Chapter Forty-One: The Beautiful "Human"

"Boom—!"

The torrential rain had been falling for nine days and nine nights, as if weeping for the tens of thousands of lives lost. Thunder shook the heavens, and blinding flashes of lightning tore through the firmament!

In the glare of the lightning, the ghastly sight of white bones was revealed. Several rivers of blood, carrying a multitude of corpses, flowed from all corners of the city, finally converging beneath the Ginseng Fruit Tree into a pool of blood.

Dense, tangled roots greedily absorbed nutrients from the blood pool. The ghost-like faces on the tree trunk shrieked and wailed, as if a woman in labor were straining with all her might to birth the infant within her womb.

Unnoticed, pitch-black veins and strange, alien characters began to emerge upon the tree's surface, appearing to writhe as if alive.

"Heh heh, have you finally arrived?"

Atop a mound of piled skeletons, the Emperor of Douling—who no longer bore the slightest resemblance to a human—let out a strange laugh upon hearing the commotion in the outer city.

"I wonder where the State Preceptor is; without his company, I truly feel a bit lonely!"

"But it matters not. Let your wailing be the applause for my ascent to eternity!"

"Come! Use all your strength to reach my presence! I shall grant you the honor of worshipping this unprecedented spectacle!"

"Hahahaha—"

...

"What is the position of the assault force?" asked Ning Yi, the current Sect Master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, who was stationed at the camp and in charge of overall command.

His assistant replied, "For some reason, the soul-guided communication devices failed upon entering Douling City. It seems they are suffering from some interference. The only word from our scouts is that the assault force is still in the outer city, held back by monsters, with no progress made for a long time."

"Is that so?"

Ning Yi looked up at the sky, blanketed by dark clouds and illuminated by thunder, then glanced at the distant Douling City, now stained the color of blood. He issued an order: "The entire army is to withdraw fifty miles."

Fifty miles—a very subtle distance. It was far enough to remain outside the danger zone, yet close enough not to lose surveillance of Douling City.

Some Title Douluo possess soul skills capable of slaughtering a city, but there is ultimately an upper limit to their range. Scholars of the continent have studied this and determined that a diameter of fifty miles is essentially the limit; it is not that they cannot expand further, but that their soul power cannot sustain the release.

The assistant was startled by the order and hurriedly said, "But if we do that, we may not be able to provide rescue in time."

Ning Yi’s icy, detached response cut him off: "Do you truly believe we have the capability to rescue them from a catastrophe that even a Super Douluo could not escape?"

His words were cold and cruel, yet they were the truth. Xuan Zi understood this as well, which was why he had left this man—the continent's greatest support-type soul master—behind.

If they encountered an unforeseen disaster, they needed someone of sufficiently high standing to inform the other factions, urging them to commit themselves fully to this crisis.

Under Ning Yi’s methodical command, the coalition army retreated rapidly, though they dispatched even more scouts to approach Douling City, ensuring that all intelligence possible was relayed back.

Just as he had established the new camp, a commotion suddenly broke out within the coalition forces. With a frown, he walked out of his tent to investigate, and the sight that met his eyes made his pupils contract.

Before his very gaze, the land that had been cleared to make way for the camp suddenly burst with vitality. Exquisite and beautiful flowers bloomed, the earth split open with fresh cracks, and tree saplings poked their heads out, instantly standing tall and firm.

Nature, which had been ravaged by humanity, was restoring itself to its original state at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Birds, having nowhere to nest and flying through the wind and rain, landed on the branches and sang light, cheerful songs. They spread their wings and flew deep into the dense forest, finally landing on a beautiful figure.

The beautiful figure gently stroked the birds and whispered, "Wings allow you to fly freely, so please, do not linger here."

The birds tilted their heads, their small minds unable to comprehend the words of this great being. With a flap of their wings, they vanished once more into the deep woods.

With every step the beautiful being took, the earth turned emerald green, as if he were the favorite child of nature.

No, that was wrong!

Ning Yi abruptly dismissed that thought. He felt that describing him as "nature itself" would be far more fitting.

But when the figure truly stood before him, and he saw the multiple arms on his back and the crimson eyes embedded in his fair skin, Ning Yi held his breath.

This posture reminded him of the monsters in Douling City; after all, no matter how one looked at it, this was not a form a human should possess.

Yet, the pervasive vitality radiating from the being, combined with his breathtakingly beautiful face, made comparing him to those monsters feel like an insult to this "person."

The beautiful being stopped not far from Ning Yi. He studied him for a moment and then smiled. "Is this what you desire?"

As he spoke, one of the arms on his back reached forward, holding a golden flower between two fingers.

Seeing that flower, Ning Yi’s expression changed drastically, and he gasped, "Silk-Silk Tulip!"

His voice was filled with agitation; after all, this was his hope for breaking through to the Soul Douluo level!

Every soul master who possesses the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul yearns their entire life for nothing more than to evolve their soul from seven treasures to nine. Otherwise, they will forever be bound to the level of a Soul Saint.

For ten thousand years, countless members of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect have craved this opportunity, but none have succeeded. They have searched the entire continent and never found a single Silk-Silk Tulip capable of evolving their martial soul.

Now, this opportunity—the one that had left countless predecessors with lifelong regrets—was right before his eyes. Even as composed and intelligent as Ning Yi was, he could hardly suppress his excitement.

In his agitation, even the wariness he felt toward this mysterious visitor vanished. With a face full of yearning, Ning Yi asked, "My lord, what must I offer to obtain this Silk-Silk Tulip?"

Ning Yi was absolutely certain that the Silk-Silk Tulip before him was the genuine article. That unique aura of an immortal herb could not be faked.

Thus, when he spoke those words, he had already decided: regardless of the price, he would obtain the Silk-Silk Tulip!

However, the beautiful being slowly shook his head and said softly, "It is merely a gift. No price is required."

He placed the Silk-Silk Tulip on the grass and turned to leave the camp, as if he cared nothing for this priceless treasure.

Coming to his senses from the shock, Ning Yi’s hands moved like lightning to pick up the Silk-Silk Tulip, cradling it with the utmost care, and shouted toward the retreating figure.

"May I ask your name, my lord?"

"Name..."

The man paused, looked back slightly, and said, "Lan Tian, The Abundantly Fruited, the God of Abundance... whichever you prefer, it matters not. As you wish."

Having said this, he continued on his way.

Ning Yi, however, felt his mind go blank, and he muttered, "The Abundantly Fruited... he is..."

He knew of the Abundance Sect, and he knew of The Abundantly Fruited. Because of this, he suddenly looked up in the direction the man was heading—straight toward the very heart of the storm: Douling City!

"He is the State Preceptor of Douling!"

"But he said he is..."

"The God of Abundance..."