Word Count: 3,047 Words
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The Yin Yang Love Querying Valley erupted with violent, boiling fluctuations. Gold and silver spirit power surged toward the Yearning Heartbroken Red in an endless torrent. Just as she had once vowed, the life most compatible with the Goddess of Love's power in all the world was this flower of devoted, unwavering love.
The Goddess of Love's remnant consciousness broke free from its restraints and bestowed the full power of the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley upon the Yearning Heartbroken Red!
With the Goddess's aid, the Yearning Heartbroken Red took on human form. She wore a flowing white dress adorned with scarlet petals like tears of blood, her beauty enough to topple cities, yet frost masked her exquisite face.
She drew upon the power of the entire valley to wrench the nine-colored woman out from where she had been hiding. The recoil of the Goddess of Love's backlash struck back through the connection, and the nine-colored woman tumbled down beside Tang San, spitting out a great mouthful of blood with a sharp cry as her aura instantly withered.
Ning Tian, Wu Feng, Ling Qiuxi, Han Ruoruo... one by one, everyone broke free from the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley's trials, staring in confusion and shock at the two men and two women who faced off like mortal enemies.
"Who are those two opposite Ling Bai? They look kind of familiar." Xu Sanshi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"They really do look familiar..."
Wu Feng's sharp ears missed nothing, and she nodded in agreement.
Everyone scrutinized the pair carefully. They all had the nagging sense of something distant yet standing right before them. Then realization struck like a bolt of lightning, and Ning Tian and Bei Bei blurted out simultaneously:
"That's Ancestor Ning Rongrong / Ancestor Tang San!"
Ten pairs of eyes flew open, almost cartoonishly round with disbelief. But the evidence was undeniable. The statues in Shrek Plaza had been sculpted directly from the likenesses of the original Shrek Seven Monsters, and these two were unmistakably the living Tang San and Ning Rongrong!
Everyone present was sharp enough to make the connection. For two ancestors who had become Gods ten thousand years ago to appear here meant the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley was undoubtedly tied to Tang San and Ning Rongrong!
"We're all Shrek students, and many of us are disciples of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and the Tang Sect too. Why would our ancestors torment us like this?!"
Xu Sanshi cried out in grievance. If not for Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er's timely rescue, he and Bei Bei would have died back in Mingdu!
"That woman's voice was Ning Rongrong, wasn't it?" Wu Feng's fiery temper flared, and she didn't even bother with the title 'Ancestor' anymore. "In the third True Heart trial, she actually told me my test was either to forget Ling Bai or stay trapped in the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley forever!"
"What a coincidence. Mine too." Ling Qiuxi's delicate brows arched.
"And mine."
Han Ruoruo's voice was faint. Whatever rosy filter she might once have held toward Ancestors Tang San and Ning Rongrong shattered completely in that moment, all goodwill evaporating in an instant. What kind of ancestor sent their descendants straight into the jaws of the Death God Pagoda?!
"We all had the same test," Ning Tian said slowly. "It seems the two ancestors disapprove of Bai-ge being with us. They wanted to forcibly replace us with someone else."
Her gaze came to rest on Wang Dong Er. If all of this was part of the two ancestors' scheme, then that three-minute tongue kiss during the Deep Adventure suddenly made far more sense.
'Ancestor Ning Rongrong, have you abandoned the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?'
Ning Tian sighed inwardly. The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's rise to glory was finally within reach, yet Ning Rongrong's actions were handing the very foundation of that glory over to someone else!
'If that's the case, then don't blame us for no longer recognizing you as our ancestor...'
Meanwhile, the Yearning Heartbroken Red glanced briefly at the blood-vomiting Ning Rongrong before fixing her gaze on Tang San. Her voice carried a tone of deep melancholy, as if lamenting how utterly things had changed:
"Tang San, the love between you and your wife Xiao Wu was once warm and pure. It received my predecessor's approval.
But time has passed. The youth from ten thousand years ago has become a God King, yet he has forgotten what love should truly look like. Now you treat it as a bargaining chip to shackle destiny."
Tang San's expression turned utterly cold, and his voice dropped low and sharp as a blade:
"The destinies of humanity and the spirit beasts concern the rise and fall of the Douluo Continent, and even of the Divine Realm! Only by using human destiny to control spirit beast destiny, and borrowing the destinies of the spirit beasts and the Dragon God to feed back into human and Divine Realm destiny, can the Divine Realm remain forever prosperous!
Yearning Heartbroken Red, I advise you not to... aid the wicked!"
Blue-gold divine power surged out like a raging ocean, instantly suppressing the Goddess of Love's residual energy within the valley. The Yearning Heartbroken Red's delicate face tightened as she resisted wave after wave of the seemingly endless Sea God power.
As a God King bearing dual God Positions, Tang San naturally far surpassed the Goddess of Love. He gripped the Sea God Trident and looked down from on high at Ling Bai:
"Ling Bai, you are descended from evil demons. As the Divine Realm's Enforcer, I would be within my rights to kill you and uphold heaven's law!
Yet heaven cherishes life. I offered you a chance to turn from evil, to take Xiao Qi as your wife and inherit my Sea God position. Since you refuse, I can only use my own methods.
Human destiny cannot be allowed to waver, so I will split your soul in two.
One half shall be molded into a kind, obedient Son of Destiny. The other shall bear all your filth and evil!
Cut away the evil to preserve the good. Thus, the grand design shall be completed!"
Before his words had fully fallen, Tang San blurred into a blue-gold phantom and, in the blink of an eye, materialized before Ling Bai. The Sea God Trident rose high, its entire length blazing with brilliant golden radiance, the tip keen enough to rend a soul apart, and came hacking down toward Ling Bai's Spiritual Sea with the full weight of thunder!
Ding—
The Sea God Trident halted at Ling Bai's brow, unable to advance even a hair's breadth. A flicker of astonishment crossed Tang San's eyes. For a Super Divine Weapon to be checked by a mere human was something that should have been impossible!
"Surprised?"
Ling Bai's lips curved into a cold smile. The gold and silver light of the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley flickered at an uneasy rhythm, and the shadows it cast shifted between two forms: one moment the tall silhouette of a man, the next a terrifyingly massive beast!
Purple-gold chains of light surged out like swimming dragons, weaving together one after another into a purple-gold crown. Dragon roars thundered through the valley as dragon-might shook the surrounding world!
The Dragon King's Crown!
BOOM—
A colossal dragon descended from above. Wind and cloud shifted color. Mountains and rivers trembled. The world seemed to hold its breath at the arrival of this king.
The purple-gold dragon emerged from the sea of clouds, unleashing the absolute majesty and power of a Dragon King. Its body stretched vast as a mountain range, every scale gleaming with a metallic luster. As its wings spread wide to blot out the sun, their sweep summoned howling gales that raised waves ten thousand feet high. The entire world trembled before its presence!
Dragon King's Advent, Sacred Reverse Scale!
The Dragon King's Crown condensed the divine power of both the Water Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King, carrying within it the unyielding will and strength of the two Dragon Kings.
Its first skill, Dragon's Will, guarded Ling Bai's Spiritual Sea, and not even the Sea God Trident could carve through the protection of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings. Its second skill, Sacred Reverse Scale, was pure offense. It unleashed the combined might of both Dragon Kings in a single devastating strike, just as they had been capable of when alive!
With Ling Bai's current Spirit Douluo cultivation, he could never sustain Sacred Reverse Scale on his own. The two Dragon Kings had anticipated this. Like a modern rechargeable Spirit Guidance Device, they had charged the Dragon King's Crown at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, granting Ling Bai a single chance to unleash this cataclysmic attack!
From the moment he had stepped into the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley, Ling Bai had been quietly building toward Sacred Reverse Scale. So long as Tang San harbored designs against him, the Sea God would inevitably reveal himself!
"Slandering true love! Scheming against your own descendants! Coveting the power of destiny!
Tang San, you have chosen the path of death!"
The reverse scale was the symbol of dragonkind's dignity, the wellspring of their fury. Once that scale was touched, the rage burning within the chest of the purple-gold colossus born from the fusion of the Water and Fire Dragon Kings erupted like a volcano, impossible to contain.
The Dragon King's roar shook the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley as lightning and thunder wove together across the sky. Each thunderclap hammered Tang San's soul like a battering ram. Those vast dragon eyes blazed with sacred fury, their flames incinerating all disrespect and sacrilege. Dragon claws ripped through the air toward Tang San, leaving behind gouges in the air that refused to heal!
BOOM—
Sacred Reverse Scale descended. Tang San's divine soul avatar disintegrated in an instant; not even ash remained. Only Ning Rongrong was left trembling, her shriek carrying the hollow ring of false bravado:
"Let me go! I am your ancestor!"
"Whose ancestor? I've never heard of an ancestor who torments her own descendants. You too have chosen the path of death!"
Whoever first coined 'chosen the path of death' was a true genius. Without even realizing it, Ling Bai had grown fond of the phrase. Whenever someone displeased him, the words rolled off his tongue and his hand followed with the killing strike!
The massive purple-gold dragon claw swept sideways, and Ning Rongrong was swatted into a cloud of nine-colored mist that scattered into nothing.
…
Divine Realm, Sea God Temple.
"Grug—"
Tang San's body convulsed violently as blood spurted from all seven orifices. Xiao Wu jolted in fright and rushed to catch her husband, frantically patting his back.
"Third Brother! Third Brother, what's wrong?!"
"I'm fine. My cultivation just took a small misstep. Please ask the Goddess of Life to come. I need her help."
"O-okay! I'll go right away!"
Only after Xiao Wu's aura faded into the distance did Tang San finally drop his composure. He hunched forward and coughed up several more mouthfuls of golden divine blood. The Divine Realm explicitly forbade gods from descending to the lower world, and with the God of Destruction watching nearby like a tiger eyeing prey, he could not afford to blatantly break that rule.
The Tang San and Ning Rongrong who had appeared in the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley were divine soul avatars, each bearing a portion of their true divine souls and divine power. Sacred Reverse Scale destroying these avatars was not fatal, but the resulting damage to their divine souls would require considerable time to heal.
One day in the Divine Realm equaled one year on the Douluo Continent. By the time his soul wounds fully mended, Ling Bai would already be knocking at his door!
Enduring the agony tearing through his divine soul, Tang San ground his teeth:
"Dragon Clan... what a Dragon Clan!
Spirit beasts still have the strength to fight back. Targeting them was indeed the correct choice. Human destiny in Ling Bai's hands is already a foregone conclusion. The spirit beasts' destiny, however, must be seized..."
…
Douluo Continent, Yin Yang Love Querying Valley.
All eleven of them stood safe and sound. Under Wu Feng's barrage of questions, Ling Bai gave a concise account of what had transpired in the valley while carefully avoiding too many secrets. The Tang Sect members included, everyone pricked up their ears and absorbed every word.
When he finished, they all felt that the Tang San in Ling Bai's account and the bright, righteous, magnificent Sea God image Shrek Academy had always preached were worlds apart, almost like two entirely different people. But the evidence lay before them, and their own experiences could not be faked.
Bei Bei's straight spine slumped. The Sea God he had revered had collapsed from his pedestal, and the loyal believers were left hollow and lost.
"This is outrageous! Ning Rongrong actually helped Tang San bully our Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan!" Wu Feng's voice brimmed with resentment.
Ning Tian spoke evenly. "According to the clan's ancient records, Ning Rongrong left no bloodline within the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Ten thousand years have passed, and the blood connection between our current main branch and hers has grown so faint it can be ignored. But Tang San is the sworn brother with whom she shared life and death.
So long as it does not involve destroying the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, I doubt she would go against Tang San's will.
Still, if this so-called Nine Colored Goddess doesn't care about our clan, then I will report everything to Mother exactly as it happened. Whether she agrees or not, starting from my generation, Ning Rongrong will no longer be worshipped in the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's ancestral hall. Her name will be erased from the Ning family genealogy."
Ning Tian's manner had grown ever sharper and more decisive, increasingly carrying the bearing of a future clan head. Ling Bai felt genuinely gratified by her growth. He stepped toward the peerless woman the Yearning Heartbroken Red had become and said with a light smile:
"Thank you, Yearning Heartbroken Red."
By seizing control of the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley, the Yearning Heartbroken Red had effectively severed one of Tang San's arms. Sacred Reverse Scale had then obliterated Tang San's divine soul avatar without obstruction, leaving him with no strength to spare for interfering in the lower realm. She had bought precious time for Ling Bai's path to godhood, earning her a rightful place in the book of merit.
The Yearning Heartbroken Red gave a dismissive huff at his thanks.
"I didn't help you. I was defending the belief I have always upheld.
True love does not permit defilement. Love requires the care of two people together, never the trials imposed by some third party.
I should be the one thanking you for bringing me to the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley. This place suits my growth far better than the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. From today onward, I will remain here to attune myself to the Goddess of Love's power, guarding this land as a sanctuary for true love.
Now then, I'll open a door for you. Hurry home."
A gold-and-silver gate rose from the ground of the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley. Everyone stepped through and left the valley behind.
…
Outside, dawn had already broken. The blazing sun had replaced the moon. But waiting beyond the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley were not the smiling faces of teachers and companions. It was the roar of a battlefield!
Sinister wind cut to the bone. Evil aura hung as thick as storm clouds. Shellfire howled across the sky, blooming into flowers of annihilation!
"W-what's going on..."
The group froze instinctively for several seconds upon emerging from the valley, stunned by the chaos before them.
Powerful auras clashed in every direction. A figure wrapped in silver light wrestled with a towering emerald ancient tree. The Darkness Holy Dragon grappled with the Godly Taotie Bull. The Greenshadow Godly Eagle twisted desperately away from beam after deathly beam. The Sky Azure Vine Emperor battled the Darkness Crow. Nearby fought the Golden Tortoise, the Azure Flame Dragon, the Black Dragon Shield...
One familiar Martial Spirit after another, all locked in bitter combat!
Ling Bai swept his gaze across the battlefield and recognized familiar faces everywhere. The Holy Spirit Cult had arrived in full force: Death God Douluo Ye Xishui, Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, Holy Spirit Cult Leader Zhongli Wu, and the only five remaining Elders and Worships—Crow Douluo, Dark Lightning Douluo, Netherworld Douluo, Myriad Soul Douluo, and Abomination Douluo.
Eight Elders. Twelve Worships. Under Death Abyss Douluo's 'heroic and wise' leadership, the once-arrogant Holy Spirit Cult had been reduced to this pitiful handful, with the rest either dead or imprisoned.
The Sun Moon Empire had also dispatched powerful reinforcements: Starsky Douluo Ye Yulin, Unbreakable Douluo Zheng Zhan... a full five Class 9 Spirit Guidance Masters!
The silver light clashing against Jianmu Douluo, if Ling Bai wasn't mistaken, belonged to the foundation of the Illustrious Virtue Hall, the Sun Moon Empire's father of modern Spirit Guidance Devices: Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming!
Beyond the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Shrek Academy, the Holy Spirit Cult, and the Sun Moon Empire, the Star Luo Empire had also appeared.
They had chosen to break out from the west, and when battle proved unavoidable, four Star Luo Titled Douluo threw themselves into the fray, engaging the enemy in fierce combat.
The instant the eleven of them stepped out of the Yin Yang Love Querying Valley, Holy Spirit Cult Leader Zhongli Wu caught the holy aura that made his stomach churn with visceral revulsion. His gaze locked onto Ling Bai across the distance. A single palm exploded Juli Douluo Cheng Gang, who stood blocking his path, and Zhongli Wu shot straight through the resulting cloud of blood. His Rank 98 spirit power erupted in full, scarlet eyes fixed on his target as he dove like a hawk descending on prey!
"Seraphim, today is the day you die!"