Investigating Qiankun Asking Love Valley, an Unexpected Turn Within (4,000 Words)

The battle between Wu Zhangkong and Lin Moxuan entered its final stage; both held nothing back and activated their Martial Soul Avatar.

Lin Moxuan's Eighth Soul Ring lit up, and the Jade Qilin phantom roared to the sky. A towering emerald pillar of light descended from the heavens, its crystalline light filling the world, dreamlike and illusory. Wherever the light passed, even space itself seemed to be crystallized, making people unconsciously want to sink into it and fall into an eternal emerald dream.

Wu Changkong also unleashed his eighth soul skill, his body condensing into countless ice flowers of icy energy. The moment these ice flowers bloomed, the temperature in the air plummeted. He completely integrated the power of extreme cold into the sword intent of the Heavenly Frost Sword, condensing it into an invisible and intangible yet indestructible sword beam.

Two Destruction forces collided head-on, and blinding light engulfed everything. Emerald and ice intertwined, crystal light and Sword Intent entangled, and the entire arena space twisted and deformed at this moment.

When the light faded, all that could be seen was Wu Zhangkong's sword, which was stopped three inches from Lin Moxuan's throat, but could not go any further.

Because half of Wu Zhangkong Changkong's body, from his right shoulder to his right hand, and then to half of his chest, had completely transformed into a crystal-clear jade. Under the light, that half-crystallized body refracted a dreamlike glow.

Wu Zhangkong remained silent for a long while, then sighed softly.

"I lost."

Although he had somewhat anticipated it, he didn't expect to lose so early.

"I've heard about your exploits. If you hadn't wasted your time before, I might not have won."

Lin Moxuan shook his head, turned around, and stepped off the stage.

"We'll fight again when we reach our peak in the future."

Wu Zhangkong glanced at the woman on stage who was cheering him on, then quickly looked away and turned his gaze back to Lin Moxuan.

Yes, it will.

Although he is naturally aloof, he does have a competitive spirit.

The two stepped off the stage, but the applause from the audience continued for Jiujiu.

After watching the competition for a few more rounds, Huo Yuhao said to Wang Hongchen, "Now that the deal has been struck, I'd like to go to the Central Region to check on the situation at Qiankun Asking Love Valley. Is that alright?"

"There's nothing wrong with that."

Wang Hongchen nodded, drew a light screen in the void, and handed some things to Huo Yuhao.

"This is information about Qiankun Asking Love Valley, collected by the Ming De Hall, along with the authorization to open the Qiankun Asking Love Valley passage. Hopefully, it will come in handy."

Thank you.

Huo Yuhao thanked him and disappeared from the spot.

In the central division of the Star Dou Battle Network, Huo Yuhao saw a familiar figure walk into the arena.

It's Gu Ruiqiu ----

Huo Yuhao paused slightly, his gaze falling on the slender figure in the arena.

He knew this girl had participated in the selection, and Gu Yuena had come to cheer her on. As for Gu Ruiqiu's abilities...

The entire arena erupted in uproar when Gu Ruiqiu's Battle Armor appeared as the battle began.

"I wasn't mistaken last time, she really does have Four-Word Battle Armor!"

"She actually possesses Four-Word Battle Armor —who is the Divine Craftsman to her?"

"Don't you Hidden Sect even know this? His Majesty the Dragon God is a Spirit Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda, and has an extremely good relationship with those two. Is it strange that he possesses Four-Word Battle Armor?"

"A Four-Word Battle Armor Master, and possessing the Ultimate Golden Dragon Martial Soul —presumably, apart from Limit Douluo, few can rival her."

That's exactly right.

Huo Yuhao agreed with the opinions of these knowledgeable Douluo people.

Nowadays, apart from Limit Douluo, there are few people at the Titled Douluo level who can rival Gu Ruiqiu.

only----

"Your Majesty the Dragon God? How did the Titled Douluo Dragon God become hers? Wasn't she very resistant to it yesterday?"

Huo Yuhao looked to his side in confusion and saw that Gu Yuena had arrived there at some point.

"It's not Titled Douluo, it's a nickname. Doesn't the Star Dou Battle Network have nicknames? She didn't object to the title 'Dragon God' before; she directly used 'Dragon God' as her nickname."

Gu Yuena said in Youyou voice, "After hearing what I said yesterday, she wanted to change it, but I stopped her. Because she hadn't decided on Titled Douluo for herself before, the audience took her nickname as her Titled Douluo, and that's what they call her now. After today's battle, her Titled Douluo will basically be set—at least that's how the world sees it."

If too many people are saying it, then it's not true. At most Gu Ruiqiu herself might disagree, but if anyone's to blame, it's only because she likes to cause trouble; she can't blame anyone else.

However, it's really not a big deal; it's just an Titled Douluo ban, not a real loss.

Surely one can't inherit extraordinary wisdom just because of Titled Douluo?

Huo Yuhao smiled upon hearing this, "You don't need to care so much about the Dragon God's deeds."

"How could I ignore those things? At most, I'd just try not to think about them. Since Ruiqiu caused this scene, teasing her a bit wouldn't hurt; it'll help me relax."

Gu Yuena smiled helplessly, then glanced at Huo Yuhao.

She had reason to suspect that Yuhao, who knew about the Dragon God's deeds, might have teased her in secret before. After all, in other people's eyes, those things were indeed so outrageous that they made people laugh.

But this is nobody's fault but the Dragon God's.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore."

Gu Yuena withdrew her gaze, no longer dwelling on the topic. "You came so quickly, has the competition over there finished?"

"The first round is over, and the second round has just begun. However, I've observed Xu Xiaoyan and her team's upcoming opponents, and they're not particularly strong, so there's no need to worry."

Huo Yuhao looked towards the boundary of the virtual space.

"So I came here to explore the alternate dimension connected to this place, and to set things up while I'm at it."

"Another dimension—it really wasn't my imagination."

Gu Yuena also looked towards the edge of the void, lost in thought, "Who left this here?"

"That's where Goddess of Love fell after being betrayed by his lover, a place used to test emotions and sincerity," Huo Yuhao shrugged.

"----She, the goddess of Goddess of Love, was betrayed, and now she comes to test other people's sincerity?" Gu Yuena was speechless.

As a deity, he couldn't even see the true face of his beloved at first, yet after death he had to test the sincerity of mortals.

--Can she test him to understand?

Are those who pass the test in the Qiankun Asking Love Valley truly in love?

Why won't she believe it?

"It wasn't a benevolent place to begin with, so there's no need to worry about the logic within it." Huo Yuhao shook his head.

According to the original Tang Sect records, that place was a treasure land, but in his view, it was purely an evil place.

Qiankun Asking Love Valley, just looking at its activation conditions reveals the brutal nature of the Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

Each time the Qiankun Asking Love Valley opens, it requires the Life and blood of a couple who have betrayed their love. (This is how it is in the original novel; see Chapter 352 of Douluo Continent II for details.)

In other words, it was a blood sacrifice!

If such a place were to remain in the world and be exploited, the consequences would be unimaginable. According to the original text, the Holy Spirit Cult seems to have used the Qiankun Asking Love Valley multiple times, each time capturing a couple or lovers for sacrifice. They watched them betray their love in the face of life and death, then used them as living sacrifices to open the Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

Calling such a place a treasure is utterly ridiculous.

"In that case—do you need my help?"

"No need. Just send people to scout inside, inscribe some runes, and set up some Soul Tool. I won't go in."

As Huo Yuhao spoke, he moved and arrived at the boundary of the virtual space.

Seeing this, Gu Yuena followed closely behind.

Standing at the edge of the virtual space, Huo Yuhao recalled the information given to him by Wang Hongchen and began searching for the passageway to the Ming De Hall.

In this day and age, Ming De Hall would certainly not perform any blood sacrifices.

Through research, Ming De Hall had long ago mastered the spatial coordinates of Qiankun Asking Love Valley, and even built this alternate space based on Qiankun Asking Love Valley. Naturally, there are other ways to enter Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

This derivative alternate dimension has a portal leading to the Qiankun Asking Love Valley. Although opening it requires a large amount of Power of Space, it is obviously nothing compared to a blood sacrifice.

"That portal—"

"Here."

Huo Yuhao raised his hand, and as his Soul Power surged, a portal suddenly opened in the originally chaotic space. The portal was silver-white, with a faint glow around its edges; it was the stable passage built by the Ming De Hall.

After finding this place, Huo Yuhao did not rush to use the permissions given to him by Wang Hongchen to open the passage here, but instead made preparations first.

This passage allows entry but not exit. After all, the rules of Qiankun Asking Love Valley can even restrict Limit Douluo. You can't get out without completing those tests of the heart and taking risks inside. Of course, there is one exception: those who, like the Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, are too old and have no emotional entanglements, and are exempt from the test.

And such people----

Huo Yuhao does indeed have it.

The Seven Old Devils were forced to work overtime again, looking at Huo Yuhao with blank expressions.

As Thousand Years demons, their past loves and hates have long since vanished, leaving only their souls. They are even more qualified for exemption from the Qiankun Asking Love Valley than the Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult.

However, just to be on the safe side, he decided to do some screening anyway.

"You two are not lovers, step forward."

The seven of them took a step forward in unison.

Huo Yuhao:

As members of the Shrek Seven Monsters, none of you have a partner. You haven't inherited the tradition, no wonder you became cannon fodder.

"Then Nightmare and Destruction will come first."

Huo Yuhao approached the two old demons and placed some additional restrictions on them, such as restrictions that would cause their souls to perish if they tried to reveal certain information or had their souls searched.

The Seven Old Devils didn't know much about him, but he planned to take the opportunity to test him, so it would be best to set up some restrictions.

After doing all this, Huo Yuhao inscribed some special runes and handed over some Soul Tool to the two of them.

"Go in and inscribe these runes in the void—"

These runes and Soul Tool can fine-tune the spatial structure, accelerating his fusion and refining of the Qiankun Asking Love Valley, and preparing him for later devouring the Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

Hmm, does this look familiar?

Arranging runes and refining "a realm"—he's actually an Emperor?

The thought suddenly popped into Huo Yuhao's mind, and he found it somewhat amusing.

That would make "one realm" seem too petty.

A moment later, after watching the two old demons enter the passage, Gu Yuena looked at Huo Yuhao and transmitted her voice, "Yuhao, you set up restrictions for them because you believe there might be gods among them?"

"That's right."

Huo Yuhao nodded. "Ming De Hall doesn't have complete control over Qiankun Asking Love Valley either, so the information can't be entirely trusted. Letting them go in to set up runes and Soul Tool is also a way to test the waters—just a casual test. Success would be great, but failure wouldn't matter."

"But wouldn't that alert the enemy?"

Gu Yuena glanced at the Five Old Demons, "They are souls; it's too strange for them to enter the Qiankun Asking Love Valley."

"Over the years, Ming De Hall has invested a wide variety of beings into the Qiankun Asking Love Valley in its research, and their souls are not considered strange."

Huo Yuhao smiled, "Moreover, souls pose the least threat. Even gods with only a sliver of Divine Consciousness left are easy to control. That's why if there are gods inside, they're more likely to intervene if they sense something's wrong."

If one has to be cautious and deliberate even when facing a group of souls, then Huo Yuhao felt that the deities among them were not Douluo gods.

Douluo Dashen wasn't this cautious; there are very few cunning schemers like him.

This is a vast lake surrounded by mountains, with crystal-clear water that is most remarkably golden and silver in color.

At the heart of the lake, a circular expanse of golden water radiates intense golden light, like a warm sun; close beside it, a crescent-shaped silver lake embraces it, exuding a soft silver glow. Sun Moon Empire shine together, coexisting in one lake.

Nightmare and the Old Devil Destruction had just appeared here when, without delay, they set up runes and Soul Tool according to Huo Yuhao's orders.

They encountered nothing unusual along the way, but before they could make their arrangements for long, a voice rang in their ears.

"----Only a soul remains, too old to experience genuine adventure, and love is no longer possible. No reward, you are permitted to leave."

Is this awful place discriminating against us?

Old Devil Nightmare's face darkened, and before they could react, he was thrown out of Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

Huo Yuhao was not surprised and allowed the next batch of old demons to enter.

For people in their situation, the advantage of entering Qiankun Asking Love Valley is that they don't have to go through those trials or pay the price; the disadvantage is that they won't stay long before they are kicked out.

But it doesn't matter, since Qiankun Asking Love Valley won't set up a blacklist to directly prohibit entry, nor will it throw out the things placed inside. You can just enter repeatedly.

Ming De Hall also used this method to study the space of Qiankun Asking Love Valley.

Time flies, and several dozen days have passed in the blink of an eye.

While Huo Yuhao was preparing to refine the Qiankun Asking Love Valley, the battle for the Federation selection became increasingly fierce.

After the points competition ended, even Limit Douluo participated, and they were Limit Douluo that were not well known to the general public.

As for Yun Ming, Amorous, and the others, they naturally wouldn't participate. Their identities were too sensitive, and like Guan Yue, they were unsuitable to become the Hall Master of the War God Temple. If they were to take the position, considering the past events at Shrek, it would give the public the impression of a demotion in name only, which would not be a good thing.

While the selection process was in full swing, Huo Yuhao also encountered an unexpected turn of events.

"The restrictions I set have been removed?"

Huo Yuhao's gaze sharpened, and his brows furrowed.

During this time, he felt like he was fighting against thin air, never expecting that there was actually a problem here.

To remove the restriction on him, one's Divine Power must be at least higher than his current level.

In other words, it's the Divine Origin Realm!

"Ming De Hall has very effective surveillance of this space, so it couldn't be Da Ming Er Ming, and their group. Then, who is inside?"