Damn!
It really was the God King!!
I could never repay the God King's kindness!!
Looking at the man before him, with his long sea-blue hair and an air of lofty superiority, Huo Yuhao was so moved he could have wept!
He had never imagined he would be this eager for the God King to show up.
After all this waiting, the God King had finally deigned to do something for him!
Huo Yuhao nearly let his true feelings show.
Fortunately, after being tempered by Ghost Demon Venerable, he had become quite adept at managing his expressions.
So in the next instant, Huo Yuhao's expression shifted.
He struck just the right note of a teenage boy seeing a god for the first time: shock, confusion, and a touch of suitably measured awe.
"Sea God... Tang San?"
Even Huo Yuhao's voice trembled slightly as he took half a step back, as if intimidated by the pressure radiating from Tang San.
Tang San seemed quite pleased with his reaction.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked down at Huo Yuhao and spoke in a gentle tone that nonetheless carried an air of command.
"Child, there's no need to be afraid."
"I have descended in the form of a wisp of divine consciousness because your situation is extremely dangerous."
Tang San wasted no time getting to the point.
"Something extremely evil is lurking in your Sea of Consciousness."
"It isn't a creature from our Douluo Continent, but a Demon Soul from another world."
"It is hiding inside you, most likely plotting something against you. It may even be trying to seize your body."
At this, Tang San paused. His gaze fixed on Huo Yuhao's face, and a hint of scrutiny entered his voice.
"Tell me, has it awakened recently? Or has it tried to communicate with you?"
That was what Tang San cared about most.
He had to confirm whether Huo Yuhao had been ensnared by the Demon Soul or had turned to the side of evil.
If things had truly slipped beyond his control, then even the most valuable chess piece could be discarded.
Here it comes!
At Tang San's words, alarm bells rang in Huo Yuhao's mind.
Sure enough, you God King Tang aren't any good either!
Those words sounded like concern for me, but they were obviously a blatant test!
Communicate?
He's almost guessed everything about me, and you're asking whether we've talked!
Huo Yuhao had no doubt that if he dared to say yes, the God King would immediately decide he had been corrupted. He might even destroy his body and soul on the spot.
Huo Yuhao cursed inwardly, but outwardly he shook his head like a rattle drum.
"No! Absolutely not!"
Huo Yuhao shook his head with an innocent expression, his eyes wide, and even a little fear in them.
"I haven't felt anything at all. Sometimes I just get a headache."
"Lord Sea God, you say there's a Demon Soul in my head? Am I going to die?"
At his answer, the tension in Tang San's shoulders eased ever so slightly.
As long as Huo Yuhao hadn't made contact with it, there was still a chance to save him.
"Don't worry. With me here, nothing will happen to you."
Huo Yuhao immediately looked at him with hopeful eyes, as if he had grabbed hold of a lifeline.
"Then, Lord Sea God, kill it now! Or just drive it out of my head!"
Tang San fell silent for a moment.
Kill it? Now?
If he could strike directly, would he have gone to all this trouble to send down a jade token?
Back in the Divine Realm, God of Destruction kept an eye on him every day, eager to catch him making a mistake and seize the chance to make an issue of it.
If he dared to forcefully send down enough divine power to annihilate an old monster of that caliber, God of Destruction would make him pay dearly.
He might even use the opportunity to strip him of his authority as God Realm Enforcer.
But he couldn't exactly say all that to a mortal from the lower realm.
"Child, things aren't as simple as you think."
Having made up his mind, Tang San cleared his throat and put on a look of noble righteousness.
"I am the God Realm Enforcer. I cannot interfere lightly with the workings of the lower realm."
"The plane barriers of Douluo Continent are extremely fragile. If I unleashed my full power here, the shock waves of my immense divine power would flatten everything within thousands of miles in an instant."
"Then countless lives would be lost, and countless innocent people would die because of you. That would violate the Divine Realm's ironclad laws, and it is not what I want."
Huo Yuhao lowered his head, the corners of his mouth twitching violently.
Bullshit!
Pure bullshit!
How many times have you meddled in the lower realm, God King Tang? When you start throwing down your divine consciousness to protect your own people at the slightest provocation, why don't you worry about countless lives being lost?
Perhaps seeing Huo Yuhao's disappointment, Tang San offered further reassurance.
"More importantly, although that Demon Soul is weak, it is extremely cunning."
"If I force my way in now, it may be driven to desperation and take you down with it by detonating your Sea of Consciousness."
"You have great potential. I can't let you take that risk."
So that's it.
To put it plainly, you still didn't dare strike directly.
All that lofty talk was useless.
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes inwardly.
Even though he cursed Tang San from head to toe in his heart, when he raised his head, his face was full of gratitude and admiration.
The self-cultivation of a proper actor.
"Then, Lord Sea God, what exactly should I do?"
At Huo Yuhao's question, Tang San replied,
"To keep that evil creature from getting desperate and taking you down with it, I've found a safe and ideal place for you."
As he spoke, Tang San raised a hand and lightly tapped the air with his fingertip.
A hazy map unfolded amid the blue mist, then settled on a heart-shaped valley surrounded by mountains, with unusual terrain.
"This place is called the Valley of Love Inquiry."
"It is a secret realm left behind on Douluo Continent by the Divine Realm long ago, and its fortunes are tied to those of the Divine Realm."
"As long as you reach this place, I will be able to send down divine power without restraint."
"Under the protection of the Valley of Love Inquiry's rules, I can ensure that the evil creature is completely annihilated without endangering your life!"
Huo Yuhao looked at the map and thought, Well, I'll be damned.
The Valley of Love Inquiry?
Wasn't it the same old trick again?
So the old man didn't have any new ideas after all?
But Huo Yuhao had no choice now.
At least he had a way to deal with Ghost Demon Venerable.
"..."
It should work, right?
Huo Yuhao suddenly began to doubt the God King's abilities.
But no matter what, he could only try it and see.
"I've got it, Lord Sea God! I'll find a way to get there!"
Huo Yuhao nodded firmly, his face resolute.
Tang San was pleased with his attitude and nodded.
"Good."
It seemed this child of fortune still had unwavering faith in him.
No wonder he had kept burning incense before his divine statue.
Then Tang San seemed to remember something and added,
"The jade token in your hand is the key to opening the Valley of Love Inquiry. Keep it close to you."
"To avoid alerting the Demon Soul in your mind, I will erase this projection at once."
"If you run into trouble you can't resolve in the future, take the jade token to the Clear Sky Sect and find Niu Tian and Tai Tan."
"They will help you."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tang San's figure and the blue mist around him began to fade rapidly.
"Go, child."
"I will be watching over you from the Divine Realm."
The space inside the jade pendant gradually vanished. Huo Yuhao still wanted to wring something else out of the God King, but there was nothing he could do.
After Huo Yuhao had completely disappeared from the space inside the jade pendant,
one second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Tang San's figure appeared once more.
As the wisp of divine consciousness condensed again, he opened his eyes.
What kind of person was God King Tang?
He would never simply take Huo Yuhao's word for it.
Even though Huo Yuhao's reaction had been flawless, Tang San would only be reassured if he saw things with his own eyes.
This wisp of divine consciousness was his backup plan. He needed to personally confirm that Huo Yuhao hadn't slipped beyond his control.
As for whether he would feel guilty about it?
Don't make the God King laugh.
Since birth, the God King had never known what guilt meant.
At most, he could treat Huo Yuhao a little better later. No harm done.
Just as Tang San's wisp of divine consciousness was lost in thought, a stream of gray air suddenly appeared inside the jade pendant's space.
It resembled Huo Yuhao's aura, but was purer and carried a stronger killing intent.
"Hmm? Who?!"
Tang San had only just sensed that something was wrong when he whipped around—and was swallowed by the gray stream in an instant.
The space inside the jade pendant fell silent once more.
In the Divine Realm, at Tang San's true body's location.
The God King opened his eyes. As he sensed the message sent by that wisp of divine consciousness, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile, and he felt secretly pleased with himself.
The message contained just four words.
"All is well below."
Before you continue