Word Count: 2,958 Words
******
Ha, no green hat!
Sheer ecstasy surged through Huo Yuhao like a dam bursting. The moment Wang Dong Er had closed her eyes in silent acceptance, he had already resigned himself to wearing the cuckold's crown. Yet against all odds, a ray of hope cut through his despair. Ling Bai had voluntarily abandoned his chance to play the scoundrel and chosen Deep Adventure instead!
"Such principles..." Huo Yuhao murmured with genuine emotion. For the first time in his life, he felt truly grateful to Ling Bai.
On the central platform, Wang Dong Er lowered her lashes as a faint crimson gleam flickered through her eyes.
Girls could be walking contradictions sometimes. To agree made a man a beast; to refuse made him worse than a beast. Her self-esteem had clearly taken a devastating blow, but before she could unleash her fury, Ling Bai dissolved into countless motes of golden light and vanished.
…
A flash of radiance, and Ling Bai materialized in the midst of a military encampment. Night pressed heavy and black overhead. All around him stood soldiers clad in Sun Moon Empire uniforms.
He could faintly sense that the mastermind behind the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley was attempting to pry apart the women around him while pushing Wang Dong Er into his arms.
Deep Adventure it is, then. A kiss is absolutely out of the question.
One kiss and I'd be shackled for life!
"Who are you?!"
The sudden appearance of a stranger in their camp sent the Sun Moon soldiers reeling with alarm, and they surged toward Ling Bai like wolves and tigers.
A seven-ringed Spirit Guidance Master officer charged at the front, wielding a Class 7 Spirit Saber that spat a three-foot blade of light. His trashy three-yellow, four-purple ring configuration screamed of a foundation built on drugs. The Sun Moon Empire lagged far behind the three great empires in natural Martial Spirit talent; using secret medicines to force breakthroughs was nothing out of the ordinary there.
When the officer closed within ten meters, a terrifying, feral aura slammed into him head-on. In that instant, he felt as though a savage beast loomed before him, its overwhelming pressure nearly suffocating him where he stood.
Crack!
His charge ground to an abrupt halt. Horror filled his eyes as he watched a single hand crush his Class 7 Spirit Saber like a thin wafer. Before he could process what had happened, that same hand lifted him effortlessly off the ground.
A dragon's roar shook the heavens. Under the night sky, Holy Dragon Judgment transformed into a Light Holy Dragon that shot straight into the clouds. Dragon might radiated in every direction as blazing golden light seared the eyes. The Light Holy Dragon circled once overhead, then plunged earthward with a thunderous crash.
Powerful holy light erupted. How could these Sun Moon soldiers, ranging from Spirit Elders to Spirit Emperors at best, withstand a 100,000-year spirit skill? One after another, they incinerated to ash under the Light Holy Dragon's judgment.
A Spectral Gate rose behind Ling Bai. He reached through and donned the Thousand Illusion Charming Appearance that had once belonged to Death Abyss Douluo, then turned to the dangling Class 7 Spirit Guidance Master:
"Which camp is this?"
"S-Southern... Southern Camp."
The officer shook like a sieve, answering in abject terror.
Even so, confusion flickered across his features. This intruder had penetrated deep into their territory, yet didn't even know where he was?!
"Southern Camp..." Ling Bai's golden eyes narrowed. "The one south of Mingdu, positioned to prevent Spirit Masters from the three Douluo empires from escaping?"
"Y-Yes! Your insight is truly keen!"
The Spirit Guidance Master nodded so rapidly it looked as if he were pounding garlic.
His words had barely trailed off when the nine-colored woman's voice rang out without warning:
"Deep Adventure begins.
Within two hours, break out of the Mingdu Southern Military Camp and return to the Western Mountains perimeter. Death during the assessment means true death. Failure to return within two hours also results in death."
"Southern, huh..."
Ling Bai mentally reviewed everything he knew about the Southern Military Camp's deployment. According to Holy Spirit Cult Master Zhongli Wu and Xu Jiujiu, Xu Tianran had adopted a 'surround three, leave one open' strategy, stationing multiple Spirit Guidance Legions along the east, south, and north with a Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master overseeing each direction. Beyond that, Evil Spirit Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult were embedded in every military region.
The Evil Spirit Masters stationed in the Southern Military Region were none other than Extreme Evil Douluo, Nightmare Douluo, and the Supreme Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, one of the world's three current Limit Douluo: Death God Douluo Ye Xishui!
'What a pity. If only it were the east...'
A faint regret stirred in Ling Bai's heart. The Eastern Military Camp fell under Zhongli Wu's command. Though Zhongli Wu had a Limit Douluo-level Bone Dragon King under him on paper, those in the know understood perfectly well whose side the Bone Dragon King was actually on. If they ever ran into each other, it would be a textbook case of hometown friends greeting each other... with a stab in the back!
Death God Douluo Ye Xishui was on an entirely different level of trouble. Not only was she a Limit Douluo herself, she also controlled the Death God Pagoda.
The key to upgrading the Death God Pagoda to a Class 10 Spirit Guidance Device lay in the countless wronged souls who had perished in the Mingdu explosion. Even setting that aside, even if the Death God Pagoda hadn't yet completed its upgrade, it was at minimum a peak Class 9 Spirit Guidance Device whose attack radius and destructive power far exceeded Ye Yulin's Sun Moon Divine Needle!
'Better avoid a direct confrontation if possible...'
Thanks to Resonance Twin Spirit Cores, the gap between a Limit Douluo and any lesser rank was like that between heaven and earth. In another timeline, Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao had handled both Elder Xuan and Du Busi, two Rank 98 Titled Douluo, simultaneously and with ease. Ye Xishui working in tandem with the Death God Pagoda would prove even more formidable than that.
Fortunately, Ling Bai had the Thousand Illusion Charming Appearance's disguise ability. Transforming into an officer and slipping out of the Southern Camp wouldn't be too difficult; Ye Xishui couldn't possibly monitor every individual at all hours.
Ling Bai suddenly lifted his head toward the sky. His Demon Eye external spirit bone, combined with Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, elevated his spiritual perception to rival any pure spiritual-type Spirit Master's. Figures were streaking in from every direction, converging one after another on a single point deep within the camp.
"What's happening in your camp?"
"E-Enemy attack."
The Spirit Guidance Master officer swallowed hard, his voice quaking with fear. "A female Spirit Douluo launched a surprise assault. She's killed many of our men. I only led my troops to assist after receiving the assembly order..."
"A female... Spirit Douluo?"
…
In a distant corner of the Southern Military Camp, the Dazzling Golden Rope whipped through the air like a crazed golden serpent, flinging aside wave after wave of locust-like Sun Moon soldiers. Han Ruoruo was drenched in sweat, her face chalk-white, and the spirit power within her body blared urgent warnings of imminent exhaustion.
Her own Deep Adventure mission was likewise to break out of the Sun Moon Empire's Southern Military Camp. Her misfortune had been running headlong into a Class 8 Spirit Guidance Master the moment she arrived. She had cut him down as fast as she could, but discovery had been inevitable, and ever since, she had been ground down by one wave of Spirit Guidance Masters after another.
Individually, none of these Spirit Guidance Masters were particularly strong, as only one had been a Class 8, but there were simply too many of them. After the painful lessons of those early exchanges, the survivors had gradually worked out how to pin Han Ruoruo down. More than fifty Class 6 and Class 7 Spirit Guidance Masters formed a seemingly loose encirclement, boxing her in.
The Spirit Guidance Devices they wielded were almost entirely long-range. Barrages of rapid-fire cannons and high-explosive shells rained down as though spirit gold coins meant nothing. Overhead, Eyes of Fear and Enfeeblement Rays struck from her blind spots, never granting her a moment's respite.
When wealth was no object, sheer firepower coverage was the answer. Once Spirit Guidance Masters reached a certain critical mass, their collective combat strength underwent a qualitative leap. Even a high-ranking Spirit Douluo would struggle to break free from dozens of well-trained Spirit Guidance Masters working in concert.
Two black-robed figures observed the battle from a distance. One stared at the corpses of Spirit Guidance Masters strewn across the ground and spoke in a sinister tone:
"Little Brother Nightmare, this woman is no ordinary opponent. She's held out for nearly half an hour now…"
"Indeed, Brother Extreme Evil. Two Class 8 Spirit Guidance Masters and nine Class 7 Spirit Guidance Masters have already died at her hands. But after a siege this long, her spirit power has to be running on fumes."
Extreme Evil Douluo's eyes gleamed hungrily. "Keep watch. Living-corpse material this fine had better not be ruined by those Spirit Guidance Masters."
"Rest assured, I know exactly what I'm doing!"
Nightmare Douluo chuckled darkly. The two of them had been biding their time like vultures, poised to profit from both sides. The souls of the Spirit Guidance Masters Han Ruoruo had killed would be refined into Avenging Spirits, and the moment she fell, the pair would swoop in to capture her alive and fashion her into a living-corpse warrior.
Light flared brilliantly. A handful of figures were hurled skyward by a golden formation, every shred of their spirit power sealed away.
Dazzling Golden Rope's Eighth Spirit Skill, Golden Skysurge!
A heartbeat later, an eerie dark green spiderweb pattern surfaced on Han Ruoruo's forehead. A warped spiritual magnetic field instantly blanketed the heart of the battlefield. Every Spirit Guidance Master suspended in the air stiffened as one, their souls letting out fractured groans!
100,000‑year Soul Devouring Spider Emperor Skull Bone Skill, Soul Burial!
The eruption she had restrained for so long swept her besiegers away in a single stroke. Han Ruoruo gasped for air in great heaving breaths. The Soul Devouring Spider Emperor was insidious and cruel; its spirit skill exacted a tremendous toll on her body, and her already overtaxed frame buckled further under the strain.
"Damn it!"
Soul Burial entombed the souls of those it struck outright. The feast the two Evil Douluo had been salivating over vanished without offering them a single bite. Fury erupted from them in an instant, and they lunged toward Han Ruoruo, eyes flooded crimson.
Her spirit power and spiritual power were both utterly spent. Before volunteering for the Deep Adventure, Han Ruoruo had already steeled herself for death. No fear showed on her face now, only deep, aching regret.
Love for one person extended to all they held dear. If fate demanded that one among herself, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng had to die, Han Ruoruo would rather that person be herself.
A resonant dragon's roar shook the sky. Golden lightning crashed down from above, transforming everything within several hundred meters into a blinding expanse of gold in the span of a single breath.
Within that golden light, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as though a self-contained world had taken shape. A miserable scream rang out, blood spraying through the air. Nightmare Douluo's body lurched once and then plummeted from the sky like a bird with broken wings.
The surrounding temperature rocketed upward at an alarming rate. Han Ruoruo felt a familiar, scorching aura wash over her, and the elated relief of one who had survived the impossible dawned in her eyes.
Brilliant golden holy fire descended hand in hand with dragon-shaped thunder. Extreme Evil Douluo hadn't even registered what was happening when Radiant Thunder Dazzles the World and Divine Skyfire crashed down upon him in tandem, reducing his entire body to pitch-black cinders.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Magnificent seven-pointed star arrays flickered furiously as a series of titanic explosions rippled outward in expanding rings. Several detonating Radiant Spirit Arrays overlapped and fused into a monstrous tornado that speared toward the heavens.
The shockwave surged toward the Spirit Guidance Masters still rushing in from all directions, a cataclysm intent on erasing everything in its path. They scrambled skyward in desperate flight, yet even at altitude, the scorching heat rising from below set their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
Everything within a thousand-meter diameter lay devastated beneath the Radiant Spirit Array explosions. Every military structure was ripped apart, and the earth cracked open as countless fissures spread outward from the epicenter. Energy-type Spirit Masters excelled at large-scale destruction, and in that regard, the Seraphim stood in a class of its own.
At the very heart of the blast radius, bathed in the lingering glow of holy light, Han Ruoruo beheld a figure wreathed in dazzling gold. Her dark eyes glistened, bright with emotion, yet she couldn't help scolding him:
"It's too dangerous here. You shouldn't have come!"
"If I hadn't, what would have become of you?"
Ling Bai seized Han Ruoruo's hand without another word and pulled her skyward. "Move. We'll talk later. If she realizes what's happening, we're in serious trouble."
His angelic wings unfurled. The Seraphim was hailed as Lord of the Sky, and its flight speed was naturally top-tier. Every current of air seemed to lend the Seraphim strength, pushing them ever faster.
Han Ruoruo clung tightly to Ling Bai, her gaze fixed on his expressionless profile, and her heart skipped a beat. She had rarely seen him like this, flying as though some primordial beast were barreling after them in a frenzy.
The Spirit Guidance Legion opened fire. Lances of light streaked across the sky, hurtling straight toward the pair. Ling Bai's superb aerial agility allowed him to evade the vast majority of the Spirit Cannon shells. The few with tracking capabilities were either deflected by Radiant Spirit Arrays or cleaved apart by the Angel Sword.
Han Ruoruo knew her own flight speed was far inferior to his. The instant she recovered the barest sliver of spirit power, she drew breath and lightened her body, unleashing the Dazzling Golden Rope to bat aside the pursuing Spirit Cannon shells.
Hummmm—
The Spider Emperor Sense quivered with unprecedented violence. An indescribable pressure crashed into Ling Bai's mind, as though the entire world might be annihilated in the blink of an eye. He poured spirit power into his wings and accelerated again and again, desperate to break free of the Southern Military Camp, yet that dread refused to loosen its grip on him. A cold current seemed to spear straight through his body, as if some infernal specter were watching him from the shadows.
A gray tower rose from the camp's core. Wronged souls wailed in agony, and evil energy saturated the air. At its conical spire, the continent's foremost attack-type Spirit Guidance Device was charging its Light of the Death God!
The Death God Pagoda!
Its aura was overwhelmingly evil and tyrannical. Han Ruoruo felt that oppressive presence as well. Even someone who knew nothing about Spirit Guidance Devices could tell at a glance: the Death God Pagoda was no ordinary Class 9 Spirit Guidance Device. A Titled Douluo—no, even a Super Douluo would be slain on the spot by a direct hit!
"Can you block it?" she asked softly.
"It'll be difficult."
A single grazing blow would leave even the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian wounded and coughing blood. Ling Bai had no confidence he could withstand it.
"I've recovered a sliver of spirit power. If I detonate myself with everything I have, I can probably buy you half a second. And without me weighing you down, you should be able to fight at your full strength."
Han Ruoruo exhaled with quiet, peaceful resignation.
"I love you. That's why I'm willing to die for you."
In that very instant, a beam of white light burst from the Death God Pagoda with a thunderous roar. Ghastly pale. Thick as a water cistern. It bore no ostentatious display of power, yet the moment it manifested in the sky, it stretched into a pillar of light thousands of meters long that swept across the heavens.
Time itself seemed to freeze. Wherever the Light of the Death God passed, space split open, yet none of the violent suction that normally accompanied a spatial tear followed. It was as though the Death God himself had taken up his scythe and cowed those rifts into stillness.
"Elder Sister, some say love means nothing in the face of death. I'm honored to have earned your true heart." The ghastly pale Light of the Death God reflected in Ling Bai's pupils.
"But love isn't about willingly dying for someone. It's about finding any way, every way, to live together!"
Eight spirit rings blazed to life!
The blood-red eighth spirit ring, etched with four golden lines, erupted in blinding radiance!
When despair devoured everything else, when darkness shrouded the world for all eternity, a sacred melody rang out in the deepest silence!
Like the most resplendent ray of dawn breaking the long night, it bloomed quietly amid boundless darkness. Its radiance pierced through the veil of time and space, surging and weaving across the sky to form one magnificent tapestry after another. Bathed in that holy light, the silhouette of the one offering prayer grew ever more towering, ascending toward transcendence within the brilliance!
Seraphim Eighth Spirit Skill, Prayer of Despair!