Hearing Di Tian's recounting, all the dragon souls within the Dragon Valley Small World fell into silence.
They had long guessed that after the Dragon God War, the days of soul beasts would be difficult. However, they never imagined things would be this dire.
Even the Star Dou Forest had been reduced to nothing more than a human-controlled reserve.
If not for the fact that they were now completely unable to leave the Dragon Valley Small World, they would have stormed outside and fought to the death.
"You need not be sorrowful. Those times are in the past. I will lead the soul beasts and the dragon clan beyond our former peak." Gu Yue spoke calmly before turning her gaze to Xia Yi. "Xia Yi is the savior that the heavens have bestowed upon us. Only he can rescue us. I understand that it will be difficult for you all to recognize him as your lord in a short period of time, and I do not demand your unwavering loyalty immediately. However, you are not to disrespect him, understand? If your actions cause him to give up on soul beasts, then you will be the sinners of our race!"
Gu Yue understood that these Dragon Kings only obeyed the Dragon God and herself. Since Xia Yi did not possess the supreme bloodline of the dragon race, it was impossible for them to submit to him wholeheartedly in such a short time.
That was why she only asked them to accept Xia Yi for now. She believed that once they truly came to know him, they would acknowledge him of their own accord.
"Understood, my lord!" the dragon souls responded in unison.
Gu Yue nodded and then shot Lan Fozi a glare before adding, "And you?"
"I… I'll listen to you!" Lan Fozi stammered. Ever since arriving in the Dragon Valley Small World, she had been in a state of shock.
Even now, she had yet to fully recover.
Only then was Gu Yue satisfied, nodding again.
At this moment, Na'er's body had nearly turned completely transparent. It would not be long before her entire being transformed into silver flames and fused into the Silver Dragon King Essence.
The energy field created by her sacrifice was also slowly dissipating.
Without needing Gu Yue to say anything, the Radiant Dragon King took action. A sacred light descended upon Xia Yi, sealing him in place to prevent him from going berserk.
Gu Yue took a deep breath, caught the Silver Dragon King Essence floating in the air, and then moved beside Xia Yi. With a flicker of silver light, the two of them vanished.
In the next instant, she appeared at the edge of the deepest valley within the Dragon Valley Small World, holding Xia Yi in her arms.
Gu Yue did not immediately teleport inside but instead brought Xia Yi to the valley's outskirts.
The valley stretched endlessly into the horizon. In the distance, a dusky mist lingered faintly in the air.
But within the thousand-meter-deep valley, colossal skeletal remains covered every inch of the ground.
At the first glance inside, an indescribable sorrow surged into the heart.
Gu Yue forcibly suppressed the urge to howl at the sky. Her eyes turned cold and indifferent, yet deep within, an unfathomable, murderous intent blazed fiercely.
Carrying Xia Yi on her back, she stepped forward and gently touched each dragon bone along the way. Tears shimmered faintly in her eyes.
A faint silver glow rippled around her body, and as she passed, the aura radiating from the dragon bones seemed to relax slightly.
Before long, Gu Yue arrived beside the Dragon God's soul. Taking a deep breath, she carefully placed Xia Yi within it.
Due to the Golden Dragon King's aura within Xia Yi, the Dragon God's soul did not resist her actions.
"My lord!" It was only at this moment that Di Tian and the other savage beasts, along with the gathered Dragon Kings and dragon souls, slowly emerged to stand beside her.
"You all stay here. We will help Xia Yi extract the Golden Dragon King Essence from his spiritual world first," Gu Yue instructed.
"My lord, this might be Xia Yi's only chance to possess a true dragon bloodline. Are you certain about extracting the Golden Dragon King Essence?" The Radiant Dragon King spoke up.
Though he had yet to fully devote himself to Xia Yi, seeing that Gu Yue was determined to make Xia Yi the ruler of the soul beasts, it only made sense to ensure Xia Yi had the supreme bloodline of the dragon race.
"Since you already call Xia Yi 'my lord,' then whether he accepts the dragon bloodline should be his own decision. Overstepping in this matter—I don't want to hear it again in the future," Gu Yue replied indifferently before stepping into the Dragon God's soul.
Inside the Dragon God's soul, a dense seven-colored radiance filled the surroundings. Xia Yi still had not regained control over his body.
Yet within his eyes, the madness lurking within was bone-chilling.
Gu Yue stood before him, gazing at his current state. A sense of guilt flickered across her expression.
Even though Na'er and she had already separated, Na'er had still been a part of her.
"I will use the Dragon God's soul to help you force out the Golden Dragon King Essence. I need to go inside—bear with it, it will hurt a bit."
Making this decision had taken great courage for Gu Yue.
She, too, wished for Xia Yi to possess the supreme bloodline of the dragon race.
But she knew she could not make this decision for him.
She could not impose such a burden upon him.
Gu Yue's eyes instantly turned a deep shade of violet. The next moment, her spiritual power surged from between her brows and entered Xia Yi's mind.
Kill! Kill! Kill!
Within Xia Yi's spiritual world, a golden crystal continuously radiated divine power laced with overwhelming violence and bloodlust.
His spiritual world had already been more than half corrupted.
Had his body not instinctively released a suction force at a critical moment, drawing away a large portion of this divine power, his mind would have been completely overrun.
"To still retain a shred of clarity in the presence of the Golden Dragon King Essence… Fortunately, it hasn't fused perfectly with your spiritual world, or this would have been truly dangerous."
Gu Yue's spiritual form appeared as a silver dragon within Xia Yi's mental realm.
"Roar!"
A resounding dragon roar erupted from Gu Yue's mouth.
Affected by this roar, deep and low dragon cries echoed throughout the Dragon God's soul.
The Golden Dragon King Essence trembled slightly.
Seizing this chance, Gu Yue unleashed seven-colored radiance from her body, manifesting as seven colossal chains that instantly bound the Golden Dragon King Essence.
The Essence struggled desperately, trying to break free, but no matter how fiercely it resisted, it remained trapped. Gradually, its aura weakened.
"Use the Earth Cauldron!"
As the Golden Dragon King Essence finally stabilized, Gu Yue shouted. In the next moment, Xia Yi's Earth Cauldron materialized within his spiritual world, flipping over to cover the Essence.
With the Dragon God's soul suppressing it, the Golden Dragon King Essence was easily sealed within the Earth Cauldron, along with all the divine power it had previously released.
"I never thought it would be this easy," Xia Yi murmured as he slowly opened his eyes. Even he found it hard to believe that he had managed to seal away the Golden Dragon King Essence so effortlessly.
After all, he had failed several times before, even with the help of the Ice God's Heart.
"Your spiritual world is unique, preventing the Golden Dragon King Essence from fully merging with you, which is why I could suppress it so easily."
Gu Yue's violet eyes faded back to black. She suddenly embraced Xia Yi, her eyes reddening. "You scared me to death this time…"
"I'm fine, aren't I?" Xia Yi hugged her tightly, his heart aching as he noticed how much weight she had lost in less than a month.
Gu Yue hooked her arms around his neck and, without warning, pressed her lips to his with an unprecedented passion.
After some time…
"Xia Yi…" Gu Yue lay atop him, her eyes closed, her face flushed.
"Hmm?" Xia Yi responded.
"Do you like me or Na'er?" Gu Yue asked.
"What kind of nonsense is that?! Of course, it's you! If you're going to be jealous, at least pick the right person!" Xia Yi smacked her firm backside, annoyed.
"If I turn into Na'er, would you still want me?" Gu Yue's eyes turned red as she looked at him.
Xia Yi sat up abruptly. "Turn into Na'er? What do you mean? Didn't she already die?"
Gu Yue clung to his waist. "Her consciousness has vanished, and her essence was sacrificed to the Silver Dragon King Essence. But her appearance… was my true appearance. Once I fuse with the Silver Dragon King Essence, I will revert to my original form—Na'er's form."
She knew Xia Yi had no fondness for Na'er.
Even though Na'er was more beautiful than she was, she understood Xia Yi. He was not someone who valued beauty above all else.
But she feared that once she took on Na'er's appearance, Xia Yi would grow distant.
"Stop overthinking. No matter how you look, you are my Yue'er," Xia Yi whispered, kissing her lips.
In fact, he also couldn't bear to part with Gu Yue now.
"But I can't bear to leave you. I met you as you are now. If possible, I really want to be with you forever as I am now." Gu Yue said with red eyes.
"Can you still maintain your current appearance after absorbing the essence of the Silver Dragon King?" Xia Yi asked while hugging her tightly.
"No, I want to show you my most beautiful side." Gu Yue said stubbornly, gritting her teeth.
The muscles on Xia Yi's face twitched violently.
Women are indeed unreasonable.
"Then you'd better not dislike it! If you dare, you're dead meat!" Gu Yue threatened with a pout.