The power of faith is, in a sense, perhaps a derivative of the power of emotion. Of course, this was merely Huo Yuhao's current hypothesis; it had yet to be proven.
Snow Emperor was highly efficient, and the power of faith from the various creatures of the Extreme North had indeed begun to converge upon him.
Unfortunately, while the Extreme North was vast, the environment was too harsh. There weren't many Soul Beasts present, and naturally, even fewer possessed the sapience required to provide the power of faith.
This was an unavoidable reality.
However, this portion of faith was sufficient for Huo Yuhao's research.
His subsequent plan was simple: once Tang San completed his fifth trial and he himself gained control over the majority of the Sea God Divine Position's authority, he would take a trip to the ocean and perform a conquest of the seas (speedrun version).
Afterward, once the Sun Moon Empire had toppled the three original nations of the Douluo Continent, Huo Yuhao would step out from behind the scenes to harvest the faith of humanity.
With the power of faith provided by such a massive number of living beings, he would attempt to nurture an Emotion God King Divine Position.
This was Huo Yuhao's ultimate backup plan—after all, how would this be any different from Tang San's "ranching" of the Douluo World?
"In the end, it's all for the sake of attaining sufficient strength... It's a pity Sister Nana's injuries are so severe. Since she is still a Soul Beast, she likely won't reach the God King level even if she recovers, and she would still be besieged by the God Kings of the God Realm..."
If possible, Huo Yuhao would have preferred to rely on someone else a bit; it would certainly make things much easier for him.
He stood up, intending to harvest a few matured Blue Silver Immortal Herbs to refine several "Mini-Youth Simplified Version Yin Yang Fortune Pills."
Suddenly, however, Huo Yuhao stiffened. He seemed to sense something, and the Eye of Destiny on his forehead manifested instinctively.
Qiu'er's destiny... is fluctuating violently?!
In an instant, the plan to refine pills was completely suppressed. Huo Yuhao's figure flickered as he used the Spectral Demiplane as a transit point to arrive at the Star Constellation Great Forest.
Spatial ripples appeared. Gu Yuena was about to approach, but then she saw the true manifestation of the Eye of Destiny on Huo Yuhao's forehead.
The pressure brought by the Eye of Destiny—which was infinitely close to an Ultra-Divine Artifact and controlled the power of fate—even made Gu Yuena feel a hint of a threat.
"Sorry, Sister Nana, I'll explain to you in a bit!"
Leaving behind those words, Huo Yuhao followed the threads of fate to sense Qiu'er's location, then sped off toward that direction without hesitation!
Gu Yuena stood frozen in place, seemingly unable to grasp the situation. Her amethyst-like eyes blinked in genuine confusion, followed by a trace of displeasure.
She... had never seen him so flustered.
But that didn't seem to be the most important part. Gu Yuena's delicate nose twitched, sensing the scent of that scorpion and that worm on Huo Yuhao's body.
An illusion? Gu Yuena wasn't sure. Huo Yuhao had run off immediately after stepping out of the Spectral Demiplane, so the time was too short for her to gather more information.
However, her intuition told her something else. The "fine wine" she had been patiently aging, suppressing her impulses and refraining from tasting so that it could reach its peak flavor, seemed... to have been sampled by thieves.
And more than one, at that.
In just a few months, her "home" had been raided?!
For a moment, the girl's amethyst eyes were filled with chill, causing the surrounding temperature to drop significantly.
...
The speeding Huo Yuhao was completely unaware that the word "Danger" was flashing wildly above his head. Although he remained rational, he still needed to confirm Qiu'er's current state.
Following the guidance of fate, Huo Yuhao soon arrived outside a hidden cave.
At the moment, two figures—Di Tian and the Bear Lord—were standing guard outside.
Seeing Huo Yuhao's posture as if he were about to charge in, the "Old Father" Di Tian was about to stop him. However, in the next instant, Huo Yuhao's solidified mental power constructed a wall, briefly trapping Di Tian.
After leaving a quick "Sorry," Huo Yuhao dashed into the cave.
His pace quickened, but as he walked, he gradually slowed down. He had heard a continuous series of rhythmic clanging.
It was the sound of forging.
Huo Yuhao's expression shifted. He finally understood what Qiu'er had been doing while she was avoiding him lately.
So, she was forging?
But why would forging cause a fluctuation in Qiu'er's fate?
Huo Yuhao lowered his gaze in thought, and soon, the answer revealed itself.
Qiu'er was currently performing a feat that would change the world... she was completing Spirit-Forging!
Huo Yuhao stopped walking entirely. He even suppressed his breathing, fearing he might disturb her.
Despite possessing the Eye of Destiny, Huo Yuhao's understanding of fate was still somewhat superficial, though he did know some basic principles.
For example, fate is not set in stone; it changes based on a person's choices and actions.
Obtaining opportunities, changing the fate of others, or meeting influential benefactors—all these things cause one's own destiny to shift.
Huo Yuhao had deep personal experience with this.
After he created systems like Artificial Soul Rings, Blood Essence Body Cultivation, and Energy Storage Ring Magic Cultivation, his destiny had fluctuated significantly. However, it seemed that because the vast majority of fate's power was being used to construct the Barrier of Fate, and because he already carried a massive amount of destiny himself, the Planar Will didn't grant him additional rewards. Instead, it seemed to convey a message that translated roughly to:
"Child, you're already 'fat' enough. I won't feed you any more power of fate for now."
At least, that was the general gist.
And now, Qiu'er's actions seemed to have successfully drawn the attention of the Planar Will, much like his own previous feats.
The fluctuation in destiny... was likely the prelude to the Planar Will enhancing Qiu'er's power of fate. He couldn't afford to disturb her now. If something went wrong, the Planar Will might take back this beneficial power of fate and wait for a later time.
Even the potential Spirit-Forged metal might go up in smoke!
That was Spirit-Forging! If it was completed, many of his stalled experiments could be restarted!
I must not disturb her...
Thinking this, Huo Yuhao slowly backed away. Under the watchful eyes of Di Tian and the Bear Lord, he retreated bit by bit to the cave entrance.
"We cannot let anyone enter to disturb the Auspicious Beast," Huo Yuhao said seriously.
Di Tian and the Bear Lord remained silent. If we remember correctly, weren't you the one who ignored all warnings and charged straight in just now? What is this "loyal guardian" act supposed to be?!
Di Tian's gaze grew increasingly displeased. The "cabbage" he had raised for so long had transformed into human form for the sake of the human before him, and then, just to make this damn human happy, she had chosen to learn forging to create metal for him.
If Huo Yuhao were wholeheartedly devoted to his "cabbage," it wouldn't be so bad—after all, Huo Yuhao was outstanding enough to be worthy of her.
But there wasn't just one or two women around this bastard human!
Even his own Lord might be among them!
"Old Father" Di Tian truly felt like slaying this guy!