Departure for Slaughter City

Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent Inner Core.

In the original story, Brothel Phoenix had only barely succeeded in absorbing it at level seventy, under Tang San's guidance with the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Ning Rongrong's Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda enhancement.

Though that was also partly because Brothel Phoenix had neglected cultivation in everyday life.

Still, to absorb this Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent Inner Core, one's physique had to reach at least the level of a Soul Saint.

And without Soul Bones to strengthen his physique, using the Ghost Valley Breathing Technique to open up all the extraordinary meridians throughout his body was undoubtedly the best choice.

At that thought, Qin Xuan could not help sighing inwardly. It seemed he still had a long road ahead of him!

But he did not lose heart. His memories had returned late, and he had started out in hell, nearly losing his life.

Now, he had the superior Ghost Valley Breathing Technique and the Vertical and Horizontal Sword Technique, which was practically a dimensionality-reduction strike in Slaughter City.

Even if the system vanished now, Qin Xuan firmly believed that he could achieve more than Tang San had in the original story.

[OOC warning, OOC warning. Detected that the host wishes to unbind the system. The system will automatically unbind in three seconds. Would you like to cancel?]

"Fuck, I was just flexing. Did you have to take it seriously?" Qin Xuan hurriedly selected cancel.

He switched to the system shop page.

He spent 30,000 emotion points to buy a large batch of Antidote Pills, blood-clotting powder, Injury-Sealing Pills, and other miraculous healing medicines for internal and external use, then stored them in the Soul Tool at his waist.

He then walked to the mirror and put on [Phoenix Fire] and [Thousand Faces].

[Thousand Faces], which could disguise one's appearance and aura, transformed into his usual appearance and disguised his Soul Power fluctuations at around level fifty-six.

[Phoenix Fire], which could ward off miasma and disguise Martial Souls and Soul Rings, was far too ostentatious in style, so it transformed into black clothing that completely concealed his figure, complete with a hood.

"I never thought I would reach the point where I needed to disguise myself. How pathetic."

Qin Xuan checked himself from head to toe in the mirror. After confirming that there were no oversights, he finally let out a long breath, laughed at himself, and walked out of the room.

Two days had already passed since Qin Xuan obtained the Soul Bone.

On the day he obtained the Soul Bone, after Douluo Qian Jun dragged Qin Xuan through several unsuccessful attempts at the Martial Soul Fusion Skill,

Qin Xuan had asked Qian Jun for an unused room on the top floor of Elder Hall.

Rather than a room, it was more like a top-tier cultivation chamber and an artificial mimicry training ground.

It could completely isolate Soul Power fluctuations within. Those inside could sense the outside, but those outside could not sense what was within.

Furthermore, the Angel God Statue in the first-floor hall could calm one's mind and increase the rate of Soul Power absorption.

This made countless Soul Masters flock to Elder Hall.

Qin Xuan was Qian Jun's disciple and his hope for breaking through, so naturally, he did not refuse.

He spent two days refining the Immortal Herb and Soul Bone.

By the time he emerged from Elder Hall, Chrysanthemum Pass and Gui Mei, who had been ordered by Qian Xunji to escort Qin Xuan to Slaughter City, had already waited for a long time.

"Little Qin Xuan." A somewhat shrill voice entered Qin Xuan's ears.

It was still that golden armor complete with high heels and clawed gauntlets.

His appearance was still impossible to make out.

Chrysanthemum Pass and Gui Mei stood in a corner not far from the entrance to Elder Hall and waved at Qin Xuan.

"Senior Yue Guan, Senior Gui Mei."

It seems His Holiness the Pope really doesn't trust me. Those two probably arrived yesterday. Qin Xuan had already guessed their purpose, but he still put on an expression of surprise and quickly walked over.

"You brat sure made us wait." Yue Guan laughed as he scolded him.

Though he said that, there was not the slightest hint of resentment in his tone. Instead, he sounded relieved.

Who could blame them? Qin Xuan possessed such powerful talent and background.

It was easy to imagine just how terrifying his future accomplishments would be once he emerged from Slaughter City.

"Mhm." Gui Mei merely responded softly and slowly nodded.

Just as Qin Xuan had said, they had arrived early yesterday morning under the Pope's orders.

Who would have thought that Qin Xuan would not come out for two whole days?

Elder Hall was forbidden territory for anyone below the rank of Titled Douluo. Without being summoned, they were not qualified to enter.

As for going to the Pope? Failing to handle even such a trivial matter would just mean asking to be scolded.

Thus, they could only wait like this.

"Sorry for the trouble, sorry for the trouble. My Soul Power was already close to breaking through level fifty-five. After breaking through, I also needed to absorb the Soul Bone, which took quite some time. Sorry to have kept you two waiting."

Qin Xuan gave the excuse he had prepared long ago.

"Doesn't that mean you rose two levels in just these two days?"

Absorbing a Soul Bone could also increase Soul Power. Though a fifty- or sixty-thousand-year Soul Bone could not compare to a hundred-thousand-year one, it was more than enough to raise a Soul King by one level.

Chrysanthemum Pass released his spiritual power and examined Qin Xuan carefully. When he discovered that Qin Xuan's Soul Power had already reached level fifty-six, he felt shocked, envious, and a little bitter!

Soul Bones were such good things.

Why was it that he, Chrysanthemum Pass, was nearly ready to break through to Titled Douluo, yet still did not have even one?

Gui Mei echoed from the side, "Indeed. His Soul Power fluctuations have already reached around level fifty-six, and his spiritual power is not much weaker than ours."

"It seems that Soul Bone gave you quite a substantial boost." He said this to Qin Xuan.

"That really makes me jealous." Chrysanthemum Pass sounded somewhat sour. His words carried two meanings: he envied both Qin Xuan's talent and his Soul Bone.

Gui Mei could not stand Chrysanthemum Pass and urged, "Enough nonsense. We've already wasted plenty of time. Let's send Qin Xuan to Slaughter City as soon as possible so we can report back to His Holiness the Pope."

The three set off. Gui Mei walked ahead without saying a word, while Chrysanthemum Pass chatted with Qin Xuan about all sorts of random things.

Qin Xuan found it tiresome, but considering that Chrysanthemum Pass was one of the few people on Douluo Continent who recognized Immortal Herbs,

he used Chrysanthemum Pass's Martial Soul, the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, to steer the conversation toward Immortal Herbs.

Sure enough, Chrysanthemum Pass seemed to have found a kindred spirit. He tirelessly explained Immortal Herbs to Qin Xuan and even gave him an Immortal Herb Catalog that he had researched for many years.

That was an unexpected gain.

After leaving Spirit City, they headed north along mountain trails, and the air gradually grew colder.

They were all Soul Masters, so the cold of the outside world was nothing to them.

They traveled by day and camped by night.

After nearly ten days of rough travel, the three finally arrived at a small town.

The town was not large, yet it was extremely strange. Every passerby exuded a peculiar chill.

Qin Xuan understood perfectly well that they were about to enter Slaughter City. He had put on his hood early to conceal his true appearance.

It was now the turn of autumn and summer. Fallen leaves drifted everywhere, and the sun was setting. The evening glow in the west contrasted starkly with the ruined town, making it look especially desolate.

Led by Gui Mei, the three entered the town.

What surprised Qin Xuan slightly was that the imagined classic scene of showing off and humiliating people in a tavern never appeared, nor did Chrysanthemum Pass and Gui Mei make him drink Bloody Mary.

Gui Mei merely stood outside a ruined house, took out a special Spirit Hall token, and before long, noisy sounds and the rumbling of mechanisms came from within.

The wall of the house split open, and an eleven-man squad burst out through the doorway, forming a neat line before the three of them.

They were all dressed in black armor, with even their faces completely covered by helmet masks.

Ten of them held refined iron ghost-faced shields in their left hands and spears in their right. The leader sat atop a warhorse, pulled aside the reins to clear the way, and gestured for Qin Xuan to enter.

PS: Second update.