Chapter 35: Three Slaughter God Domains
The transition was jarring, a violent expulsion from one reality to another.
One moment, Qin Xuan was in the dark, suffocating confines of the Hell Road, his body in a desperate climb. The next, he was stumbling out of a shimmering, silvery-white curtain of light, collapsing onto a patch of damp, green grass.
He was still holding Jingni, her unconscious form held tightly against his chest.
The air was the first thing he noticed. It was cold, clean, and sweet with the smell of pine and wet earth. It was the most wonderful thing he had ever experienced.
He took a deep, shuddering breath, the pure air cleansing his lungs of the year-long stench of blood, sulfur, and decay.
A faint, blue light, characteristic of the pre-dawn hour, filtered through the canopy of a dense forest. The exit of the Hell Road was a dark cave mouth, hidden behind a waterfall, which explained the shimmering light and the dampness.
He had made it. He was out.
He looked down at the woman in his arms. In the dim light, he could see her face properly for the time-travel. Her beauty was exquisite, her features perfect, but her face was pale and stained with grime and rain from her battle.
He looked at the sword still clutched in her hand: the Jingni Sword. Just as the system description implied, there was a small, white bat pattern etched into the metal an inch below the hilt.
What surprised Qin Xuan even more, however, was what he saw next.
As he had held her against him during the chaotic, spatial transfer, a flash of white light, identical to the bat pattern on her sword, had pulsed from her bulging abdomen. It vanished in an instant, but he had seen it clearly.
It was a sign. A Domain.
A system introduction, unbidden, flashed in his mind.
[System Introduction: Daughter of Jingni, Father Unknown. Name: A Yan (Unborn). Spirit: Unknown (Unawakened). Talent: SSS. Domain: Slaughter God Domain (Unawakened).]
Qin Xuan's breath hitched. A Yan, who was not yet born, already had the Slaughter God Domain.
The "bug" had worked. By bringing Jingni, and by extension her unborn child, through the final exit of the Hell Road, the trial's reward had been granted to all three of them.
And her talent... SSS.
Qin Xuan thought to himself, her talent, an SSS rank before she was even born, might not be inferior to Qian Renxue, who possessed the divine Seraphim Spirit. This was a "buy one, get one free" deal that had turned into a "buy one, get a future god-tier talent for free."
He carefully placed the still-unconscious Jingni down on the soft grass, propping her gently against a tree. He then took out Jingni's golden recruitment card from his storage spirit tool.
Because he needed it to submit the mission, he had already reclaimed the recruitment card when he used his [Thousand Gold Coat] to drape over her for protection during the escape.
"System, submit the mission," Qin Xuan said in his mind.
[Ding! Mission completed: Bring back Jingni within the time limit. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 100,000-year Adaptive Left Leg Bone × 1. Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a 100,000-year Adaptive Spirit Ring × 1.]
[Note: The adaptive spirit ring's age is determined by the user's endurance, with a maximum of 100,000 years. Please use with caution.]
As soon as the system voice finished, the golden recruitment card in his hand dissolved into motes of golden light.
The light transformed, leaving two objects hovering before him.
One was a golden, pearl-like bead, about the size of a longan. It pulsed with a gentle light, containing the raw, condensed energy of the 100,000-year adaptive spirit ring.
The other item stole his breath.
It was an extremely complete, golden-red left leg bone. It was shaped like a human leg bone but was crafted from a substance that looked like fiery, translucent crystal. A dense, golden-red mist rolled off it, and the sheer, ancient power it radiated made the very air around it feel heavy.
So, this is a 100,000-year spirit ring and Spirit Bone.
Qin Xuan took a deep, steadying breath. He understood the saying, "An innocent man is guilty only because he holds a treasure."
This was not just a treasure; it was two treasures that Titled Douluo would slaughter cities for.
And the exit of the Hell Road was not safe. He knew it was no secret in the eyes of major forces like Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect. Both Tang Hao and Bibi Dong had passed this way.
If he absorbed it here, what if someone popped out of nowhere? What if Tang Hao was nearby? What if Spirit Hall had posted sentries?
No one, no one, would be unmoved by a 100,000-year Spirit Bone. Absorbing it rashly here, in the open, would be suicidally dangerous.
Suppressing the burning impatience in his heart, Qin Xuan quickly but carefully put the Spirit Bone and the bead containing the spirit ring into his storage spirit tool.
He then closed his eyes and began to sense the other reward.
He focused his mind, and a new, terrifying power answered his call. A faint, white-ish red aura, invisible to the naked eye but palpable as a wave of pure, cold malice, spread from his body.
His killing intent, honed over a year of slaughter, had been condensed and purified. It was now a Domain.
The Slaughter God Domain.
After a while, influenced by Qin Xuan's invisible killing intent, Jingni, who had also obtained the Slaughter God Domain, began to stir. Her brows furrowed, and she woke with a start.
She looked around blankly, her dark, bright eyes filled with a profound disbelief.
Although it was hard to believe, the unfamiliar forest surroundings, the memory of the sea of blood, and the lingering image of the white light curtain constantly told her that she had indeed arrived in another World.
"You're awake."
Qin Xuan's voice cut through her confusion. He was standing a few feet away, watching her.
"Did you sense it? We just gained the same power. You can call it a Domain, named 'Slaughter God'."
Jingni felt a little more at ease, seeing the man who had pulled her from her desperate battle. She slowly got up with Qin Xuan's offered hand.
"Slaughter God Domain?" Jingni raised her right hand, and the Jingni Sword appeared in her grasp. "It seems to be attached to this thing... my... 'Spirit'? Was it bestowed by that white light curtain above the sea of blood earlier?"
Qin Xuan nodded and began to patiently explain. This woman was now his, and she was completely ignorant of this new reality.
"That's right. The place we were in before is called the Hell Road. It's a unique existence in this World, located within the City of Slaughter. Only by achieving a hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughtering Field and becoming the champion of the Slaughter Field can one qualify to challenge the Hell Road."
Jingni, who had just arrived on the Douluo Continent, was clearly not yet familiar with this World.
Although her expression remained emotionless, a habit honed from a life as an assassin, the dead silence in her beautiful, dark eyes—the look she had in her original World—was completely gone.
She visibly relaxed and listened quietly, a soft, almost imperceptible curve unconsciously forming at the corners of her mouth as he spoke.
Qin Xuan gave her the crash course.
From the City of Slaughter to the concept of a "Spirit."
From the Spirit to "Spirit Rings."
From Spirit Rings to "Spirit Beasts," then to the "Soul Beast Forests" where they lived. He explained "Spirit Hall," the "Two Great Empires," and the "Upper Three Sects."
Although she quickly understood that this World was still incredibly dangerous, filled with all sorts of feuds, powerful clans, and dangerous Spirit Beasts, Jingni was very, very happy.
Because from this moment on, she no longer had to worry about the Net Trap's relentless, world-spanning pursuit. She was free. Her child was safe.
"That's all for now," Qin Xuan concluded. "Since we both obtained the Slaughter God Domain, we'll need to calm our killing intent for a long time. It can drive people mad if left unchecked. During this period, I'll teach you the language and common knowledge of this World as quickly as possible."
He pointed at her sword. "First, use your mind to try and put your Spirit back into your body."
"Mm." Jingni nodded, and the Jingni Sword dematerialized. Her answer was as brief as her cold personality, with only a single word, but her eyes, as she looked at him, held a new tenderness she had never shown before.
Looking at the handsome young man who was clearly a few years younger than herself, the man who had saved her and her child, Jingni inexplicably uttered, "Then... my lord—"
"What did you call me?" Qin Xuan frowned. "Gongzi? My lord? I am not your master."
Jingni paused, a hint of confusion on her face. In her world, he was her savior, her new anchor. She quickly corrected herself, offering the only other term that made sense. "Husband... where are we going next?"
"That's better," Qin Xuan smiled lightly. This was not a partnership; it was an acquisition.
"First, let's find a sufficiently secluded and safe place to rest. Then, after I have settled some things, we'll set off back to Spirit City."
He was finally going to start absorbing the 10-headed Fierce Yang Serpent's inner core. But after all, it was equivalent to a spirit ring of over 50,000 years.
Its age was more than double the optimal configuration for a normal person's sixth spirit ring.
Before that, he needed to absorb the 100,000-year left leg Spirit Bone first. The bone would completely reforge his body and elevate his endurance to a level where he could withstand the serpent's violent energy.
Only then could he ensure everything was foolproof.
As for returning to Spirit Hall, it wasn't about throwing himself into Qian Xunji's net. He had his own plans.
Qin Xuan took Jingni deep into the mountain range, far from the exit of the Hell Road. He found a secluded, hidden valley with a small cave, and he blocked the entrance with boulders.
It took him nearly three full days, sitting in meditation, to complete the absorption of the 100,000-year left leg bone. The process was agonizing, a feeling of his leg being shattered into particles and reformed by golden-red fire, but his Spirit Saint-level physique and the Mind Condensing Wisdom Skull held firm.
Jingni walked over, her large belly making her movements slow and careful. She took out a handkerchief and very considerately wiped the sweat from Qin Xuan's temples.
"Didn't you say that absorbing a Spirit Bone can increase spirit power?" she asked, her voice soft. "And the higher the Spirit Bone's age, the greater the increase in spirit power. You've absorbed the most precious 100,000-year Spirit Bone, so why is there still no sign of your spirit power fluctuations increasing?"
Today, Jingni wore a set of blue and yellow casual clothes. They were transformed from the [Thousand Gold Coat], made in the same style she wore in the Qin Dynasty World.
But because Qin Xuan didn't like his woman showing her shoulders in front of outsiders, the casual wear had been mentally "changed" to a high, stand-up collar.
Yet, even this modest attire couldn't hide Jingni's peerless charm.
Her beauty was exquisite, naturally stunning, capable of toppling cities and empires. Her skin was like jade, more beautiful than peach blossoms, fair with a rosy glow, and as translucent as the bright moon in the sky.
She was a woman who could make almost any man's heart pound just by looking at her.
"That's because my spirit power already reached the Rank 60 bottleneck nine months ago, but I hadn't gone to obtain a spirit ring," he explained, enjoying her touch.
"The spirit power I've accumulated from cultivation over the past nine months, plus the massive surge of spirit power gained from the Spirit Bone, are all stored within my body, unable to advance."
He looked at his hands, feeling the immense, coiled power within him. "After I absorb my sixth spirit ring... I'll probably gain about six more spirit power ranks on top of the spirit power granted by the spirit ring itself. A single ring will likely push me straight to Rank 67 or 68."
"Next, I'm going to absorb the 10-headed Fierce Yang Serpent's inner core to form my sixth spirit ring. There might be... some kind of mutation, or it might be very violent. So please, stay far away."
Qin Xuan's heart burned with passion. He suppressed his beastly impulse to do more. He stood up, embraced her carefully from behind, and kissed her beautiful, doll-like face. He then helped her sit under the shade of a large tree, a dozen meters away from the cave entrance.
Only then did he sit back down in his original spot, take out the jade box, and prepare to absorb the 10-headed Fierce Yang Serpent's inner core.
Because of the passive, absolute-loyalty ability that recruited characters could not betray the host, Qin Xuan did not hide the matters of the Spirit Bone and the inner core from Jingni.
He just didn't explain how the Spirit Bone and the recruitment card came about.
Correspondingly, Jingni also knew that everyone had their own secrets. She simply watched him with a newfound, gentle trust, and did not press for details.
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