News of what happened on Spider God Island quickly spread back to the mainland, though the reports were far from accurate.
Most of the accounts came from fishermen who had been out at sea during the incident—half of it was what they saw, and the other half pure embellishment. As the stories circulated and grew more exaggerated, they painted a picture of numerous deities descending from the sky to battle spider soul beasts from the sea, only to be utterly slain by the creatures.
As this version of the tale spread ever more widely across the continent, humans grew increasingly fearful. If soul beasts could now slay even gods, wouldn't humanity be in grave peril?
The Spider God Sect, long seen as humanity's last hope, chose to remain silent about the incident, offering no official explanation. Spirit Hall also began withdrawing its forces from outside regions, instead bolstering defenses near Spirit City. A grim and oppressive atmosphere began to blanket the land.
At this moment, Fang Chang had returned to the Star Dou Forest, preparing for the next wave of challenges from the Divine Realm.
A day in the heavens was a year on earth. If the gods were planning a large-scale move, they would still need a few "days" to prepare—meaning there would likely be little activity on their end for at least the next year or two.
Meanwhile, both great empires on the continent had tightened their defenses. The number of people visiting the Spider God Sect's branch temples to pray was also increasing by the day.
"This matter on Spider God Island... it has something to do with you, doesn't it?" In that same underground palace, Bibi Dong once again came to find Fang Chang.
"What exactly happened? Did a god truly descend to the mortal world?"
As the inheritor of the Rakshasa position—aligned with the faction of evil gods—and having listened to Fang Chang's embellished "insider knowledge" of the Divine Realm for the past two years, she was understandably the most concerned about such divine descents.
"Yes. It was a projection of the Sea God," Fang Chang answered without hiding anything.
Bibi Dong frowned. She was only one step away from completing her godhood inheritance, and now this mess had to happen. "A projection? Then where is it now?"
"I killed it," Fang Chang said offhandedly, his clothes fluttering without wind as though enhanced by visual effects.
"Killed it?" Bibi Dong gasped. Even a mere projection of a god was an insurmountable force for a mortal. Yet this Spider God's messenger claimed to have slain it.
She looked Fang Chang over again. Though she was already, to some extent, a demi-god herself, she could no longer see through him…
Suddenly, a terrifying thought crossed her mind. "You haven't already completed your inheritance, have you?"
Fang Chang nodded slightly, not bothering with much explanation. Yet even this small gesture made Bibi Dong's heart leap into her throat.
She used to think she and this Spider God's messenger were evenly matched and could keep each other in check. But now that he had become a god first, she had instantly become the greatest potential threat to him in this world. Would he strike her down?
Sensing her unease, Fang Chang teased, "My dear Holiness, you don't actually think I didn't have ways to deal with you before, do you?"
"If I truly had ill intentions toward you, do you think Spirit Hall would still be standing today? I've said it before—I only want allies."
"It's not that," Bibi Dong replied, "I just felt a little envious hearing that you've already become a god. I still don't know when I'll receive my divine position."
"Do you know why the Sea God suddenly sent down a projection?" she asked. Compared to Fang Chang becoming a god, the divine descent was just as worrying.
Fang Chang fell silent for a moment, his eyes darkening. "I figure it's partly because I took over Sea God Island… and partly because the God of Asura instigated it."
"The God of Asura?" Bibi Dong shivered at the name.
"Yes, that one." Fang Chang continued spinning his Divine Realm tale. "The God of Asura is one of the three major gods in charge of divine punishment and primarily oversees lower-realm affairs. Without his approval, I doubt the Sea God would have dared to act on his own."
Fang Chang had already told her bits of this in the past, and with his additional embellishments now, she had no reason to doubt him.
Afterward, they discussed more matters concerning the Divine Realm and then went their separate ways.
Perhaps driven by the pressure of Fang Chang becoming a god first—or by the looming threat of the Asura God—Bibi Dong began breaking through the final barrier to her divine inheritance as soon as she returned.
At the same time, Qian Renxue had also reached a critical point in her godhood inheritance. Day after day, she knelt before the Angel statue in Spirit Hall, as though trying to comprehend something. Yet a knot remained in her heart, preventing her from taking the final step.
On Fang Chang's end, he first used his remaining evolution points to further enhance Xiao Bai and the Golden Trio, greatly improving their strength.
Now, all four of them had surpassed the 100,000-year threshold and had survived their first heavenly tribulation, making them formidable allies.
He also lifted the restrictions on the Dark Demonic Evil God Tiger. Previously, he had kept the beast in check, forbidding it from causing too much trouble for human soul masters. But now, he gave the order to hunt freely and grow stronger, naming only a few humans it must not harm.
The tiger then began wantonly attacking high-level human soul masters, leaving them miserable. But the result was that, within just one year, its soul power skyrocketed past 400,000 years. With its bloodline and skills, not even someone like Qian Daoliu—at the pinnacle of Rank 99—could pose a threat to it anymore.
As for Fang Chang himself, he cautiously continued growing stronger, though his targets were no longer human soul masters, but other soul beast species from the sea.
With his current soul power, his Devour skill could affect several kilometers at once and ignore most resistance from soul beasts.
As a result, entire races of sea soul beasts were wiped out one after another. Thanks to this highly efficient slaughter, Fang Chang's soul power soon surpassed the 2,000,000-year mark—far beyond the normal limit of soul beasts.
Time flew, and soon, the second year was almost over. Then, one day near Spirit Hall, a sudden burst of energy erupted into the sky, immediately drawing Fang Chang's attention.
"That aura… has Bibi Dong finally ascended?" he murmured with relief. The more allies he had for the coming war with the gods, the better his chances.
Even though he had now reached an undying, immortal state, it didn't mean he was invincible. If the gods united like they did against the Golden Dragon King, it was still possible to seal him away entirely.
That was why he didn't dare venture to the Divine Realm just yet and continued hiding within the Douluo Plane to strengthen himself.
Not long after, yet another surge of divine energy erupted from Spirit Hall—Qian Renxue had also broken through.
But her mood wasn't great. Fang Chang hadn't told her that the final step of her inheritance required Qian Daoliu, her protector, to sacrifice his life.
At the same time, as if sensing the emergence of all these powerful new forces, the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest began pulsing with strange energy, as though probing the world's changing state.
Under this mounting pressure, the Divine Realm finally completed its preparations. Led by the God of Asura, a team of divine enforcers—including the Sea God, God of War, and God of Speed—assembled and readied themselves to descend and eliminate the spider once and for all.