Foster Mother? Still Need More Practice

Heaven Dou City.

The rooftop terrace on the top floor of the Blacksmith Association.

"I sensed them. Go, Big Baby, Second Baby."

Tang Qingye held the Seven-Colored Gourd, layers of brilliant, multicolored radiance flowing over its surface. Fine, mysterious patterns slowly wandered across its shell as though they had come alive.

This counted as Tang Qingye's first true use of it. After all these years, he had only accumulated two shots of essence. Who he would give them to was such a difficult guess.

Two intangible streams of perception spread outward almost simultaneously, one to the left and one to the right, enveloping the entire area like two enormous nets.

They carefully sifted through every drifting trace of energy in the space, refusing to overlook a single corner.

Big Baby: "Goo-goo."

Second Baby: "Ga-ga."

A moment later, the two little fellows bounced along, turning into two faint streaks of light that swept through the void.

The two streaks of light gradually slowed in the void, the halos of Soul Power flowing around them receding bit by bit. Faint spatial ripples spread beneath their feet as they hovered steadily in midair.

The two stopped moving forward and stood quietly in the void, facing the old man ahead from a distance.

He was a tall old man in plain robes, his white beard flowing, with the bearing of an immortal sage.

His eyes were unfathomably deep, as though they could see straight through people's hearts.

A faint golden gleam flowed deep within his eyes. His aura was restrained, and he looked gentle, yet he possessed the weighty pressure of a supreme powerhouse.

A short while later, deep blue patterns began flowing over Second Baby's surface.

Somewhat blurry images began appearing around him.

A seven-colored halo burst from his body almost instantaneously, followed by rings of light projecting outward from him.

Faint golden light flickered over the gourd's surface, and the three-dimensional images gathered during the search began transmitting outward on a spiritual level.

Spiritual Detection penetrated every gap. Every coordinate captured during the search, every subtle fluctuation, was gathered within.

Rather than merely manifesting the images in the outside world, the power of thought manifestation drew inward, branding these images of actual scenes directly into the depths of the old man's consciousness.

Countless images of actual scenes unfolded directly in Han Tianyi's mind. It was as though he were personally standing in that area, every detail of the scenery laid bare.

"All right, you two little fellows. Leave her to me. Go help the others."

Han Tianyi looked at the two brothers, his heart stirring a little. He had no idea where Tang Qingye had gotten them, but he wanted to raise one too.

He imagined a flock of little gourds chasing after him and calling him Grandpa. It felt even more appealing than fishing. Fishing could leave you empty-handed, but could raising gourds?

The older generation truly was the practical sort. Han Tianyi had already decided that once the mission ended, he would start small by raising seven in the Illusion World.

His dark green eyes swept over the two people before him, and the Ghost Emperor's voice carried an unquestionable authority.

"Dark Phoenix has already set out. She will find the best firing positions around the Heaven Dou Blacksmith Association. Once Zhen Hua's public lecture begins, all three Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells will be fired into the first-floor lecture hall."

"When the time comes, you two... Dark Hummingbird will harvest the souls. Dark Bell, you will be responsible for finishing Zhen Hua off."

"Once you succeed, the three of you will withdraw separately."

The Ghost Emperor laid out his arrangements methodically.

In his mind, with three Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shells and the Three Great Heavenly Kings striking together, this battle ought to be a cinch.

Beside him, Dark Bell stood with her hands lowered, not a trace of anything unusual on her face, though her thoughts were already racing.

Why isn't that brat replying to me? How infuriating.

Na Nali had already bundled up the Ghost Emperor's arrangements and transmitted them remotely to Tang Qingye.

"If reinforcements from the Federation arrive, leave them to me. I will remain hidden in the shadows. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not show myself."

The Ghost Emperor spoke lightly, his tone casual.

"If everything goes smoothly, there will be no need for me to act. If any unforeseen complications arise, I will clear them away."

The room briefly fell silent, thoughts churning in the minds of the other two.

"Understood."

The two bowed in unison and answered solemnly.

The Ghost Emperor sneered inwardly. He had spent a long time devising this plan and believed there would not be the slightest flaw.

To keep the plan from leaking, he had deployed only the Three Great Heavenly Kings this time. The other small fry knew nothing about it.

He had even extravagantly used a divine artifact to hold the Level Nine Soul Cannon Shells, which could have fit in a storage ring. I really don't know how I could lose.

"Each of you will perform your duties and follow the plan."

"I will be leaving first."

As his words fell, dense, pitch-black death energy surged around him, swallowing his outline bit by bit.

He suppressed his aura to the utmost, almost merging with the surrounding world. No one knew where he had concealed himself.

The next moment, only a faint wisp of dissipating death energy remained where he had stood. His figure had vanished completely.

"Let's get going too, Dark Bell. I'm just dying to improve."

Dark Hummingbird let out a sinister cackle, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from rising.

"Don't worry. When the time comes, those people will all be yours. I won't compete with you."

Na Nali's beautiful eyes flickered as she spoke to Dark Hummingbird.

Dark Hummingbird paused, then excitement blazed from his eyes. "Really, foster father... no, no... foster mother! I'm so touched."

After the two withdrew, all that remained within the altar was black mist that had all but dissipated.

Daylight spilled down, the association's grayish-white buildings spreading out ahead. The enormous golden forging-hammer emblem atop the building shone brilliantly in the sunlight, visible at a glance even from far away.

Pedestrians streamed along the street, while soul-guided aircraft occasionally glided slowly overhead, leaving faint trails of energy.

The cries from the shops mingled with the faint sounds of hammering from the association, filling every corner with the bustle of daily life in this modern ancient capital.

Dark Phoenix restrained her Soul Power and suppressed her aura to an extremely low level. Blending into the passing crowd, she looked no different from an ordinary pedestrian.

Her steps were unhurried, her gaze seemingly sweeping casually over her surroundings, though she was secretly measuring distances and heights.

Voices clamored around her, every kind of sound reaching her ears.

What a pity that soon I won't be able to hear them anymore. Hehehe...

Bloom, this world's most beautiful flower, la-la-la...

She continually compared several nearby vantage points in her mind, repeatedly calculating the range of the explosions.

The three firing positions needed to be set at different angles so the explosions' power could spread out and bring the entire target area within their killing range.

One needed to cover the east, another to target the central main building, and the last to seal off the western exit, leaving those inside nowhere to flee.

The surrounding streetscape continued passing before her eyes, pedestrians coming and going, clamor filling her ears. Dark Phoenix was still calculating the three bombardment positions in her mind.

The entire world suddenly gave a slight shudder. It was not the ground outside shaking, but ripples spreading within this artificially unfolded Illusion Space.

Without any warning of sound or light, the outlines of the pedestrians in the street began twisting and dissolving. Countless dark figures formed from pure spiritual energy slowly emerged from the surrounding scenery.

Those dark figures had been mixed into her field of vision all along. When she had inspected her surroundings earlier, she had been utterly unable to discern anything unusual.

Dark Phoenix's pupils abruptly contracted, and an intense stabbing pain exploded through her soul.

She hurriedly mobilized her formidable spiritual strength, trying to erect defenses around her sea of consciousness.

But this illusion was her opponent's domain to begin with. Every rule here was under Han Tianyi's control.

Her physical body outside still stood amid the stream of pedestrians, but her consciousness was already completely imprisoned within this false world.

Cold sweat poured down her temples. The bustling streets before her remained unchanged, yet within the illusion, she had already become embroiled in a perilous struggle of divine souls.

Shock and fury mingled in her heart. Never had she imagined that all the myriad sights of life she had seen along the way were a cage woven by the enemy.

Deep within the illusion, space parted to either side like rippling water, and Han Tianyi, dressed in plain robes, slowly walked out of the ripples.

"You still need more practice, little bro. You can't even measure up to a six-year-old child."

Han Tianyi spoke lightly.