The Plane's Deception, the Ancient Tree's Protection

That shouldn't be possible!

Tang San looked at Huo Yuhao, his thoughts churning.

Only a wisp of his divine consciousness had descended, joined with a contingency he had left behind. He had to devote more than half its power to stabilizing Wang Dong's Sea of Consciousness and preventing its total collapse. He could not use his full strength to observe anything.

Even so, Tang San was confident that no living being on the Douluo Continent could escape his gaze.

Yet another complication had appeared.

The change in Wang Dong came from within her. Tang San was certain of that. His own oversight had caused it.

But the change in Huo Yuhao's Fortune was beyond his expectations.

"Is this a trick of the Plane Will, interference from another Deity, or an unforeseen variable...?"

Tang San ruled out the unforeseen variable first.

When he devised this plan, he had already inspected the Douluo Continent from end to end.

There were indeed things on the continent he could not see clearly across two worlds, but they were hidden deep away. They did not dare show themselves, nor could they.

They were merely lingering remnants.

They could never ruin his plan.

That left only two possibilities.

A trick of the Plane Will, or interference from another Deity.

The Douluo Plane was his home world. He was a God King with an impeccable reputation in the Divine Realm, and he had erected a barrier around the Douluo planet. Other Deities could not interfere, whether by accident or design.

That left only the Plane Will.

"What a clever trick. You put a false Child of Fortune in plain sight to draw my gaze while quietly nurturing another?"

"No wonder he still hasn't received the opportunity that would transform him completely."

Tang San saw the clue at once.

Huo Yuhao had received no gift from the Plane Will, and the Tang Sect Descendants had gained no share of Fortune by coming into contact with him.

If Huo Yuhao was merely a pawn placed in plain sight, everything made sense.

Tang San resolved that once Wang Dong's Sea of Consciousness was stable and he had set things right, he would find an opportunity to send down a stronger strand of divine consciousness. He would inspect the Douluo planet thoroughly once more and find the true Child of Fortune.

For now, stabilizing Wang Dong's Sea of Consciousness came first.

With a thought, Tang San used his true body in the Divine Realm to send orders to Niu Tian and Tai Tan. He also left a few measures on Mu En before departing.

That really was close.

Beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, Huang Jinxu watched the dark-blue Sea God's Power gradually fade from Mu En in the distance and sighed inwardly.

This time, he had truly been in danger.

He had never expected Wang Dong herself to change.

He had already worked out that time flowed differently in the Divine Realm and on the Douluo Continent. Under his plan, he could spend two or three years making moves on the continent while only two or three days passed in the Divine Realm. Even if Tang San noticed something amiss, activating a contingency and descending would take time.

Besides, Huang Jinxu had done nothing from beginning to end. He was even a member of Shrek Academy. Even if Tang San sensed something unusual, he could not pinpoint Huang Jinxu.

That breathing room would have been enough for him to make other arrangements.

He could take on a few more disciples like Xiao Xiao. Once he broke through to rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo, he would be able to control his power of restraint if his Martial Soul did not evolve again. If it did evolve a second time and his earlier premonition came true, he could use those disciples as stepping-stones to pull himself free of Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao was a vortex.

The sooner Huang Jinxu could get clear, the better.

He had not expected an accident to befall Wang Dong and prompt Tang San to activate his contingency and descend.

Without the Golden Ancient Tree's help concealing him, Tang San might well have seen through everything ahead of time.

Then Huang Jinxu, a Heavenly Lone Star who threatened Tang San's plan, might have been erased early.

Tang San had never been a kindly soul.

With another Deity, someone like the Angel God, Huang Jinxu might have gambled on her kindness.

But gambling like that against Tang San was no different from courting death.

"Old Tree, I won't forget this favor."

"Don't worry. As long as I'm here, no one will ever take over your body."

"Even if I fail, before I die, I'll gather all my Demon Star power and give it to you as your final trump card."

Huang Jinxu sent the Golden Ancient Tree this promise through his Spiritual Power.

Not long ago, he had used stabilizing his cultivation as a pretext. His real aim was to complete his deal with Di Tian, confirm whether the Golden Ancient Tree was still conscious, and communicate with it.

What he saw then made even his hair stand on end.

Shackles ran through the Golden Ancient Tree's true body, binding both its form and its consciousness.

Though it possessed power beyond the limits of the Douluo Plane, it could do nothing with that power. It could only remain imprisoned here.

That alone would not have surprised Huang Jinxu. After all, the tree was meant to be a vessel for the Blue Silver Emperor to take over. It made sense that Tang San had prepared in advance.

What chilled him was the sight of generations of Shrek Academy leaders. Their souls had lost all awareness and clung to the Golden Ancient Tree's body like parasites, gnawing at it and drawing out its source power. As they grew stronger by instinct, they used the power they stole to reinforce the tree's seal.

Over the past ten thousand years, Shrek Academy had had 260 deans. Apart from its first dean, Flender, the current dean, Mu En, and two deans who had died elsewhere, the souls of the other 256 were all here.

They had lost their own consciousness and become parasites, endlessly devouring the Golden Ancient Tree's power.

For now, they kept the Golden Ancient Tree imprisoned. One day, when the time was ripe, those parasites would help someone else take possession of it, then consume it completely.

It was an enormous undertaking.

The Golden Ancient Tree wanted to escape, but it had no power to resist.

Huang Jinxu's attempt to contact it, and the Demon Star power within him, gave it hope.

So it gave him a Golden Ancient Tree Seed, which merged into his Sea of Consciousness. The seed nourished his Spiritual Power, shielded him from others' scrutiny, and concealed his presence.

Unless Tang San descended upon the Douluo Plane in person, he would never detect Huang Jinxu.

Of course, the Golden Ancient Tree had not done this without asking for something in return. It wanted Huang Jinxu to find a place where its seed could take root and sprout. Then it could flee with part of its power and grow anew.

But that plan and its goal were not what Huang Jinxu wanted. He had other arrangements in mind.

It seems I can't trust Mu En either!

After seeing Mu En answer Sea God Tang San's call and Tang San briefly descend into Mu En's body through divine consciousness, Huang Jinxu could not help growing more wary of Mu En.

Tang San might have left a contingency inside Mu En as well.