The Black Phoenix Mecha flew at a steady speed.
Na'er sat upright in the pilot's seat, "piloting" with every appearance of competence.
Between the demands of mecha design and what he had picked up while sitting in on mecha maintenance lessons, Su Xun had already gained some insight into piloting.
Now, he stood beside Na'er, guiding her.
Leng Yaozhu sat casually with her legs crossed, exposing broad expanses of snowy, silky skin.
A smile on her face, she quietly sipped her tea and watched the two little ones pilot the mecha.
But she had no idea what Qiangu Dongfeng was thinking.
Had she heard the words "Zhu Zhu," she would probably have been sickened beyond endurance. She might even have fallen out with Qiangu Dongfeng on the spot.
Three years ago, the bottleneck barring her from becoming a Limit Douluo had loosened.
Now, using the search for a suitable Soul Spirit for Su Xun as an excuse, she had secretly broken through to the Limit Douluo realm while away.
After her breakthrough, she had stayed away from the Spirit Pagoda for half a year.
Her goal was to consolidate her cultivation first and completely rein in her leaking aura.
Logically, after breaking through to the Limit Douluo realm, even if she did not announce it to the world,
she should at least have stirred up an enormous wave within the Spirit Pagoda.
After all, a true Limit Douluo carried far too much significance.
At that point, both Leng Yaozhu's and the Leng Family's standing within the Spirit Pagoda would soar.
But Leng Yaozhu had not done so.
She knew Qiangu Dongfeng very well.
Under the current circumstances, rashly announcing her breakthrough might well drive Qiangu Dongfeng to leap over the wall like a cornered dog.
She was waiting.
Waiting for her cultivation to stabilize completely and advance to the Demigod realm.
She was also waiting for the perfect occasion, aiming to settle everything with one strike and maximize her gains.
Whoosh!
The Black Phoenix Mecha roared along, and several hours later, the East Sea coastline came into view.
But it did not stop, continuing onward.
The coordinates for the "East Sea Purple Bamboo Forest" had already been delivered to Leng Yaozhu, so the three of them could head straight there.
They flew for several more hours.
As far as the eye could see, there was no land at all.
At that point, the Black Phoenix Mecha, which had followed the coordinates since heading out to sea, stopped in midair.
"Are we there?"
Na'er blinked sleepily. Once she was no longer allowed to pilot, she had happily drifted off into dreamland.
Su Xun also stood up and looked outside.
Yet all he saw was a vast ocean. Where was this supposed "Cliffside Purple Bamboo growth"?
Leng Yaozhu's brows also furrowed slightly.
But the information sent by her subordinate had clearly prepared her for this, so she remained composed.
With a thought, she brought Su Xun and Na'er outside the mecha.
Her Spirit Domain Realm Spiritual Power rippled outward. Soon, she discovered something unusual and stepped forward.
For a fleeting moment, a phoenix's cry seemed to ring out.
Then, above the rippling ocean, the sound of waves striking a cliff suddenly emerged.
A scene of purple bamboo growing atop a sea cliff, seemingly existing within an illusion, abruptly appeared.
Leng Yaozhu led Su Xun and Na'er into that illusory scene.
The next moment, the ocean around them vanished.
They seemed to have stepped through some kind of spatial gateway and entered another world.
This was actually a small world existing within a crack in space!
"Unless it appears by chance, the gateway will only reveal itself when touched by Spiritual Power at the Spirit Domain Realm or above."
"No wonder nobody discovered it before."
"Even if someone happened to see it, they wouldn't be able to enter."
Leng Yaozhu murmured.
During a lengthy investigation, her trusted subordinate had witnessed the spatial gateway reveal itself by chance.
But lacking the cultivation to enter, the subordinate had sent the information back.
Naturally, that subordinate had long since returned.
An ordinary mecha could not maintain a soul-guidance signal reaching all the way inland from this vast ocean.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
Na'er's silver eyes shone as she excitedly surveyed their surroundings.
Su Xun, however, grew nervous.
Leng Yaozhu patted Su Xun's head and said softly,
"If this doesn't work out, I'll keep looking with you."
"It's hardly a big deal."
Warmth filled Su Xun's heart, and he wanted to give his beloved teacher a great big hug.
Seeing through his intentions at a glance, Leng Yaozhu felt both annoyed and amused as she tapped his chest with a slender finger.
"You little rascal, you're getting bolder and bolder!"
"Have I been spoiling you too much?"
Su Xun let out an "Ah?" and asked in confusion,
"Teacher, what are you talking about? Your disciple doesn't understand!"
Na'er turned her head.
"What are you two mumbling about?"
"Let's get onto the island already! I want to see what the black-and-white bear looks like!"
Su Xun chimed in.
"Exactly, exactly."
Leng Yaozhu laughed in exasperation and raised a hand to rap Su Xun on the head, but her eyes brimmed with touching tenderness.
Her power surged, carrying Su Xun and Na'er into the sky above Purple Bamboo Island.
With a sweep of her Spiritual Power, she immediately spotted an endearingly bumbling Black-and-White Bear digging up Purple Bamboo Shoots in the bamboo forest.
It then deftly peeled them, stuffed them into its mouth, and enjoyed its meal.
"Wow, that looks so tasty."
"Su Xun, I want some too! Hurry up and dig some up for me!"
Na'er wiped away her drool as she shook Su Xun's arm.
"..."
Master and disciple, Leng Yaozhu and Su Xun, fell silent together.
Then, with tacit agreement, they ignored Na'er, whose gluttonous nature had erupted.
After sensing it for a while, Leng Yaozhu said somewhat hesitantly,
"It has over nine thousand years of cultivation. With the strength and resilience of your Spiritual Power, absorbing it shouldn't be difficult."
"But it's really a little too... adorably dim."
"Are you sure the Six Desires Immortal is reacting?"
Su Xun took a deep breath.
"Teacher, let's go down and try."
Leng Yaozhu nodded.
Her Spiritual Power had already swept across the entire island. Apart from this Black-and-White Bear, there were no traces of any other Soul Beasts.
The three landed a short distance from the Black-and-White Bear.
Clutching a Purple Bamboo Shoot and gnawing on it, the Black-and-White Bear watched the three of them descend without reacting, showing no fear of strangers at all.
Su Xun stared fixedly at the Black-and-White Bear before him.
Even though he had already formed an expectation before setting out,
seeing a panda so familiar from his previous life with his own eyes in this other world still inevitably stirred waves within his heart.
However, through his multicolored eyes, he could see what made this panda different.
"Strange. Why do I sense a... dragon aura coming from it?"
Na'er suddenly scratched her head and muttered under her breath.
Leng Yaozhu froze.
"What did you say?"
She had clearly sensed the pure dragon bloodline contained within Na'er's Silver Dragon Spear.
Thus, she would not dismiss Na'er's current impression as some muddled remark.
But a dragon aura on a Black-and-White Bear?
What the hell?!
Su Xun also froze and glanced at Na'er.
Then he took a deep breath and walked toward the Black-and-White Bear.
At the same time, as he drew closer, his body began to glow faintly. His Body Root had activated on its own!
Just as I thought!
Joy surged in Su Xun's heart. He had found the right one!
Seeing this, Leng Yaozhu stopped thinking about Na'er's words and watched Su Xun nervously, afraid something unexpected might happen during the process.
The instant light shone from Su Xun's body, the Black-and-White Bear enjoying its Purple Bamboo Shoots also froze, its eyes staring blankly at him.
Su Xun suddenly felt the bear sculpture within the Six Roots Tribulation Soil's "Origin Mindscape" tremble slightly.
He advanced step by step, walking right up to the Black-and-White Bear.
Then he reached out and rested his hand on its head.
The Black-and-White Bear did not resist. It merely stared at Su Xun curiously, without moving its eyes at all.
Su Xun said softly,
"Would you be willing to become my Soul Spirit?"
Whether the Black-and-White Bear understood him or not, it actually nodded.
Su Xun's smile broadened. Light flowed from his palm, and under the precise control of his Spiritual Power, the Soul Spirit Formation slowly took shape.
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