Chapter 117: Seeking Sanctuary!
The God of Destruction forced himself to calm down. Endless ages had honed his temperament; after the explosive rage came a deeper, more gelid coldness and calculation. He withdrew his probing divine sense, and when his divine consciousness reconnected with Furina, his voice had recovered its ancient, unrippled stillness. Yet the fury and frigid intent contained beneath that composure were now even more terrifying.
"You... how did you come to know of these things?" The God of Destruction posed the crucial question. For a young woman from the lower realm to know such secrets, matters touching upon a God King's household and soul manipulation—this in itself was profoundly abnormal.
"As for the source of my intelligence, I must beg your pardon, but I am unable to disclose it. It is my personal secret." Furina had long prepared this response, her tone composed. "However, I can assure you that every word I have spoken is the absolute truth."
The God of Destruction fell silent for a moment. He was, indeed, in no position to force Furina to reveal her secret, and the information she had provided withstood verification, rich in corroborating detail and of exceedingly high veracity. He was more concerned with another matter:
"The whereabouts of Tang Wutong's other half-soul—do you also know of it?"
"I do." Furina answered with certainty. "The other half of her soul has been fused with the Auspicious Beast of the Great Star Dou Forest, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion. She is now a Three-Eyed Golden Lion bearing a portion of Tang Wutong's soul essence."
The God of Destruction's divine sense swept toward the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest once more. This time, it took him a moment to locate, beneath the shroud of Fate power, the soul beast with its unique aura. Sure enough, deep within the Auspicious Beast's soul, he sensed the other half of Tang Wutong's soul fragment, originating from the same source as the one within Wang Dong'er! It was similarly entwined and guided by Tang San's divine sense imprint, slowly fusing with the Auspicious Beast's own soul and the power of destiny, progressing toward yet another unknown direction.
The evidence was conclusive!
The last trace of doubt in the God of Destruction's heart vanished. In its place rose an unprecedented wariness toward Tang San and... murderous intent.
What a fine Sea God! What a fine Asura God! What an immaculate, noble Tang San! All luminous virtue on the surface, yet behind closed doors his methods were this insidious and treacherous, treating even his own flesh and blood as pawns to be maneuvered at will! What exactly was he plotting? To split his daughter's soul in such a manner and place the pieces into different hosts—there had to be a deeper purpose!
"What else do you know?" The God of Destruction's voice dropped low, carrying an undeniable demand. "About Tang San, about his schemes—tell me everything you know."
Furina understood that she had successfully captured the God of Destruction's utmost interest and... a spirit of shared enmity. She chose this moment to display a touch of "apprehension": "Lord God of Destruction, I do indeed know some things yet. However... before I reveal more, I have a presumptuous request to make."
"Speak."
"In exposing these secrets of the Sea God Tang San to you today—though it was done for the sake of justice and that poor girl—I have, in the end, offended a God King. I am but a person of low standing, my words carry little weight, and my strength is meager. If, one day in the future... he were to discover this, or vent his anger upon me, I fear I would be utterly helpless to resist. Therefore, might I beseech you... to grant me some measure of protection? At the very least, a chance to preserve my life under the gaze of a God King."
Furina's words were perfectly reasonable. Anyone who knew they were exposing a God King's dark deeds would fear retribution.
Upon hearing this, the God of Destruction let out a cold snort, his divine consciousness radiating boundless pride and confidence: "On this point, you may rest assured! With this old man here, a mere Tang San cannot touch you! Even possessing twin godly seats and wielding two divine artifacts, if it truly came to blows, he would be no match for this old man! Upholding the Divine Realm's laws depends on strength and seniority, not on insidious schemes and base trickery!"
He paused, then continued: "Very well. This old man shall leave a divine sense imprint of my own upon your person. This imprint will normally lie dormant, able to obscure the heavenly secrets and ward off prying eyes. Should you truly encounter a life-or-death crisis, or if that scoundrel Tang San has the shamelessness to personally strike at you, the imprint will activate and shield you from harm. At the same time, I will instantly perceive it and descend a projection. With this imprint in place, within the Divine Realm, besides the other two God Kings, none shall be able to touch a single hair on your head. And on the Douluo Continent... hmph, certainly none shall be able to breach it!"
Before the words had even fully faded, Furina felt an exquisitely pure, supremely condensed wisp of violet-black destructive intent, like the most minute of brands, silently imprint itself upon the depths of her soul. This mark carried not the slightest destructive nature; instead, it was like a layer of incomparably sturdy armor, protecting the core of her soul and establishing a subtle connection to a certain mighty existence in the distant Divine Realm.
A sense of security settled in Furina's heart. With this "protective talisman," her safety margin had increased immensely. At the very least, if Tang San wished to employ against her the same subtle spiritual influence, memory manipulation, or other such methods he had used on Huo Yuhao, he would first have to bypass the God of Destruction.
"My deepest gratitude for your protection, Lord God of Destruction!" Furina expressed her thanks sincerely. "With this, I can set my mind at ease and disclose more."
"Mm. Speak, then." The God of Destruction's tone softened somewhat, evidently quite satisfied with Furina's "sensible attitude."
Furina gathered her thoughts, then continued: "The Sea God Tang San has two trusted confidants by his side, brought up from the lower realm, who now serve as his personal Divine Officials, correct? One is the transformed Titan Giant Ape, and the other is the transformed Sky Azure Ox Python."
"That is correct. Da Ming and Er Ming. They share a close bond with Xiao Wu and were granted the position of Divine Officials by Tang San, remaining constantly at his side." The God of Destruction confirmed.
"In that case, Lord God of Destruction, have you... seen any trace of these two Divine Officials recently in the Divine Realm?" Furina asked, her tone leading.
The God of Destruction's divine consciousness paused briefly as he rapidly searched his memory. Indeed! Recently, those two Divine Officials who were always in attendance near Xiao Wu seemed to have been conspicuously absent! The Divine Realm was neither vast nor small; under normal circumstances, he would not pay particular attention to the auras of mere Divine Official-level beings. But with this brought to his attention, he now recognized the anomaly.
"Are you implying..." The God of Destruction's voice turned icy.
"I am merely speculating." Furina did not speak in absolutes. "Perhaps, they have secretly descended to the lower realm on Tang San's orders. As for the purpose of this descent... it could be related to his daughter, or there could be... other tasks."
"Fine! What a fine Tang San!" The God of Destruction laughed from sheer fury. "As a God King, to dispatch Divine Officials to the lower realm without authorization is already a violation of regulations! And all this for the sake of his unsavory schemes! It seems he truly holds the Divine Realm's laws in utter contempt!"
Dispatching deities (including Divine Officials) to interfere with the lower realms without sanction was a grave crime explicitly forbidden by Divine Realm law. Tang San was, without question, playing with fire.
Furina struck while the iron was hot: "What I know does not stop there. Lord God of Destruction, do you truly believe... that Tang San splitting his daughter's soul and dispatching Divine Officials to the lower realm is merely for so-called 'tempering'?"
"What is your perspective?" the God of Destruction asked. He now regarded Furina as a valuable source of information and a potential ally.
"I believe he is playing a very grand game of chess." Furina spoke slowly. "A game that may concern the future of the Douluo Continent, and perhaps even... the power structure of the Divine Realm itself."
She then delivered an even more explosive piece of information: "From what I understand, Tang San seems to intend... to erase the original plane consciousness of the Douluo Continent, and then... have his parents, Tang Hao and Ah Yin, become the new Plane Lord and Life Core."