Chapter 145: Their Vacation (4)

"Although what I say might raise your blood pressure," the man cloaked in black, paused suspiciously, "but I'm doing this for your own good, kid."

"Get lost! What do you know?!" Tang Ya roared in fury as she was suspended mid-air by an unseen, chilling force, struggling desperately. "They are the bandits who robbed my family, they're the murderers who killed my parents! I'm going to kill them! I'll slice them to pieces! Dismember them completely! Let me go—"

The man sighed deeply. The decorative black feathers along the edge of his hood swayed, reflecting a mysterious purple-green radiance.

He ignored Tang Ya's frantic struggles. To him, the full power of a Soul Sect was no more significant than that of a kitten.

"You and we are the same—burdened with original sin… now you've been controlled by your inherent sin, with not a trace of reason left," he said, his tone verging on pity. "If you were lucid right now, you'd realize that provoking a stranger whose strength far exceeds yours is extremely unwise."

Tang Ya felt a slight chill slide down her back, but it was so insignificant—or perhaps the hatred and bloodthirsty killing intent that still filled her mind was simply too overwhelming.

The man sighed again, raised his hand, and knocked Tang Ya unconscious. Then, as if picking up a bag of potatoes, he hoisted the girl onto his shoulder.

...

"For a full ten thousand years, the resentment of the unjustly deceased has accumulated here."

"Sin…"

"Uh… why am I feeling a bit dizzy?"

"Is this your first time training in this Forest? Brothers and sisters with low cultivation, be careful of the forest's toxins—mind your antidotes. If someone swipes them from you, you'll just have to cry."

"Life… death… the earth will eventually succumb to decay."

"Hiss, just by standing here I can smell that marvelous…"

"Pain, despair, wailing, hatred… a nauseatingly evil aura."

"If I were to absorb all this resentment and soul energy, I dare not imagine how strong I'd become."

"Moderation, my friend."

"Tsk tsk, what kind of person could create such a living hell? Truly a role model for our kind."

"Watch your mouth; the ideals of the Holy Son and Holy Daughter differ from those of Elder Zhongli. Mind your hide."

"Hehe, if the Holy Son or Holy Daughter could personally beat me up, it would be worth every penny… even better if both of them—then the three of us could…"

"Eek! Get away from him!"

On a slightly elevated clearing in the Setting Sun Forest, a group of men in black had gathered, whispering among themselves.

These were members of the Holy Spirit Church.

If members of the Shrek Supervisory Group were present, they'd likely emit piercing alarm bells immediately—because every single one of these black-cloaked figures is, by Shrek Academy's standards, a 100% purebred Evil Soul Master.

In common perception, Evil Soul Masters are known to be eccentric and cruel, preferring to work alone—a single one can unleash a bloody, terrifying catastrophe, let alone so many gathered together.

As for why they had assembled in this remote, desolate Setting Sun Forest…

When Evil Soul Masters cultivate, they not only require the blood and life force of living creatures but also need negative soul energy and an abundance of resentment.

Thus, some Evil Soul Masters choose to torture other beings in bloody and brutal ways to satisfy their own needs.

And due to some extremely unique historical reasons, one day ten thousand years ago, countless living beings in the Setting Sun Forest were poisoned to death in extreme agony. Moreover, deep in the forest there existed the "Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well," which exerted a special pull on the world's spiritual energy—but it also caused those souls filled with resentment and unwillingness to accept their fate to wander the woods, until over time they were ground to dust, though their resentment never diminished.

Over the following ten thousand years, humans who ventured deep into the forest continuously interred their bones among the trees, and the soul beasts living on the outskirts of the forest struggled in pain under the toxic fumes, with the wails of the dead growing ever more numerous.

Perhaps at first only the defiant sorrow and grief of the wronged dead gathered here, but gradually, the negative emotions of sentient beings converged upon this place, eventually forming a vast vortex composed purely of evil energy and soul power.

After ten thousand years had passed, this place had become the youngest of the three great evil lands of Douluo Continent.

And the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well remained as the calm center of the vortex, temporarily unaffected.

After all, two Dragon Kings had once fallen there—the extreme properties of ice and fire could completely purify the evil resentment, though only to a limited extent.

Some unnamed three-eyed big cat calculated that within 200,000 years, the toxic mist and evil force in the Forest would exceed the tolerance of the Ice and Fire Duality Eye, utterly destroying this treasured land.

However, even for soul beasts, 200,000 years is an extraordinarily long time, so there's no need to worry for now.

More importantly, the plants and soul beasts within the range of the Setting Sun Forest have already begun to show subtle deformities due to the evil power.

These negative changes are not particularly evident in flora and fauna that require long periods to mature; rather, young humans are far more sensitive to that negative force.

Some auspicious beast hidden in the shadows, with a lifespan long enough and ample "manpower" for statistics, has noted that within the radiation range of the Forest—in all human settlements, including Tiandou City—the probability that a six-year-old's martial spirit will awaken with an evil mutation has risen to 0.3%.

Even though not every child whose martial spirit shows an evil mutation possesses soul power—and some of these evil mutations remain latent, making the child indistinguishable from an ordinary soul master when unactivated—this probability remains extremely frightening.

... For instance, among those cloaked in black gathered here, who have come from the Sun and Moon Empire intending to cultivate using the negative power of the Forest, one-third are actually from the Tianhun Empire.

At the forefront stood a young man known among these black-cloaked figures as the "Holy Son." His face was expressionless, as if he hadn't caught wind of their whispered conversation.

He stood at the edge of a cliff with his arms folded, staring indifferently at the swirling mist below, though his gaze never settled on any specific point.

He was very tall, with spiky silver-gray short hair, and his rugged features bordered on coarse, exuding an unmistakable exotic aura.

His brow was high and his eye sockets even deeper, making it seem as though his eyes and eyebrows were very close together.

Those eyes were an eerie purple-gray, and in the shadow of his brow they appeared extremely gloomy—anyone caught in his gaze would feel an all-over chill.

Between his brows, however, three golden spots contrasted sharply with his overall demeanor—three diamond-shaped scales the size of grains of rice, radiating a certain majesty that made one dare not look directly.

"Oh dear… if it weren't for having to carry these little drag-alongs, with just the two of us we could easily go and take a look at that place deep within the mists, right?" A light, female voice was transmitted directly into his ears via soul power. "Don't you agree, Lingtong?"

The speaker was a tall young woman.

Her figure was impeccable—she was considerably taller than the young man. Like him, she wore a black cloak, and her long, deep-blue hair—resembling swirling mist—flowed out from beneath the cloak, lying smoothly against her body, evoking the skin of some colossal sea creature for no apparent reason.

Her expression was light and cheerful, yet those deep-blue eyes remained intimidating.

For some reason, those eyes were like a terrifying deep sea that devoured everything.

"Whether it's our teacher or your mother, they have expressly forbidden us from approaching that lake at the core of the Forest," the youth called "Lingtong" replied in a stern, even warning tone, his face impassive. "If you intend to defy their orders, don't drag me along, Lan Fozhi."

"Hmph, the obedient child who listens to the elders, Lan Lingtong," Lan Fozhi rolled her eyes and muttered.

"The core of the Setting Sun Forest has been arranged by 'that man'." A trace of hatred darkened Lan Lingtong's face as he coldly looked at Lan Fozhi. "You know we're already in his line of sight—such an action would be extremely dangerous. You must not approach that place… I'll be watching you, so don't even think about sneaking away."

They shared the same surname, and their names both seemed to carry religious connotations—as if they were connected—yet their features showed no resemblance, at least not in a way that suggested any blood relation.

Still, the two of them seemed to share a uniquely familial tacit understanding.

It was just that although Lan Fozhi appeared to be the elder, she seemed to be the rebellious one.

"I never intended that," she said guiltily, diverting her gaze. "A lake where ice and fire coexist—don't you want to see it for yourself? Besides, there's a time difference between the upper and lower parts; what's there to fear? That guy won't notice."

Lan Lingtong simply glared at her, his expression carrying even a hint of threat.

"Alright—alright. But if you insist on this, then you shouldn't even come to the Setting Sun Forest," Lan Fozhi sneered.

"This is the sin committed by 'that man'—I must remember it."

The young man's tone remained calm, but the deep-seated hatred on his face made Lan Fozhi feel that the conversation was sliding into territory that should not be pursued any further.

So she looked around and loudly changed the subject, "By the way, where did Elder Feng and Elder Mo go? They were supposed to be leading this operation, weren't they?"

Before she could finish speaking, a very irreverent male voice rang out.

"Mm-hmm, your Mo is back—wup!"

A large, dripping wet crow—no, rather, a dripping wet man draped in a black cloak shaped like bird wings—descended from mid-air.

"Tsk tsk, Your Highness Lan Fozhi, silently executing your colleagues… ruthless and cold-blooded, ruthless indeed—pfft, so salty, so salty! Truly worthy of being the Holy Church's Holy Maiden!"

He set down the "potato" he had been carrying on his shoulder—Tang Ya—onto the ground, then wiped some water from his face, brushed his soaking wet black hair back, revealing an exceptionally pale forehead. His pure black eyes glinted with a teasing mischief that almost dared one to provoke him, and a silver bird skull shimmered at the lapel of his cloak.

Then, as if shaking the feathers of a large bird, he shook his head, sending a burst of water mist scattering around him, and instantly he was dry and neat.

"Hehe," Lan Fozhi managed a forced, insincere smile.

"It seems that that old hag Feng Ling hasn't come back yet!" Elder Mo declared smugly. Though he was called an elder, he appeared unexpectedly young. "But no matter what she's found, I've already won this round!"

"Holy Son, Your Highness, allow me to grandly introduce the new sister I retrieved today for the Holy Church!" he exclaimed exaggeratedly, gesturing flamboyantly for Lan Lingtong to look at Tang Ya on the ground. "Ta-da! The possessor of the Dark Blue Silvergrass Martial Spirit!"

Lan Lingtong's impassive face finally revealed a hint of surprise.

(End of Chapter)