Chapter 413: Soul Triple (Middle)

The pink Chun Ge hung high in the sky, shedding warm and gentle light.

Spring has arrived, all things revive, and it is once again the mating season for the animals.

Male birds spread their golden feathers and danced gracefully around the females.

Bear‑like beasts nuzzled the females' necks, low snarls declaring that the nearby females were already claimed.

Damned you, what place have you turned my Divine Court into?

Zhang Xingyu shouted curses, yet felt helpless against these creatures.

If the Ruyi Shooting Sun Bow still existed, I would shoot each of you one by one and turn you into barbecue.

Crack!

A half‑foot crack split open in a dried‑up Divine Sea seabed, and a fiery red beam shot straight into the void.

The light swirled and danced in the void, gradually revealing its true form.

Ruyi Shooting Sun Bow.

At this moment, the Ruyi Shooting Sun Bow radiated dazzling golden light from its back, its string blazed with fierce flames, and even the originally jet‑black arrows were seared bright red.

It circled Chun Ge three times, then gently hovered in front of him.

The bow's back curved, the string half‑drawn, the fiery red arrowhead flashing with a sharp cold gleam.

An arrow flew out.

Awoo!

A pair of golden jiaos performing a passing‑down motion suddenly turned into skewers of meat.

The flames on the arrow seared the jiao dragons.

Butter dripped, its fragrant aroma filling the air.

Ding dong, congratulations host, you have obtained 1000 God Yuan Value points.

The system's long‑absent cold mechanical notification sound rang again over the Divine Sea.

One arrow, two arrows, three arrows.

Crimson light danced, every arrow hit true.

Although birds and beasts occasionally burst from the void, they could not withstand the overwhelming power of the Ruyi Shooting Sun Bow.

In less than a quarter of an hour, more than half of the birds and beasts in the Divine Court had vanished.

Zhang Xingyu's irritation faded considerably, and the small boat sprang up with a splash, leaping out of the sea.

He dared not linger, grabbed the wooden oar, and forcefully rowed backward.

The wooden boat gradually drifted away from the shore, heading toward the orange‑red sun, slowly sailing deeper into the Golden Sea.

Along the way, golden seawater continuously flowed along the hull into the boat, then transformed into myriad creatures that dove into Zhang Xingyu's Divine Court.

In the Divine Court, the Ruyi Shooting Sun Bow worked incessantly, while the Divine Sea overflowed with golden divine fluid.

After chasing the sun for a day, the wooden boat halted in the night.

No sun, no moon, no starry sky.

In the darkness, unable to tell east from west, Zhang Xingyu did not wish to wander forward blindly.

Within the Divine Court, Chun Ge still hung high in the sky, illuminating the entire court with a dazzling glow.

In the void, birds and beasts continuously burst forth from all directions.

Perhaps because night had fallen, these emerging creatures differed greatly from those that came during the day.

These birds and beasts were entirely black, and their temperaments seemed extremely irritable.

They paired off and tore at each other in the Divine Court, occasionally emitting deep roars.

Compared with the daytime's soft sounds, this roaring further irritated Zhang Xingyu's mood.

The Ruyi Shooting Sun Bow fired repeatedly.

Black smoke rose, a foul stench assaulted the nose.

Ding dong, congratulations host, you have obtained 1000 God Yuan Value points.

The system's cold mechanical notification sound rang continuously over the Divine Sea.

Zhang Xingyu felt dizzy and his head swelled.

Am I poisoned? he thought.

Most likely these black birds and beasts are poisonous.

But since he began cultivating, he has become immune to all poisons.

He could not understand, but he knew that if things continued like this, the situation would become seriously dire.

To leave this place, one must first leave this place.

But it is night; what if we take the wrong direction?

Right. Chun Ge.

Chun Ge, come out.

He shouted in his mind.

With a swoosh, a pink sun burst from his brow, illuminating the surrounding pitch‑black sea.

Chun Ge, we need to go to a place with sun; can you lead the way?

Chun Ge leapt joyfully in the air.

Zhang Xingyu suddenly understood. The sun is Chun Ge's mother. With mother‑son bloodline linked, Chun Ge could certainly manage.

Chun Ge led the way, continuing onward.

The wooden oars flapped, and the small boat moved briskly.

In the blink of an eye it was a day, and then another day followed.

One day after another, one month after another, one year after another.

Wrinkles crawled onto his forehead, his eyes filled with the passage of years. Zhang Xingyu watched himself slowly grow old. But he was not panicked, nor did he stop.

In his heart there was only one thought: I want to follow the sun, I want to catch up to the sun.

For some reason, he always felt that only where the sun shines is where he wants to stay.

Another endless long night.

The bean-sized Spring Brother stubbornly led the way ahead.

It no longer shone with brilliant light. It too had grown old. In the face of time, who could avoid aging?

Will we grow old and die? Spring Brother asked its master.

Everyone will grow old and die. Zhang Xingyu replied.

Are you afraid of death? Zhang Xingyu asked Spring Brother.

Who isn't afraid of death? Spring Brother replied.

Thus, Spring Brother and its master fell silent.

The oars still paddled lightly, and the small boat still moved inch by inch.

When the sky showed the fish-belly white of dawn, Spring Brother's light went out. It fell with a soft pop into its master's arms.

Master, I can't go on. It said.

Being a man, you can't say you can't. Its master said.

But...

Spring Brother very much wanted to say, I have no strength left, I am about to die.

But just then, a blazing red sun leapt from the sea, bathing the entire golden ocean in a crimson glow.

Spring Brother felt warm all over.

I can still live a little longer, it thought.

Just then, a soft call came to its ears: 'Quick, look, the beach!'

Far off, Zhang Xingyu saw a stretch of golden beach. On the beach, a white-clad elf was running back and forth.

Even with dim, aging eyes, even from far away, he still recognized that white-clad elf.

She was Gu Yuyao.

Gu Yuyao was busy rescuing people.

On the beach lay a line of people, all companions who had come to this beach together with her.

Last night, as everyone was about to rest, a mournful, plaintive voice suddenly sounded in their ears.

"The past is gone, frozen tears shed across the sky. Flowers bloom and fade year after year, time withers the beauty of faces......"

Accompanied by this mournful ballad, a small boat slowly emerged from the night sky, gently docking at the shore.

On the boat sat a white-bearded old man, who looked to be at least a hundred years old.

This old man moored the small boat at the shore and, gesturing to them, said softly: 'By order of the master, please come as guests.'

Gu Yuyao and her senior brothers and sisters stared at each other. This old man's appearance was too abrupt. They were about to speak and refuse, but the old man kindly said to them: 'Esteemed guests, do not hesitate; please board the ship at once.'

How strange—after hearing the white-bearded old man say that, no one could muster the thought of refusing. Everyone stepped onto the beach, passed through the barrier, and boarded the small boat. The boat looked small, but its interior was spacious. A large crowd sat inside without feeling cramped. Everyone looked around, and when they turned back, they saw Zhang Xingyu lying alone on a stone, snoring loudly.

Oh no, Zhang Xingyu hasn't come! Just as the people were about to speak, the old man already lifted the oar.

The small boat gave a gentle turn, then drifted away from the shore, gradually disappearing into the vast night.

"Grandpa, we still have one person who hasn't boarded; please stop for a moment." Gu Yuyao and Tang Yunxi stepped forward together to plead with the helmsman.

The white-bearded old man paid no heed to their pleas; he raised his head and simply strained to pull the oar.

Gu Yuyao was still pleading, but Feng Qingyu beside her tugged hard at her sleeve.

"Don't beg, he can't hear."

Gu Yuyao raised her head, her pupils dilated, and her small mouth could no longer utter a word.

In her pupils was reflected a deathly pale face, hollow eye sockets, nostrils upturned, high cheekbones with two rows of pitch-black teeth arrayed on either side.

This white-clad elder had obviously been dead for a long time.