Clearly, the Asura God had been paving the way for Tang San all along. His daughter and he had both become stepping stones.
At that thought, Bibi Dong's Divine Thought raised a hand and beckoned. A Soul Bone separated from Hu Liena's frozen corpse, its surface etched with pale, bone-white markings as a chilling aura of slaughter emerged.
"Little one, this Soul Bone bears the Divine Slaughter's Domain my disciple obtained back then. Tang San must have left behind Divine Thought and Divine Power in this world. If you cultivate this Divine Slaughter's Domain to its utmost and then obtain Asura Divine Power, you can evolve it into the Asura Domain."
Bibi Dong's words brimmed with temptation. This was both an opportunity and bait, luring the young man into targeting the contingencies Tang San and the others had left behind.
"Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty."
Yang Hao accepted without hesitation. He had coveted the Divine Slaughter's Domain for a long time; he just hadn't expected Hu Liena's domain to have been transferred and imprinted onto her Head Soul Bone.
But it made sense. The Divine Slaughter's Domain was a spiritual-type domain, while a Head Soul Bone amplified mental power. The two were a good match.
Hu Liena's Martial Soul was a Beast Martial Soul, and she was skilled in mental power to begin with, so it wasn't strange that the domain could be transferred like this and preserved with the help of the Soul Bone.
Especially with Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong, two gods, right there beside them.
"Show me your light Martial Soul."
Nearby, Qian Renxue steadied her emotions and gestured for Ye Xishui to reveal her Martial Soul. She intended to bestow a God Trial upon her.
Ye Xishui hesitated, then glanced at her disciple before finally revealing her Second Martial Soul.
She had never told anyone about this Martial Soul. This was the first time she had shown it to anyone.
But things were different now. With the chance to become a god right before her, she had to fight for it with everything she had. As long as she became a god, none of the other problems would matter.
"Phoenix Martial Soul. Excellent!"
Qian Renxue was surprised and very pleased.
This Bright Phoenix Martial Soul possessed both light and fire attributes, while her own Angel Martial Soul possessed holy, light, and fire attributes. The Angel Divine Power was the same, so they were a good match.
Moreover, the Phoenix Martial Soul was a divine beast Martial Soul with divine beast bloodline. It could bear Ultimate Attributes, making it easier to cultivate to the peak and even break through to level one hundred.
Holy golden Divine Power poured into Ye Xishui. After scanning her, seven screens of light appeared.
Chapter 32: Luring Them into the Fold
"It's a shame it isn't an Angel Martial Soul. Otherwise, it might have triggered the Angel Eight Trials."
Qian Renxue was disappointed. The Angel God Position was highly specific; only an Angel Martial Soul could match it perfectly. And it couldn't be just any Angel Martial Soul—its owner had to awaken an Ultimate Attribute.
She had awakened the Ultimate Holy Attribute herself, which was why she had been able to trigger the Angel Nine Trials.
At the same time, the Ultimate Holy Attribute had slowed her cultivation before she reached Soul Saint. Even with Innate Soul Power of level twenty, it had still been difficult. That was how Tang San had managed to catch up with her.
"Don't lose heart. The God Trial's assessment isn't set in stone. If you can fuse with my Angel Divine Power and develop an Ultimate Attribute, you may be able to raise your God Trial and obtain the Angel Eight Trials."
Qian Renxue offered a few words of encouragement. She had high hopes for Ye Xishui; her Bright Phoenix Martial Soul was exceptionally pure.
"Now it's time for my God Trial. I hope I can reach the level of the eight trials."
Bibi Dong gestured for her to reveal her Martial Soul. She didn't expect to reach the highest level, the Rakshasa Nine Trials; eight would be enough.
Ye Xishui switched to her Blood Soul Demon Puppet Martial Soul. Rakshasa Divine Power descended and formed seven rings of light, which finally turned into a sickle imprint on Ye Xishui's brow.
"As expected, the compatibility still isn't enough."
Bibi Dong was disappointed. Back then, she had used her Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul to bear and fuse with the Rakshasa God Position, changing some of its attributes in the process. Only the same Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul could match it perfectly.
That was why she had used a god's authority to leave a trigger in the Heaven and Earth Laws. Any Soul Master with a Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul who cultivated to the Titled Douluo level would be drawn here.
Unfortunately, she had waited for over ten thousand years without finding one. This time, she had only found an External Soul Bone from a Soul-Devouring Demon Spider, not a Martial Soul.
"Your first God Trial task is to find a Soul Master with an Angel Martial Soul and an Ultimate Attribute, as well as a Soul Master with a Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul."
"You may leave now!"
Qian Renxue gave her the first God Trial task and gestured for the two to go.
"Aren't the two of you coming with us?"
Yang Hao wouldn't pass up the chance to bring these two heavy hitters back with him. He had to talk them into coming; only then would he be safer.
Besides, they had two Main God artifacts and two sets of divine equipment.
"My mother and I are both very weak now. We can't stay conscious for long, and afterward we'll have to fall asleep to slow the loss of our power."
Qian Renxue shook her head. Neither of them was in good shape, and her Divine Soul had withered considerably over the millennia.
She had become a god too recently and hadn't fully transformed before shattering her own God Position. That had gravely wounded her Divine Soul. The fact that it hadn't disintegrated right then had been fortunate enough.
Bibi Dong was helpless, too. She was only a Divine Thought now and couldn't do much.
"Your Majesty, I've heard that Faith Power is vital to gods. The Sea God Tang San came back from the dead ten thousand years ago largely because of Faith Power. It can even help Soul Masters create their own God Positions, so it should be able to help you.
"Our Holy Spirit Cult is a major faith-based sect with countless believers. We're also preparing to unify the continent using explosives and firearms. By then, we'll be able to gather even more faith..."
Yang Hao very much hoped to persuade the two of them to come along. Even if they just slept inside the Holy Spirit Cult, that would be enough. He would then at least be standing on the same starting line as Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong.
Ye Xishui watched quietly from the side. She also hoped to invite the two back with them so she could speak with them and learn more about the secrets of godhood.
"Are those explosives and firearms of yours powerful?"
Bibi Dong was curious. She had intended to unify the continent back then, but Tang San had defeated her.
Having fought in a war of unification, she knew how difficult it was. Trying to unify the continent with a single sect was far too hard.
"Your Majesty, take a look. This is a Desert Eagle Pistol. Paired with the Tang Sect Secret Art, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, it can be used for Gun-Fu."
Yang Hao demonstrated on the spot. He pulled out two of the latest Desert Eagle Pistols and performed the improved Gun-Fu.
Next came the improved AK-47, with greatly increased power and accuracy.
Then came a sniper rifle, a Vulcan Cannon, and an Anti-Aircraft Gun. He only brought out the rockets and missiles that followed to explain them; he didn't test them, since there wasn't enough space.
Even so, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue were shocked. The weapons were nothing special to them in terms of power, but the fact that they could be mass-produced without limit was terrifying.
"If I'd had weapons like these back then, Heaven Dou and Star Luo would have been wiped out long ago."
Bibi Dong sighed. There had been many reasons for her failure back then, and the lack of combat power among her troops had been a major one.
"We also have the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Skill, a cultivation method left behind by the Sea God. It has two versions: one for Soul Masters, and one for ordinary people. The latter lets them cultivate a kind of energy called Internal Energy, similar to Soul Power.
"In other words, it lets ordinary people with no Innate Soul Power cultivate into Soul Masters, and their potential isn't low."
"We're currently gathering orphans in secret and training them. In twenty years, we'll have hundreds of thousands, even millions, of Soul Masters in our army. Armed with these firearms, they'll be enough to sweep across the entire continent.
"What we lack right now is high-end combat power. Our Holy Spirit Cult alone is still far weaker than the entire continent."
As he spoke, Yang Hao took out the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. After he had handed it over to Zhongli Wu, Zhongli Wu had someone copy and print it, then returned the original to him.
"Hmm?"
Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue were shocked again. They took the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and read it. After seeing the original Mysterious Heaven Skill cultivation method, they were certain.
"As expected, Tang San isn't from our world. The Asura God or Sea God must have brought him here from another world."
Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh, confirming some of her suspicions. Tang San really was suspicious.
Qian Renxue came to the same conclusion. The Internal Energy produced by this cultivation method didn't belong to their world.
"Xue'er."
Bibi Dong looked at her daughter, tempted.
If they stayed here, all they could do was sleep. If they could go outside and obtain Faith Power, they would surely be able to recover some of their strength.
That would let them last longer. Otherwise, her Divine Thought could endure for no more than a hundred years, while Xue'er's Divine Soul would last only a thousand. After that, they would truly die.
Bibi Dong didn't care what happened to herself, but Xue'er still had a Divine Soul—the foundation she needed to live on.
"Should we take her with us?"
Qian Renxue looked at Hu Liena's corpse, then agreed.
Back then, they had been filled with remorse. She and Hu Liena had knelt before their mother's ice coffin to atone, keeping her company for ten thousand years.
"No. Let Na'er stay here."
Bibi Dong shook her head slightly. They didn't know whether their trip outside would bring good fortune or disaster, so she would leave Na'er here.
She used Divine Power to cut and shape the ice into a coffin, gently lifted Hu Liena's corpse, changed her kneeling posture, and laid her flat inside.
At last, she gently caressed her disciple's cheek and closed the coffin lid.
Qian Renxue took out a Storage Soul Tool and put her mother's ice coffin and her own corpse inside. She sealed the two Main God artifacts and stored them there as well.
This Storage Soul Tool had been refined with her Divine Power. Its quality was extraordinary, and it could hold artifacts.
And since they had sealed the two artifacts and suppressed the Divine Power inside, there was no problem storing them.
Seeing the two women's decision, Yang Hao smiled. Ye Xishui was very pleased as well and supported her disciple's suggestion.
Some things were different coming from her than from her disciple, who was still a child. Besides, she couldn't use Faith Power for now, so she might as well let the two women use it to recover.
Chapter 33: The God-Slaying Spear!
Ye Xishui brought Yang Hao back, in an especially good mood. She felt even more fond of and protective toward her disciple.
He really was her lucky star. The moment he arrived, he had brought her such a tremendous opportunity.
Yang Hao was delighted, too. He had gained far too much this time.
With Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong as his two powerful backers, he no longer had to fear God King Tang's schemes.
As long as God King Tang didn't descend in person, they could definitely hold their own.
Of course, this was only a safeguard. It still couldn't greatly increase his own strength for the time being, so he needed to keep a low profile and develop in secret.
He was also glad he had brought his teacher, Ye Xishui, along this time. Otherwise, if he had gone down alone, Bibi Dong's Divine Thought would most likely have killed him to keep this place a secret.
There was no helping it. His Martial Soul's current level and potential were too low, and she wouldn't think much of him. Besides, Bibi Dong was a lunatic and no kind soul.
He still needed to keep a low profile and develop in secret!
Back at the main altar, Ye Xishui summoned Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling to discuss changing their faith. Yang Hao continued to stay in the side hall, reading, studying, and cultivating.
He had gained a lot this time. Not only had he persuaded Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong to come with them, he had also obtained the foundations of Spirit Hall, especially its books.
After Bibi Dong's death in battle, Qian Renxue had been too distracted to concern herself with anything else, but Evil Moon and Yan had immediately returned to Spirit City and taken away the countless years of accumulated treasures from Spirit Hall, including its books.
Among the books were also things they had obtained when Spirit Hall attacked the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. One of them was the method Sword Douluo had used to condense Soul Rings into solid crystal cores.
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