"Sky Azure Bull Python, Titan Giant Ape! Why are those two bastards here? I didn't even sense them leaving the Clear Sky Sect!" Huo Yun cried out in shock at the two middle-aged men who had suddenly appeared.
She remembered putting those two under particular scrutiny. They were Tang San's people, after all; she had to guard against them.
"Sky Azure Bull Python, Titan Giant Ape? They're soul beasts, ferocious beasts! What do they have to do with the Clear Sky Sect?" Huo Yuhao was also taken aback upon hearing those two names.
Sky Azure Bull Python, Titan Giant Ape, Clear Sky Sect-he knew all three.
The first two were soul beasts, and top-tier soul beasts with exceptionally powerful bloodlines at that. One could be considered a branch of the Dragon Clan, a subdragon with dragon blood flowing through his veins, while the other belonged to the Tai Tan Clan.
The Clear Sky Sect was one of the foremost sects in the human world, and its hereditary martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, was hailed as the world's greatest tool martial soul.
Two soul beasts and one human sect-how had those three come together?
Wait, they actually might have a connection.
"Could they be the two who helped Sea God Tang San back then in the Tang Sect's legends?" Huo Yuhao quickly recalled the legends of Sea God Tang San his mother had told him in the past.
"Yes." Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Huo Yun simply nodded. "They're enemies, not friends. I'll explain once we're safe."
"Look at the bracelets on their wrists. They seem to be treasures that conceal their auras." Just then, a steady, aged voice rang out.
Hearing the voice, the three turned to look. At some point, the formerly gray ball of light had transformed into a white-haired young man dressed in black robes, his body suffused with a faint golden glow.
Huo Yun glanced at him. A woman's phantom first emerged above the multicolored ball of light and nodded to him, then withdrew her gaze. Her mind raced as she considered how to respond. "That damned bastard gave those to them. They're taking Yuhao away. Wait here for me. I'll find reinforcements."
Outside, the Titan Giant Ape had already reached out and seized the still-unconscious Huo Yuhao.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao could no longer pretend to be unconscious. He promptly left his Sea of Consciousness, opened his eyes, and looked at the Titan Giant Ape holding him up. "Who are you?" he asked in terror.
That terror was no act. He still had no idea what was happening or how he had provoked these two powerful figures. Nor could he understand why they would oppose the World Consciousness. Didn't the World Will represent this world?
"Awake, are you? Don't worry about who we are. You've picked up something bad, kid. Once we've dealt with it, we'll let you leave. Relax, we won't hurt you. Just sleep a little longer." Finding it troublesome that Huo Yuhao had awakened, the Titan Giant Ape simply raised his other hand and knocked him unconscious, not bothering to explain.
"Let's go. Xiao San's worries really weren't unfounded." As the Sky Azure Bull Python spoke, he and the Titan Giant Ape vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, Huo Yun had not gone far. She headed straight into the Star Dou Great Forest, to the center of a pale-green lake brimming with vitality in the Core Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
There, a multicolored ball of light rapidly formed, and the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth swiftly converged upon it.
This unusual phenomenon immediately drew the attention of those who lived here-or rather, the beasts who lived here.
The shadows behind the towering trees all around suddenly joined together, as though coming alive. A black-clad man with golden eyes slowly stepped out from them.
The moment he appeared, the surrounding dark element became unusually active, as though it would completely blot out every other element in the area.
Even Huo Yun felt as though this space had been stripped away from her entirely. Just like the ocean, she had completely lost control over this place.
"Won't you come out and talk, Silver Dragon King? Or is there no longer any place in your heart for the world that nurtured you?" Huo Yun merely glanced at him before withdrawing her gaze and looking down at the lake.
"How could that be? I simply never expected you to retain such an active consciousness under the weight of so many rules." A cool female voice rang out between heaven and earth.
"Speaking of which, who was it that imposed all those rules on me, those rules restricting the World Consciousness?" Huo Yun's voice was now filled with boundless coldness and majesty. This was the voice of the original Douluo Consciousness.
Perhaps because she was facing someone who had known the Douluo Consciousness in the past, Huo Yun unconsciously adopted its former manner.
More importantly, the previous Douluo Consciousness really had known this Silver Dragon King-or rather, it had known the Dragon God.
Of the two Innate Children of Destiny the Douluo Consciousness had actively nurtured, Huo Yuhao was the second. The first was the Dragon God.
He had been the first common ruler of all soul beasts, the founder of the Divine Dragon Realm, the first of the Dragon Clan to reach the God King level, and a deity of the highest order.
His origin lay in being the first Innate Child of Destiny nurtured by Douluo Star. Ever since gaining consciousness, the Dragon God had been the hope of his entire race, for his talent was the finest Douluo Star had ever nurtured.
His extraordinary talent granted him tremendous abilities and made him the hope of his entire race. Under his leadership, the Dragon Clan grew ever stronger.
At first, the Dragon Clan's growing strength had little effect on Douluo Star. Instead, it nourished the planet in return. The Douluo Consciousness was unprecedentedly powerful then; it could also be called Douluo's peak.
But that peak did not last long. The Dragon God was the first to move against Douluo. Wanting to first turn Douluo into one of the worlds that supplied the Dragon Clan with faith, he turned against the Douluo Consciousness that had nurtured him and imposed the first rule since the world's birth apart from the Universe Rules.
From that moment on, Douluo's peak could be said to have ended. Restricted by that rule, the Douluo Consciousness fell into slumber.
Then it slowly declined to its present state. Now, targeted by others, it could only bring forth a new Child of Destiny to protect itself.
Even with a supreme expert like the Silver Dragon King hidden here, the first support Huo Yun had thought of was not this place, but the Child of Destiny left behind by the previous Douluo Consciousness. The reason was that the Dragon Clan truly had betrayed this world in the past.
She did not know whether cooperating with the Dragon Clan would ultimately leave her with the same fate as the previous Douluo Consciousness.
"So you've come to settle accounts with me? To take revenge now that you've broken free?" the Silver Dragon King asked.
"No. I no longer care about the past, and I'm not here to settle accounts with you. I'm here to ask your subordinates for help." Huo Yun stated her purpose.
Looking across the entire continent, the only ones who could help were here in the Star Dou Great Forest. This was the only place where she could enlist someone capable of stopping the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape.
As for those old grudges with the Dragon Clan, Huo Yun was the Douluo Consciousness, but not the former Douluo Consciousness. She knew what choice to make.
The Silver Dragon King was momentarily stunned. She had thought the Douluo Consciousness had come to settle accounts, only to find she was seeking help. She could not help growing curious. "If that's all, then of course there's no problem. But before that, I'm curious. What sort of person is worth your coming to me to request help?"
"He's like the Dragon God of old. But I advise you not to get any ideas about him. If anything happens to him, I won't hesitate to hold anyone responsible, including you soul beasts. Dare to cut off my hope, and I'll cut off every last one of yours." After some thought, Huo Yun ultimately decided to reveal a little of Huo Yuhao's identity. There was another opportunity awaiting him in the Star Dou Great Forest, and afterward, dealings with the Silver Dragon King and her people would probably be unavoidable.
"Understood. I can help, but as the common ruler of the soul beasts, I feel obliged to ask for something for our kind." With things put so plainly, what else could the Silver Dragon King say? She did not want to thoroughly enrage the World Consciousness when things were fine as they were. That would do neither the soul beasts nor the Dragon Clan any good. Better to exchange her help for something tangible.
"Speak." Huo Yun truly did not want to waste any more words now.
"Di Tian is nearing his 900,000-Year Heavenly Tribulation. I hope you'll offer him some protection when the time comes and help him survive it." The Silver Dragon King named her price directly.
"Agreed." Huo Yun accepted without hesitation. Lending a hand and offering some protection would come at a cost, but it was still within an acceptable range.
"Go help, Di Tian." Seeing how readily she agreed, the Silver Dragon King was equally straightforward.
"Yes, Supreme Lord." Hearing the order, the black-clad man beside the lake immediately dropped to one knee and accepted it.
"Bring a few more people. The opponents are very strong. You may need to act yourself when the time comes," Huo Yun said.
"Who are the opponents?" Di Tian asked curiously.
Across the entire continent, he was unquestionably the strongest existence below god level. Yet Huo Yun still did not feel reassured by him. Just what sort of opponents did she find so troublesome?
"Two soul beasts who became gods alongside Sea God Tang San ten thousand years ago. But don't worry. They can't use god-level strength. They wouldn't dare. If they do, I can blow this matter up and make them pay a bleeding price. Rest assured, you'll be fine.
"All you have to do is snatch him back from them safe and sound," Huo Yun said.
"So it's them." Hearing the mention of ten thousand years ago, Di Tian realized whom Huo Yun meant.
Only a handful of soul beasts had become gods alongside that Sea God ten thousand years ago.
Although Di Tian lived in the Star Dou Great Forest and knew little of the legends on the Douluo Continent, he had clearly sensed the effects of that God War ten thousand years ago.
"Understood." The Silver Dragon King agreed without hesitation, promising that she would act.
Knowing who the enemies were, and with his Supreme Lord having agreed, Di Tian no longer hesitated and went straight to gather people.
Soon, several enormous figures flew out from the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest's core, heading toward the Heaven Dou Empire under Huo Yun's guidance.
The Clear Sky Sect!
The Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape had returned here first with Huo Yuhao.
After placing Huo Yuhao in the main hall, the two contacted Sea God Tang San without hesitation. Soon, a screen of water appeared in the hall.
"Your senses really were right. When we went near the Star Dou Great Forest, we sensed a god-level soul we'd never encountered before entering this child's body," the Titan Giant Ape reported to Tang San immediately.
"It's already entered?" Tang San paused at this, seemingly thinking, then asked, "Do you think that god-level soul is good or evil?"
"Hard to say. We only sensed its aura. There was light mixed into death. I can't say whether it's good or evil either." The Sky Azure Bull Python shook his head.
"Perhaps this is an opportunity for the child, too. Since we don't know whether it's good or evil, let's keep an eye on it for now. We can't kill innocents indiscriminately. It isn't convenient for me to act right now, so I'm sorry for troubling you two when the time comes," Tang San said.
"Keep an eye on what? Surely we're not supposed to wait forever for that fellow to slip up and make a move?" At the prospect of having to look after this child, the Titan Giant Ape was unwilling in every possible way.
"What nonsense are you spouting? What if they're a good god? I think Xiao San is right. We can't kill innocents indiscriminately." As he spoke, the Sky Azure Bull Python rapped the Titan Giant Ape hard on the head.
"But it's such a hassle." After that blow, the Titan Giant Ape visibly wilted. No longer as forceful as before, he only dared mutter quietly.
"You..." Though he was muttering under his breath, the Sky Azure Bull Python could still hear him. He was so angry that he truly wanted to raise his hand again and give this troublesome younger brother a hard slap.
"Looking after one is still looking after someone, and so is looking after two. I happen to be preparing to send Xiao Qi over now. It would be good to find her a playmate," Tang San said with a smile.
"But what if the god-level soul inside him isn't a good god and hurts Xiao Qi?" The Sky Azure Bull Python considered things more thoroughly. He did not mind the trouble of caring for another child, but he feared that the Xiao Qi they spoke of might get hurt.
"It's fine. At worst, I'll leave a few more safeguards on Xiao Qi." Tang San waved a casual hand at this. After thinking for a moment, perhaps still finding it insufficiently safe, he suggested, "How about I leave a safeguard on him too? If the god-level soul inside him does evil, I'll be able to stop it immediately."
"That works." The Sky Azure Bull Python wholeheartedly approved of the proposal.
Seeing that Tang San and his elder brother had both agreed, the Titan Giant Ape beside them immediately nodded his agreement too.
"So this is the enemy of the World Consciousness. His methods really are impressive." Inside Huo Yuhao, Electrolux had listened to the entire conversation among the three. He was even beginning to feel an urge to applaud Tang San. This was a truly masterful display of scheming.
Anyone hearing those words would think him a kind, upright, benevolent deity who cared about the world.
But if one considered them enemies, then strung together what he had just said-
One would discover that he was the one who had sent the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape to find someone in the Star Dou Great Forest. He was the one who, after they brought the boy back, said they must not kill innocents indiscriminately. And he was also the one who then proposed leaving a safeguard on Huo Yuhao.
Every sentence seemed to consider the bigger picture, interwoven with mercy toward ordinary people, while his proposals followed naturally. He even had that so-called Xiao Qi-who, judging by their relationship, was certainly very close to them-grow up alongside Huo Yuhao. At the same time, he reassured the other two by saying he would leave a safeguard on Huo Yuhao.
This put Huo Yuhao directly in the palm of his hand. One had to admit it was very clever.
Perhaps Electrolux himself harbored sinister suspicions and had misunderstood another's intentions. Or perhaps these really were the man's two sides. It all depended on which of the sides he had guessed at reflected this man's true heart.
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