"Who's there? Come out!" Qian Chen shouted after landing.
"Ah, you really must fix that habit of shouting at people before getting a good look! If you offended someone who could swat you dead with a flick of their hand, and they did just that, what would I do?"
Qian Chen looked toward the voice and saw an extremely handsome, lavishly dressed middle-aged man step out from behind a large tree.
"Greetings, Lord Plane Consciousness." Qian Chen immediately cupped his hands and bowed.
"Hehe, where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?" the Plane Consciousness asked.
"My lord, Huo Yun'er, the mother of the child of destiny, Huo Yuhao, is critically ill. I'm rushing over to either save her life or take away her soul and the child of destiny. I absolutely cannot let Huo Yun'er's soul fall into Tang San's hands," Qian Chen answered truthfully.
The Plane Consciousness said, "I knew you would be this rash. If you go just like that, you'll immediately expose yourself to Tang San's gaze. He'll discover at once that you're also competing for the child of destiny. Then he'll crush you to death again. At worst, he'll have broken the Divine Realm's rules, receive a scolding from the other God Kings, and then carry on being a God King."
Realizing that the Plane Consciousness was pointing out his mistake, Qian Chen immediately said, "Please teach me, my lord."
The Plane Consciousness said, "Huo Yun'er cannot be saved this time. Her death was planned entirely by Tang San. So, take this."
With that, the Plane Consciousness took out a jade bottle identical to the ones that had held Bibi Dong's and Qian Renxue's souls. "Inside is a soul very similar to Huo Yun'er's that took me a long time to find. I rewrote her memories. After Huo Yun'er dies, smash the jade bottle and release this soul. If Tang San doesn't look closely, he'll grab the wrong one."
Qian Chen asked in puzzlement, "My lord, can I just unscrew this jade bottle instead of smashing it? Something that can hold souls permanently is a treasure!"
"You can. If you like it, you can have it once this is over. I have something else to give you."
Next, the Plane Consciousness took out a pill and said, "This is a Soul-Preserving Pill. If someone takes it before death, it will keep their soul from leaving their body for a day. Once Huo Yun'er dies, release this false soul for Tang San to take away. A day later, you can bring Huo Yun'er into your Sea of Consciousness."
Qian Chen asked, "My lord, I already have two people in my Sea of Consciousness. Won't it get noisy if I put Huo Yun'er in there too?"
The Plane Consciousness smiled slightly. "You could put her in that jade bottle instead. It's just that this bottle can forcibly extract and imprison souls. In your mortal world, there's a Level 9 Soul Tool called the God Sealing Altar. This jade bottle could at least rival a Level 11 Soul Tool version of the God Sealing Altar. Decide for yourself."
Qian Chen nodded, his confidence greatly boosted, and asked again, "My lord, it's been years since we last met. Do you have any other treasures to give me?"
The Plane Consciousness said, "Hmm. Since you aren't the child of destiny, you still haven't reached Titled Douluo after all these years of cultivation. You really have had a miserable time. Even your only red Soul Ring was swindled from a young girl."
Qian Chen flushed. His sole Hundred-Thousand-Year Saber-Toothed Tiger King Soul Ring really had been coaxed and swindled out of Zhang Lexuan back then. He said, "My lord, stop teasing me. If you have any treasures, please give them to me."
Then two small golden orbs appeared in the Plane Consciousness's hand. "What are these?" Qian Chen asked.
"These are God-Given Soul Rings. Crush one, and it will form a Soul Ring. Its age will be the maximum your body can withstand. If you can withstand a five-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, it will produce a five-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring."
Qian Chen excitedly accepted the two small golden orbs. However, the Plane Consciousness spoke again. "But these God-Given Soul Rings can only be attached to your Angel Martial Soul, and each can only produce one Soul Skill."
"I can definitely withstand Soul Rings over a hundred thousand years old! But doesn't a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring produce two Soul Skills? Why does this only give one?" Qian Chen asked.
"Let me finish. Don't rush. These two God-Given Soul Rings will also give you two fixed Soul Skills: one called Divine Light of Life, and the other called Absolute Purification."
Hearing this, Qian Chen grew anxious. So they're just trash support skills after all. These God-Given Soul Rings are going to ruin my cultivation!
The Plane Consciousness laughed. "I knew you had no knowledge of the world. You think these two Soul Skills are simple? Let me tell you, Divine Light of Life can heal any injury, as long as the soul hasn't left the body, even injuries inflicted by a god. If Qian Renxue had possessed this skill during the battle at Jialing Pass ten thousand years ago, Bibi Dong wouldn't have died. After being struck by the Asura God's annihilation ultimate move, she could have gotten back up and kept fighting him. It can heal injuries from divine skills. Tell me, is that Soul Skill powerful or not?"
For a moment, Qian Chen had no answer. He could only look excitedly toward the other orb. Seeing his expression, the Plane Consciousness continued explaining, "This one is Absolute Purification. Its effect is exactly what its name says. Even effects imposed by gods can be purified completely."
"Good, good, good! I'll take these two God-Given Soul Rings. Thank you, Lord Plane Consciousness!"
The Plane Consciousness said, "Since I've given you all these treasures, go take action. Remember, I've invested a fortune in you. You absolutely must not fail!"
"Understood, my lord. I just find this a little strange. I keep feeling something isn't right," Qian Chen asked in puzzlement.
"What isn't right?" the Plane Consciousness asked curiously.
"From what I saw, didn't Second-Level Gods like Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun have quite miserable lives ten thousand years ago? Ma Hongjun couldn't even bring his own wife to the Divine Realm. You're also a Second-Level God, so where did you get so many treasures? And Divine Light of Life and Absolute Purification don't seem like your skills either, my lord. Shouldn't yours be rule-based control skills?" Qian Chen asked.
"Hmph!" The Plane Consciousness snorted angrily. "You'll be told what you should know. Don't go poking your nose into what you shouldn't. All I can tell you is that you and I aren't the only ones on our side. Also, after Huo Yun'er dies, don't take Huo Yuhao away immediately. His destiny will truly erupt in a little over a year. And get the Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife and obtain the gold of life sooner. I don't understand-wouldn't it be good to have Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue helping you?"
"Rest assured, my lord. I understand it all," Qian Chen answered hastily.
"Go quickly, or Huo Yun'er will die before you arrive, and our plan will fall short at the final hurdle. Remember, try not to expose yourself to Tang San's gaze. When necessary, you can even do things that make Tang San think favorably of you. A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall. Don't enrage Tang San. If he truly goes berserk, no one can save you."
"Yes!" After answering, Qian Chen immediately spread his four angel wings again and headed for Star Luo City.
A day later, Qian Chen arrived outside the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. With his strength as a peak level eighty-nine Soul Douluo, no one in the entire White Tiger Duke's Mansion would discover him unless he deliberately exposed himself. The White Tiger Duke's Mansion did not have even a single Titled Douluo. Qian Chen soon slipped into its woodshed.
Through his perception, Qian Chen found that Huo Yuhao was now almost ten years old, yet his Soul Power was only at the peak of level eight, still one step away from level nine.
Meanwhile, Huo Yun'er was already drifting in and out of consciousness. Qian Chen sighed inwardly. What a pitiful woman. Because she was the child of destiny's mother, even her life and death were maliciously controlled by someone else.
Qian Chen carefully sensed Huo Yun'er's vital signs. Fortunately, she could still hold on for two or three days. He considered things for a while and soon had a plan.