Evan Chu had no idea how long he'd been at the bottom of Glasswind. By now, every muscle, meridian, and bone in his body had fully regenerated. When he circulated Chaos Dragon Force, he was stunned to find a surge of unprecedented power—his strength had clearly taken another leap forward.
Meanwhile, the Savage Earth Dragon hiding deep beneath the yellow sand was a bundle of nerves. Ever since it heard Evan's dragon roar days ago, there'd been nothing but silence. It honestly worried that Evan might've been ground to dust by Glasswind's wind blades.
Still, remembering that Evan claimed to know the Dragon Clan's undying secret art, the dragon felt a bit reassured. All it could do was wait quietly for Evan to reappear—and secretly, it was even more desperate to learn that immortal secret art for itself.
Evan, though, wasn’t in a rush to claim the Wind Spirit Pearl. Instead, he dug out the Azure Spirit Drake’s demon core from his storage ring—the one he’d won in that brutal fight—and stared at it, quietly sensing its energy.
After a long while, he finally asked, “Luna, can I absorb the energy from this demon core now?”
“Heh, I thought you’d forgotten all about that! But no, it’s still not time. You need to get the Netherghost Violet Orchid and break into the Saint Martial Realm first—otherwise, your current realm is way too weak. Your attack power is strong, but your mental state hasn’t caught up. That’s why even your Nascent Soul keeps ignoring you.” Luna’s voice was matter-of-fact.
“So does this demon core boost my strength, or does it strengthen my Nascent Soul? And what’s the point of having a stronger Nascent Soul?” Evan had always been half in the dark about his Nascent Soul, so he was hoping Luna would finally lay it out for him.
“You can’t even imagine how strong the Nascent Soul really is. It’s basically your Primordial Spirit. Once your cultivation hits a high enough level, your Nascent Soul can leave your body and cultivate on its own. In other words, there could be two identical ‘Evans’ running around the world, and you’d be able to control or merge with the other you. It’s like having a whole second life—if your physical body gets destroyed and even your undying methods can’t save you, you still won’t die as long as your Nascent Soul survives. And when the time comes, you can create a new Nascent Soul and keep living forever.” Luna explained it all in one breath.
To Evan, all this sounded like pure fantasy. He couldn’t believe his Nascent Soul was so ridiculously heaven-defying. It was like every good thing in the world had landed right in his lap—almost too much to take in.
After he calmed himself down a bit, Evan straightened up and glanced at the nearby purple Wind-Binding Pearl, then slowly drifted toward it.
Now that he’d broken through to the Sixth Layer of the Starforge Body, Luna said he could fully withstand the wind blades inside Glasswind. Evan honestly wanted to test it out—just how tough was the defense of the Sixth Layer, anyway?
But standing in front of the Wind-Binding Pearl, Evan didn’t rush to grab it. He just watched quietly from the side, marveling at how such a tiny bead could hold so much power. It was honestly kind of magical.
“Evan, the Wind-Binding Pearl is an innate spiritual treasure—formed from formless heaven-and-earth energy. Its main use is to anchor violent blade-winds in place. Right now, it’s holding the Wind Spirit Pearl inside Glasswind. But it’s been here for tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of years, so it might have developed intelligence. If you want to claim it, you’ll need to use your wits.” Luna reminded him.
Evan didn’t say much. He simply reached out with his divine sense to gently probe the Wind-Binding Pearl. Here, inside Glasswind, he knew the wind couldn’t harm his spiritual sense, so he felt safe enough to try.
The moment his divine sense touched the Wind-Binding Pearl, it bounced right back. At the same time, a faint voice drifted out from inside the bead: “Who are you? Why have you come here?”
The voice was that of a young girl. Evan hadn’t expected the Wind-Binding Pearl to sound like a child—which meant that, given enough time, it would eventually take on a girl’s form, kind of like Luna, though fundamentally different.
“Don’t be scared, little sis. I’m your big brother! I went through hell to get here just to take you away. You’ve been stuck here for tens of thousands of years—I’ve been searching for you just as long. Don’t you recognize me?” Evan said, laying it on thick.
He was a natural at coaxing little girls—he figured his silver tongue would make claiming the Wind-Binding Pearl a breeze.
“Big brother? I don’t know you. And how did you know I’ve been here for three million years? Are you really here for me?” The girl’s voice echoed from inside the Wind-Binding Pearl.
Evan was a little stunned. He hadn’t expected the Wind-Binding Pearl to have been in Skywind Valley’s Divine Battlefield for three million years. But, hey, for an innate heaven-and-earth treasure, maybe that kind of timescale was normal.
“Of course I’m here for you! You’re my long-lost little sister, and I’ve come to take you away from this place. Don’t you want to leave? Aren’t you sick of staring at this pitch-black Glasswind day after day? Out there, the world’s full of wonders—vast oceans, towering trees, mountains that pierce the clouds, and all kinds of birds and beasts.” Evan spun his story like a master.
After a long pause, the girl’s voice echoed from inside the Wind-Binding Pearl: “I can’t leave. I have a mission—I have to guard this Glasswind. If I go, the whole world will be destroyed by it.”
Evan’s forehead practically sprouted a black line. He hadn’t expected this kind of answer. “Yeah, I know all about that. What you’re really guarding is the pearl inside Glasswind, right? If someone takes that pearl, Glasswind will disappear on its own. Am I right?”
“That’s right. I’m guarding that pearl, but I can’t move at all. And it’s protected by countless wind blades—there’s no way to take it out. Do you have a solution?”
Evan realized his bluff had worked—dealing with a naive little girl was way too easy. Delighted, he grinned and said, “Since I came to take you away, of course I have a way to get that pearl. Trust me, big brother always keeps his word—I’d never lie to you.”
Luna couldn’t help thinking Evan was shameless—lying with such conviction, without even blushing. The girl’s voice came again: “Wait a moment. I’ll withdraw my protective layer. Otherwise, you’ll never get close to me.”
Evan felt a wave of relief. Good thing he hadn’t tried to grab the Wind-Binding Pearl outright—if the artifact spirit hadn’t removed its protective layer, he might never have claimed it, and then the Wind Spirit Pearl would’ve been out of reach too. One wrong step here and he’d have lost everything.
After a moment, the girl’s voice came again: “It’s done. But you’d better not lie to me. If I find out you tricked me, I can fix you in one spot for life and let you slowly turn into Glasswind!”
Evan’s heart skipped a beat. Was that really how Glasswind in Skywind Valley was formed? If so, the Wind-Binding Pearl was way more terrifying than he’d thought!