Chapter 42: Wang Qiuer Arrives, Zhongli Wu's Stirring Intentions
By the shores of the Lake of Life, Lei Chen's true body remained immersed in the refinement of the divine artifact. A seven-colored halo flowed and intermingled with the majestic vitality of the Golden Ancient Tree and the Lake of Life. That mass of liquid Gold of Life merged into the tree trunk was constantly undergoing transformation under the nourishment of the plane's source power.
At the same time, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, the Auspicious Beast, who had just finished her human transformation and received the name "Wang Qiuer," was already somewhat impatient.
She felt the power brought by the formidable Martial Soul named "Golden Dragon" within her body, filled with yearning for the path Lei Chen promised: to "surpass Di Tian in ten years."
With a single thought, the pale gold flame mark on her forehead heated up slightly. An oval spatial gate silently unfolded before Wang Qiuer. From behind the gate came a strange aura where ice and fire intertwined, containing a resonance that made her bloodline faintly thrum.
Wang Qiuer looked back and gave Bi Ji, who was guarding nearby, a reassuring smile. She then took a deep breath and stepped into the spatial gate.
Light and shadow shifted. In the next moment, she found herself in that mountain-enclosed valley basin—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
An extremely dense heaven and earth essence rushed toward her. The extreme cold of the icy spring and the scorching heat of the fiery spring alternately stimulated her skin, making the newly transformed Wang Qiuer, whose senses were particularly sharp, unable to resist a shiver. However, the dark gold source within her body also seemed to become a trace more active, sending a wave of comfortable warmth through her.
She curiously sized up this wondrous sight, her gaze quickly drawn to the distinctly divided spring waters. However, almost at the moment she appeared, several gazes—some searching, some cold—landed squarely on her.
Wang Qiuer's heart tightened. Following her intuition, she looked over and saw seven figures remarkably present within the waters of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
These seven people had different auras, but without exception, they all radiated heart-palpitatingly powerful fluctuations.
Possessing the power of destiny, Wang Qiuer's perception far exceeded that of ordinary people. Although she couldn't accurately judge their specific levels, she could clearly feel that every one of these seven was extremely dangerous. Their strength was likely not inferior to some of the Great Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest.
'Why are there so many people here? And they're all so strong...' Wang Qiuer instinctively raised her guard. She kept Bi Ji's teachings firmly in mind: be cautious when outside, especially when facing unknown experts.
The seven people in the spring also cast their gazes the moment Wang Qiuer appeared.
Seeing that the newcomer was just a young girl who looked fourteen or fifteen years old—whose aura was strange but whose Soul Power fluctuations didn't seem very strong—a flash of surprise crossed their eyes, followed mostly by confusion.
Arriving so abruptly through a spatial gate made these top-tier experts somewhat unable to gauge Wang Qiuer's background, so naturally, they would not act rashly.
Mu En and Xuan Zi exchanged a glance and shook their heads slightly, signaling to wait and see; Du Busi grinned, thinking this little slip of a girl was somewhat interesting, but didn't think much of it; Kong Deming was more curious about the technology of the spatial gate itself; Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao's eyes flickered, but they also suppressed their thoughts.
Thus, after their initial scrutiny, the experts regained their composure and continued to use the power of the spring water to temper their bodies, merely setting aside a sliver of intent to monitor the movements here.
Seeing that the crowd didn't seem to intend to pay her any mind, Wang Qiuer was happy for the peace.
Her goal was the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Following Lei Chen's instructions, she was to take the immortal herb essences and then soak in the springs. Thus, she carefully bypassed the positions where the others were and walked toward the edge of the water.
However, just as she approached the spring and prepared to take out the two clumps of immortal herb essence, a sudden change occurred.
"Buzz..."
An extremely faint hum that carried a soul-trembling vibration rang out from the side of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well near the Scorching Yang Spring.
There, a massive dragon-shaped creature composed entirely of pitch-black bones was half-submerged in the spring water. Pale blue flames flickered in its eye sockets, and its entire body radiated a dense aura of death and evil. It was precisely Zhongli Wu's life-bound beast soul—the Bone Dragon King!
This Bone Dragon King had been a powerful True Dragon in life, and had even by chance been tainted by a sliver of the Silver Dragon King's escaping aura, causing its essence to undergo a mutation that far exceeded ordinary dragon bones.
Back then, Zhongli Wu had spent immense effort to refine it into his life-bound beast soul. Relying on its compatibility with his own death god demon puppet Martial Soul, his cultivation was able to soar all the way to Level 98.
At this moment, the Bone Dragon King's hollow eye sockets were facing Wang Qiuer's direction. The spectral fires flickered violently, and even its massive skeletal body emitted a slight tremor.
Zhongli Wu, who was just about to begin tempering his beast soul, snapped his eyes open. His sinister gaze instantly locked onto Wang Qiuer.
He was mentally connected to the Bone Dragon King and could clearly feel that this incredibly precious life-bound beast soul of his was currently transmitting an extremely complex emotion.
There was an indescribable longing, a sliver of fear rooted in instinct, but more than anything, a violent agitation as if it had encountered a higher-level existence!
'This girl...' Zhongli Wu's heart shook violently.
This Bone Dragon King had been refined by him as a life-bound beast soul for many years, having devoured the souls and remains of countless powerful Soul Beasts. Its ferocity was already heaven-shaking; even when facing an existence like Di Tian, it would only explode with bloodthirsty battle intent. When had it ever shown this kind of agitation bordering on 'reverence'?
When things are abnormal, there must be a reason! This girl who suddenly appeared is definitely not simple! She must have a secret that can cause the Bone Dragon King to react—perhaps some kind of supreme treasure, or perhaps some special bloodline... Regardless, I must find out!
Greed and the desire to investigate instantly overrode his initial caution. A fierce light flashed in Zhongli Wu's eyes, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold arc.
He slowly stood up, the phantom of the death god demon puppet looming behind him. A gloomy and eerie aura began to envelop Wang Qiuer.
"Little girl, who are you? Why can you come to this place? What... do you have on you?"
Zhongli Wu's voice was raspy and cold, carrying an unquestionable sense of pressure that immediately drew the gazes of the other experts back over.
Xuan Zi's brow furrowed slightly; Du Busi crossed his arms with the look of someone watching a play; Kong Deming was lost in thought; Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao exchanged a look and remained silent.
Mu En gave a light sigh but did not immediately speak up to stop him. He also wanted to see what was special about this girl who had suddenly arrived here.
Wang Qiuer stopped her steps and turned around, her pure ruby-like eyes meeting Zhongli Wu's cold gaze.
Facing the pressure of this Super Douluo, although she felt a wave of discomfort and her internal blood and qi churned slightly, the pride originating from the Golden Dragon King bloodline prevented her from showing any fear. Instead, she slightly tilted her chin up.
"Why I am here is none of your business," Wang Qiuer's voice was clear, carrying a hint of coldness.