Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

"They are drawing their swords and setting the rules," Moon said. "They are using the most powerful stance to declare their territory and sovereignty, severing the traditional path of hunting spirit rings that humanity has relied on for thousands of years."

He revealed the key point: "Then... they offered another path. A path that requires us to humble ourselves, take the initiative to reach out, cooperate, and jointly build a completely new order—the path of the soul."

"At the end of her letter, Xiaotong earnestly requested the academy, and indeed all human forces across the continent, to exercise maximum restraint and observe the situation," Du Busi interjected. "She said that the soul beasts would soon issue a formal 'response' addressed to the entire human world."

"And we," Moon's voice turned cold, "have already seen the prelude to this 'response.' The three major soul beast settlements are simultaneously sealing off their territories, and soul beasts of 100,000 years old are patrolling the borders... This is an undisguised display of force, and also their greatest source of confidence to sit at the negotiating table."

"Issue the order. In the name of the Sea God Pavilion and myself, Mu En, issue the highest-level emergency notice to the royal families of the four great empires of Heavenly Soul, Fighting Spirit, Star Luo, and Sun Moon, as well as all the top sects on the continent, revealing everything we know."

"Strictly order all parties to restrain their subordinates. All Soul Hunting teams must immediately withdraw and are prohibited from engaging in conflict with the patrolling Soul Beasts for any reason!"

"No force may act rashly until the Alliance of Beasts provides a formal response!"

As soon as the order was given, a senior official immediately took it and left, his figure quickly disappearing into the night outside the pavilion.

"Souls... the Alliance of Ten Thousand Beasts..." Xuanzi sighed deeply, "The times have truly changed. Changed so quickly and so thoroughly that even this old fellow can hardly see the road ahead."

"If you can't see it clearly, then look carefully and learn diligently," Moon said. "At least now we can see clearly where the eye of this storm of change sweeping across the continent is."

"In the Spirit Pagoda, in that child Yu Tong, and on this unprecedented path pioneered by Senior Electrox."

His gaze met that of Poison Undying once more. Both of them, standing at the pinnacle of the human world, saw the same determination and gravity in each other's eyes.

"Shrek," Moon said, emphasizing each word, "must never become a stumbling block to this era. We must stand at the forefront of this new era, understand it, adapt to it, and then... do everything in our power to guide it toward a bright future."

"Just wait and see," he concluded. "The storm has begun, and we at Shrek have been thrust into its eye. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, a chance to survive or perish, depends on how we handle this new and unknown era, ushered in by our finest student and her incredible allies."

……

Meanwhile, in the far north, deep within an ancient ice cave.

Guided by the Sea Princess's people, Bi Ji, Zi Ji, and Huo Yutong entered a huge natural ice crystal cave.

Inside the cave, a ghostly blue light flowed, but the scene was chilling. Dozens of sea princesses with human bodies and fish tails leaned weakly against the ice wall. Their fish tails, which should have been as bright as jewels, were now covered with hideous gray-black patterns. The black patterns writhed slowly like living things, constantly eroding their flesh and even penetrating their bones.

The most severely affected individuals had rotten bones exposed in their tail fins, with a lingering, dark aura of death emanating from them, exuding a cold and evil presence.

"This curse... is indeed extremely insidious." Brigitte leaned down, her finger hovering above a cursed pattern, her life sense probing meticulously. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. "It is not merely a poison to the body, but also entangles the soul, like a maggot clinging to the bone."

To eradicate it completely, both the physical body and the soul must be purified simultaneously. The slightest mistake will trigger a backlash, endangering the very source.

Beside her, a sea princess elder was on the verge of tears: "Our clan leader has been afflicted by this curse for over a hundred years. In recent years, his condition has deteriorated rapidly, and many of the clan's elites have been corrupted... We have exhausted all our inherited methods, but we can only barely delay the inevitable. It seems we will soon be unable to hold on any longer."

Brigitte did not respond immediately, but carefully took out an item from her storage soul tool.

It was a palm-sized crystal, a lustrous, emerald-green jade. The moment it appeared, the entire icy cave seemed to be infused with warmth, and a life force so rich it was almost tangible spread like a spring breeze and gentle rain. The faces of the nearest sea princess clansmen immediately regained a touch of color.

With this as the core, combined with the natural suppression of evil power by the eternal ice environment here, and Elex's supreme soul purification technique... this curse can be broken.

"The root of the curse is a sinister substance formed by the accumulation of the vast resentment of the dead and a trace of the rules of death," Electrox said. "It is like a poison ivy, its roots deeply embedded at the boundary between the body and the soul."

It requires the boundless vitality of the metal of life to forge its physical foundation; the extreme cold of eternal ice to imprison its spreading momentum; and the purest laws of light and purification to sever its soul's tendrils. All three must be synchronized; the timing and force must be precise, even by the slightest error.

A treatment plan was quickly agreed upon. Lisa was moved to a natural ice platform in the center of the cave, where the other members of her tribe, also afflicted with the curse, sat cross-legged around her, their hands linked together, their breaths subtly merging into one.

"start."

At Electrolux's command, Brigitte's eyes narrowed, and a vast amount of soul power surged into the Life Gold in her hand!

"Buzz—"

The emerald green light illuminated the entire ice cave in an instant, the light warm but not dazzling, like life itself breathing and pulsating.

The radiance, like gentle rain, fell upon every member of the Sea Princess clan.

The entrenched gray-black curse patterns seemed to be doused with boiling water, violently twisting and churning, emitting a sharp shriek that only the soul could perceive, resisting madly, but being forced back, purified, and dissolved inch by inch by the emerald light containing the most primal life force.

Almost simultaneously, the phantom of Electrox formed complex and ancient hand seals, and a deep and solemn chant echoed through the cave, each syllable drawing upon pure light.

A pure white light emanated from his body, holy and vast, carrying the will to cleanse all filth and purify all evil, transforming into a tide of light that gently yet firmly flowed into the brows of Liya and every member of her clan.

"Hiss... hiss hiss..."

Wisps of extremely faint yet chilling black smoke were forced out from their mouths, noses, ears, and even the pores of their skin. As soon as they came into contact with the white light from the outside world, they vanished instantly, like ice and snow meeting the sun.

The power of the curse retaliated fiercely, even condensing into a hideous ghostly phantom at its most intense point. However, the emerald light of life and the pure white power of purification intertwined, forming a net that trapped it tightly and gradually refined it.