128 The Yin-Yang Gathering Formation (2)
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It was the third day of the second week in their stay at the Sunset Forest. Nine of them moved quickly. Surrounding a crimson-furred buffalo was a sea of Blue Silver Grass. Suddenly, all of the blades of Blue Silver Grass glimmered when the Buffalo roared, and from its two pitch-black horns emerged a massive ray of piercing red light akin to a laser but where ever it passed through, the area of impact would be set on fire.
However, the ordinary strands of Blue Silver Grass resisted valiantly. Naturally, this was the effect of Ah Yin's domain. However, once she manifested her sixth, the crimson spirit ring, her domain advanced once again. She was now capable of using one of her spirit skills on the entirety of the Blue Silver variants under her domain at once. What she used was her skill of elemental resistance.
As the Buffalo let out a deep growl, a particularly thick strand of Blue Silver Goddess instantly wrapped around the Buffalo and stopped the almost 10-meter giant beast in its tracks. Still resisting, it stomped its hoof and continuously galloped, unfortunately, a pale golden spread of light followed by a clear phoenix chirp instantly melted all of the beast's excitement.
Early in the morning, nine figures appeared one after another from the surroundings, circling the beast.
Although not a reptile, this was one of the compatible fire-attributed spirit beasts the group had discovered for Liu Erlong with its age estimated close to 24000 years of cultivation: A Fire Horned Tyrant.
Bibi Dong looked impassive. She would occasionally glance at others but everyone seemed to be avoiding her gaze for some reason. This had riddled her with confusion for two days now but whenever she inquired someone, mostly Hu Lana, she would suddenly burst into a giggle, saying: Oh, teacher, you know~!
'What exactly am I supposed to know?' Bibi Dong pondered. She was already considering detaining everyone avoiding her in separate areas and interrogating them separately to find out the truth.
But today wasn't about her.
*Hoof*
The bull snorted a rumbling huff accompanied by streams of smoke from its wide set of black nostrils before it calmly lied on its stomach with its limbs folded down.
"I cannot maintain the domain for long," Yuehua pursed her lips as she called out. But she looked paler than usual, clearly, a little bit unwell because of her own domain being a part of the reason for the spirit beast's death.
Liu Erlong turned back to look at Ja Sun and Ah Yin before looking down and then scratching the back of her head. Even she finally revealed a look of hesitation. What she was attempting was something that only Ja Sun would have chosen to commit. In fact, he already completed such a task. Unknowingly, Liu Erlong already looked up to Ja Sun. Not his ideology, but his actions regarding the path of power.
"Um, I feel like saying a few things before I attempt this task."
"Managing your affairs before departing, huh," Ja Sun chuckled suddenly as he dodged Bibi Dong's kick and a slap from Ah Yin almost striking him squarely on his cheek, revealing an amazing dexterity despite losing his arm, making others realize that his balance and combat potential was once again restored without their knowledge.
"Yes," Liu Erlong nodded, somber. Her raven hair reached her hips and the oval and fair face of Liu Erlong seemed especially beautiful.
"Don't listen to him," Bibi Dong frowned and then looked back at Erlong, "For political and personal reasons, I shouldn't even let you entertain such an idea much less try it but... I don't hold the right to stop someone from accomplishing their goals no matter how ambitious they are."
"Please, let me say a few things," Erlong cupped her fists and bowed, persisting. Before doing anything else, she turned around, a dagger appearing in her hand and she instantly stabbed the buffalo near its neck with the tip tilted towards its skull, effectively ending the life of the Spirit Beast. Yuehua shuddered and she deactivated her domain. Even Ah Yin revoked the Blue Silver Goddess wrapped around the buffalo as it silently laid on its stomach without any struggle an ordinary fowl would have revealed even after its death.
Sighing, she gave her group a bow, "I believe that my mind is tough enough. I have faced many things in my life but I don't know what to expect regarding the Soul Shock. Xie Xan cheated his way out of it so... even if I fail, I still technically win."
She left others stunned. Gulping, Xie Xan inquired, "So... possibly, your last words are an insult towards me?"
"No, they are the assurance that I didn't cheat my way out of it," Liu Erlong smirked as everyone rolled their eyes. To think she had it in herself to make a mockery of potentially her own demise.
Not saying another word, Liu Erlong waved her hand and a pitch-black spirit ring emerged from the skull of the Fire Horned Tyrant and hovered around Liu Erlong as she sat down and closed her eyes.
"Ah Yin, make sure to keep an eye on Erlong's condition. Especially her mental and spiritual reserves, alright? Soul Shock tends to bring out the worst experiences of our life the first time around but it also consumes the spirit master's mental energy at a breakneck pace. She will certainly require support.
Yuehua, when I say, you will cover Erlong with your domain but don't push too deep into her situation else it might make things worse. For now, recuperate and clear your mind. There will be more blood in the future.
Jun'er, Xie Xan, and Lana, spread out and make sure that any Spirit Beast or a Spirit Master that does enter the Ah Yin's range doesn't affect Erlong's breakthrough."
Oscar and Ja Sun looked at each other before nodding. They weren't needed for now so they stepped back silently.
---
"Well, all the best," Ja Sun mumbled while crouching over on the tip of the cliff while carefully studying the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well from the distance. What remained within the group was also him, or precisely, a part of him that could move at his will. A Fantasy Clone controlled by the Death Astral Combatant. Ja Sun could experience both things at the same time.
Liu Erlong always had a stronger physique and with the left arm spirit bone, this quality would surely be more prominent. And as Bibi Dong said, setting riskier but worthwhile examples, Ja Sun's and Xie Xan's breakthrough had made Liu Erlong courageous enough to bet her life on this matter. She wouldn't accept a result lower than her own expectations because Liu Erlong understood that there was no one else in her life that she wanted to prove her worth to more than herself.
Meanwhile, in here, Ja Sun had already spent enough time in these two days to slowly grasp the structure of this location. First and foremost, he realized that this 'bowl' was in fact a crater. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well happened to be the centermost location of this crater. The petal-like cliffs rising high as the consequence of something smashing into the ground and pushing the earthen structures high. Ja Sun could only imagine the size of the object that must have crashed into this location and the generated impact.
The second thing he noted happened to be quite basic.
This location wasn't naturally formed. The first conclusion made sure of the fact that whatever this land held would have been obliterated due to the sheer impact. Then, it is the item itself that fell in this location that restructured the surrounding land with the assistance of nature's blessing and formed the natural array that finally produced the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Now, the question was what gave rise to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Even if he comes to understand the proper structure of the lands and its surrounding and finally unveil the formations and arrays hidden in the lands through various natural forces, he first needed to find out if the item that caused the impact here could be replicated or not so that he can essentially 'take' away the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Hours passed as Ja Sun continued to passively spread his mental energy. With the lack of Death Astral Combatant, his mental reserves were essentially halved but he needed to go through all this good old observation and research anyway. He still had five days left before the second week came to an end. As for absorbing the Beautiful Silk Tulip?
What a joke!
He wanted to have a complete body since even he feared that the effects may not pass on towards the body part that wasn't present during the absorption. So, this was another task on his list.
To get an arm.
Even with his trait, he couldn't find any clues since it was too vague so he settled for understanding the development of this blessed land.
Seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours.
---
Blood trickled down Erlong's pores, however, her face remained relatively calm. Around her was a bed of blue silver grass that would lose its luster often before regaining it quickly at the expense of Ah Yin's exhaustion.
It has been hours already.
The corpse of the Fire Horned Tyrant was searched for the possibility of any spirit bones only for it to end in disappointment but they still kept it where it was, leaving it to Erlong to deal with it.
"Her condition is worsening," Ah Yin spoke once again. Bibi Dong then looked at Yuehua who had her eyes closed and brows locked. Yuehua's domain was slightly effective against Soul Shock as measured by Ah Yin, but Yuehua lacked too much to be proven exceptionally useful at this time.
"Erlong will have to bear through it for a few more minutes," Bibi Dong replied and Ah Yin nodded, still providing enough support to Erlong's mental reserves that began depleting at a quick speed.
While the world outside was relatively calm, the same couldn't be said about the world within Erlong.
"Hahaha! My daughter! Well done! A Fire Tyrant Dragon as great as a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!"
She heard a thick voice entering her senses and she looked around. Confusion flickered in her eyes as she gazed down at her tiny palms and even shorter legs as if missing something. She felt that it had been a long time since she could easily look down onto her body but she didn't know why. But these 'visions' were pushed back in her mind and she found a grey-haired and bearded man in an orchid-printed robe walking towards her. His long hair was tied into a short bun then let loose on his back.
Next to him walked a much younger dark-haired woman. Her hair was straight and her face was slightly oval. She looked similar to Liu Erlong, just slightly. But seeing her, the phantom of the winged and horned crimson dragon vanished instantly and she jumped!
"Mother!" Liu Erlong called out, instantly finding herself in the embrace of her mother.
"Erlong, behave yourself. Why haven't you greeted your father yet?" Erlong heard her mother speak up.
Clenching the frock of her mother's outfit nervously, Erlong looked up and observed the man carefully. He looked kind. And warm.
"Because that's how he presents himself," A hollow chuckle filled Erlong's ears, and much to her horror, the little girl's eyes widened and she found her father impaled with a pale white arm sticking out. Her father collapsed as the owner of the arm happened to be none other than Liu Erlong herself. But she was all grown up. The childish innocence in her eyes no longer present and her lips stretched into a wide grin.
Suddenly, the views of both the Liu Erlong mixed and collapsed. Part of her memories resurfaced. At least, she knew that she was a part of a team.
"But you love to kill, don't you?"
Her own voice haunted Erlong as the beautiful and calming valley where the Tyrant clan is situated was nowhere to be found. She was in an ashen world with dust as her curtains and bloody rivers quenching the land around her.
On wooden crosses were seven crucified figures.
They were faceless but from their hair and sense of clothing, Erlong's lips trembled and she realized who these seven figures were.
"No... t-this isn't real!" She shouted.
"You're a murderer! Mother died because you constantly killed other sect members' game, attracting their ire. Our teammates will die, too! Because of us! Get mad! We love it! The blood, the sensation, Oh!"
'She' shouted back.
"I don't lose control anymore... I don't... I don't," She turned away and the surroundings shifted once again. She was in a forest. Verdant and scenic but the signs of destruction couldn't be ignored and kneeling in front of her was an important figure.
This was none other than one of the most impactful memories of her life.
But it was also different.
At that time, she knelt.
But now...
Looking at the faceless Ja Sun, Erlong's entire being trembled and her own voice urged in haunting whispers once again.
"Do it! Cast his shadow away... he led us astray. Recall the screams of your prey as you would hunt them and..."
"DO IT!" The shout made Erlong's vision swim.
"I-" she gasped for air, breathing a lungful with each heave, "Shut up!"
"Tear his head. It's his mouth that beguiled you!"
"It's his eyes you remember—"
The shout came to a stunning end as the world around Erlong shifted yet again but it was one of the most dreadful memories she had experienced in that very forest itself.
The kneeling figure seemed even smaller than before yet Liu Erlong had to look 'up' to him. The constant and soft urges, those dreadful and haunting screeches were now stifled as 'it' suffered what Liu Erlong suffered once. That nightmarish, eerie call of blood hidden deep inside Ja Sun that had made its way into her very being, marking her mind and soul and forever changing her views on the world.
As it turns out, even in dreams and illusions, defeating Ja Sun was a task she had yet to accomplish.
---
Ja Sun stopped observing the red and blue clusters of the crystal present within the crater around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He just sensed it from the clone present around Liu Erlong. It was as if a hint of himself managed to have appeared from Liu Erlong.
'If I didn't know any better... then might have mistaken her for being pregnant. But can the killing intent pass through genes?' He considered this for only a short moment and then placed his attention on the task in front of him once again.
It wasn't hard to understand that the clusters of crystals were created from the heavy streams of energy leaking from the surroundings and it also acted as a major clue in finding whatever it is that actually formed this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
At a glance, the arrangement of these clusters seemed pretty random but when Ja Sun his attention on the veins of the land within, he observed that the clusters of crystals, both red/blue and small/big, acted as nodes of a vein and the pattern itself depicted... well, if Ja Sun drew the pattern on the land and connected it, the image would resemble a claw.
Not only that, after conducting an investigation around the pond itself, he realized that the Infernal Delicate Apricot and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass weren't the greatest of the Immortal Herbs. To fire and ice attributed spirit masters, these two immortal herbs could grant the ultimate form of their attributes. While the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass would certainly seem like a waste, it was a completely different matter for Liu Erlong.
However, no records ever mentioned a ripe apple being within the deepest region of the pool.
Yes, there was a fruit within the pond. But entering the pond was no better than committing suicide, which Ja Sun really didn't care about in the first place.
He speculated three reasons for this detail of something most definitely an Immortal Fruit being left out.
First, nobody dared venture into this poisonous pond.
Two, the rarity of this blessed land didn't allow others to conduct investigations easily.
Three, this particular Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was different from other blessed lands discovered until now.
Whatever the reason may be, Ja Sun was most definitely interested in the fruit but before that, he needed to understand the formation of the well and gain his reward that might just complete his knowledge on this particular matter.
The investigation continued. Seeing nobody around, Ja Sun climbed a small hill and peed over the pool but before it could reach the pond, the stream swayed to the red side of the pond and instantly turned into steam. A minor but worthwhile distraction. After all, who could easily turn their urine into steam? But this in itself didn't make him want to small it. Pulling back, he began dismantling a few crystals. This time, his right hand was covered by the Vajra gauntlet so he didn't suffer anything and proceeded to observe the flow of energy using his mental energy.
---
*Haaaaaaaah*
Erlong gasped as her eyes snapped open and she looked around quickly. The moment she found everyone around her, the usual feeling of strength that came from breaking through to a stronger rank turned into deep exhaustion and she silently slumped back on the thick bedding of grass.
Her entire body was soaked with blood and sweat as she dazedly looked towards the beautiful sky. Her first black spirit ring silently disappeared and the information of her skill alongside her spirit energy shooting through the charts because of absorbing a spirit ring well beyond her limit was fully felt by her.
Everyone also felt Erlong's spirit rank settling on rank 53. Two ranks ahead of Xie Xan because of the stronger spirit beast and the spirit bone.
But the usual smugness didn't even reach close to her mind at this moment.
"Are you alright?"
Bibi Dong finally walked closer to Erlong while Erlong also felt the soothing life energy entering her system and repairing her tattered body.
"I underestimated Soul Shock..." Erlong whispered and everyone collectively sighed in relief. If this victory had come easily to Erlong then her mind might have been inflated but this was clearly not the matter. This relieved Bibi Dong greatly.
"Do you want to know who helped you?" Bibi Dong inquired, more than willing to make Erlong feel a little more humble around her teammates since many supported her this time one way or the other.
"Sure," Erlong rolled her eyes.
"Ah Yin, of course. But Tang Yuehua also directly supported you this time."
'And also Ja Sun...'
Erlong added in her heart.
She now understood the core of Soul Shock and why it changed from circumstance to circumstance.
The Fire Horned Tyrant would not be so smart to cast illusion and its affinity would not allow it, too, but by absorbing the spirit ring, Liu Erlong basically invited the dying will of the Spirit Beast in her mind. With a much stronger force within her, her mind was easy to be played with until the source of the Soul Shock— the dying will of the Fire Horned Tyrant— faced the chilling killing intent.
This also allowed Erlong to realize that her methods till now have been too simple. She had five spirit skills now.
For the next four, she needed to choose carefully so that she can add more advantages to herself.
She wanted at least one mental attack in her arsenal now that she had tasted its haunting and bitter force and she also grew alert of the otherwise smiling Hu Lana. She was a specialized charm-type opponent whom even Qian Daoliu praised to be a fearsome entity within her ranks.
"Was there a spirit bone?" Erlong inquired with a cough.
"No."
With that, Erlong sighed and closed her eyes, sleeping then and there.
