Douluo Continent: From Seven Treasure Glazed Tile to Crescent Moon's Solemnity

Chapter 165 Blooming Spirit Flower

Ning Feiliu simply let Dugu Yan cry out loud. He knew that sometimes it was a good thing to let someone who had been suppressing their emotions for a long time cry it out.

Dugu Yan cried loudly for a full half minute, releasing the emotions that had been building up over this period of time. This made her cry uncharacteristically, but her personality was ultimately not that of a delicate, fragile woman who would burst into tears at the slightest provocation.

Crying for half a minute was enough for her to release her emotions, and then she wiped away her tears in Ning Feiliu's arms.

"Fei Liu... I just want you to know that you are truly, truly important to me right now," Dugu Yan said softly. "If I lost you, I don't know how I could go on living..."

Upon hearing this, Ning Feiliu gave a wry smile on his handsome face.

To be honest, he never thought that his relationship with Dugu Yan had progressed to this point, to this point where he couldn't live without her.

He and Dugu Yan had only known each other for about a year. In his previous life, a year was considered a fast time to become lovers.

What's more, it fast-forwards directly to a love affair of life and death, like the vow of "We made a pact of life and death."

This is probably... the effect of everyone in Douluo Continent being obsessed with romance?

Ning Feiliu shook his head and said seriously, "Sister Yan... I know what you're talking about, but I don't want... I don't want you to say such things."

Dugu Yan raised her long, swan-like neck and looked intently at him with her beautiful eyes.

"Everyone lives not for others, but for themselves. And there are many people in this world who care about you and want you to continue living," Ning Feiliu said softly. "Even without me, you still have your teachers, and... friends and classmates like Ye Lingling..."

At that moment, he was speechless.

It seems... after spending so much time with Dugu Yan, only he and Dugu Bo truly cared about her life or death. Ye Lingling was only half of them...

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he looked at the two tombstones next to him that belonged to Dugu Yan's parents. "And... your father and mother."

"They are watching over you from beyond, and they absolutely want you to live a peaceful and happy life."

Dugu Yan hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Fei Liu, do souls really exist in this world? Even after death, can a person's soul remain, silently watching over their family?"

Ning Feiliu didn't know how to answer the question.

He was quite familiar with the plot of the first and second parts of the Douluo Continent series of novels, but had only heard of the latter three.

The five novels, plus the two spin-offs, do not seem to mention much about the so-called "underworld," "god of the underworld," or "soul."

In the Douluo Continent II: The Peerless Tang Sect era, after the protagonist Huo Yuhao's mother Huo Yun'er was killed by the Duchess, his third brother and Dai Mubai forced Huo Yuhao to acknowledge his ancestors and bring out the resurrected Huo Yun'er to force Huo Yuhao to compromise. Only then did they mention that they had found Huo Yun'er's soul from the unseen world and resurrected her shortly after her death.

This might prove that on the Douluo Continent, shortly after a person dies, their soul is drawn to a place of extreme yin, a place known as the Netherworld.

Or perhaps this so-called "mystery" refers to the souls of the dead scattering across the Douluo Continent, wandering aimlessly without a clear place to gather; that's what it's called.

But the soul will eventually dissipate unless it reaches the level of a 100,000-year-old soul beast or a titled Douluo.

The souls of the strong and the weak should also be different; undoubtedly, the more powerful a soul master is, the more difficult it is for their soul to dissipate.

Dugu Yan's parents were Soul Saint-level Soul Masters in their lifetime, but who knows how many years have passed...

Will the soul still exist?

Moreover, there is a saying from the past that if a soul still has attachments, it will linger in the human world for a long time and will not leave.

In the myths of the underworld in the past, there were beings called underworld messengers who captured the souls of the dead and could take those who did not wish to enter the underworld down with them.

However, there isn't even a definitive God of the Underworld in the Douluo World. It's conceivable that unless it's a powerful alien soul that could alarm the upper realm, like the Earth Core Queen Lieyan in "The God of Wine," the gods of the God Realm would absolutely not descend to resolve such a matter.

So... perhaps the spirits of Dugu Yan's deceased parents are still in this world, or even beside Dugu Yan.

"It will happen... I believe your uncles and aunts are watching you and your teacher right now," Ning Feiliu said softly but firmly.

"Mom and Dad...are they really watching over us? I really want to...I really want to see them again." Dugu Yan's body trembled slightly, and she said with a hint of hope in her beautiful eyes.

Ning Feiliu fell silent at this moment. In the Douluo world, unless the soul of the dead is powerful enough, like the Necromancer Saint God Ilex who can interfere with the present world even after death, only gods can make the soul manifest its own soul form even if it is not resurrected.

Even in his previous life, in the Chinese underworld mythology, to allow the dead souls who could not normally reveal their bodies to meet the living, one would need either a highly accomplished master or some magic.

Suddenly, he remembered the Spirit Blossom Festival from the lore of his previous life in the League of Legends. In Ionia on Runeterra, whenever the Spirit Blossom blooms, the gate connecting the soul and reality opens.

People wait for the souls of their loved ones to return to reality and, in doing so, to encounter their truest selves.

Those days were known as the Spirit Blossom Festival.

People can easily see the spirits of their deceased relatives through the blooming spirit flower, which is simply amazing and unbelievable.

However, the special festival of Spirit Blossom only exists in the Ionia region, which is because Ionia is different from other places on Runeterra.

In the Runeterra setting, on the other side of the real plane, there is also a plane where an ancient creature called "Spirit" lives.

This place is called the "Spirit Realm".

The souls of the deceased will eventually be drawn to this world by the "spirits" and find eternal rest.

Although the Spirit Realm is adjacent to the real world of Runeterra, the two worlds rarely overlap, with Ionia being the only exception.

Ionia is a place where the spirit world and the real world meet, thus creating a special world—the spiritual world. The spiritual world and the real world often intersect almost indistinguishably, making it easy for them to influence each other.

As a result, a special force called the "Cult of Balance" was born in Ionia. Their balance is not about balancing the major forces in the real world, but rather about balancing the spiritual world and the real world.

Therefore, the people of Ionia can see the souls of the deceased through the special flower, the Spirit Blossom.

Just as Ning Feiliu was suddenly overwhelmed with emotions, thinking about the Spirit Blossom Festival, small words that only he could see suddenly appeared before his eyes—

[Analyzing the brains and spiritual seas of six different spirit-type soul beasts will yield the cultivation method for the Spirit Blossom Flower.]

A blooming spirit...flower?!

Ning Feiliu was somewhat surprised that, upon thinking about it, even the task of cultivating the Spirit Flower came up.

I just don't know if the Spirit Blossom Flower can be used in this world...

However, if the souls of the dead in Douluo Continent do not gather in one place, but instead wander aimlessly after they are formed, or remain in the same place due to their obsessions.

The Spirit Flower may still have the potential to allow the living to see the souls of the dead.

Ning Feiliu took a deep breath and immediately said to Dugu Yan, "Sister Yan, you will have a chance to see your aunt and uncle again!"

Dugu Yan was stunned for a moment, then her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at him, "Fei Liu... really?!"

"I won't lie to your Sister Yan... but give me some time, and I'll let you see your aunt and uncle again," Ning Feiliu said firmly.

Perhaps the Spirit Blossom Flower won't necessarily have the same magical effects in the Douluo Continent, but he believes that his ability, with his strong prayers, will become real!

Dugu Yan looked intently at Ning Feiliu, then nodded gently, her eyes filled with unwavering trust, and said, "Feiliu, I will always believe in you."

……

After her conversation with Dugu Yan ended, Ning Feiliu bid farewell to Dugu Yan and immediately entered Sunset Forest.

With his current strength, he directly found six different low-level spirit-type soul beasts: Wind Baboon, Silver Elf Beast, Silver Moon Wolf, Thousand-Faced Spider, Phantom Winged Bird, and Nightmare Beast, all of which were less than a hundred years old.

Anyway, it's meant for experiments, so there's no need to find something too advanced to mess with.

As for the lives of these soul beasts... one can only say that this is how experiments are conducted; sacrifices are necessary. In my previous life, clinical trials of any drug required the killing of hundreds or thousands of experimental organisms.

Without sacrifice, there would be no powerful modern medicine, or the sacrifice would be made directly by tens of thousands of people.

Since sacrifices are inevitable anyway, is it a simple choice between sacrificing humans or other animals?

During the following period, Ning Feiliu accidentally unlocked another mission related to Camille and Victor's surgery, which allowed him to dissect soul beasts with ease.

However... Camille is alright. Camille, the mentor, originally used a leg blade, and the reward for the mission she gave was Camille's combat experience. It's quite reasonable that this would trigger a mission with her corresponding reward.

However, the life mentor's combat experience gave him a very good grasp of the force and precision of the incision, comparable to the precision and force of a surgeon, which allowed Ning Feiliu to make the right amount of precise and forceful incisions.

After all, Camille once said, "Precision is the difference between slaughter and surgery."

Camille was alright, but Viktor... Ning Feiliu didn't quite understand him from the start.

But as he obtained more and more of Victor's research data on "modified bodies," he began to understand.

Vitok was a pioneer of mechanical engineering who upheld the principle of "flesh and blood are weak, while machines ascend." He even used himself as a test subject for mechanical modification experiments. The process of disassembling his own body and reinstalling mechanical prosthetics was so meticulous that even the slightest mistake could cause others to bleed to death.

With the increasing amount of research data provided by Vitok, Ning Feiliu also mastered the artery and blood vessel structure of the soul beasts, and then precisely avoided these vital points to prevent them from being killed.

With the experience gained by Singed and Lenata, and the various anesthetics and alchemical potions they developed, these soul beasts are indeed not easily killed...

But living like this is worse than being dead.

During this time, Ning Feiliu also took the opportunity to use her mental power to enter the spiritual world of these soul beasts and study their spiritual sea of ​​consciousness.

……

On the other side...

Inside Tiandou City.

This is a five-story building, which is considered very tall even in Tiandou City.

The first impression this building gives is one of elegance and refinement.

The overall architectural style is somewhat rustic, and the plaque has only two simple characters: Yuexuan.

There weren't many pedestrians coming and going, but it was clear that those who entered and left were either dressed in fine clothes or had an excellent demeanor; both men and women were present.

The first floor of Yuexuan is filled with a faint, refreshing fragrance.

The screen wall is carved from the finest boxwood, emitting a faint woody fragrance. In front of the screen wall, two exotic orchids, each three meters tall, emit a delicate fragrance.

Although it's just a step into the Moon Pavilion, it seems to isolate one from the chaos of the outside world.

Beyond the screen wall lies a spacious hall.

The ground was paved with gray square tiles that were a meter long, and the surrounding area was decorated with various expensive woods. Behind a wide table in front, several simply dressed but rather delicate girls were standing there.

At this moment, among the delicate young women, a noblewoman dressed in a silver palace gown was lazily reclining on a sofa.

The silver palace dress fit her perfectly, and her every movement was elegant and natural to the extreme.

In front of her sat a silver-haired girl, elegantly sipping tea.

"...Aunt Yue, you're probably disappointed. Yafei said...his self-created soul skill comes from the favor of two revered gods, allowing him to borrow their powerful strength," Shuanglan said helplessly.

"Impossible...!" Sure enough, Tang Yuehua exclaimed.

That explosive ring technique—how could anyone else in the world, besides her unparalleled and exceptionally talented second brother, possibly know how to use it?

Moreover, he was self-taught.

Tang Yuehua absolutely did not believe it. In fact, she only asked Shuanglan to ask to confirm the answer in her heart.

In fact... she already had her own answer in her heart.

"But... that's what he said," Shuanglan said helplessly.

"He...maybe he didn't tell you explicitly." Tang Yuehua suddenly thought of a possibility, then her beautiful eyes lit up, and she said with a smile, "That's it...Second Brother—he can't easily reveal his existence right now, he must have specifically instructed Yafei not to reveal his identity, that's right, that's why Yafei didn't admit it."

Shuanglan was somewhat confused. What did Tang Yuehua mean? What was that "two" again? Who was that man in his forties or fifties that Tang Yuehua had asked her to ask about "Asia and Africa"?

Are Aunt Yue's old photos nice?

"Alright... I understand. But it seems I need to find some time to meet that Asian and African man in person. Perhaps then he will admit to it himself." Tang Yuehua suddenly came back to her senses and looked at Shuanglan.

Shuanglan hesitated for a moment, but nodded anyway, and said, "Then Aunt Yue, he'll be showing up tomorrow. Why don't you go over and ask him in person tomorrow?"

……

the next day.

Ning Feiliu's research is currently only in its initial stage, and he has only unlocked two more related series of tasks. However, after a year of familiarizing himself with the use of the cheat, he knows very well that these extra tasks will actually allow him to complete the tasks he wants to complete more quickly.

He had made an appointment with Shuanglan to meet with Yu Tianheng and the others who were going to form a team to fight together today.

There's no rush now. Although Ning Feiliu also really wants to complete the [Blooming Spirit Flower] task and help Dugu Yan fulfill her wish as soon as possible.

But he also knew that none of his tasks could be completed all at once; they all required time and effort to accumulate before they could be finished.

Therefore, it's better to complete several tasks together gradually.

"It's time to go see Yu Tianheng and the others." Ning Feiliu bandaged the wounds of the remaining experimental soul beasts that hadn't been killed yet, gave them some healing medicine, and injected them with anesthetic to make them fall asleep. Only then did he change into his "Asia-Africa" ​​disguise and turn to leave.

(End of this chapter)