"Alas, there's nothing I can do. I was clearly aiming at the young lady, but you just had to jump in front of her." Guang Ling scratched his long silver hair, looking utterly helpless.
"Fifth Brother, focus. These two Soul Bones are exceptionally precious. We absolutely can't let Heaven Dou and Star Luo get them." Azure Luan put away his Martial Soul Avatar and looked at Chen Xin, who was evenly matched with him. His brows knitted tightly.
"Got it, got it." For once, Guang Ling's teasing expression vanished. A bone-chilling cold gathered in his hand as he drew his longbow and aimed at the black-robed figure silently approaching the two Soul Bones. "Sixth Soul Skill—Ultimate Feather Light!"
The black-robed man paused for an instant, as if sensing something. He swept up both Soul Bones, swiftly dodged out of the attack's range, then summoned an enormous hammer and hurled it at Guang Ling.
"That's..." A flicker of alarm crossed Guang Ling's eyes. He vanished from where he stood in an instant.
At the same time, Qingxi had finally managed to crawl out of the scorched earth. Dirt smeared her formerly fair face.
She glanced at the enormous beast beside her, struck dead by the heavenly tribulation. The air was thick with the smell of roasted meat. Before she could even figure out what was going on, a chill suddenly crept into her heart.
She looked up, and her pitch-black eyes reflected an immensely powerful streak of icy blue light hurtling straight toward her.
For a moment, she froze, every hair on her body standing on end.
What the hell?!
First a lightning tribulation, then a finishing blow?
Had the old bastard Heavenly Dao realized the lightning tribulation hadn't killed her and decided to finish her off another way?
The next second, her body went weightless. She was pulled into an embrace that carried a faint chill.
The young man shielded her in his arms, covering her eyes with one cold hand. A sturdy wall of ice surged up from the ground, desperately trying to block the streak of light now right before them.
"Fifth Brother!" The Enshrined shouted in alarm. Almost simultaneously, they broke off their fights and flew toward Guang Ling.
"Spirit Hall!" The black-robed man glared at the approaching Douluo, practically grinding his teeth.
"Good. Very good!" As his words fell, red light blazed from the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand.
"Exploding Ring!"
A string of explosions rang out in an instant. Dust billowed, and uncontrolled currents of air swept toward them, accompanied by scorching waves of heat.
"Fifth Soul Skill—Angel Domain." A calm voice rang out.
When the dust settled, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's already-charred corpse had been blasted into a pile of fragments. The two Soul Bones had vanished from the ground without a trace.
Everyone was more or less disheveled, but none of them had been seriously injured. Yet they hadn't sensed when that man had approached the Soul Bones at all.
However, one of the Titled Douluo present recognized the giant hammer.
"That's the Clear Sky Hammer!"
"Someone from the Clear Sky Sect? Hadn't they already sealed off their sect? Why would one of them show up here?"
"Hah! Sealed off? That's just a story to fool idiots..."
The Titled Douluo from the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires exchanged glances and nodded to one another before turning to leave.
The dignified Clear Sky Sect had resorted to such despicable tactics. It was truly contemptible.
"Clear Sky Sect!! This is too much!" Mighty Lion Douluo slammed his palm against a nearby tree, felling it with a single blow.
"Eldest Brother, we can't let this go." Chiangmo Douluo ground his teeth.
They'd fought so hard for so long, only for the Clear Sky Sect to swoop in and steal the prize.
Holding the tiny Qingxi, Guang Ling flew into the air. He looked down at the deep crater, his tightly furrowed brows seeming to have frozen over.
That kind of explosion had been meant to kill them.
"Where did this child come from?" Azure Luan's gaze fell on the little girl in Guang Ling's arms. She looked three or four years old, with tattered clothes and a dirty face. Her long lashes fluttered over eyes as black as night, lovely to behold.
"I just picked her up." Guang Ling glanced at the filthy little girl in his arms and frowned slightly, looking a little disgusted.
Qingxi clutched the white cape at Guang Ling's chest and looked at the people around her, wariness hidden deep in her innocent eyes.
As if frightened, she curled up in Guang Ling's arms, afraid of drawing anyone's attention.
For the first time in her ten years since arriving in this world,
she felt danger—and from so many powerful auras.
She had just survived her heavenly tribulation and would be weakened for a while. On top of that, her spiritual energy was exhausted. She was no match for these people.
Besides, she had a feeling that even with her current Nascent Soul cultivation, she might not be able to beat the golden-haired, golden-eyed uncle in the middle.
Qian Daoliu stared down at the dense forest. He could no longer sense the person from before. If he had to guess, it seemed to have been Tang Hao.
"Return." He uttered a single word, his expression still calm. His six wings unfurled, and he turned to fly away.
"Let's go. Back to Spirit Hall." Golden Crocodile Douluo was reluctant, but he still followed Qian Daoliu away.
The other Enshrined followed close behind.
Before leaving, Azure Luan Douluo reminded him, "Take this little radish home. Don't go playing around, and come back early."
"Heh heh, Third Brother really knows me best. Don't worry." Guang Ling's lips curved as he hugged the little radish tighter.
What little radish? She was freedom itself.
Watching the others disappear into the distance, Qingxi let out a sigh of relief.
Holding the little girl, Guang Ling flew toward Suotuo City, the nearest city to the Star Dou Great Forest, within the Balak Kingdom.
Watching the Star Dou Great Forest grow farther and farther away, Qingxi grew anxious.
She felt she was getting farther and farther from her true body.
"Little radish... No, little girl, where's your home? I'll take you back." With the wind roaring around them, Guang Ling seemed only just to remember that he hadn't asked where the girl lived.
"Home?" Qingxi looked up at the young man before her, who had only one eye open.
How was she supposed to answer that? Should she ask him to take her back to the Ice and Fire Spirit Pool?
That was obviously impossible. Never mind the Immortal Herbs scattered all over the place—even Strange Flower, after surviving this Nascent Soul heavenly tribulation, had already transformed its life force into that of a hundred-thousand-year-old being.
A hundred-thousand-year-old supreme immortal treasure—even someone who didn't know its worth would understand the importance of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
She feigned innocence. "What's a home?"
"Home? It's a place where people cherish you, protect you, and stand up for you your whole life." Guang Ling thought for a moment before answering. At least, as far as he was concerned, Spirit Hall was his home.
For some reason, at his words, his mind went blank for an instant.
Her home was Square Inch Mountain, Slanted Moon Three Stars Cave.
Qingxi lowered her head.
"I... don't remember."
"Hm?" Guang Ling stopped flying and studied the little girl in his arms. He muttered under his breath, "Could she have been scared witless?"
He looked around at the dense forest. They were already near the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
He had examined the body of this child who had inexplicably appeared deep in the Star Dou Great Forest with his Soul Power. She was indeed a human child.
"The Spirit Hall Branch in Suotuo City has a welfare home that takes in orphans. How about I take you there first?"
"Okay. Thank you, big brother." Qingxi beamed at him.
Spirit Hall? One of the three great powers on the continent.
At last, she could see a human city.
Meanwhile, at the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in Sunset Forest—
"How could this happen?!"
Dugu Bo looked at the barely breathing Strange Flower. The giant Immortal Herb drooped its flower bud, and its nine differently colored leaves had lost their luster. The whole plant was extremely weak.
"What should I do?" Dugu Bo paced back and forth nearby. Before his precious granddaughter had left for school, she had repeatedly told him to protect this Immortal Herb at all costs.
And now it had ended up like this.
"Hiss, hiss..." Little Green Snake lay across Strange Flower's stem and flicked its tongue at Dugu Bo.
"What? You're saying it's fine? It's practically at death's door! How could it possibly be fine?" Dugu Bo pointed at the half-dead flower beside him and scolded Nine-Section Jade.
"No, I have to call Yan'er back to take a look." As he spoke, Dugu Bo headed outside.
The poison in his Martial Soul had now been purged. After being nourished by that miraculous liquid, even his Soul Power had increased tremendously.
And all of this was thanks to Yan'er's fortuitous encounter. Though he didn't know the reason, he had a feeling that Yan'er's transformation was inseparable from the Immortal Herb that had suddenly appeared in the medicinal garden.
Before you continue