There were no gaudy, gilded decorations. Only a few white jade pillars stood in the hall, with several landscape paintings and calligraphy pieces hanging on the walls.
At the very center of the hall stood a low rosewood table.
A fine set of purple clay teaware sat on the table, and a small Red Clay Small Stove was merrily heating water.
A faint tea fragrance, carrying a trace of the crisp chill of snow, slowly drifted through the air.
Heavenly Fortune Master sat cross-legged beside the low table, holding a small bamboo clip and gently turning the tea leaves inside the teapot.
The smile on his face was as kind as ever, just like that of an ordinary old man entertaining a guest from afar.
The Sea God sat opposite Heavenly Fortune Master, his back straight.
Although he had let down his guard, he still felt somewhat ill at ease before such an unfathomably powerful expert.
"Little friend, relax."
Heavenly Fortune Master lifted the teapot and poured a cup of tea into the jade cup before the Sea God.
The tea was a light amber color, with a wisp of faint white mist floating over its surface.
"Come, try my Ten Thousand Year Snow Tea."
"This tea was brewed with the water of ten-thousand-year-old ice lotuses from the Far North of Heaven Luck Planet. It's excellent for calming the mind."
The Sea God quickly lifted the cup in both hands and took a sip.
The moment the tea touched his lips,
a cool, sweet taste burst across his tongue, then slid down his throat and into his stomach.
The Sea God felt his mind clear at once.
The fatigue from crossing between worlds and the confrontation earlier had already eased by more than half after that sip.
"Excellent tea!"
The Sea God's eyes lit up, and he praised it from the heart.
His fondness for Heavenly Fortune Master was already rising straight up.
In his eyes, this old senior was not only good-natured and generous, but even the most casual thing he brought out was a rare treasure seldom seen in the Divine Realm.
Heavenly Fortune Master set down the teapot and watched the Sea God with a beaming smile.
"I'm glad you like it."
Heavenly Fortune Master stroked his beard, then changed the subject, his tone growing earnest.
"Out there just now, I took one of your attacks."
"Your power was vast, but scattered and unfocused. You wasted too much of your Origin Divine Power."
When the Sea God heard Heavenly Fortune Master bring up their earlier fight,
his old face flushed with embarrassment.
He respectfully set down his teacup and leaned forward slightly, like a student eager to learn.
"Please enlighten me, senior."
"Down in the lower world, this power of mine is already at its limit. I truly don't know how to take it any further."
Heavenly Fortune Master nodded in satisfaction.
He extended a dry finger and lightly tapped the tabletop twice.
"The Incense Wish Power within you is like a vast lake."
"But you haven't built a dam around it, nor carved channels for its waters to flow through."
Heavenly Fortune Master spoke evenly, each word clear and distinct.
"When you fight, you simply fling the lake water at your opponent."
"Not only does that scatter its power, it can also easily damage your own foundation."
His words were like a bolt of lightning, cleaving straight through the fog in the Sea God's mind.
He thought back to how he had fought in the past on Douluo Continent. It really had been just as Heavenly Fortune Master said: he had relied entirely on his immense divine power to crush his opponents.
He had never considered that this power could be compressed and guided.
"Senior, you've hit the nail on the head!"
The Sea God's voice rose with excitement.
He even felt he had found a guiding light on the path of cultivation.
"Then, in your opinion, senior, how should I improve?"
Heavenly Fortune Master smiled faintly and pointed to the jade gourd in the Sea God's arms.
"That drop of True Water of Heavenly River I gave you is the tool you need to build a dam and dig channels."
Heavenly Fortune Master rose to his feet and slowly walked behind the Sea God.
"Swallow that drop of true water now."
"I'll protect you and guide you as you merge the water's origin into your divine core."
"Once you complete that step, your power will undergo a qualitative transformation."
When the Sea God heard that Heavenly Fortune Master was willing to personally protect him,
the last trace of wariness in his heart vanished completely.
In the Cultivation World, protecting someone as they cultivated was something only the closest master and disciple, or sworn companions who had faced life and death together, would do.
"Senior, I will never forget your great kindness!"
The Sea God stood up and bowed deeply to Heavenly Fortune Master.
Then,
he sat cross-legged again, pulled the small jade gourd from his arms without hesitation, uncorked it, and poured the drop of True Water of Heavenly River glowing blue and gold into his mouth.
The true water slid down his throat.
It wasn't cold as he had imagined. Instead, it carried a warm, gentle sensation.
But the moment it fell into his dantian and touched the Sea God's blue Divine Core,
a sudden change erupted!
"Boom!"
An indescribably vast surge of Origin Divine Power exploded inside the Sea God.
The power was so pure that even the Sea God's Divine Core could barely withstand it, emitting repeated cracks and creaks under the strain.
The Sea God's face turned crimson, and the muscles throughout his body bulged.
He felt as if his body were a balloon about to burst.
"Steady your mind!"
Just as he was about to reach his limit,
Heavenly Fortune Master's gentle voice sounded beside his ear.
Right after that,
a warm hand lightly pressed down on the Sea God's head.
A gentle, seven-colored spiritual energy flowed from that hand, pouring continuously into the Sea God's body.
The seven-colored spiritual energy was like a master craftsman.
It expertly soothed the raging water-origin power, guiding it to seep little by little into the Sea God's Divine Core.
With Heavenly Fortune Master's help,
the pained expression on the Sea God's face slowly faded, replaced by a comfort he had never felt before.
He could clearly feel it.
His divine power, which had already reached its limit, was undergoing a world-shaking transformation.
That unruly energy was being compressed and refined, again and again.
His blue Divine Core was slowly growing larger, and its radiance had taken on a noble, pale gold hue.
"I've broken through..."
The Sea God kept his eyes closed, his heart surging with wild joy.
He had truly broken through the boundary of a First-level God and taken a firm step toward the legendary realm of the God King!
And he owed it all to the old man behind him, who had devoted himself to helping him.
The Sea God was completely immersed in the thrill of his soaring power, sinking into a state of deep meditation.
He dropped every last defense and focused wholeheartedly on absorbing the energy of the drop of True Water of Heavenly River.
Inside the White Jade Grand Hall,
incense smoke curled upward, and the water was still bubbling on the stove.
Heavenly Fortune Master withdrew his right hand from the Sea God's head.
He lowered his eyes to the Sea God, who sat cross-legged on the floor, his entire body glowing with sacred blue light.
In the backlight, the face that had been so kind and benevolent began to change in a strange way.
The smile remained at the corners of his mouth.
But the warmth and compassion in his eyes vanished in an instant, leaving not a trace.
In their place was a cold, greedy gaze.
That look
was nothing like a senior watching a junior.
It was more like an old farmer who had spent all year laboring, standing outside his pigsty
and gazing at the year-end pig inside, fattened on the finest feed he could find and now ready to be butchered.
Heavenly Fortune Master slowly turned his wrist and licked his dry lips.
He stood quietly behind the Sea God.
Patiently waiting for this peerless delicacy to reach perfect ripeness.
Inside the White Jade Grand Hall, steam still rose from the water in the Red Clay Small Stove, which burbled away.
The tea fragrance, carrying a trace of the crisp chill of snow, slowly drifted through the spacious palace.
The Sea God sat cross-legged before the low rosewood table, the blue-gold radiance around him shining brighter than ever before.
He could clearly feel that his Divine Core had completely transformed.
Under the nourishment of the True Water of Heavenly River, the scattered Incense Wish Power had become streams of thick, pure Origin Divine Power.
He had broken through.
He had truly overcome the First-level God bottleneck that had troubled him for countless years, and one foot had already crossed the threshold of the God King realm.
The Sea God slowly opened his eyes. Unconcealed delight and excitement shone in his deep blue gaze.
He lifted his head, wanting to properly thank the old senior standing behind him, who had devoted himself to protecting him.
"Senior Heavenly Fortune Master, this junior has already..."
The Sea God had barely spoken half the sentence when his voice suddenly caught in his throat.
He had realized that Heavenly Fortune Master's hand, which had been resting on his head, had not withdrawn.
Not only had it not been withdrawn, a gentle yet utterly irresistible suction force was emanating from its palm.
The Sea God froze for a moment, and the smile on his face stiffened.
"Senior, what are you..."
Heavenly Fortune Master stood behind the Sea God, his smile still as kindly as ever, even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes radiating warmth.
"Don't speak. Calm yourself."
Heavenly Fortune Master's voice was gentle, as if soothing a baby who had just woken up.
"The medicinal effects of the True Water of Heavenly River haven't fully spread yet. I'm helping you regulate your meridians."
Although the Sea God found this a little strange, he obediently kept his mouth shut.
After all, the man had just given him a tremendous boon. He couldn't very well suspect a master of the Way who had shown him such kindness.
But only three breaths later,
the expression on the Sea God's face changed completely.
He was horrified to discover that the Divine Core within him, which had just completed its transformation and brimmed with surging power, was beginning to melt!
It was like a block of ice set on a red-hot iron plate.
The refined blue-gold divine power turned into strands of pure energy and flowed through Heavenly Fortune Master's palm, pouring continuously into his body.
"No... something's wrong!"
The Sea God finally understood. A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown.
He suddenly tried to stand and break free of the hand pressing down on his head.
But to his horror, he discovered that his body was completely beyond his control.
The air around him seemed to have turned into solid iron, pinning him firmly in place.
Even moving a single finger had become an impossible dream.
"Senior! What are you doing?!"
The Sea God shouted, his voice filled with a terror he had never felt before.
Heavenly Fortune Master let out a soft sigh. His smile slowly faded, and his eyes took on the look of someone gazing at a roast suckling pig already laid out on the table.
"Little friend, you're still far too impatient."
Heavenly Fortune Master spoke unhurriedly, but the suction from his hand suddenly multiplied several times over.
"I told you earlier, the Incense Wish Power in you is a fine thing."
"Now, after being simmered in the True Water of Heavenly River, its flavor and purity are just right for me."
"Once a fruit is ripe, it should be picked. Are you supposed to leave it on the tree until it rots?"
Heavenly Fortune Master's words were like an icy knife, stabbing through the last thread of hope in the Sea God's heart.
Picked? A fruit?
The Sea God's eyes widened, blood vessels spreading across their whites.
He finally understood.
This seemingly refined old man was no benevolent senior who had offered him guidance out of kindness.
He had given him tea and True Water of Heavenly River, and even personally helped him break through his bottleneck.
All of this was just to make this "dish" taste better, to suit his palate even more!
"Old bastard! How dare you devour this god!"
The Sea God roared madly. He desperately tried to communicate with the Golden Trident lying on the ground, hoping to make one last stand.
But the Super Divine Artifact that had accompanied him for countless years now lay silently on the jade floor, unable to emit even the faintest glimmer.
Heavenly Fortune Master's Great Dao laws had long since sealed off the space inside the hall completely.
"Stop struggling. Just obediently melt into my Heavenly Fortune Great Dao."
Heavenly Fortune Master slowly closed his eyes, his face wearing an expression of utter bliss.
As his divine power was continuously drained away, the Sea God's once tall, powerfully built body began to shrivel at a visible speed.
His sea-blue hair lost its luster, turning into a bundle of dead grass.
Wrinkles rapidly spread across his once-plump skin, and his eye sockets sank deep into his skull.
"Argh!"
The Sea God let out a shrill scream. The pain of having his very essence drained away bit by bit was a hundred times worse than being sliced by a thousand knives.
This entire scene was clearly displayed to everyone on Douluo Continent through the Sky Screen.
The streets and alleys that had been cheering in celebration moments ago instantly fell deathly silent.
On Sea God Island, tens of thousands of residents knelt dumbstruck on the beach, staring at the Sea God in the screen, now reduced to a dried corpse. Many of them went completely blank.
Bo Saixi's legs gave way, and she collapsed beneath the Sea God Pillar.
Her mouth hung open, and tears poured down like beads from a broken string, yet she couldn't make a sound.
Faith.
Had crumbled.
Crumbled completely.
It wasn't just the mortals—the atmosphere inside the hall of the God Realm Committee was even more oppressive.
Asura God stared at the screen, fists clenched, the veins on the backs of his hands bulging one by one.
"So this is what the immortals of that world are like..."
Asura God gritted his teeth, forcing the words out through clenched jaws.
"They treat gods like livestock penned up for breeding, fatten them up, then serve them straight onto the table."
God of Destruction and Goddess of Life exchanged a glance, both seeing deep fear in the other's eyes.
Just moments ago, they had been worrying that the Sea God would threaten their positions if he broke through.
Now it seemed that worry had been laughable in the extreme.
In front of that old monster called Heavenly Fortune Master, whether it was the Sea God or them, the God Kings...
They were all just snacks with a little extra chew to them.
At this moment, the cruelty of the Renegade Immortal World taught every living being on Douluo Continent a lesson in the gentlest yet most bone-chilling way.
Just as everyone in Douluo was scared witless by Heavenly Fortune Master's methods,
the images on the Sky Screen slowly blurred.
The screen showing the Sea God turned gray and white as his Divine Core shattered completely.