Chapter 17: Light Is the Purpose of Shadow, Shadow Is the Destination of Light

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The Ming Dou Great Forest lay almost at the very southernmost tip of the entire continent.

Although it was early spring, there was not the slightest chill in the night air. The temperature was considerably higher than in the vicinity of Shrek City.

Ye Xixuan and Zhang Lexuan sat facing each other in a patch of overgrown weeds, meditating and cultivating as they restored themselves to peak condition.

In the past, the Ming Dou Great Forest had merely been one of the wild soul-beast habitats within the Star Luo Empire. In terms of scale, it had not even rivaled the Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City. However, after the Sun Moon Continent collided with the original Douluo Continent, the Ming Dou Great Forest happened to become connected to several mineral veins on the Sun Moon Empire’s side that contained strange energies. As a result, many extremely aggressive mutated soul beasts began to emerge there.

Over thousands of years, those mutated soul beasts had multiplied and grown, expanding their range of activity severalfold. It now encompassed the mineral veins of the Sun Moon Empire as well as part of the Ming Dou Mountain Range.

The Ming Dou Great Forest had since grown to half the size of the Star Dou Great Forest. Moreover, the mutated soul beasts it produced were often especially well suited to the needs of soul masters with certain special martial souls. Nevertheless, the Ming Dou Great Forest ultimately lacked sufficient foundations. The number of high-level soul beasts within it could not compare with that of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The night sky in the southern reaches of the continent was exceptionally clear, with stars scattered across its vast expanse, seeming both within arm’s reach and impossibly distant.

A layer of glimmering white light shone from Zhang Lexuan, while black radiance flowed across Ye Xixuan’s body. Black and white brilliance reflected one another.

Drawn by the resonance of their auras, the two opened their eyes at the same time. Their gazes met.

Moonlight poured down from the night sky, wrapping Zhang Lexuan’s delicate figure in a veil of pale silver. It lent her an ethereal, cool beauty. Seeing the slightly dazed expression on Ye Xixuan’s face, a gentle smile touched the corners of her lips.

“What is it?”

“Sister Lexuan, you’re beautiful.” Ye Xixuan was startled for a moment before offering his heartfelt praise.

Admiration for beautiful things was human nature. Though he was still young, he could not help being drawn to certain things.

This stirring of the heart in his youth would remain unforgettable for the rest of his life. It would even directly influence his inclinations regarding relations between men and women in the future.

The look Zhang Lexuan gave Ye Xixuan grew gentler, but she did not forget to remind him of the precautions he would need to take after entering the Ming Dou Great Forest.

“Although our martial souls can display greater power at night, we are not the only soul masters with this trait. Some soul beasts can do the same. This is your first time entering a wild soul-beast habitat, so remember never to stray too far from me. Your safety must come first. Xixuan, do you understand?”

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“Yes, Sister Lexuan.” Ye Xixuan nodded solemnly.

Just as Zhang Lexuan had said, their martial souls and abilities were not hindered by the night. Instead, they were even enhanced by it. That was why they intended to venture into the Ming Dou Great Forest that very night and see what opportunities they might find.

Zhang Lexuan thoughtfully handed Ye Xixuan some dry rations and water.

“Eat something first, then rest for a while. Adjust yourself to your best condition.”

A quarter of an hour later, the two formally entered the Ming Dou Great Forest.

The moment Ye Xixuan approached the forest’s outer reaches, a thick stench of decay assailed his senses. Heat and humidity surged toward him.

The massive, dense canopy overhead blocked out the starlight, leaving the surroundings pitch-black. Not a trace of light could be seen. Perhaps only during the day was there any degree of visibility here.

This was the greatest difference between the southern soul-beast forests and other soul-beast habitats. Under the region’s year-round high temperatures and abundant rainfall, the environment was exceptionally harsh. As plants and the corpses of soul beasts decayed, poisonous miasma could fill every corner.

“Stay close to me, Xixuan.” Zhang Lexuan gave him a stern reminder as she released her martial soul.

Suddenly, the space behind her lit up. A bright crescent moon appeared, suspended in the air as though hanging from the treetops. The moment it emerged, it illuminated everything around them.

Under the moonlight, Zhang Lexuan’s skin appeared crystal-clear and flawlessly pale, giving her an otherworldly air.

To release one’s martial soul without manifesting one’s soul rings required an extraordinarily powerful command of that martial soul. Only soul masters of exceptional talent could accomplish it.

Ye Xixuan followed closely at Zhang Lexuan’s side, likewise releasing only his martial soul.

The shadow beneath his feet was not the shadow cast by his body. Instead, it formed an irregular shape and seemed faintly to be spreading outward. Gloomy and deathly still, it appeared to lead into another world.

This was the original form of his martial soul, Heart Demon Shadow. His first soul skill, Condensed Shadow, was merely the manifestation of this void-like shadow in the material world.

Bathing in the moonlight of Zhang Lexuan’s Silver Moon martial soul, Ye Xixuan’s aura visibly grew stronger. It was as though an invisible force were continuously merging into his body. The shadow beneath him slowly extended outward, covering a greater area. At the same time, an even more profound chill seemed to be added to the Silver Moon above Zhang Lexuan’s head, and the moonlight it emitted became increasingly bright and pure.

The complementary effect of their martial souls had been tested countless times. After all, the moon existed only in darkness.

Their relationship was like that of inseparable light and shadow: light was the shadow’s origin, and shadow was the light’s final destination.

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At present, Ye Xixuan’s abilities were primarily limited by the enormous disparity between his soul-power cultivation and Zhang Lexuan’s. Once he truly matured in the future, if the two joined forces in battle, they might possess a terrifying power that was not a martial-soul fusion skill, yet surpassed one in might.

After traveling deep into the Ming Dou Great Forest for some time, Ye Xixuan and Zhang Lexuan suddenly stopped at the same moment.

A figure charged directly into the area illuminated by the moonlight.

It was a massive soul beast shaped like a crocodile. It was not especially enormous, measuring just over three meters in length, but it had four eyes on its head and four sturdy limbs as thick as barrels. Its most distinctive feature was the layer of black armor covering its entire body. Each plate was about the size of a palm and looked extraordinarily tough.

With a calm expression, Zhang Lexuan introduced it to Ye Xixuan. “This is a Scale-Armored Beast. It should have a thousand years of cultivation. Scale-Armored Beasts possess tremendous strength and excel at close-quarters combat. Relying on their astonishing defenses, they can virtually ignore the soul skills of most soul beasts at the same cultivation level.”

Naturally, this Scale-Armored Beast posed no threat to them.

What truly surprised Ye Xixuan was that the outer reaches of the Ming Dou Great Forest seemed to contain very few weak soul beasts. Every one they encountered was a thousand-year soul beast. He could not tell whether the environment within the Ming Dou Great Forest was simply too harsh or whether the competition was too fierce.

At that moment, Zhang Lexuan suddenly pulled Ye Xixuan into her arms.

Following her gaze, Ye Xixuan saw the Scale-Armored Beast abruptly halt. Though it struggled frantically, its body seemed to have solidified, unable to move even an inch. Then an invisible force dragged it into the darkness.

Two yellow, two purple, and three black soul rings—the optimal configuration of seven soul rings in all—rose from beneath Zhang Lexuan’s feet and began to flash one after another.

Immediately afterward, a faint silver mist rose into the air. Silver light radiated from her beautiful eyes as her soul power and aura began to climb at an astonishing speed. The crescent moon above her head gradually expanded, developing toward the form of a full moon.

Against the backdrop of that faint silver mist, Ye Xixuan was horrified to discover countless densely interwoven silver threads filling the space around them.

“This is…”