I Am the Answer

The Devouring Golden Threads danced wildly like golden snakes, swiftly closing in around the energy membrane, only to be scattered by a gale once they came within a certain range.

It was a sharp, intensely corrosive force, like a cutting gale that could slice through solid objects and wear away the soul. Though this was his first encounter with it, Ren Tao guessed it was wind-element energy belonging to the Douluo World.

But after entering their second stage of evolution, the Devouring Golden Threads had become exceptionally resilient, and they also contained traces of divine power, so they could not be severed.

Yet neither could they penetrate the membrane to devour the energy within.

This was the second round of the contest between the White-Haired Woman and Ren Tao.

Light flared in Ren Tao's eyes. Seeing that the energy was about to break through the membrane and seep into the outside world, he threw caution aside and frantically summoned the power of the Sea of Inheritance, drawing out the violet radiance in the air bit by bit before swiftly pouring it into the Devouring Golden Threads.

Under the clash of the two forces, the golden threads pulled taut, straight as needles. They moved swiftly, dodging the cutting gale, until suddenly they broke through the membrane and touched the true energy within.

Like red-hot coals meeting pristine snow, or a gold prospector discovering gleaming yellow ore, the golden threads needed no urging from Ren Tao. With a fierce surge, they erupted with several times their previous strength and swarmed inside, plunging into the torrent of energy.

"Ah..."

A faint sigh sounded like a murmur in sleep, yet it made Ren Tao's cheeks flush. This was the side effect of devouring: it always felt as though he were facing certain embarrassing physical urges, sending his imagination wandering into indecent territory.

But at such moments, he also briefly shared the sensations of the person subjected to it.

Ren Tao immediately discovered that the White-Haired Woman's consciousness had appeared again and was brazenly scanning his spiritual awareness. She still seemed hung up on what he had said earlier, trying to break free of the confusion he had caused her, which made her utterly fixated on uncovering his true thoughts.

The instant their spiritual awareness met, it felt as though they had experienced countless events, countless memories fluttering past like the pages of a book.

The White-Haired Woman had sighed because, even after searching all of Ren Tao's memories, she had not found the answer she wanted. She still could not understand why his ambitions were so ordinary. Could they really represent the direction of the future?

Within their consciousness, it seemed to last only a second, yet also seemed to span many years. In the outside world, however, only a few minutes had passed.

Ren Tao's furious extraction of energy also drew the White-Haired Woman's full attention, weakening the eruption. Without anyone guiding it, the energy still burst forth like collapsing mountains and a roaring tsunami, but it was far too scattered. As a result, this first "gusher" was much less powerful than the Soul Beasts had expected.

"Suppress!"

To avoid creating a resonant hum, Big Sister Shui uttered a single clipped syllable.

Then Jin Hai's face turned a golden red, and the suckers on his tentacles bulged, each growing to the size of a water vat and firmly gripping the surrounding space. Black ring-shaped markings appeared on Yin Zhang's face, spreading along his eight tentacles until they formed black halos. Giant Python's upper abdomen swelled instantly, inflating into an enormous funnel, while Giant Crocodile swung his tail and spat out ring after ring of rippling water.

These skills overlapped, and Shui Ling'er coated them with a faint layer of lightning. Together, they formed a transparent barrier, like an enormous bowl filled with energy of every color, upturned over the erupting blast.

Bang! Bang, bang, bang!

The muffled impacts of energy rang out one after another, and flashes of multicolored energy burst across every Soul Beast's body. Naturally, the one bearing the greatest impact was their big sister, the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast Shui Ling'er.

Her lightning created an attractive force that acted like an adhesive, gathering the Soul Beasts' powers together, which meant she had to bear a portion of every impact.

About two minutes later, just as the first energy gusher was about to end, Shui Ling'er made her first mistake. A section of her jellyfish bell suddenly caved inward, dense flashes of lightning flickering across it.

"Ah!"

"You're shocking me to death!"

Ran Laowu and Yin Zhang convulsed, their eyes nearly rolling back. Shui Ling'er's electricity had gone out of control, and the two of them, being closest, bore the brunt of it. Black smoke rose from their bodies.

Just then, the second surge of energy came...

Though the violent blast was not as sudden as the first, it was fiercer and more sustained. After absorbing the first wave, Ren Tao experienced a brief mental "slump," like the trembling after a climax. Thus, although he recognized the danger, his body still reacted a beat too slowly.

An enormous tide of energy swept past, violently churning the water. An arc of energy abruptly tore open the barrier beside Ran Laowu and sent his massive body tumbling. Then radiating ripples spread in a long, narrow fan, racing into the distance with piercing explosive shrieks!

"Watch out!"

Jin Hai swiftly shifted position. This was his Thrust skill, which allowed him to reach his desired position quickly. It differed slightly from Teleportation, but was perfect for this situation, instantly filling the gap left by Ran Laowu.

But with Jin Hai's sudden departure, the pressure on E Laosi began mounting sharply. He roared, his short foreclaws trembling violently. The energy barrier before him felt unbearably scorching and shook rapidly, threatening to fling his body away at any moment.

At that critical instant, Ren Tao stepped in. The wings on his back beat, and his hands plunged into the energy barrier like two clusters of golden light. At the same time, golden light flashed behind him, pouring a tremendous stream of energy into E Laosi's body.

"Ah!"

The man and crocodile groaned at the same time, a comfortable, relaxing sensation spreading through their bodies.

Ren Tao had relieved his internal pressure by transferring his accumulated energy into E Laosi, while E Laosi had received powerful support out of nowhere, bringing him an overwhelming sense of pleasure in both body and mind.

He even turned his head toward Ren Tao, an affectionate smile appearing on his face...

Ren Tao immediately turned away and said to Ran Laowu, "Hurry and recover. I'll hold out for you through this wave... Once this one passes, the rest should weaken!"

"Okay!"

Everyone began taking turns resting. Ren Tao became a roaming support, filling gaps wherever needed and occasionally replenishing the Soul Beasts' energy. Though this meant he could not absorb all of it himself, it spared him the agony of devouring beyond his capacity. Even so, his gains were still enormous.

After more than two hours, the Soul Beasts finished dealing with the escaping destructive energy, with a few scares but no real harm.

The area around the Ring Sea trench had been blasted apart-or perhaps even that was an understatement. The trench's central region had been churned to pieces, leaving a colossal pit over fifty meters across and of unknown depth. A vortex spun within it, letting out a low, mournful howl.

Now came the true main event.

A piercing shriek rang out from the vortex, and a beam of energy compressed almost into solid form abruptly appeared. The five Soul Beasts' energy barrier was pierced before they could even react.

The beam, so deeply purple it was black and so black it shone, transformed into a figure the moment it passed through the barrier. Shui Ling'er and the others could not even make out her appearance; they saw only a head of long hair. In that very instant, the White-Haired Woman's face rushed right up to Ren Tao.

The final strike!

Ren Tao's heart jolted. This final strike was unexpectedly formidable. If his guess was correct, this was a fragment of the White-Haired Woman's consciousness attached to the energy. But her true strength had undoubtedly surpassed the limits of this world and reached the level of a god.

At that very instant, their thoughts collided once more, throwing off fierce sparks.

Ren Tao: Who exactly are you?

White-Haired Woman: As far as this world is concerned, I have never appeared, and you will never know who I am!

Her words had two meanings. First, if Ren Tao failed to block her attack, they would perish together. With her energy exhausted and her consciousness extinguished, it would be as though she had never appeared.

Second, if Ren Tao blocked her attack and dissolved this strand of her divine consciousness, every trace of her would be erased, leaving no evidence all the same.

Ren Tao's lips moved slightly. "I told you, I am the answer!"

The White-Haired Woman's gaze sharpened. "Still talking tough with death at your doorstep? What gives you the right?"

The next instant, the answer was revealed.

A slit slowly but inexorably tore open in Ren Tao's forehead, as though a third eye were opening between his brows. A black trident, entwined with magnificent violet patterns of light and no longer resembling either the Sea God Trident or the Abhorrence Trident, emerged from his forehead. At that same instant, it pierced the White-Haired Woman between the brows and passed out through the back of her head.

The shriek stopped abruptly. The White-Haired Woman's long hair spread out, gradually fading from black to purple, then from purple to gray and white. Her eyes flickered one last time, conveying a final message: Remember your promise.

Waves of energy abruptly spread, only to be restrained by the domain of the Blood Sea Pagoda. They turned into specks of light and swiftly vanished beneath the waves of the blood sea.

"Wow!"

"That was incredible!"

Before Ren Tao had even recovered his senses, the five hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts burst into enthusiastic cheers. Their gazes roamed over him without restraint, filled with envy, admiration, and even a trace of doting affection from E Laosi, as they tried to discover where the black trident had gone and how it had popped out.

"This was a gift from the Sea God. It's called the Abhorrence Trident!"

Ren Tao chuckled and said without holding anything back, "If you can obtain the 'Sea God's Abhorrence' too, I can refine it for you free of charge and give you another life-saving skill. What do you think? I've shown plenty of sincerity toward forming our alliance!"

"Whale King, from this moment on, you're my friend for life!"

Jin Hai charged over with Thrust and gave Ren Tao an enormous hug.

"And us too!"

The five hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts huddled into one big embrace. In their midst was Ren Tao, baring his teeth in a grimace as he nearly got squeezed flat.

I'll post this chapter first. I still have to go get a PCR test in a bit!

Yeah, once every day-what can you even say!

There are also some earlier chapters I need to revise. I want to make the story and characters richer and more believable!

Please keep the votes, comments, suggestions, and support coming~