Quest Maker of Soul Land - Chapter 357: A Trial Completed (2)

While Titled Douluos scouted the region constantly, they failed to take notice of the weeds under the ship that held a blade or two of a sapphire Blue Silver Goddess that would sway about and remain unaffected by bouts of lightning evaporating large patches of the sea that only began to shift the currents of wind.

Meanwhile, in the eye of the storm, one could see a magnificent, gigantic python. Even with its body coiled, the python’s tail reached the middle level of the sea and boasts a length beyond 2000 meters! Its scales are charred green with a smoky mist constantly oozing out from the crevices of his scale and feeding into the dangerous storm brewing around him.

This is none other than one of the five 100,000-year-old beasts that have ‘temporarily’ allied themselves to Beast God— Sovereign Sea Python. As its name suggests, the bones of the beast’s skull have a mutation that forms a ring-like crown around its head, sticking out with a deep azure tint. Yet, for some strange reason, a blade of beautiful, otherworldy Blue Silver Grass could be seen swaying on the center of the beast’s head.

At this point, a calm voice distinct from the roaring winds and thundering lightning emerges from the grass and within the Python’s senses directly, “This is enough. Leave the rest to me. Return now.”

Although the Sovereign Python felt a little indignant following this woman’s order in particular since she ‘betrayed’ her species by becoming a human, her strength is unquestionable, and her skills, especially the versatility she gains from her innate domain are mighty… not to mention the skill from her seventh spirit ring in particular.

The Beast soon shifts. Its gigantic body converges into a single point at a speed visible to the naked eye and in a few minutes, the python turns into a slender, azure-haired man covered in scaly armor. He plucks the blade of grass from his head and quietly sets it on the calm surface of the sea as opposed to the raging tides outside of the brewing storm.

As if with a mind of its own, the blade of grass manages to stay on the surface of the sea while Sovereign Sea Python dives into the sea and retreats into an unknown location with every bit of his presence disappearing. On the other hand, the blade of grass on the surface of the sea begins to divide rapidly.

Ah Yin’s domain has many skills, one of them being the ability to bestow one of her spirit skills onto the grass created using her Blue Silver Innate Domain. Before reaching Rank 90, she could only bestow the spirit skills from her spirit rings but after reaching the realm of Titled Douluo, her domain received a major boost. This is apparent for every domain-type skill.

Xie Xan, Bibi Dong, Ja Sun, and many more received a similar boost that makes similar domains unique to them. After all, the domain is the more complete expression of law. For Gods, Domains become their own realms of control and a better domain provides better feedback to understanding various laws and vice versa. Of course, this increase in the pace of understanding is only relative. Bibi Dong, Xie Xan, and Liu Erlong are far from reaching such a level of understanding while even Ah Yin is only a master in her understanding of the law of life, and that, too, after 100,000 years.

Xiao Bei and Xiao Wu are the same and so are the other beasts.

At this point, after covering half of the calm region of the sea, the strands of blue-silver grass reveal a change.

The silver veins of the grass brighten and from a distance, one would think that glimmering stars are now decorating the sea. The sapphire surface of the grass twirls as wisps of greyish mist begins to coil around each strand of grass while blue electricity sparkles around them and further extends into barbed vines made out of storm-like swirl and crackling lightning.

This is one of the two skills from Ah Yin’s right leg bone— Storm Ocean Prison Vine Bone that was mutated due to Poseidon’s tribulation and now it’s one of the best bones to be used for large-scale attacks in the sea. Each of these vines can attack as quickly as bolts of lightning while still being as flexible and malleable as a wave of sea!

But instead of directly attacking using these vines, Ah Yin merely stuck to the basics of how she has lived— controlling the flow of battle as one would expect from a control-type spirit master.

These glimmering dark blue vines wrapped in miniature storms of their own eject bolts of lightning that shoot high toward the storm and wrap around it consciously! Chaotic winds are further enhanced as even the eye of the storm is now affected by these miniature vines of destruction.

What Ah Yin is trying… nay, does achieve is the ability to control this large storm. Their group needs the voyagers from the Spirit Empire to follow a direction of their own choosing but the fact is that a large number of Spirit Sages is quite threatening. They could also have many spirit-fusion skills or the like that may increase their strength drastically not to mention the Titled Douluos in hiding. Ah Yin is confident in defeating 2 Titled Douluos under rank 97 and even stalling three of them but not more than that.

As all these storm vines submerge into the larger storm, bringing Ah Yin full control of this natural disaster, she begins to forcefully steer it toward the ship of the Spirit Empire.

This change startles and frightens others as even the Titled Douluos can no longer sit quietly.

“Ugh,” Light disperses from around Yu Xiaogang as his head throbs with pain and his body feels like it would split at any moment while the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon forms around him once more and attacks the nearby spirit beast without any need for additional skills.

‘Why can’t I keep my True Avatar activated for long?’ The youth scowls in dismay as he feels the natural arrogance of his martial soul projecting from within as if saying that the allotted time for their true form is over and as if demanding Yu Xiaogang to do better next time.

This naturally makes Yu Xiaogang quite uncomfortable. The stronger he becomes, the stronger his martial soul grows and the more… defiant it turns out to be. In fact, it’s only recently that Yu Xiaogang began to face this issue.

‘Only I and Tang Hao’s sister are known to have such a martial soul… does she face similar restrictions? There’s too little knowledge… knowledge… who can stay in one place and collect information without any end to this dark tunnel? Strength… If I’m the strongest, I will naturally have all the information I need in due time!’

Pushing down the uncomfortable feeling born within himself, Xiaogang looks at the approaching storm with a grave expression, and just when he thought of using his martial soul to try and maybe absorb most of the impact, vast and majestic spirit energy tumbled out from the heart of the ship that suppressed all the spirit beasts in one go as his master’s familiar voice appears in everyone’s sense of hearing.

“Steer the ship to the island 30 kilometers away. Assist the crew with everything and follow their instructions without a question.”

Yu Xiaogang’s martial soul reenters his body as everyone follows the ship’s captain’s instructions while many spirit masters are quick to clean the beasts on the ship and see if they can find anything beneficial. Of course, they can keep nothing. Instead, they will have to deposit corpses and various other things within Spirit Empire’s treasury and then earn contribution points and various other benefits. Even in such a massacre, a single spirit bone eluded them.

—

Sitting cross-legged on his mat, Qian Xunji focuses on the extraordinary storm that currently threatens his followers. His Divine Sense has only recently grown enough to cover the entire continent but that does not mean he sees everything. Far from it, vision and focus still hold their value. His mind can certainly process a lot more than before but… Gods are only stronger creatures. Beyond mortals, yes, but Xunji would not make the mistake of looking down on mortals again…

But if he needs to focus on things beyond his continent, he must focus a lot more and that is hard to do with the same solicitor appearing in his room once again.

A phantom of a flame-haired youth with striking blue eyes flashes in his room as Xunji opens his eyes and observes the scowling phantom with his blood-red pupils.

“What is it?” Xunji questions calmly. This God has been persistent, going as far as threatening the destruction of his own inheritance set in this world to constantly arrive here which only meant that a higher force is in control of the situation, and even a True God like this— Toxin God— must follow their instructions.

“You need our help,” the phantom sighs in exasperation, “How can you not see that? If you don’t, you are bound to face losses.”

Qian Xunji looks at the phantom silently and he then closes his eyes once again, “I enjoy your persistence, God Officer Toxin. But it would be a pity if you use up the last bits of your divine intent and let your inheritance rot away.”

After all, divine intent itself is needed to activate god inheritance! Only a godly being can present or excavate another god’s inheritance.

Staring at Xunji with a baleful expression, the youth suddenly snickers, “Oh, Xunji… you’re a pitiful god. Unaware of prophecy, unaware of the truth, unaware that you are destined to fail, and not knowing why or how. And that, too, because of your arrogance!”

Seeing Xunji remain silent even now, the phantom snarls softly, “Can’t you see? Heaven is not ‘dead’! It sees all. It is silent, but not mindless. If Heavenly and Earthly treasures can have a will of their own then so can Heaven and Earth! You aim to implode the divine realms by creating many gods— to defy Heavens! Be sensible—”

“Heaven is uncaring,” Qian Xunji begins softly, “Earth is uncaring.”

Opening his eyes, Qian Xunji looks at the phantom with a bloody and murderous gaze, “Xunji is uncaring. God Officer… return.”

The Toxin God remains stunned for some time but doesn’t push Xunji any further and chooses to return. After all, it hurt its own inheritance every time Xunji destroys the fragments of his divine intent, and living to come back another day is way better than using up all his divine intent left on the Douluo planet. After all, Gods have various interests in mortal planes, too.

As the phantom disappears, Xunji sighs softly.

‘What benevolence is in their inheritance?’ Xunji feels faith flowing into him. This energy is now easier to consume after becoming a God… and it assists in understanding the laws too greatly! Inheritance ties down God’s divine intent and they like to have their own small following in the mortal realm to consume faith energy…’

‘But not the stronger gods…’ His gaze glimmers, ‘No rest for the god and the wicked. A higher mountain beyond the current peak, what an apt saying.’

***

Alternate Title: Carefree Xunji