A big fish took the bait

The first to notice the mass deaths of Abyss Creatures were the Abyss Monarch, who were ranked low on the 108th floor of the Abyss.

Since the great battle six thousand years ago, the main passage connecting the Abyss Plane Abyss Plane and the Douluo Plane has been sealed. Hundreds of small passages and thirty-six large passages remain Douluo Plane. The strongest beings on the Abyss side who can pass through these passages are those comparable to Titled Douluo.

Even Abyss Creatures at the Titled Douluo level only appear on the battlefield of the Abyss Passage during the Level 3 abyssal Abyss Tide.

Even if high-level Abyss Creatures with strength below the Titled Douluo level appear in the Abyss Passage, their numbers are relatively small.

Therefore, the vast majority of the Abyss Creatures that have frequently clashed with the Blood God Legion over the years come from the lower-ranked levels.

The Abyss Creatures at those higher levels are relatively weak, yet they can all pass through the Abyss Passage, and their sheer numbers make them ideal cannon fodder for consuming the Blood God Legion's soldiers and weapons.

Naturally, these Abyss King were the first to notice when their subordinates suffered heavy casualties.

At first, they didn't pay any attention.

The Abyss Creatures are endless, and some deaths are commonplace. As long as the energy returns to its source, new warriors can be born again in no time—this is the confidence of the Abyss Plane.

But soon, they discovered in horror that after the warriors they sent out were killed, the Abyss energy didn't return to the massive mass of Abyss energy they had just gathered. Where did it go?

The Abyss King, on the 107th floor of the Abyss, investigated his floor and discovered that many Abyss Creatures had disappeared and the energy had not returned, causing him to have a bad premonition.

Suspecting that the incident on the Douluo Continent had caused this, he hurriedly sought out Abyss King at a similar level to himself. Upon discovering that they were in the same situation, he immediately reported the matter to the Abyssal Sage King and awaited the Abyssal Sage King's judgment.

At the same time, they also sent out Abyss Creatures to investigate the situation.

Here's a not-so-funny joke—precisely because Abyss Creatures possess the characteristic of Undying, aside from the emperors of each level who are worried about being overthrown during their resurrection and thus value their lives more, ordinary Abyss Creatures are not afraid of death at all. If reconnaissance missions are not specifically assigned, it's likely that no Abyss Creatures will ever return alive to report the specific situation.

Several days later, in the deepest Abyss Plane, the Abyssal Sage King sat on a tall chair, his aura of overwhelming power faintly visible, and the entire Abyss trembled violently under his pressure.

At this moment, all the Abyss King and Emperors stood silently before him, not daring to utter a sound.

The Sage King's eyes were half-closed, as if he were dozing or deep in thought. After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice low and calm, yet carrying a kind of oppressive power that made one's soul tremble.

"Have you found out the situation?"

The Sage King's voice echoed in the hall, not loud, but it made every Abyss King present tremble.

A Abyss King below quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Reporting to the Sage King, we have investigated. In the Douluo Plane, a human boy wielding a golden spear has appeared in the Blood God Legion. The golden spear in his hand can devour Abyss energy and make it his own. Once our warriors are killed by that spear, the Abyss energy will be devoured by him and cannot return to the Abyss."

Because Tang Wulin was training in the Abyss Passage, this information was relatively easy for this Abyss King to ascertain.

Upon hearing this, the Abyssal Sage King's brow twitched slightly, but he remained silent.

The Abyss King continued, "Furthermore, the Blood God Legion seems to have adjusted their tactics against us. They no longer kill our warriors directly as before, but instead capture them alive. Although I didn't witness it firsthand, I have reason to suspect that our captured warriors were all handed over to that boy for execution. That's why our losses are increasing at an alarming rate."

This suspicion is undoubtedly reasonable.

Over the years, the other Douluo Plane has always struggled to solve the problem of their Undying. Now that such a person has suddenly appeared, they would probably do something similar in their place.

After listening, the Abyssal Sage King still did not speak immediately.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the echoing sound of his fingertips tapping on the back of the chair—one tap after another, like some kind of countdown.

"That golden spear must be a Divine Tool that can suppress the energy of the Abyss."

After a moment, the Abyssal Sage King spoke in an icy tone, "Since that's the case, then take it. What is the strength of that human youth that you are helpless against him?"

The Abyss King trembled and hurriedly knelt on the ground. "Your Sage King, in your wisdom, that young man's cultivation is only close to the Soul Saint level, but he possesses what those humans call Battle Armor, making his strength no less than that of a Soul Douluo. He could probably even put up a fight against Titled Douluo. With the troops we can currently send out through the passage, ordinary soldiers are no match for him."

After investigating Tang Wulin's situation, he tried sending Abyss Creatures to kill him and seize or destroy the Golden Dragon Spear, but he couldn't do it!

After beginning to absorb Abyss energy, Tang Wulin's cultivation level improved rapidly, quickly rising from a short time after entering the Soul Emperor to the point of almost breaking through to the Soul Saint realm. Combined with his Two-Word Battle Armor, his strength was perfectly balanced, neither too high nor too low. The Abyss Creatures ranked lower were no match for Tang Wulin, and those who could kill him were too few to handle. After all, aside from the Abyss King themselves, these lower-ranked kings didn't have any Titled Douluo -level experts under their command.

While some of these lower-ranked Abyss King may appear to have only Titled Douluo, their actual strength and the Abyss energy contained within them surpass those of ordinary Titled Douluo Abyss Creatures because they possess the Seed of the Plane different planes representing various layers of the Abyss.

After all, he's the owner of the first floor, so he still has some prestige.

With their strength limited and the main passage sealed, they could at most send some projections over—but that would obviously be meaningless.

(Note: In the original novel, the Abyss King was sometimes Titled Douluo and sometimes Super Douluo. Sometimes the King could enter the Douluo Plane through branch passages, and sometimes he couldn't and had to enter through the sealed main passage. It was very confusing. I'll follow my setting here.)

Moreover, given this turn of events, he didn't believe the Blood God Legion hadn't secretly sent someone to protect the boy.

How are they supposed to fight like that? Isn't this making things difficult for them?

Upon hearing these words, the tapping sound of the Abyssal Sage King abruptly ceased.

The main hall was so quiet it was almost suffocating.

"So," the Abyssal Sage King's voice slowly rang out, devoid of any emotion, "Are you telling me that a mere human brat, not even at the Soul Saint level, has driven you Abyss King to a point of utter helplessness by relying on a Divine Tool?"

The king trembled, his forehead pressed tightly to the ground, his voice bitter. "Your Sage King calm your anger! It's not that I'm incompetent, it's just that—the passage restricts my ability to descend in my true form. If—if the main passage hadn't been sealed, I would have gone there myself long ago and torn that brat to pieces!"

Even this Abyss King couldn't guarantee he could kill his opponent. After all, the Blood God Legion was no pushover; they had several Limit Douluo- level experts. Even if he descended in his true form, he wouldn't fare well against those human Four-Word Battle Armor masters.

But in order not to appear too incompetent in front of the Sage King, he could only speak with absolute certainty, placing all the blame on the sealed main passage.

These words, however, made a certain Abyss Emperor, who was ranked high in the hall, very uncomfortable.

Standing beside the Abyssal Sage King, the Fiery Emperor narrowed his eyes, his face darkening, and he subconsciously raised his hand to touch the scar on his face.

Those were injuries caused by the Dragon God Claw, left over from the battle with Di Tian six thousand years ago.

Six thousand years ago, as the leader of the Abyss Plane, he led the Abyss Army in battle against the Douluo Plane, but was ultimately defeated, resulting in the sealing of the main passage. This scar became an eternal shame in his heart.

Now, this guy who's ranked so low is trying to shirk his incompetence by shifting all the blame onto the main passage seal. To Fiery Emperor Lie, that sounds like a veiled insult!

That's enough.

Fiery Emperor finally spoke, his voice icy cold.

"You say the passage restrictions prevent you from descending in your true form? I'd like to ask—even if there were no passage restrictions, and you did descend in your true form, what then? Are you a match for the Blood God Legion?!"

The king froze, and upon seeing that the speaker was Fiery Emperor, he immediately thought of what happened six thousand years ago and wished he could slap himself twice.

You idiot, you really know how to bring up something you shouldn't say!

Fiery Emperor, however, no longer looked at him. Instead, he went before the Abyssal Sage King, knelt on one knee, and bowed, saying, "Sage King, I am willing to personally take charge of this matter."

The Abyssal Sage King looked down at him, his gaze unfathomable, discerning his resentment, but ultimately shook his head. "No need. Temporarily withdraw your forces and cease sending troops to attack the Douluo Plane."

Fiery Emperor Lie was taken aback, looked up at the Sage King, his eyes full of confusion. "Sage King?"

"What he said makes sense." The Abyssal Sage King spoke slowly, his tone calm yet unquestionable.

Although the Abyss King's words seemed to shirk responsibility, they were not without merit.

With the main passage sealed, the strongest beings who can travel to the Douluo Plane are those with the combat power of a human Titled Douluo. Even though Fiery Emperor has quite a few such powerful individuals under his command, they cannot play a decisive role – the Blood God Legion also has its share of powerful individuals at this level.

If that young man has a powerful protector secretly, rashly deploying troops would only be feeding the enemy and wasting the Abyss's energy.

Rather than wasting resources like this, it's better to temporarily scale back and look for another opportunity.

Fiery Emperor Lie's lips moved, feeling that the Abyss Plane was forced to shrink its forces because of a weakling they looked down on, and he wanted to fight for it, but the Sage King raised his hand to stop him.

"Just wait for the right opportunity. I will open the main passage later. At that time, you will personally crush that boy and seize the Divine Tool!"

Seeing the coldness in the Abyssal Sage King's eyes, Fiery Emperor understood that the other party also felt humiliated by this matter. A glint flashed in his eyes, and he knelt on one knee, saying in a deep voice, "Your subordinate obeys!"

The Abyssal Sage King nodded slightly and waved his hand. The figures of the powerful figures gradually disappeared into the hall, and the empty hall returned to silence.

The Abyssal Sage King closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

He had performed this operation, which puzzled many Abyss Creatures, many times before, with the aim of spreading his thoughts to the Douluo Plane.

Once the two planes are connected, he will be able to do this. Although he cannot sense their concrete existence, he can sense the intense negative energy.

The evil god worshipped during the growth of the Holy Spirit Cult was actually him.

It was precisely because of this that he was able to guide the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss to cooperate step by step, and to provide them with assistance such as the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array and Possession Demon.

The process wasn't very smooth. The Holy Spirit Cult was suppressed too severely in the Douluo Continent. If it weren't for the two soft targets, Star Luo Empire and Dou Ling Continent, he probably would have given up on the Holy Spirit Cult long ago.

Fortunately, the emergence of the God of Slaughter, a variable who agreed to his invasion plan, made the Abyssal Sage King feel that the investment was worthwhile.

Having received so much support from him, it's time for the Holy Spirit Cult to give back.

As the thoughts spread, the Devil Emperor, far away on the Dou Ling Continent, received instructions.

"Should we go to the vicinity of the Endless Mountain Range to guide people through the Abyss Passage passage?" The Devil Emperor rubbed his temples, looking somewhat troubled.

The Sea God Legion's fleet was not far from the Star Luo Federation, and his attention had already shifted there. He hadn't expected that the Sage King would give him such an order now.

However, he dared not engage in any practice where a general in the field could disobey orders.

Moreover, if they could make a breakthrough in the Endless Mountain Range, it would be a good thing for their Abyss Plane, and the Devil Emperor didn't want to place all his hopes on the Holy Spirit Cult.

The Holy Spirit Cult now actually possesses the ability to open the Abyss Passage through blood sacrifice, but has no plans to do so for the time being.

There are many reasons for this.

There are three main points.

Firstly, we await the arrival of that Demon Overlord.

They could afford to wait the six-month agreement they had made earlier, considering the Demon Overlord's God Rank strength.

Secondly, some preparations were indeed not completed.

For example, the Holy Spirit Cult doesn't plan to set up just one Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array, but two. In any case, the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array only requires tens of millions of souls, so the resources are definitely sufficient; it just needs more time to prepare.

Having two Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array would indeed greatly enhance the Holy Spirit Cult's strength, making the benefits outweigh the risks.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss do not trust each other and each has its own ulterior motives.

The Abyss wants to use the Holy Spirit Cult to descend upon the Douluo Plane, while the Holy Spirit Cult hopes that the Abyss Plane and the Douluo Plane will fight to the death, resulting in mutual destruction, so that they can reap the benefits.

Having witnessed the power of the God of Slaughter, the Holy Spirit Cult already understood the God Rank and was undoubtedly wary of the Abyssal Sage King's strength. As for whether Douluo had the ability to deal with the Abyssal Sage King, the Holy Spirit Cult had no idea.

But the Devil Emperor knew very well that because of his calm and composed attitude, the Ghost Emperor and the Demon Empress must have made a judgment in their hearts - that two mere reincarnations of gods and a few beings close to God Rank were no match for the Abyssal Sage King!

With this understanding, they probably already have other ideas, such as waiting for those two reincarnated gods to recover to a certain extent, so that they can have stronger strength to fight to the death with the Abyss Plane.

This third point is what the Devil Emperor fears most: raising a tiger to cause trouble could really bring about unforeseen changes.

If they can break through the initial Abyss Passage, then the situation will no longer be in the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult.

Therefore, upon receiving the message from the Abyssal Sage King, he quickly began to gather manpower to prepare for action.

Such actions did not escape the notice of Rong Lingji, who had already infiltrated the Dou Ling Continent.

With his God Rank foundation, Rong Lingji, who had already arrived in Heaven Dou City on the Dou Ling Continent, easily discovered the movements of the Devil Emperor and some Titled Douluo leaving the Dou Ling Continent.

He watched this scene thoughtfully, and ultimately decided to secretly follow them.

Several days ago, he and his Dark Department members quickly arrived overseas from the Dou Ling Continent via Soul Tool Airplane and infiltrated the area.

Unfortunately, the harvest has been meager these past few days.

Now that something seems amiss, it's natural to go and investigate.

Upon discovering that these powerful individuals were likely headed towards the Douluo Continent, he immediately informed the Dark Department and gave Huo Yuhao a heads-up, then left it at that.

The movements of a Limit of the Holy Spirit Cult are naturally worth paying attention to. But he came to disrupt the blood sacrifice, so it's impossible for him to follow those people all the way back to the Douluo Continent.

In the Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao fell into deep thought after receiving news of Rong Lingji.

With Lan Fozi as his Undercover Agent, he already knew about the Devil Emperor's name.

As the leader of the Possession Demon and a member of the Abyss Creatures, what is their purpose in leaving the Dou Ling Continent at this time with a group of Titled Douluo powerhouses, seemingly heading towards the Douluo Continent?

Or, to put it another way, if the Holy Spirit Cult's destination really is Douluo Continent, then what is there here that would warrant such a large-scale mobilization by the Holy Spirit Cult?

The possibility seems slim.

Huo Yuhao first called Lan Fozi over, and after learning that the Holy Spirit Cult had not been communicating with her recently, a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Could it be that you caught a fish?"

Although the world and the original story have changed a lot, the original story still has reference value.

--

In the original story, the Abyss Passage the Endless Mountain Range malfunctioned, and the seal on the main passage was damaged—a result of the Holy Spirit Cult's assistance from the outside!