Wilderness: I Tame Beasts to Survive

Chapter 432: Chapter 291: Brutal, Part 2

Great plumes of smoke rose from the deep crater. Vaguely visible through the haze was the massive form of the Jade Aurora Dragon... and, cradled in its embrace, a figure drenched in blood.

"Quick! It’s the Qing Dou Leader! Get him out of there!"

Before Han Ning could even finish speaking, Qingyao and the other Jade Dragons beside him released a gentle wave of Spiritual Energy, pulling the Jade Aurora Dragon and Qing Dou from the crater and setting them gently on the ground.

The Jade Aurora Dragon’s Body looked relatively normal, showing no signs of severe injury. However, its Spiritual Fluctuations were extremely faint, and it failed to respond to the greetings in the Dragon Language from the other members of the Dragon Race.

Qing Dou, however, who was cradled in its embrace, was in a much more ghastly state. His already rugged, lizard-like head was caked with blood, and his body below the chest had vanished without a trace—a situation strikingly similar to what had happened to Nia.

Instantly, several rays of gentle healing light enveloped the Jade Aurora Dragon and Qing Dou as the surrounding Soul Beasts each cast their healing Soul Techniques to help them recover.

"Father!"

Qing Fan, who had rushed to the scene, pushed through the crowd of Soul Beasts. He and a dozen other high-ranking members of the Dragon Blood Race all gathered around Qing Dou.

Qing Fan’s call finally roused Qing Dou.

The leader of the Dragon Blood Race, who was curled up and seemed to be unconscious, suddenly twitched his tightly shut eyelids before opening his eyes.

"Qing Fan... COUGH, COUGH..."

Qing Dou coughed violently, spitting up mouthfuls of dark, bloody phlegm. He then turned his gaze, scanning the crowd before his eyes finally landed on Han Ning. He spoke in a weak tone.

"Take me back into the city first... Han Ning, I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright. Everyone, head inside!"

...

In a spacious hall, Qing Fan carried Qing Dou and laid him on a soft bed that had been hastily brought in.

The shrunken Jade Aurora Dragon lay on the other side of the bed, its draconic eyes closed. Its chest rose and fell faintly, its breathing erratic—sometimes heavy, sometimes slow—a clear sign of its extreme weakness.

Seven or eight high-ranking members of the Dragon Blood Race and the humans stood silently by the bed. Their expressions varied, but each face was tinged with unease.

After resting for a while, Qing Dou finally recovered some of his Physical Strength. He propped himself up against the edge of the bed, pointed at the listless Jade Aurora Dragon, and said,

"Flowing Light’s Body contains the Residual Soul of our ancestor, Lord Akatos. Han Ning... you are an expert in Spiritual Secret Techniques. Please, see if you can separate the ancestor’s Residual Soul."

’A Residual Soul? No wonder the Jade Aurora Dragon seems so weak. It’s housing an existence even more powerful than its own Spiritual Power.’

With this realization, Han Ning did as Qing Dou asked. He walked over to the Jade Aurora Dragon, extended his Spiritual Power, and scanned the area around its brain.

His brow furrowed involuntarily.

"I can sense two different Spiritual Auras... and both are extremely weak."

"Given Lord Akatos’s current spiritual state, I can’t extract his Spiritual Body. Even if I could... there’s no suitable vessel to place it in. It would be better to let him remain inside the Jade Aurora Dragon until we find a proper Soul Nourishing vessel for the transfer," Han Ning advised.

"Will they be in any danger?" Qing Dou asked, concerned.

"The Jade Aurora Dragon should be fine for a few days... As for Lord Akatos... his Spiritual Body is already incomplete. On top of that, he is a Soul Beast, and the Spirituality of a Soul Beast’s Spiritual Body is inherently weaker than a human’s, which will make his recovery very difficult."

"A vessel..." Qing Dou’s expression shifted. "I remember, before Lord Akatos’s physical Body vanished, he told me... that Life Seed he gave you is also his Power Seed. It is the culmination of his insight into Soul Force. He said that if he was fortunate enough not to perish completely, his Residual Soul should be transferred into the Life Seed... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

Finishing the long string of words sent Qing Dou into another violent coughing fit.

"The Life Seed? You mean this?"

Han Ning felt around his waist pouch and pulled out an unremarkable, pea-sized seed.

To be honest, he hadn’t noticed anything special about the seed when he first received it.

Seeing the confused look in Qing Dou’s eyes, Han Ning knew the leader wasn’t sure either. He held the Life Seed in his hand and decided to try using the method for drawing out a Residual Soul from the Taiyin Soul-Vibrating Technique to pull Akatos from the Jade Aurora Dragon’s Body.

Having two Dragon Souls in one Body for an extended period would affect the host Soul Spirit’s Spiritual World.

A gentle stream of Spiritual Power, like a pair of giant hands, pulled at Akatos’s illusory Residual Soul, separating it from the Jade Aurora Dragon’s Body.

In that instant, all Beast Masters at Tier Three or higher saw it clearly: a phantom image of a Jade Rock-Splitting Dragon was pulled by some mysterious force into the Life Seed in the palm of Han Ning’s hand.

As Akatos’s Residual Soul entered it, the emerald-green seed flashed with a faint light before once again becoming an unremarkable-looking pea.

"Cough... Han Ning, you’re an expert at Soul Nourishing. Lord Akatos will have to stay with you for the time being. I’m entrusting him to you..."

As Qing Dou spoke, he staggered, trying to move his half-severed Body to perform the Dragon Blood Ceremony for Han Ning.

"Don’t! Qing Dou Leader, that’s not necessary. Lord Akatos is the savior of us all. It is our duty to help him recover his Life."

Han Ning quickly stopped Qing Dou, then steered the conversation to the matter that concerned him most: the High Priest.

"What exactly happened on the surface? I heard from Qing Fan that the High Priest, Barry, is actually one of the Alataku People?"

"Barry..."

At the mention of the name, Qing Dou’s gaze turned frigid.

"He’s the one. He’s the one who caused our ancestor’s death. Barry was originally a Guardian Knight who served the Duke of Night Nether. Even within the strict, hierarchical Alatake Clan, he held a noble title and could be considered Upper-echelon, a man of high status and great authority... I don’t know why he didn’t leave the Insect Continent with the other Alataku People, but instead became the High Priest of the Queen’s Divine Hall."

"After the Barrier was shattered, Lord Akatos unleashed his stored Soul Technique prematurely. In doing so, he also destroyed Barry’s Eye of Fear, creating a slim chance of survival for me and my Contracted Soul Beasts. It was only during the retreat that I learned the price of that premature attack: Lord Akatos had to burn more than two-thirds of his own Divine Soul."

"In our ancestor’s original plan, he was only supposed to lose his physical body and Spiritual Energy. He would have been able to leave a complete Dragon Soul behind to escape with me. Then, later, we could have found an opportunity for him to undergo Nirvana Rebirth, a Talent unique to High-Level Jade Dragons. But now..."

Hearing Qing Dou’s account, the Dragon Blood People around him grew furious.

But it was an impotent rage. Apart from shouting a few helpless curses, they could do nothing to change the situation.

"And what about Barry?" Han Ning asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I’m not sure. The Eye of Fear he worked so hard to summon was torn to shreds by our ancestor’s Soul Technique, so he must have sustained serious injuries as well. I estimate... he won’t be coming to trouble us for a short while. However... reality has taught me that events rarely unfold as I expect them to," Qing Dou said with a long sigh.

Han Ning fell silent.

’Talk about suffering a double loss.’

Come to think of it, that Undead Jellyfish Shield was a real treasure. Deployed around the Gray Demon Whale, it would have provided excellent defense against the spatial storms outside.

Now that it was lost on the outskirts of the Jade Forest, they would likely never get it back.

"Father, why did the Barrier suddenly collapse?" Qing Fan, who had been silent until now, finally pointed out the crucial question.

"What do you think? Obviously, there was a traitor within the Jade Forest," Qing Dou snorted.

"The Cangyuan Turtle? It was that old tortoise?" Qing Fan snarled, slamming his fist on the stone table.

"Who else could it have been?"

Having spoken for so long, the spiritually weakened Qing Dou began to look listless again. He rubbed his forehead, forcing himself to rally his energy.

"The entire Jade Forest and more than a third of the continent’s surface were destroyed by the Soul Technique Lord Akatos released. That old tortoise was probably vaporized by the Spiritual Energy. If you want to settle the score with it, you’ll have to go to the Netherworld."

"But enough about that... Qing Fan, my spirit has been grievously wounded. My periods of consciousness will be limited from now on. I’m leaving the affairs of the Dragon Blood Race to you and the elders to handle..."

"And Han Ning... I suggest we leave the Insect Continent within ten days—no, five days. Barry definitely saw the direction I fled. I fear he’ll find his way here soon. We must act quickly!"

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