Ye Tian's expression suddenly became alert.
Xiao Wu scratched her head in confusion and glanced toward the snoring Titan Giant Ape nearby.
Only then did she realize that she and Ye Tian were surrounded by the Titan Giant Ape's skill.
Xiao Wu walked up to the cage, her soul rings lighting up in succession as she struck it twice.
However, due to her weak cultivation, all she managed to do was scatter some dust.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu opened her mouth helplessly and called out:
"Er Ming, stop sleeping! What's going on here?"
Hearing Xiao Wu's voice, the slumbering Er Ming jolted awake.
He immediately stood up, stepping forward with his strong strides to the cage, excitedly exclaiming:
"That's great, Sister Xiao Wu, you're awake!"
As he spoke, he didn't forget to cast a disdainful glance at Ye Tian. "If I hadn't arrived in time yesterday, this guy Ye Tian might have tried something on you."
"Huh? No way."
Xiao Wu pouted and knocked Er Ming on the head.
"Don't talk nonsense. Ye Tian isn't that kind of person. Hurry up and unlock the cage."
Seeing Xiao Wu defend Ye Tian, Er Ming snorted through his nostrils, giving Ye Tian another cold glance.
Still, his hands moved quickly.
Stretching out his powerful arm, he simply smashed the Titan Cage apart with brute force.
After breaking the cage, Er Ming leisurely walked up to Ye Tian.
With a threatening tone, he said, "Ye Tian, hurry up and confess your crimes before Sister Xiao Wu!"
"I can still spare your life for treating her injuries."
"Otherwise, I'll throw you into the Lake of Life to feed the fish!"
"Aiya, Er Ming, I think you should go patrol the Lake of Life instead."
Xiao Wu frowned slightly and pulled Er Ming away from Ye Tian.
She then turned to Ye Tian with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Er Ming is too reckless."
"It's fine." Ye Tian waved his hand, not interested in engaging too much with the Titan Giant Ape.
Seeing Ye Tian completely ignore him, Er Ming's anger grew by another three points.
Pointing his strong arm at Ye Tian, he demanded,
"What, you won't even admit what you did?"
Then, turning to Xiao Wu with a displeased look, he asked, "Sister Xiao Wu, have you fallen for Ye Tian? Why do you keep speaking up for an outsider?"
Hearing this, Xiao Wu was momentarily stunned.
Then, her eyes widened as she pinched Er Ming's ear, scolding him in frustration:
"What nonsense are you spouting? Ye Tian is a guest! Is this how you treat guests?"
She admired Ye Tian at most, but there was no romantic feeling involved.
"Ouch, ouch!"
Er Ming realized he had said something wrong.
This was the first time in five years that he had seen Sister Xiao Wu take action.
He had thought that after years of training in the human world, Sister Xiao Wu had tamed her fiery temper.
But it seemed she was still the same Soft Bone Enchantress as before.
"This should teach you a lesson."
Xiao Wu let go of his ear, rubbing it a little before turning her head.
That's when she noticed the skull in Ye Tian's hand.
Fragments of memory from before she lost consciousness surged back into her mind.
"I remember now! Last night, a golden light shot out from the skull, and then I blacked out."
"Oh right, Ye Tian, you asked me before about the cracks on the skull. What do they mean?"
Xiao Wu walked up to Ye Tian and asked in confusion.
Ye Tian handed the skull to Xiao Wu and hinted, "Look at the cracks. Don't they resemble a map of the Star Dou Forest's core region?"
With this reminder, Xiao Wu quickly searched her memory regarding the central area.
She wasn't great at reading maps, but she had traveled every path in the core region thousands of times.
Her instinctive memory surfaced bit by bit.
Xiao Wu's pupils gradually widened. "Now that you mention it, it really does resemble it!"
"This central crack… isn't this the outline of the Lake of Life?"
"I know this place best."
"But it's a pity that the Lake of Life is shrouded in mist year-round. A clear view of it only appears once every few years. Ye Tian, I'm afraid you won't get the chance to see its full appearance."
Hearing Xiao Wu's confirmation, Ye Tian felt more confident in his thoughts.
He looked up at Xiao Wu and asked, "Last night, the golden energy entered your body. Do you feel anything different now?"
Xiao Wu closed her eyes and examined her dantian. Then, she opened them and shook her head in confusion.
"Nothing special."
But just as she spoke, she suddenly contradicted herself, "No, wait! My soul power has increased by about half a level."
With no precise measuring instruments nearby, she couldn't be sure exactly how much her soul power had risen.
But one thing was certain—it had increased.
An entire night's improvement was equivalent to a month of her regular training.
"Try circulating your soul power through your body for a full cycle," Ye Tian suggested.
"Alright." Xiao Wu nodded lightly.
She sat cross-legged, forming hand seals and concentrating on her cultivation.
As the energy flowed through her, her expression shifted from calm to doubtful, then to shock.
"My… cultivation speed seems to have increased, but half of the newly absorbed soul power is being drawn into my right arm!"
With this strange balance, her overall training speed was actually slower.
How could this not shock Xiao Wu?
She quickly raised her right hand and removed the pink-purple wristband.
To her surprise, a dark golden and silver intertwined twin-dragon tattoo appeared on her wrist.
"Ah!"
Startled, Xiao Wu shook her arm frantically.
Nearby, Er Ming thought a large bug had crawled onto her hand.
He angrily stepped forward, growling, "Which blind insect dares to act up in front of Sister Xiao Wu?"
But when he got closer, he realized it was actually a tattoo.
That only made him even angrier. His embarrassed expression turned into a scowl directed at Ye Tian.
"Speak up! Was this your doing? I saw you poking at that skull with golden needles yesterday!"
"You must have secretly tattooed this onto Sister Xiao Wu!"
Ye Tian was speechless.
This Titan Giant Ape really blamed everything on him.
Shrugging, Ye Tian said, "I don't have that kind of ability."
"It's not his fault," Xiao Wu also defended him.
Then, she stretched her arm out toward Ye Tian and asked dejectedly, "Ye Tian, do you know what caused this?"
Xiao Wu felt extremely frustrated.
If this tattoo was going to steal half of her cultivation gains every time she trained, her mental state might collapse.
Ye Tian carefully examined her arm.
To be honest, this gold-and-silver dragon pattern was something he had never seen before.
But despite that, he already had a vague suspicion.
It was most likely related to the Dragon God.
According to the legends of the Douluo Continent, a million years ago, all soul beasts were ruled by one supreme being—the Dragon God.
Later, the Dragon God waged war against the Divine Realm, only to be split in half by a God-King's sword.
The golden half, which inherited strength, was sealed in the Divine Realm.
The silver half, which inherited elemental power, secretly hid itself in the Douluo Continent.
(End of Chapter)
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