Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Bone

"Sigh, there's nothing I can do, old man. You insisted on throwing yourself in the way when I was clearly aiming for the young lady." Guang Ling scratched his long silver hair, looking quite helpless.

"Fifth, get serious. These two spirit bones are exceptionally precious; we absolutely cannot let Heaven Dou and Star Luo obtain them." Qingluan retracted his martial soul avatar, his brows locked in a frown as he watched Chen Xin, who was fighting him to a standstill.

"Got it, got it." For once, Guang Ling set aside his playful demeanor. A biting chill surged in his hands as he drew his longbow, aiming it at the black-robed figure silently approaching the two spirit bones. "Sixth Spirit Ability—Ultimate Feather Light."

The black-robed man paused for a split second, seemingly sensing something. He swept his hand to snatch the two spirit bones, quickly dodged the attack range, and immediately summoned a massive hammer, hurling it toward Guang Ling.

"That is..." Suddenly, a flash of suspicion crossed Guang Ling's eyes, and he vanished from his spot in a teleportation.

At the same time, Qingxi finally crawled out from the scorched earth, her once fair face smeared with dirt.

She looked at the massive creature beside her that had been struck dead by the heavenly tribulation; the air was filled with the scent of roasted meat. Before she could even grasp the situation, a sudden chill rose in her heart.

As she looked up, her pitch-black eyes reflected an incredibly powerful, ice-blue cold light shooting straight toward her.

She froze for a moment, her hair standing on end.

What the hell?!

First the lightning tribulation, and now a sneak attack?

Did the old Heavens realize the tribulation hadn't killed her, so now they were changing tactics to finish her off?

The next second, her body felt light, and she was pulled into a slightly chilly embrace.

The youth shielded her in his arms, a large, icy hand covering her eyes. Immediately after, a solid wall of ice rose from the ground, attempting to block the cold light that was mere inches away.

"Fifth!" The several high priests exclaimed, stopping their battle almost simultaneously to fly toward Guang Ling.

"Spirit Hall!" The black-robed man looked at the approaching Douluos, his teeth gritted.

"Fine, very fine!" As his words fell, the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand erupted with a brilliant red glow.

"Ring Detonation!"

In an instant, a series of explosions rang out. Dust flew, and out-of-control air currents swept through, accompanied by scorching heatwaves.

"Fifth Spirit Ability—Angel Domain." A calm voice echoed.

As the dust settled, the already charred corpse of the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had been blasted into smithereens, and on the ground, there was no longer any trace of the two spirit bones.

Everyone looked somewhat disheveled, but none had sustained serious injuries. Yet, they hadn't even noticed when that person had gotten close to the spirit bones.

However, some of the Title Douluos present recognized that giant hammer.

"It's the Clear Sky Hammer!"

"Someone from the Clear Sky Sect? Didn't they seal the sect? How could they be here!"

"Heh! Sealing the sect? That was just to fool fools..."

The Title Douluos of the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires exchanged glances, nodded secretly, and turned to leave.

The dignified Clear Sky Sect was actually capable of such petty, underhanded behavior; it was truly contemptible.

"Clear Sky Sect!! You go too far!" Lion Douluo slammed his palm against a nearby tree, and it collapsed instantly.

"Big Brother, we cannot let this matter go." Chiangmo Douluo gritted his teeth.

They had fought so hard for so long, only to have the Clear Sky Sect snatch the prize.

Guang Ling flew into the sky holding the small Qingxi, looking down at the deep crater, his tightly furrowed brows appearing as if frosted over with ice.

Such a massive commotion—they had intended to kill them all.

"Where did this child come from?" Qingluan's gaze fell upon the child in Guang Ling's arms—a little girl of three or four, her clothes tattered and her face dirty. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her eyes were as black as the night, looking quite beautiful.

"I just picked her up." Guang Ling looked at the dirty little girl in his arms, frowning slightly with a hint of disdain.

Qingxi tugged hard on the white cloak on Guang Ling's chest, looking at the people around her, a trace of wariness hidden deep within her ignorant eyes.

She shrank into Guang Ling's arms as if afraid, terrified of drawing anyone's attention.

For the first time—in the ten full years she had been in this world.

It was the first time she had felt danger, and from so many auras at once.

She had just passed her heavenly tribulation and was in a period of weakness; combined with her depleted spiritual energy, she was no match for these people.

Moreover, she had a premonition that even with her current Nascent Soul cultivation, she might not be able to defeat the middle-aged man with golden hair and golden eyes.

Qian Daoliu gazed at the dense forest below. He could no longer sense the person from before; if he wasn't mistaken, it seemed to be Tang Hao.

"Return." He uttered the word indifferently, his expression remaining calm. His six wings unfurled behind him, and he turned to fly away.

"Let's go, back to Spirit Hall." Although Golden Crocodile Douluo was unwilling, he followed Qian Daoliu away.

The remaining high priests followed closely behind.

Before leaving, Qingluan Douluo instructed, "Take this little radish home. Remember not to play around too much and come back early."

"Heh heh, as expected, Third Brother understands me. Don't worry." Guang Ling's lips curled upward as he hugged the little radish in his arms tighter.

This wasn't a little radish; it was clearly freedom.

Qingxi watched the group depart and let out a sigh of relief.

Guang Ling carried the little girl as he flew toward Soto City, which belonged to the Balaque Kingdom and was the closest city to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Qingxi watched the Star Dou Great Forest recede into the distance, her heart filled with anxiety.

She felt herself drifting further and further away from her true form.

"Little radish... pfft, little girl, where is your home? This old man will send you back." Amidst the chaotic whistling of the wind, Guang Ling seemed to have just remembered he hadn't asked where this little girl lived.

"Home?" Qingxi tilted her head to look at the youth who was keeping only one eye open before her.

How was she supposed to answer that? Should she ask him to take her back to the Ice and Fire Spirit Pool?

That was clearly impossible. Not to mention the field of immortal herbs, the Strange Flower had just survived its Nascent Soul tribulation, and its vitality had long since evolved to the level of a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast.

A hundred-thousand-year-old supreme immortal spirit—even someone who didn't know its true value would understand the importance of a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring.

She feigned ignorance. "What is a home?"

"Home? It's a place that will cherish, protect, and defend you for your entire life," Guang Ling replied after a moment of thought. At least in his view, Spirit Hall was his home.

Hearing him say this, a momentary blankness flashed through her mind for reasons unknown.

Her home was at Square Inch Mountain, in the Slanted Moon Three Stars Cave.

Qingxi lowered her head.

"I don't remember..."

"Hm?" Guang Ling stopped mid-flight, his inquisitive gaze landing on the little girl in his arms as he muttered softly, "Could she have been scared silly?"

He scanned the dense forest around them; they were already nearing the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

He had used his spirit power to examine the body of this child who had appeared inexplicably in the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest, and she was indeed a human child.

"The Spirit Hall branch in Soto City has an orphanage that takes in orphans. How about I send you there first?"

"Okay, thank you, big brother." Qingxi gave a brilliant smile.

Spirit Hall, was it? One of the three great powers on the entire continent.

She would finally be able to see a human city.

Meanwhile, at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in the Sunset Forest.

"How could this happen!"

Dugu Bo stared at the dying Strange Flower before him. The massive immortal herb's flower bud hung low, its nine leaves of varying colors had lost their luster, and the entire plant appeared extremely weak.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Dugu Bo paced back and forth. Before his precious granddaughter left for school, she had repeatedly urged him to make sure he protected this immortal plant.

And yet, it had ended up like this.

"Hiss..." The Nine-Section Jade lay on the branches of the Strange Flower, flicking its tongue at Dugu Bo.

"What? You say it's fine? It's in this state—how could it possibly be fine?" Dugu Bo pointed at the half-dead flower, venting his frustration at the Nine-Section Jade.

"No, I have to call Yan'er back to take a look." Dugu Bo said, turning to walk outside.

The toxins in his martial soul had been cleared, and he had even been nourished by that miraculous liquid, leading to a significant increase in his spirit power.

All of this was thanks to Yan'er's stroke of luck. Though he didn't know the reason, he had a feeling that Yan'er's transformation was inseparable from this Strange Flower that had suddenly appeared in his herb garden.