Chapter 267: The Secret of the Deities

Ning Feiliu's speed was very fast; before long, he saw the outer perimeter of the Sunset Forest.

Yet, he was slightly surprised, because...

The outer perimeter of the Sunset Forest had actually changed its appearance.

The original Sunset Forest, not to say it was particularly gloomy, had nothing to do with a beautiful and peaceful natural forest.

Now, however, it was completely different; one could see dozens of pale pink flowering trees in the outer forest, crisscrossing with the original green trees.

They were precisely Spirit Blossom Trees.

Although their quantity was still somewhat small compared to the original green trees of the Sunset Forest, they embellished and harmonized the scenery and atmosphere of the Sunset Forest just right.

The current Sunset Forest was like nature's palette, shrouded in pink magic, as if the original green jungle had been covered with a layer of delicate pink mist.

As Ning Feiliu stepped into the forest, the first things to catch his eyes were those Spirit Blossom Trees; their flower buds were a continuous stretch of pink, like petals blooming under the sunset glow.

Sunlight filtered through this thin curtain of leaves, casting mottled light and shadows, pink and warm.

The air was permeated with the faint fragrance of Spirit Blossom flowers; sniffing carefully, it felt like the fresh scent of a young girl's hair, making one unable to help but be intoxicated.

It gave off an aura of peace and tranquility, and the aura of Soul Beasts they emitted was entirely that of ten-year-level plant-type Soul Beasts.

Ning Feiliu was actually quite surprised; he had only left the Sunset Forest for a few years, and not only had so many Spirit Blossom Trees been planted in the Sunset Forest.

But these Spirit Blossom Trees had become ten-year Soul Beasts in such a short time? However, in truth, on the Douluo Continent, a Soul Beast's age did not entirely represent its cultivation.

In the Douluo trilogy, a bunch of Soul Beasts had cultivation levels of one hundred thousand years or even higher without having reached one hundred thousand years of age.

Bi Ji, Di Tian, the Dark Demongod Tiger, and even Tianmeng Ge were good examples; as long as they were born strong enough, or had "Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure" to devour, even ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts could transform into one-hundred-thousand-year or million-year Soul Beasts.

Looking at it this way, the Spirit Blossom Trees would definitely be top-tier Soul Beast quality in the future, and cultivating them would surely yield twice the result with half the effort.

Of course, even for top-tier Soul Beasts, growing up required the accumulation of thousands or tens of thousands of years.

Time was always the ultimate shackle for Soul Beasts; later on, there were also the Heavenly Tribulation and the shackles of the Dragon God's testimony to godhood.

In short, on the Douluo Continent, Soul Beasts were a tier lower than human Spirit Masters; their cultivation speed was slow, they were easily hunted by Spirit Masters in the early stages, and there was also predation by fellow Soul Beasts.

It could be said that it was very difficult for them to grow up.

The most classic example was the Fairy Spirit Grass that accompanied Wan Yao Wang; no matter how strong its talent was, or its potential to become a one-hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, it was directly devoured by Wan Yao Wang.

Therefore, the idea of Soul Beasts helping each other that Xiao Wu thought of was, in itself, a joke.

Soul Beasts not only had to guard against humans, but also other Soul Beasts.

Humans only hunted Soul Beasts at most when they needed to obtain a Soul Ring.

Usually, Spirit Masters from large factions, especially the Spirit Hall of this era, even deliberately protected Soul Beasts from being wantonly slaughtered by Spirit Masters.

So in this era, Spirit Masters were actually the ones protecting Soul Beasts.

On the contrary, Shrek Academy during the Douluo II period and the Spirit Pagoda during the Douluo III period—one with the Secret Method Soul Bone and the other with the Spirit Soul Method—the former definitely intensified the conflict between Soul Beasts and humans, and the latter almost wiped out the Star Dou Great Forest.

However, the former was purely for Shrek Academy's own greed, and while Huo Gua's original intention for the latter was good, it brewed the worst results later on.

Ning Feiliu continued to walk forward; the further he went into the Sunset Forest, the more Spirit Blossom Trees he saw.

And among these Spirit Blossom Trees, colorful butterflies fluttered from time to time; the edges of their wings were actually permeated with a faint pink from the light of the Spirit Blossom flowers, blending into the surrounding environment as if they were elves in the forest, weaving between the flowers.

The ground was covered with fallen flowers, soft and delicate to step on, making a rustling sound.

The tree trunks were covered with green vines, which wrapped around the branches, occasionally poking out one or two tender green buds, dotting this pink expanse and adding a touch of vitality.

A small stream meandered through one end of the forest; Ning Feiliu looked over there, and the stream was clear to the bottom, even reflecting the pink world.

There were probably already hundreds of Spirit Blossom Trees in the Sunset Forest.

Needless to say, this must have been the result of Dugu Bo's efforts over these years.

Because of a single sentence Ning Feiliu said back then, that planting one thousand Spirit Blossom Trees could protect the souls of Dugu Xin and Duan Zilin.

So Dugu Bo had been planting trees like crazy all these years, truly becoming the most diligent gardener in the Heaven Dou Empire.

The purpose was naturally for his son and daughter-in-law.

However...

【Make one thousand Spirit Blossom Trees take root and bloom for the first time in this world to obtain the mysteries of the Spirit World.】

The small text of the task appeared before Ning Feiliu's eyes again, but it did not shatter into a reward and fall into his mind.

Therefore, Dugu Bo had still not completed the goal of planting one thousand Spirit Blossom Trees.

Suddenly, he felt a sense of guilt.

It seemed like he was exploiting his cheap teacher, and even feeling annoyed that Dugu Bo hadn't finished the task yet.

Clearly, he was the one who benefited from the task being completed.

But soon, Ning Feiliu cast this guilt to the back of his mind; he resumed his rapid movement, heading toward the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well in the center of the Sunset Forest.

Soon, he arrived in front of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

This time, Ning Feiliu directly took out the Fragrant Silk Luo Immortal Item; it could ward off a hundred poisons, and he directly opened the poisonous barrier on the outer perimeter of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Who is it?!"

Hearing this voice, Ning Feiliu smiled slightly and said, "It's me, Teacher!"

"You? Ning Feiliu?! You brat!" Dugu Bo, who happened to be tinkering with potions inside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, saw Ning Feiliu, and his originally frowning, unfriendly expression immediately turned happy.

But soon, he seemed to feel something was wrong, coughed, and returned to a somewhat serious and cold expression.

"Why have you been gone so long? You haven't returned in two years; where did you go?" Dugu Bo snorted coldly and said, "I thought you had died out there."

"How could that be? Didn't I write letters to you and the others to explain?" Ning Feiliu gave a dry laugh, then looked around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, only to find that Dugu Yan was not there. So he asked curiously, "Teacher... is Sister Yan not here? Where did she go?"

"Yan Yan is attending classes at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy." Dugu Bo shook his head and said, "Speaking of which, you brat, you've become much stronger again."

"I have lived up to expectations; your student is now at the Soul Emperor realm, level 66 soul power!" Ning Feiliu said with a smile.

In reality, his cultivation had stagnated for nearly a year in Slaughter City, but after this period of cultivation, he would soon be able to break through another level of soul power.

"What? A Soul Emperor? And level 66 soul power?!" Dugu Bo was full of surprise and said, "You brat is really... a monster."

"I just happened to encounter some opportunities." Ning Feiliu said with a smile, "First, Teacher, let me introduce you to... Xue Di."

At this moment, a powerful aura of ice and snow surged from within his body, and then a streak of snow-white light flashed by, landing beside him.

"This is..." Dugu Bo was instantly shocked and asked.

"This is my Soul Spirit, Xue Di," Ning Feiliu introduced solemnly. "She was transformed from a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast. Because I absorbed her Soul Ring and soul bone, I was able to directly increase my soul power to level sixty-six."

He had long since placed absolute trust in Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, so he did not want to hide the existence of Xue Di.

After all, if Xue Di were to appear to protect him or fight alongside him in the future, it would certainly be impossible to hide.

It was better to just explain it here; besides, Xue Di's strength was formidable, and even though Dugu Bo's strength seemed to have increased significantly, it still could not compare.

So, taking all these factors into account, Ning Feiliu felt it was better to introduce Xue Di to Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan directly.

It was not just Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan; after returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he would also need to introduce Xue Di to Ning Fengzhi, the Sword Douluo, and the Bone Douluo so they would know about her.

This would prevent them from being too surprised later on.

"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast? A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and soul bone?!" Dugu Bo was quite shocked now and said, "And what is a Soul Spirit?"

"It is a way to preserve a Soul Beast's strength and intelligence through a special method, turning it into a type of Soul Ring that possesses self-awareness," Ning Feiliu said. "And in the future, Xue Di can also follow me toward higher realms."

"Higher realms?" Dugu Bo was very curious and said, "Can she also improve as your strength improves?"

"You could say that, though it is not entirely the case," Ning Feiliu chuckled, then continued, "Actually... Teacher, have you ever thought about what would happen if we just keep cultivating our soul power, level by level, until we reach level ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine... and finally, level one hundred?"

"Level one hundred soul power? Even the level ninety-eight or ninety-nine soul power you speak of... I have never heard of anyone reaching that," Dugu Bo shook his head and said.

"No, Teacher, have you never heard of... the two peaks of the Spirit Master world?" Ning Feiliu said with a smile.

Logically speaking, Dugu Bo was of the same generation as the Sword Douluo and the Bone Douluo, and the Sword Douluo's father was of the same generation as Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu.

(According to the generational rankings in Douluo, Yu Xiaogang, Ning Fengzhi, and Tang Hao are of the same generation; Tang Hao's father, the Sword Douluo, the Bone Douluo, and Dugu Bo are of the same generation; the Sword Douluo's father is of a higher generation, which is why he challenged the stronger Qian Daoliu of his own generation.) Therefore, it was impossible for Dugu Bo not to know of the existence of Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu; it was still the same saying—a grandson might not know his grandfather, perhaps because the eras were too far apart.

However, it is basically very difficult for a child not to know of their father's generation.

Sure enough, Dugu Bo nodded, then looked at Ning Feiliu with some strangeness and said, "You actually know about such distant matters. That is correct, the Spirit Master world once had what were known as the two peaks: the First Generation Haotian Douluo Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect, and the Chief Elder of the Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu."

"The two of them could be called invincible in their time, having defeated every Title Douluo on the Douluo Dalu."

"In that case..." At this point, Dugu Bo's expression changed, and he said, "Could it be that they reached level one hundred soul power?"

"Ah, this?" Ning Feiliu was left speechless; how could Dugu Bo have such a wild imagination, thinking of level one hundred soul power?

However, in the original work, it seemed that the secret of becoming a god was known to almost no one.

Only those in the Spirit Hall and on Sea God Island knew this secret.

To put it plainly, one had to have the inheritance of a god; without it, ordinary people could never know what the subsequent realms were.

It was like scoring one hundred on an exam; they felt that scoring one hundred was just that, and it was absolutely impossible that scoring one hundred would turn one into a god.

Therefore, no one in the original work knew what level one hundred soul power meant, nor did they know what the realms beyond it were.

Hearing Ning Feiliu say this, Dugu Bo thought that Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu had reached level one hundred soul power, which was why they were invincible.

To put it plainly, people cannot imagine things beyond their own cognition.

Since Dugu Bo had never reached a realm above level ninety-nine, he would only think that reaching level one hundred soul power still meant being a Spirit Master, rather than becoming an existence like a god.

Thus, after his initial speechlessness, Ning Feiliu could understand.

He thought for a moment and began to explain to Dugu Bo, saying, "No, they did not have level one hundred soul power; they reached level ninety-nine. Because, Teacher... after reaching level one hundred soul power, one becomes a god."

"Become... a god?" Dugu Bo was stunned for a moment, then quickly swept his right hand across the Soul Guidance Device at his waist.

Suddenly, several bottles containing potions and pills appeared in his hand.

"Come, did you suffer some kind of shock while you were out? I have refined quite a few pills with therapeutic effects on the spirit over the past two years." He immediately prepared to force the potions and pills from the bottles into Ning Feiliu's mouth.

"No... Teacher, I am not joking," Ning Feiliu said helplessly, pushing away the medicine bottles in his hand and speaking seriously.

"Not joking? Those gods are just things that ordinary people and children would believe in; how could there possibly be gods in this world?" Dugu Bo frowned and said.

Ning Feiliu had not expected his cheap teacher to be such a staunch materialist.

On the contrary, he, a successor from a materialist world, was the one talking about gods and ghosts at this moment.

Yet, the ways of the world are truly unpredictable.

He chuckled and said, "Teacher, you might be mistaken. So-called gods are just slightly more powerful Spirit Masters or Soul Beasts; they are not such remarkable existences."

"And after level one hundred soul power, that is the realm of gods," Ning Feiliu said with a smile. "This is not my wild talk; it is a reality that has occurred."

He smiled and said, "Above this world, there exist those gods, and they govern all living things."

"And the reason Xue Di follows me and became my Soul Spirit is because it is very difficult for a Soul Beast to become a god, and she needs to rely on me to break through level one hundred so that we can become gods together," Ning Feiliu added, pointing at Xue Di beside him and speaking earnestly.

Suddenly, as Dugu Bo looked at Xue Di, he began to believe it somewhat.

(End of chapter)