Inside the house, Huo Yuhao, Snow Empress, and Gu Yuena—who habitually used spiritual power to scan their surroundings before discussing important matters—fell silent.
They had all heard the artifact spirits' conversation.
Having never thought about it that way before, following the Eternal Angel's line of thought now...
Huo Yuhao's expression gradually turned peculiar. He instinctively glanced at Snow Empress and Gu Yuena beside him—one with snow-white hair, the other with silken silver locks, both usually cool and composed, speaking little, smiling faintly.
...They really were somewhat alike.
"Ahem." Huo Yuhao coughed lightly, silently withdrawing his spiritual probe, and glanced at Snow Empress and Gu Yuena seated to his left and right.
Snapping back to the present, they also withdrew their spiritual power.
Gu Yuena glanced at Huo Yuhao and suddenly asked, "Yuhao, do you like us being cool and composed?"
"Don't listen to her."
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes and affectionately flicked her forehead. "You're not like that when you're with me."
"And our hair color—"
"I'd like you even if your hair was any other color. If it were black, I'd even feel a sense of familiarity."
Perhaps because he'd openly declared their relationship in front of both, Huo Yuhao's words were more direct than before—less reserved, more matter-of-fact. "Of course, if you came up with something abstract like 'multicolored black,' please forgive me for not being able to accept that."
Gu Yuena first noted Huo Yuhao's preference for black hair, then paused at his last words, let out a light laugh.
"Multicolored black"—what was that? Did such a color even exist in the world?
If it did, she'd love to see such a weird color.
Snow Empress's lips also curved slightly upward.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao smiled. "Alright, just take the Eternal Angel's words as casual talk. Now, let's get to business. Before I came in, what were you two discussing? You looked a bit serious."
"While you were breaking through, the Divine Brush Douluo contacted the Spirit Transmission Tower, saying the Federation plans to launch a probing attack on Xingluo in a month."
Snow Empress put away her smile and said seriously, "And on that matter, the Federation has already had discussions with our Spirit Transmission Tower."
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow. "Is the Federation worried about the Killing God making a move?"
They'd already witnessed the destructive power of divine-level experts. With intelligence on the Killing God, they couldn't ignore such a massive threat.
Approaching the Spirit Transmission Tower for discussion was likely to counter the Killing God.
Snow Empress shook her head. "That's part of it, but the main concern is guarding against the Abyss Plane. The Federation doesn't plan to launch an all-out assault just yet. This offensive is mainly to probe Xingluo's military strength and respond to the Holy Spirit Cult's recent actions in the Federation."
"At this stage, the initial intensity won't be too high, and divine-level intervention is unlikely. Moreover, for this operation, the Federation plans to deploy Yun Ming—keeping him secretly with the army. Combined with their strategic soul tools, they'll have the means to defend themselves against the Killing God."
"As for the Abyss, the Federation fears the Holy Spirit Cult might act to open the main Abyss Plane passage on the Douluo Continent, drawing the Abyss to invade and putting the Federation in a two-front war."
Huo Yuhao nodded thoughtfully.
Yun Ming had temporarily broken through to the divine level before. Though this consumed foundation like his semi-divine seat, having broken through once, after recovering, all aspects of his strength would improve. His normal combat power had likely reached the level of Snow Empress and Emperor Tian.
With such combat power and the Federation's foundation, it was no surprise that they felt confident facing the Killing God.
Moreover, at this probing stage, deploying divine-level experts right away would essentially turn the war into an all-out decisive battle. The Federation clearly wasn't ready for that yet. Deploying Yun Ming was merely precautionary. And the Holy Spirit Cult, bound by their agreement with Elder Electrolux, likely wouldn't do so either.
Under these circumstances, it was only natural for the Federation to be more concerned about the Abyss Passage.
After all, compared to the Holy Spirit Cult, the Abyss—a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment—was the Federation's true arch-enemy.
As long as the Abyss couldn't cross over, the Federation would eventually deal with the Holy Spirit Cult. It was also understandable that the Federation was guarding against the Holy Spirit Cult tampering with the Abyss Passage in the Endless Mountains.
However, Huo Yuhao clearly remembered that in the original story, the final battle with the Abyss Plane wasn't at the Endless Mountains passage, but in the Extreme North.
In the original, the Demon Empress, with near-divine strength and aided by a great formation, opened a passage connecting to the Abyss Plane in the Extreme North's core region, catching the Federation off guard.
The Extreme North—having lost Snow Empress, Ice Empress, and Little White—was also dealt a catastrophic blow. Because of the Spirit Transmission Tower's persecution in the original story, the already sparse spirit beast gathering was once again massacred.
Of course, such a thing clearly wouldn't happen in the Extreme North now. When Huo Yuhao had established the first Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters there, which had since become the Extreme North branch, he'd done so partly to guard against the Abyss passage opening in the Extreme North.
The Extreme North now might not be a dragon's den or tiger's lair, but it could be described as impregnable. For the Holy Spirit Cult to silently establish an Abyss passage there was pure fantasy.
But looking past the surface, the fact that the Abyss passage had opened in the Extreme North in the original story showed that the Abyss and the Holy Spirit Cult had the ability to open planar passages elsewhere.
Simply guarding against the Holy Spirit Cult tampering with the Endless Mountains passage was largely meaningless. The Federation had certainly considered the possibility of the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss coordinating to open passages elsewhere, but they lacked effective countermeasures.
After all, the initiative wasn't on their side.
The enemy could choose any location to open a passage—even deep within the strongholds of the Douling or Xingluo continents—and they could only defend passively. That was the greatest hidden danger.
Huo Yuhao frowned at this.
"What was the result of your discussion with the Federation?"
"The preliminary result is that they hope one of us can go to the Blood God Legion's garrison to guard the Abyss Passage and prevent most unforeseen incidents."
"Preliminary?" Huo Yuhao caught the implication.
"Yes, preliminary."
Snow Empress nodded. "Actually, more than guarding against the Abyss opening a passage to attack, they hope to solve the Abyss problem once and for all. So the Federation Council Chairman wanted to discuss it with you and Na'er—the two 'reincarnated deities'—but Na'er declined for now since you hadn't returned."
The Abyss had been a persistent problem on the Douluo Continent for six thousand years. Now, seeing the times change with divine-level experts gradually emerging and even deities from the Divine Realm appearing, it seemed like a good opportunity to resolve the Abyss Plane. The Federation had long wanted to speak with Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena.
But both sides had been occupied with various matters and hadn't found the right opportunity. Now, with the Federation needing to ensure the Abyss Passage's security, they'd put the meeting on the agenda.
Beside them, Gu Yuena picked up the thread. "I declined because I don't feel confident handling the Abyss on my own. Yuhao, do you have a plan for dealing with the Abyss Plane now?"
"If the Holy Spirit Cult brings the Abyss Saint Lord into the Douluo Plane, combined with your power, I have some confidence."
Huo Yuhao paused, then shook his head. "But with our current strength, after a battle with the Abyss and the Holy Spirit Cult, we'd be vulnerable to being picked off by Ah Yin and the others."
Though they lacked helpers like the Sea God's divine consciousness, Tang Hao, and Ah Yin for dealing with the Abyss, and had the Killing God as an additional enemy, the Douluo Plane's foundation was far richer than in the original story.
The Extreme North and Star Dou still retained their vitality, capable of unleashing a beast tide of millions of spirit beasts.
Including spirit beasts, the number of Super Douluo-level experts across the Federation numbered in the hundreds—several times more than in the original story.
After all, in this world, counting spirit beasts, there were many more Saint Craftsman-level forgers than in the original. Consequently, there were more Three-Word Battle Armor suits, so naturally there wouldn't be fewer Super Douluo-level experts.
There were certainly more Limit Douluo-level experts as well.
With several divine-level experts and various trump cards, they certainly had the means to face the Abyss.
But with their current strength, after a battle with the Abyss and the Holy Spirit Cult, their side would be greatly depleted.
If Ah Yin and Tang Hao then appeared to harvest the final rewards as in the original, they'd be the ones who'd done all the work for someone else's benefit.
Moreover, it wasn't unlikely that Ah Yin and the others would turn on them.
Before the Abyss was resolved, Ah Yin and the others might maintain a surface peace with them—perhaps even helping to deal with the Abyss Plane. But once the common enemy was gone, it would be a different story.
"So in facing the Abyss, we need to consider not just how to defeat them, but how to win cleanly—with minimal cost—while keeping enough strength to deal with Ah Yin and the others."
Huo Yuhao summarized. "And to achieve that goal, we need greater strength."
He paused, looking at Gu Yuena. "Na'er, speaking of which, how far along are you in your recovery?"
In the original story, Na'er had been too good at pretending; he couldn't gauge her actual progress.
"Fighting with you against the Demon Plane gave me many benefits. I've already reached the Title Douluo level. If I temporarily unlock my previous cultivation, I can reach the divine level."
Gu Yuena took Huo Yuhao's hand, looking at him seriously with a gentle tone. "Give me two more years. Once my current cultivation reaches the Limit, I'll recover to the second-class deity level. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
To clarify, this "second-class deity" referred to the second-class deity level in the mortal world.
In Soul Land IV, Gu Yuena had only broken through to the super-divine level after falling into a star and receiving a fortunate reversal. This proved that her peak cultivation in Soul Land III was at the second-class deity level. The wound from the Asura God's sword was truly severe.
Hearing Gu Yuena's words, Huo Yuhao felt warmth in his heart, but also some emotion.
Compared to the original story, Gu Yuena's cultivation progress was astonishingly fast. At roughly seventeen years old, she'd already recovered to the Title Douluo level. In the original, she hadn't even reached Soul Sage at this age.
But considering she'd devoured a Limit Douluo and countless demons while fighting the Demon Plane, it wasn't so strange.
"Two years, to recover to the second-class deity level?"
Huo Yuhao repeated softly, his gaze falling on Gu Yuena's face, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Then I'll have to work harder. Otherwise, if you leave me behind and I have to cling to your coattails, I'd lose face."
Gu Yuena blinked, looking at him with some confusion. "Yuhao, you're confident you can break through to second-class deity in that time?"
She believed he could become a deity and had the means to counter divine-level experts, but going from Title Douluo to second-class deity in such a short time—that couldn't be possible, could it?
"I can only say it's possible. After all, if Emperor Tian broke through to the divine level, do you think he could reach second-class deity in one leap?"
Huo Yuhao asked with a smile.
"That... he could."
Thinking of Emperor Tian's accumulation, Gu Yuena had to nod.
Having cultivated to this point, Emperor Tian's body contained countless black-hole-like spirit power vortexes—all storing spirit power similar to soul core embryos. He'd even stopped cultivating, showing how vast his accumulation was.
Such a foundation was enough to let Emperor Tian become a deity thousands of times over. After breaking through to the divine level, reaching second-class deity in one leap was possible.
With that thought, Gu Yuena suddenly realized something was off.
If Emperor Tian's accumulation was deep, was Yuhao's any less?
The feedback from the plane's evolution, the feedback from the Undead Plane devouring the Demon Plane afterward—all that was enough for several godhood breakthroughs, wasn't it?
And that was without counting Yuhao's accumulated faith power and other resources.
If he could digest all that foundation, after becoming a deity, breaking through to second-class deity in one leap seemed almost certain!
Gu Yuena's expression changed—surprise, joy, and a trace of indescribable complexity.
Joy, because Huo Yuhao's foundation was immense and his future limitless—she was happy for him.
Complex, because she, a reincarnated deity, might soon be surpassed by Yuhao!
Was that right?
No, that wasn't right—at least not in the short term!
Even if Yuhao was to surpass her, it should be after she'd had some time to protect him.
Seeing Gu Yuena's expression change, Snow Empress seemed to sense something and said with similar sentiment, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Yuhao is a monster. He'd already roughly mapped out his path ten thousand years ago—he's just walking it now. Fast progress is only natural."
If anyone felt the most discomfort at Huo Yuhao's rapid rise, it was her.
She'd re-cultivated early to protect him upon his return, but not only had she hardly protected him, after he returned, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and now his strength had surpassed hers.
She, who was supposed to be his guardian, had been left behind instead. It stung.
Gu Yuena glanced at Snow Empress. Their eyes met, and each read similar complex emotions in the other—joy, emotion, and a trace of indescribable unwillingness.
Sensing their feelings, Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly. He held Gu Yuena's hand while reaching his other hand to gently grasp Snow Empress's.
"You can't expect my cultivation to stay behind yours forever, can you? That would only mean I'm not worth your attention and that I've wasted your efforts. The fact that I can catch up—even pull slightly ahead—shows your judgment was right and your efforts weren't in vain."
"That logic is sound, but... compared to you, I feel like I've been wasting time."
Gu Yuena sighed, but didn't dwell on it. While considering how to break through to super-divine level, she said, "We've digressed. Yuhao, do you want to accept the Federation's invitation?"
"Of course. Even if we can't achieve a perfect victory yet, now that our strength has recovered to this level, we have the confidence to make some targeted arrangements."
The three talked for a long time. Only after Gu Yuena left to cultivate, spurred by her sense of urgency, did Snow Empress suddenly make a request to Huo Yuhao.
In summary:
Yuhao, help me cultivate!
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