Far removed from the cold, blood-stained halls of the Asura God Palace and the turbulent spatial storms that battered the outer edges of the Divine Realm, there existed a domain of eternal spring and boundless vitality.
This was the Emerald Sanctuary, the private abode of the Goddess of Life.
Unlike the towering, austere fortresses favored by the other rulers of the Divine Realm, the Emerald Sanctuary had not been built by cutting stone or smelting divine metals. Instead, the entire palace complex had grown naturally from the sprawling, colossal roots and sweeping branches of the Ancient Tree of Life. The canopy of the primordial tree stretched across hundreds of miles of the divine sky, its translucent green leaves filtering the harsh cosmic light into a warm, golden-green glow that nourished the soul with every breath.
Crystal-clear streams of liquid life energy wound lazily through rolling meadows of soft moss and blooming immortal herbs. Seven-colored lotuses floated upon tranquil ponds, releasing a delicate, sweet fragrance that calmed the mind and smoothed away any trace of fatigue. Gentle breezes drifted through open pavilions woven from living white wood and flowering vines, carrying the soft chimes of hanging jade bells.
It was the most peaceful, welcoming place in the cosmos.
Yet, at the northern archway of this vibrant paradise, the space suddenly warped and darkened.
Heavy, suffocating clouds of dark purple mist rolled across the outside of the sanctuary gates, accompanied by the low, ominous rumble of black thunder. From within that tempest of ruin stepped an imposing, broad-shouldered figure draped in a heavy cloak of deep violet and black. Dark, jagged armor plates forged from the core of collapsed stars covered his chest and gauntlets, and beneath his deep cowl burned a pair of fierce, blood-red eyes that held the terrifying authority to reduce stars to dust.
It was the God of Destruction, one of the five supreme rulers of the Divine Council and the master of annihilation.
In the outer Divine Realm, wherever the God of Destruction walked, lesser deities bowed their heads and hurried out of his path, terrified of his fiery temper and the passive aura of decay that trailed behind his boots. Even the proud Asura God avoided provoking him unnecessarily.
However, the exact instant the God of Destruction's heavy, armored boot crossed the threshold onto the soft green moss of the Emerald Sanctuary, a remarkable change took place.
The crackling black thunder around his shoulders vanished in the blink of an eye. The suffocating purple mist of ruin was yanked back into his divine core and locked down tight, sealed away with painstaking care. The terrifying Godking paused on the stepping stones just inside the gate, reaching down with one gauntleted hand to carefully lift the hem of his heavy dark cloak so that it would not brush against a cluster of delicate, snow-white dew-orchids growing along the edge of the path.
He even held his breath slightly as he walked past the flowerbed, moving with the cautious, deliberate steps of a burly blacksmith trying not to knock over porcelain vases in a fine parlor.
"You always hold your aura so tightly whenever you come home, Husband," a warm, melodious voice called out from the path ahead, filled with gentle amusement. "You know very well that the immortal herbs near the front gate have grown accustomed to your presence over the millennia. A tiny wisp of your purple mist will not hurt them."
Walking down the winding jade path toward him was a woman of breathtaking, ethereal beauty. She wore a flowing, simple gown of vibrant emerald silk that seemed to be woven from morning light and spring leaves. Her long, lustrous green hair cascaded past her waist, adorned only with a few small, living white blossoms, and her clear emerald eyes shone with a kindness and warmth that could melt the coldest ice.
Seeing his wife, the stern, intimidating lines on the God of Destruction's chiseled face vanished. He reached up with both hands and pushed back his heavy purple cowl, revealing a handsome, mature face framed by dark violet hair. The fierce blood-red glow in his eyes softened into a look of deep, unguarded affection that no other being in the universe had ever witnessed.
"You spent three centuries nurturing those Frost-Petal Orchids until they finally budded last week, Little Green," the God of Destruction replied, his deep, rumbling voice—which usually sounded like grinding mountains in the council chamber—dropping into a gentle, fond murmur. He stopped a pace away from her, double-checking that not a single spark of destructive energy lingered on his armor before opening his arms. "If a stray spark from my cloak scorched even one leaf, you would spend the next decade sighing over them, and I would never forgive myself."
The Goddess of Life laughed softly, a sound like silver chimes in the wind, and stepped straight into his embrace. She rested her cheek against his armored chest for a moment, feeling the steady, powerful beat of his divine core, before pulling back and taking his large, gauntleted hand in her soft fingers.
"You worry too much," she said warmly, tugging him along the path toward the heart of the garden. "Even if you accidentally withered half my garden, a wave of my hand would bring them right back into bloom. Come sit down. You have been patrolling the dimensional rifts on the outer rim for three days straight without rest."
"The dimensional storms in the northeast sector were fiercer than usual this cycle," the God of Destruction sighed, allowing his wife to lead him toward a secluded white-wood pavilion nestled beside a shimmering pond beneath the main trunk of the Ancient Tree of Life. "If I didn't reinforce the spatial barriers personally, the turbulent energy would have leaked into three nascent lower planes and crippled their spiritual veins. You know I cannot trust the other council members to handle tedious maintenance work like that."
"I know," the Goddess of Life said, her eyes softening with tender pride and a touch of heartache as she guided him to a cushioned rattan bench inside the pavilion.
To the rest of the pantheon, her husband appeared harsh, domineering, and perpetually dissatisfied with the current state of the Divine Realm. Few understood that among all the Godkings, the God of Destruction was the most diligent and selfless ruler of them all. While the Evil Godking and the Goodness Godking preferred to stay neutral and detached, and the Asura God spent half his time scheming to dump his enforcement duties onto a successor so he could wander off, her husband worked tirelessly day in and day out to maintain the stability of the Divine Realm and sought ways to help it grow stronger.
"Sit and rest your shoulders," the Goddess of Life urged gently. She stepped behind him and placed her soft, glowing green hands upon his heavy shoulder plates. A soothing stream of pure, cool life energy flowed from her palms into his tense muscles, washing away the mental weariness accumulated from days of battling cosmic turbulence.
The God of Destruction let out a low, contented groan, leaning back slightly into her touch and closing his eyes. "Your hands are the only medicine in the universe that works on me, my dear. Just sitting in this pavilion with you makes all the noise of the council fade away."
After massaging his shoulders for a few minutes until the tension in his frame eased, the Goddess of Life walked over to a small stone table where a teapot carved from white jade sat warming over a gentle spirit-flame brazier. She poured two cups of fragrant, golden-green tea brewed from the morning dew of the Nine-Heart Lotus and set one down in front of him before taking the seat opposite his.
"Speaking of the council," the Goddess of Life said, picking up her teacup and taking a delicate sip, a playful glint appearing in her emerald eyes, "has the Asura God come out of his palace since our little disagreement above the lower plane?"
The God of Destruction snorted, picking up his own teacup and taking a hearty gulp as if drinking fine wine.
"Come out? That hypocrite has kept his palace gates bolted shut ever since we dragged him back by the ear," the God of Destruction scoffed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "You should have seen his face when we vanished from that lower world and returned to the dimensional corridor. He looked as though he had swallowed a mouthful of thorny iron! For thousands of years, he has paraded around the Divine Realm acting like the incarnation of impartial law, lecturing everyone else on the rules. Getting caught red-handed possessing his High Priest to bully mortals—and right after getting caught sneaking divine favors to Hypros's inheritor—left him without a single shred of dignity to stand on."
"It was his own fault for being so greedy and impatient," the Goddess of Life sighed, shaking her head slightly. "If the Sea God had not recklessly possessed his High Priestess to attack the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor with lethal divine energy first, and if the Asura God had simply stepped in to separate them rather than trying to murder the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor on the spot, we would not have needed to reprimand him so harshly."
"He thought we weren't watching," the God of Destruction said, setting his cup down with a light clink. "He and the Sea God have been treating that Douluo Planet like their private chessboard for years, plotting how to stuff two divine positions into their chosen mortal while using the Rakshasa Goddess and the Angel God's lineages as whetstones. He never expected your inheritor to flip the entire board over on their heads."
At the mention of her inheritor, the God of Destruction glanced toward the tranquil pond beside the pavilion.
With a casual wave of his hand, the shimmering surface of the pond rippled, parting the floating lotus leaves to form a clear viewing mirror that peered down through the dimensional layers onto the Douluo Continent.
In the reflection of the water, they could see the grand, sunlit courtyards of the Star Luo Imperial Palace, where the aftermath of the great continental war had settled into a remarkably peaceful, orderly new era.
"Look at that boy," the God of Destruction remarked, a genuine note of admiration in his deep voice as he watched the reflection. "While the Asura God's High Priest, Hypros's inheritor, and the Sea God's people had to detonate their own hundred-thousand-year Spirit Rings and flee to a tiny island in the sea like stray dogs, your inheritor, Zhang Tian, took over the entire continent in less than a month without even turning the cities into rubble."
The Goddess of Life looked into the pond, a warm, maternal smile gracing her lips as she saw Zhang Tian strolling through the imperial gardens alongside his beloved women while the cities outside bustled with new Spirit Tools and thriving trade.
"I told you from the start that Zhang Tian had an extraordinary mind, Husband," the Goddess of Life said fondly. "Even though his methods on the battlefield were fierce when dealing with enemy soldiers, look at how he handles the aftermath. Instead of slaughtering the innocent civilians of the defeated Star Luo Empire, he used clever statecraft and brought in his heating and agricultural Spirit Tools to improve their daily lives. Now the common people of both empires live in peace and plenty, and the Spirit Beasts in the great forest are no longer hunted to extinction."
She paused, her brows furrowing slightly in mild, motherly helplessness. "Though I must admit, locking all those captured war criminals and arrogant sect elders in that dark underground prison in the snowlands so their resentment can feed the Rakshasa Goddess is a bit ruthless. Still, considering those men started a war that would have cost millions of innocent lives, stripping them of their spirit power and making them labor in the dark is better than slaughtering them all."
The God of Destruction did not laugh or make a joke this time.
Instead, as he stared down at the image of Zhang Tian in the pond, the playful amusement on the Godking's face gradually faded, replaced by a deep, contemplative solemnity. He leaned back against the rattan bench, his fingers tapping a slow, thoughtful rhythm against his knee as his blood-red eyes remained fixed on the young man in the water.
Seeing the sudden quiet settle over her husband, the Goddess of Life set her teacup down on the stone table. She had been married to him since the dawn of the Divine Realm; she knew every expression on his face and every shift in his breathing.
"Husband," she said softly, tilting her head as she studied him. "You did not finish your border patrol early today just to complain about the Asura God or drink lotus-dew tea with me, did you?"
The God of Destruction blinked, pulling his gaze away from the pond to meet his wife's clear green eyes. He let out a quiet breath and smiled wryly.
"After all these millennia, I still cannot hide a single thought from you, Little Green," the God of Destruction admitted candidly. "Yes. There is something that has been weighing on my mind ever since we intervened above the Douluo Continent. While I was out repairing the dimensional rifts over the past few days, I couldn't stop thinking about it."
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he looked at her seriously.
"Wife, I want to project a wisp of my divine consciousness down to the lower plane," the God of Destruction stated plainly. "I need to meet your inheritor, Zhang Tian, and speak with him face-to-face."
The moment those words left his mouth, the gentle breeze rustling the leaves of the Ancient Tree of Life above them stilled.
The Goddess of Life did not flare her aura or raise her voice, yet the relaxed warmth in her posture vanished, replaced by a calm, watchful dignity.
"Speak with Zhang Tian?" the Goddess of Life asked quietly, her gaze steady. "Why would the Godking of Destruction suddenly wish to speak directly with my mortal inheritor?"
"Because of what his clone unleashed at the end of that confrontation in the sky," the God of Destruction answered, his voice dropping low as a spark of intense, fervent fascination lit up his blood-red eyes. "Right after we forced the Asura God, the Sea God, and the Rakshasa Goddess to withdraw from their mortal vessels, time resumed on that battlefield. Before Zhang Tian's clone dissipated, it activated its ninth Spirit Ring—that strange, half-white, half-black ring—and sent a surge of energy straight into the Rakshasa Goddess's inheritor."
The God of Destruction raised his right hand, his fingers curling slightly as he recalled the exact sensation that had rippled through the dimensional barrier that day.
"At first, I assumed he was simply using the vitality of your Seed of Life to replenish his ally's stamina," the God of Destruction continued, leaning closer across the table. "But the instant that grey-and-gold beam of energy manifested, my own Divine Core of Destruction trembled in sympathy. That was not ordinary mortal spirit power, nor was it pure life energy borrowed from your seed. He called it Primal Genesis Energy—a seamless, self-sustaining fusion of pure Life and pure Death attributes!"
The God of Destruction's voice rose slightly with scholarly excitement, his hands gesturing in the air.
"Do you realize how astonishing that is, Little Green?" he pressed on. "Life and Death are fundamental cosmic opposites! One governs birth, growth, and flourishing; the other governs decay, withering, and termination! Even here in the Divine Realm, if a deity who cultivates vitality tries to mix their divine power with a deity who cultivates death or ruin, the two energies violently reject and blow each other apart! Yet Zhang Tian—a human who is still in the mortal realm and hasn't even undergone a divine tribulation—didn't just hold Life and Death inside his body without exploding. He fused them at the root into a higher-tier primordial force that instantly elevated the Rakshasa Goddess's dark laws to the divine level!"
He looked directly into his wife's eyes, his expression earnest. "You planted your Seed of Life inside his spiritual sea, my dear. Tell me—did he discuss this Primal Genesis Energy with you? What is the true nature of what he is cultivating?"
The Goddess of Life remained silent for a long moment.
She looked down at the shimmering reflection of Zhang Tian in the pond, then lifted her clear emerald eyes to meet her husband's probing gaze. Knowing her husband's sharp perception and trusting the deep bond between them, she knew there was no point in pretending she hadn't noticed the extraordinary nature of that energy herself.
Yet, as she spoke, her tone carried a complex blend of wonder, pride, and a hint of wry helplessness.
"To tell you the truth, Husband... Zhang Tian has never once discussed that Primal Genesis Energy with me," the Goddess of Life revealed softly.
The God of Destruction blinked in surprise, leaning back slightly. "He hasn't? Wait—he carries your Seed of Life right in the center of his spiritual sea, and he never told you he was fusing Life and Death attributes?"
"Never," the Goddess of Life shook her head gently. "When I first bestowed the Seed of Life upon him, he only asked me for time and freedom before beginning any trials, and hoped that if his beloved companion ever met the conditions in the future, she might inherit my blessing instead. Since then, whenever he has contacted the wisp of divine sense I left inside the seed, it was only to ask for my help when the Asura God shamelessly cheated on the battlefield. He never told me that he was creating a new energy out of Life and Death, nor did he ever mention what that Half-White, Half-Black ninth Spirit Ring truly represents."
"Then what do you make of it?" the God of Destruction asked, frowning thoughtfully. "When you stood beside me above that battlefield and felt the aura of his Primal Genesis Energy firsthand, surely you felt what lay beneath it?"
"Of course I did," the Goddess of Life murmured, her fingers lightly tracing the rim of her jade teacup. "Just like you, the moment his clone unleashed that Primal Genesis Energy, my divine core felt the foundational law woven inside it. Even though Zhang Tian never told me about it, I am not blind. That Primal Genesis Energy is not a simple martial technique or a spirit ring trick. It is the embryonic seed of a brand-new, self-created God Position."
Hearing his wife confirm his own suspicion aloud, the God of Destruction sucked in a sharp breath, his blood-red eyes widening.
"So it really is a nascent God Position!" the God of Destruction exclaimed, slapping his palm lightly against the stone table. "A mortal on a lower plane is actually forging his own original God Position from scratch by fusing the opposing laws of Life and Death?!"
He paused, a sudden realization hitting him as he looked at his wife with a strange expression.
"Wait a minute, Little Green," the God of Destruction said, pointing a finger toward the pond. "If that Primal Genesis Energy is the nascent seed of his own self-created God Position... doesn't that mean he is going to ascend using his own divine seat instead of inheriting your Goddess of Life position?! If he forges his own throne out of Life and Death, he won't be able to inherit your pure Life Godking seat! Doesn't that mean you won't be able to pass your God Position on to him and retire like you planned?!"
In the Divine Realm, finding a suitable successor capable of bearing a Godking's supreme crown took tens of thousands of years of searching. For a chosen inheritor to quietly use a Godking's protection and resources while secretly forging their own separate God Position—thereby leaving the Godking without a direct successor to take over their heavy burden—was something that would drive any other deity into a furious rage! If the Asura God's inheritor tried to pull a stunt like that and refused the Asura throne, the Asura God would probably smite the boy on the spot!
Yet, when the God of Destruction looked at his wife's face to see if she was upset or felt slighted by Zhang Tian's unspoken path, he saw zero anger in her emerald eyes.
Instead, the Goddess of Life looked at him with a calm, gentle, and fiercely protective expression.
"So what if I cannot pass my God Position on to him?" the Goddess of Life asked calmly, her voice soft yet ringing with unyielding conviction. "When I first met Zhang Tian, he was honest with me from the very beginning that his dream was to walk his own path and establish his own laws rather than simply stepping into a pre-made throne. He did not lie to me; he simply succeeded in doing something we all thought was impossible for a mortal."
She stood up from the rattan bench, smoothing the front of her emerald gown as she looked down at her husband with quiet majesty.
"I have lived for countless millennia, Husband. Waiting a little longer for his companion to mature, or continuing to hold my position in the Divine Realm, is a trivial matter to me," the Goddess of Life stated firmly. "What matters is that Zhang Tian is a child I recognized and chose to shelter under my wing. By forging that Primal Genesis Energy through his own terrifying comprehension and willpower, he has proven himself to be the most brilliant genius this cosmos has seen in eons. I admire his ambition, and I accept his choice whole-heartedly."
Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly as she fixed the God of Destruction with a stern, protective stare.
"Therefore, Husband, let me make one thing clear right now," she continued, her voice leaving no room for compromise. "I gave Zhang Tian my word when I left the Seed of Life with him that I would give him the freedom to pursue his path without forcing my trials upon him. Even if he never discussed his Primal Genesis Energy with me, and even if his success means he will not inherit my throne, I refuse to break my word to him. I will never interfere with his nascent God Position, and I will never wrong my inheritor—nor will I allow you to descend and force him to abandon his path just so I can retire!"
For a long second, the white-wood pavilion was dead silent.
The God of Destruction stared up at his wife, who was standing between him and the viewing pond like a fiercely protective mother phoenix spreading her wings to shield her chick from a circling dragon.
Then, as her words sank in, the stern, intimidating Godking of Destruction blinked twice, and a helpless, booming laugh erupted from his chest.
"Hahaha! Oh, Little Green!" the God of Destruction laughed, shaking his head as he stood up from the bench and raised both of his gauntleted hands in a gesture of complete surrender. "Just what kind of black-hearted villain do you think you married?! Do I look like that scheming hypocrite Asura to you?!"
The Goddess of Life watched him closely, her protective posture relaxing by only a hair's breadth as she tilted her head. "Your divine authority is Destruction, my dear, and you have always cared deeply about my long-term exhaustion. Moreover, your temperament when dealing with mortals or lesser deities has never been particularly gentle. If you go down there carrying the crushing weight of a Godking's majesty to interrogate him about his Primal Genesis Energy, or try to lecture him about abandoning my inheritance, even a trace of your spiritual pressure could injure his meridians and destabilize the nascent God Position he worked so hard to build."
"I would never do such a thing!" the God of Destruction protested, stepping forward and gently taking her hands in his warm, calloused palms, his blood-red eyes brimming with sincerity and affection. "Listen to me, my love. First of all, whether you retire tomorrow or ten thousand years from now, I would never bully or wrong a child whom you admire and promised to protect. Doing so would trample on your kindness, and I would rather shatter my own divine core than make you sad."
The Goddess of Life's expression softened considerably at his words, her fingers curling lightly around his hands. "Then why are you so eager to speak with him about his Primal Genesis Energy?"
"Because I don't want to stop him from forging that nascent God Position—I want to learn from it, and help him perfect it!" the God of Destruction said earnestly. "I promise you right here beneath the Ancient Tree of Life: if you let me speak with Zhang Tian, I will not threaten him, I will not coerce him, and I will not force him to do a single thing against his will. I intend to approach him politely, as an equal scholar of the cosmic laws, and make a humble request accompanied by a fair, mutually beneficial exchange."
"A polite request and a fair exchange?" the Goddess of Life repeated, blinking in genuine surprise.
Her husband was one of the two supreme leaders of the Divine Realm, a peerless Godking who stood at the very pinnacle of the universe. Even First-Class Gods trembled when speaking to him. Yet he was talking about approaching a mortal Titled Douluo politely to make a request and offer a trade?
"What could Zhang Tian possibly possess that requires the Godking of Destruction to request a trade?" she asked, her curiosity thoroughly piqued. "And what do you plan to offer him in return?"
"As for what to offer him, that is simple," the God of Destruction smiled confidently. "No matter how talented or dominant Zhang Tian is down on the Douluo Continent, he is still in the mortal realm, surrounded by enemies in the Divine Realm like the Asura God and the Sea God who are itching to find a loophole to crush him. A young man of his ambition and foresight will certainly desire things—whether it is divine protection, high-dimensional law insights to balance the Death half of his nascent God Position, or rare cosmic materials—that only supreme Godkings like us can provide."
He paused, his smile fading into a look of deep, ancient yearning as he glanced up at the towering, glowing trunk of the Ancient Tree of Life.
"And as for why his nascent law is so vital to me... Little Green, have you forgotten the greatest wish I have held in my heart for the past hundred thousand years?" the God of Destruction asked quietly.
The Goddess of Life looked at her husband's profile, and her heart stirred.
Of course she knew what his greatest wish was.
For eons, the Asura God and the other conservative rulers had stubbornly kept the Divine Realm frozen in place, refusing to expand its borders or absorb new lower planes because they feared instability. Meanwhile, her husband, with his sharp foresight, saw that a stagnant Divine Realm that never grew would eventually wither and collapse if a massive cosmic calamity ever struck from the outer universe. He worked endlessly to find a way to expand the Divine Realm, strengthen its foundational core, and allow more talented beings to ascend.
Yet, expanding the Divine Realm required a legendary power that had been lost since the dawn of time.
"You are thinking of the ancient Creation God," the Goddess of Life breathed softly, her clear emerald eyes widening slightly as the pieces clicked together in her mind.
"Yes," the God of Destruction nodded slowly, turning back to look at her with burning intensity. "At the very beginning of the universe, when the ancient Creation God forged the Divine Realm and exhausted his lifespan, his supreme origin split into two halves: the Seed of Life and the Seed of Destruction. From those two seeds, you and I were born. You inherited the supreme Godking-level Life Attribute, representing the beginning of all things; I inherited the supreme Godking-level Destruction Attribute, representing the end of all things."
He let go of one of her hands and held his right palm up between them.
With a thought, a tiny, condensed orb of deep purple-black Destruction energy appeared above his palm. The air around the tiny orb immediately hissed and distorted, the terrifying law of termination threatening to erode the very space of the pavilion.
At the same time, understanding what he wanted to show, the Goddess of Life raised her own slender hand, allowing a warm, radiant droplet of emerald Life energy to float a few inches away from his purple orb.
The moment the Godking-level Life Attribute and the Godking-level Destruction Attribute drifted within three inches of each other, they did not merge. Instead, a sharp, violent crackle echoed between their palms! The two supreme energies repelled and bit at each other like mortal enemies, generating dangerous spatial tremors before both Godkings quickly extinguished the sparks in their hands.
"Look at that," the God of Destruction sighed, lowering his hand with a trace of frustration that had haunted him for millennia. "The ancient records left behind at the birth of the Divine Realm state clearly that when our Godking-level Life Attribute and Godking-level Destruction Attribute truly fuse into one, they will recreate the supreme Power of Creation of the ancient Creation God! With the Power of Creation, we could expand the borders of the Divine Realm tenfold without draining our life origins, reinforce the dimensional barriers permanently, and usher the entire Divine Realm into a golden age!"
"We have tried to fuse our attributes hundreds of times over the millennia, Husband," the Goddess of Life said gently, remembering their past attempts in seclusion. "Even though our hearts and souls are completely united as husband and wife, our divine attributes stand at the two furthest extremes of cosmic law. Whenever we try to merge pure Life and pure Destruction directly—outside of forming external cooperative cages like the Three-Lives Reincarnation Coffin—our energies violently reject each other. If we forced a full fusion of our divine cores without a mediating law, the resulting explosion would blow up half the Divine Realm."
"And do you know why we always failed?" the God of Destruction asked, his eyes shining brightly as he pointed back toward the reflection of Zhang Tian in the pond. "For tens of thousands of years, I thought we failed because we weren't strong enough, or because we lacked some secret divine artifact left behind by the Creation God. Today, after analyzing the spiritual fluctuations of Zhang Tian's Primal Genesis Energy for quite some time, I finally realized why we failed!"
The Goddess of Life looked at him attentively. "Why?"
"Because you and I were born as innate Gods as our respective elements!" the God of Destruction exclaimed, his voice vibrating with the thrill of a scholar who had finally solved an impossible riddle. "From the very first second we opened our eyes at the dawn of the cosmos, you were already pure, supreme Life, and I was already pure, supreme Destruction! We started at the two highest, furthest mountain peaks, separated by an endless abyss, and we spent millennia trying to smash our two mountain peaks together through brute force!"
He stepped closer to the pond, gesturing excitedly at the image of the young man down in the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
"Zhang Tian is different!" the God of Destruction continued rapidly. "Because he started as a fragile human Spirit Master in the lower realm, he had to build his comprehension from the very bottom! He didn't start with two incompatible God cores. He used his mutated plant and bloodline origin to experience how vitality grows, reaches its peak, withers into death, and how the decay of death then turns back into fertile nourishment to birth new life! He wove a seamless, cyclic bridge between beginning and end!"
The Goddess of Life's breath caught slightly.
Her brilliant emerald eyes widened as she recalled the exact appearance of Zhang Tian's ninth Spirit Ring when his clone had activated it in the sky—a ring that was half-white and half-black, where the white continuously flowed into the black, and the black continuously transformed back into the white in an endless, harmonious cycle!
"He didn't force Life and Death to collide head-on," the Goddess of Life murmured, her mind rapidly grasping the profound truth her husband had uncovered. "He found the transitional node where Life naturally turns into Death, and where Death naturally gives birth to Life... turning two opposing straight lines into a continuous, unbroken circle!"
"Yes! Precisely!" the God of Destruction beamed, grabbing both of her hands again in his excitement. "In Zhang Tian's hands right now, because he is limited by his mortal cultivation rank and lower-realm resources, his Primal Genesis Energy is only a fusion of mortal-to-lower-divine Life and Death attributes. To him, it is a powerful combat force and the foundation of his nascent God Position."
The God of Destruction's voice dropped to an intense, reverent hush.
"However, to you and me, Little Green... the structural method he created to weave that transitional bridge between vitality and death is the exact foundational key we have been missing since the birth of the Divine Realm! If Zhang Tian is willing to share his comprehension of how he constructed that cyclic bridge—and let us observe the internal flow of his Primal Genesis Energy up close—you and I can apply that exact same bridging principle to our Godking-level Life Attribute and Godking-level Destruction Attribute!"
The God of Destruction squeezed her hands gently, his blood-red eyes glowing with hope.
"We won't have to risk shattering our divine cores anymore, Wife," he said softly. "With his foundational formula acting as the bridge between our two extremes, we can finally harmonize our powers and unlock the true Power of Creation of the ancient Creation God!"
Silence fell over the white-wood pavilion, broken only by the gentle lapping of the pond water against the jade stones and the soft rustling of the Ancient Tree of Life's canopy overhead.
The Goddess of Life stood frozen for several seconds, staring into her husband's eyes as the monumental weight of his words washed over her.
For tens of thousands of years, she had watched her husband carry the heavy burden of the Divine Realm's future on his shoulders. She had seen him argue endlessly in the council halls, seen him return exhausted from patching up crumbling dimensional walls, and seen the quiet frustration in his eyes every time their attempts to harmonize their opposing divine powers ended in dangerous failure.
She knew better than anyone that unlocking the Power of Creation was not out of personal greed for power—as two married Godkings, they already stood undefeated at the pinnacle of the Divine Realm. It was for the survival, expansion, and eternal prosperity of the entire divine dimension, and for the fulfillment of their very purpose as the two halves of the Creation God's legacy.
And to think... the key to solving that eternal cosmic riddle had actually been forged by her own chosen inheritor down on the Douluo Continent!
Furthermore, as she thought about what her husband had proposed, she realized just how beneficial this meeting would be for Zhang Tian as well.
Right now, Zhang Tian was forging an unprecedented God Position out of Life and Death. Because he held her Seed of Life in his spiritual sea, he had a supreme, Godking-level beacon to guide the "Life" half of his comprehension. However, for the "Death" and "Destruction" half of his energy, he had been forced to piece it together by himself by acquiring Death Attribute from Spirit Beasts on Douluo Planet.
If the Godking of Destruction himself politely requested an exchange of insights with Zhang Tian, and in return gifted the young man high-dimensional insights into the supreme laws of Destruction and Death—or offered him the personal backing and boons of two Godkings—Zhang Tian's nascent God Position would be elevated to an unimaginable height!
"No wonder you came hurrying back from the border rifts with such a serious expression," the Goddess of Life said softly, the defensive sternness melting away from her face, replaced by a deep, understanding warmth. "If Zhang Tian's Primal Genesis Energy truly holds the structural bridge that can harmonize our two origins, then he hasn't just created a miracle for the lower realm—he has opened a path for the entire Divine Realm."
"Does that mean you agree to let me meet him?" the God of Destruction asked eagerly, his handsome face lighting up like a young man who had just been promised a rare treasure.
The Goddess of Life looked at her husband's eager expression and couldn't help but chuckle softly.
However, just as the God of Destruction was about to turn toward the pond to prepare a spiritual projection, the Goddess of Life did not let go of his hands. Instead, she tightened her grip slightly and took a half-step forward, fixing him with a clear,pointed gaze that made the mighty Godking pause mid-motion.
"Hold on, Husband," the Goddess of Life said, her voice gentle yet carrying a firm, unmistakable weight. "I am tempted by your reasoning, and because your approach is fair and mutually beneficial for both the Divine Realm and Zhang Tian, I agree to let you speak with him."
"That's wonderful!" the God of Destruction grinned. "I will be right back after I have a quick chat with the boy—"
"You are not going anywhere by yourself," the Goddess of Life interrupted smoothly, raising one slender green finger before his face.
The God of Destruction blinked, looking at her finger and then at her face. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that while I trust your sincerity right now in my garden, I also know your proud, fiery temper when you get carried away discussing profound laws," the Goddess of Life stated evenly, her emerald eyes narrowing with a stern warning. "And I also know my inheritor's personality very well. Zhang Tian is not like the Sea God's inheritor or the other mortals who tremble and kowtow the moment a deity speaks to them. He is a proud, decisive sovereign who bows to no one and speaks his mind frankly—even to Gods."
She poked her finger lightly against her husband's armored chest to emphasize each word.
"When you speak with him, you must remember that you are the one coming to him with a polite request to study his personal creation," the Goddess of Life warned him firmly. "I will open the spiritual channel through my Seed of Life, and I will remain right there beside you, monitoring the entire conversation from start to finish."
Her voice dropped half an octave, radiating the undeniable majesty of the Life Godking.
"If Zhang Tian makes a bold demand During your negotiation, or if he refuses something, you will negotiate with him patiently and respectfully," she declared, looking her husband dead in the eye. "If you dare to let your temper flare up, if you try to use your Godking pressure to coerce him, or if you dare to take any forceful action against my inheritor during the meeting... I will not care that you are my husband. I will step in and deal with you personally on the spot, and you will be sleeping outside the gates of the Emerald Sanctuary for the next ten thousand years! Do we understand each other, Lord of Destruction?"
The God of Destruction stared at his gentle, compassionate wife, who had just threatened to beat him up and lock him out of the bedroom for ten millennia over her mortal inheritor.
For a brief moment, he felt a comical twinge of jealousy toward that brat down in the Star Luo Imperial Palace who had somehow won such fierce, unconditional favor from his wife.
Yet, looking at the protective fire shining in her clear green eyes, the God of Destruction's heart only felt softer and fonder. This unwavering kindness and loyalty to her word was the very reason he had loved her for eternity.
"Ten thousand years outside the gate is a terrifying punishment indeed," the God of Destruction said with a warm, rumbling chuckle, raising his right hand in a solemn oath. "Very well, my dear Wife. You have my word as the God of Destruction. You can watch right beside me the whole time. I will treat your inheritor with courtesy, keep my aura completely tucked away, and make sure our exchange leaves him thoroughly satisfied. If I so much as frown aggressively at the boy, you have full permission to throw me out of the garden yourself."
Hearing his solemn promise, the Goddess of Life finally smiled again, the spring breeze immediately resuming its gentle dance through the pavilion as the floating lotuses in the pond opened their petals once more.
"Good," she said softly, giving his hand an affectionate squeeze. "I know you always keep your promises to me. And truthfully, knowing how intelligent and pragmatic Zhang Tian is, as long as you approach him with sincerity and offer him a fair trade worthy of two Godkings, I am confident the two of you will get along remarkably well."
"Then let us not delay," the God of Destruction said, his eyes glinting with anticipation as he looked back toward the shimmering water of the pond. "Looking at the time in the lower realm, evening has already fallen over Star Luo City, and your inheritor seems to be resting in his private quarters. Once he finishes his personal leisure and enters his quiet meditation, let us send a gentle projection through your Seed of Life and invite him for a conversation."
The Goddess of Life glanced down at the pond—where the privacy barriers of the Star Luo Imperial Palace's bedchambers were currently blocking out the view of Zhang Tian's nighttime activities—and her cheeks warmed ever so slightly, coughing lightly behind her sleeve so her husband wouldn't look too closely at the boy's bustling harem quarters.
"Yes... waiting until he is finished resting and alone in meditation is much wiser," the Goddess of Life agreed quickly, guiding her husband back to the rattan bench and picking up the jade teapot to pour him a fresh cup of warm lotus-dew tea. "Sit with me for a little while longer, Husband. By the time we finish this pot of tea, the moment for our meeting with Zhang Tian will arrive."
Beneath the radiant, rustling canopy of the Ancient Tree of Life, the two supreme rulers of Life and Destruction sat side by side, quietly drinking their tea as they waited to bridge the heavens and speak with the mortal who held the secret of Creation in his hands.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels [Heavenly Villain: Stealing Fate, Tempting Beauties].
Also, check out 20 Chapters Ahead for this fanfic on my P.atreon. [Check Out Art Of Characters On My Patreon. It's Free To View btw.]
Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/c/evildragon04