At the same time, several miles away from the battlefield.
Nebula Douluo Man Yi, who had just acted as Protector for Xu Jiujiu, allowing her to successfully absorb the thousand-year Starlight Scorpion spirit ring, was preparing to leave with the two when her brow suddenly furrowed, and she abruptly turned her head toward a certain direction in the forest.
"Such powerful energy fluctuations... Are two Titled Douluo level powerhouses fighting?"
A hint of confusion flashed in her cloudy, aged eyes.
"In this mixed zone, hundred-thousand-year Soul Beasts rarely appear. Who is fighting fiercely here?"
After sensing carefully for a moment, a hint of surprise appeared on her face:
"One of the energies is bright and scorching, full of vitality, and somewhat familiar... It should be Shrek Academy's Yan Shaozhe's Bright Phoenix Martial Soul. The other one... is cold, dead silent, and full of evil... What kind of ghost is this?"
"Dean Yan Shaozhe?"
Xu Jiujiu, who had just obtained her third spirit ring and whose Soul Power was stabilized at level thirty-one, heard this and her beautiful eyes immediately lit up.
She immediately thought of her older brother Xu Jiawei's long-held desire to befriend and win over Shrek Academy.
Currently, the Dean of Shrek Academy seemed to be in a fierce battle. If they showed up now, even if only to stand by in reserve or lend a hand at a critical moment, it would undoubtedly be an enormous favor.
"Grandma Man Yi, let's go take a look."
Xu Jiujiu suggested immediately, her tone carrying a hint of urgency and anticipation.
"If we can use this opportunity to establish a good relationship with Dean Yan, it will greatly benefit the Empire."
Man Yi frowned slightly, glancing at Xu Jiujiu and Caelus, who was only a Soul Master level beside her, and hesitated:
"Your Highness, battles between Titled Douluo are no small matter. The aftermath might injure you. Taking you there is too risky."
"Grandma Man Yi, we only need to observe from afar and act according to the situation. With you here, our safety should be assured."
Xu Jiujiu insisted, a shrewd light flickering in her eyes.
Man Yi pondered for a moment. In her perception, Yan Shaozhe's bright aura was steadily suppressing that dead silent and evil aura. Coupled with her confidence in her own strength, she finally nodded:
"Alright, but you must stay close to me and not act recklessly."
"That's wonderful." Xu Jiujiu said happily.
However, Caelus, standing nearby, was secretly lamenting.
Although he couldn't perceive the specific battle fluctuations, he knew without a doubt that the only one who could be fighting Yan Shaozhe was the Nirvana Corpse that had just been born in the Star Dou Great Forest. Who else could it be?
After all, the direction was right; the direction Man Yi was looking was the direction where the Nirvana Corpse was born.
'It truly is a case of what you fear is what happens...'
Caelus's mouth twitched slightly. He just wanted to safely lay low and develop, and absolutely did not want to get involved in trouble of this magnitude.
Especially in a Titled Douluo level battle, even just watching could lead to being hit by the aftermath and dying from unexplained AOE.
However, he currently had little influence. Xu Jiujiu had made up her mind, and Man Yi had already agreed, leaving him no room to object.
"Sigh, just let nature take its course..."
Caelus sighed helplessly in his heart. He could only raise his vigilance to the maximum and cautiously approach the direction of the battlefield, where terrifying energy fluctuations were coming from, following Nebula Douluo Man Yi and the excited Xu Jiujiu.
Under the protection of Nebula Douluo Man Yi, Caelus and the two others quietly sneaked to the edge of the battlefield.
The sight before them was alarming—a middle-aged man in white robes, his body enveloped in brilliant golden flames, was using overwhelming strength to constantly blast away a black figure emitting dense Death Qi.
The man in white was naturally Bright Phoenix Douluo Yan Shaozhe. Every one of his attacks contained the fire of light. Wind and thunder surged between his fists and feet, and the Phoenix flames scorched the air until it twisted.
However, his opponent, the black-clad woman with a terrifying appearance whose lower face was only a ghastly white skeletal jaw, displayed an unbelievable tenacity.
Yan Shaozhe's attacks, powerful enough to split mountains and rocks, landed on her, emitting dull thuds, fiercely smashing her into the ground, creating huge craters, or sending her flying, consecutively snapping dozens of towering ancient trees.
But no matter what seemingly fatal injuries she sustained, the black-clad woman could struggle back up the next moment with a speed that completely defied the laws of life. As the Death Qi surged around her, her injuries would already be mostly healed.
Her physical strength was simply inhuman, as if she were not made of flesh and blood, but forged from some kind of immortal divine metal.
What was even more surprising was that although this black-clad woman was also a Titled Douluo, the Soul Power fluctuations she emitted at the moment were far inferior to Yan Shaozhe's, and she was even slightly weaker than Nebula Douluo Man Yi standing nearby.
Yet, it was precisely this weak Soul Power, combined with her immortal and indestructible body, that allowed her to fight the level ninety-five Yan Shaozhe to a standstill until now.
"This... What kind of monster is this?" Xu Jiujiu asked in a pale face, whispering in shock. The scene before her surpassed her comprehension.
Man Yi also wore an extremely solemn expression. She wondered if she were to face this bizarre entity, she might not be able to subdue it quickly, and might even be dragged into danger by its undying nature.
As for Caelus, his heart was currently turbulent.
A female Titled Douluo, who fell in the Star Dou Great Forest, whose Martial Soul was the Blazing Fire Kite... These clues combined gave him a strong sense of déjà vu.
He rapidly searched the fragments of memory from his previous life regarding information about the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago.
'It's her!'
A flash of inspiration struck Caelus's mind, and a name and a piece of information surfaced.
Spirit Hall Elder, Spirit Kite Douluo.
Ten thousand years ago, she had followed the Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong at the time to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt the two kings of the forest, the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape. However, due to her eagerness to claim merit, she unfortunately perished at the hands of the two great Soul Beasts.
Regardless of gender, Martial Soul, or location of death, everything matched the Nirvana Corpse before them.
At the same moment Caelus guessed the opponent's identity, a subtle change occurred in the situation on the battlefield.
The chaos and brutality in the scarlet eyes of the Nirvana Corpse, which had previously behaved like a beast knowing only mad attacks and craving vitality, receded like a tide, replaced by a sense of clarity and rationality.
She abruptly retreated a distance, ceased her attack, and the Death Qi swirling around her also slightly subsided.
Yan Shaozhe immediately noticed his opponent's abnormality. He stopped his offensive, his body still fiercely burning with bright flames, and watched the opponent warily.
He clearly felt that the opponent's aura had changed, transforming from a Vicious Beast that only knew how to devour into an existence that... could be communicated with?
The moment she recovered all her intelligence and memories, Spirit Kite Douluo understood her own condition.
She had been awakened from eternal slumber by an incomprehensible, great, and bizarre power, and her body was reshaped. But the cost was that she was no longer living; instead, she had become the dead counterpart to the living—a Nirvana Corpse.
She didn't understand why she was chosen, nor was she clear about the form of that great existence in the shadows, but none of that mattered to her.
What filled her heart now was only confusion and a craving for vitality.