Chapter 71: Dugu Yan
Early morning.
The sun had just risen, and morning dew awaited the daylight.
Heaven Dou City, Vast Sea Grand Hotel, luxury suite.
Zhou Chen walked out of the bedroom and entered the living room, where he happened to meet Zhu Zhuqing, who had just woken up and stepped out from the neighboring room. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.
"Didn't you say we were going to the Sunset Forest?"
Being stared at by Zhou Chen, Zhu Zhuqing felt too shy and could only lower her voice to change the topic.
"The Sunset Forest isn't as beautiful as our Zhuqing," Zhou Chen said gently as he leaned close to her ear.
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing blushed even harder and covered her pretty face, yet her heart felt sweet.
"All right, let's eat breakfast first, then head to the Sunset Forest," Zhou Chen said with a smile, casually pulling down the golden bell in the living room.
This was a standard feature of a luxury hotel. Once the bell rang, a hotel steward would come to serve the guests.
Soon, after the two dressed neatly and finished the breakfast delivered by the attendants in the living room, they left the hotel and headed toward their destination, the Sunset Forest.
The Sunset Forest lay a hundred li east of Heaven Dou City and was one of the largest wild soul beast forests on the Douluo Continent, containing many high-level soul beasts.
At this moment, Zhou Chen and Zhu Zhuqing had already arrived at the edge of the Sunset Forest.
The two exchanged a glance, circulated their soul power, lightly tapped their feet, and drifted more than a hundred meters through the air, entering the forest.
As soon as they stepped inside, lush greenery and the fresh fragrance released by the trees rushed toward them, refreshing their minds and lifting their spirits.
"The forest is so huge. Which direction should we go?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, blinking her large eyes as she looked at the boundless dense woodland.
"Wait a moment," Zhou Chen said.
He casually wrapped an arm around Zhu Zhuqing's slender waist and silently said in his heart, "System, display the God Realm Prison map of the Douluo Continent."
"Ding… retrieving data, please wait."
"Ding… retrieval complete, displaying."
As the system's voice fell, a massive pale-golden light screen appeared before Zhou Chen, displaying a virtual three-dimensional map of the Douluo Continent.
At the location of the Sunset Forest on the map, there was clearly a circular marker crossed with a red symbol. That was precisely the location of the abandoned God Realm Prison.
"System, activate navigation positioning."
"Ding… activating. Activation complete!"
In an instant, Zhou Chen's vision changed. A blue virtual navigation line appeared ahead, stretching continuously for hundreds of li.
Clearly, by following this navigation line, they would be able to find the God Realm Prison.
"This road is really long," Zhou Chen complained.
"What?" Zhu Zhuqing asked in confusion.
The surroundings were filled with towering trees and dense shrubs. There was no road in sight.
Without the system, she naturally could not see the map or the navigation line.
"It's nothing. I've found the way," Zhou Chen said with a smile.
He tightened his arm around Zhu Zhuqing and said gently, "Hold on tight. I'll take you flying."
Before his words even finished, the ancient and dignified golden Xuanyuan Sword shot out from the center of Zhou Chen's brow and rapidly expanded, becoming large enough for two people to ride upon.
Zhou Chen held Zhu Zhuqing and stepped onto the sword. With a sharp whoosh, the two transformed into a streak of golden light, tearing through the sky and shooting deep into the forest.
At the same time.
Somewhere within the Sunset Forest.
An old man was leading a young girl, strolling leisurely through the forest.
The old man had green hair and beard, a sharp expression, and wore a tight-fitting armor of brilliant green. Paired with his spear-like lean frame, he exuded an imposing aura.
With his hands clasped behind his back and eyes closed, the old man walked in front, while the young girl followed behind him, lively and energetic.
The girl appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old, with delicate features. Her dark purple short hair gave her a heroic air, and most striking of all were her emerald-green eyes, which greatly enhanced her charm.
"Grandfather, we've been walking for so long and still haven't found a suitable thousand-year soul beast. We've been searching for over an hour," the girl said as she stepped forward, grabbed the old man's hand, and acted spoiled.
Hearing this, the old man did not open his eyes. He gently stroked the girl's head with a thin yet broad hand and said warmly, "Yan'er, don't be anxious. To become an outstanding soul master, one must have enough patience."
"For your third soul ring, it would be best to find a snake-type soul beast over two thousand years old, and it must carry potent poison. That's not easy to find."
"Cough, cough!"
At this point, the old man coughed lightly and cleared his throat, preparing to properly lecture his granddaughter.
However, just then, a tremendous sound of wind tearing through the air suddenly came from above, causing the old man to open his eyes instantly.
Like the girl, the old man's eyes emitted a dark green glow. He raised his head and saw a streak of golden light slicing across the sky, flying toward the deepest part of the Sunset Forest.
Others might not have been able to see clearly due to insufficient strength, but the old man saw it distinctly.
It was a young man and a young woman, standing atop a golden ancient sword, flying through the air.
"What a powerful sword-type martial soul!" the old man exclaimed in admiration.
Within that golden ancient sword seemed to reside a certain pressure. Even from such a distance, he could feel the overwhelming and majestic dominance within it.
It was undoubtedly a top-tier tool-type martial soul.
"Could it be a descendant of Chen Xin of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" the old man mused as he stroked his beard.
However, that golden ancient sword seemed vastly different from Chen Xin's Seven Kill Sword.
"Grandfather, what was that golden streak just now? Was it a soul beast?" the girl asked curiously as she looked up at the sky.
Hearing this, the old man shook his head and said gently, "It was two children. Their talent is quite good, even better than yours."
"People? A flight-type martial soul?" the girl said in surprise.
After all, flight-type martial souls were extremely rare.
But soon, dissatisfaction rose within her. What did he mean by their talent being better than hers?
As a soul master who had broken through to level thirty before the age of fifteen, Dugu Yan did not believe there were many people in this world with greater cultivation talent than herself.
"Grandfather, saying that about your own granddaughter is damaging the reputation of you, the Poison Douluo," Dugu Yan pouted unhappily, tugging at the old man's arm in protest.
Seeing his only descendant persistently acting spoiled, the old man known as the Poison Douluo shook his head helplessly. He pulled the girl into his arms and said with a laugh, "All right, all right. Grandfather was wrong. Yan'er's talent is the best."
Only then did Dugu Yan happily bury her head in the old man's embrace.
"All right, it's almost noon. Grandfather will hurry and take you to hunt a soul beast. Tonight we'll return to Heaven Dou City and go to the imperial palace to eat a royal banquet that only the Heaven Dou Emperor gets to enjoy, all right?"
"Great! I want charcoal-grilled swan meat!" Dugu Yan exclaimed.
Hearing her grandfather's words, Dugu Yan immediately jumped with joy, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she smiled.
End of Chapter.
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