Chapter 66: Yue Guan's Breakthrough, Domain Evolution
Spirit City.
It was already sunset. The sky over Spirit City was a wash of bruised purple and blood-red.
But the entire Supreme Pontiff Palace, and the mountain it sat on, exuded an unusual, cold, and metallic aura.
Just a few months ago, Sea God Island, located overseas, rejected Spirit Hall's invitation to build a branch hall. They had not just refused; they had injured the Titled Douluo who went to convey the Papal Decree. Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji had erupted in thunderous anger, immediately wanting to personally lead an expedition.
He was, however, severely and publicly reprimanded by High Priest Qian Daoliu, who ordered him to stand down.
At this moment, in the main hall of the Supreme Pontiff Palace, Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji stood with his hands behind his back, staring out at the crimson sunset.
Two personal Titled Douluo guards stood by his sides, as still and silent as statues.
Behind him stood the Holy Maiden Bibi Dong and the four Titled Douluo responsible for this mission: Ghost Leopard Douluo, who possessed the Black Pattern Ghost Leopard Spirit; Devil Bear Douluo, who possessed the Blood Devil Berserk Bear Spirit; and two other Titled Douluo who weren't even named in the original work and were fated to die on Sea God Island.
Outside the hall, a sea of 2,000 Spirit Masters stood in perfect, silent formation. Led by eighty Cardinals, the assembly was a terrifying display of power, their armor and spirit power glowing faintly in the twilight. Their momentum was like a rainbow, a silent promise of destruction.
Among them, lost in the crowd, stood Yu Xiaogang, looking pale, small, and utterly out of place.
"Everyone is here, right, my disciple?"
Qian Xunji asked with narrowed eyes, his back still to Bibi Dong.
Today, Bibi Dong had changed into a magnificent set of golden female armor, accentuating her figure while making her look heroic and valiant.
"Reporting to Teacher!" she answered respectfully, her voice clear and ringing with unprecedented determination. "Including the four Titled Douluo Elders and eighty Cardinals, a total of 2,086 Spirit Masters have assembled. Please inspect them, Teacher!"
She thought that Qian Xunji having her lead the team this time was a test. It was a test of her leadership, her strength, and her resolve—a final examination to prepare her for inheriting the position of Supreme Pontiff in the future.
Therefore, she attached great, solemn importance to this mission. She would not fail. She would prove to him, and to all of Spirit Hall, that she was the worthy successor.
She glanced briefly at the crowd outside, her eyes finding Yu Xiaogang. He looked so vulnerable. A pang of worry, quickly suppressed, tightened her chest. This was why she needed this. She needed the power, the authority, so that no one—not even her Teacher—could ever dictate her life or threaten the man she loved.
Little did she know. After this battle, it would be the beginning of her descent into the abyss.
Qian Xunji slowly turned around. His gaze, cold and appraising, swept over Bibi Dong and the other four Titled Douluo, then over the more than 2,000 Spirit Hall Spirit Masters outside the hall.
With a wave of his hand, he said in a deep voice, "Depart."
His voice was majestic and calm, with a natural echo that carried the weight of the Supreme Pontiff's authority. Qian Xunji's vibrant red robe, draped over his golden armor, moved without wind, and he looked magnificent.
"Depart!" Bibi Dong's clear and powerful voice rang out. She turned, her golden armor glinting, and led the way out of the hall.
The four Titled Douluo followed a step behind her. Their faces were filled with bloodthirsty and playful smiles, as if they were anticipating the arrival of this war.
Little did they know, it would become the unforgettable nightmare of their lives.
At this time, the sky was almost completely dark.
In another building on Supreme Pontiff Mountain, the one reserved for high-level, non-Elder combatants, Gui Mei, who had just come out of seclusion, stood with his arms crossed.
He stared blankly at the river of torchlight and armor moving down the mountain in the sunset. His face, perpetually shrouded in a ghostly shadow, was exceptionally solemn.
"What are you looking at, old ghost? You're so gloomy every day."
A somewhat sharp, effeminate voice sounded as Yue Guan walked over with a mysterious, hip-swaying gait.
"I say, since you just came out of seclusion, can't you be happier? No matter what, we're about to become Titled Douluo!"
"What are the Holy Maiden and those Elders going to do?" Gui Mei asked, his voice a hoarse whisper, ignoring the congratulations.
Yue Guan pondered for a moment, preening. "It seems that a few months ago, Sea God Island resisted being reorganized, which caused His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff to erupt in thunderous anger. He is preparing to send troops to conquer them."
He then scoffed, "Tsk. Those guys from the Elder Palace always used to flaunt their Titled Douluo strength in front of us. When we also obtain our ninth spirit ring and become Titled Douluo, let's see what they'll have to say."
Thinking of the glory they would have after becoming Titled Douluo, Yue Guan couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.
The two of them possessed an extremely powerful Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the Two Extremes Forbidden Domain. During their Spirit Douluo period, they already held a position in Spirit Hall no less than that of ordinary Elders.
After becoming Titled Douluo, their status would only be higher.
Even the Supreme Pontiff had privately told them that in recent years, to integrate the Spirit Master forces of the Douluo Continent, he would issue a Papal Decree. It would be distributed to the strongest Spirit Master organizations on the Douluo Continent that possessed Titled Douluo.
Each organization would occupy one pattern on the decree, while Spirit Hall alone would occupy two.
If the two of them could advance to Titled Douluo before the decree was issued, then they would have a place on it. This was enough to show Qian Xunji's high regard for them. And this would also signify the exalted status they would achieve in Spirit Hall in the future.
Gui Mei continued to ask, his voice pulling Yue Guan from his reverie, "I remember the High Priest didn't approve of His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff's proposal at that time, did he?"
High Priest Qian Daoliu was the only person in Spirit Hall who had truly entered Sea God Island.
After he and the previous Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Chen, returned from Sea God Island, Tang Chen soon stepped down from his position as Sect Master, and High Priest Qian Daoliu also gradually began to retreat behind the scenes.
Gui Mei had a premonition. That place was extremely dangerous.
"They went as two of the three strongest men in the world," Gui Mei thought, "and one abdicated, while the other went into hiding. And that is the place the Supreme Pontiff wishes to conquer? With four Titled Douluo?"
It was madness.
"Shh! This is not something we should inquire about." Yue Guan whispered a reminder, his face suddenly serious. "The High Priest has been in seclusion for many years, not caring about worldly affairs. This matter is being done by His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff behind the High Priest's back. Otherwise, why would he specifically choose this time to send troops, while the High Priest is in deep meditation?"
Gui Mei sighed lightly, a sound like dry leaves skittering on stone. He said no more.
As the expedition team completely descended the mountain, he unfurled his body and swept down Supreme Pontiff Mountain.
Yue Guan was stunned and quickly chased after him.
"Old ghost, where are you going?"
"To hunt for a spirit ring."
In the darkness, the voices of the two echoed.
Sunset Forest.
In the afterglow of the setting sun, Qin Xuan and Jingni stood in an open area of scattered rocks, facing each other thirty paces apart.
At this time, Qin Xuan had already refined the Immortal Herbs and absorbed his 100,000-year spirit ring.
Because the Looking Through Autumn Water Dew only amplified mental force, and the Fiery Apricot Delicate Soft and Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass focused on improving physique, even with the 100,000-year spirit ring's enhancement, Qin Xuan's spirit power stopped after soaring to Level 75.
However, his mental force and physique had been enhanced to an unprecedented, monstrous degree. They had reached a level not inferior to a Level 95 Titled Douluo.
He was, by every definition, a monster. A Spirit Saint with the body and mind of a High Priest.
At the same time, due to the influence of the 100,000-year seventh spirit ring, Qin Xuan's Slaughter God Domain and Vermillion Bird Domain finally evolved.
There was nothing much to say about the Slaughter God Domain; all roads led to the same destination, and it was not much different from Tang San's in the original work.
The Vermillion Bird Domain, however, had already evolved once before acquiring the seventh spirit ring.
It was named: Vermillion Bird Sword Array.
The skill was similar to Sword Douluo's sixth Spirit Ability, Myriad Swords Returning to the Sect. With the Vermillion Bird as the center, it released the Vermillion Bird Flame, forming thousands of flaming flying swords. Hitting targets would cause violent, chain-reaction explosions—a super-powerful area-of-effect attack skill.
After absorbing the seventh spirit ring, the Vermillion Bird Domain evolved again.
It was named: Vermillion Bird Purgatory.
This was a true, world-changing domain.
Within the Domain, his fire attribute would increase by fifty percent. All other attributes would increase by ten percent.
It would suppress the opponent's fire attribute by eighty percent, and all other attributes by twenty percent. It would grant immunity to all poisons.
Within the Domain, enemies could not use any stealth skills or instant transmission skills.
At the same time, it would generate mental deterrence, increasing his own mental force intensity by twenty percent and weakening the opponent's mental force intensity by twenty percent.
The entire area covered by the Domain would be filled with the Vermillion Bird Flame, with extreme temperatures capable of incinerating all enemies. If used in war, it would be a catastrophic presence for ordinary soldiers or Spirit Masters below the same realm.
It was, in every sense, a portable hell.
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