If Gu Chen had known what she was thinking, he would have had four words for her.
Get good, then talk!
Still.
What was there to be happy about in beating a fool?
To bully a fool,
you had to pay for the melon seeds!
Although Xiao Wu wasn't all that strong, after their fight, he had gained some idea of his own strength.
Back when her Martial Soul was still just the Soft Bone Rabbit, she had already been quite strong, ranking above average among those at the same level. Even that had depended on her hundred thousand years of combat experience. Otherwise, how could a low-tier Martial Soul like the Soft Bone Rabbit possibly have possessed such strength?
Now, though, things were different.
After his upgrade, her Martial Soul had evolved into the Void Rabbit, giving her mastery over the power of space. Her two spatial Soul Skills were impossible to guard against. In terms of strength, she now ranked among the upper tier at her level. The only thing she lacked was a means of attack.
But she still had seven Soul Ring slots left. Even excluding her Martial Soul Avatar, she had six slots that could provide her with at least six Soul Skills. If she managed to obtain a spatial slash Soul Skill,
then, combined with Space Jump and Space Transposition, her strength could absolutely leap to the very top among her peers.
But.
Powerful as Xiao Wu was, she had still lost to him.
Although he had relied on the two Soul Skills provided by the Void Ring, Space Mark and Space Jump, the Void Ring was his. Could a power he himself could wield still be considered an external aid? Of course not.
His first Soul Skill reduced his Soul Power consumption by at least ninety percent, while his second Soul Skill, paired with his Blue Silver Domain, forced anyone who entered its range to either break through the Blue Silver Grass attacks, which rolled in like endless waves, or suffer a crushing defeat at his hands.
There was no third option.
And he,
with the Void Ring, was nearly impossible to target, so... at the Soul Grandmaster stage, he was already invincible.
Invincible among those at the same level!!!
Having understood his own strength, Gu Chen could finally rest easy.
He couldn't beat Tang Hao.
But.
He could string Tang San and Yu Xiaogang up and whip them, and that was enough.
It was also time to put the plan he had settled on long ago into action.
Half a month later.
Deep in the Xiling Mountain Range, within Fasinuo Province.
Gu Chen and Xiao Wu entered the place as though no one were there. It was a veritable paradise, with mountains, water, and a waterfall, not to mention a great number of Soul Beasts outside serving as guard dogs. It truly was a fine place to live in seclusion.
And how had Gu Chen and Xiao Wu managed to enter such a wondrous place, surrounded by so many Soul Beasts, with such ease?
That was naturally because...
"Good thing this scale Da Ming gave us carries the scent of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. It makes those thousand-year and ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts keep their distance of their own accord. Otherwise, with Soul Beasts everywhere, I really would have had trouble getting in here!"
Gu Chen played with a cyan scale the size of his palm, unable to keep from remarking on it.
"Now you know how amazing Da Ming is, don't you!"
Xiao Wu looked smug, as if it were all thanks to her.
But she wasn't wrong.
If Xiao Wu hadn't been there to serve as the link between them, he really wouldn't have been able to reach an agreement to cooperate with Da Ming and Er Ming. She did deserve credit.
"Keep up!"
Gu Chen, however, had no intention of praising her. He had long since seen through Xiao Wu's personality: once praised, she would get carried away, even pushing her luck. Then, well, it would take a righteous beating to make her understand how much she was worth.
But the immediate priority was getting his hands on Ah Yin, the previous Blue Silver Emperor, and that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. As for Xiao Wu? She could go play somewhere else!
Before long.
They arrived in front of a waterfall in this wondrous place.
"Good thing I have the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have been able to find this place!"
Gu Chen looked up at the waterfall, full of emotion.
It wasn't that he had wanted to spend more than half a month on this. Simply finding the place had taken him half a month.
Why had it taken so long?
Naturally, it was because Ah Yin's hiding place wasn't at a waterfall in the mountains behind Holy Soul Village at all. He was a Holy Soul Village local. How could he not know whether there was a waterfall in the mountains behind it? Never mind a waterfall, there wasn't even a large river nearby, only a few small streams. It didn't match his memories at all.
So...
He realized that Douluo fanfiction had led him astray.
And so.
He used the Blue Silver Emperor to command his subjects in the name of their emperor to find the previous Blue Silver Emperor's location.
When all was said and done.
He had to be thankful that Ah Yin was still alive. As an emperor, even living a second life, her imperial presence, however faint, was enough to have some effect on the Blue Silver Grass nearby. It was through this effect that the information had been passed along from one Blue Silver Grass plant to another, until it finally reached him.
The only drawback was that the information traveled slowly.
But that didn't matter.
He had found her.
"Follow me."
After saying that, Gu Chen leaped up and reached the cliff face beside the waterfall in a few steps. He didn't look for Tang Hao's mechanism, because, as the possessor of the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul, he had already sensed Ah Yin's presence upon entering this wondrous place.
The closer he got, the clearer that sensation became.
Finally.
He landed in one spot.
There was an opening in the rock face. Gu Chen leaned forward and looked through it, taking in everything inside. It was a stone chamber that had been dug out by human hands, and in its center was a small mound of earth. Rooted in the mound was none other than Ah Yin, living her second life.
"Found you!"
A smile appeared on Gu Chen's face. He activated the Soul Skill in the Void Ring, and with a Space Jump, he entered the stone chamber with ease. Seeing this, Xiao Wu hurried to follow, likewise entering the chamber.
When she saw Ah Yin on the small mound of earth inside, her expression changed several times before she finally spoke.
"Brother Chen, this... couldn't be that Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor who was tricked out of everything by Tang Hao back then, could it?"
"That's right. It's her."
After Gu Chen confirmed it, Xiao Wu's face filled with disbelief. This stone chamber, the nutrients in this little mound of earth, and that sliver of light...
"Brother Chen, doesn't this Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor have some kind of grudge against Tang Hao for killing her parents? Everyone knows that Blue Silver Grass needs plenty of nutrients and sunlight to grow quickly, but the treatment she's getting here..."
"How is this Tang Hao's wife? She's practically an enemy he has a blood feud with! He gives you nutrients, but only a tiny bit, and he gives you sunlight, but only a single ray. Even prison wouldn't be this miserable, would it?"
Although Xiao Wu was a little silly at times, she still knew what Blue Silver Grass needed from its environment to grow. Or rather, anyone would know.
Precisely because of that.
Ah Yin's treatment was no different from letting a big eater have only a spoonful of food at each meal. Someone who didn't know the truth might think Tang Hao loved Ah Yin deeply, but anyone who did know would only think that Tang Hao really was a ruthless man!
As her words fell.
Ah Yin's leaves waved wildly atop the mound, clearly very displeased with what Xiao Wu had said.
Ah Yin: What do you know, you little brat? Ah Hao loves me!
But Gu Chen paid no attention to Ah Yin's reaction.
Instead.
"Jie jie jie-!!!"
"Ah Yin, you wouldn't want..."