"How are we supposed to bring these dragon souls with us?" Gu Yuena asked. Although this place was ideal for cultivation, they couldn't stay here forever — it was time to leave."There's no way to take them right now," Yun Ze replied. "Their souls are unstable. The only reason they've been able to exist for tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of years, is because of this small spatial pocket."
"If we take them out directly, without the support of this pocket space, their souls will collapse very quickly."
"I need to first craft containers capable of preserving and nurturing their souls. Only then can we take them out."
"Until then, they have to remain here inside this small space," Yun Ze said.
"I see. I'll tell them," Gu Yuena nodded, then turned toward the distant group of dragon souls. Smiling softly, she said, "You'll need to stay here a while longer."
"Once we've made something that can safely hold your souls, we'll take you out of here."
"Roar…!" The group of dragon souls let out low, resonant growls, expressing their willingness to obey.Seeing that none of them objected, Gu Yuena nodded in satisfaction and looked back at Yun Ze. "Then let's go for now."
As she spoke, she released her martial soul. A silver elemental staff appeared in her hand, and she pointed it toward the sky.A silver vortex appeared high above, space rippling violently as a spatial passage rapidly expanded.
After absorbing the Dragon God's soul, she had become the ruler of this small world, able to freely enter and exit.In the future, when her power was strong enough, she could even move the entire pocket space — but for now, she was too weak to manage that.
A powerful suction burst from the swirling vortex, drawing both of them upward until they disappeared into the passage.
"Roar—!" The dragon souls roared in unison, bidding them farewell. Long after the two had left, the valley finally quieted again.
Outside, on a mountain peak, the ground was covered with all sorts of metallic instruments. Over a dozen people in Tang Sect uniforms were busy at work.
"Old Li, still no way to open the Dragon Valley passage?" a white-haired, white-bearded elder asked.
The man addressed as Old Li was also an elder — about the same age and strength. Both were senior figures in the Tang Sect.
Li Qing shook his head with a sigh. "No luck. If our precision instruments hadn't detected faint spatial fluctuations from a pocket dimension, I'd have thought Dragon Valley had truly collapsed."
Hearing this, Feng Yuan also sighed, disappointment flashing across his face. "Keep trying. We must open the passage to Dragon Valley."
There were far too many treasures in Dragon Valley — abandoning it outright would be unbearable.
A few months ago, after the great upheaval, the Tang Sect had sent experts in spatial research to investigate.They needed a definitive answer — if Dragon Valley had truly collapsed, that was their misfortune and they would have to accept it.But if it was merely disconnected and still existed somewhere, they had to find a way back in.
To know that a vast treasure vault existed and not seek it out would be sheer foolishness.
Fortunately, they had some luck. Careful examination revealed that Dragon Valley still existed — only the passage to it had somehow closed.
As long as it existed, there was hope. And to regain access, they were willing to spend months, years — even decades if necessary.After all, the valley contained countless dragon bones — each one priceless beyond measure.
To locate the Dragon Valley space, they had dispatched over a hundred soul masters, and this mountain peak was just one of their research stations.
"Old Li! Old Feng! Something's happening — come look!" a researcher suddenly shouted excitedly.
The two elders' gazes sharpened. They immediately rushed over and asked in unison, "You found the entrance?"
Other researchers, drawn by the commotion, also hurried over.
"According to the readings, Dragon Valley's space has connected to ours!" the researcher said, pointing at the display.
"Where?" Li Qing and Feng Yuan again spoke in perfect sync, each grabbing one of the researcher's arms in excitement.
Too thrilled to even notice the pain in his arms, the researcher peered closer at the readings."Southwest direction, about two kilometers from here — the spatial passage has opened!"
As he finished, the instruments began flashing wildly, and his voice rose in pitch.
Everyone immediately looked southwest — a silver vortex had appeared in the distant sky, rippling with intense spatial energy.
"Let's go!" Li Qing and Feng Yuan shouted, flying toward the silver vortex at incredible speed, wind howling behind them.
"What's that over there?" On another mountain, other Tang Sect researchers also noticed the swirling light.
"A spatial passage! Let's go check it out!" someone exclaimed in delight.
From within the vortex, Yun Ze and Gu Yuena slowly emerged. Both had wings unfurled, allowing them to hover in midair.
Now that they were out of the small space, they could once again use their martial souls and soul power — Yun Ze immediately condensed a pair of wings from energy.
"Trouble's coming," Yun Ze said, glancing toward two fast-approaching elders.
Gu Yuena also spotted them and frowned slightly. Just out, and already trouble… what bad luck.
The two elders halted about two hundred meters away. Upon seeing the pair, both looked visibly startled.
"Who are you? Why did you come out from Dragon Valley?" Li Qing barked sternly, his tone unfriendly.
Everyone who had previously entered Dragon Valley from the Tang Sect had long since withdrawn — none were missing.So these two definitely weren't Tang Sect disciples.
And if they weren't, yet had emerged from the valley — then the matter demanded investigation.
It was entirely possible that the strange events in Dragon Valley were somehow connected to these two… or to the power behind them.
"These two… look familiar," Feng Yuan muttered, frowning as he tried to recall where he'd seen them before.
"What's it to you who we are? And what's this Dragon Valley you're talking about? I don't understand," Gu Yuena replied coldly.
Since they were being so rude, she had no reason to be polite either.
"Watch your tone, girl," Li Qing snapped. "If you keep talking like that, don't blame me for teaching you what it means to respect your elders!"
A mere teenage girl daring to speak to him like that — outrageous.
He released a wave of oppressive soul power toward Gu Yuena, intending to put her in her place.
Gu Yuena took the full brunt of it, her gaze turning icy. "Old man," she said coldly, "I'd love to see if you're actually capable of that."
"What an arrogant little girl," Li Qing's face darkened. "So young, yet already so conceited."
Still, he couldn't hide his surprise — this girl had managed to withstand the pressure of a Soul Sage-level aura.
(End of Chapter)