As the Abyssal creatures retreated into the passage like a receding tide, this unprecedentedly massive wave finally came to an end.
The soldiers of the Blood God Legion began clearing the battlefield in an orderly fashion, wiping out the scattered monsters that remained.
At that moment, Luo Yang lay in the quiet medical room, as if immersed in a long, bizarre dream.
In the dream, he was like an observer beyond space and time, witnessing countless mighty figures fall.
The scenes raced backward, from the primordial struggles for dominance at the birth of Douluo Continent to the rise and fall of ancient sects.
Countless dazzling talents had bloomed and faded in the river of history, like brilliant but fleeting fireworks.
At last, the scene settled on twenty thousand years ago.
A deep, imposing violet-black force of destruction and a sacred, compassionate emerald-gold force of life were joining hands against a blue-haired man wielding the Sea God Trident and clad in Asura Demon Armor.
Two gods against two gods!
The outcome was beyond doubt. Rakshasa God Bibi Dong's divine core shattered, and she perished; Angel God Qian Renxue's godhood collapsed, and she fell in defeat.
This legendary battle, deliberately blurred in the history books of later generations, was now unfolding clearly in Luo Yang's dream.
The scene shifted again, sweeping across ten thousand years, until everything finally faded into nothingness.
Luo Yang stood in the void as images of fallen mighty figures flashed before his eyes like scenes from a revolving lantern.
Tragedy, unwillingness, acceptance... Emotions of every kind seemed to reach across time and infect him.
Could these be the imprints of every mighty figure who had fallen on Douluo Continent since time immemorial?!
Luo Yang's heart filled with uncertainty.
"Just as you thought."
A voice as clear as a spring and gentle as a breeze sounded behind him.
Luo Yang turned around.
The graceful, curvaceous figure wreathed in the aura of nature and life had appeared silently some distance away. She looked at him with a smile.
"Everything you saw was the lingering echo of the mighty figures who had fallen on this continent since life first appeared here. Among them... were even gods."
The Plane Master's voice carried the wistful weight of the ages.
"And the core talent of your awakened Martial Soul, 'Undead Scourge,' is tied to the authority of 'death': awakening the departed and reshaping them into undead."
She paused, her emerald four-leaf-clover eyes fixed on Luo Yang. "And because I poured my 'Plane Blessing' into you, this authority has received the deep support of Douluo's origin."
"That means..."
"All the mighty figures who have fallen over the past ten thousand years of Douluo's history—even gods whose remains have dissipated—will answer your call and return to the world as undead, provided they meet the necessary conditions."
?!
Even though he had expected something like this, the impact of the revelation still made Luo Yang's pupils contract.
Resurrecting the mighty...
Even resurrecting gods?!
This ability was downright heaven-defying! It was a completely "overpowered" Martial Soul among the three he possessed.
If it could truly be done, quite a few gods had fallen throughout Douluo's history.
To name the most recent examples, the Destruction God King and Life God King had sacrificed themselves together ten thousand years ago to protect the Divine Realm from a space-time turbulence. Their core origins had not been completely extinguished; instead, they had fallen to Douluo and formed Devil Island.
These two God Kings had been on the same level as that "pure and unsullied" God King Tang, and the Destruction God King had even been stronger in battle!
With their help, not only could the Abyss threat be dealt with, but even if Tang San returned with the Divine Realm in the future, Luo Yang would have the strength to stand against him!
And that was not even counting the exceptionally gifted Holy Necromancer, Electrolux...
At the thought of all these possibilities, Luo Yang's heart burned with excitement.
"Don't celebrate too soon." The Plane Master promptly doused his enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water. "Talent is innate, but wielding authority always comes at a price. The more powerful the being you revive, the greater the price."
"What price?" Luo Yang pressed.
"Souls and wishes."
The emerald-clad woman raised two fingers.
"First, souls. You need to purify enough undead and convert them into pure Undead Power before you'll have the energy to revive the dead. With your current cultivation, you can only purify Soul Masters who died recently. The purified undead will then replenish your spiritual power and Soul Power."
"As your cultivation rises, this restriction will gradually ease. Once you're strong enough, even ancient lingering souls from ten thousand years ago will be sensed, summoned, and converted."
"Second, the wishes of the departed. You must fulfill the most deeply held wish of each person before they died. Only then will they willingly serve you."
Luo Yang fell into thought.
Both conditions were indeed harsh.
There was no steady source of undead for him to accumulate, apart from battlefields.
Unless... he waited for that God-killing Fixed Soul Cannon Shell to strike Shrek City. At that point, there would be as many undead as he could want.
The wishes would be even more troublesome. No one could know what those ancient mighty figures had been unable to let go of before they died.
The price was steep, but the rewards were beyond measure.
Just imagine: if he could assemble an "Undead Scourge Legion" made up of gods and mighty figures from every era, then neither Tang San with Dual Godhood nor the entire Shrek Seven Devils ascending to godhood would be anything to fear.
"Besides, there is something I must entrust to you in all seriousness." The Plane Master's voice drew Luo Yang from his thoughts. She gazed at him, her expression more solemn than ever.
"Please, speak."
Luo Yang held this Plane Master, who had selflessly protected the continent and was now on the verge of fading away, in deep respect.
"I hope you can save Douluo Continent from calamity."
Her emerald eyes reflected the shadows of endless mountains and rivers. Her voice was full of compassion and helplessness. "The Abyss Plane is now eyeing us hungrily and constantly encroaching upon our world. If I were at the height of my power, erasing this external threat would take no more than a flick of my finger."
"But now..."
A bitter smile tugged at her lips.
"I was plotted against by someone born in this world who has since risen to the rank of God King. That is why I have become so weak. And that God King intends for his parents to gradually take my place as the 'Plane Master'!"
As she spoke, her chest rose and fell slightly. Clearly, she struggled to keep her emotions in check.
To be betrayed and plotted against by a "child" she had once cherished and nurtured was a pain beyond words.
Luo Yang fell silent.
He knew exactly who that "God King" was. Who else could it be but the "pure and unsullied" God King Tang?
"All living beings on this continent are like my children."
The Plane Master's gaze brimmed with compassion and reluctance.
"I cannot bear to see them trapped in the future, at the mercy of the Abyss. But I can no longer interfere directly. If I recklessly use the little of my origin that remains, the 'God King parents' who are usurping my authority will easily detect me. Then I may be utterly extinguished."
Her gaze focused on Luo Yang once more, filled with her final hope. "But your appearance has let me glimpse an exceedingly faint ray of hope. Even if that hope is slim, I am willing to stake the future on you."
Luo Yang was silent.
So she wanted him to shoulder responsibility for the entire continent? He might even have to face that calculating God King Tang in the future.
With his current cultivation, what was he but a speck of dust before such colossal beings?
But the emerald-clad woman's words had also reminded him of a cruel fact: he was already caught in the vortex, with nowhere to run.
His identity as a transmigrator was his greatest original sin.
In Tang San's eyes, any "variable" had to be controlled or eliminated. Hiding was meaningless. Given Tang San's powers and cunning, it was only a matter of time before he found Luo Yang.
The threat of the Abyss was even closer. This was where Luo Yang lived; his family and friends were here. When the nest was overturned, how could any egg remain unbroken?
Rather than passively await judgment or destruction, he would rather strike first and hit hard!
However.
In the Plane Master's eyes, Luo Yang's silence seemed like hesitation and retreat. She sighed inwardly, but her beautiful face blossomed into a smile that could heal anything.
"Of course, you have the right to refuse. This is your life. Even as the Plane Master, I have no right to force the burden of the continent's survival onto a child."
Luo Yang, however, slowly shook his head.
"To entrust me with such a weighty responsibility is an honor I cannot refuse, Senior."
He lifted his head, his gaze firm.
"Even without your request, there are things I must do if I want to secure a place for myself in this world."
Hiding and fleeing would not solve anything.
Since he was destined to face this, he would strike first!
The emerald-clad woman was slightly taken aback.
Then a relieved, gratified smile blossomed across her beautiful face, like spring returning to the land.
"Good! Now I can truly rest easy."
As her heart relaxed, her form began to grow faint and transparent once more.
Seeing her on the verge of vanishing, Luo Yang could not help asking, "Are you... going to disappear?"
"Originally, if nothing changed, I planned to scatter the remnants of my power back across the continent at the final moment and bid it farewell."
The emerald-clad woman smiled candidly. "But your appearance changed my mind. For the time I have left before I vanish completely, I will do everything I can to help you grow."
"Then please be careful not to let them notice you," Luo Yang said.
"There's no need to worry." The Plane Master smiled serenely. "I will dwell in your Sea of Consciousness, where the deathly aura of your Martial Soul and my origin of life will form a delicate balance, allowing me to recover slowly."
"At the same time, I will help conceal the aura of the plane's favor on you, so certain beings don't set their sights on you too soon."
"My Sea of Consciousness?" Luo Yang was stunned.
So, had he just acquired a Plane Master version of "Electrolux"?
Before he could think it through, the Plane Master's figure transformed into countless shimmering emerald lights, like fireflies on a summer night, and sank into his brow.
In an instant, Luo Yang felt his mind sea shake with a thunderous rumble!
The boundaries of his Sea of Consciousness expanded rapidly, its area multiplying several times over! The water was no longer a dull silver. It turned a vibrant emerald green, surging with a rich aura of life.
At its center, the small phantom of a four-leaf clover floated quietly, radiating warm light that nourished the entire Sea of Consciousness.
In the real world, Luo Yang lay on the bed, his eyelashes trembling as he slowly opened his eyes.