A Well-Intentioned Lie

"???"

The voice from the deep pit left Lakesius standing above ground, stunned and utterly bewildered.

If he had not been hearing things just now, then he seemed to have heard a startled cry—and it had been a woman's voice!

Lakesius scratched his head. If he remembered correctly, Neuvillette, his grandson, should have been the only one in that pit, right?

What was going on?

There was clearly something strange about that voice, but he was too embarrassed to go down and investigate.

A moment later, Neuvillette "flew" out of the pit.

His expression was rather strange, his eyes unfocused as though he were pondering something.

"Grandson, what's wrong with you?"

Hearing Lakesius's voice, Neuvillette finally snapped out of his daze.

He hurriedly waved his hands and said, "Grandpa, I'm fine, I'm fine..."

Seeing Neuvillette like this, Lakesius asked even more suspiciously, "You're really fine?"

"I'm really fine."

"But just now, I clearly heard..."

"You were hallucinating!"

"???"

Lakesius was utterly baffled. He had not even said what he heard yet. Wasn't Neuvillette giving himself away?

From the moment Neuvillette emerged, Lakesius had felt that something was off about him. Still, he was too embarrassed to press further. Since Neuvillette did not wish to say more, he did not ask any more questions.

After looking over the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Lakesius felt as though his heart were bleeding, yet he immediately felt relieved.

If this Treasure Land had remained intact, the overall strength of the Eight Great Families would have at least doubled!

Their future descendants could also have...

Of course, this place belonged to Neuvillette. Since it had become like this, Lakesius did not mind at all.

After all, Neuvillette was his only adopted grandson. No one else was even half as close to him as Neuvillette was!

"Now that only the Lovesick Heartbreak Red remains, Grandson, put it away. This Treasure Land no longer has any value."

Only then did Neuvillette begin examining the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Even though he had been prepared, the sight before him still shocked him.

Other than that "stone," the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had been completely destroyed.

Still, if it could allow a god to reconstruct her body, then its destruction had been worth it!

Before Neuvillette emerged from the deep pit, Focalors had unexpectedly turned into a streak of light and returned to his Sea of Consciousness.

Perhaps because of what had happened earlier, Focalors did not know how to face Neuvillette, so she simply began playing dead!

No matter how Neuvillette called for her, she would not say a word!

This is so embarrassing. I obviously woke up before him, so how could I forget—forget that...

It's over, it's over. After this, there's no escaping for the rest of my life.

What little Oceanid, what Little Hydro Dragon... Isn't this too early? No, it can't happen that fast...

Neuvillette had no idea that Focalors was currently locked in an internal struggle within his Sea of Consciousness. She was deeply conflicted, but more than anything, she was embarrassed.

This was the first time in her life as a god that something like this had happened!

Whenever she thought of the Dragon King's "revenge," she felt both anticipation and fear...

Neuvillette: "..."

After thinking for a moment, Neuvillette directly put away the Lovesick Heartbreak Red. This thing could not be placed inside an ordinary Storage Soul Tool.

It looked like a stone, but it was a living thing. It had to be placed in a Storage Soul Tool capable of holding living creatures.

Such Storage Soul Tools were exceedingly rare. Dugu Bo possessed a Ruyi Treasure Pouch that could store living creatures.

Neuvillette did not have one, but Lakesius did.

After saying that, Lakesius handed Neuvillette a storage pouch capable of storing living creatures.

This storage pouch did not look as ornate as the Ruyi Treasure Pouch. It was very ordinary in appearance, and its capacity was likewise limited, yet it was extremely valuable!

"Grandson, are you going to stay in Heaven Dou City for a while, or return to Suotuo City?"

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well had been destroyed and no longer held any value, so there was naturally no need to station anyone there.

Lakesius needed to obtain his ninth soul ring in order to truly break through to the Titled Douluo rank.

To be safe, he needed some people to assist him—the Soul Douluos from the other seven families.

Of course, he would not invite all of them.

Of the Eight Great Families, four were on the Heaven Dou Empire's side, while the other four were in the Star Luo Empire.

Lakesius was ninety percent confident that he could hunt his ninth soul ring alone, but that was still not enough. He needed to be one hundred percent certain!

"You need to obtain your ninth soul ring, don't you?"

Rather than saying where he intended to go, Neuvillette spoke thoughtfully.

Hearing this, Lakesius nodded. He did not hide it and said directly, "That's right. After absorbing those two Immortal Herbs, my martial soul evolved into the Golden Crow, and my Soul Power Level broke past the limit of level eighty-nine, reaching level ninety!"

A level ninety powerhouse was considered a quasi-Titled Douluo. As long as they obtained another soul ring, they could break through to the Titled Douluo rank.

"I'll accompany you."

Neuvillette said naturally, with no particular expression on his face.

Lakesius froze. He knew Neuvillette's strength well; among those of his age, he had no equal!

But the soul beast he was going to face this time would not be so simple.

Lakesius did not even need to think before directly refusing.

"No!"

"If you want to experience soul hunting, Grandpa can take you sometime afterward. But this time is no joking matter."

Lakesius shook his head repeatedly.

Neuvillette was taken aback. He was no longer a child, yet before Lakesius, it seemed as though he would never grow up.

After thinking briefly, Neuvillette nodded and did not continue arguing with Lakesius.

With Lakesius's current strength, even if he encountered a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, could he not simply run if he could not defeat it?

After considering it, Neuvillette finally nodded and said, "Then I'll return to Suotuo City first. By the way, are you planning to hunt in the Star Dou Great Forest this time, or here in Sunset Forest?"

Hearing this, Lakesius pondered for a while before saying, "Although Sunset Forest also has high-level soul beasts, neither their quality nor their age can compare with those in the Star Dou Great Forest."

At this point, Lakesius paused before continuing, "I'll look around Sunset Forest first. If there's a suitable soul beast, there'll be no need to go to the Star Dou Great Forest."

There were plenty of high-level Fire Attribute soul beasts in Sunset Forest. What if he happened to find a suitable one?

Time passed, and the grandfather and grandson temporarily went their separate ways. Lakesius first went deeper into Sunset Forest to scout around and see whether there were any high-level soul beasts suitable for him.

"Neuvillette, does this count as deceiving your grandfather?"

Hearing the voice in his mind, Neuvillette's eye twitched. He was secretly following along to keep Lakesius safe—how was that deception?

It was a well-intentioned lie.

"Focalors, you're finally willing to speak?"

"I thought you would keep..."