The capitulation of the garden's sentient treasures was not a victory; it was a surrender born of overwhelming power and a desperate, flickering hope. Youyou, the beautiful Aromatic Silk Beauty, stood with her petal-soft shoulders slumped, her entire being radiating a profound and weary sorrow. The world she had known for ten thousand years, the sacred duty entrusted to her by her long-departed benefactor, had been dismantled in a matter of minutes.
Huo Yuhao watched her, his expression a mask of cool, pragmatic resolve. He had what he came for: the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum for Jin Xi, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass for himself, the Frost Heart Lotus for Xue Nu, and the two vital elixirs, the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone and the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew, that would be the keys to his next great leap in power.
But now, a new, logistical problem presented itself. A magnificent, world-altering problem. Before him stood dozens of other priceless, sentient herbs, each a treasure that could incite wars in the outside world. He had promised them a new home, a new life. He could not, and would not, go back on his word.
The thought of making multiple trips, of spending weeks or even months carefully transporting each delicate plant back to the Star Dou Great Forest, was a logistical nightmare. It was inefficient. It was a waste of precious time.
A slow, audacious, and wonderfully practical smile touched his lips. He had a tool for this. The ultimate express delivery service.
He turned to his companions, who were curiously examining the wilting, dejected forms of the surrounding herbs.
"Gather them all," he said, his voice calm and decisive. "Everything. The apricot, the nine-petaled grass, the starlight flowers… every last one. We're taking them with us. All at once."
Jin Xi's ruby eyes lit up with a flash of understanding and mischievous glee. She knew that look in his eyes. He was about to do something bold and completely unexpected.
Xue Nu, however, looked at him with her serene, analytical gaze, a flicker of confusion in her sky-blue eyes. "All at once, Yuhao? That would be impossible. The journey is long. The herbs are delicate. Many would not survive the transit."
"Oh, we're not carrying them," Huo Yuhao said, a confident smirk playing on his lips. He reached into the small, inconspicuous pouch at his waist and withdrew the single, dark-golden dragon scale. Di Tian's scale. It pulsed with a quiet, immense power, a tangible connection to the Beast God himself.
Xue Nu's eyes widened. Her serene composure finally, truly broke, replaced by a look of utter, profound speechlessness. Her mind, which had processed the transformation of her own 700,000-year-old soul with tranquil grace, simply could not comprehend the sheer, mind-boggling audacity of what he was about to do.
"You… you would summon the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King…" she began, her voice a soft, disbelieving whisper, "…for such an errand? For a collection of plants?"
The thought was so far outside the bounds of her understanding of power, of respect, of the natural order of the world, that it left her completely adrift. To use a divine trump card, a promise of absolute protection from the world's strongest being, for a task so… so mundane? It was like using a god's own thunderbolt to light a campfire. It was a level of pragmatic disrespect she found both terrifying and strangely, deeply impressive.
Jin Xi, in contrast, let out a delighted, ringing laugh. "Of course, he is! It's brilliant! Why should we tire ourselves out with manual labor when we have a perfectly good Beast God at our beck and call? Taking care of the groceries is a very important task! It is only right that the king of the forest should assist in a matter so vital to the future of our pack."
Huo Yuhao just smiled. He poured a small, deliberate wisp of his Soul Power into the scale.
The world did not just bend. It tore.
The air before them shimmered, then ripped open with a silent, violent grace, forming a swirling, black vortex of raw spatial energy. A pressure so immense, so absolute, that it made the very life force of the valley seem to cower in submission poured out from the rift.
From the swirling abyss, the colossal, magnificent head of the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King emerged. His scales were the color of a starless midnight, his horn a spear that could pierce the heavens. And his eye, his single, vast golden eye, blinked once as it took in the scene.
It swept over the bowing, trembling forms of the immortal herbs, lingering for a moment with a flicker of genuine shock. It saw Xue Nu, standing with a dignified respect, her new human form radiating the unmistakable aura of her true, ancient self. It saw Jin Xi, who offered a lazy, familiar wave as if greeting a family friend. And it settled on Huo Yuhao, the small boy who had dared to summon him for a task that was not a matter of life or death.
The pressure from Di Tian was a physical weight, but it was not directed at them. Jin Xi, as the Emperor Auspicious Beast, was his princess, the hope of his race. Her casual disregard for his authority was something he had, with a long-suffering and paternalistic sigh, grown accustomed to. Xue Nu was a fellow monarch, a ruler of a different domain, and her presence here, transformed and allied with the boy, was a political development of immense significance.
Di Tian's colossal head turned slightly, his golden eye focusing on the serene, silver-haired woman. A deep, rumbling voice, filled with an ancient, resonant power, echoed in their minds.
"Snow Empress. It has been many millennia since our last encounter. To see you in this form… it seems your own gamble has paid off. I congratulate you on your successful transformation."
Xue Nu inclined her head in a gesture of regal, respectful greeting. "Beast God Di Tian. Your presence honors my humble transformation. The legends of your power do not do it justice."
Their greeting was one of equals, a quiet, profound acknowledgement between two of the world's oldest and most powerful beings.
Jin Xi, ever impatient, let out a bored sigh. "Alright, alright, enough with the formal pleasantries between you old fossils. We didn't call you here for a tea party, Di Tian. We have a job for you."
Di Tian turned his immense gaze to her, a flicker of what could only be described as weary exasperation in its golden depths. He had long ago given up on trying to instill a proper sense of reverence in the Auspicious Beast. She operated on a plane of logic that was entirely her own.
His gaze then shifted to Huo Yuhao, an unspoken question within it.
Huo Yuhao stepped forward, his expression calm and business-like. He briefly, concisely explained the situation—their victory over the Titled Douluo, the truth behind their mission, and the promise he had made to the sentient herbs of the well.
"I need you to transport them, Lord Di Tian," Huo Yuhao concluded, gesturing to the assembled, trembling flora. "Take them all back to the Star Dou Great Forest. Deliver them to Uncle Yao Ling. He will know what to do. He can replant them near the Lake of Life. Their presence there will enrich the entire Core Region."
Di Tian listened, his initial annoyance at the mundane summons slowly transforming into a deep, profound approval. This was not a frivolous request. This was an act of immense strategic importance. To transplant this entire garden of celestial treasures, this collection of hundred-thousand-year-old plant spirits, to his own domain… it would be a fortune that would benefit their entire race for the next ten thousand years.
'The boy isn't just living well outside the core region,' the Dragon King thought, a new level of respect for the small human solidifying in his mind. 'He is helping our forest even from outside.'
"Your foresight is commendable, Yuhao," Di Tian's voice rumbled, the approval clear and unambiguous. "This will be a great boon to our home. Yao Ling will be overjoyed. He has been complaining about a lack of variety in his garden for the last five hundred years."
He then paused, a different kind of warmth entering his tone. "Those fellows back home… they will be pleased to know you are well. They have been having a great deal of… fun… with the Soul Tools I brought back. Xiong Jun has declared himself the 'Undisputed Champion of Sparring', using his new vambraces to cheat against the younger beasts. Chi Yan has melted three different defensive Soul Tools to perfect his focused flames under the pretense of testing the defenses of those Soul Tools. And Zi Ji… she has been spending her days in quiet contemplation testing the Soul Tools. I believe they are growing restless. When do you plan to return?"
"Soon," Huo Yuhao replied. "I have a few more matters to attend to here in the human world. A few more treasures to collect. It may take a few more months. But we will return."
"Very well," Di Tian said with a decisive nod. He turned his attention to the cowering, magnificent garden. He did not need to descend, did not need to touch them. He opened his mouth, and a perfect, controlled vortex of spatial energy, a miniature black hole, formed before him.
A gentle, irresistible suction pulled at the immortal herbs. One by one, they were uprooted, their soil and roots encased in a protective bubble of energy, and were drawn into the spatial vortex. Youyou, the Infernal Delicate Apricot, the Nine-Treasured Purple Grass… all of them vanished into the swirling gateway.
"Wait," Huo Yuhao called out just as the last of them were about to be consumed. He looked at the Beast God, his eyes holding a final, important instruction. "Lord Di Tian, many of those herbs have gained true sentience. True wisdom. When you release them in the forest, do not confine them to the garden. Grant them the freedom I promised. Allow them to roam, to explore the world as they see fit. Let them see the beauty of our home… and let them see the cruelty of the human world towards our kind for themselves. They need to understand the choice they have made, and the nature of the enemy we all face."
Di Tian's golden eye seemed to smile. 'He is teaching them. He is nurturing them to be our allies, not just our resources. This boy… He has a good mind.'
"It will be as you say," the Dragon King projected.
With a final, deep nod, Di Tian drew the last of the herbs into his spatial rift. The vortex swirled, collapsed inward, and with a faint pop, vanished, taking the Beast God and the entire celestial garden with it. The valley, once a riot of impossible life, was now stark, empty, and silent, save for the three small figures and the four immortal herbs they had chosen to keep.
The profound silence that followed Di Tian's departure was broken by Jin Xi, who let out a long, satisfied sigh. "Well, that's that. Much more efficient than carrying them all by hand." She then turned to the nervous-looking Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, a predatory, excited grin on her face. "Now then. For the main event."
Huo Yuhao nodded. He guided Jin Xi to the center of the now-empty basin, a place still humming with a faint, residual life force. "Alright, Xi'er. The process is simple, but you must focus. The incantation I am about to teach you will form the contract. Repeat after me."
He began to chant, the words of the Soul Spirit binding ritual filling the quiet valley. Jin Xi repeated them, her voice a clear, confident echo of his own. As she spoke, a brilliant golden light, her own soul energy, began to emanate from her, forming the familiar, complex, circular contract in the air before her.
When the chant was complete, she turned to the trembling, expectant Chrysanthemum. "It is time, little one. Release your origin. Do not be afraid. A grand new adventure awaits us."
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum pulsed with a soft, blue light. It bowed its head one last time to the empty well that had been its home, and then, with a final, willing sigh, it let go.
Its physical form dissolved into a torrent of pure, gentle, sky-blue light. It was a river of hundred-thousand-year-old life essence, pouring into the golden contract.
The moment the energy hit the contract, it was drawn towards Jin Xi. The river of light flowed into her body, a warm, pleasant, and incredibly potent surge of power.
Her seventh Soul Ring erupted from her body. It was not black. It was not purple. It was a brilliant, glorious, blood-red, the color of a hundred-thousand-year spirit, pulsating with a light that seemed to sing with life.
The Chrysanthemum's spirit, now free of its physical form, settled into a peaceful corner of her Spiritual Sea, a new, gentle presence in her vibrant inner world.
But the transformation had only just begun. The Soul Bone that Jin Xi had absorbed earlier, the Solar Flame Devourer Dragon bone, began to roar with a new power. Spurred by the influx of a hundred-thousand-year spirit, its Solar Devour ability activated on its own. It began to greedily absorb the pure, ambient Yang energy from the hot spring, converting it into a torrent of pure, golden draconic power that flooded Jin Xi's meridians.
Her Golden Dragon Martial Soul, which had been resting quietly, now materialized behind her, letting out a silent, ecstatic roar. It was being fed, nurtured, purified by this perfect, symbiotic energy. The faint, almost imperceptible traces of a lesser dragon bloodline within her were being burned away, purified, leaving only the pure, absolute essence of the Golden Dragon King.
Her attribute of Ultimate Strength, which had been a powerful but latent potential, now flared, reaching its absolute peak. Her very presence seemed to become heavier, denser, radiating an aura of absolute, irresistible physical power.
And then, the cascade began.
This profound purification of her core Martial Soul sent a shockwave through her entire spiritual system. Her Soul Rings, which were intrinsically linked to her soul, began to transform.
The first two yellow rings, her hundred-year spirits, were the first to change. The yellow light wavered, deepened, and then erupted into a vibrant, powerful purple. They were now thousand-year rings.
The next two purple rings, spurred by the surge, began to darken, the purple bleeding into a deep, abyssal black. They had become ten-thousand-year rings.
Her fifth and sixth rings, which were already a profound black, began to shimmer. A faint, yet distinct, crimson sheen, the color of blood and royalty, began to form around their edges. They were now approaching the hundred-thousand-year limit, their power magnified tenfold.
And her new seventh ring, already a brilliant blood-red, seemed to grow deeper, more vibrant, its light becoming as solid and real as a physical jewel.
The entire process took a full twenty-four hours. For an entire day, Jin Xi sat in a cocoon of swirling gold and red light, her body and soul being completely reborn. Huo Yuhao and Xue Nu stood a silent, vigilant guard, watching the miracle unfold.
When the light finally subsided, Jin Xi opened her eyes. The playful sparkle was still there, but it was now underscored by a new, profound depth of power. Her Soul Power, which had just broken through to Level 70, had not just stabilized; it had surged. It shot past 71, 72, 73, finally coming to rest at the very peak of Soul Rank 74. In a single day, she had not just gained a Soul Ring; she had undergone a transformation that would have taken any other Soul Master a hundred years of bitter cultivation to achieve.
She stood up, a slow, predatory smile spreading across her face as she felt the immense, boundless power coursing through her veins. "Now this," she purred, her voice a low, dangerous rumble, "is what I call a proper upgrade."
The next day, it was Huo Yuhao's turn. The atmosphere was different. Quieter. More internal.
He sat before the two herbs he had chosen for himself, the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone and the Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew.
He picked up the Daffodil first. It was a strange plant, looking less like an herb and more like a piece of exquisitely carved, jade-white bone. It felt cool and smooth to the touch. The book had said its primary function was to open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, a feat that would allow his Mysterious Heaven Technique to reach its absolute, theoretical peak.
With a deep breath, he placed the herb in his mouth. It had no taste. It simply dissolved, a cool, neutral energy spreading through his body.
Then, the pain began.
It was not a sharp, violent pain, but a deep, profound, and excruciating stretching sensation. He felt as if his entire body, every muscle, every bone, every single meridian, was being pulled apart and remade. It was the agony of growth, the pain of a body being forcibly evolved beyond its natural limits.
He gritted his teeth, his body trembling, sweat pouring from his skin. He focused his mind, circulating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, guiding the cool energy of the herb, pushing it through the eight hidden, dormant pathways.
For a full hour, he endured the ordeal. And then, with a final, profound, full-body shudder, it was over. He felt a series of eight distinct, silent pops within his soul. The hidden meridians were open.
A wave of pure, potent Soul Power, the accumulated energy from the herb, which had been held back by his own physical limitations, now surged through his newly opened channels. The bottleneck at Rank 29, which had felt so close, was shattered. His Soul Power erupted, a tidal wave of new strength, finally coming to rest solidly at Soul Rank 30. He was now a Soul Elder.
But a significant portion of the herb's power remained, a vast, untapped reservoir of potential that his body could not yet hold. It settled in his dantian, a dormant, waiting power that would be unleashed the moment he attached his next Soul Ring.
He took a few deep breaths, his body aching but feeling lighter, cleaner, more powerful than ever before. He then reached for the second herb. The Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew. It was a beautiful flower, its petals the color of the full moon, holding a single, perfect, shimmering drop of what looked like captured moonlight.
He ate it.
This time, there was no pain. Only a profound, blissful coolness that spread not through his body, but directly into his mind. It was a flood of pure, immense spiritual energy.
His Spirit Sea, which he had thought boundless, expanded even further. The stars in his inner cosmos grew brighter, more numerous. He felt his Purple Demon Eye technique, on its own, break through a new barrier, reaching a new, higher realm of perception. The world around him, even with his eyes closed, became a symphony of light, energy, and detail that was almost overwhelming.
His Spiritual Power, already at the precipice of a new realm, now surged. It crashed against the final barrier, the wall between the Spirit Sea and the legendary Spirit Abyss. With a silent, profound shattering of a mental boundary, he broke through.
His mind was no longer a sea. It was a deep, bottomless, and powerful abyss, his spiritual will now a thing of immense weight and authority.
Not just that…But even his Spirit Eyes underwent a Silver-Grade Awakening and became Polycoria Eyes.
After his Second Awakening, Huo Yuhao's eyes could detect the most delicate and intricate changes in his surroundings, and he could see the peculiarities of every detail even when he didn't release his Spirit Essence. when he activated his spirit eyes everything became clearer than before and seemed as if time slowed down.
When Huo Yuhao went through his second Awakening his eye colors changed from pure black to black and purple when he doesn't release his spirit essence and purple and gold when he releases his spirit essence
His preparations were complete. He was at Rank 30 with Soul Power stored within his body ready to burst out. His spiritual power was at an unprecedented height.
He turned to the last waiting herb. The Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass. Star Anise.
'Are you ready, my friend?' he projected, his new, more powerful mental voice a calm, deep echo.
'Ready and waiting, boss,' the gruff voice of Star Anise replied. 'Let's get this show on the road.'
Huo Yuhao began the chant once more, his voice steady, his mind a fortress of calm focus. A new contract of light formed, this one shimmering with the cold, azure light of his Ultimate Ice.
The crystalline grass dissolved into a torrent of pure, ancient ice essence and surged into his second Martial Soul.
The Ice Jade Scorpion Empress let out a silent, ecstatic cry as the compatible energy flowed into it. Its form solidified, its jade-green color deepening, its aura becoming colder, sharper, more absolute.
One new Soul Ring erupted from him, settling below the first two blood red rings of his Ice Empress. It was a deep, blood red.
A final, explosive surge of power, the unlocked potential from the Daffodil Jade Flesh Bone, now unleashed by the addition of the new rings, erupted from his dantian.
His Soul Power, which had just reached Rank 30, skyrocketed. 31, 32, 33… it shot past the ranks of a Soul Elder with contemptuous ease, climbing higher and higher. 38, 39… 40!
Soon...His second Soul Ring from the Star Anise condensed, which is also a red colored.
It shattered the barrier to Soul Ancestor, and continued to climb, finally, impossibly, coming to a halt at the peak of Soul Rank 42.
In a single, miraculous session, he had gone from a quasi-Soul Elder to a powerful, mid-rank Soul Ancestor.
He opened his eyes, a universe of cold, starlight power shining within their blue depths. The harvest was complete. The path to his own vengeance, and to his mother's salvation, was now wider and clearer than ever before.