Ning Rongrong didn't know the specific details, but she could more or less infer what had happened.
For some unknown reason, Gu Yuena had entered the abyssal passage and started fighting the Crimson Mother.
The Crimson Mother seemed no match for Gu Yuena. Their battle inside the passage had caused planar contact—possibly even drawing on the power of their respective planes—yet she still struggled to contend with Gu Yuena.
The earlier Gu Yuena had been manageable, but that outburst of violent aura just now...
Combined with the mental power that had been repelled back at her.
Everything pointed to Gu Yuena having lost control.
What Ning Rongrong was most worried about right now was the Divine Realm.
Once Gu Yuena emerged, would the heavenly tribulation formed by heaven and earth strike even more fiercely? And would the barrier between the Divine Realm and the mortal world disappear?
If Gu Yuena still retained some consciousness, it wouldn't be too alarming. But if her consciousness had been completely suppressed by the resentful spirits of the god-level dragons that died in Dragon Valley, combined with the violent influence of the Dragon God's dragon soul, that would be a catastrophe.
If things escalated further and the barrier between the mortal world and the Divine Realm vanished,
the Divine Realm would send people down—and it would be a clean sweep.
"Gu Yuena, that damn thing—couldn't she have waited half a day longer before coming out to die!"
"Her willpower is as fragile as paper."
Ning Rongrong had anticipated that the Crimson Mother would directly let the Crimson Domain invade the Douluo plane through the passage.
At that point, she could use the formation to hold the Crimson Mother back—there shouldn't have been any major issues.
Once the Crimson Mother entered the Douluo Continent, the formation would suppress her to the peak of first-level god.
The advantage would still be on her side.
Peak first-level god—at most, just slightly stronger than the Abyss Saint Lord in every aspect.
With the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda linked to the formation providing buffs, she could still fight.
Then, as long as Qian Renxue broke through to God King and used the power of destiny to devour the Crimson plane, the Crimson Mother would be finished—nailed to the board.
Even in the worst case, if Qian Renxue couldn't break through in time, Ning Rongrong still had some confidence in killing the Crimson Mother herself. That way, Qian Renxue could still break through safely.
"I planned everything to this extent, and you, Gu Yuena, couldn't just stay calm?"
"I guess I have no choice but to bite the bullet." Ning Rongrong let out a soft sigh. Her gaze turned toward Qian Renxue beside her, who was enveloped in vast faith power and the "fear" of living beings.
Qian Renxue's expression showed pain. Her six-winged angel martial soul manifested, with nine red soul rings faintly appearing and disappearing.
Her aura had completely surpassed the level of Xue Di and Bibi Dong.
But...
"It's about what I expected—she's still stuck at half-step God King."
Qian Renxue's current state was still proceeding according to plan—without Gu Yuena causing trouble.
Ning Rongrong looked up at the sky.
Dark clouds blanketed everything, thunder roaring incessantly.
"If the tribulation reaches half-step God King, it'll be big trouble." Ning Rongrong shook her head.
Gu Yuena at half-step God King—with God King-level mental power.
The Crimson Mother, also half-step God King.
If the two hadn't clashed inside the abyssal passage and disrupted the plan, she could still have used the formation to suppress the Crimson Mother.
Now, suppression would probably only last a short time—reducing both of their powers to peak first-level god at best.
Suppressing mental power was much harder. Gu Yuena possessed God King-level mental strength.
"No choice." Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and transmitted her voice through the formation.
"Di Tian, give up. You're not going to break through to god-level."
Silence—a long silence.
Then a voice came through the formation:
"I know." Di Tian's tone carried a trace of anxiety. "The situation with our lord doesn't seem good."
"She's lost control. Her strength is at half-step God King, but her mental power has reached God King level."
"If she launches a full-coverage mental attack on the formation, the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Formation probably won't hold."
Not long after Ning Rongrong finished speaking, Di Tian's figure appeared beside her—he had clearly transmitted over using an array disk.
Di Tian appeared in human form. His body was covered in wounds large and small, blood staining the armor formed from his scales.
"I have no way to restore our lord."
Di Tian glanced at Qian Renxue before answering Ning Rongrong.
If this were before his reincarnation—back when he was still the clan leader of the Black Dragon Clan—he might have had such capability. But now, he was merely a 990,000-year soul beast.
Ning Rongrong had used the formation to block the tribulation, allowing him to break through five or six times in succession using his own foundation. Yet there was only a thin bottleneck in the way—he still couldn't break through no matter how hard he tried.
His soul and body felt completely shackled at level 99—no matter how fiercely he rammed against it, the lock refused to open.
"Hu—"
Seeing the anxious expression on Di Tian's face, Ning Rongrong took a deep breath.
"Di Tian, you know my cultivation method is different from that of the Douluo Continent—even different from the entire Divine Realm, right?"
"This..." Di Tian was momentarily stunned, struggling to keep up with Ning Rongrong's train of thought, but he still nodded. "I know. I once asked our lord about this as well."
As he spoke, Di Tian's gaze drifted toward the silver dragon battling the Crimson Mother.
"I'm only one step away from the next realm."
"What do you need me to do?" Before Ning Rongrong could finish, Di Tian spoke directly.
"I need you to sacrifice yourself—to serve as the medium to trigger the tribulation." Ning Rongrong said.
"I need sufficient energy to break through, but the tier of energy required can't be provided by ordinary humans—or even hundred-thousand-year soul beasts."
Silence—a long silence.
"I can do it, but I have one condition."
"Ensure our lord remains safe and unharmed."
"Or at the very least—do everything possible to restore her sanity and let her live."
Di Tian said nothing about decisive battles against the Divine Realm or anything of the sort.
Such a condition—even if Ning Rongrong agreed, he himself felt it was excessive.
With Ning Rongrong's strength, killing him wouldn't be difficult—it would be easy.
Although he was in the midst of breaking through, he had witnessed her battle with the Abyss Saint Lord.
With the formation's enhancement, she had suppressed a first-level god. Even if that god lacked a true god position and was perhaps slightly weaker than others at the same level, a god was still a god—not a boundary ordinary human soul masters could cross.
"Alright, I promise you." Ning Rongrong understood Di Tian's concerns.
"Should we swear on our martial souls?"
"No need. Martial soul oaths are unbreakable for ordinary soul masters, but if you truly wanted to violate it, I don't think you'd be unable to." Di Tian said calmly.
"No need to create estrangement between us with such formalities."
"Compared to other humans, I—the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian—still trust the integrity of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... or rather, you, Ning Rongrong."
Other humans might covet his soul bones and soul rings.
But Ning Rongrong had even discarded the soul bones of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King to help Lan Fozi become a god.
At that time, the newly ascended Lan Fozi couldn't possibly have been a match for Ning Rongrong—yet Ning Rongrong hadn't struck to kill.
Di Tian didn't think his current self held more value than Lan Fozi had—or if he did, it was only in certain aspects, and definitely not in soul rings or soul bones.
"Alright, let's do it quickly!" Di Tian also faintly sensed that the formation's aura was weakening.
Clang—
The Glazed Holy Sword appeared in Ning Rongrong's hand—a super-divine weapon she had forged not long ago.
"I want you to sacrifice yourself and become the artifact spirit of the Glazed Holy Sword."
(End of chapter)