A Member of Spirit Hall in Spirit Hall, a Member of the Sanctuary of Surasthana in the Sanctuary of Surasthana

Otherworldly God—what was her purpose?

Inside the Worship Hall, a dignified middle-aged man stood with his brows tightly furrowed.

He was none other than Qian Daoliu, the Angel God's Great Enshrined and one of the three Peerless Douluo of the present age!

Tang Chen was in Slaughter City, where the environment was unusual, while Sea God Island lay far overseas. Thus, of the three Peerless Douluo, only Qian Daoliu had been drawn into the dream.

Spirit Hall had also confirmed that, at the very least, every Soul Master and even every ordinary person in Spirit City had been drawn into that dream.

Divine power of this magnitude could only belong to a true deity! Her strength was probably far beyond anything he could match.

"We must not show hostility toward this unknown goddess. Our most pressing task is to understand exactly what she intends to do. Investigate at once!"

Standing before him were the various Enshrined of the Worship Hall, as well as Spirit Hall's current Supreme Pontiff, Qian Xunji.

The Enshrined and Qian Xunji quickly accepted their orders and left. They, too, were full of doubts and wanted to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.

What exactly had the goddess named Buer done?

As far as they were concerned, Buer had merely drawn them into a dream and delivered a declaration, after which they had returned to reality and it was over.

"Granting new life... could she mean to turn everyone into Soul Masters? Could even a goddess accomplish something like that?"

Qian Daoliu mulled over Buer's words. She seemed to imply that anyone who joined the Sanctuary of Surasthana could receive "new life."

But Qian Daoliu could not fathom what she meant by new life. Many Fallen Soul Masters also liked to go on about new life, when what they actually meant was killing people.

Still, Qian Daoliu was the Angel God's Great Enshrined. Recalling the first Angel God's path to divinity, he soon grasped Buer's intent: gathering faith!

This goddess from another world likely intended to gather faith by establishing the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Naturally, gathering faith required bestowing blessings. The blessing Buer offered was probably the right to cultivate for those with insufficient innate Soul Power, or even ordinary mortals.

At that thought, Qian Daoliu felt somewhat reassured. If gathering faith was her main aim, this God of Wisdom would certainly not slaughter wantonly or commit atrocities that defied heaven and morality.

That would only harm her efforts to gather faith, without bringing her any benefit.

Yet he did not know what effect her actions would have on Spirit Hall, and the worry between Qian Daoliu's brows was impossible to hide.

He could never hope to defeat a goddess like that, even if she still seemed to need faith and might not be a true deity like the Angel God.

Just thinking about that dream world, which had engulfed every human on the entire continent, made Qian Daoliu's scalp prickle.

Spirit Hall was, after all, the greatest power of the age. Whatever the Sanctuary of Surasthana did, its impact on Spirit Hall would be enormous.

"Father! We've finished investigating!"

Before long, Qian Xunji hurried back to the Worship Hall to report his findings. Behind him followed a graceful woman wearing the robes of a Spirit Hall deacon, her delight impossible to conceal.

"Some people seem to have received the Dendro Archon's inheritance in the dream. One of our own in Spirit Hall received it!"

She actually hadn't excluded our Spirit Hall?

A trace of delight flashed through Qian Daoliu's eyes, only for another worry to arise. Could she be trying to dig away at our foundations and poach our people?

No, no! This was still better than being excluded.

Qian Daoliu had long suspected that their Angel God had either fallen or departed for another realm. If this woman had received the God of Wisdom's inheritance, then with Spirit Hall's wholehearted support, perhaps Spirit Hall could gain another divine inheritance in the future.

Even if the Qian Family's descendants could not inherit the Angel Godhood, Spirit Hall would have another safeguard.

At that thought, Qian Daoliu could not help casting a disappointed glance at Qian Xunji. He was his own son, yet his talent did not even measure up to his father's.

Despite Spirit Hall sparing no effort to nurture him, he had only barely reached rank ninety-five at his age. He would likely remain there for the rest of his life.

He possessed the exalted six-winged angel Martial Soul, yet his talent probably fell short even of the Second Enshrined, Golden Crocodile Douluo.

Qian Daoliu turned toward the somewhat nervous-looking female Spirit Hall deacon Qian Xunji had brought and adopted a kindly expression.

"There is no need to be nervous. I am Qian Daoliu, Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined. I merely wish to learn the God of Wisdom's purpose in coming here. Not only will we refrain from coveting your inheritance, but Spirit Hall will do everything in its power to help you complete that goddess's divine trials!"

"Could you briefly describe what happened in the dream?"

The graceful woman calmed down and said, "In the dream, after hearing Lady Buer's words, I arrived in a space where only Lady Buer and I existed. Lady Buer asked whether I wished to accept her inheritance and join the Sanctuary of Surasthana."

"Lady Buer also said that the Sanctuary of Surasthana's purpose was to enlighten and guide everyone, and that she did not mind my being a member of Spirit Hall."

"After I accepted, Lady Buer gave me a cultivation method called the Pure Good Heart Sutra. She said it could strengthen the mind."

At this point, the woman could not help revealing some of her delight.

"When I actually cultivated it, not only did it strengthen my spiritual power, it could even purify my Martial Soul. I could also feel that, in some mysterious way, I could sense Lady Buer!"

"Lady Buer told me that, if I continued cultivating, I could even condense a mark within my mind and become a shrine maiden. After that, I could simulate real-world situations in my mental world whenever I wished, and even receive Lady Buer's guidance!"

Qian Daoliu's expression turned rather peculiar. Wait, where were the increases in Soul Power and Soul Ring age? Where were the god-bestowed Soul Rings?

She really was a goddess from elsewhere. She didn't understand the local rules.

But Qian Daoliu also realized that this cultivation method was extraordinarily precious. The meditation methods of the Douluo Continent could not increase spiritual power; it could only rise incidentally as Soul Power increased. Purifying a Martial Soul was even more unheard of!

"This cultivation method..." Qian Xunji could not resist speaking up. "Might you let me take a look?"

An awkward expression appeared on the graceful woman's face. "Lady Buer did grant every emissary of the Sanctuary of Surasthana the right to pass on wisdom, but Your Holiness would have to sincerely wish to join the Sanctuary of Surasthana before I would be permitted to teach you."

She continued to explain, "Actually, I only learned it through enlightenment bestowed upon me. If I had to teach it myself, I probably couldn't. However, I can pass on the cultivation method through a strand of divine power Lady Buer left within my body."

"The divine power will determine whether the other person sincerely wishes to join the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Only then will it grant them the cultivation method."

It seemed she had put some thought into preventing theft, too. This way, even someone who wanted to spread it on their own couldn't do so.

Qian Daoliu thought this to himself.

"Well..." Displeasure appeared on Qian Xunji's face, and he was about to speak again.

"Ji'er! Do not be rude! How could a divine inheritance be taken without permission!"

Qian Daoliu interrupted at just the right moment, then reassured the woman. "Rest assured, Spirit Hall would never seize it by force. It is merely that this old man's curiosity has been stirred. Could you demonstrate the wonders of this otherworldly cultivation method here? I truly am most curious."

The woman hesitated for a moment, but did not dare refuse. She immediately sat down where she stood, steadied her breathing, and began cultivating.

With a sweep of Qian Daoliu's divine sense, the cultivation method was already imprinted in his mind.

Qian Daoliu secretly gloated. In the end, she was just a little fledgling goddess from elsewhere. Even if she called herself the God of Wisdom, how could she guard against this old man?

"Excellent! This method is wondrous indeed. I hereby appoint..."

Qian Xunji supplied the name at just the right moment. "Su Qingyun."

"Excellent! I hereby appoint Su Qingyun an honorary elder. Congratulations to our Elder Su on receiving a divine inheritance! Elder Su, you need not have any misgivings. You may spread the teachings of the Sanctuary of Surasthana within Spirit Hall. May Spirit Hall and the Sanctuary of Surasthana form an everlasting alliance! This is a truly joyous occasion. We must hold a banquet to celebrate!"

Qian Xunji's expression shifted slightly. Appointing her an elder was one thing, but allowing her to preach-would that not shake Spirit Hall's very foundations?

"Ji'er, why haven't you gone yet?" Qian Daoliu demanded coldly. Qian Xunji could only assent.