At the God Realm Committee, the Five Great God Kings, who had yet to disperse, watched the energy coming from Douluo.
Two trails of clear tears slipped down the Goddess of Life's face. She knew that the Ice God's remnant soul had completely dissipated. This time, they would truly never see her again.
"Still the same after all these years." The God of Destruction tilted his head back, stubbornly refusing to let his tears fall.
He had not been particularly close to the Ice God, but she had been close to his wife. At the very least, they had been acquaintances who could exchange a few words whenever they met.
He also knew perfectly well what the Ice God had wanted to do all these years. He had tried to dissuade her many times, but she had remained the same.
"Let's go. The cracks on the Douluo Continent will slowly recover. They only look dramatic. This farce is over." Having steadied his emotions, the God of Destruction lowered his head again, though his voice was still somewhat hoarse.
"Mm." Having watched her friend depart, the Goddess of Life was in poor spirits as well and gave a quiet murmur. Still, she did not forget to help revive Bing'er beside them. As she raised her hand, green light enveloped Bing'er, and her head, which could practically be described as having been blown apart, recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Sea God, sorry for the trouble, but please soothe the ice- or water-element gods who were injured when the Ice God's Divine Seat broke away." Leaving those words behind, the God of Destruction took the Goddess of Life and left the God Realm Committee first.
"Let's head back too," the God of Evil said to the Goddess of Kindness.
"All right. I want to drink one of your cocktails." The Goddess of Kindness nodded. In truth, she wanted to drown her sorrows. No one would feel particularly good after watching a god fall before their eyes.
"Senior Sea God, sorry for the trouble with what comes next." Leaving much the same words behind, the God of Evil departed with the Goddess of Kindness.
The God Realm Committee rotated its duties, and today was Tang San's turn.
Thus, as the other four gods left, Tang San could only smile and nod, seeing them off. Soon, he was the only one left in the God Realm Committee's hall.
The smile slowly faded from his face, and he looked toward Douluo with an indifferent gaze.
This time, he had truly suffered a massive loss. Originally, he had wanted Bing'er to obtain the Ice God's Divine Seat. She had always been a puppet he had chosen, and he had paid a considerable price to deceive the Ice God's Divine Seat.
All he had wanted was to have a First-Level God's combat strength on his side to offset the loss of giving up Huo Yuhao, while also indirectly weakening Huo Yuhao's capabilities.
After all, with an ice-attribute god keeping him down, Huo Yuhao, who had the ice attribute within him, would not only have to compete with her for resources; she could also become his blade in the mortal world.
Yet before he had even finished honing that blade, the other side had already ruined it.
Worse still, the other side had obtained so many benefits.
The wine the God of Evil had given was one thing. After all, he mixed it when he was bored. It was nothing special in the Divine Realm, but in the mortal world, it was an exceptionally precious treasure.
At most, that wine flask could brew some spirit wine containing spiritual energy. Likewise, it was only exceptionally precious in the mortal world.
But the shoot from the Goddess of Life's Life Tree was truly invaluable. With proper cultivation, even if it could not grow into a Life Tree like the one in the Goddess of Life's hands, it would still become something that made other gods green with envy.
Moreover, the Ice God had left her inheritance with Huo Yuhao, already giving him the foundation to become a First-Level God.
If it were merely a First-Level God, he would not fear him. But he knew that the planet had been nurturing Huo Yuhao specifically to come after him. Becoming a First-Level God was only the minimum.
There were other opportunities on Douluo. There would surely be an opportunity capable of building on that foundation to raise Huo Yuhao into a God King.
As for himself, after the Ice God's commotion, he would wager that the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life had definitely noticed something. They simply lacked evidence. If they had evidence, they would not merely question him; they would strike directly.
He would have to act more covertly from now on.
What was going on? Why had so many things gone wrong lately? I must make a proper plan next. Ideally, I should make sure the Douluo Consciousness and the Child of Destiny she nurtured can never cause trouble for me again, all in one stroke.
"Xiao Zi, why didn't you let me ask about the concealed identity of the heir the Ice God found?" Far from the God Realm Committee, in a place surrounded by nothing but rosy clouds, the Goddess of Life stopped and questioned her husband, the God of Destruction.
"A Black-Eyed Golden Dragon King doesn't have the ability to interfere directly with the Divine Realm Core. He can only interfere with other Divine Seats' ability to sense him. He has no standing to interfere with the Divine Realm Core. Only a Plane Consciousness does," the God of Destruction said gravely, stopping in his tracks.
Both the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life understood this perfectly well. It was only because the God of Destruction had not let the Goddess of Life say it at the time that she had changed her explanation to the so-called Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King obstructing their view.
Fortunately, Tang San, the God of Evil, and the Goddess of Kindness had all ascended to the Divine Realm relatively recently and knew nothing about such matters. Otherwise, they would have spotted the problem at a glance.
"And Xiao Lu, what do you think could make a Plane Consciousness deliberately conceal someone's information, preventing the Divine Realm Core from investigating them? The price she paid for this certainly wasn't small."
"Because she sensed a crisis, and that person is her trump card against it." Faced with the God of Destruction's question, this was the only answer the Goddess of Life could think of. Otherwise, she could not understand what would make it worthwhile for a Plane Consciousness to pay such an enormous price merely to conceal someone's information.
There was only one possibility: this person was extremely important to her, a Child of Destiny she had personally nurtured.
But nurturing a Child of Destiny, who could also be called a Child of the Plane, required an enormous amount of the plane's energy every time. Such people were called the plane's own children and enjoyed its favor from birth.
But why would they receive that favor for no reason? Love never appeared out of nowhere. There was always a reason.
Just like Douluo's first Child of Destiny, the Dragon God. Douluo's true purpose in nurturing him had been to protect itself. Back then, Douluo had been all alone in the universe, with many wolves circling and watching. It had needed someone trustworthy to protect it, and so the Dragon God had come into being.
Those who knew understood the Dragon God's achievements. His starting point had been higher than everyone else's from the very beginning.
Only such an existence was worth the enormous price a Plane Consciousness would pay to conceal them.
But now, Douluo at least had the Divine Realm's protection. Things were completely different from back then. What kind of crisis warranted her nurturing an entirely new Child of Destiny?
It could only have come from one place: the Divine Realm.
"What you're really saying is that Tang San is plotting against Douluo Star!"
"I have no evidence at present. I admit that there are things about him I resent. Why did the previous God King of Evil and God King of Goodness give him authority over the Divine Realm Core? But I've accepted it now.
"But this absolutely isn't me measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind. Of all the planes under the Divine Realm, why Douluo in particular? Only a handful of people normally have access to the Divine Realm Core. Which of them has ties to Douluo?
"And surely you don't think the Ice God crushed the compensation Tang San gave her at the Divine Realm's gates because she was angry that she had found herself an heir built up through resources and power?"
"I understand. If he truly dares to do that, I absolutely won't let him off either," the Goddess of Life said gravely. In the couple's eyes, the Divine Realm belonged to everyone, and the planes below also belonged to the Divine Realm. They were no one's private property.
"Let's look for evidence in private first. We have none at the moment. If we act on suspicion alone, we won't be able to convince everyone."
The Goddess of Life nodded.
The Ice God's Divine Temple.
Two streaks of light flew into the temple one after another. One entered the center of the temple and vanished into the void, while the other flew straight into Huo Yuhao's body.
The Snow Empress, who had been immersed in grief over the Ice God's complete dissipation, immediately stepped forward hopefully upon seeing this. "What was that just now?"
Huo Yuhao sensed the situation inside his body, then gently shook his head. "It wasn't her."
What had entered Huo Yuhao's body was not the Ice God's consciousness, but over a thousand fragments resembling ice crystals.
"So she really is gone?" The Snow Empress staggered back two steps. Her last hope had been extinguished just like that.
"Yes." At that moment, the Ice God's voice rang out once more, echoing throughout the temple.
"Lord Ice God."
"Sister Ice God."
Hearing her voice, the Snow Empress and Huo Yuhao looked around, trying to find the Ice God. What answered them, however, was something entirely unrelated.
"If you're seeing this message, then I really am gone. But cheer up. I've already been dead for many years. Being able to see this world at the end and do a little more for it made me very happy.
"So don't be sad. What I say next will count as my last words. Make sure you remember them. If you forget, I'll be very sad."
Last words.
When they heard those words, Huo Yuhao and the Snow Empress both understood that the Ice God truly could not return.
"Yuhao, I'll leave the Divine Seat in the temple for now. Come and take it when you have the strength and need to become a god.
"As for my temple, it will stay in the Far North for now. My dear little sister of my own kind, I'll entrust it to you all. I'm leaving it as a safeguard. When necessary, activate the temple, and the protective barrier it forms will be extremely difficult to break even for a Second-Level God.
"If you use it at your peak, you'll be able to kill even a divine officer here if one comes, and you'll be able to take on a Third-Level God too.
"Incidentally, the temple can also shelter you when you undergo your heavenly lightning tribulations. This is the safeguard I'm leaving for the Far North. Use it well.
"Oh, and my inheritance is inside too. Any Soul Beast in the Far North with intelligence and a desire to learn can come and try it. As the head of the Far North's family, teach them whatever they don't understand. Don't leave them fumbling around blindly.
"As for my divine artifact, Yuhao, I imagine it was already shattered by the time it entered your body. Don't feel bad about it.
"Ice is highly malleable. Its strength lies in its countless transformations. I was usually accustomed to using a sword, so I turned it into one. You can reshape its body according to your own preferences. A whip, a sword-breaker, a spear, a staff, a bow, a saber, or a club will all work.
"Even if you don't have a particular favorite weapon, you can turn it into an ever-changing divine artifact. That works too, giving you different ways to respond to different situations.
"As for its power, it was originally almost a Super Divine Artifact. Unfortunately, I imagine it now only has the power of an ordinary divine artifact. Keep it inside your body and slowly nurture it. Once you've nourished a brand-new artifact spirit into existence, it should be able to become a brand-new Super Divine Artifact.
"But that's actually rather good. You shouldn't encounter any resistance when using it. Just let it follow your heart.
"As for the rest of the compensation, keep half the wine and give the remainder to that little sister of my own kind. Let her decide how to use it.
"Let Mother decide what to do with the wine flask, the Life Tree's shoot, and the Immortal Spirit Qi. She'll certainly give you the two when the time comes. You don't know how to use Immortal Spirit Qi yet.
"That's everything. Finally, don't grieve over my departure. Our home's safety in the future will be my greatest comfort. One last time, take care-my home, my mother, my family."
Sobs.
Huo Yuhao began to choke up without realizing it. Even the Snow Empress, whose temperament was normally rather cool and aloof, had two trails of clear tears slipping down her face.
Before this, neither of them had known what kind of person the Ice God was. But after spending time with her, they had discovered that she was like a gentle, mischievous older sister who loved to joke, a filial daughter, without any of a god's airs. No, perhaps it was that she had given her gentleness and filial devotion to her family. This world was her home, the Snow Empress was of her own kind, and Huo Yuhao was the new generation's Child of Destiny nurtured by this world, whom she had also treated as a younger brother.
As for her divine side, she had reserved it for her enemies. In her final moments, the Ice God had done everything she could to pave their road, properly address potential allies, enemies, and their current situation, and leave as much as she could in this world.
Finally, her arrangements for the temple and Divine Seat also showed that she had left this world everything she could.
And now she was gone.
Their hearts were like the torrential rain sweeping across the entire Douluo Plane, like the wind and snow howling past outside.
Every corner revealed the sorrow of losing a family member.
Only after three full days did the torrential rain shrouding all of Douluo gradually disperse. It was not because the Douluo Consciousness had emerged from her grief, but because she realized that if it continued, some places would begin to flood.
Huo Yun also knew that sorrow was of little use. The Ice God's final wish had been for Douluo to be safe. Their family member was gone, but they still had to keep moving forward.
The Ice God's departure should not become a reason for them to hang their heads and grieve. Instead, it had to become their motivation to advance. The rules weighing upon the Plane Consciousness remained, and Tang San would not withdraw the demonic claws he had extended toward Douluo merely because the Ice God had departed.
Huo Yun sought out Huo Yuhao and the others. It was time to leave. Their journey to the Far North could be considered complete, and the Ice God's Divine Seat was already secured. As for Huo Yuhao's Second Soul Ring, Huo Yun already had a plan.
After bidding farewell to the Snow Empress and the others, Huo Yuhao was escorted out of the Ice God's Divine Temple by Di Tian.
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