Douluo: The Unrivaled Demon Lord

Chapter 124 Sunset Forest, the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire
After seeing Ling Luochen and Nan Qiuqiu off, Shu Yan also left Tiandou City.

He headed northeast of Tiandou City, where there lay a Soul Beast Forest that was equally ancient but now in decline. This Soul Beast Forest was none other than Sunset Forest, the location of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Ten thousand years have passed, and the Sunset Forest, which originally had ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts and a vast territory, has long become a thing of the past. Today, the Sunset Forest has shrunk by about one-third in size compared to ten thousand years ago, and the number and quality of soul beasts have also decreased significantly, to the point that even thousand-year-old soul beasts are extremely rare.

With Shu Yan's speed, it didn't take long to reach the outer edge of Sunset Forest. Looking into the distance, it was a lush green. Although the number of soul beasts was somewhat small, the vegetation of Sunset Forest was still relatively intact. However, as the number of soul beasts decreased, this forest would eventually disappear completely and even degenerate into an ordinary forest.

Confident in his strength, Shu Yan chose to fly directly into the Sunset Forest. Using his powerful mental energy to survey the area, he quickly confirmed his exact location and increased his speed. After about an hour, Shu Yan arrived at the true core of the Sunset Forest.

Unlike the Starry Sky Forest, where beasts roam freely and ancient trees reach for the sky, the depths of Sunset Forest appear peaceful. However, a thin mist seems to drift through the forest. Shu Yan carefully observes with his spiritual power and discovers that this mist gradually fades and disappears in the distance from where he came from, while continuing forward, it tends to become thicker and thicker. In the distance, it even looks like a cloud that has fallen into the forest, making the vegetation indistinct.

And the color of this cloud is not just white; there are even multiple colors appearing in the distance.

"These things are miasma, which is the poisonous gas formed after the corpses of dead plants and animals are left unattended and exposed to the elements over time. However, it is nothing to fear for you, Ayan. I can already sense that the deeper we go, the more terrifying the poisonous barrier should become. It's a pity, Ayan, that you not only have the power of space to protect you, but you also possess extreme attributes. The poison in the world that can threaten you is almost non-existent."

Tianmeng's usual lazy voice rang out. Compared to the other ferocious beasts, it preferred to talk to Shu Yan the most. Whenever something happened, it was usually the first to answer Shu Yan's questions and even offer advice. As for the other three, unless it was something important that would interest them, they rarely spoke about such trivial matters.

A faint silver light surrounded Shu Yan. He streaked across the sky like a shooting star, and wherever he passed, a strong wind arose, seemingly dispersing some of the accumulated miasma.

Just as Tianmeng said, the deeper you go, the more terrifying the accumulated miasma becomes. In particular, the seven-colored poisonous barrier world at the deepest part can easily corrode some metals. The poisonous barrier here can easily deal with soul masters below the Soul Saint level, not to mention the lush green expanse after passing through the seven-colored poisonous barrier.

"Nine leaves shaped like a human hand, specifically seven or nine fingers, and large emerald green flowers... I never expected there to be such a large patch of Azure Phosphorous Seven Absolute Flowers here, or even Azure Phosphorous Nine Absolute Flowers that have become plant-type soul beasts. This is truly a grand gesture. No wonder this scale of poison array can create a poison barrier that covers the sky."

Xie Ji revealed the origin of this lush greenery in a single sentence, and couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.

She was born in the Star Dou Great Forest and had the good fortune to see a plant-type soul beast, the Azure Phosphorus Nine Absolute Flower. Although that creature only had a cultivation of ten thousand years, when it fully activated its corrosive poison, even powerful soul beasts with a cultivation of fifty or sixty thousand years had to temporarily retreat, for fear of being contaminated and ending up with nothing but bones.

"Hiss, so those creatures with leaves shaped like nine fingers are all plant-type soul beasts with cultivation levels of at least ten thousand years?"

Tianmeng asked in surprise.

"Isn't that obvious? You can just use your mental energy to sense it and you'll know."

Xie Ji glanced at Tian Meng, then said somewhat speechlessly.

"Hehe...I'm used to it, aren't I..."

Tianmeng gave an awkward smile, then said in a puzzled tone:

"But I'm still very curious. These Seven/Nine Absolute Flowers of Brigitte seem to grow too uniformly, as if someone deliberately arranged it, as if it were specifically to prevent outsiders from entering the canyon behind..."

"You guessed right. The person who arranged this Seven/Nine Jade Phosphorus Flowers was the Sea God. There is a treasure land in that canyon called the Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire. It originally belonged to the Dugu family of the Jade Phosphorus Serpent, but was later occupied by the Sea God... Hmm, when we came here, didn't we find a lot of corpses with toxins that were somewhat similar to the main body of these Seven Jade Phosphorus Flowers wrapped around the Seven-Colored Poison Barrier? Those should be the ancestors of the Dugu family."

Shu Yan said casually.

"Is that so? It seems this sea god is a hypocrite, otherwise he wouldn't have done something like stealing someone else's treasure land."

Hyotei said coldly.

Shu Yan was momentarily at a loss for words when it came to answering Hyotei. It seemed that just a few days ago, he too had "seized" the precious land of the Earth Dragon Gate…

Although in the end this matter became a matter of mutual consent...

As the number one sycophant under Hyotei, Tenmeng also spoke up at the opportune moment:

"Yes, yes, Bing'er, you're right. What a load of rubbish, the Sea God! He's not even as good as our A-Yan; at least he didn't take his things for nothing..."

After a pause, Tianmeng chuckled again, "Although Ayan took someone's daughter with him before leaving, how should I put it? I think that little girl does have a bit of a crush on Ayan. Hehe, no wonder she's the one I chose, her luck with women is just as good as mine..."

Xie Ji listened to Tianmeng's speech from the side, and then she said with some disdain:
"All you do is eat, sleep, and show off. Where do you get your charm with women? I think you're just daydreaming..."

"No!"

Tianmeng interrupted Xieji's words and then righteously and sternly refuted Xieji:
"I don't need that many women; meeting Bingbing is the best kind of woman I can achieve..."

Having said that, Tianmeng slid to her knees on the spot, then came to Hyotei's feet. She gently rubbed her full, round body against Hyotei's scorpion tail, and then said obsequiously:

"Bingbing, you're my only one, I'd bang my head against a wall for you..."

"Get out! Tianmeng, if you dare to disgust me again, I'll make sure you hear the sound of my own body being crushed..."

Hyotei got goosebumps all over. With a flick of her long, delicate scorpion tail, she flung Tenmu at least a thousand meters away. The sound of Tenmu landing echoed throughout the entire mental space. Xie Ji could no longer hold back and leaned against a pillar conjured by her mental energy, laughing so hard she almost couldn't breathe.

Xue Di couldn't help but chuckle, a small smile curving her lips.

With Tianmeng, this lively character, the Sea of ​​Spirituality has become much more interesting and less dull.

Shu Yan also noticed this scene through his mental power. He smiled helplessly and then said:
"There are at least four 100,000-year-old plant-type soul beasts in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Eye now. Among them, the confirmed 100,000-year-old soul beasts are Qiluo Tulip, Eight-Cornered Mystic Ice Grass, Blazing Apricot, and Fragrant Qiluo Immortal."

"Among them, the strongest should be the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass and the Fiery Apricot Blossom. They are both top-attribute soul beasts. As for the other two 100,000-year soul beasts, their combat power should be extremely ordinary and can be ignored."

"Good heavens, such a small place actually has four plant-type 100,000-year-old soul beasts, tsk tsk, looks like we're going to strike it rich again this time..."

Upon hearing Shu Yan's voice, Tian Meng instantly snapped out of her lying-down state and transformed into a streak of white-gold light, returning to everyone's side.

A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of Xue Di and the others. After a moment's thought, Xue Di spoke:
"It's alright, they're just four 100,000-year-old soul beasts. Now, the Snow Empress's origin is more stable than ever before. In addition, there's the pure heaven and earth elemental power and energy from the ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Marrow. With the assistance of Tianmeng and Xieji, I should be able to condense a body made entirely of energy to fight. Unless two Limit Douluos come at once, no one can touch you..."

After a pause, a cold glint flashed in Xue Di's eyes, and she spoke again:
"Of course, if anyone dares to touch you, I will kill him."

Although the spiritual contract signed by the Seed of Spirit was relatively equal, it directly and completely linked their souls with Shu Yan's spiritual sea. They had no way back. If Shu Yan died, they would all die with him!

In this situation, regardless of whether Shu Yan's actions are good or bad, Xue Di will unconditionally protect and support him.

After all, apart from Shu Yan, her partner, who was somewhat special, all other humans were just ants to her. If they died, they died. She had no pity or regret for them.

As for the 100,000-year-old soul beast within the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire… she didn’t care. She was the Emperor of the Far North, and she would only protect the soul beasts of the Far North. Soul beasts from other regions were none of her business.

The Ice Emperor's philosophy is roughly similar to the Snow Emperor's. As for the Evil Princess... well, she's a thoroughly evil soul beast. Compared to the Ice and Snow Emperors, she has the same view of both soul beasts and humans: they're all nourishment! Just devour them all...

With Xue Di's domineering declaration, the last bit of worry in Shu Yan's heart disappeared.

Amidst flashes of silver light, Shu Yan's body swiftly traversed the emerald green poisonous mist, and before long, he arrived above the canyon.

Countless poisonous clouds and miasma continued to sink, their density even affecting mental strength.

Shu Yan continued his downward descent, the extreme ice combined with spatial power rendering him completely unaffected by the poison. Midway, Shu Yan unleashed a spatial blade, its silver light dazzling amidst the overwhelming poisonous clouds. With a muffled thud, a vine-like soul beast with a cultivation level of ten thousand years was instantly killed. Shu Yan finally passed through the thick poisonous clouds and entered a brand new world…

……

(End of this chapter)