Qi was clearly of a higher grade. Even Murong Ci's Ultimate Fire was being corroded by it.
What surprised Murong Ci even more was that when the Wraith Qi surged into Yongzhen, it was absorbed and transformed into energy.
As expected, "Yongzhen" lived up to its name.
[You'd better not let her become tainted by Wraith Qi and turn into an Evil Soul Master. Otherwise, she'll suffer a backlash whenever she gets near an Angel Martial Soul.]
After the system spoke, Murong Ci quickly summoned Yongzhen. The Grey Light stretched into a line, connecting him to the barrier.
Murong Ci absorbed the Wraith Qi coming from within the barrier.
It clearly worked. The darkness inside the barrier began to recede, and the golden-red flames successfully claimed half the ground.
She'd taken the lead!
The Wraith Qi Murong Ci absorbed was buried by Yongzhen in a deep, hidden corner.
That was the aura of Ultimate Evil!
But Murong Ci clearly couldn't withstand such powerful evil energy just yet. He could only avoid its full force for now.
[ Ding! Congratulations, host. Evil affinity increased by 10%.]
With the two of them supporting each other, Huo Wu's trembling gradually subsided.
Huo Wu's Fire Shadow Martial Soul hadn't mutated, and she hadn't become an Evil Soul Master.
But Murong Ci didn't know that inside Huo Wu's Sea of Consciousness, he and the Crimson Flame Dragon Lizard in its Soul Form had clashed countless more times.
Her trembling and the surges of Wraith Qi had spread outward from her Sea of Consciousness.
Murong Ci had only absorbed the Wraith Qi that leaked out, preventing it from feeding back into Huo Wu and turning her into an Evil Soul Master.
The credit belonged to Huo Wu alone.
"Ah-Ci, this time... I really killed it all by myself..."
Soul Form Huo Wu lowered her hands, and the flames dimmed slightly. At last, she cut down the lizard, and her Sea of Consciousness fell quiet.
The pitch-black Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring slowly shrank, settling onto Huo Wu's body and pulsing gently.
The barrier broke apart. Huo Wu stood, her steps unsteady.
Murong Ci hurried over and helped her sit down on a rock.
Huo Wu's face was still pale, and she seemed dazed. She only murmured Ah-Ci over and over, a smile never leaving her lips.
"You silly girl."
Murong Ci chided her softly, tracing a finger over her nose.
Huo Wu's smile widened, but she was too exhausted to go on and fainted.
Murong Ci gently lifted her onto his back, careful with every movement.
He was afraid of waking her.
Then he looked back at the enormous lizard.
Murong Ci sighed helplessly and summoned Yongzhen's Grey Light, slowly drawing the lizard inside.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
It was just too big.
At last, the lizard and its Soul Bone were both taken into Yongzhen Space.
Murong Ci glanced at Huo Wu on his back, pondering.
If he took Huo Wu to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to absorb the Soul Bone now, wouldn't it strengthen her even more?
No sooner had he thought of it than he acted.
He steeled himself and strode deeper into the forest.
Along the way, he came across several streams, and another idea struck him.
He'd already copied the lightning attribute, but hadn't tried using it yet.
This was the perfect chance to test it.
Murong Ci carefully lowered Huo Wu onto the grass, then went to the stream alone.
He summoned Yongzhen and willed it to change. Several layers of lightning patterns appeared around the Grey Light.
Murong Ci guided the Grey Light down into the water.
Slowly...
Slowly...
"Zzzzt!!!"
In an instant, Murong Ci watched as lightning filled a ten-meter stretch of the stream.
All the fish in it died.
Murong Ci was startled. He truly hadn't expected the electric attribute to be so destructive.
But he quickly calmed down.
Ice melted by fire became water, and water conducted electricity. So what if he combined ice, fire, and lightning?
Ice as the medium, fire as support, and lightning as the main attack—this combination would be a devastating killer move, with immense destructive power.
Mm~
Murong Ci lifted his chin proudly, clearly pleased with his own brilliant idea.
Just as he was pondering, glimmers of gold suddenly skimmed across the stream, and flecks of light scattered over the water.
The sun was setting. Evening had come.
Murong Ci hurriedly collected all the fish he'd electrocuted into Yongzhen Space.
Then he gently lifted Huo Wu onto his back and ran toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.