Douluo Continent: The Purple Dragon's Roar, the End of the Dark Abyss

Ye Linyi caught a glimpse of a tiger-like spirit beast in the reflection of the pool, estimating its age to be between 300 and 400 years old.

The beast growled as it paced among the bushes, its amber pupils locked on its target. Finally, unable to contain its killing intent, it transformed into a black shadow and pounced on the back of Ye Linyi's neck.

"It's finally here!" Ye Linyi secretly channeled his soul power, and the Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd glowed with purple light in his palm.

He whirled around, the tip of his halberd slicing through the air with dark energy: "Die!"

The dull thud of the halberd piercing the tiger's belly and the beast's mournful howl exploded simultaneously. The tiger-like spirit beast was thrown several feet away and crashed heavily into a tree trunk.

It struggled to its feet, black blood gushing from its abdominal wound, yet it still roared at Ye Linyi before finally dragging its mangled body and staggering away.

"He's still alive even after being pierced through the abdomen?" Ye Linyi raised an eyebrow, and his purple soul ring suddenly lit up.

Amidst the humming sound of space tearing apart, he transformed into a black shadow and vanished into the darkness: "Shadow Transcendence!"

Within the distorted dimensional passage, Ye Linyi tracked his target using fluctuations in soul power.

When he leaped out of space again, he landed precisely three zhang in front of the staggering, fleeing soul beast.

The Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd pierced the tiger's back with a whooshing sound: "Shinei!"

The beast's mournful cry abruptly ceased, and a yellow spirit ring slowly rose from the corpse.

Ye Linyi crouched down to investigate, searching among the fur with his fingertips without finding anything. He turned back to the pool, feeling that there was treasure there.

Ye Linyi stood at the edge of the waterfall, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.

He tried using Shadow Walk to move around several times, but to no avail.

Finally, he fixed his gaze on the rushing waterfall.

"This is it," he murmured to himself, climbing a thick, ancient tree with both hands and feet. The branches swayed in the wind, as if cheering him on.

Ye Linyi took a deep breath, leaped up from the tree branch, and shot into the waterfall like an arrow.

The expected icy water and impact did not come; instead, a warm current of air arrived.

Ye Linyi landed steadily and found himself in a huge cave.

The cave walls are inlaid with various luminescent minerals, illuminating the entire space as if it were daytime.

"This...this is just like the Water Curtain Cave in Flower Fruit Mountain!" Ye Linyi exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

He summoned the Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd and held it in his hand. As he went deeper into the cave, the temperature inside dropped lower and lower, and the air was chilling.

Ye Linyi couldn't help but sneeze: "Achoo! This temperature... there must be some rare and precious ice-attribute treasure inside!"

Thinking of his mother Yang Liuqing's Ice Crystal Wolf Martial Soul, a determined glint flashed in Ye Linyi's eyes: "No matter what happens today, I must obtain this ice-attribute rare treasure and give my mother a surprise!"

He mustered all his attention and cautiously explored forward.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks—ahead of him was a small pool of water, the water of which was crystal clear and exuded a faint chill.

In the center of the pool, a strange fruit grows alone on the soil, surrounded by tiny ice crystals that emit a mesmerizing cold light.

"That's it!" A hint of surprise flashed in Ye Linyi's eyes, but then his brows furrowed. "There were two fruits, why is there only one left here?"

He immediately became alert, jumped back a few steps, held the Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd horizontally in front of him, and cautiously looked around.

The cave was silent, with only his own breathing and heartbeat echoing in his ears.

"Could it be... that something has already been here?" Ye Linyi muttered to himself, his gaze involuntarily shifting to the depths of the pool.

He cautiously approached the pool and, using the light from the halberd, looked into the water.

Not only was his own reflection visible in the water, but also a pair of eyes hidden in the shadows, staring intently at the fruit in his hand.

Just as Ye Linyi saw the true form of the ice serpent, a cold light tore through the air and struck.

He took a half step back, and the ice snake's sharp teeth just barely bit the spot where he had been standing, causing the water droplets it stirred up to condense into ice crystals in the air.

"Hiss—" The ice snake raised its head, its scales covered in ice crystals gleaming with a cold blue light, and its tongue flicked in and out, bringing up wisps of white mist.

It perched beside the Ice Soul Fruit, clearly regarding this place as its territory.

Ye Linyi stared at the slightly bulging area on the snake's belly and suddenly realized: "So it was you who swallowed another ice-attribute treasure!"

The ice serpent suddenly lunged forward, its tail lashing out like a steel whip.

Ye Linyi raised his halberd to block, but was still thrown back by the impact, his back slamming heavily against the stone wall.

He groaned, his right hand's web of fingers trembling and numb, dark energy surging wildly within his body.

"Roar!" The ice serpent lunged again, its tail whistling through the air.

Ye Linyi barely managed to dodge, but was still hit by the tail gust of wind, and his left arm was instantly covered in frost.

He gritted his teeth and muttered, "This beast has at least 3 years of cultivation!"

A purple spirit ring suddenly lit up, and amidst the humming sound of space tearing apart, Ye Linyi transformed into a black shadow and disappeared into the darkness: "Shadow Transcendence!"

"The best of the Thirty-Six Stratagems is to retreat!" He emerged from behind the tree, panting heavily, gritting his teeth as he stared towards the waterfall. "Wait until I've devised a strategy, then we'll fight again!"

The ice snake coiled several times in the cave before finally sinking into the icy pool, leaving only ripples on the surface.

Ye Linyi gazed at the tree shadows in the sunlight, then suddenly grinned: "Just you wait, I'll figure out how to break through your ice armor when I get back!"

[Ding, system selection triggered]

[Option 1: Solo the Ice Serpent, reward: 200,000 system points, one Martial Soul Fusion Card.]

[Option Two: Escape, go back to get reinforcements, defeat the Ice Serpent, reward 30 system points and the "Coward" title.]

Looking at the two choices in front of him, Ye Linyi said, "System, are you messing with me?"

[System: No, Host]

[System: I suggest the host choose option two.]

Ye Linyi ignored the system. Speaking of the system, what's the use of this "Soul Fusion Card"?

[System: Martial Soul Fusion Card. Allows you to designate one of your own Martial Souls and another person's Martial Soul to perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.]

Ye Linyi exclaimed twice, "Damn it!"

Ye Linyi: Okay, okay, system, I choose option one: solo the Ice Serpent!

[Ding, selection successful]

Ye Linyi purchased 5 more recovery pills from the system shop, deducting 10 system points.

Ye Linyi felt another pang of regret; it was so expensive!

Why didn't I feel this much pain when I bought whale glue and physique-enhancing pills before?

[System: Then keep up the good work and earn system points! ૮・ﻌ・ა]

[Ding, the item has been placed in the system space and is waiting to be claimed.]

Ye Linyi took out a bottle from the system space, took one pill, and instantly regained full health.

"Not bad, not bad, it's a bit pricey though."

[System: Everything produced by the system is guaranteed to be of high quality!]

Ye Linyi returned to the cave, staring intently at the ripples on the water's surface, the Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd trembling slightly in his palm.

A sly smile played on his lips: "A head-on confrontation? I'm not stupid."

He leaped up like a ghost, his fingertips precisely pinching the stem of the Ice Soul Fruit.

Then, using the recoil from the halberd, Ye Linyi drew a perfect arc in the air and landed steadily back on the shore.

"boom!"

A three-zhang-high wave burst open on the water's surface, and the head of the ice serpent, its entire body gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light, broke through the water.

When it saw the empty fruit branches, its vertical pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints, and it let out a deafening roar.

Ye Linyi's purple spirit ring suddenly lit up, and amidst the humming sound of space tearing apart, he transformed into a black shadow and disappeared into the darkness: "Shadow Transcendence!"

The ice serpent's sharp teeth tore through the air, but only bit into nothingness.

It angrily swung its tail, smashing the boulders on the shore to pieces.

Upon seeing this, Ye Linyi remarked, "Incompetent Ice Serpent."

Ye Linyi emerged from the shadows, the dark energy gathered at the tip of his halberd striking like a venomous snake: "Again!"

"Pfft!"

The halberd blade pierced precisely into the gaps in the snake's tail scales, and dark energy spread along the wound.

The ice snake let out a piercing scream of pain, only to see Ye Linyi disappear again.

It frantically swung its tail, knocking down a bunch of trees, but could never catch that annoying figure.

"Is that all you've got?" Ye Linyi's voice came from all directions.

He would sometimes appear at the top of the waterfall, and sometimes disappear into the shadows of the rocks, each appearance accompanied by a sharp halberd flash.

The ice snake's wounds multiplied, and its pale blue blood bloomed into ice flowers on the snow.

When Ye Linyi leaped out of the shadows for the seventh time, the ice snake finally realized the danger.

It suddenly stopped attacking, its vertical pupils fixed on a certain rock—where Ye Linyi had deliberately left a flaw.

"We've been tricked!" Ye Linyi's heart tightened, but it was too late to react.

The ice serpent's tail lashed out like a steel whip, slamming him heavily against the rock wall.

He coughed up blood froth mixed with ice crystals.

"squeak--"

When the ice serpent's fangs were only three inches from his throat, Ye Linyi suddenly unleashed an unprecedented power.

He forcefully activated the second Shadow Transcendence, completing a fatal counterattack—the Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd transformed into a meteor, piercing through the Ice Serpent's left eye!

"Aww!"

A mournful roar echoed through the valley.

The enormous snake body slid limply to the ground, and a purple spirit ring slowly rose.

Ye Linyi staggered to his feet, looked at the mess on the ground and his blood-stained clothes, and suddenly burst into laughter: "I'll wear you out, you old bastard!"

He walked to the ice serpent's corpse and used the tip of his halberd to pick up the precious Ice Soul Fruit: "Mom, your gift is here!"

[Ding, congratulations host for completing your selection]

[Reward Distribution]

[Congratulations, host, you have received 20 system points and one Martial Soul Fusion Card]

Ye Linyi said, "Sorry, I'm a pay-to-win player. If I win this battle, I'll take it."

[Ye Linyi: How old is this ice serpent? Do you know? System]

[System: 3500 years]

Ye Linyi stood in the center of the Water Curtain Cave, feeling the changes in temperature inside.

As the Ice Soul Fruit was picked, the biting cold gradually subsided, replaced by a refreshing and pleasant coolness.

He looked around; the glowing minerals embedded in the cave walls illuminated the entire space as if it were daytime, while the sound of the waterfall served as a natural background noise.

"This place is simply a natural cultivation paradise!" Ye Linyi clapped his hands excitedly, the Dark Abyss God-Slaying Halberd spinning gently in his hand. "From now on, I'll cultivate here! I am now the King of the Water Curtain Cave!"

He walked to the ice serpent's corpse, gently poked at it a few times with the tip of his halberd, and after confirming that no soul bone had burst out, he carefully inspected every corner of the cave.

After confirming there were no other dangers, he walked to the cave entrance, looked at the setting sun outside, and frowned slightly.

"It's getting late..." Ye Linyi muttered to himself, turning to look into the cave. "But today's harvest has been quite fruitful. Not only did I get a gift for my mother, but I also found such a good place to cultivate."

As we emerged from the cave, the afterglow of the setting sun shone directly onto the water curtain, creating a magnificent rainbow.

Standing under the rainbow, watching his shadow stretch long, Ye Linyi suddenly remembered something, turned around, and shouted towards the cave entrance: "From today onwards, this is my private training ground!"

His voice echoed through the valley, startling a flock of birds.

Ye Linyi smiled and shook his head, then turned and walked towards home.

When passing by the waterfall, he deliberately went around to the back of the water curtain to experience what it was like to be the "master of the Water Curtain Cave" before he was satisfied and started his journey home.

"Starting tomorrow, I will come here to cultivate every day," he planned as he walked.