The underground World of Sea God Pavilion.
A harmonious aura of light and rich life force enveloped Zhu Ziyang's body, and a tranquil atmosphere purified his mind, allowing him to immerse himself in an unprecedented state of emptiness. All his thoughts were so clear and profound, and his ideas became incredibly lucid.
He had been meditating in this underground World for a month. A month ago, his Reign Over The World reached a bottleneck, so Mu En had him enter the underground World to find his own path. According to Mu En, to truly master Reign Over The World, he had to find his own way, understand what he wanted, and only then could he truly form a 'momentum,' a Reign Over The World unique to him.
Zhu Ziyang had time for the first time to thoroughly sort out everything he possessed.
All his Spirit Abilities, all his capabilities, all his powers, had been sublimated and enlightened during this month.
His path also gradually became clear.
The mysterious and unknown Great Bright Art? The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe with Ultimate Light and Power of Death? The Heavenly Frost Sacred White Dragon with Ultimate Ice and Dragon King bloodline? The Power of Destiny from two great auspicious Spirit Beasts? The Undead Magic from Electrolux? Or was it that equally mysterious and unpredictable Super Library?
These were all the abilities Zhu Ziyang currently possessed. However, there was only one thing that could truly serve as his foundation!
Zhu Ziyang's thoughts became unprecedentedly clear and transparent. The Great Bright Art pushed aside other abilities and finally stood before him, proclaiming its existence to him.
He thought he had already found the final answer.
The Great Bright Art, this mysterious cultivation method, was his path!
His path was the vast and righteous light, the glorious sun at its zenith. It was a grand aspiration to transcend all beings, pity the common people, cleanse heaven and earth, pacify the World, and save lives. It was the true ruler of the human World!
This was his Reign Over The World!
—
In the Sea God Pavilion hall, Mu En was lying on a wooden chair, leisurely fanning himself.
Suddenly, his cloudy eyes opened, and a trace of joy and relief appeared on his face. He murmured, "This is truly humbling! Is this the path you chose? Good child!"
Footsteps approached from a distance, and a figure entered the hall, walked to Mu En's side, and respectfully called out, "Grandmaster!"
It was Zhu Ziyang. A month of deep meditation had made his demeanor much more composed, and a faint smile always lingered on his face.
"Very good! To fully master Reign Over The World in a year and a half, you are even more outstanding than I expected! Haha!" Mu En was extremely satisfied, and the smile on his old face never faded. "None of your four Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters can compare to you. The future of Shrek depends on you!"
"Grandmaster, leave it to me." For the first time, Zhu Ziyang clearly expressed his thoughts to Mu En, his smile unwavering.
"Hahahaha, good! You've truly grown!" Mu En laughed heartily and said, "Let's go. You go rest for a night, and then go out and play with that girl Nannan. I won't delay your vacation!"
"I understand, Grandmaster." Zhu Ziyang replied, then turned and left the Sea God Pavilion.
In front of Zhu Ziyang's dormitory, Jiang Nannan was playing with Xingcai. When she saw Zhu Ziyang, she immediately cried out in surprise, "Brother, you're out of seclusion!"
"Yes." Zhu Ziyang walked up to her, reached out and stroked her hair, and didn't forget to pat Xingcai's head, saying, "Is the Outer Courtyard dismissed? Why are you here now?"
"Oh, the Outer Courtyard has been on vacation for half a month already, Brother. You haven't gone muddled from your seclusion, have you?" Jiang Nannan's pretty face showed a trace of helplessness when she heard Zhu Ziyang's words.
"Uh, right! It's already vacation." Zhu Ziyang also suddenly realized. He had gone into seclusion after Jiang Nannan's birthday. More than a month had passed, so wasn't it vacation now? No wonder Mu En said he wouldn't delay his vacation! It seemed he was truly too engrossed in his cultivation. He forced a wry smile.
"Brother, are we still going home this year?" Jiang Nannan asked.
"Let's not. We won't go back this year. Brother will take you to a good place!" Zhu Ziyang thought for a moment, and a place name suddenly popped into his mind. After some consideration, he thought it feasible and said.
"What kind of place?" Jiang Nannan's face showed curiosity.
"I won't tell you yet. You'll know once we find that place." Zhu Ziyang kept her in suspense, smiling mysteriously.
The place Zhu Ziyang was talking about was actually the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After his seclusion, with all his abilities integrated and unified, his strength had greatly increased, and his confidence was also a few points higher than before. His spirit power level had now reached 45, but his combat power was far from being measurable by his spirit power level. With Reign Over The World and Undead Magic, his methods were enough to deal with ordinary Spirit Kings, and even if he encountered a Spirit Emperor, he could retreat calmly.
At the same time, Jiang Nannan had also reached the Spirit Ancestor realm, and after absorbing her spirit ring, her spirit power broke through to level 41. The Taiyin Jade Rabbit's innate ability was perfect for finding places like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, which were full of spiritual herbs.
So, why did Zhu Ziyang suddenly want to find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well? The reason was simple: he had unintentionally found a book in the library, a book titled "Secrets of Ice and Fire," which recorded the reasons for the formation of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
It was said that beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay the corpses of two of the Dragon Clan's nine great Dragon Kings, the Ice Dragon King and the Fire Dragon King. Both Dragon Kings were god-level existences. Even after their deaths, their remains still contained vast energy. This energy dissipated and gathered in the soil near their remains, and over time, it formed a blessed land like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Zhu Ziyang couldn't discern the truth of this legend, but he couldn't resist the temptation of the Ice Dragon King's remains. His Heavenly Frost Sacred White Dragon Spirit possessed a certain Ice Dragon King bloodline. If he could obtain the Ice Dragon King's remains, even if it was just a skeleton, the help it would provide him would be immeasurable! What's more, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well also had so many rare treasures. Even if he didn't find the Ice Dragon King's remains, it would still be completely acceptable!
Therefore, he made the impromptu decision to search for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
However, he didn't act rashly; instead, he prepared to find helpers. There was a ready-made 'tool person' in Shrek Academy who definitely also wanted to find the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and perhaps even more so than Zhu Ziyang.
This person was none other than Yan Shaozhe, who had just finished his seclusion and was already a 96th-level Titled Douluo!
During this year, Ma Xiaotao's evil fire problem had become increasingly severe, each time requiring Zhu Ziyang to use Ultimate Ice to alleviate it. However, each time Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was suppressed by Ultimate Ice, it would recur even more severely the next time. This temporary solution, which did not address the root cause, made Yan Shaozhe's hair turn gray. He forbade Ma Xiaotao from continuing to cultivate, and only then did things improve significantly.
If Yan Shaozhe knew the location of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he would undoubtedly rush in regardless of the consequences to find the legendary Phoenix Cockscomb Sunflower to treat Ma Xiaotao's Spirit defect.
So, when Zhu Ziyang found Yan Shaozhe the next morning and explained his intentions, he agreed without hesitation.
And so, Yan Shaozhe and Cai Meier, husband and wife, took Zhu Ziyang and Jiang Nannan, left Shrek Academy, and rapidly headed towards the Sunset Great Forest.
Outside the Sunset Great Forest, two men and two women descended from the sky.
"Junior Brother, are you sure the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is really in this Sunset Forest?" Yan Shaozhe looked at the vast, sky-obscuring miasma in the distance and couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.
"Senior Brother, I can't say for sure, but you should have heard that the Sunset Forest was not a miasma forest before, but a Spirit Beast habitat, right?" Zhu Ziyang said.
"I have heard something about that." Yan Shaozhe nodded thoughtfully, then speculated, saying, "You mean someone deliberately transformed this forest into a miasma forest?"
"That should be it." Zhu Ziyang said.
"To transform such a large forest into a miasma forest, it's probably not something one person could accomplish!" The more Yan Shaozhe thought about it, the more he felt there was a problem with this forest, and the more he felt he had come to the right place. He said, "This is probably the work of a major power, and the purpose is to prevent others from entering the forest! There must be something hidden inside!"
"It's very likely the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well!" Zhu Ziyang echoed.
"Exactly! Eight out of ten it's the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well! Only the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would be worth such a grand effort to hide!" Yan Shaozhe's eyes shone brightly, and he was already eager to rush in.
Cai Meier and Jiang Nannan looked at Yan Shaozhe and Zhu Ziyang, who were echoing each other, and couldn't help but exchange glances, both smiling wryly.