Back on the demonic island, Xu Lizhi had been the most persistent when absorbing destructive energy, and he was the one who had lasted the longest during that trial.
He had always known what his own fatal weakness was; as a food system Soul Master, his combat prowess was far too lackl.u.s.ter.
He loved Ye Xinglan, and Ye Xinglan had agreed to be with him, but deep down in his heart, he still couldn"t help but feel a little inferior. He was a man, yet he constantly had to rely on his woman to protect him, and that was definitely not a good feeling.
As such, he had been working extremely hard to catch up to Ye Xinglan so he could protect her with his power someday.
It was none other than this persistent will that was constantly spurring him on to find ways to better himself. When he discovered the destructive energy, he felt as if he"d found the key to rectifying his glaring weakness.
The defining nature of the Mysterious Heaven Method was that it could create an endless cycle of soul power. The old demons had originally intended for them to absorb destructive energy in order to bolster their physical resistance. However, Xu Lizhi had progressed in the complete opposite direction, guiding destructive energy into his body in order to fuse it with his soul power as opposed to trying to keep it at bay.
Initially, this was an extremely dangerous endeavor, but he was about to persist using his Recovery Pork Buns and St.u.r.dy Crystal Buns. As time pa.s.sed, he gradually became accustomed to destructive energy, and he discovered a shortcut; he could store the destructive energy within a separate sea of energy in his body.
This was the first time he had used it during battle, and as expected, it had proven to be extremely effective.
The most fearsome aspect of destructive energy was that as it destroyed something, it would naturally absorb the aura being released by the subject being destroyed in order to replenish itself.
This effect became especially potent when used on life forms.
At this moment, the core of the energy being released by the Chaotic Element Immortal Herb was life force energy, so it was being completely dominated by the destructive energy. Without any intelligence, the Chaotic Element Immortal Herb had no idea how to compress its life force energy, so Xu Lizhi"s destructive energy was of a far higher caliber than its energy.
It was exactly because of this that it had already been completely defeated by Xu Lizhi"s destructive energy.
"Please stop! You can take the immortal herb, but don"t corrupt any of the other plants here with your destructive energy!" the purple-robed man hurriedly yelled to stop Xu Lizhi from going even further.
The deep purple light receded, and Xu Lizhi made his way over to the Chaotic Element Immortal Herb as he withdrew his suit of battle armor. He was able to pull the immortal herb out of the ground with ease, leaving only a tiny immortal seedling in its wake. Just like the Star Luo Spirit Bead, the Chaotic Element Immortal Herb had left its seed here in order to extend its life.
The Chaotic Element Immortal Herb appeared to be quite thin, but it was rather heavy to hold.
Zang Xin instructed, "The Chaotic Element Immortal Herb should be consumed one leaf at a time, and you should meditate after consuming each leaf in order to gradually improve your soul power. The immortal herb has a spirit that will fade over time, so you should consume it as soon as possible. This is for you."
He tossed a jade box over to Xu Lizhi as he spoke. "The part of the immortal herb that"s yet to be consumed can be temporarily stored in that jade box."
"Thank you, vice-palace master." Xu Lizhi found an empty patch of ground before sitting down in an elated manner, then plucked off a Chaotic Element Immortal Herb leaf and placed it into his own mouth.
It didn"t taste very good. The flavor was much like eating gra.s.s, and it was also very tough and fibrous. Only after swallowing the first leaf did he feel a burst of powerful chaotic elemental energy abruptly surge into his body, combining with his soul power before flowing through his meridians.
A joyful smile appeared on Ye Xinglan"s face. The effect of this 100,000-year-old Chaotic Element Immortal Herb would most likely be sufficient to take Xu Lizhi all the way to the Soul Emperor level, and it was also going to create a solid foundation for his future cultivation. Perhaps he could even manifest a soul core during this process.
The purple-robed man stood still on the spot with a contemplative look on his face.
"What are you thinking about, Tutu? " the Delicate Inferno Apricot Flower asked through spiritual sense communication.
The purple-robed man replied, "The people that the Amorous Douluo has brought to this place seem to be a little different this time. They"re reminding me of that man from 20,000 years ago."
"You"re talking about Tang San?" the Delicate Inferno Apricot Flower asked in a surprised manner.
The purple-robed man nodded in response. "Tang San took away my predecessor, and he ascended into the Divine Realm as a G.o.d in the end, so my predecessor naturally also attained immortality with him. However, the difference was that back then, there were no soul spirits. After that, Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao forced his way into this place and formed a spiritual pact with the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Gra.s.s. The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Gra.s.s then also went on to attain immortality after Huo Yuhao ascended to the Divine Realm.
"Compared to my predecessor, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Gra.s.s definitely reaped a greater reward for its decision as it managed to retain virtually its entire consciousness. That also gave rise to the possibility of soul beasts like us ascending to the Divine Realm along with human Soul Masters. Even though it"s been many years since we"ve last been able to sense the existence of the Divine Realm, these young men and women that have been brought here by the Amorous Douluo give me the feeling that they"ll find the Divine Realm again, or even build a new Divine Realm of their own."
The Delicate Inferno Apricot Flower asked in a surprised voice, "Are you saying that you"re tempted to go with them?"
The Beautiful Silk Tulip heaved a forlorn sigh. "Here in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well, one year is equivalent to 10 years in the outside world, and I"m already very close to 200,000 years of age. It"s very like that I"ll have to face my second heavenly tribulation in just over 100 years at most, and I don"t think there"s any chance for me to transcend that tribulation. Perhaps this is an opportunity for me."
The Delicate Inferno Apricot Flower fell silent upon hearing this. The other four Great Beasts had also gathered around them, and there was no doubt that they"d also been tempted by the Beautiful Silk Tulip"s words.
If they wanted to completely escape the restrictions of this world, then their only opportunity would be to fuse as one with humans.
However, in doing so, they"d also incur the risk of peris.h.i.+ng along with their human hosts if they were to fail to become G.o.ds. Taking everything into account, this was a very big risk, so they had to be very careful if they were going to choose human hosts.
Tang Wulin, Gu Yuena, Xu Xiaoyan, and Xu Lizhi had all displayed extremely outstanding apt.i.tude, and all of them had the potential to stand at the pinnacle of the entire continent someday.
If the Beautiful Silk Tulip were to continue to stay in the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well, it would only be able to live for just over a century at most. However, if it were to fuse with a human Soul Master, as long as they could reach the t.i.tled Douluo level, their lifespan would at least be extended to 200 years, which meant that even if they were to fail to become a G.o.d, the Beautiful Silk Tulip would still have around 100 years added to its lifespan.
As such, even though it had initially been extremely averse to cooperating with Zang Xin, it was now very tempted to join them after witnessing the extraordinary apt.i.tudes that everyone had displayed.
"Can we move on to the next one now?" Zang Xin asked. Even with his powers, he was unable to overhear the spiritual sense communication taking place between the Great Beasts. However, he could see that a different look had appeared in the eyes of the Great Beasts. At the very least, he could no longer sense the strong resentment that they"d been exuding not long ago.
The Beautiful Silk Tulip turned around, and after a brief hesitation, it said, "Amorous Douluo, I"m willing to become a soul spirit; is there anyone you can recommend to me as a host?"
Soul beasts were always very straightforward and weren"t interested in wasting time.
Zang Xin had already guessed that their att.i.tudes were beginning to s.h.i.+ft, but he didn"t antic.i.p.ate such a drastic turn of events. He faltered slightly upon hearing this before an elated look appeared in his eyes. "Why are you doing this, Brother Luo?"
The Beautiful Silk Tulip replied with a wry smile, "There"s no much of my lifespan left, and in my mind, there"s no way for me to transcend my second heavenly tribulation, so I may as well take a risk and try to ascend to the Divine Realm with you humans."
A smile immediately appeared on Zang Xin"s face. "That"s a very wise decision, Brother Luo. These seven kids are the current generation of Shrek"s Seven Monsters, just like the founder of the Tang Sect, Tang San, and Spirit Douluo Huo Yuhao had been in the past. Their apt.i.tudes are definitely not inferior to any of their predecessors, and as for how far they"ll go, that"ll be up to them. However, what I can be sure of is that they"re definitely the ones with the greatest chance of reaching that level in this current world."
He turned to Ye Xinglan, Yue Zhengyu, Yuanen Yehui, and Xie Xie as he spoke, and asked, "Which one of you is willing to take this Beautiful Silk Tulip as your soul spirit? Even if you"re not a stage where you can continue to improve your soul rings, with Brother Luo"s powers, he can temporarily stay with you, then fuse together with you when you"re ready to make a breakthrough."
The Beautiful Silk Tulip said in a proud manner, "I"m currently over 198,000 years of age, so I"m extremely close to 200,000 years old. Once I form a soul ring, it"ll definitely be one of a 200,000-year level, which will come with an orange soul spirit."
Ye Xinglan asked, "What abilities do you possess?"
The proud look on the Beautiful Silk Tulip"s face became even more p.r.o.nounced upon hearing this. "My fragrance can keep all poisons at bay!"
Much to his surprise, Ye Xinglan furrowed her brows upon hearing this before shaking her head to express a complete lack of interest.
Xie Xie and Yuanen Yehui also shook their heads, Yue Zhengyu didn"t even bother to shake his head; he merely said, "I don"t need something like that. There are all types of antidotes for virtually every type of poison in this world; how will this ability benefit us in any way?"
[1] [This is a nickname derived from the tulip part of his name.]