"So this is divine-level spiritual power!" Qian Gu Dieting clenched his fists. He hadn't expected that just a single spiritual domain from Leng Yaozhu would be enough to trap all of them—three top-tier powerhouses from the same clan—without any means to counter it.
Of course, Qian Gu Dieting wasn't completely without options. This time, he had come with the family's ancestral divine weapon.
Their ancestral weapon was specially designed to target souls. If he used it, he believed that even Leng Yaozhu would definitely suffer.
But Leng Yaozhu didn't seem to want to tear things apart with them. In this situation, if they insisted on using the divine weapon to fight her to the death, it would be a bit too much.
Not to mention, Leng Yaozhu also had a divine weapon.
If things really escalated and both sides used their divine weapons, Qian Gu Dieting wasn't confident they could defeat Leng Yaozhu.
"What did Heavenly Phoenix Douluo mean earlier, saying that becoming a god would no longer be difficult?" Qian Gu Dieting asked in a low voice.
"I'm thinking of creating my own God Realm. Once it succeeds, becoming a god will no longer be a problem," Leng Yaozhu replied.
"Creating your own God Realm?" Qian Gu Dieting's eyes widened.
"Yes, creating my own God Realm," Leng Yaozhu nodded, eyes filled with unprecedented confidence. "I already have some ideas. It won't be long before I succeed."
"Succeed for sure?" Qian Gu Dongfeng frowned. That was the creation of a God Realm—they couldn't figure out where her confidence was coming from.
"Then we wish Lord Tianfeng success. We won't disturb you further," Qian Gu Dieting gave a slight bow, then turned to leave with Qian Gu Dongfeng and Qian Gu Qingfeng.
Qian Gu Dongfeng had gone so far as to collaborate with the Holy Spirit Cult just for the chance to become a god. Now that this opportunity lay with Leng Yaozhu, what reason did they have to stop her?
No matter how slim the chances of success were, as long as there was hope, it was worth the gamble.
Sigh... This should put an end to any more trouble, right? Leng Yaozhu exhaled lightly as she watched the three powerhouses leave. She wasn't afraid of conflict, but she didn't want to waste her energy on meaningless confrontations.
Luckily, the pressure from the Spirit Pagoda had finally eased. As for the Sun-Moon Federation, with Leng Yulai there, Leng Yaozhu believed there wouldn't be any problems.
Xia Yi didn't linger in Heaven Dou City. After leaving the local Spirit Pagoda branch, he immediately set out for the next city.
Because the Heaven Dou City branch had surrendered, and the headquarters hadn't issued any further orders of resistance, Xia Yi and his group faced almost no resistance afterward.
In some cases, the local branches prepared soul spirits made from soul beasts even before Xia Yi arrived—he only had to pick them up.
Xia Yi traveled day and night, sometimes hitting dozens of cities in a single day.
Soon, they reached Star Luo City, whose branch was also managed by one of the Four Great Spirit Transmitters.
This time, neither the Star Luo government nor the local Spirit Transmission Tower branch resisted. It went so smoothly that it felt almost too easy.
Half a month later, Xia Yi and his group arrived at Mingdu.
As the capital of the Sun-Moon Federation, Mingdu's Spirit Pagoda branch was second in scale only to the headquarters in Shrek City. It was also the gathering place for the Federation's peak combat forces.
Xia Yi had expected more resistance than in Heaven Dou City, but surprisingly, Mingdu was as compliant as Star Luo. The branch cooperated fully, and the local authorities completely ignored them, not showing up at all.
"Looks like the top-tier powerhouses in the Sun-Moon Federation are also hoping to ascend to godhood through Zhu'er," Xia Yi chuckled. Now that Mingdu was taken care of, he had no more pressure moving forward.
With no resistance, Xia Yi's speed increased. Once his mission on the Douluo Continent was complete, he split into two teams: Di Tian took Zi Ji and Bi Ji to the Douling Continent, while Xia Yi took the Demon Empress and Lan Fozi to the Eight Kings Domain.
The Douling Continent was too weak—there wasn't even a threat to Zi Ji there, let alone Di Tian.
As for the Eight Kings Domain, it was even easier. With the support of the Heart Moon Fox sisters, Zhang Geyang—the local Spirit Pagoda head—had no choice but to cooperate. Xia Yi effortlessly obtained all the soul spirits and soul beasts from every tower there.
"Mom's already returned to the nascent Soul Beast God Realm. What's your next plan—go after the Holy Spirit Cult?" Lan Fozi asked as she and Xia Yi walked atop the ocean waves.
"I've already informed Zhu'er. We'll follow her lead," Xia Yi smiled.
"Mom is really something… she didn't even send us back to the Douluo Continent. Just left the two of us to cross the sea on our own. Who knows how long it'll take us to get back," Lan Fozi pouted.
When they first came to the Eight Kings Domain, the Demon Empress brought them across the sea in just two hours.
Now that she had returned alone to the God Realm, Xia Yi and Lan Fozi had to cross the sea themselves—a journey that could take months.
Don't forget, Xia Yi was only a Soul Emperor, and Lan Fozi was only a Soul Sage.
Walking on water consumed a lot of soul power for both of them, so they had to alternate between flying and resting.
"What? You don't want to be alone with me? Missing Gu Yue already?" Xia Yi pulled Lan Fozi into his arms, wrapping his hands around her slender waist. He leaned on her fragrant shoulder, breathing in her scent as he teased her.
Truth was, Xia Yi had many ways to return quickly—he could open a portal using the Earth Cauldron and return directly to the Star Dou Forest via the Soul Beast God Realm.
But how could he not see that the Demon Empress had deliberately given him and Lan Fozi some alone time?
Lan Fozi's cheeks turned bright red, and she muttered almost inaudibly, "I… I'm not."
"Why so shy? I remember you being pretty bold," Xia Yi chuckled.
"You always tease me," Lan Fozi pouted even more, hiding in his embrace. Even now, just thinking about what had happened made her blush.
She didn't know where she'd found the courage back then.
"Fozi…" Xia Yi whispered.
"What is it?" Lan Fozi looked up at him, her deep blue eyes filled with unease. His sudden tenderness made her flustered.
"Have you ever regretted it?" he asked softly.
"Regret?" Lan Fozi was stunned. She stared at Xia Yi for a long moment before suddenly turning in his arms and hugging him tightly, her eyes red. "I don't regret it. I was just afraid… that you'd look down on me."
"Silly girl, what nonsense are you thinking? Why would I look down on you?" Xia Yi smiled, rubbing her deep blue hair.
"I…" Lan Fozi's eyes were still a bit red, and she hugged him even tighter.
You're getting emotional this easily? Girl, your emotions come cheap, Xia Yi thought with a chuckle. But he held her tight in return.
Looking at Lan Fozi, Xia Yi suddenly realized: among all the girls around him, she was now the easiest to win over.
Gu Yue was getting more and more cunning. Leng Yaozhu, with her position as vice tower master, was no easy mark either.
As for Leng Yulai, she was loyal, but her insights sometimes surpassed even Leng Yaozhu's. Though she never opposed Xia Yi, she always had her own thoughts.
The Demon Empress? Winning her over fully would still take some work.
"Silly girl," Xia Yi sighed gently.
"I'm not silly!" Lan Fozi pouted again, leaning against his chest. "What happened that day… was the best decision of my life. I'll never regret it."
Xia Yi smiled and asked, "So saying it was all for Gu Yue was just an excuse?"
"I-It wasn't!" Lan Fozi's face turned even redder.
"Then tell me—when did you transfer your affections to me?" Xia Yi grinned. He found her shy little-girlfriend vibe oddly soothing.
"I-I didn't transfer anything… I just like both you and Gu Yue at the same time," Lan Fozi stammered.
"Well, well, my Fozi is just as charming as me!" Xia Yi laughed. Honestly, her answer was exactly what he expected—he just wanted to tease her.
Gu Yye had already told Xia Yi several times: get Lan Fozi under control and stop her from clinging to her.
But Xia Yi didn't really mind. They're all sisters—what's wrong with a little love and harmony?
Besides, Lan Fozi had liked Gu Yue first. Even if he wanted to "correct" her preferences, it'd have to be a slow process.
"So, do you like me more, or Gu Yue more?" Xia Yi kept teasing.
"I… I don't know…" Lan Fozi said softly, lowering her head.
She'd thought about it herself, but still didn't know the answer.
"Want me to help you figure it out?" Xia Yi grinned.
"How?" Lan Fozi looked up curiously. Seeing that Xia Yi wasn't mad, she sighed in relief.
She hadn't wanted to lie to him. And she was prepared for him to be angry.
Over time, Xia Yi had become more and more important to her.
But Gu Yue was her first love. Deep inside, she still couldn't accept the idea of being a fickle person.
She kept telling herself—don't forget Gu Yue
"Well, by giving you the kind of happiness Gu Yue never could," Xia Yi grinned wickedly and, holding Lan Fozi tightly, dove into the vast sea.
(End of Chapter)