Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 109 Xuanzi's Self-Reproach! Zhu Ziyang's Choice!

"Elder Xuan!"

Xuanzi's appearance immediately brought joyful smiles to Zhang Lexuan, Ma Xiaotao, Su Meng, Han Ruoruo, and Shen Xu, who were still conscious. The tension in their hearts suddenly snapped, and unprecedented exhaustion overwhelmed their consciousness. Han Ruoruo and Shen Xu fainted directly, while Su Meng gritted her teeth and carried the unconscious ones together.

Although Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao were also exhausted, they did not faint; they were still gritting their teeth and persevering.

"Children, it's my fault! I'm late!" Xuanzi said, his old face full of self-reproach and his eyes red.

"Elder Xuan, Ziyang is missing!" Ma Xiaotao ignored Xuanzi's words and shouted anxiously.

"!" Upon hearing this, Xuanzi's expression changed instantly, only then realizing that the team of thirteen people had now dwindled to ten!

"Elder Xuan, Ziyang was sent flying by the Ghost Moon Serpent King's death throes. He's in that direction, you should go find him quickly!" Zhang Lexuan forced herself to stand up, pointed in the direction to Xuanzi, and said, "We're not in much danger here anymore, but it's too dangerous for Ziyang to be alone. His soul power is exhausted, you should go find him quickly!"

Xuanzi was extremely anxious. Zhu Ziyang was Elder Mu's disciple and the foundation for Shrek Academy's future prosperity. He absolutely could not let such a super genius die halfway through because of his negligence!

He no longer cared about the seriously injured or unconscious students in front of him. He immediately rushed towards the direction where Zhu Ziyang had flown out. Xuanzi flew hundreds of meters in one breath, but was horrified to find that Zhu Ziyang was not there. He only found a large crater a little over a hundred meters away from the battlefield, but there was no trace of him around, not even a trace of his presence!

Zhu Ziyang vanished into thin air!

Xuanzi frantically searched the area around the large crater Zhu Ziyang had created, but still found nothing. He returned dejectedly to where the inner courtyard disciples were, unsure how to face Mu En and the other elders. Ma Xiaotao fainted after Xuanzi rushed out to search for Zhu Ziyang. Zhang Lexuan, barely able to support herself against a tree, felt a sinking feeling in her heart when she saw Xuanzi return alone.

"Le Xuan, absorb that beast's soul ring and soul bone," Xuan Zi said to Zhang Le Xuan, forcing himself to stay alert. "These are your spoils of war, we can't waste them. Here, these fruits should help you absorb the soul ring. Go, I'll protect you."

Xuanzi handed out several bright red fruits, which emitted an enticing aroma.

"Elder Xuan, what should we do about Ziyang?" Zhang Lexuan had no intention of absorbing the soul ring. She felt that this accident was entirely her fault, and Zhu Ziyang, this exceptionally talented junior brother, absolutely could not be allowed to get into trouble!

"I haven't found him," Xuanzi said with a somber expression. "So you need to absorb the soul ring immediately to recover some strength. Only then can I return to the academy and notify the other elders to come and search for Zhu Ziyang!"

"I understand!" Zhang Lexuan understood Xuanzi's thoughts and immediately felt the urgency of the situation. Without hesitation, she took the fruit Xuanzi handed her and ran towards the corpse of the Ghost Moon Serpent King. With each step she took, she felt something inside her body cracking, but she couldn't care less about that now.

The blood-red spirit ring, carrying the unique pressure of a hundred thousand years, floated silently in front of Zhang Lexuan. Zhang Lexuan gritted her teeth, sat cross-legged with a resolute expression, swallowed the fruit in her hand, and then gathered her spirit power to guide the hundred thousand-year spirit ring.

Absorption begins.

-

Where exactly did Zhu Ziyang go?

It turned out that when Zhu Ziyang was sent flying along with his shield, thanks to the cushioning effect of the Wulong Shield Formation, his body was not seriously injured. However, after landing, he exhausted his last bit of soul power while maintaining the use of the soul guide shield. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, Ilex made his move.

When Zhu Ziyang woke up again, it was already noon. He found himself in a tree hollow, located on a huge tree that was at least ten people could hug. The entrance to the hollow was twenty or thirty meters above the ground, but the space inside was very large, more than enough to accommodate four or five adults.

"Teacher, where am I?" Zhu Ziyang patted his head, asking somewhat confusedly. Although most of the power of the Ghost Moon Serpent King's tail whip was absorbed by the Black Dragon Soul Guidance Shield, he still suffered minor internal injuries, and his internal organs were shaken.

"I'm not sure, but we should still be in the Star Dou Great Forest," came Electrox's voice, sounding somewhat weak. He said, "The distance we teleported was no more than five thousand meters. If we're not going in the wrong direction, we're still in the core area, located to the north of the previous region."

"Damn, that's so far!" Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but swear, stunned. "How am I going to reunite with Senior Sister and the others? That Ghost Moon Serpent King should be dead, right? Senior Sister and the others should be alright, right?"

"It's hard to say," Electrox replied. "A 100,000-year-old soul beast's last stand, even if it dies in the end, I estimate that few of your companions will survive."

"Sigh! I really don't know what Elder Xuan was thinking." Zhu Ziyang couldn't help but feel angry upon hearing this, and complained, "How could he suddenly disappear?"

Zhu Ziyang harbored immense resentment towards Xuanzi. Xuanzi had completely neglected his duties. If he hadn't suddenly disappeared, they wouldn't have suffered such a terrible fate, or even faced death.

"Think about how to get out," Zhu Ziyang said.

"You should recover first," Electrox suggested. "Once you're recovered, we'll head straight out. The distance to the mixed zone is short; once we get there, our situation will be better."

"Yes, yes! That's right!" Zhu Ziyang nodded repeatedly in agreement.

With Zhu Ziyang's current strength, he faces no pressure against soul beasts with a cultivation level below ten thousand years, and can easily retreat from soul beasts with a cultivation level between ten thousand and twenty thousand years. However, when facing soul beasts with a cultivation level exceeding twenty thousand years, he can only leave it to fate. And a twenty-thousand-year soul beast is the lowest level existence in the core area.

Only by returning to the mixed zone can he be considered truly out of danger.

He immediately closed his eyes to rest and recover his strength, preparing to act at night. At night, most soul beasts would cease activity, naturally reducing the danger level considerably.

Time slowly passed, daylight faded, and night fell.

Zhu Ziyang peeked out of the tree hole, cautiously surveyed the area, and then leaped onto the ground. Once he identified the direction, he didn't hesitate and immediately ran as fast as he could towards the mixed zone.

The night in the Starry Sky Forest was eerily silent. The lush trees obscured the sky, leaving only endless darkness and a desolate atmosphere. Zhu Ziyang ran at breakneck speed, not bothering to conceal himself. He was less than 500 meters from the mixed zone; it was best to rush there as quickly as possible. He wouldn't forget the horrific consequences of the last 500 meters.

The 500-meter race was over in less than half a minute.

The moment Zhu Ziyang stepped into the mixed zone, he felt a sense of security. His speed naturally slowed down as he ran, pondering whether to go find Zhang Lexuan and her group or immediately return to the academy from the Star Dou Great Forest to report the matter.

The rational approach would naturally be the latter. However, Zhu Ziyang felt a strong aversion to it; he was unwilling to abandon his companions who had gone through life-and-death ordeals with him, and he wanted to find them. Zhu Ziyang was well aware of the inner court disciples' current state. After experiencing a fierce battle, their combat strength was less than one-tenth of what it used to be. Even though Zhang Lexuan had successfully absorbed the 100,000-year soul ring, her damaged essence meant she would definitely not recover to normal without a year or two of recuperation. Not to mention the others.

Zhu Ziyang decided to find them and bring them back to the academy!

This is a tough choice.

After making his decision, he immediately began to grope his way forward along the edge of the mixed zone and the core area, recalling the location where he had encountered the Ghost Moon Serpent King. He guessed that Zhang Lexuan and the others would inevitably enter the mixed zone after escaping danger, but since they were almost all wounded, they would not be able to move quickly. Searching within a hundred meters of the mixed zone closest to the core zone would surely lead him to their trail.

However, just as Zhu Ziyang was searching for the inner court disciples, he encountered two soul beasts!

They were two pure white unicorns, their manes golden, and each possessed a single, translucent, three-and-a-half-inch-long, brilliant golden horn on its forehead. Furthermore, both unicorns had enormous wings, the outermost feathers of which were golden. As they moved, faint golden halos could be seen emanating from beneath their hooves, dazzlingly bright in the dark forest!

They are of different sizes. The larger one is four meters long and two meters tall, while the smaller one is less than three meters long and only about one and a half meters tall.

Shining Unicorn!

Zhu Ziyang's face was pale. The little Starry Unicorn was not to be feared, with only one or two thousand years of cultivation, but the big Starry Unicorn had at least thirty thousand years of cultivation!

(End of this chapter)