Xu Zihuang gently brushed aside the strands of golden hair that had fallen across Ye Guyi's delicate face, staring at her in a daze.
Although ten years had passed since they last saw each other, upon closer inspection, he could still find some familiar contours on Ye Guyi's face. Especially those golden eyes.
From the expression on Ye Guyi's face before she fell unconscious, it seemed she felt the same way.
For various reasons, both of them had believed the other had long since perished. That was why, subconsciously, they considered this impossible.
The resentful spirits lingering in the underground chamber had, during this time, been completely cleansed of the evil and filth within their souls. Their originally ferocious and twisted faces became peaceful, gazing at Ye Guyi, who was leaning on Xu Zihuang's shoulder, with eyes full of gratitude and gentleness.
As each resentful spirit dissipated, they turned into faint golden specks of light that merged into Ye Guyi's body.
It was a special energy different from soul power and spiritual power, filled with a holy and pure aura.
Even though Xu Zihuang's martial soul was special and his spiritual power was strong enough, he could only vaguely sense these golden lights.
"So it's actually the power of faith. This world truly has its unique aspects. In the future, Guoyi might..." Old Yi muttered to himself in Ye Guyi's sea of consciousness.
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm hadn't reacted yet, but Xu Zihuang, as if stimulated by something, once again released his Golden Eyes martial soul and looked toward the spot between Ye Guyi's eyebrows.
After carefully scanning the surroundings, he withdrew his martial soul.
"Zihuang, relax. Bro is using spiritual power to monitor the surroundings. If anything happens, Bro will remind you immediately," Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's lazy voice sounded. It thought Xu Zihuang was worried that there were still unclean things in this underground hall or that someone else was approaching.
Then it chuckled and said, "But Bro still suggests you leave this place as soon as possible."
When Tianmeng Ice Silkworm fused with Xu Zihuang back then, it had only seen some fragments of Xu Zihuang's memories, and those fragments happened not to include the memory of the wing-shaped golden pattern on Ye Guyi's chest.
Although he was a little surprised that Xu Zihuang was so moved by Ye Guyi, whom he had only met a few times, he didn't think too much about it.
Men, sooner or later, will meet a woman like this. Just like how he once met Bingbing.
"Mm." Xu Zihuang nodded, his mind stirring slightly.
Was it my imagination?
For some reason, he had suddenly felt the presence of another consciousness just now, but it sank into silence in the next instant.
Old Yi, who resided in Ye Guyi's sea of consciousness, fell silent. Ever since this wisp of shattered divine sense arrived in this world, this was the first time his heart had such obvious emotional fluctuations.
"A divine power brand. This little guy's talent and fortune are truly astonishing. It seems the divine aura I sensed earlier is indeed related to this little guy."
On the other side, Nana had finished her final farewell to her parents' souls. Her eyelashes were still stained with a few crystal tears, covered in a layer of mist.
But she felt extremely relieved.
She was finally free.
With her eyes swollen red from crying, she came before Xu Zihuang, her knees softened, and she knelt once more.
"Master, thank you for helping me rescue my parents' souls and purifying the filth within them. This grace of rebirth, I can only repay with my entire life. From now on, I am willing to be an ox or a horse and serve you for life. If you do not need my service, I am also willing to end my life here. With my parents' matter resolved, I no longer have any attachments to this world. Although joining the Holy Spirit Cult was not my original intention, I was still a member of it. I am willing to wash away my sins with death."
Her eyes were filled with determination and resolve, making one have no doubt that she would really do it.
"Stand up. We'll talk after leaving this place." Xu Zihuang did not hypocritically refuse. Nana's experiences destined her to have absolute loyalty toward him.
Of course, he also understood that Nana more or less had her own thoughts.
With this Holy Spirit Cult branch altar destroyed, Nana would definitely be unable to return to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy that was connected to the Holy Spirit Cult. It would also be difficult for her to escape the Holy Spirit Cult's pursuit.
And since he came from Shrek Academy, he could provide her with protection.
A trace of joy appeared in Nana's eyes. She once again respectfully saluted Xu Zihuang before standing up.
"Thank you, Master."
Xu Zihuang slightly nodded, carrying Ye Guyi as he walked toward the outside of the underground hall. Nana hurriedly followed behind Xu Zihuang, a layer of new, life-like glow unconsciously appearing on her pretty face.
When they returned to the black circular building on the surface, several human-shaped black shadows remained. These were the traces left after those evil soul masters were purified by Ye Guyi's Sacred Angel martial soul.
Nana was relatively lucky. She had not used evil methods to cultivate and thus had not been tainted by filth.
Otherwise, her outcome might not have been much better than those evil soul masters. Just being enveloped by Ye Guyi's sacred light would have caused her serious injuries. And Ye Guyi might not have shown mercy as she did before, patiently listening to her story.
About half an hour after safely leaving the courtyard, Xu Zihuang and the other two arrived at a prosperous commercial district in Mingdu.
Their destination was one of the mid-to-high-end hotels in the area, Silver Moon Grand Hotel. It was said that this hotel had the backing of the Sun Moon Empire's imperial family.
But from his childhood memories, Xu Zihuang knew very well that the real owner behind the Silver Moon Grand Hotel was only a member of the imperial clan with thin imperial blood.
The Silver Moon Grand Hotel was not particularly eye-catching in Mingdu, and its class was decent, at least not a place anyone could stay.
It was precisely because of these reasons that Xu Zihuang chose this place.
The innate deadly poison of that Holy Spirit Cult branch altar elder's Sky Centipede martial soul was indeed somewhat troublesome. To prevent this Sky Centipede poison from affecting Ye Guyi's body, he needed to detoxify her as soon as possible.
Considering his current public special identity and the fact that Nana was also a famous figure at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, both of them had slightly disguised themselves.
This was exactly one of the courses he needed to learn in the Ultimate Soldier Plan.
Thus, Xu Zihuang, whose appearance had been altered, carried Ye Guyi into the resplendent lobby on the first floor of the Silver Moon Grand Hotel. Nana, dressed as a maid, kept her head lowered and silently followed Xu Zihuang one step behind.
Xu Zihuang deliberately acted like an arrogant noble young master, haughtily beckoning to the receptionist.
The receptionist, who appeared to be in his twenties but was very smooth in dealing with people, trotted over to Xu Zihuang and said with a flattering smile, "Young master, what do you need? Please feel free to instruct me."
"Give me your best room." Xu Zihuang glanced indifferently at the receptionist, took out a 1,000 gold soul coin card from his storage soul tool, and casually tossed it over.
The receptionist hurriedly caught it. After seeing the denomination on the gold card, the fawning smile on his face grew even wider.
"Young master, I'll handle it for you right away."
As he spoke, he quickly ran behind the front desk. Not long after, when he returned, he was holding a crystal room card.
In mid-to-high-end hotels in the Sun Moon Empire, many used daily-life soul tools. This room card functioned similarly to the identity card Xu Zihuang used to enter Mingde Hall. When placed against the door, the door would automatically open, and the various soul tools in the room also required this card to activate.
The receptionist probed, "Young master, shall I escort you, or—"
Before he could finish, Xu Zihuang impatiently interrupted him.
"I'll go by myself. Also, don't let anyone disturb me."
"Yes, yes, yes." The receptionist didn't dare ask more and respectfully presented the room card to Nana with both hands.
Watching Xu Zihuang and the others enter the soul elevator, the receptionist felt a wave of envy.
Ye Guyi was leaning against Xu Zihuang's chest, her face once again obscured by her golden hair, preventing him from seeing clearly. Of course, from beginning to end, he didn't dare overstep, fearing he would offend this noble young master.
But when handing the room card to Nana, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of her face.
Even though Nana had altered her appearance slightly, she was still charming and gorgeous. Her healthy wheat-colored skin, paired with those long, straight legs, gave her a wild beauty.
And Nana appeared to be merely a maid, so one could imagine how stunning the face of the young girl leaning against Xu Zihuang's chest must be.
But soon he restrained his emotions. Over the years, he had seen noble young masters who played even more extravagantly.
A mere one dragon and two phoenixes was nothing special.
Xu Zihuang and the others took the soul elevator all the way to room 801 on the top floor. The crystal door card had the number on it, making it easy to find.
Nana used the room card to open the door, then stepped aside to let Xu Zihuang enter first. She seemed to have completely entered her role.
The spacious room's layout was similar to the one Xu Zihuang had stayed in at the Star Luo Empire's Star Emperor Grand Hotel during the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. It had a bedroom, living room, balcony, and bathroom, everything complete. The total area was over a hundred square meters.
It lacked the antique decorations like relief murals found in the Star Emperor Grand Hotel, but it was equipped with various daily-life soul tools. For example, advanced floor heating tools, and in the living room, directly opposite the central sofa, there was even a large soul guidance screen.
These soul guidance screens could project live broadcasts from Mingdu's major auction houses and soul fighting arenas for entertainment.
Nana softly asked, "Master, do you need my help?"
"No need. You wait outside. After this matter is settled, I will make proper arrangements for you."
Xu Zihuang added another sentence, then turned and walked into the bedroom. He placed Ye Guyi on the bed and reminded Tianmeng Ice Silkworm in his spiritual sea.
"Tianmeng."
To detoxify Ye Guyi, he had to use the destructive attribute of his second martial soul. And this was Mingdu, Xu Tianran's home base, with the Holy Spirit Cult also present. He couldn't afford to be careless.
"Brother is here. Although my fighting ability is not strong, when it comes to using my mental power to perceive the external situation, no one can compare with me." Tianmeng Ice Silkworm responded immediately, saying proudly.
Xu Zihuang no longer hesitated. He directly placed his left hand on Ye Guyi's wrist and began using soul power infused with the destructive attribute to clear the poison from her body.
But after carefully sensing the characteristics of the Sky Centipede poison, he immediately recalled the deadly poison Wang Xiao had once suffered from, a poison from a Titled Douluo-level evil soul master's innate poison. The characteristics of the two were completely identical.
At this moment, combining the current information, a thought emerged in his mind.
The evil soul master who had pursued and killed his parents and severely injured Wang Xiao was very likely the Holy Spirit Cult's Second Elder, Sky Centipede Douluo Nangong Wan. And the Holy Spirit Cult branch altar elder they had just killed together with Ye Guyi was most likely Nangong Wan's descendant.
A Soul Sage-level Holy Spirit Cult branch altar elder's cultivation was far inferior to Nangong Wan's Titled Douluo realm.
Moreover, Ye Guyi's own Sacred Angel martial soul was powerful enough. She had used her fourth soul skill, Sacred Light Spirit Array, to block most of the poison.
Coupled with the fact that her sacred attribute, soul power, had subconsciously protected the important meridians in her body, the Sky Centipede poison had not invaded too deeply.
Perhaps once the soul power in Ye Guyi's body recovered, she could expel it herself.
In less than fifteen minutes, Xu Zihuang withdrew his left hand. His gaze fixed on the wing-shaped golden pattern on Ye Guyi's chest, his mind flooded with memories from before he was five years old.
From the moment he was born, he had shown his extraordinary nature. Although he had not yet awakened his past life's memories and thus could not be precociously intelligent, he was still much smarter than children his age and had nearly perfect photographic memory.
Therefore, even though ten years had passed, he could still clearly recall it.
It was also a night just like tonight. However, the night sky in the southern part of the Sun Moon Empire was far clearer and more vast than Mingdu's.
Every night, a golden-haired little girl who was only a few years older than him but deliberately acted like a little adult would quietly sit by his bedside, coaxing him to sleep and giving him endless love.
The full name of the golden-haired little girl was Yu Lingyi. She was the adopted daughter taken in by his parents and took his mother's surname.
When he was two, and Yu Lingyi was six, he discovered that for some reason, a wing-shaped golden pattern had suddenly appeared on her chest.
"Sister Lingyi, is the golden wing on your chest a tattoo?" The two-year-old him subconsciously reached out his still-chubby hand and touched Yu Lingyi's chest.
After a moment of hesitation, Yu Lingyi said gently in her childish voice, "That's a soul mark. When you awaken your martial soul at six years old, Zihuang, you might also have a similar mark. Doesn't Aunt Qing have a blue-purple lightning mark appear between her eyebrows when she uses her martial soul?"
"Then... what is Sister Lingyi's martial soul?"
Accustomed to the sound of Yu Lingyi's voice coaxing him to sleep, drowsiness overcame him. He asked this question vaguely and then fell asleep. Naturally, he did not learn the answer.
The memories stopped there because Ye Guyi had already woken up. Her golden eyes reflected Xu Zihuang's face.
Xu Zihuang simply gave her a gentle smile.
"Long time no see, Sister Lingyi."
Yes, Ye Guyi was none other than Yu Lingyi, who had accompanied him throughout his entire childhood.
Later, he continued to ask about Yu Lingyi's martial soul, but his parents had strictly forbidden it. And in his memories, Yu Lingyi seemed to have never revealed her martial soul.
Now, everything made sense. It had all been to protect Yu Lingyi, because back then, the Zihuang Prince's Mansion had already been targeted by evil soul masters.
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