Azurefall Celestial Ring

Low, obscure ancient incantations, as though they belonged to no era of this world, slowly flowed from Huo Yuhao's pale, cracked lips. Every syllable carried a strange rhythm, drawing upon the faint energy in the air. As he chanted, the space above his upturned palm twisted slightly, and a fist-sized grayish-white orb of light gradually condensed, slowly spinning. Its interior was unfathomably deep, as if it connected to another world filled with deathly stillness and coldness—the temporary gateway to the core of his demiplane, the Undead Plane.

At the same time, he took out two tough sheets of parchment he had prepared long ago, soaked in a special medicinal solution. Complex Forbidden Dragon Curse runes, glowing with a faintly majestic purple light, had been drawn on them using mithril ink mixed with Soul Power and spiritual imprints.

"Bear with it. It might feel a little cold and sting," Huo Yuhao said softly to Tang Wulin, who lay on the bed and nervously gripped Na'er's hand. Then his fingers moved like lightning as he slapped the two talismans onto the center of Tang Wulin's forehead and the Shanzhong acupoint on his chest.

"Sizzle—"

The talismans melted the instant they touched his skin, turning into two clusters of deep purple light that swiftly seeped inside. Tang Wulin's body jolted, and a muffled groan escaped him. He could clearly feel an icy chill at those two points, as if needles of ice were piercing him, carrying an unusual suppressive force as it rapidly spread through his meridians. Under that force, the fine pale-gold scales on his right hand seemed to lose their support. Their luster swiftly dimmed, then they slowly receded like a tide, restoring the normal skin of a child's hand, though it was slightly red. The scorching, violent sensation that had constantly churned inside him and filled him with panic also seemed to have been doused with a bucket of ice water. It was instantly suppressed and became much calmer.

"Alright, it's suppressed. Now I'll begin extracting the excess energy. You may feel weak during the process, but it won't hurt." Huo Yuhao's voice was steady, giving Tang Wulin confidence. His left hand maintained the grayish-white orb while his right hand spread open, aimed at Tang Wulin.

Strands of incomparably pure energy, visible to the naked eye and resembling liquid gold, slowly began to be drawn from Tang Wulin's seven orifices and pores. The moment those threads left his body, they revealed their violent nature, writhing like struggling golden snakes. Yet under the remaining restraints of the Forbidden Dragon Curse's purple light and Huo Yuhao's precise spiritual guidance, they could only twist unwillingly before finally flowing into the grayish-white orb and disappearing.

The process was exceedingly slow and mentally draining. Huo Yuhao had already been seriously injured in yesterday's sealing battle, and his Soul Power recovered at an infuriatingly slow rate. He had no choice but to rely on Demon Spirit, who kept replacing high-grade Milk Bottle Soul Tools beside him, to maintain even the most basic Soul Power output. Often, after absorbing for ten-odd minutes, he had to stop and clutch a Milk Bottle while gasping for a moment of recovery. Cold sweat streamed down his pale face, wrenching the hearts of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, while Na'er tightly pressed her lips together.

Tang Ziran wanted to say something several times, but Lang Yue gently held him back each time, signaling with her eyes that he should not interrupt. Watching Huo Yuhao risk his life for their son, they felt gratitude beyond words. It could only turn into deep gazes and the warm water and towels they kept ready to hand over at any moment.

The entire morning passed amid intermittent extraction and recovery. When the last thread of pale-gold energy seeped from Tang Wulin's fingertips and entered the orb, Huo Yuhao clenched his fingers, and the grayish-white orb silently dispersed. He let out a long breath of turbid air tinged with pale-gold mist. His body swayed, and Demon Spirit, who had been watching him closely, promptly supported him.

"It's... over." Huo Yuhao's voice was even weaker than before, but it carried the relief of completing his task. "The ownerless Golden Dragon King's Divine Power leaking from the loosened seal, which exceeded his body's current capacity, has been extracted. But the seal itself, as well as the foundational energy already fused into his flesh and bones, remain. He'll need to gradually adapt to and absorb that himself in the future."

At lunch, the atmosphere was much more relaxed than yesterday, though it remained solemn. Huo Yuhao looked at Tang Wulin, whose face was still somewhat pale but whose eyes had brightened again, and spoke with utmost seriousness. "Wulin, once you return, you must seize every moment to cultivate and improve your Soul Power, physique, and spiritual power. I've already done everything I can. The seal can only hold for a period of time. Whether you can control the power inside you in the future and avoid being devoured by it will depend entirely on you. Remember, power itself isn't frightening. What's frightening is lacking the temperament and strength to control it."

Tang Wulin nodded forcefully and engraved those words deep in his heart. He knew that Uncle Huo had nearly given half his life to save him.

Huo Yuhao then said to Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, "The Undead Plane is temporarily 'full' and needs time to digest this Golden Dragon King power. Besides, this power is violent by nature and extremely difficult to convert. It's far more troublesome than gentle elemental energy. Next, I need to immediately go somewhere for deep healing and recovery. I can no longer accompany you."

Tang Ziran immediately expressed his understanding and thanked him repeatedly. "Mr. Huo, our family will never forget your great kindness! Please go heal in peace. We'll take care of Wulin and make sure he works hard!" Lang Yue also nodded repeatedly, her eyes red.

Na'er stood beside Tang Wulin and listened quietly, a complicated light deep in her purple eyes. Her understanding of Huo Yuhao had been overturned once again—not only was he an unfathomably powerful mysterious expert capable of stripping away the Golden Dragon King's God Core, he was also someone who, for the sake of a promise—the warning about "Gu Yue" she had mentioned, as well as his connection to Tang Wulin's biological parents—would suffer such grave injuries without hesitation, yet still had a meticulous plan for what came next even after exhausting himself. That decisiveness, strength, and sense of responsibility added an indescribable trace of... respect? Or perhaps complicated feelings toward one of her own kind—someone else carrying secrets and burdens—to the unease she had felt after being seen through.

After the meal, the Tang family of four solemnly said their farewells and left Rain Spirit Grilled Fish Shop. They knew Huo Yuhao needed absolute quiet.

"Demon Spirit, let's go." Huo Yuhao was practically half-supported by Demon Spirit as he sat in the front passenger seat of the Realm Patrol. In his current condition, even driving was a struggle.

"Mm! Brother Yuhao, just sit tight and rest." Demon Spirit gently adjusted his seat and fastened his safety belt before getting into the driver's seat herself, her little face filled with seriousness. This Soul Tool car, which she had personally helped modify, was now about to push its performance to the limit.

"Optical camouflage at full power, Soul Power fluctuation suppression maximized. Realm Patrol, activate!"

The vehicle glided out without a sound. A layer of watery light rippled across its surface before it perfectly blended into the surroundings, as if it had vanished into thin air. It was not merely visually invisible; even its Soul Power fluctuations and sound were reduced to almost nothing. Demon Spirit's talent in Soul Tool formations and concealment technology allowed the car's stealth capabilities to evade the senses of most Soul Douluo and even ordinary Title Douluo. Its speed continuously increased as it raced down the dedicated Soul Tool vehicle lane, no slower than a high-speed Soul Tool train, yet so smooth it felt motionless.

Huo Yuhao leaned against the seatback with his eyes closed, resting. While focusing on driving, Demon Spirit occasionally glanced at him worriedly through the rearview mirror, her amber eyes full of heartache.

Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life Core Region

When the Realm Patrol passed through layers of forest in stealth mode and arrived at the heart of this Soul Beast holy land, Di Tian and the other fierce beasts had already been waiting beside the lake.

The first thing that came into view was a nearly transparent, enormous bowl-shaped energy barrier covering the entire core region. Its surface shimmered with flowing light, while countless fine runes and streams of data silently scrolled within it. This was the ultimate version of the Skyveil full-domain shielding system, developed through countless rounds of upgrades by combining Myriad Demon King's plant-sensing network, Scarlet King's scent concealment, Zi Ji's spatial interference, Bear Lord's energy barrier, and many other techniques. Not only could it completely isolate all energy, spiritual fluctuations, sound, and even scents within from leaking out, it could also simulate energy and life signatures perfectly identical to the surrounding environment. Even if human Super Douluo or Ultimate Douluo passed nearby, they would find it extremely difficult to detect anything unusual here without the most meticulous targeted probing. This was the Soul Beasts' final and safest experimental base and healing sanctuary.

Beneath the Skyveil barrier, Lake of Life shimmered with ripples, its dense life aura almost turning into tangible pale-green mist. Yet at this moment, the lake was surrounded by a massive ring-shaped Soul Tool device of an extraordinarily complex structure, interwoven in dark gold and jade green. The device consisted of countless curved alloy plates engraved with circuits. The material was strange, neither metal nor jade, warm and smooth to the touch, with a faint jade-green glow flowing within it. Bi Ji had personally helped design this special alloy and spent immense effort nurturing it over a long period with the origin power of her Jade Swan martial soul, incorporating her understanding of the laws of life into it. It was named Jade-Gold Life Resonance Alloy. This enormous healing Soul Tool, built primarily from that alloy, was named the Azurefall Celestial Ring.

"Azurefall Celestial Ring, activate!"

At Di Tian's signal, Bi Ji floated gracefully into the air. The Jade Swan martial soul blossomed behind her in soft yet boundless green radiance. She pressed both hands against the Azurefall Celestial Ring's main control core, and pure, vast life Soul Power surged into it like floodwaters released from a dam.

"Hum—!!!"

A deep roar rang out. Tens of thousands of runes on the Azurefall Celestial Ring lit up in sequence, changing from jade green to dazzling emerald gold! The entire ring began to slowly rotate, releasing a low, pleasant metallic resonance. At the center of the lake, the tranquil surface suddenly churned. Life lake water, concentrated to the extreme, was drawn out by an invisible force, atomized, and fused with the life Soul Power Bi Ji had injected!

In an instant, a jade-green energy storm more than ten meters in diameter, stretching from earth to sky, formed at the center of the lake! The storm was filled with the purest power of life laws and healing energy. At its edges, tiny phantoms of Jade Swans could vaguely be seen circling and dancing. How powerful was its healing ability? In theory, as long as a living being retained even a trace of life imprint and its most basic intact organs, such as the brain and heart, physical injuries could rapidly regenerate and heal at a speed visible to the naked eye within the storm's center! This was a miraculous scene created by perfectly combining Bi Ji's top-tier healing ability, Lake of Life's accumulation over countless years, and the terrifying amplification of the Azurefall Celestial Ring.

However, when Huo Yuhao, supported by Demon Spirit and Bear Lord, stepped into the center of the storm, the situation was far from promising. The vast life energy, enough to regrow flesh on bones and revive the dead, poured into his battered body like mud sinking into the sea. The injuries caused by the Golden Dragon King's Divine Power did not affect only his flesh; they were deeply branded into his energy channels and divine origin. They carried powerful properties of destruction and immortality, giving them an extremely high resistance to pure life energy. The jade-green currents advanced through his body with difficulty, and the rate of recovery was far below expectations.

"Just as expected, it isn't enough... Activate Triple Celestial Ring Mode!" Di Tian ordered in a deep voice, golden light flashing in his eyes.

"Leave it to me!" Bear Lord roared, slamming his fan-sized hand onto a special activation hub of the Azurefall Celestial Ring.

"Clang—! Creak—!"

The roar of massive machinery rang out. The once unified Azurefall Celestial Ring abruptly split apart at its connections, becoming a slightly smaller inner ring, an outer ring, and a core control ring floating directly above! Following precisely predetermined paths, the three rings began spinning at different speeds around Huo Yuhao at the center!

The inner ring rotated clockwise, stabilizing and guiding Lake of Life's primal life force.

The outer ring rotated counterclockwise, amplifying and compressing the life Soul Power Bi Ji released.

The upper ring rotated vertically, responsible for harmonizing and resonating with them, then geometrically amplifying the power of the first two before precisely injecting it into him!

"Azurefall Celestial Ring: Triple Amplification Array, full-power output—healing effectiveness increased by 300%!"

Bear Lord's voice rolled like muffled thunder. The entire device's roar reached its peak. Its intricate internal components endured immense pressure, releasing strained sizzling sounds and scattered sparks, but it truly succeeded!

The jade-green energy storm at the lake's center abruptly deepened in color, nearly becoming tangible emerald substance! The storm's howl transformed into a sacred hum. This time, the powerful healing force finally began to shake the stubborn injuries inflicted by the Golden Dragon King. A healthy flush appeared on Huo Yuhao's pale face at a visible speed. The fine cracks and bruises across his body rapidly healed, his dried-up meridians were nourished, and torn muscle fibers reconnected... The purely physical damage was forcibly repaired before this collective creation of wisdom that bordered on a miracle.

Time slowly passed. The Azurefall Celestial Ring operated at full power for several hours. Its interior overheated, multiple auxiliary formations overloaded and began smoking, and even the costly Jade-Gold Life Resonance Alloy developed tiny fatigue cracks. Creating this preliminary prototype had nearly emptied two years' worth of most of the profits from the Emerald Court fashion empire and the Dark-Gold Heavy Peak workshop. The greatest expense had not been the materials, but countless failed experiments—how could a Soul Tool, a mere tool, steadily amplify the inherent healing properties of a top-tier healing martial soul like Bi Ji's? It involved extraordinarily complex laws of life and Soul Power resonance coding, and every experiment consumed astronomical resources.

Finally, as the setting sun edged the forest in gold, Huo Yuhao slowly drew a deep, prolonged breath at the storm's center and exhaled a mouthful of turbid air carrying a faint, mottled golden-gray aura. All his external wounds had healed, and his complexion had returned to normal. Although the depletion of his soul and origin could not be restored in a short time, his physical condition had recovered to more than seventy percent.

"Creak—grind—"

Accompanied by a final burst of tooth-aching mechanical groans and a massive eruption of steam, the Azurefall Celestial Ring, having finally completed its mission, stopped operating. The three rings sagged weakly and crashed heavily onto the lakeshore. Overload-burned sparks flickered in many places, temporarily declaring the device out of service.

The storm dispersed, and Lake of Life returned to calm.

Huo Yuhao opened his eyes. His ice-blue gaze had regained its usual brilliance, though exhaustion still lingered deep within. Walking across the lake's surface, he made his way toward the shore step by step.

"Brother Yuhao!" Demon Spirit, who had been anxiously waiting with her hands tightly clasped, was the first to rush forward. Unable to hold back any longer, she threw herself into Huo Yuhao's arms like a bird returning to its nest, hugging him tightly. Her voice trembled with tears and lingering fear. "You scared me to death... You really scared me to death this time!"

Huo Yuhao gently patted her back, comforting the younger sister who had remained strong all this time and only now let all her worry show. His gaze swept across every companion around him, their faces filled with concern and exhaustion—steady Di Tian, gentle Bi Ji, rough but dependable Bear Lord... Warmth surged through his heart.

"Thank you, everyone," he said softly. His voice was quiet, yet it clearly carried across the lakeshore.