Unlock Kamen Riders in Douluo's Way Ch 66

Before Yin Xiaoya could respond, the three soul beasts pierced through the Extreme Sky Flame Curtain. Concentrating all their power into a condensed energy shield, they shot through at top speed, each barely making it in less than a second. The million-degree heat instantly consumed their shields, a withering temperature under which almost all life would be extinguished. That they could pass at all was remarkable. Seeing them panting on the other side, even Yin Xiaoya, who knew what to expect, felt a tightening in his chest.

"Boy, you sure you got a way through this? No joke," Azure Phoenix King asked.

Doing his best to mask his trepidation, Yin Xiaoya replied calmly, "I'm good. I got this."

He prepared to move forward.

"Hold up!" Jin'e Red Stag Beetle stopped him. "Let me recover some power first. If you can't make it, I can save you. You're a guest of Emperor Yan, after all. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

If you really didn't want anything to happen to me, you would've asked Emperor Yan to open the curtain in the first place.

Yin Xiaoya realized something.

That's right, it seems that it doesn't want the Extreme Sky Flame Curtain to be lifted any more than it wants a human to approach—wait, does it not want Emperor Yan to leave? They said before that this Extreme Sky Flame Curtain seals space. Could it be...

Forget it. No use thinking so much. It's got nothing to do with me. I'll get down there first.

"Sorry, but I'm not waiting. I said I'd be fine."

"What? Wait—"

Before it could finish, Yin Xiaoya shot through the curtain, unscathed.

To his surprise, gravity returned on the other side. With no ability to fly, he started to fall, but the Ghost-Faced Griffin King caught him.

He then noticed the three soul beasts flapping their wings to stay aloft. The Jin'e Red Stag Beetle stared, speechless. Unable to contain himself, the Ghost-Faced Griffin King laughed.

"Said beetles ain't got brains. Seems true. Oh, that face!"

Azure Phoenix King was as surprised as the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle. Neither expected Yin Xiaoya to pass, and with his bare body, no less. The temperature should have been lethal. But judging by the Ghost-Faced Griffin King's reaction, he wasn't surprised.

Before he could ask, the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle thrust its head in front of Yin Xiaoya.

"Impossible! Human! How did you do that?"

"Doesn't matter how, right? You should worry about what I'm gonna ask you to do. You ain't gonna chicken out, are ya?"

The Jin'e Red Stag Beetle stared, stumped. He couldn't figure it out.

Then Emperor Yan's voice sounded in their minds.

"Okay, now that you're here, hurry on down."

Deliberately shoving the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle aside, the Ghost-Faced Griffin King said, "Hear that? No reason to stop us now."

He carried Yin Xiaoya downward.

Through the Extreme Sky Flame Curtain, everything appeared red. The magma above created the illusion of extreme heat. But after passing through, Yin Xiaoya found the opposite.

Not only was the air clear, but it wasn't hot at all. It was actually quite cool. As they flew lower, he saw green plants, like a paradise.

After descending for three kilometers, they landed near a small mountain. As Yin Xiaoya dismounted, the System pinged.

[Host, temporal anomaly detected.]

"Huh? What's up? Slower or faster?"

[Neither. Time itself is unchanged, still in sync with the outside. But it can limit the flow of time for living things.]

A place like that exists? Environmental time and biological time can flow separately? Right, the Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King put their kid here...

"Oh, I get it. The reason you put your kids here is to limit their time flow, slowing down their mutation, right?"

The answer came from Emperor Yan.

"Human, you are surprising. Seeing through the secret at a glance."

The three soul beasts bowed their heads respectfully. Yin Xiaoya saw a red-haired woman floating from a cave.

Her voice had been ethereal and genderless, but now he knew she was female.

"Eh? Wait, why are you human? Did you break through at level 100 and reincarnate?"

Emperor Yan shook her head, amused. Floating closer, she gently stroked Yin Xiaoya's cheek. "Can you feel it?"

"So soft~~"

"???"

"Uh, no, no!" Sensing the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle's glare, Yin Xiaoya quickly shook his head. "I mean, this ground is soft, but real. You're using soul power to create a false body, right?"

He hadn't seen it himself, but the System had analyzed it. What shocked him was that this soul power construct possessed the strength of a Junior Title Douluo. Her real body must be much stronger. This was the strongest being he'd encountered since coming to this world.

His perception surprised her. "Indeed. This form is my consciousness anchored to a soul power construct. My real body is sleeping beneath this hill. When I first saw those two little ones, they mistook me for human."

Azure Phoenix King and the Ghost-Faced Griffin King coughed in embarrassment.

"The adults still remember."

"Back then, we lacked spiritual intelligence. How could we tell the difference?"

"Wait, she looked like this before you had spiritual intelligence? That was at least 60,000 years ago!" Yin Xiaoya grabbed onto their words, staring at Emperor Yan. "So your cultivation is at least…"

"Human! Do not ask about Emperor Yan's cultivation!" The Jin'e Red Stag Beetle interrupted.

But Emperor Yan didn't seem to care. "Human, you are smart, so I won't hide it. I broke through the 100,000-year mark long ago. You know that after 100,000 years, soul beasts get to choose once every 1,000 years. As you can see, I didn't choose to transform. But the human body is more convenient. To be honest, surviving in this form is fine. But I won't get another chance to choose."

Soul beasts could only live for 10,000 years after the 100,000-year mark. Within those years, they could choose to die, transform, or break through the shackles. Emperor Yan had chosen the third and most difficult option.

But Douluo World was unfair to soul beasts. Even after breaking the 100,000-year limit, they were only halfway to the million-year mark. They only extended their lifespan to 200,000 years.

At nearly 200,000 years, disaster would strike. Surviving would grant another 100,000 years and the title of Fierce Beast. Afterward, catastrophe would come every 100,000 years, each more ruthless than the last, until the million-year mark.

Then came the Heavenly Tribulation of Transforming Gods. Whether they became a Beast God and achieved immortality depended on its outcome. (These settings are based on the various versions of Douluo.)

For the first catastrophe at 200,000 years, only one in a dozen soul beasts succeeded. The rest died. That was why so many chose to transform, even if their lifespan was human, they increased their chances of becoming a god.

But Emperor Yan had chosen the difficult path. Remembering the time flow and space sealing effects, Yin Xiaoya confirmed his earlier theory.

"So, that's why the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle wouldn't open the Extreme Sky Flame Curtain. Because once it's lifted, your time flow returns to normal, and you didn't want it to return, because the catastrophe is coming?"

"What? Lord Yan is facing a catastrophe?"

"Unbelievable! You've reached 200,000 years!"

Because of her status, the Ghost-Faced Griffin King and Azure Phoenix King never asked about her cultivation. They had always assumed she had broken through 100,000 years, but had never considered her reaching 200,000.

"Beetle, you knew?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

The Jin'e Red Stag Beetle glanced at them, snorting. "What's the use of telling you? Can you stop the catastrophe? Now the only way to avoid it is to stay under the Extreme Sky Flame Curtain."

Yin Xiaoya was surprised. Since she chose this path, shouldn't she face the catastrophe? The success rate may be low, but why avoid it to this extent? It was as if she knew she wouldn't survive.

"Wait, since she can avoid the catastrophe through the Extreme Sky Flame Curtain, then she already has…"

"Human," Emperor Yan suddenly cupped his face. "Being smart isn't bad, but you must know how to pretend to be confused."

She knew what he had guessed, and didn't want to reveal any more. Yin Xiaoya nodded, promising to keep quiet.

"Good. Now, don't forget why you came."

Reaching into his clothes, Emperor Yan produced a ruby-like flesh worm in his palm.

Seeing it, the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle exclaimed, "Red Jade Silkworm!? You've always had it with you?"

"Pfft—" The Ghost-Faced Griffin King laughed. "If you scanned with your soul power, you would've found it. But you only used your eyes, so you were clueless."

Azure Phoenix King realized. "So that's it. I forgot. That's what you meant when you said you were missing something. Wait, Lord Yan, you knew?"

Jin'e Red Stag Beetle realized Emperor Yan had tricked him. If he knew Yin Xiaoya had the Red Jade Silkworm, he wouldn't have stopped him.

He wanted to protest.

"My lord, why do you…"

Emperor Yan caressed the Red Jade Silkworm, turning away. "Although I can only live here temporarily because of the catastrophe, your restraint makes me uncomfortable. You need a lesson."

Stunned, he couldn't argue. Looking at Yin Xiaoya's sinister smile, he knew the human wouldn't ask for anything good.

"Human! You did that on purpose! I don't admit it! You didn't use your own power to get down here. So the bet's off!"

Yin Xiaoya shrugged. "Hey, you gotta prove that. Who said I didn't use my own power? You, a big guy who's lived for tens of thousands of years, you acting like a rascal? You swore in Emperor Yan's name."

Feeling Emperor Yan's gaze, he quickly explained. "That's not it, Lord Yan, you saw he used the Red Jade Silkworm. It's not that I'm backing out."

"Who said the Red Jade Silkworm ain't his power?" Emperor Yan grinned. "I've decided to entrust this little guy to him."

Yin Xiaoya wasn't surprised. From the moment she agreed to see him to the moment she revealed the Red Jade Silkworm, he knew she intended to give it to him.

With Emperor Yan's word, he couldn't argue. He had to admit it.

"Human, what do you want?"

Yin Xiaoya eyed the Jin'e Red Stag Beetle, drooling.

What do I want? Of course, I want to use you to unlock Kamen Rider Kuuga