Breaking Through the Wall to Gather

At the forest's edge, Huo Yuhao's wrist-mounted unit suddenly issued a faint alert that only he could sense—an ultra-high-intensity, extremely dangerous spatial distortion was forming nearby! He tensed instantly but did not panic. The energy-buffering layer within his spirit armor lining glimmered faintly, and his spiritual power gathered in readiness.

A rift opened, and Di Tian and Bi Ji stepped out.

When Di Tian's sharp golden eyes, cold as ancient ice, fell upon Huo Yuhao, he immediately saw through Huo Yuhao's true condition: severely injured, stripped of divine power, with his origin damaged. The strange internal seal and Golden Dragon curse within him were even more alarming. Yet at the same time, Di Tian noticed the dark-blue inner armor on Huo Yuhao's body, clearly beyond the craftsmanship of mortals in this era, as well as the delicate silver-gray bracer on his wrist—they emitted an exceedingly faint yet exquisite aura of Divine Realm craftsmanship, standing in stark contrast to Huo Yuhao's weakened state.

The Ice Douluo from ten thousand years ago overlapped in Di Tian's eyes with this well-equipped yet unmistakably downcast "fallen deity," lending the sight a contradictory sense of melancholy.

"Ice Douluo, have you been well?" Di Tian's voice remained low and imposing, betraying little emotion. His gaze briefly lingered on Huo Yuhao's bracer and inner armor. "It seems that even in misfortune, a guest of the Divine Realm did not return empty-handed. That state you're in, and this wall... After ten thousand years, it seems neither of us has found peace as we wished."

Bi Ji nodded slightly as well. Her gentle gaze swept over Huo Yuhao's equipment, a flicker of understanding and deeper scrutiny passing through her eyes.

Huo Yuhao slowly rose to his feet. Though the inner armor made his movements considerably smoother, the weakness originating from his damaged foundation remained obvious. Meeting Di Tian's gaze, he said frankly, "Di Tian, Bi Ji, it has been a long time. Saying I have been well would be a lie, but I did not exactly come empty-handed. One always keeps a few old things close by. As for this wall, and how I came to be here... that is a long story. This hardly seems like the place to reminisce, does it?"

His tone was calm, bearing the rasp of a gravely injured man, yet it also carried the composure born of his own preparations. He no longer seemed purely like a weak man begging for protection.

Di Tian gave him a long look, his gaze passing over the unit on his wrist and the armor on his body. He said no more. "Come."

With a sweep of his sleeve, spatial power enveloped the three of them, and they vanished from the spot. Only faint spatial ripples remained, bearing witness to this reunion across ten thousand years and the barrier of a towering wall.

Before the dizziness of spatial transfer had fully faded, Huo Yuhao's feet had already touched solid ground. A life aura so rich it was nearly viscous, along with primal soul power, rushed toward him, utterly unlike the oppressive confinement outside. He steadied himself as the spirit armor lining automatically adjusted to the energy environment. Data streams from the wrist-mounted unit rapidly refreshed at the edge of his vision, displaying the terrifying energy density here and at least six powerful life signatures far beyond anything he recognized.

Before him lay a tranquil lake, its clear waters reflecting towering ancient trees and the sky—a whole sky, uncut by the high wall. Several figures already stood along the shore, their gazes landing on him with almost tangible weight.

At their head stood Di Tian in black robes, golden-eyed as ever. Beside him was Bi Ji, gentle yet troubled. Behind them, however, the atmosphere was completely different.

"Roar—! Human! You still dare set foot here?!" A furious roar exploded through the air. Before Di Tian could speak, a terrifying dark-gold figure, trailing a vicious gale that tore through space, suddenly appeared just ahead and to the side of Huo Yuhao. An enormous phantom of a dark-gold terror claw blotted out the sky, carrying ten thousand years of pent-up rage and pure destructive intent as it mercilessly came crashing down upon him! It was Bear Lord, the most hot-tempered of them all! He had no desire to hear any explanation. Seeing only the identities "human deity" and "founder of the Spirit Pagoda," he intended to kill Huo Yuhao beneath his claw!

The strike was swift as lightning and incomparably vicious. Even an ordinary Titled Douluo would have struggled to react. Bi Ji cried out, "Bear Lord, stop!"

Di Tian's eyes turned cold, but he did not immediately intervene. A trace of scrutiny flashed through his golden dragon eyes. He wanted to see just how much foundation this "old acquaintance," in such terrible condition yet carrying creations of the Divine Realm, still possessed.

The moment Bear Lord attacked, every hair on Huo Yuhao's body stood on end as the shadow of death descended upon him. Yet he had weathered countless brushes with death, and his will had long been as unshakable as stone. His thoughts erupted within a thousandth of a second!

The surface of the Realm Patrol soul-guided vehicle, parked nearby in hidden standby mode, suddenly flared with light! Its streamlined body transformed and unfolded like liquid metal in an instant—not into a weapon, but into a massive dark-blue diamond-shaped shield that positioned itself with flawless precision between Huo Yuhao and the descending dark-gold terror claw!

"Boom—!!!!!"

A muffled impact, as though two mountain peaks had collided, exploded over the Lake of Life! A violent shockwave burst outward in a ring, flinging lake water and dirt into the air while the surrounding ancient trees swayed violently. Streams of light raced across the dark-blue shield's surface as countless tiny composite soul-guided formations flashed madly, dispersing, redirecting, and neutralizing the terrifying power behind Bear Lord's enraged blow layer by layer. The shield shuddered violently, releasing an overloaded hum. Fine cracks even appeared across its surface, yet it ultimately held the strike steady. Behind it, Huo Yuhao was merely pushed back two steps by the blast. His face turned paler, but he was unharmed.

"What?!" A flicker of astonishment, followed by even greater rage, passed through Bear Lord's enormous beastly eyes. He had not used his full strength, but that claw strike had still been enough to shatter mountains. It had actually been blocked by this strange human creation?

"Bear Lord! How dare you!" Di Tian's furious shout finally rang out like thunder. An even greater, more majestic dragon might descended, an invisible shackle pinning Bear Lord, who still wanted to continue his assault, firmly in place. "Without this Emperor's command, who dares act on their own?!"

Bi Ji hurried forward as green light flickered around her, soothing the disturbed space and turbulent energy. At the same time, she stared in astonishment at the dark-blue soul-guided vehicle as it slowly returned to its original form, the cracks across its surface repairing themselves. "This... this is absolutely beyond the reach of current human soul-guided technology!" she said softly, her voice filled with shock.

The other ferocious beasts also revealed themselves because of the sudden clash. The Myriad Demon King emerged from the shadow of an ancient tree, cold amusement on his human face as he studied Huo Yuhao and his vehicle. Crimson King's three heads growled, their battle intent still unspent. Zi Ji stood silently farther away, her gaze wary. Demon Spirit hid behind a large tree, peeking out with equal parts curiosity and fear.

"Di Tian! Why stop me?!" Bear Lord roared unwillingly. The phantom of his dark-gold terror claw slowly withdrew, but his savage gaze remained locked on Huo Yuhao. "The Spirit Pagoda imprisoned our kind and drained our foundation—all because of this man! Since he has delivered himself to us today, it is only right that blood debts be repaid in blood!"

"Fool!" Di Tian snapped coldly. His gaze swept over every ferocious beast before settling on Huo Yuhao, who had caught his breath and remained calm. "If he intended evil, or were one with the Spirit Pagoda of today, why would he come in such a state and rely on this artifact to protect himself? Why would he invoke a token from an old agreement of ten thousand years ago? You all saw that shield just now. The principles behind its energy circulation and its material craftsmanship are utterly different from the soul-guided devices used by the current Spirit Pagoda. Instead, they are closer to..." He paused. "Closer to the legacy of the Divine Realm, and the handiwork of a god skilled in creation and laws. And to my knowledge, there is no such being behind the Spirit Pagoda."

The Myriad Demon King's soft, sinister voice sounded. "Di Tian speaks reasonably. This thing... is exquisitely crafted, more suited for survival and research than conquest and slaughter. If humans possessed such technology, they would have long used it to reinforce that wall or create even more terrifying soul-guided weapons of war. Why bother making such an impractical vehicle?" His analysis always struck at the heart of the matter.

Only then did Huo Yuhao speak. His voice remained hoarse, yet it carried the calm of someone weathered by time. "I understand Bear Lord's anger. When I saw that wall, the fury and guilt in my heart were no less than yours." He pointed at the self-repairing Realm Patrol. "This, along with what I wear, was made during my leisure time in the Divine Realm. Ten thousand years in the Divine Realm pass differently from time in the lower realm, but I did indeed observe the course of human soul-guided technological development from above. The Spirit Pagoda's technology may seem flourishing now, but in truth it has entered an extreme path of control and plunder. Its core philosophy has long diverged completely from what I envisioned back then."

He openly met the suspicious and furious gazes of Bear Lord and the other ferocious beasts. "When I founded the Spirit Pagoda, my original intention was to find a new path for humans and soul beasts to coexist in an era when the decline of soul beasts was inevitable—to replace slaughter and absorption with soul spirit contracts. I never imagined, nor would I ever wish to see it become a cold machine that imprisons soul beasts, monopolizes soul rings and soul spirits, and may even drain the fortune of the soul beast race."

"Fine words!" Bear Lord growled. "The Silver Dragon King once believed your so-called talk of 'peace' and 'coexistence' too. That was why she... why she left the core region, only to vanish without a trace!" At the mention of the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena, Bear Lord's voice was filled with indignation and deeply buried loss.

At those words, even Di Tian's eyes dimmed. Bi Ji sighed softly. The Silver Dragon King's departure was the deepest scar in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Huo Yuhao keenly caught that information, and his heart jolted. The Silver Dragon King had left? That was an unexpected and critical turn of events. Yet it was inconvenient to ask further now, so he merely said slowly, "I do not yet know what happened to the Silver Dragon King. But I appeared here this time because I suffered a great calamity myself, lost all my divine power, and fell into this realm." With a bitter smile, he pointed to his chest. Even beneath the spirit armor, the abnormality within could still be sensed. "As for the one who injured me... in a sense, he has some connection to all of you."

"Oh?" The Myriad Demon King raised a brow.

Huo Yuhao tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing an oddly self-mocking, teasing expression. "The Golden Dragon King. That old enemy sealed in the Divine Realm for countless years somehow became absurdly powerful and even learned to use his brain. My father-in-law... uh, the Sea God Tang San, the God Kings of Destruction and Life, and I fought him together. As you can see, he lashed out in a final counterattack and beat me into this state. My divine core nearly shattered, so I was sent down here to 'recover.'" He spoke lightly, even with the ridiculous air of someone who had simply taken a nasty fall while out walking.

The scene fell into an eerie silence for a moment.

"The... Golden Dragon King?" Crimson King's middle head blinked.

"Pfft... Hahahahahaha!" Bear Lord suddenly burst into earthshaking laughter, rocking back and forth so hard that his dark-gold fur trembled. "Beaten down here by the Golden Dragon King?! Hahaha! Retribution! What glorious retribution! You gods of the Divine Realm bit each other like dogs—serves you right!" His anger seemed to have dissipated somewhat because of the absurd explanation and Huo Yuhao's miserable state, replaced more by almost gleeful satisfaction.

The Myriad Demon King wore a faintly smiling expression. Bi Ji covered her mouth, looking torn between laughter and tears. Even Zi Ji's lips seemed to twitch. Demon Spirit poked farther out from behind the tree, curiously watching this "unlucky deity beaten down by the Golden Dragon King."

The corner of Di Tian's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly before his expression returned to cold severity. Huo Yuhao's explanation sounded self-deprecating, yet it cleverly severed all ties between himself and the current Spirit Pagoda. It also explained his weakness—grave injuries from a Divine Realm battle—and invisibly drew him closer to the soul beasts. After all, he too was an enemy of the Dragon God's legendary embodiment of malice, and he had suffered greatly for it.