The Ancient Heavenly Snake That Survived to This Day
"How dare you!"
With that cold shout, Xiao Xuan knew that this Ancient Heavenly Snake was probably still plotting something. If it had truly intended to leave behind a ruin, it would never have acted so irrationally.
Soul power surged out and enveloped Qing Lin as she was pulled away.
It fought against the suction coming from the deepest part of the ruin.
His eyes flashed brightly as Xiao Xuan strained his vision. With the movement in the deepest part of the ruin, he could finally see what was there.
The Ancient Heavenly Snake's remains!
Sure enough.
Xiao Xuan's suspicions were confirmed. It seemed the snake was dead but not yet stiff, and still wanted to stir up trouble.
If it could no longer break through in a magical beast's body, it would find itself a human vessel instead.
Of course, that was only a last resort if all else failed.
After the Ancient Heavenly Snake failed to break through to Dou Di, it used the last of its strength to set up this spatial barrier, drawing human experts and prodigies from the outside world to explore it.
Xiao Xuan had glimpsed the broad outline of what had happened.
He might have gotten some details wrong, but he was probably close enough!
"Hiss~"
A scream came from the depths of the soul, and a translucent snake's silhouette faintly emerged from the Ancient Heavenly Snake's remains.
A remnant soul had survived too?
Even Xiao Xuan was surprised.
Were its methods truly heaven-defying, or was this some unknown innate talent of the Ancient Heavenly Snake's race?
Even so, it still suffered from the shortcomings of the magical beast race. Its soul realm could not advance, even though its soul power was exceptionally vast.
When all was said and done, its soul had only just entered the Heaven Realm.
That ranked among the very best of magical beasts, but compared with other Peak Dou Sheng experts, it fell far short.
Leaving everything else aside, with no Dou Di appearing in the world today, the greatest possibility for a Peak Dou Sheng was to reach the Soul Emperor Realm.
Even without talent in that path, or sufficient opportunities, one could slowly nurture one's soul to Heaven Realm Great Perfection.
Though it could not compare to an Emperor Realm Soul, it was no longer a weakness.
But the magical beast race really was not very capable in this regard.
Still, that gave Xiao Xuan an opportunity.
Spotting an opening, he condensed his soul power into solid form and restrained the Ancient Heavenly Snake's remnant soul in one move.
Qing Lin's drifting body abruptly halted.
It seemed the crisis had been neatly resolved, just like that.
Then, unexpectedly, the Ancient Heavenly Snake's remnant soul had another trick.
It abandoned its original soul power, shedding it like a golden cicada slipping out of its shell, and charged into Qing Lin's body, which was close at hand, carrying its innermost Soul Origin with it.
Xiao Xuan had separated the two by quite a distance, but in a Dou Sheng's eyes, it could be crossed in a single step!
Qing Lin immediately fell unconscious.
In a fury, Xiao Xuan instantly annihilated the remnant soul's remaining power.
The Soul Origin of the Ancient Heavenly Snake's remnant soul was now a source without water.
It no longer had a physical body to continue nurturing its soul power.
With a beckoning gesture, Xiao Xuan drew Qing Lin's small body toward him.
Seeing her tightly shut eyes and slightly pale little face, Xiao Xuan knew that monstrous waves were probably raging in the girl's sea of consciousness.
"Mo Xuan, stand guard here. I'm going in to take a look!"
After those instructions, Xiao Xuan prepared to go in and see for himself.
If he were still in a physical body, such a move would indeed be taking a risk as great as the heavens.
But Xiao Xuan was now only a soul, so it was no great difficulty.
Besides, the very nature of an Emperor Realm Soul was enough to put Xiao Xuan in an invincible position.
So what if the methods of ancient experts were infinitely mysterious and varied?
In the end, absolute strength was the most important factor.
"You..."
Mo Xuan wanted to say more, but he had already seen Xiao Xuan fly inside.
Xiao Yi Xian, standing nearby, also looked worried. "Will Master be all right? Senior Mo Xuan, you must protect them."
Mo Xuan rolled his eyes and thought to himself.
Girl, aren't you giving me too much credit? This is a clash between two Peak Dou Sheng from different eras.
Besides, that Ancient Heavenly Snake looks ready to stake its life.
Either it dies, or Little Qing Lin loses her life.
Things were already messy enough, and now Xiao Xuan has stuck his hand in too.
If they really start fighting, Little Qing Lin might be blown apart outright!
How could a mere Da Dou Shi withstand such terrifying power?
I can only pray Xiao Xuan doesn't get too carried away!
In any case, she's not my disciple.
Mo Xuan was not worried in the slightest.
The most dangerous being in the ruin had already been drawn away by Xiao Xuan. What remained was not worth a fart.
Full of confidence, Mo Xuan even felt an urge to eat some barbecue.
The human race's cuisine really did have its own special merits!
Deep in Qing Lin's sea of consciousness.
This had always been a forbidden realm of the soul. Apart from Dou Di, who had some specific understanding of it, even Xiao Xuan, whose accomplishments had once rivaled creation itself, knew little about the soul's secrets.
He still knew very little.
The sea of consciousness in particular, that mysterious place where the soul resided, did not seem to be stronger or weaker according to its owner's strength.
Xiao Xuan soon picked up the trail of the Ancient Heavenly Snake's Soul Origin and followed it all the way into the depths of Qing Lin's sea of consciousness.
At its very center was a shabby, dilapidated little house?
He had a faint feeling that Qing Lin and the Ancient Heavenly Snake had made this their battlefield.
He gently pushed open the door.
The sea of consciousness was truly wondrous. Though he was in soul form, once he entered, his five senses were somewhat like those in the real world.
Inside the little house, Qing Lin had become even smaller.
In another corner, taking up more space, was a graceful, beautiful woman who gave off a faintly seductive air.
"Little one, wouldn't it be wonderful if you and I merged and climbed to the true pinnacle of heaven and earth?"
"Whatever wishes or thoughts you have, we'll be one. What you want is what I want, and we'll make it all come true!"
"Come here, little sister."
The snake woman covered her mouth and giggled softly. Even Xiao Xuan was faintly affected by her seductive power, to say nothing of Qing Lin.
Qing Lin, who had been utterly resolute, her head buried deep within her curled-up little body, gradually began to move. She started swaying, looking as though she might stagger toward the snake woman.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Xiao Xuan struck at once. His soul power swept through the room, and his Emperor Realm Soul radiated dazzling golden light, cleansing it of every demon and specter.
The sea of consciousness was swept clean, and Qing Lin came to her senses.
Seeing her master after so long, the girl immediately threw herself at him and hugged him tightly.
"Master, you finally came."
Her voice was tearful. Qing Lin had been terrified that she would truly succumb, that even her body would no longer be her own, or worse, that her soul would be worn away altogether.
She did not believe in any so-called merger.
I am me!
"It's all right. I didn't notice it just now, but everything's fine now."
Xiao Xuan comforted her gently.
The situation had not yet deteriorated beyond repair.
This Ancient Heavenly Snake could only wait for death now.
"Peak Dou Sheng?"
"Emperor Realm Soul?"
The snake woman's face grew exceedingly grave. In her era, an expert of such strength would undoubtedly have stood among the very strongest under heaven.
Even when they were on the same level of strength, the snake woman would not have dared confront him head-on.
Much less now, when she had long since failed her breakthrough and what remained of her was in such poor condition.
Heaven means to destroy me!