Swish, swish—
Only after Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er carried the unconscious Hu Liena and sped past did the howling wind finally resound, startling awake the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King that had been hanging upside down beneath the narrow path.
In the next instant, six red glows lit up in the darkness—it was the six massive bat eyes of the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, now wide open.
Something just passed by?
The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King looked dazed, staring into the darkness with its six large eyes, trying to detect any anomalies.
However, after a long while, it found nothing unusual. Without moving from its spot, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King slowly closed its eyes again and returned to its slumber.
For the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, sleeping was the best way to pass the time.
At the same time, as the Bat King continued to sleep, Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er, carrying the unconscious Hu Liena, encountered the second trial of Hell Road.
Shui Bing'er casually glanced at the distance and spotted a strange serpent, over ten meters long, coiled around the narrow road, sleeping.
She initially intended to ignore it, just as they had with the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King.
However, she was surprised to see that Mu Yang had slowed down, adjusting his flight speed as he approached the slumbering serpent.
Unlike the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, which didn't drop any loot, the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent was a great find.
Its inner core was a precious treasure of immense value.
In the original story, Tang Buddha obtained this core, and in the end, Ma Hongjun refined it as his seventh soul ring.
Of course, the soul ring itself wasn't the most important part—the key was that after refining the inner core, Ma Hongjun awakened a martial soul talent domain.
Mu Yang's Iceflame Sacred Shadow Martial Soul had already awakened domain power, and his Icefire Immortal Jade Ginseng Martial Soul was a food-type soul, making the presence or absence of a domain mostly irrelevant.
Moreover, since the inner core of the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent was purely fire-attributed, Mu Yang found it useless for himself.
However, just because it was useless to him didn't mean it was useless to others.
Whether he gifted it to his cousin Huo Wu or his cousin Huo Wushuang, there was a chance it could help them awaken a martial soul talent domain.
As for giving it to Shui Bing'er?
The conflict between ice and fire attributes would make losing control far more likely than stimulating her Ice Phoenix Martial Soul to awaken an Ice Phoenix Domain.
It simply wasn't worth the risk.
With a hint of regret, Mu Yang glanced at the sleeping Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent before directly activating Soul Capturing Secret Art.
Since he was overwhelmingly stronger, in an instant, the consciousness of the sleeping Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent was altered and controlled, turning it into a temporary servant.
"Where did you come from, kid?"
Mu Yang asked the newly awakened Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent.
Of course, he didn't speak in human language, which the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent wouldn't understand. Instead, he used spiritual communication to convey his intent.
According to the original story, Tang Buddha believed the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent to be an ancient species from the Great Desolate Era, meaning it might not even be a soul beast native to the Douluo Continent.
Mu Yang was curious about its origins.
"Croak, croak—"
Faced with Mu Yang's question, the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent looked confused, its snake eyes filled with bewilderment, and let out a sound similar to a frog's croak.
"You're saying you don't know?"
Mu Yang frowned and asked again.
"Croak, croak—"
This time, the response was affirmative.
"Alright, then hand over your inner core!"
No longer dwelling on its origins, Mu Yang directly demanded the inner core.
In the next instant, the Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent arched its body on the narrow path. The nine mushroom-like tumors on its back shattered simultaneously, and nine streams of golden-red liquid shot into the air, merging into a single mass before condensing into a golden-red sphere the size of a fist, which slowly floated down.
With a wave of his hand and a pull of his soul power, the golden-red sphere landed in Mu Yang's palm before he stored it in his soul tool storage bracelet.
"You did well. I'll let you go."
Glancing at the weakened and sluggish Ten-Headed Fierce Sun Serpent, Mu Yang remarked before flapping his wings and flying back to Shui Bing'er's side.
Seeing this, Shui Bing'er couldn't help but feel curious, though she wasn't the type to ask questions about everything, so she remained silent.
Moreover, she could sense that the golden-red sphere contained pure fire attribute energy. While refining it could greatly enhance soul power, it was not suitable for her ice attribute soul.
As they progressed forward, the narrow path drew closer to the boiling blood river below. The scorching heat in the air grew stronger, making it increasingly uncomfortable.
"Mu Yang, something's wrong with Hu Liena. Could she be getting her brain fried?"
Noticing that Hu Liena's exposed skin had turned pink, and the white ripples emanating from her body showed signs of instability, Shui Bing'er asked with concern.
Hearing this, Mu Yang glanced at the searing blood river, which was now only thirty meters below the narrow path, and reminded her, "Cool her down with some ice. Let's speed up. We should be close."
Mu Yang had previously consumed the Blazing Apricot Delicate, granting him fire immunity. Shui Bing'er, possessing the Ice Phoenix Martial Soul, could withstand high temperatures while in martial soul possession.
However, Hu Liena was different.
If she stayed in this environment for too long, she really might suffer brain damage. If she ended up a fool, things would turn disastrous—Bibi Dong, that madwoman, might take revenge.
As for the evil aura permeating the surroundings, it wasn't a major issue. As long as Hu Liena's killing intent didn't spiral out of control, it wouldn't cause any permanent harm.
"You're right, you're right~"
Shui Bing'er hurriedly channeled her soul power, forming a thin layer of ice on Hu Liena's body, attempting to cool her down.
Swish, swish—
At the end of Hell Road, two figures streaked through the air.
"Is that the exit of Hell Road?"
Seeing the white, oval-shaped light screen suspended in midair near the ceiling, Shui Bing'er couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
The placement of the light screen was extremely peculiar.
Even though it was still a thousand meters away, the narrow path had already vanished long before reaching it.
What lay before them was a vast, searing blood-red sea—the lifeline-like narrow path had long been submerged beneath it.
Without a doubt, this thousand-meter distance was an insurmountable chasm for ordinary trial takers.
'This Hell Road really lives up to its name!'
Shui Bing'er couldn't help but feel a surge of relief.
Fortunately, she and Mu Yang could fly.
Otherwise, to cross this thousand-meter gap, they would've been forced to wade through the blood lake.
And the churning blood lake below wasn't just scorching hot—it radiated an evil aura capable of eroding the minds of those undergoing the trial.
If someone fell in, they would likely lose themselves entirely, ultimately devoured by the lava-like blood lake.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
Patreon. Com/ALLISWELL123