At this moment, Liu Jingyun was still investigating the cause of the Seven-Colored Toxic Miasma's sudden change.
Ultimately, his cultivation was insufficient. Even with a ninth-grade defensive soul tool and his own three-word battle armor deployed, he still suffered significant corrosion.
His ninth-grade defensive soul tool was riddled with holes, his battle armor was reduced to just its soul formation core, and his skin was soaked in the poisonous mist, covered in ulcers and swollen blisters.
Yet, he still managed to break through the Seven-Colored Toxic Miasma and see the light.
Or rather, at some moment during his passage, the resistance from the miasma had suddenly decreased.
The instant he saw the light, a glimmer of excitement flashed through his eyes, and with a forceful leap, he successfully entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
However, the moment Liu Jingyun charged in, he seemed to have been hit by a petrification spell, standing there dumbfounded.
Seeing those signature golden pupils and black hair, that face more recognizable than even the most famous human celebrities, he broke into a cold sweat.
What kind of mess had he gotten himself into?!
This question relentlessly battered his already battered soul.
Wasn't he supposed to be in the Tang Sect's Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well?! Why was Di Tian here?! And why was there a whole crowd of powerful soul beasts?!
Countless questions arose, yet not a single soul beast in his vision paid him any attention.
Apart from Di Tian and the seven great immortal herbs, there was another gaunt-looking man present. A soul beast with such a distinct appearance could only be the Myriad Demon King.
As the uncrowned king of plant-type soul beasts, the Demon-Eyed Demon Tree, with over fifty thousand years of cultivation, was the most suitable candidate in Di Tian's mind to govern the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, making it easier to manage the immortal herbs and other plant-type soul beasts.
Although the Myriad Demon King's face remained pale, his heart was filled with overwhelming excitement.
For Di Tian, he stood still for a long time, watching him leave with deep reverence.
Originally, with the expansion of the Star Dou Forest and the growth of the Tree of Life after absorbing massive amounts of life essence, the Myriad Demon King no longer had to fear his upcoming six-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, which had loomed over him since he lost the Emperor Auspice Beast's fate power.
And now, with the addition of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, not only could he easily overcome his six-hundred-thousand-year tribulation, but even his seven-hundred-thousand-year tribulation would no longer be an issue.
By taking root in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he could even glimpse the realm once reached by Di Tian and the Evil Emperor ten thousand years ago—the dual-core soul nucleus of Yin-Yang complementarity would no longer be a mere dream.
One could only imagine how much of a boon this paradise for soul beasts would be, not just for the powerful ones, but also for the more common species.
With the expansion of soul beast territories, the era of an explosive increase in soul beast powerhouses was dawning.
Amidst his joy, the Myriad Demon King's true form, the Demon-Eyed Demon Tree, moved.
"Splat!"
The ground cracked open, soil and mud spraying as its massive roots surged like giant pythons.
With his body already ravaged by the Seven-Colored Toxic Miasma, Liu Jingyun had no ability to resist. He could only watch in despair as he was dragged underground, becoming nothing more than a nutrient source.
At the same time, Di Tian, who had already left, arrived at the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
He appeared at the underground space where he had first met the Demon Emperor—the Blood River God-Slaying Array.
"How are things progressing?"
"The harvest is immense. In this war between the soul beast race and humans, the Holy Spirit Cult deployed all of its members, and we managed to collect over ten million souls."
"Though this number is on par with what we gained from the destruction of Shrek Academy, the quality of the souls is on an entirely different level."
"We have the soul of a divine-level spiritual power user, over a dozen Ultimate Douluo souls, nearly a thousand Title Douluo souls, and an innumerable number of soul master souls. Their quality far surpasses that of ordinary humans."
"Thanks to them, the cult's evil soul masters have seen an exponential increase in strength. Normally, the Blood River God-Slaying Array would take years to form perfectly, but now we can forcibly accelerate its completion at any time."
The Demon Emperor's voice was dripping with bloodthirsty excitement. Years of planning were finally bearing fruit—how could she not be elated?
In stark contrast, Di Tian remained completely calm.
He spoke seriously: "There's no need to rush. These souls are the accumulation of human soul masters over the past century. We can use them to construct another Blood River God-Slaying Array."
"Huh?!"
One moment, the Demon Emperor had been nodding in agreement; the next, she suddenly froze.
"Another Blood River God-Slaying Array? Isn't that redundant?"
The Blood River God-Slaying Array wasn't a one-time-use formation—it could be reused indefinitely. Why waste time and effort building another one?
Thus, upon hearing Di Tian's request, the Demon Emperor was utterly perplexed.
But his answer only confused her further.
"Because... in a zero-sum game, the rewards are high, but so are the risks."
"If not absolutely necessary, I wouldn't want to play such a gamble. I prefer being a dirty player instead."
As he spoke, silver light flashed beside him, and a spatial passage suddenly appeared.
From within, an aura of pure destruction radiated outward—a scent the Demon Emperor was all too familiar with. It was the same as the two Grade-12 fixed soul-guided artillery shells that had obliterated Shrek Academy.
At this moment, her expression finally grew serious and cautious.
Since Di Tian had handed Eternal Heaven over to her, his earlier remark about building a second Blood River God-Slaying Array was clearly no joke.
Having waited so many years, she didn't mind preparing a little longer.
So she asked, "Where's the location?"
"Mingdu. We've already paid a visit to Shrek City and the Spirit Pagoda. We shouldn't favor one over the other, should we?"
"Alright. I'll get it done as fast as possible."
After finalizing the location of the second Blood River God-Slaying Array, Di Tian continued, "With the evil soul masters strengthening due to the high-quality souls, can you still keep them in check? Need any help?"
"Relax. The control of the Blood River God-Slaying Array has always been in my hands. They can't cause any trouble."
"I'll have Ghost Emperor and the others head to Mingdu immediately. The second Blood River God-Slaying Array won't be delayed."
She waved him off dismissively, but the flicker of ruthlessness in her eyes made it clear she would handle things with an iron fist.
With the second Blood River God-Slaying Array settled, Di Tian wasted no time and left immediately, heading toward the center of the continent.
His destination was the Myriad Beasts Platform—an independent space created by the Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape to preserve soul beast seeds. It was located near the former headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda and was now covered by the expanded Star Dou Forest.
While the Star Dou Forest had indeed expanded greatly in a short time, soul beast reproduction wasn't something that happened overnight.
Although it could now easily support millions of soul beasts, its current population barely reached a few hundred thousand—making it a prime example of "vast land, sparse population."
The soul beast seeds within the Myriad Beasts Platform could both replenish their numbers and accelerate the reproduction process of the soul beast race.
Not to mention, it housed long-extinct soul beast species like the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff and the Silver Eagle Beast.
(End of Chapter)