The conversation with the Silver Dragon King Gu Yue made Wang Nan feel that the God Realm was no longer distant from him.
As for the challenges after entering the God Realm, he was equally unafraid.
The mist above the Life Lake gradually thinned, and a gentle breeze carried a touch of coolness. As Wang Nan slowly walked forward with Gu Yue, a strand of mental force silently drilled into his body.
"What's wrong?" Gu Yue seemed to sense something.
"Someone must be looking for me."
It was not a particularly clever method. Wang Nan had simply left a wisp of his mental force in Gengxin City, and once someone activated it, that wisp would naturally seek him out.
His mental force had long surpassed its original limits and had continued to grow over the years, so doing something like this was not difficult.
"Since you have something to attend to, go back first."
"Alright." Wang Nan nodded. "Regarding becoming a god, I may need to trouble you more in the future."
"Since I have promised to help you become a god, there is no issue with that."
Wang Nan's figure flickered several times, and he vanished from the core area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
"My lord." Ditian appeared beside Gu Yue at some point, his gaze withdrawing from where Wang Nan had disappeared. He bowed slightly. "Even if we open a path to the God Realm, I am afraid not many gods there will be happy to see us return."
"You need not worry about this. I have my own plans."
Seeing Gu Yue remain composed, Ditian nodded slightly and said nothing more.
---
In Gengxin City, Huo Yuhao had just returned to his residence.
This was the guest room Ma Xiaotao had arranged for him in the Duke Qi Tian's Mansion. Although it was a duke's residence, aside from the Spirit Masters hired to guard the place, there were very few people present. Unlike the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, Huo Yuhao did not even see a single maid or servant.
There were a few people hired to clean the courtyard, but they were only paid laborers and did not truly belong to the mansion.
Aside from that, what he saw most were all kinds of novel Soul Guidance Devices.
Ever since Shrek dismantled the humanoid Soul Guidance Devices used by Xu Tianyuan and the Royal Dragon Soul Master Corps a few years ago, the technology of sealed charging Soul Guidance Devices had ceased to be a secret.
However, Huo Yuhao had not expected Wang Nan to apply this technology to everyday life.
The lighting Soul Guidance Devices in the rooms and the heating devices used in winter had already become widespread throughout Gengxin City.
When touring the city with Ma Xiaotao, he had even seen vehicles driven by Soul Guidance Devices. They could no longer be called carriages.
These vehicles no longer required Spirit Beasts to pull them. Instead, they were powered by the Soul Guidance Devices installed within and only needed to be charged once a day to run for nearly an entire day.
There were countless Soul Masters across the Douluo Continent, but even in the Sun Moon Empire, where Soul Guidance Devices were widely popularized, people had only considered applying sealed charging technology to warfare, not to the daily lives of ordinary people without spirit power.
Before his eyes, the figure who once stood before him in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion seemed to reappear.
If other Soul Masters saw this, they would surely call it a waste of heavenly treasures. Perhaps only Brother Wang, who always kept ordinary people in his heart, would think to promote Soul Guidance Device technology to civilians.
Huo Yuhao reached out and touched the switch beside the bed, extinguishing the ceiling's lighting Soul Guidance Device. He silently praised the designer of the device, then sat down on the bed and quickly entered a meditative state.
"Ice Empress," Huo Yuhao called softly into his sea of consciousness.
"What's wrong, Yuhao?"
"The Soul Guidance Device that has been kept in the Sea God Pavilion. Is it truly sealing the Snow Empress?"
"Mm. The Snow Empress and I are familiar, so I would not mistake her aura." The Ice Empress's voice carried a hint of melancholy. "Actually, when I first saw that Soul Guidance Device, I already felt that the aura inside was somewhat familiar."
"I did not expect the Snow Empress to have been with us all this time."
"Even I did not expect it," Huo Yuhao replied. "Spirit Beasts only gain a chance to transform into human form after a hundred thousand years. After learning it was a Spirit Beast's human-form embryo, I did not associate it with the Snow Empress."
"So it was because we did not find the Snow Empress during our last trip to the Extreme North that you guessed it was her?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Exactly."
"Bingbing, maybe this is a good thing." Tianmeng Iceworm's voice slowly drifted out. "The Snow Empress's process of training into human form has been interrupted anyway. Why not, like us, gamble on the chance to become a god?"
The Ice Empress sighed softly. "The Snow Empress has become like this, and I also want to help her. But her power far surpasses mine. A seven-hundred-thousand-year spirit ring is not something a human can withstand. Even if we help suppress it, it will not be easy."
"Tianmeng-ge, Ice Empress, I think both of you have overlooked the power of Soul Guidance Devices." Huo Yuhao paused before continuing. "That Sealing God Platform is a very special Level Nine Soul Guidance Device. Even I cannot fully comprehend it."
"If our trip goes smoothly and we successfully bring back the Level Nine Soul Master who created the Sealing God Platform, perhaps we can use its power to help the Snow Empress."
Tianmeng Iceworm fell silent for a moment. "Your way of thinking truly surpasses ours. Even at her weakest, being able to seal seven hundred thousand years of cultivation is indeed extraordinary."
"I only hope this trip goes smoothly."
---
Within the Duke Qi Tian's Mansion, Huo Yuhao did not casually release his mental detection, so he did not know that the person he was searching for had already arrived in Gengxin City.
Wang Nan entered the city, concealing his aura without alarming anyone. He stopped and carefully sensed his surroundings.
Aside from a powerful and familiar aura coming from the duke's mansion, there was nothing unusual. He immediately strode toward it.
Lighting Soul Guidance Devices lined both sides of the street, illuminating the road brightly. Even at night, the shops along the street had not closed, with lights still shining from within.
Occasionally, one or two night-loving pedestrians lingered on the street, glanced at Wang Nan, then hurried past.
For a moment, Wang Nan felt as though he had returned to his previous world.
A single person's power was always insignificant compared to the entire world, but within his own territory, he still wished to do his best.
He wondered whether, for the people of Gengxin City, this world had already become a little better.
"Duke."
Unknowingly, Wang Nan had arrived at the gates of the Duke's Mansion. The guards' voices pulled him back from his thoughts.
"You've worked hard."
Wang Nan chuckled softly and stepped inside.