Bi Ji!

Mist veiled the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where water vapor mingled with the valley's woven currents of ice and fire, forming a dreamlike haze.

Ling Xuqing sat cross-legged on a bluestone by the shore, a faint, dark golden glow circling his body as he quietly regulated his breathing.

Gu Yuena, Xiao Wu, and Ah Yin sat around him, watching over him with tender concern.

Zi JI stood nearby, silent as a loyal god of war, keeping watch over their surroundings.

As everyone waited patiently for Dugu Bo to return, a strange ripple suddenly stirred at the far edge of the sky.

It wasn't Soul Power, but an extraordinarily pure and concentrated aura of life.

Like a spring breeze bringing rain, the aura swept away the lingering chill and poisonous miasma that had long shrouded the Sunset Forest.

"This aura..."

Gu Yuena raised her head sharply, a flicker of surprise in her violet eyes. "It's Bi Ji of the Forest of Life!"

Before she could say more, a gentle green light streaked across the night sky like a meteor, plunging straight toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

As the light faded, a woman in a long emerald-green dress appeared inside the cavern. Her features were gentle and lovely.

Her long hair was the color of jade, and her eyes brimmed with boundless tenderness and kindness.

The moment Bi Ji landed, she hadn't even had time to take in her surroundings before she froze in place.

Her gaze swept past Ling Xuqing and the others, fixing on the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well ahead, shaped like a taiji symbol, and the plants on its banks, each radiating a strange light.

"This... this is..."

Bi Ji's breath caught. Her gentle eyes blazed with disbelief and elation.

"Aromatic Silk Beauty! Lovesick Heartbreak Red! Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum! Eight-Petaled Immortal Orchid! Nine-Grade Purple Ganoderma! And... and Aromatic Silk Beauty, Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower!"

Bi Ji's voice trembled. She looked as if she'd stumbled upon the world's most precious treasures.

As one of the top Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest and the guardian of the Forest of Life, she had an innate sensitivity to and love for Plant-type Soul Beasts.

"Heavens... so many Immortal Herbs of the highest grade, long extinct everywhere else! And they're growing in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, where extreme cold and heat blend in perfect harmony!"

Bi Ji's eyes reddened with excitement. She stepped forward carefully, as though afraid of disturbing the slumbering spirits.

"My lord, this place... this place is truly the supreme sanctuary of Plant-type Soul Beasts!"

"Any one of these Immortal Herbs would have everyone on the Douluo Continent, humans and Soul Beasts alike, fighting tooth and nail to get their hands on it!"

Bi Ji turned to Ling Xuqing and Gu Yuena, her face alight with excitement and her voice brimming with joy.

Gu Yuena smiled faintly and said gently:

"Bi Ji, you're here."

"We prepared all of this for you."

"For me?" Bi Ji froze.

"That's right." Ling Xuqing opened his eyes and stood. He looked at Bi Ji warmly. "Bi Ji, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ling Xuqing."

Hearing his voice, Bi Ji finally snapped out of her daze.

She quickly reined in her excitement, smoothed her skirt, and bowed deeply to Ling Xuqing.

"Bi Ji pays her respects to the young lord!"

Her voice was gentle and respectful.

Though she was a Ferocious Beast of the Star Dou Great Forest, before she'd come, Zi JI had already told her through a mental transmission who Ling Xuqing was, and everything about the Dragon God's successor.

"Bi Ji, there's no need for such formality."

Ling Xuqing smiled and raised a hand to help her up.

Xiao Wu and Ah Yin also came over, curiosity written across their faces.

"Bi Ji, you were so excited when you saw those Immortal Herbs. Your eyes were practically glued to them!"

Xiao Wu winked playfully.

Bi Ji looked at the adorable girl, her eyes full of affection. "That's true, Xiao Wu. As a Soul Beast who governs life, how could I not be excited to see so many top-grade Immortal Herbs?"

Ah Yin smiled warmly as well.

"Bi Ji, this will be our home from now on. You can pick any of these Immortal Herbs whenever you like."

Warmth welled up in Bi Ji's heart.

As they chatted together in high spirits, Zi JI suddenly furrowed her brow.

She scanned their surroundings, then looked behind Bi Ji. There were no other Soul Beast auras besides hers.

Zi JI turned to Bi Ji, confusion and urgency in her voice. "Bi Ji, didn't I send word? I told you to bring a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. The young lord has broken through to level thirty and needs a Soul Ring. The main lord wants one to offer itself willingly and become the young lord's Soul Spirit, so they can share a Godhood when he ascends in the future."

"But how... how did you come alone? Where's the Soul Beast?!"

At Zi JI's sharp questions, Xiao Wu and Ah Yin froze too, turning to look at Bi Ji.

That was right. Where was the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

Bi Ji's excitement and joy gradually faded.

She took a deep breath and looked past the others, straight at Ling Xuqing.

Her eyes, once filled with warmth and compassion, now held nothing but boundless devotion and resolve.

"Zi JI..." she began softly, her voice edged with a defiance that would face death without flinching. "There are no other Soul Beasts."

"What?!" Zi JI cried, aghast. "No Soul Beast? What will the young lord do?!"

Bi Ji paid no heed to Zi JI's shock. She walked slowly to Ling Xuqing and knelt before him, performing the oldest and most solemn rite of the Dragon Clan.

"Young lord, my lord, Zi JI."

Bi Ji lifted her head and looked Ling Xuqing straight in the eye, her voice firm and clear.

"I, Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, have cultivated for five hundred and eighty thousand years. I am willing to offer myself to the young lord!"

"I am willing to become the young lord's Soul Spirit!"

Her words fell, and a deathly silence settled over the valley.

Xiao Wu and Ah Yin stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief.

Zi JI drew in a sharp breath.

Bi Ji—the fourth-ranked of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, and leader of the Emerald Swan clan!

The most powerful healing-type Soul Beast!

She was offering herself to the young lord of her own accord?!

Ling Xuqing looked at Bi Ji kneeling before him, a complicated glimmer passing through his eyes.

He could feel the sincerity and resolve deep in her soul.

"Bi Ji, you..." Ling Xuqing began.

But Bi Ji shook her head, cutting him off.

"Young lord, don't try to dissuade me."

"I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years and witnessed countless partings and deaths."

"I know all too well that in this world, where the strong prey on the weak, only by following the truly powerful can one find hope for the future."

"You and my lord are that hope."

Her eyes burned with fervent devotion.

"If the young lord will accept me, I'll become the blade in your hand, cutting a path through every obstacle."

"I'll become the shield at your back, keeping every storm at bay!"

"Even if I'm broken to pieces, I'll never hesitate to give my life!"

After speaking, Bi Ji bowed her head to the ground once more and waited quietly for Ling Xuqing's answer.

The entire cavern fell silent.

Only the water of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well continued to flow, echoing softly through the cavern.