The Thousand-Year Light Butterfly!

The group changed direction.

They traveled for nearly half a day.

Sure enough, though the towering trees around them grew denser, the soil underfoot was no longer slick.

The air grew much drier too.

Bright sunlight passed unhindered through the branches and leaves, spilling over the dry rocks below.

The group pressed on.

At last, they entered a broad, sunlit hollow.

Yue Guan, who was leading the way, suddenly raised a hand for everyone to stop.

On a huge sunflower ahead of them perched a butterfly as large as a washbasin.

Its body was entirely golden, and its wings were covered in fine patterns. It had extended its slender proboscis to drink the sunflower's nectar.

"That's a Light Butterfly, a little over a hundred years old."

Yue Guan kept his voice low.

Qian Renchuan's eyes sharpened.

"Light Butterflies live in groups. If there's one here, there must be a sizable colony nearby."

"Take care of it first. We don't want it flying off and alerting the whole colony."

"Right."

Gui Mei moved at once, becoming a black shadow that skimmed across the ground.

The hundred-year Light Butterfly had no chance even to flap its wings before Gui Mei killed it.

He had not used a Soul Ring.

It was a hopelessly one-sided strike.

The body drifted down onto one of the sunflower's broad leaves.

With that sentinel dealt with, the group cautiously continued their search.

Before long,

the view ahead opened up.

A lake as clear as a mirror appeared before them.

Strange flowers and grasses grew all around its shores, filling the air with a rich fragrance.

And above the lakeshore,

dozens—perhaps hundreds—of Light Butterflies danced through the air.

Golden lights of every size fluttered among the flowers, weaving a dazzling curtain of light.

It was a beautiful sight.

But Qian Renxue, standing at the edge of the lakeshore, swept a keen gaze over the vast colony.

Within seconds,

her eyes fixed on a thick piece of deadwood near the center of the lakeshore.

An especially striking Light Butterfly rested there.

Its body alone was twice the size of the others around it.

Its wings spanned more than a meter when fully spread.

The patterns on them had the deep, heavy gleam of solid gold.

Most striking of all was the strange ring of incandescent light along their edges. Each slight beat of its wings seemed to scorch the surrounding air, making it faintly ripple.

"That's the one."

Qian Renxue raised a hand and pointed.

"A wingspan over a meter, dazzling golden markings, and white light along the edges. Those are the clearest signs of a thousand-year Light Butterfly."

"That's the one I want."

At her words, Yue Guan's and Gui Mei's faces twitched with helpless dismay.

They had planned to pick a four- or five-hundred-year Light Butterfly from the colony and pass it off as her target.

They had not expected Miss Xue to know the traits of a thousand-year Light Butterfly so well.

Now,

their plan was ruined.

At this point, the two Titled Douluo had no other choice.

The Grand Priest had given his approval, so they could only grit their teeth and go through with it.

Both Titled Douluo struck at once.

Neither even released his Martial Soul. Relying on the overwhelming pressure of his Soul Power and his extraordinary speed, each charged into the colony.

Soul Power surged from their palms

and spread into great waves of invisible force.

Ordinary Light Butterflies, ten or a hundred years old, fell in swathes.

A shower of gold seemed to rain down over the lakeshore.

They had to kill the ordinary Light Butterflies to clear the area. None could be allowed to interfere while Qian Renxue absorbed her Soul Ring.

As Yue Guan cleared the colony,

Gui Mei appeared above the thousand-year Light Butterfly like a ghost.

The butterfly seemed to sense mortal danger. It beat its wings hard, releasing a burst of blinding white light in one last attempt to resist.

But Gui Mei's withered hand passed straight through the light and struck precisely at the base of its wings.

Bones cracked sharply.

The thousand-year Light Butterfly let out a shrill cry.

Its huge body fell like a kite with a severed string. It struggled on the ground but could no longer fly.

The fight had been over in moments.

The ordinary Light Butterflies along the lakeshore were gone, and their target lay badly wounded.

Qian Renxue hurried toward the dying thousand-year Light Butterfly.

Yue Guan followed beside her. His lips moved, as though he still wanted to make one last attempt to stop her.

But when he saw her draw a short blade,

he swallowed his words.

The next instant, Qian Renxue drove the blade into the butterfly's vital point without hesitation.

Squelch.

Blood spattered.

The Light Butterfly's huge body convulsed violently, then went still.

Soon, flecks of purple light rose from its body and gathered in midair, swiftly forming a purple Soul Ring that radiated a sacred glow.

Purple.

That meant a thousand-year Soul Ring.

Qian Renxue turned to look at her elder brother, Qian Renchuan, one last time.

As if reassured by the look in his eyes, she immediately sat cross-legged.

She stilled her breath and focused,

drawing the purple Soul Ring into her body.

But the instant it entered her, Qian Renxue's slender body went rigid and began to tremble violently.

The immense thousand-year Soul Power swept through her like a flood breaking through a dam.

In an instant,

Qian Renxue's expression changed.

She felt as though every bone in her body were being crushed, bit by bit, beyond her control.

Tiny beads of blood began to seep through her skin.

They ran down her cheeks

and slowly stained her clothes red.

The finest Whale Rubber had greatly strengthened her body, but absorbing a Soul Ring hundreds of years beyond her limit still brought agony as her meridians were stretched and remade, inch by inch. It was more than an ordinary person could bear.

But Qian Renxue had lived once before.

Her will was unyielding.

No one could match it.

From beginning to end, she made no sound, even as her nails dug into her palms.

On the backs of her hands,

veins bulged!!!

A few steps away, Yue Guan and Gui Mei watched with conflicted expressions.

They hardly dared breathe.

At the first sign that the Second Young Lady's body might burst, they would stop the absorption without hesitation. Even if it left her badly injured, they had to save her life.

But time passed,

and though more blood beaded on Qian Renxue's skin, her aura gradually grew steadier.

At the sight,

Yue Guan was stunned.

After wiping cold sweat from his forehead, he instinctively turned to see how the Eldest Young Master and Third Young Master were reacting.

What he saw

left him frozen.

On the grass not far away,

Qian Renchuan had, at some point, taken a folding lounge chair from his Storage Soul Tool and was reclining comfortably in it.

Huo Yuhao sat in another chair beside him.

With a piece of metal and a Carving Knife in hand, he was concentrating on carving a Soul Tool casing.

Every so often,

he picked up the teapot on the table, poured a full cup, and pushed it toward the Eldest Young Master.

Neither spoke throughout.

But the bond between the Eldest Young Master and Third Young Master had clearly become remarkably close.

More importantly,

neither seemed worried about Miss Xue at all.