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Yan Long came from the Crimson Realm.
Xu Yuan gave a bitter smile.
Rex had indeed given him a useful piece of information.
The message was late, but Yan Long had not only arrived at the battlefield long ago, exerting pressure on Yun Ming, but also restrained him for a long time in the recent battle.
However, the message still had its value.
"Yan Long..."
Continuing to decipher the Great Telepathy Spell, Xu Yuan obtained intelligence about Yan Long from Rex's message.
"The fact that even the Crimson Mother's top general can be brought over and seems to cooperate fully suggests that the relationship between the Abyssal Sage King and the Crimson Mother might run deeper than I imagined."
Xu Yuan looked towards the direction of the abyss.
It was highly unlikely that the Crimson Mother would leave the Crimson Realm.
The main reason for her immense strength was her identity as the master of the plane.
Because she relied on the vast natural energy of the Crimson Realm, she became nearly invincible under the God King level.
However, precisely because of this, once she left the area covered by her own plane, her power would drastically decrease—much more so than the Abyssal Sage King leaving the abyss.
Thus, it was highly probable that she herself—
Xu Yuan froze.
The Crimson Mother, Plane Lord.
The Abyssal Sage King, Plane Lord.
At this moment, Xu Yuan seemed to understand the nature of their relationship.
Inheritance.
Either as children or as master and disciple.
To the Crimson Mother, the Abyssal Sage King might be even more important than her son Yan Long!
After all, Yan Long hadn't inherited the methods of the Crimson Mother as the Plane Lord.
Becoming the Plane Lord wasn't something that could be achieved casually.
Yun Ming's methods were somewhat cunning, but his approach could indeed be replicated. This was inheritance—using the Forbidden Seven Perfections to control an evolving space and thereby carve out his own realm, directly becoming the Plane Lord.
But such a plane still needed development.
Tang Hao, with Tang San's push, spent a great deal of time and effort, and possibly even utilized the forging system developed by soul masters, to barely become the Plane Lord. Even then, he had to constantly sleep to alleviate the pressure.
Thus, becoming the Plane Lord wasn't simply about knowing the path—it required having the method and seizing the opportunity.
"Now that Tang Hao has awakened, the likelihood of the Abyssal Sage King and Yan Long taking action in the short term is low."
Xu Yuan pondered.
At present, the balance between both sides had been broken again.
With two Plane Lords and Xu Yuan on their side, their forces already surpassed those of the abyss.
In this situation, it was possible that the Abyssal Sage King might bring in reinforcements.
Alternatively, he might destroy the connection with Douluo Planet, completely abandoning everything and no longer caring about sunk costs.
When Xu Yuan specifically mentioned sunk costs to the Abyssal Sage King, it was to reduce the latter possibility.
After all, Douluo Planet's transformation indeed required the participation—and even cooperation—of the abyss.
"I also mentioned that the Douluo Planet-Abyss model has the potential to ascend into a god realm. The Abyssal Sage King should now understand the importance of this, making it more convincing to have the Crimson Mother send reinforcements."
Xu Yuan hadn't anticipated this outcome initially, as he had no idea that Yan Long came from the Crimson Realm.
"Great Telepathy Spell, first contact Rex and have him use the channels of the Ten Thousand Stars Chamber to monitor the movements of the Crimson Realm. If the Crimson Realm sends a large number of powerful beings, their homeland will be left undefended."
This was called "Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao."
Activating the Great Telepathy Spell, Xu Yuan explained the current situation before turning to look at Yun Ming.
"What were you just doing?"
Yun Ming felt slightly uncertain.
He had never heard of the Great Telepathy Spell, so he couldn't confirm what Xu Yuan had been doing.
"This is related to my three years, Na'er."
"I see. You followed the guidance of the consciousness within that withered wood and went to the Holy Heart Plane, where you trained for three years." Yun Ming took a deep breath, a hint of admiration in his tone.
A plane that produced three half-step God Kings.
What kind of prosperity must such a plane possess?
Moreover, the magic that Xu Yuan had previously taught him also originated from this plane.
Yun Ming became deeply interested in the Holy Heart Plane, which had developed around this system.
Unfortunately, as the master of the Underworld, he couldn't leave the Underworld for now.
"The Crimson Realm..."
Hearing the intelligence Xu Yuan had just shared, Yun Ming also felt the pressure.
Just when they had stabilized the situation after Yan Long's involvement, were they now facing a new enemy?
Such pressure was truly overwhelming.
But Yun Ming didn't feel discouraged; instead, he felt a bit excited.
Ever since becoming the strongest on the continent, he hadn't felt the pressure of increasingly stronger opponents for a long time.
Pressure breeds motivation.
Moreover, Yun Ming knew that this was merely pressure, not a dead end.
As Xu Yuan had thought, if the Crimson Realm sent too many powerful beings to the abyss, their homeland would inevitably face greater pressure.
"Teacher, our Plane Lord will need to negotiate with you."
"Don't worry. Since he has awakened, I'll discuss things with him properly." Yun Ming said calmly.
This time, it was he who forced Tang Hao to awaken.
Who knows how long Tang Hao, as the Plane Lord, would have continued sleeping if no one had pressured him.
"From your tone, are you planning to leave again?"
Xu Yuan gave a bitter smile and nodded.
Staying on Douluo Planet offered no way forward.
To make rapid progress, venturing into broader horizons was the right path.
Xu Yuan wanted to resolve Douluo Planet's issues before leaving, but his strength wouldn't allow it.
In fact, everything could have been resolved just now, but Tang San hadn't acted. For him, acting at that moment wouldn't have maximized the benefits, so he chose not to intervene.
And Xu Yuan couldn't blame Tang San.
After all, even though it seemed costly, the other party's power was sufficient to immobilize Xu Yuan in his full state with the Unyielding Tempest for half a minute.
If a simple immobilization could last half a minute, other techniques were likely at the God King level.
This was why Xu Yuan avoided provoking Tang Wulin.
As for resolving Tang San through Tang Wulin's divine consciousness, that was even more absurd.
The current Douluo God Realm didn't know which black hole it had fallen into, and it was about to form the Great God Circle. How could Xu Yuan find it at this time?
With his exploration of the universe limited to the Holy Heart Plane, could he search for the black hole where the Douluo God Realm was trapped in the vast universe?
To resolve the numerous issues left by Tang San, and even address the instigator himself?
The priority was to grow stronger.
The so-called Spiritual Stove Continent not being in this universe was excellent news for Xu Yuan and a motivating factor for his decision to leave Douluo Planet again.
Jue's ascension couldn't be delayed.
Therefore, leaving the current universe to seek solutions in another was inevitable.
"Little Phoenix, if I go to that Spiritual Stove Continent you mentioned, how long will it take?"
Thinking about the time wasted on the journey to the Holy Heart Continent, Xu Yuan cautiously asked Little Phoenix first.
"I can't send you there."
"What?"
Xu Yuan shouted loudly, glaring at Little Phoenix with a questioning gaze.
Little Phoenix rolled her eyes.
"When did I ever say I could take you to Spiritual Stove Continent?"
"But didn't you say you could find my father?"
"Yes, but that's because I can find him. I sent his soul there using some remnants I left behind in the past. I could pay a price and transfer my consciousness to reincarnate there, but are you sure you want to reincarnate now?"
Little Phoenix looked up and down at Xu Yuan's body.
This body has been cultivated so perfectly, polished to the extreme. It would be a pity to discard it.
Xu Yuan frowned.
Can't go?
Doesn't this mean the plan is ruined?
"There's no way. If you want your physical body to go, you first need to be a Supreme God King or control the central hub of a god realm, using the entire god realm's power to open a path to another universe. Then you'd need to find coordinates in the other universe, just like when you traveled from Douluo Planet to the Holy Heart Plane. It's very troublesome."
Xu Yuan's mood worsened further.
He couldn't go?
Then how could he make rapid progress?
Should he really accept the current situation, stop striving, enjoy the near-invincible position, and then be caught off guard by sudden powerful enemies?
Pressure doesn't necessarily translate into motivation.
Motivation requires fuel to transform.
Without fuel, where would the motivation come from?
And so-called fuel was opportunity, resources.
"Reincarnation..."
Xu Yuan turned back, actually contemplating the path of reincarnation.
Based on Little Phoenix's tone, reincarnation seemed to bypass the troublesome process.
If reincarnating, Jue didn't have to reincarnate.
No, Jue was bound to his soul and didn't have a physical form—it existed as spirit energy, so perhaps it could accompany him to Spiritual Stove Continent.
But what about after reincarnation?
Would he need to reincarnate again to return to Douluo Planet?
And going through two reincarnations and retraining would waste even more time.
Was there a way to reincarnate without affecting his physical body?
His physical body would stay on Douluo Planet, while his consciousness would travel to Spiritual Stove Continent?
"I don't know if it's possible."
Xu Yuan found a solution.
"Little Phoenix, if I can split off a consciousness, can you send my consciousness there?"
"Consciousness? What level of consciousness?" Little Phoenix asked, puzzled.
"A complete consciousness, a brand-new consciousness."
"What do you mean?" Little Phoenix indicated she didn't understand.
Sending the entire consciousness meant reincarnation; this body would naturally disintegrate and gradually decompose, unable to return.
But if it were split, it would inevitably cause mental fragmentation.
That could easily lead to the situation of Dragon God back then.
"I'll nurture a brand-new consciousness in the form of a rune," Xu Yuan said.
His consciousness sank into his inner realm, feeling his inner world while explaining his idea.
"I am the inner realm, and the inner realm is me. I'll nurture a rune within the inner realm that carries my consciousness. Will sending this rune succeed?"
"Hmm..." Little Phoenix hesitated slightly.
She had never done this before.
"What can you transmit?" Xu Yuan directly asked about Little Phoenix's transmission abilities.
"The runes you're talking about I can transmit, but can you guarantee that the consciousness within the rune is yours? Moreover, after that consciousness experiences everything anew over there, even if you merge with it upon its return, it's essentially integrating a split consciousness, which could still lead to mental fragmentation. That's very dangerous."
Xu Yuan shook his head.
"I won't let a gap form between myself and the consciousness in the rune. As long as we remain connected, there won't be any mental fragmentation." He said, "My physical body here will fall into a deep sleep, while my soul essence remains here. The purpose of the rune is merely to carry my consciousness and send it there."
"But without soul essence, just consciousness, you won't be able to reincarnate."
"My goal is to witness that place, to sense its laws. I don't necessarily need to reincarnate as a human. A conscious, spiritual rune, once there, won't lack opportunities for cultivation—for example, evolving into a Spiritual Stove?"
Little Phoenix was taken aback.
That made a lot of sense.
Just sending consciousness indeed meant no essence, but mere consciousness could reside within treasures like Spiritual Stove, becoming something akin to a spirit entity.
Moreover, if he could leverage his characteristics and the mechanisms of that plane to successfully create a new Spiritual Stove vessel, it would be like experiencing the laws of that plane from the best angle possible.
"You can try, but your rune needs to be able to separate your consciousness, and you must ensure you can bring your consciousness back."
"Don't worry, the theory has already been validated."
Validated?
Little Phoenix paused, then realized Xu Yuan had just conducted a theoretical verification from start to finish under the accelerated time in the dream space.
Theoretically, such a rune could be condensed.
"That's good."
After the great battle ended, Xu Yuan's fame spread across the entire continent overnight.
In this battle, Xu Yuan became as renowned as Yun Ming.
At the same time, the title of the greatest genius in the history of soul masters was forcibly claimed by Xu Yuan.
If this wasn't the greatest genius, who else could be?
The historical Sea God also achieved his status through inheriting a divine position, but Xu Yuan accomplished it purely through his own efforts!
Most importantly, Xu Yuan was a living legend.
With Shrek's promotion and the Federation's cooperation, Xu Yuan felt the dense power of faith the next day.
"So this is faith?"
Having his own power of faith, and instantly receiving such thick belief, gave him a direct understanding of faith.
"This much faith isn't enough. For you, the more faith power, the better. Creating a god realm isn't easy." Little Phoenix said.
Xu Yuan didn't respond.
He had already considered this before. The path to becoming a God King didn't necessarily require a god realm.
The essence of a God King was still a dimensional elevation, a condensation of essence.
Of course, in this universe, God Kings had all relied on god realms to successfully ascend.
For Xu Yuan to forge his own path, he still needed to pin his hopes on this trip to Spiritual Stove Continent.
"Spirit Rune..."
In his inner realm, Xu Yuan's consciousness gazed at the rune before him, lost in thought.
The prototype of the Spirit Rune had been developed—it could carry his consciousness.
But there were still many flaws.
It couldn't yet perfectly meet his requirements.
"It still needs seamless separation and fusion of my consciousness and soul. No, not separation—seclusion, and strengthening the connection."
Xu Yuan muttered to himself, his words filled with contradictions.
However, upon careful consideration, these contradictory statements referred to different directions.
"Yes, and it needs a martial soul. The essence of the inner realm is the martial soul. I'll integrate my martial soul into this rune so it can represent me and solve the issue of maintaining a strong connection."
A rune carrying his martial soul, entering that place, what kind of Spiritual Stove would it evolve into?
Xu Yuan smiled, feeling a sense of anticipation.
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