In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.
At dawn, sunlight streamed down from the top, refracting through the mist above, illuminating the entire valley floor.
Ye Qiu, his eyes blindfolded with a black cloth, felt a shift from pain to itching.
Ye Qiu guessed that the two powers within should be almost fully fused.
In a few days, he could check his progress!
Just as he stepped out of the room, Xiao Lan shook off Dugu Yan and came to greet him.
"Brother! You're up too."
The environment of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was indeed exceptional; Xiao Lan had grown considerably, now comparable to a nine-year-old, reaching Ye Qiu's chest.
She nestled into Ye Qiu's arms, sniffing him cautiously.
Since arriving here, she hadn't slept with Ye Qiu.
She had always slept with Dugu Yan.
Because of this, Ye Qiu had been scolded by Dugu Yan many times as a beast.
"Hmm!" Ye Qiu nodded, gently patting her back.
"Xiao Lan! Call that guy over for dinner!" In the wooden shed not far away, Grandpa Dugu and his granddaughter were already seated.
"Okay, Sister Yan Yan!" Xiao Lan responded, then took Ye Qiu's hand. "Let's go, brother!"
The two girls had slept together for so long and were quite familiar with each other, their address becoming much more affectionate.
"Good morning, Grandpa Dugu!"
"Good, good! Haha." Even the eccentric and unpredictable Dugu Bo doted on Xiao Lan.
After Xiao Lan finished eating from her soul tool, he personally went to get more food.
Ye Qiu followed her to the table, and Xiao Lan obediently served him rice and vegetables.
Dugu Yan Yan watched, her teeth itching with envy!
"Kid! How's your self-created soul skill research going?"
"Not bad, I should be able to master it quickly once my eyes recover!"
Ye Qiu chuckled. For the past half month, he hadn't really cultivated his soul power, but rather focused on familiarizing himself with it and gaining more precise control.
He was putting his previous ideas into action.
"That's good, I'll have a good look at it then!" Dugu Bo stroked his long green beard.
"Don't worry, you won't be disappointed!"
"Sister Yan Yan, move that dish over a bit, brother likes it, Xiao Lan can't reach it!"
Xiao Lan tugged at Dugu Yan's clothes and pointed to a delicacy on the corner of the table.
"Okay! I know!" Dugu Yan reluctantly moved the plate over.
"Thank you, Sister Yan Yan!" Xiao Lan also added some food to Dugu Yan's bowl.
"Hehe." Ye Qiu suddenly felt that this girl's affection was well worth it.
...
After the meal, Dugu Bo left as usual.
Ye Qiu was pulled by Xiao Lan to wander around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. She was already starting to get bored.
"Brother~ when will your eyes get better! Xiao Lan misses Sister Rong Rong!"
"Don't worry, it won't be long!"
Ye Qiu could only try to comfort her. In
the distance, by the wooden house, Dugu Yan stood alone, looking in the direction of the two, wanting to go forward, but hesitating.
Seeing that she was alone, Xiao Lan extended an invitation to her.
In her heart, this older sister was quite nice, except for pinching her cheeks and talking bad about her brother when she slept.
"Sister Yan Yan! Come and play with me!"
Seeing Xiao Lan waving at her, and glancing at Ye Qiu who still had a smile on his face, Dugu Yan slowly walked over.
"Sister Yan Yan, let's take a walk together!" Xiao Lan held Ye Qiu's hand in one hand and Dugu Yan's hand in the other.
"Miss Dugu, how is the snake venom in your body?"
"It's alright. According to Grandpa, in another six months, I should be able to consider hunting for my fourth soul ring!"
Dugu Yan's voice was calm as she kneaded Xiao Lan's small hand, her eyes occasionally sweeping over Ye Qiu and the two ice coffins in the ice spring.
"The problem is that the soul bone that stores the toxins is still unavailable. After obtaining the fourth soul ring, the toxins might erupt again."
"Sister Yan Yan, don't worry about that! Brother will definitely help you! Xiao Lan is right, right, brother?" Xiao Lan looked at Ye Qiu with a grin.
"Yes! I will do my best." Ye Qiu nodded and smiled gently.
"Then thank you!" Dugu Yan didn't take
it too seriously. In her opinion, although Ye Qiu, as a Great Soul Master, had good combat power, soul bones, especially those with matching attributes, weren't something that could be obtained easily.
The three chatted casually, getting closer and closer to the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Sensing the heat permeating the air, Ye Qiu couldn't help but remind her,
"Xiao Lan, don't get too close. Miss Dugu won't be able to stand it!"
"Yes, Xiao Lan knows." Xiao Lan replied, leading the two around a corner. They
headed back towards the wooden house.
After spending some time with Xiao Lan, Ye Qiu returned to his room to continue trying out his idea.
Xiao Lan was soaking in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, absorbing the energy emanating from it.
Her clothes were merely illusions, so there was no need to worry about them getting damaged.
Due to the toxins in her body, Dugu Yan no longer needed to cultivate; instead, she sat under the eaves, resting her
chin on her hand, deep in thought. Inside the room, Ye Qiu traced lines in the air with his fingers, his soul power condensing at his fingertips. Wherever his fingertips traced, a thin thread of soul power remained, but it dissipated in the air after a short time.
In Ye Qiu's view, if he could project his soul power outwards, then he would be halfway to creating his own soul skill!
With the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Ye Qiu's decent mental strength, his control over soul power was already extraordinary, making this step relatively easy.
"Hmm? Has it been a breakthrough?" Ye Qiu suddenly felt a sensation of alternating hot and cold in his chest.
Gushes of soul power surged from a green seed, coursing through Ye Qiu's entire body.
His soul power instantly broke through to level 27.
"Something's not right!?" Ye Qiu clutched his chest. Even though the breakthrough had been over for quite some time, the seed of life within his heart still seemed to be trembling.
"Brother!"
"Xiao Lan!"
Outside, Xiao Lan and Dugu Yan's exclamations came one after the other.
"What's going on!" Ye Qiu immediately reacted and rushed out the door!
*Snap!* As soon as the door opened, a strong wave of intense heat or cold assaulted him!
...
"Haha! Great, Xiao Lan has grown a little more!"
Noticing the changes in her body, Xiao Lan, immersed in the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, cried out happily.
However, she didn't notice a green leaf mark about to emerge from her forehead, with red and blue colors constantly shifting on it.
"Huh? What's going on!" Xiao Lan quickly realized something was wrong; her body was still absorbing the power within the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire.
Suddenly, two threads of power, one blue and one red, appeared in the water, trying to wrap her up.
"Let go of Xiao Lan! Xiao Lan wants to get out!" Suddenly, Xiao Lan struggled like a drowning person.
"Ah! Brother!" Little Blue uttered her last words before being enveloped by a red and blue power, slowly floating above the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire!
In a daze, Little Blue seemed to hear some ancient and weathered voices.
"Divine power! This is the scent of divine power!"
"Little Blue!"
Dugu Yan, noticing the anomaly in the distance, quickly ran towards it.
...
Sensing the sudden surge of energy from the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, Ye Qiu immediately tore off the black cloth covering his eyes.
As soon as he opened them, he felt a slight itch, and his eyes welled with tears.
"What on earth is going on!?"
Ye Qiu's voice trembled slightly. Above the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, a blue and red sphere, approximately two meters in diameter, was floating.
(End of Chapter)