Huo Yu'er blinked. Her deep-blue eyes were filled with confusion at this unfamiliar name.
"Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?" she repeated softly, her tone bewildered. "What kind of place is that?"
Lin Shuo withdrew his gaze from the lake and turned to look at her.
"The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is one of the three great treasure troves in the world. It formed through the interplay of the Cold Extreme Ice Spring and the Blazing Sun Spring, their energies complementing each other in Yin-Yang Complementarity. A day's growth for any plant there is equivalent to ten days outside. But the place itself was formed when the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King, two of the Nine Great Dragon Kings, fell there."
Huo Yu'er listened, entranced.
"After accumulating for a long time, the place should now be covered with many precious natural treasures, but those aren't the most valuable." Lin Shuo faced Huo Yu'er, his tone calm yet carrying a certainty that made her heart tremble. "The souls of the Water Dragon King and Fire Dragon King linger at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. I think that if you absorb one, you'll be able to obtain the Water Dragon King Martial Soul."
Huo Yu'er froze.
The Water Dragon King Martial Soul. Though she knew almost nothing about the dragon race, just from Lin Shuo's words she could tell that this was an immensely powerful Martial Soul, even among dragons.
"But..." Huo Yu'er began, her voice a little hoarse. "Can I really absorb such powerful energy?"
"You can." Lin Shuo's answer was just one word, so brief it was almost dismissive. But the certainty behind it reassured Huo Yu'er more than any long explanation could have.
She took a deep breath and raised her head. There was no more hesitation in her deep-blue eyes.
"Big Brother Lin, I'll go with you."
Lin Shuo gave a slight nod and said nothing more. They walked side by side out of Shrek Academy, crossed the streets of Shrek City, and headed toward the city gates.
In the gaps between their travels, Lin Shuo sent a wisp of his divine sense into his Sea of Consciousness. Within that vast, boundless space of seven-colored light, Electrolux's gray currents had grown much more solid than they had been a few months earlier. The outline of an old man was faintly visible.
"Elder Yi," Lin Shuo called through his thoughts.
The gray currents rippled faintly, and a voice, old and composed, replied, "What is it, young friend?"
"There's something I'd like your advice on." Lin Shuo got straight to the point. "That Ice Silkworm just turned itself into Huo Yu'er's Wisdom Soul Ring through the sacrificial method. It gave a Soul Ring to a Soul Master while retaining its own consciousness. Do you think this way of letting a Soul Master and Soul Beast coexist could be made possible for ordinary Soul Beasts and spread more widely?"
Electrolux fell silent for a moment. Faint ripples appeared along the edges of the gray currents.
"Although I've studied souls extensively, the cultivation systems of your world and mine differ somewhat. I'll need some time to examine it."
Lin Shuo nodded and withdrew his divine sense. He trusted Electrolux. In the original story, Electrolux had used Snow Empress to establish the Soul Spirit Method. Given some time, he would surely be able to make it work now, too.
They left Shrek City and flew toward Sunset Forest using the Flying Soul Tool. After several days on the road, the outline of the forest gradually appeared in the distance.
"Big Brother Lin, is that Sunset Forest?" Huo Yu'er asked, pointing toward the forest ahead.
"Mm." Lin Shuo nodded slightly.
The two landed at the edge of Sunset Forest, put away the Flying Soul Tool, and continued on foot toward the forest's depths.
Compared with Star Dou Great Forest, the vegetation in Sunset Forest was much sparser, and its Soul Beasts were pitifully weak.
After reaching Sunset Forest, the two continued farther in. Even deep in the forest, they rarely encountered thousand-year Soul Beasts.
Lin Shuo stopped and raised a hand to the silver Reverse Scale on his chest. Space Power surged out silently, sending a thought through the connection carried by the scale.
In moments, a crack silently split the space before them. A slender figure stepped through—silver hair flowing like a waterfall, violet eyes like still water, and a plain white dress gleaming with moonlight amid the forest's shifting shadows.
The instant Huo Yu'er saw the woman, her breath caught.
She had never seen anyone like her. Her beauty did not belong to the mortal world; it was almost divine, so overwhelming that Huo Yu'er hardly dared breathe too loudly. The woman stood there quietly, without the slightest trace of Soul Power, yet Huo Yu'er felt as if she were standing at the foot of a towering, snow-capped peak, so insignificant she might as well not exist.
When Lin Shuo saw her, however, the usually placid expression around his eyes softened noticeably.
"Na'er, big sister! Long time no see," Lin Shuo said.
"Mm." Gu Yuena gave a slight nod. Her violet eyes rested on Lin Shuo for a moment, then slowly shifted to the blue-haired girl beside him.
The instant their eyes met, Huo Yu'er instinctively clenched the hem of her clothes, her fingertips turning pale. She could feel that gaze settle on her, clearly sizing her up.
"I'm Xiao Shuo's older sister, Gu Yuena." The silver-haired woman spoke, her voice cool as jade. "You must be Huo Yu'er?"
Older sister. Those words made Huo Yu'er secretly breathe a sigh of relief, but a more complicated feeling soon welled up inside her. Only a woman like this could be worthy of being Big Brother Lin's older sister.
Still, she was curious: why were Big Brother Lin and Gu Yuena siblings if they had different surnames?
"Hello, Sister Gu. My name is Huo Yu'er." She lowered her head, doing her best to keep her voice steady, though even she could hear its faint, involuntary tremor.
Gu Yuena's gaze lingered on her for a moment. Her violet eyes showed no sign of emotion. She merely gave the slightest nod, murmured "Mm," and looked away.
Lin Shuo took in the exchange but said nothing.
"Let's go."
Gu Yuena raised a hand and swept it across the empty air. A silver space gate opened soundlessly, and the three of them stepped through one after another.
Using the power of space, they passed straight through the miasma surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, which had been generated by the Jade Phosphorus Seven Absolute Flowers.
The instant they stepped out of the space gate, Huo Yu'er instinctively held her breath.
The valley was dazzling, as if bathed in a rainbow. It wasn't large, but it was filled with countless plants whose names Huo Yu'er didn't know. They surrounded a lake, sharply divided into two halves. One side was icy white, with pale mist drifting above it. The other was fiery red, and the air above it shimmered faintly. The entire space was saturated with the essence of heaven and earth.
"So beautiful..." Huo Yu'er murmured.
But what truly shook her was yet to come.
The moment Lin Shuo and Gu Yuena stepped into the valley, an invisible wave silently rippled outward from the two of them.
Gu Yuena's silver hair stirred without a breeze, and a faint, cold glint flashed through her violet eyes. Lin Shuo released his Martial Soul at the same time. The phantom of the Seven-Colored Dragon King slowly took shape behind him, its seven-colored radiance flowing as its dragon might poured forth like a tangible force.
Their two auras intertwined and silently spread outward from them to encompass the entire valley.
Then Huo Yu'er saw a sight she would never forget for as long as she lived.