"Should we make a move?" Bone Douluo's expression was grave.
"This time Tang San and the others have really gone too far. What happened in Hanhai City was one thing, but this is clearly an attempt to completely ruin the reputation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"
Ning Fengzhi pondered for a long time: "Let's wait and see first. We'll handle the follow-up matters before considering anything else."
"There's a god behind them. Before Rongrong went into seclusion, she told us to proceed with caution."
"That Tang San can even interrupt a martial soul fusion technique—he's no simple character."
Even Qian Renxue could only achieve a mutual loss in such a situation.
The fact that Qian Renxue had fought one against three—taking on Bo Saixi, Tang Chen, and Tang San—had already reached Ning Fengzhi's ears.
"I don't have confidence!" Ning Fengzhi hesitated. "The Star Luo Empire's current calm feels somewhat eerie."
After the Star Luo army withdrew, they stopped right at the border and didn't advance even an inch further.
Seeing the indignation on Sword Douluo's and Bone Douluo's faces, Ning Fengzhi sighed:
"I know you two have a very good relationship with Dugu Bo, but I truly don't have the courage to go all-out against a God King and end in mutual destruction."
They had already witnessed Tang San's strength before.
Although it was a case of prepared mind against unprepared, the fact remained that he had severely injured Bi Ji and the Ten Thousand Demon King.
"Rongrong is about to come out of seclusion. Let's wait a little longer!"
"Besides, Xue Ke is preparing to step down from regency and issue an imperial edict of self-blame."
"The Heaven Dou Empire is about to change hands."
Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo nodded—clearly they had also heard the rumors.
"By the way, how is Dugu Yan doing?" Ning Fengzhi thought of Dugu Bo still unconscious. As his only granddaughter, she must be extremely worried. Moreover, compared to Dugu Bo, Dugu Yan might actually be in greater danger.
The Misfortune Poison Body!
According to what Ning Rongrong had said, even a hundred-thousand-year soul beast could be easily killed by poison using that physique.
"Previously, some information about Dugu Yan came from the sect. It seems she left the sect." Bone Douluo thought for a moment and said.
"Left? Where to?" Ning Fengzhi frowned tightly.
"She left a letter saying she was going out to train."
"Train…" Ning Fengzhi felt a faint unease in his heart. "I remember Dugu Yan is already an 86th-level Soul Douluo."
"Mm, Fengzhi, you're right." Bone Douluo nodded.
Originally, Dugu Yan's talent hadn't been anything special, but after the Misfortune Poison Body awakened, the change in her talent was so astonishing that even Bone Douluo found it somewhat unbelievable.
"Speaking of which, before she left the sect, she went to the medicine storage."
"It seems she took quite a lot of medicinal herbs."
Hearing Bone Douluo's account, Ning Fengzhi's expression grew even more solemn. "Can we confirm Dugu Yan's location?"
"Impossible—unless a Title Douluo personally follows her." Sword Douluo grumbled. "Normally, an 86th-level Soul Douluo who wants to hide is very hard for even a Title Douluo to find—let alone Dugu Yan, who isn't an ordinary Soul Douluo."
"According to the information reported back from the sect, the last place she appeared was near the Barak Kingdom, close to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"She wants to deal with the toxic miasma?"
Ning Fengzhi stood up in thought, but for the moment he couldn't find an answer.
"Forget it. We'll put Dugu Yan's matter aside for now. Let's finish handling things on our side first, then return to the sect once."
"Yes, Sect Leader."
The toxic miasma spreading through the Barak Kingdom might be extremely terrifying to others, but with Dugu Yan's physique, ignoring it wasn't impossible.
Moreover, she was already in her twenties—she should have her own judgment by now.
As the Sect Leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi still had many matters to attend to.
He couldn't keep focusing on the same thing forever.
…
Star Dou Great Forest.
As Di Tian's right and left hand, Zi Ji was handling all internal affairs of the Star Dou Great Forest while both Bi Ji and Di Tian were absent.
Moreover, the plan ahead could only be described as nine chances of death and one of survival—they could not afford to be careless.
Suddenly, she raised her head sharply.
Her purple hair floated gently with the breeze that blew past.
"The Demon Eye Magic Tree—the Ten Thousand Demon King has sacrificed itself."
It wasn't a question—it was a certainty.
Bi Ji's tone carried disbelief.
Something unexpected seemed to have happened to the main body that went to Heaven Dou City, but the Ten Thousand Demon King—as one of the guardians of the Star Dou Great Forest—was not so easily killed.
Although it had suffered very heavy injuries, recovery would likely take an unknown number of years.
Plant-type soul beasts were different from animal-type soul beasts. In essence, they were not easy to injure—but once injured, their recovery time was far longer than that of ordinary soul beasts.
Silently killing the Demon Eye Magic Tree, which had taken root over a quarter of the Star Dou Great Forest, was an incredibly difficult feat—let alone the fact that it hadn't even managed to send out a distress call.
"Even if the road ahead is hopeless, there was no need to sacrifice itself!" Zi Ji sighed. "However, since it didn't notify anyone, that means that fellow chose to sacrifice itself willingly."
…
Demonic Whale Sea Domain.
In the lightless depths of the pitch-black seabed.
Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged in meditation, her hands stacked in front of her body.
A nine-story pagoda hovered at the position of her stacked hands, emitting faint and flickering light—like stars twinkling in the dark night sky.
Although she was still cultivating, Ning Rongrong could still sense the situation outside.
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King couple—who had gone out for a stroll—had returned.
Speaking of which, where had those two gone?
Leaving their daughter Lan Fozi at home so they could go enjoy a couples' getaway?
Regardless, this was a critical moment in her cultivation. Ning Rongrong only extended a wisp of her consciousness to observe the surroundings—after all, if some shortsighted soul beast swallowed her whole, that would truly be hilarious.
Ning Rongrong's main mind and will remained focused inside the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
She had nearly broken through to the pinnacle of the third realm—the Extreme of Power—by using the pressure of the seawater on her body to temper herself.
In a moment of distraction, the world spun.
Ning Rongrong and Tokisaki Kurumi appeared inside the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda once more.
Within the pagoda,
golden chains hung suspended in midair, connecting one to another.
The entire space of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda resembled a massive sealing array.
"It's starting, Kurumi."
"We're going to completely fuse with the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda." Ning Rongrong's gaze turned toward Tokisaki Kurumi. "Remember—we might encounter him."
"I'm already prepared. If we don't succeed, we must succeed."
The consciousness of the two blurred for a moment. The light from the entire Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda grew increasingly brighter, almost illuminating the entire seabed transparently.
The next moment, the space inside the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda turned into a vast expanse of white.
Within the boundless white area, a black-gray bead hovered in midair.
"The Evil God Pearl—it's truly been a long time."
Ning Rongrong's and Tokisaki Kurumi's pupils transformed into the shape of clock dials. A mysterious and profound aura surged through the space.
With a "crack" sound,
cracks crawled across the originally translucent palm-sized Evil God Pearl.
Then with a boom, the Evil God Pearl shattered into fragments and scattered across the blazing white area.
This Evil God Pearl had been sealed at the bottom of the pagoda for so long that it no longer served any purpose. All its energy had been absorbed by Ning Rongrong and Tokisaki Kurumi. Now, inside the pearl, only one thing remained.
A strand of divine sense.
A strand of divine sense belonging to one of the five great God Kings of the Divine Realm—the Evil God King.
The instant the pearl shattered, the black mist that spread out gradually solidified into an image—seemingly that of a person.
A black-clothed youth with an extremely handsome appearance. Faint pressure drifted around him. His originally closed eyes slowly opened.
The moment the youth opened his eyes, those eerie pupils flashed with a special brilliance.
The black-clothed youth sized up Tokisaki Kurumi and Ning Rongrong.
After a long while, he finally spoke:
"You two are quite interesting. The plane you belong to should be the Douluo plane."
Ning Rongrong and Tokisaki Kurumi did not refute.
Martial souls might seem high-end, but in the eyes of a God King, they were nothing.
Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and said: "Nice to meet you, Evil God King."
"You know me?" The Evil God King was somewhat surprised.
"When I absorbed the Evil God Pearl, I saw a fragment of memory."
Ning Rongrong answered truthfully.
(End of chapter)