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Chapter 135 An Encounter with Gu Yue
Chapter 135 An Encounter with Gu Yue
Horrifying! Shrek Academy, the continent's premier academy, is attacked, and a mysterious black dragon spirit beast emerges, declaring its intention to exact revenge on all of humanity!
Puzzling? The Light and Dark Douluo wreaked havoc at the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, and an energy shockwave swept across half of Shrek City. Behind this seemingly senseless conflict, is there some unspeakable sordid secret hidden within the Spirit Pagoda?
Shocking! The long-retired Sky Douluo has made a powerful appearance. With just one man and one gun, he made the arrogant Tower Master of the Spirit Pagoda collapse to the ground, his trouser legs soaked with a shocking sight. The demeanor of the number one person on the continent still awes the world!
In less than a day, news of what happened in Shrek City spread throughout the continent.
In a short time, all the information about Acnologia fell into the hands of various major powers.
These are all pieces of information deliberately released by Shrek Academy, with the aim of making people across the continent aware of the threat posed by that black dragon soul beast.
At the same time, Long Yeyue, in the name of Shrek Academy, loudly denounced the inaction of the Federation and the Spirit Pagoda for allowing a soul beast to infiltrate the human world.
In response, Chen Xinjie, the current master of the War God Temple, known as the "Han Hai Douluo," immediately gave a public reply with an extremely positive attitude.
He promised that the Temple of War would do everything in its power to track down the black dragon and give Shrek Academy and the people of the entire continent a satisfactory explanation. He then mobilized the personnel of the Temple of War to search for the black dragon throughout the continent.
However, all of this was no longer relevant to Lu Xingchen.
The Spirit Pagoda Headquarters, Floor 105.
This is a hidden hall that seems to float above the clouds. Its dome is twenty meters high and is carved from a single piece of rare obsidian. Its surface is inlaid with countless tiny soul crystals, which reflect a cold and luxurious luster.
Around the hall stood twelve heavy alloy doors, each engraved with intricate ancient runes and the clan emblem of the Spirit Pagoda. As the runes flowed, they exuded a chilling, restrictive power.
Behind these gates lies the accumulated wealth of the Spirit Pagoda over nearly ten thousand years—countless precious materials from endangered soul beasts, artificial soul spirit technology researched and developed by generations of researchers, and blueprints for soul guide devices, each item priceless.
This is the core area of the Spirit Pagoda, and only the Pagoda Master, elders, and a very small number of direct core members are qualified to enter this area.
But at this moment, Lu Xingchen stood leisurely in the corner of the hall, playing with a palm-sized golden conch shell in his hand.
The surface of the conch is covered with fine spiral patterns and has a warm luster. When you shake it gently, you can hear the faint sound of waves coming from it.
"I never expected that the sea spirit beast would be hiding something so interesting."
Lu Xingchen traced the patterns on the conch shell with his fingertips, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes. "It's not a divine artifact, nor a soul tool, nor a soul bone, but it possesses the power to prevent flight."
This conch shell is called the "Anti-Air Conch," a treasure that was seized by the Spirit Pagoda more than three thousand years ago when it was besieging the Sea Demon Elephant Clan in the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic Ocean, located at the deepest part of the far north, is connected to the Arctic ice field. The sea is vast and boundless, and the seawater is frozen all year round, but countless terrifying sea monsters lurk beneath the surface.
The most famous of them is the mermaid beast, the Sea Princess, who is recorded in "The Legend of Lingbing Douluo".
With a cultivation period of over 600,000 years, her ability to control water is unparalleled, making her one of the undisputed overlords of the Arctic Ocean.
More than three thousand years ago, the monitoring station of the Northern Legion of the Federation suddenly detected a terrifying energy fluctuation coming from the depths of the Arctic Ocean, so intense that it was enough to tear space apart.
Based on data analysis using specialized instruments, the military initially determined that two top-tier sea spirit beasts were engaged in a fierce battle in the deep sea.
The news quickly reached the Spirit Pagoda.
At that time, the Spirit Pagoda was eager to expand its soul beast material library. Upon learning of this, it immediately reached a cooperation agreement with the Federation.
The Spirit Pagoda dispatched five Title Douluos, and the Federation mobilized two elite mecha units to explore the Arctic Ocean. If there was an opportunity, they would "pick up" the corpses and relics of the soul beasts.
When the joint team arrived at the battlefield deep in the Arctic Ocean, the scene before them horrified even the titled Douluo who were accustomed to bloodshed:
Hundreds of mermaid corpses floated on the sea, their blood staining a large area of the ocean red. The thick stench of blood mixed with the residual aura of soul power, creating a nauseating atmosphere.
Broken scales and lingering soul energy fluctuations floated on the sea surface, enough to imagine how fierce the battle must have been.
Afterwards, the professional researchers at the Spirit Pagoda conducted a detailed analysis of the remaining traces at the scene and ultimately concluded that:
This battle likely erupted between the Sea Princess and another unknown, powerful, and ferocious beast.
As for the outcome of the battle, no one knows.
Perhaps that unknown ferocious beast defeated the sea princess and left with its spoils;
Perhaps both sides suffered heavy losses and perished together in the deep sea.
Regardless of the truth, this investigation brought the Spirit Pagoda a fortune. Because the aura of the Sea Princess and the strange beast had not completely dissipated, the sea spirit beasts around the battlefield were all afraid and retreated, not daring to approach even half a step.
This allowed the Title Douluos of the Spirit Pagoda to effortlessly acquire hundreds of mermaid corpses.
It should be noted that the corpses of merfolk, as top-tier sea spirit beasts, are excellent materials for refining high-quality spirits, and their value is immeasurable.
The Federation did not come away empty-handed. With the death of the Beast Sea Princess, the power structure in the Arctic Ocean changed dramatically. The Federation's control over the far north was greatly strengthened, and the Northern Legion's base was able to advance hundreds of miles northward.
Since that exploration, the Spirit Pagoda has officially turned its attention to the far north and the Arctic Ocean.
They formed a special hunting team, which not only hunted down the soul beasts on the far north ice plains, but also extended their reach to the sea soul beast groups in the Arctic Ocean. Countless sea soul beasts died under their soul tools and martial souls.
This conch shell was one of the spoils of war from the hunt for the Sea Elephant Clan.
This conch shell has a very peculiar ability. Once it is blown, it can release a special energy fluctuation that forcibly locks onto a specific area and turns it into a no-fly zone.
When the Spirit Pagoda marched into the Arctic Ocean, it was severely punished by the Sea Elephant Clan with this conch shell.
Hundreds of sea demon elephants with ten thousand years of cultivation blew their conch shells at the same time, instantly turning the sky above a large area of the sea into a no-fly zone. The mecha forces sent out by the Spirit Pagoda lost their ability to fly and fell into the cold seawater, suffering heavy losses.
However, while this conch shell possesses great power, it also has obvious limitations.
Its anti-air power cannot be stacked. Even if hundreds of conch shells are blown at the same time, it can only expand the range of the anti-air zone, but cannot enhance the power of the anti-air.
After numerous tests, the Title Douluos of the Spirit Pagoda finally figured out its secrets:
This conch shell can only affect Soul Masters below the Limit Douluo level. It cannot restrict the flight ability of Limit Douluos who have already grasped the power of laws.
As a result, the Sea Elephant Clan soon faced annihilation.
The Spirit Pagoda dispatched a Limit Douluo who swiftly destroyed the Sea Demon Elephant Clan's settlement, slaughtering all its members and confiscating all the conch shells, which were taken back to the Spirit Pagoda headquarters as research material in an attempt to unravel its mysteries.
However, this conch shell is naturally compatible with sea spirit beasts, so even if human spirit masters can use it, its effect will be greatly reduced, far less powerful than when used by the Sea Demon Elephant clan.
So for so many years, these conch shells have been sealed away in the Spirit Pagoda's material storage, untouched by anyone.
Now, through Li Mengjie's connections, Lu Xingchen has obtained a conch shell from the Spirit Pagoda's material library.
"What an interesting toy."
Lu Xingchen smiled faintly, his spiritual energy, like fine threads, slowly probing into the conch shell.
He quickly figured out the principle behind it—the conch shell contained an extremely faint trace of faith power, and there was also a faint trace of divine aura. It was obviously an item made by a god using divine power.
With the blessing of divine power, it's no wonder that this small conch shell can unleash the powerful force that forbids Soul Masters below the Limit Douluo level from flying.
"By the way, why hasn't Li Mengjie come out yet?" Lu Xingchen withdrew his spiritual power and turned his gaze to a black iron gate on the west side of the hall.
Behind that door is the material library of the Spirit Pagoda, which is specially used to store the genes of sea spirit beasts. It contains countless precious sea spirit beast gene samples and research data.
Because the Spirit Pagoda has strict regulations on the management of genetic materials, and personnel without relevant permissions are not allowed to enter, Lu Xingchen could not enter with Li Mengjie and could only wait patiently in this empty hall.
He looked up at the luminous pearl in the dome and thought to himself, "The start date of Tianhai Academy is getting closer and closer. Once Li Mengjie has exchanged these materials, we should also set off back."
Looking back on his Shrek journey, Lu Xingchen couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.
Although he was initially tricked by "0-01", he managed to meet Na'er, become Ya Li's apprentice, and successfully advance to Sequence 3 in Shrek City.
"Ding!"
A crisp notification sound suddenly rang out in the empty hall, breaking the previous silence.
The elevator door, located in the corner of the 105th floor, suddenly lit up with a soft blue light, and energy circuits flowed and flickered along the edge of the door panel, clearly indicating that someone had activated the access to the top floor.
The elevator doors slid open slowly to the sides, and two figures stepped out one after the other.
The woman walking in front wore a long, fiery red dress with gold trim. The hem of the dress swayed gently with her steps, as dazzling as a burning flame.
She has a face that can be described as perfect, with eyebrows like distant mountains shrouded in mist, and eyes as clear and bright as rubies, with slightly upturned corners that give her a natural allure.
Her fiery red hair cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall, with a faint halo seemingly swirling around it, making her skin appear even whiter than snow. Her exquisite and curvaceous figure was accentuated by her dress.
It was none other than Leng Yaozhu, the "Number One Beauty" of the Spirit Pagoda and the Heavenly Phoenix Douluo.
Following closely behind was the young girl, Gu Yue.
She wore an elegant light blue dress. Compared to Leng Yaozhu's stunning beauty, her appearance was not considered exceptional. However, the girl walked with an indescribable noble air, as if she was born to be above all others.
Even standing next to the dazzling Leng Yaozhu, she was not overshadowed in the slightest. On the contrary, with her unique calmness and nobility, she created a different kind of contrasting beauty, sharing the spotlight equally.
As soon as the two figures stepped out of the elevator, their gazes fell on Lu Xingchen in the corner of the lobby. They were both slightly taken aback. Lu Xingchen naturally noticed them as well. After all, they were people who had crossed paths before. He stopped playing with the conch shell in his hand, nodded slightly to the two of them, and that was his way of greeting them.
Immediately, his attention returned to the golden conch shell in his hand. He traced the fine lines on the shell with his fingertips, his expression indifferent, as if this peculiar object was more attractive than the two beauties before him.
Seeing this, Leng Yaozhu's red lips curved slightly, revealing a gentle smile. She leaned down and whispered a few words to Gu Yue beside her in a soft voice, as if she were telling her something. Gu Yue listened attentively, nodding occasionally in response, but her gaze involuntarily drifted towards Lu Xingchen.
After giving her instructions, Leng Yaozhu stood up and took out a black token with intricate patterns from her storage soul tool. It was the exclusive token of the deputy tower master of the Spirit Transmission Tower.
She raised her hand and gently swept the token across the sensor area of a large metal door on the south side of the hall. With a soft "beep," the runes on the door lit up instantly, and the heavy door slowly opened to one side, revealing a deep passage inside.
Leng Yaozhu glanced back at Gu Yue, then stepped inside. As her figure disappeared into the depths of the passage, the door slowly closed again, returning to its original state.
Lu Xingchen's gaze lingered on the door for a moment, and he understood.
He remembered clearly that behind this door were research materials on artificial souls accumulated by the Spirit Pagoda over the past ten thousand years.
From basic theories of soul fusion to advanced techniques for creating artificial souls, and even records of some forbidden experiments, everything is treasured within, making it one of the most core secrets of the Spirit Pagoda.
"Has Gu Yue already started working with artificial souls so quickly?"
Lu Xingchen was slightly surprised. The relationship between the master and disciple seemed to be progressing faster than he had expected. Although they had only recently become disciples, Leng Yaozhu was willing to bring Gu Yue to this important place, the Spirit Pagoda.
Of course, that's someone else's business.
Lu Xingchen didn't care too much. Right now, he just wanted to wait for Li Mengjie to exchange for those soul beast materials, and then say goodbye to Ya Li so he could leave Shrek City.
However, often, even if you don't actively provoke others, they will come to you on their own initiative.
A sweet, fragrant breeze blew in, carrying a faint scent of grass and trees. Then, a petite figure stood gracefully in front of Lu Xingchen, blocking his view.
Hi~ Long time no see~
Gu Yue put her hands behind her back, leaned her upper body slightly forward, her clear eyes curved into crescent shapes, and her face was filled with an undisguised smile. Her tone was lively, as if she had met a long-lost friend.
"Um.
""
Faced with the enthusiastic greeting from the Silver Dragon King himself, Lu Xingchen's reaction was extremely indifferent. He merely gave a perfunctory reply without even lifting his eyelids, continuing to fiddle with the conch shell in his hand. Clearly, he was far more interested in this object than in the girl in front of him.
Gu Yue's smile remained unchanged as she naturally walked to Lu Xingchen's side, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. She said with a smile, "Ever since the last battle, Master has often mentioned you to me, telling me to learn from you. We are both elemental manipulation soul masters, so I think we should have a lot in common."
"oh."
""
Lu Xingchen remained as taciturn as ever, his tone devoid of any emotional fluctuation, his fingers still gently caressing the conch shell, as if Gu Yue's words were merely an insignificant breeze.
Gu Yue didn't seem discouraged and continued to find topics to talk about, her tone carrying just the right amount of admiration: "You don't look much older than me, but your cultivation has already reached the Great Soul Master level, that's amazing! How do you usually cultivate? Can you teach me? I also want to improve my strength quickly."
"I'm busy."
The two words were crisp and decisive, without any hesitation, directly shutting down Gu Yue's words.
"is that so."
Gu Yue's smile froze for a moment, then she forced it back and changed her tone, saying, "After the battle that day, I thought about it carefully and realized that although your cultivation is indeed powerful, your control over the details of the elements seems a bit rough. Luckily, I have a little insight into the finer control of the elements, which might be helpful—"
Upon hearing this, Lu Xingchen stopped what he was doing, looked at Gu Yue, and said very seriously, "But you lost that day."
Gu Yue's smile faded slightly, and she subconsciously retorted, "That's because your cultivation level is higher than mine! When it comes to the details of elemental manipulation, I'm clearly superior!"
"But you still lost."
"That's because I was careless! I didn't expect you to be able to manipulate elements. If our cultivation levels were equal, the outcome would be uncertain!"
"But you lost."
It was the same five words, spoken in the same calm tone, yet it carried an irrefutable penetrating power.
Gu Yue took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She bit her lower lip and continued, "Actually, I didn't lose at all! At the last moment, I was clearly the one who suppressed you. If it weren't for what happened later—"
You lost.
Lu Xingchen interrupted her again, his tone still completely calm, as if stating a given fact.
Gu Yue:
The atmosphere in the hall instantly plummeted to freezing point. The previously relaxed and lively atmosphere vanished without a trace, leaving only an awkward silence in the air.
Ughhhhh!!! This is infuriating!
Gu Yue's hands, which were behind her back, clenched tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms. The smile she had been maintaining could no longer be held back, her lips twitched slightly, and a look of madness flashed in her eyes.
What exactly is the meaning of this human baby?!
I just won against her by sheer luck.
Is it really necessary to emphasize this so many times? It's simply too much!
If it weren't for the fact that this was the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda, and because of Leng Yaozhu's face, she really wanted to unleash the Silver Dragon King's pressure on the spot and teach this arrogant guy a lesson!