Chapter 132: Sunset’s Tragedy

"Generally speaking, external spirit bones only appear when a spirit beast dies under extremely negative and extreme conditions. In all my years of life, I have only seen a handful of them. I want to know—how did you obtain this external spirit bone?" Ice Empress asked in a deep voice.

The Ice Jade Scorpion clan were top-tier predators in the northwest region. When they hunted other spirit beasts, they would indeed come across spirit bones. Although spirit beasts couldn't absorb spirit bones like humans to inherit spirit skills, spirit bones contained an immense amount of energy. If a spirit beast was strong enough, it would choose to consume the bone directly to absorb its energy, thus gaining a certain degree of enhancement.

"I can faintly sense that this spirit bone even retains remnants of its former consciousness. It probably won't be easy to absorb, will it?" Ice Empress lifted her forelimb and nudged the crystal-like scorpion tail.

"The spirit beast that produced this spirit bone was a sixty-thousand-year-old Pink Crystal Queen," Wang Rui said.

"Pink Crystal Queen?" Ice Empress looked at him in confusion. Clearly, she knew little about her kind in the southern regions. "What kind of spirit beast is that?"

"A type of scorpion spirit beast," Wang Rui replied. "Individually, they are very weak. They are fire-attributed spirit beasts capable of secreting a special fire-based toxin. This fire poison induces excitement in their enemies, disrupting their biological rhythms and causing them to eventually collapse from exhaustion. The ordinary individuals with ten to a hundred years of cultivation are called Pink Ladies, while those with a thousand years or more are referred to as Pink Matrons."

"The venom of a Pink Lady is at its most potent when they are around nine thousand years old, approaching the ten-thousand-year threshold. At this stage, the toxin secreted by a Pink Matron is strong enough to make an ordinary Spirit Emperor become excessively excited, leading to heart overload and eventual death."

"But if you ask me about their venom… hmm, it's quite tasty," Wang Rui said with complete impartiality.

Crispy and stimulating, just like eating coffee-flavored candy—instantly refreshing and energizing, perfect for pulling an all-nighter at work. Kids would love it.

"Weak poison will always remain weak. The ten-thousand-year mark is a crucial threshold for spirit beasts. Crossing this boundary results in a dramatic overall enhancement of a spirit beast's qualities," Wang Rui continued. "However, the Pink Lady Scorpions are inherently frail. Their venom protects them up to the ten-thousand-year mark, but beyond that, it barely affects higher-level enemies."

"So, once they reach ten thousand years, Pink Lady Scorpions start evolving in a different direction. They gradually abandon their now-useless venom and instead focus on strengthening their bodies."

"For those that reach ten thousand years of cultivation, their venom and pink coloration begin to fade, and their bodies slowly transform into a crystal-clear texture. Their exoskeletons become increasingly hard and sharp. Every additional ten thousand years adds another segment to their tails, making them more flexible and agile, with pure physical strength and speed increasing dramatically."

Wang Rui gazed at the crystal-like scorpion tail, his eyes carrying a hint of melancholy. "Those that rule over a large colony and have at least ten thousand years of cultivation are called Pink Crystal Queens. If a Pink Crystal Queen could cultivate to a hundred thousand years, its exoskeleton might turn completely transparent—shining like a diamond and becoming incredibly durable. Perhaps it would have been named something like Diamond Emperor Scorpion. But unfortunately, due to the limitations of their species, there has never been a recorded case of one reaching a hundred thousand years. The strongest individual we've observed was this Pink Crystal Queen that produced this external spirit bone."

"Every stage of this species' name contains the word 'lady' or 'queen'… does that mean there are no male individuals?" Huo Yuqing asked curiously.

"There are males in their species, of course. However, due to the enormous differences in appearance and abilities between the males and females, humans naturally assumed the species had no males and categorized the male individuals as a separate species, naming them Earth Kings," Wang Rui explained.

"Like peacocks?" Huo Yuqing asked.

"Exactly. But the difference between male and female Pink Lady Scorpions is far more extreme than that of ordinary peacocks," Wang Rui nodded. "Females begin to develop extreme physical qualities only after reaching ten thousand years of cultivation. Meanwhile, from birth, the males evolve by gradually purging the poisonous properties from their fire venom and refining their fire attribute. Their evolutionary path is similar to that of the Ice Jade Scorpion. Ice Empress should be quite familiar with this."

"My clan does indeed follow this pattern," Ice Empress confirmed. "Although the Ice Jade Scorpions carry the bloodline of the Ice God, we were not born with Ultimate Ice. Our species abandoned poison, and after our strongest individuals achieved Ultimate Ice, they reproduced. Over time, the ability to inherit Ultimate Ice stabilized."

"This is an excellent evolutionary direction. It seems like their species intentionally adjusted their evolution, choosing two possible paths to take," Ice Empress analyzed seriously. "If either path was fully realized, they could have eventually become an incredibly powerful species. After optimizing their bloodline for generations, they could have risen to dominance… But why did they go extinct?"

"This species was simply too frail at birth. Unlike the Ice Jade Scorpions, they did not possess a noble bloodline capable of carrying Ultimate Ice," Wang Rui sighed. "The male individuals, due to their overwhelming fire attribute and lack of a strong enough bloodline to control it, became extremely aggressive and violent. If two males encountered each other, they would inevitably fight to the death. This did allow the strongest to survive, but it also resulted in their numbers dwindling to a critical level."

"Reproductive difficulties?" Ice Empress frowned. "That shouldn't be a problem. Males that take the fire attribute path should naturally be stronger than females and dominate reproductive opportunities… Even if they are rare in number, they shouldn't—"

Female scorpions were quite prolific, after all.

"Because their forest was destroyed," Bi Ji, who had been silent until now, let out a long sigh. "There were no Pink Lady Scorpions in Star Dou Forest. They were too weak to survive in such a fiercely competitive environment."

"Thousands of years ago, their species inhabited a small spirit beast settlement called Sunset Forest, located northeast of Star Dou. The spirit beasts there were comparatively weaker, with the strongest only reaching eighty thousand years," the Emerald Swan spoke slowly. "But then, a terrible disaster befell that forest. Ten thousand years ago, an outbreak of highly toxic plant-type spirit beasts—Bilin Seven Absolute Flowers—suddenly appeared in large numbers. Many of them evolved into the even more lethal Bilin Nine Absolute Flowers. The toxic flora took over Sunset Forest, filling it with suffocating poison mist..."

The Emerald Swan's voice trembled with sorrow, as if she could still hear the cries of despair.

It was a catastrophe of extinction.

The Sea God's Light descended, and the rainbow-colored poison mist churned.

Wherever that beautiful yet deadly mist passed, trees withered and died, spirit beasts wailed in agony as they fled, and countless lives were consumed. The land was littered with brightly colored, corroded bones.

The weakest spirit beasts of Sunset Forest perished first. The strongest ones—merely ten-thousand-year-old spirit beasts—could only hold on for a little longer. But there was no escape for them.

Beyond the forest lay a human empire's capital, filled with powerful humans beyond count.

The spirit beasts, filled with hatred, were trapped and slaughtered.

And deep within Sunset Forest lay the former retreat of the Sea God and his wife before their ascension.

The poisonous miasma did not reach the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, leaving it as an untouched sanctuary.

Outside, the forest became a living hell.

"By the time the Star Dou Forest realized what was happening... it was already too late." Bi Ji's voice was filled with sorrow. "Di Tian and the Tiger Emperor worked together to construct a stable spatial passage to evacuate the soul beasts from the Sunset Forest, but... the majority of our kin had already perished."

"This includes the clan of this Pink Crystal Queen. Its territory was very close to that sudden outbreak of Jade Phosphor Seven-Deadly Flowers. By the time we found it, its once-impenetrable shell had already been corroded beyond recognition. Yet, it had carved out a piece of its own abdominal shell, hollowing it out to protect the last ten unscathed younglings."

"…" Huo Yuqing opened her mouth but couldn't make a sound. Her eyes burned with an unbearable sting, and when the tears finally fell, they brought a searing pain with them, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Back then, when her mother had desperately shielded her from the beatings of those vile servants, had it been the same?

She looked at that stunningly beautiful scorpion tail. At that time, what had this soul beast been thinking?

And all those lives lost in the disaster—what had they been thinking in their final moments?

Wang Rui quietly shifted his position, pulling the weeping Huo Yuqing into the space between his two front legs.

"It passed away not long after," Bi Ji forced a bitter smile, but on her breathtaking face, it looked more painful than crying. "Perhaps due to the unique social structure of the Pink Lady Scorpions, in its panic, it only managed to save ten younglings—all of them female. From now on, there will never be another Pink Lady Scorpion."

And it wasn't just the Pink Lady Scorpions—countless other species had gone extinct in this catastrophe.

"This isn't right," Ice Empress' voice was hoarse. "Powerful plant-type soul beasts are rare and require an extremely long time to grow. How could such a large-scale disaster occur overnight?"

"Because there was a great treasure within the Sunset Forest," Skydream Iceworm answered bitterly. "Someone, unwilling to let that treasure fall into others' hands, transplanted a few weak Jade Phosphor Flowers from the Star Dou Forest, then forcefully nurtured them—creating the terrifying sea of Jade Phosphor Seven-Deadly Flowers."

"Who…?" Ice Empress asked with difficulty.

To be able to accelerate the growth of ordinary plants and turn them into highly cultivated plant-type soul beasts… only a god could accomplish such a feat.

"Now do you understand why soul beasts must do everything in their power to cultivate a powerful deity who stands on their side?" Skydream Iceworm said with a bitter smile.

The wild soul beasts present all turned to look at Huo Yuqing. However, the girl seemed momentarily lost, her mind wandering elsewhere.

No one knew what she was thinking, but then, a firm resolve appeared on her face. She suddenly took a step forward and placed her hand on the beautiful scorpion tail soul bone.

"I swear to you," her eyes were still misty with lingering tears, but they were exceptionally resolute. "When I become strong enough, I will wipe out the poisonous flowers that have ravaged life in the Sunset Forest and avenge you and your kin. As for the mastermind behind this… if they still have descendants in this world, I will do everything in my power to seek justice for all the lives that were sacrificed due to their selfishness."

She simply… felt that it was unjust.

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Actually, this isn't just about vilifying Tang San...

Even if I removed everything related to Tang San from the equation, I wonder if anyone would still find Huo Yuqing's willingness to take on troubles unrelated to her as naïve or saintly? Let me think about how to put this…

It's like when I was a kid watching Jurassic World—I don't remember which installment—but near the end, the protagonist leaves the island on a boat, and a volcano erupts behind them. The last thing you see is a Brachiosaurus standing at the edge of the island, crying out mournfully as the volcanic ash engulfs it like a closing curtain.

I have remembered that scene for years. I still recall how, as a kid, I wished I could rush into the movie, and if I had the ability, I would do whatever it took to save that dinosaur.

Of course, I know there are always many things to consider—balance, trouble, consequences, and so on.

It's hard to put into words. I know characters who are decisive and ruthless are more popular these days, but I, as the author, simply can't write like that. I'm indecisive, so I can only ask everyone to bear with it (:з」∠)

Back when I first read Soul Land II, I already felt that… hmm, something was really off about the Sunset Forest. And that was before I even started disliking Tang San (smokes).

If you don't like my writing style, just assume I've gone crazy after writing too many chapters…

(End of Chapter)