Chapter 262: Ye Lingling Attains Enlightenment—The Gaze of a God

Chapter 262: Chapter 262: Ye Lingling Attains Enlightenment—The Gaze of a God

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For the past few days, she had been ceaselessly healing others.

She had witnessed the grateful gazes of the soldiers she saved; she had seen soldiers—grievously wounded yet just a single step away from receiving her healing—slip away into death; and she had seen battlefields strewn with blood and mangled corpses...

For the first time, she grasped with profound clarity just how fragile life truly is.

Healing is merely a reprieve; death is the ultimate destination. Life cannot exist without death, and death, in turn, gives birth to new life.

She had witnessed far too much death and suffering, an experience that inflicted a profound psychological shock upon her.

"I can heal wounds, yet I cannot save lives destined to perish."

Her voice was faint—as if she were questioning herself, yet also as if she were asking someone else: "What, then, is the true meaning of my healing?"

Shui Bing’er froze for a moment, then immediately offered words of comfort: "Lingling, you’ve done an incredible job! You’ve saved so many people!"

Ye Lingling remained silent.

She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together before her chest, standing as motionless as a statue.

Seeing this, Shui Bing’er was taken aback: "Lingling?"

Just then, a figure suddenly materialized beside her, and an effeminate voice rang out: "Has this girl entered a state of sudden enlightenment?"

Shui Bing’er turned to look; it was Yue Guan.

She hadn’t realized when he had appeared behind them; his effeminate face now wore an expression of both surprise and admiration.

"Elder Yue, what is happening to Lingling?" Shui Bing’er asked.

Yue Guan’s gaze settled upon Ye Lingling, a sharp glint flashing within his eyes: "She is undergoing a sudden enlightenment. Do not disturb her."

Shui Bing’er was stunned.

Enlightenment?

That was a state that countless Soul Masters dreamed of attaining. In that fleeting moment, the laws of heaven and earth seemed to become crystal clear; cultivation bottlenecks would loosen, and one might even gain insight into entirely new abilities.

She never imagined that Ye Lingling would achieve such a breakthrough—at this specific moment, and in this very place.

Time passed, second by second.

An hour later...

A faint, jade-green radiance began to emanate from Ye Lingling’s body. The light grew steadily denser and brighter, eventually coalescing into the massive, ethereal silhouette of a Nine-Heart Begonia that completely enveloped her.

The layers of the Begonia bud slowly began to unfurl.

Petal after petal peeled back, revealing the flower’s pistil within. The pistil glowed with a golden-yellow hue, casting a soft, gentle halo amidst the darkness of the night.

A moment later...

Waves of pale green light radiated outward from the Begonia blossom. The light felt warm and gentle—like the warm sun of spring, or the soothing nourishment of a fresh, flowing spring.

The soldiers standing nearby all felt an indescribable sense of comfort wash over them. The fatigue vanished, the pain subsided, and even for those wounded soldiers who had yet to receive treatment, their wounds began to heal slowly.

Shui Bing’er’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Yue Guan’s pupils contracted ever so slightly.

Ye Lingling opened her eyes.

She spread her hands, palms facing upward.

A pink begonia blossom appeared between her hands.

Composed of white and pink petals, the flower was resplendent in color and exquisite in form.

Its leaves and vines cascaded down from either side of her palms; the tender tendrils swayed in the breeze, the drooping blossoms wafting gently—much like a graceful lady with her face veiled by flowing hair, exuding a tender, deep affection and a captivating, delicate charm.

The very next instant!

A faint pink aura of life radiated outward from within her body!

Interspersed within that light were faint wisps of ink-black radiance—so subtle that, without a close and careful look, one would not notice them at all.

Wherever the light touched—within a radius of one hundred meters—every living thing felt a wave of refreshing, soul-soothing comfort: be it the humans, the wild grasses growing in the earth, or the leaves and branches of the distant trees.

The wounded soldiers’ injuries began to heal at a suddenly accelerated pace.

The wild grasses grew taller and turned a vibrant green at a speed visible to the naked eye.

New buds sprouted from the branches of the withered trees.

Yue Guan’s eyes went wide, his voice filled with utter disbelief: "This is... a Domain!"

A tempest of shock and awe raged within his heart.

A Domain!

It was an ability that even Title Douluo struggled to comprehend! Across the entire continent, the number of powerhouses who possessed a Domain could be counted on one’s fingers!

And yet, Ye Lingling—a Soul Saint barely in her twenties—had actually awakened a Domain?!

What kind of monstrous genius was she?

Upon hearing Yue Guan’s words, Shui Bing’er’s beautiful eyes widened further, her heart reeling with shock.

She gazed at Ye Lingling—at the begonia blossom blooming in her palm, at the spreading circle of faint pink radiance—and for a moment, she found herself utterly speechless.

Lingling...

She did it.

She truly did it.

Ye Lingling seemed to sense something faintly.

Instinctively, she raised her head to look up at the sky.

In that very moment, a transformation took place within her eyes. Her left eye turned pure white, while her right eye turned pure black—one black, one white. It was as if they had become completely translucent, seemingly capable of seeing through anything.

She gazed up at the sky.

Above the sky, there was nothing.

Yet, her gaze seemed to pierce through the clouds, through the void, and through some invisible barrier.

It was as if she were beholding another world.

There, there was light.

And a certain calling.

That calling was ethereal and elusive, yet it evoked within her a strange, indescribable sensation—as if something were waiting for her.

At the same moment, the Nine-Heart Begonia resting in her palm also began to undergo a transformation.

Upon its originally pink-and-white petals, a ring of ink-black markings appeared. These markings wound and twisted like vines, tracing mysterious patterns across every single petal.

The stamen, once golden-yellow, shifted to a weave of gold and black.

Half gold, half black.

It lost a touch of its former softness, gaining instead an air of solemn majesty.

This state did not last for very long.

A moment later, Ye Lingling lowered her head once more, and her eyes reverted to their normal colors; her entire demeanor settled back into tranquility.

Yet, within those brief ten-odd seconds, it was as if she had undergone a complete metamorphosis.

She felt as though her Martial Soul had grown stronger—more complete, somehow. Its healing power had surged, rising to a level far beyond its previous capabilities.

What she did not realize, however, was that her Martial Soul had undergone a mutation.

"Lingling! How do you feel?" Shui Bing’er rushed forward, asking with deep concern.

Ye Lingling spoke; her voice remained soft, yet it now carried an indefinable, enigmatic resonance: "I feel fine..."

She could not find the words to describe that wondrous sensation.

It was as if she had heard a calling—one whose origin she could not trace—guiding her gaze toward the heavens above.

She had caught a fleeting glimpse of another world, and though the voice of that calling was ethereal and elusive, it had left her with a strange, indescribable feeling.

Yue Guan stood to the side, watching Ye Lingling with a gaze filled with complex emotions.

He had not detected the mutation of her Martial Soul; he simply realized that, at such a young age and with her current level of cultivation, Ye Lingling had already awakened a Domain.

That alone was enough to be utterly world-shaking. He exclaimed with heartfelt admiration: "Miss Ye truly possesses extraordinary talent—to have manifested her own Domain at such a tender age!"

Upon hearing this, Ye Lingling gave a slight nod toward Yue Guan: "Elder Yue, you flatter me."

She wore a veil that obscured her features, making it impossible to discern her expression. Yet, her tone conveyed that she was in high spirits.

Shui Bing’er grasped her hand, her eyes brimming with delight: "Lingling, you are incredible! A Domain! That’s a Domain we’re talking about!"

Ye Lingling gently shook her head: "I’m not sure how it happened... I just... suddenly sensed something."

Shui Bing’er smiled: "Regardless, it’s a wonderful thing! When the Sect Master finds out, he’s bound to be overjoyed!"

Ye Lingling nodded but remained silent.

She lowered her gaze, staring down at her own hands.