It Still Happened

The lava flowed very slowly, and it could not flow very far.

But given the size of this island, covering it completely would be no problem.

Xiao Yao had already transformed again and retreated to the shore with Shui Bing'er and Qiu Wanxi.

But faced with the approaching lava, billowing with scorching heat, they were caught between a rock and a hard place, their faces troubled.

Logically, with Qiu Wanxi's cultivation, surviving underwater for a while would not be difficult.

She could easily take Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er into the sea. The lava would cool quickly anyway, and they could return afterward to avoid this disaster.

But the problem was that they did not merely need to survive on the island. They needed to return to the continent.

If this ship and these sailors perished beneath the lava, they would have no way to cross the boundless ocean and return to the continent.

Yet the slowly approaching lava was like a death warrant.

Given its mass and temperature, Xiao Yao and the others might very well turn to ash upon contact.

Let alone make it home.

Gritting his teeth, Xiao Yao prepared to expose his identity.

If he turned into a great fish and the two women rode on her back, returning to the continent was not entirely impossible.

But then Qiu Wanxi shouted, "Everyone, get behind me!"

She was speaking not only to Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er, but also to the sailors.

The sailors froze at first, then went wild with joy, surging behind the three of them as though clutching at a life-saving straw.

This was a Soul Saint!

Although they did not know whether she could withstand a natural disaster, with her standing in front of them, their chances of surviving should be much greater, right?

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"

White light enveloped Qiu Wanxi, and then an enormous creature crawled out of it.

Graceful, slender limbs, a well-proportioned, sleek body, a fluffy, enormous tail as long as its body, and a pale white crescent mark on its forehead.

It was none other than Qiu Wanxi's Martial Soul, the Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox.

Having summoned her Martial Soul Avatar, Qiu Wanxi's presence surged, and a wave of frigid air spread outward with her at its center.

Many of the weaker sailors were knocked straight to the ground, even becoming coated in a layer of frost.

But that was not all!

Beneath the enormous Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox's tail, which rivaled her body in length, another fox tail actually emerged.

It clearly was not very long, yet it gave the impression of a mountain range.

Looking at it, they inexplicably felt their own insignificance.

Runes densely covered the second tail, resembling both the laws of heaven and earth and truths that spanned history.

Xiao Yao took just one look before dizziness overwhelmed him, and he dared not look again.

But in that single glance, he recognized one of the runes.

It was exactly the same as the Soul Skill that appeared when Qiu Wanxi used her Third Soul Skill!

"Wh-what is that?"

Although both were ice-type Martial Souls, the Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox actually suppressed Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, to the point that she trembled even as she spoke.

"External. Soul. Bone," Xiao Yao said, enunciating each word.

External Soul Bones ranked second on a Soul Master's list of dreams, yet obtaining one was even more fantastical than obtaining the first-ranked Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

With a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, one could at least identify a target and obtain it from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

But an External Soul Bone could only be obtained while absorbing a Soul Ring, and there was no guarantee that the Soul Beast could provide one at all.

In the original story, even counting everyone, there were only three people who possessed External Soul Bones.

Tang San, Bibi Dong, and Hu Liena.

That alone showed how rare they were!

He had never expected a dean of studies at Skywater Academy to possess one as well!

The Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox's second tail moved, and a rune detached from it, transforming into a tangible wall that stood before everyone.

When the lava, which swept aside and crushed everything like a bulldozer, encountered this wall of runes, it could only lower its banners and still its drums, coming to a halt.

Seeing that Qiu Wanxi's move had worked, Xiao Yao and Shui Bing'er were both delighted.

That went without saying for the sailors behind them. They were immensely excited, some embracing one another and others cheering and leaping for joy.

Crack.

But soon, the sound of cracks forming froze the joyous expressions on everyone's faces.

The lava was not a one-time onslaught. It flowed endlessly and would only stop when the volcanic eruption ended.

Until then, it was like an even stronger sea swell, each wave more powerful than the last.

As more and more waves of lava struck, more and more cracks appeared in the wall of runes.

The Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox had no choice but to use her External Soul Bone again, forming a rune and merging it into the wall.

Reinforced, the wall of runes solidified once more, and only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

But Xiao Yao keenly sensed that the Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox's vitality and spirit had diminished considerably.

It seemed that using the runes consumed not her Soul Power, but something more important.

Although worried, Xiao Yao could not stop her, because an even greater crisis was right before them.

The waves of lava continued for half an hour.

The Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox also held out against the lava for half an hour.

During that half hour, she used the mysterious runes on her tail several times.

Every use made her let out a mournful howl.

Her body also grew weaker, trembling all over.

The volcanic eruption finally subsided, and the lava gradually solidified.

The Ice-Overriding Curse-Mark Demon Fox finally could not hold on any longer either, turning back into Qiu Wanxi and slowly falling from the air.

"Director Qiu!" Shui Bing'er rushed forward to catch her at once, then used the Second Soul Skill of her Mermaid form to heal her.

Xiao Yao also wanted to go over, but the sailors' leader stopped him.

"Thank you so much for saving us. Please let us help heal the esteemed Soul Saint."

"Having spent years at sea, we have a very effective method for restoring stamina and treating injuries."

The sailors' leader sounded utterly sincere, and the gratitude and excitement on his and his men's faces did not seem feigned.

Behind them, quite a few sailors covered their faces and wept at having survived the disaster, embracing one another in tears.

"This is the Breath Restoration Pill we often use. It's refined from some precious medicinal herbs gathered from the sea. Taking it is very helpful for recovering from injuries."

The sailors' leader took out a box and opened it, revealing a finger-sized pill patterned in alternating purple and pink.

Xiao Yao knew nothing about pharmacology, so he could only accept the pill.

Having finished speaking, he turned to leave.

"Let the esteemed Soul Saint take the pill first. With this medicine, the sooner it's taken, the better it works."

Unable to resist the sailors' leaders' eager insistence, he could only give Qiu Wanxi the pill.

"What comes next involves a woman's privacy. We'll take our teacher to attend to it first. You can rest here for a while."

"Wait, things have already reached this point, and you're still worrying about distinctions between men and women? Besides, we've faced life and death together. Why draw such a clear line?"

Facing the sailors, Xiao Yao's gaze gradually took on a trace of coldness. "What do you mean?"

"What bad intentions could we possibly have? We only want to help heal you."

The gratitude in these sailors' eyes was replaced by lust, and their hands made kneading motions.

Clearly, what Qiu Wanxi had been worrying about all along had happened.