With unanimous approval, Huo Yuhao had secured the two God-Slaying-Grade shells. He nodded to himself, then dropped another bombshell that sent everyone's minds—which had just calmed down—into a whirl again.
"Speaking of God-Slaying Grade shells, there's something I should mention—Eternal Heaven is currently in my possession."
Now that his identity was revealed, it was best to come clean about Eternal Heaven as well.
There was no such thing as an impenetrable secret, especially since Eternal Heaven would be used in the future. Confessing now was the best course.
After all, the timing couldn't be better.
And as soon as Huo Yuhao said this, the meeting room fell dead silent.
Everyone felt that the shocks they'd received today exceeded those of their entire lives combined.
"Lord Spirit-Ice... what did you say?" The Council Chairman shot to his feet, his voice trembling. "Eternal Heaven... is in your possession?"
Hadn't Eternal Heaven been stolen by the Holy Spirit Cult? When had it fallen into Huo Yuhao's hands?
They'd been bracing themselves for the Holy Spirit Cult to use this "nuclear weapon" against the Federation—had they been worrying for nothing?
"Correct. I learned in advance that Eternal Heaven was the Holy Spirit Cult's target, but I didn't know when they'd act. So as a precaution, I made some preparations."
Huo Yuhao's tone was calm, a mixture of truth and fiction. "What the Holy Spirit Cult ultimately took was a fake."
Yu Guanzhi, Zhang Huanyun, and the others exchanged glances.
So Eternal Heaven had been swapped before the Holy Spirit Cult stole it?
But when? This person hadn't been to the War Temple, and he'd been on the Xingluo Continent when the Cult struck. He had no particular relationship with the War Temple's experts—who had helped him swap Eternal Heaven?
Don't tell them that Heaven Favored Douluo, who was clearly controlled by a Possession Demon, was actually a friendly agent.
Wang Hongchen seemed to recall something. "Lord Spirit-Ice was very interested in the Fire Li Clan during his time at Mingde Hall. He conducted research related to them and even met with their clan leader."
"I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I realize—you established contact with the Fire Li Clan leader back then and set up countermeasures against the Holy Spirit Cult's theft of Eternal Heaven, didn't you?"
This wasn't mere speculation. Before Eternal Heaven was stolen, the only people who'd had access to it, besides the controlled Heaven Favored Douluo, were the Fire Li Clan leader, Tianhuo. In fact, Tianhuo had entered the Eighteenth Level of Hell even earlier than Heaven Favored Douluo.
And Tianhuo had indeed met Huo Yuhao at Mingde Hall.
So there was only one conclusion—Tianhuo was Huo Yuhao's contingency!
Huo Yuhao nodded. "I do have a connection with Clan Leader Tianhuo."
Seeing Huo Yuhao not deny it, the others quickly caught on.
The Fire Li Clan resided on the Seventeenth Level of Hell. To reach the Eighteenth, one had to pass through there. Tianhuo was indeed the perfect person for the job!
At once, many looked at Huo Yuhao with newfound appreciation. Nanaly even drew a sharp breath.
All they'd known about this senior of the Douluo Continent was his outstanding achievements and formidable strength. Now they realized he was also a top-tier strategist.
The Holy Spirit Cult had planned for years, painstakingly infiltrating the Federation and stealing Eternal Heaven, believing their scheme flawless. Little did they know, they'd been dancing on Huo Yuhao's chessboard the entire time. What they'd stolen was a fake. The moment they thought they'd succeeded, they'd already lost.
Nanaly swallowed, left with a single thought: Thank goodness this person was on their side. If he were an enemy... she dared not imagine.
The Council Chairman was silent for a long time, finally letting out a wry laugh. "Lord Spirit-Ice... you planned this from the very beginning."
"Not exactly. I just made some precautions in case. I'm not omniscient—I didn't know beforehand that Possession Demons had infiltrated the Douluo Continent and stirred up such a storm."
Huo Yuhao shook his head, then continued, "Clan Leader Tianhuo, as the War Temple's Seventeenth Level guardian, fulfilled his duties faithfully. Our agreement was only to resort to the subterfuge of swapping Eternal Heaven and entrusting it to me in the event of an emergency. The primary responsibility is mine. I hope the Federation won't hold it against the Fire Li Clan."
The Chairman quickly waved his hand. "Lord, you exaggerate. The Fire Li Clan has guarded the War Temple for generations. If not for Clan Leader Tianhuo's cooperation with you, the Holy Spirit Cult would likely have obtained Eternal Heaven. He performed a great service—the Federation is grateful, not resentful."
This had been a contingency measure. Keeping Eternal Heaven from becoming a weapon for the Holy Spirit Cult was already fortunate—there was nothing to criticize.
If anyone was to blame, it was the Federation for not securing Eternal Heaven properly.
Moreover, having Eternal Heaven stolen was the Federation's shame. Having the Spirit-Ice Douluo—a predecessor—clean up the mess was already embarrassing.
Now, though the scheme had been initiated by the Spirit-Ice Douluo, the executor was ultimately a War Temple member, salvaging some face for the Federation.
How could they possibly hold anyone accountable?
Better to let it slide quietly.
The Chairman thought privately, then looked at Huo Yuhao with added admiration.
Taking responsibility at a time like this showed the Spirit-Ice Douluo's loyalty and righteousness. He wondered what exactly his relationship with Clan Leader Tianhuo was.
"Lord Spirit-Ice, rest assured. The Fire Li Clan has rendered meritorious service, not fault. After this, the Federation will certainly reward them."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly and said no more.
The matter of the God-Slaying Grade shells was settled.
After a moment of silence, the group began discussing the specifics of the plan against the Abyss Plane.
Though the strategy of luring the enemy in and eliminating them root and branch had been set, execution was another matter.
"Currently, whether the Abyss Saint Lord enters the Douluo Plane isn't in our hands—it's essentially up to the Holy Spirit Cult. To turn passivity into initiative, we need to approach it from other angles."
Zhang Huanyun pondered for a moment, then looked at Huo Yuhao.
"Lord Spirit-Ice, given the Abyss Saint Lord's immense power, with the Holy Spirit Cult as inside agents, he could surely open planar passages elsewhere in the Douluo Plane, couldn't he?"
He and the Federation members still believed Huo Yuhao was a reincarnated deity.
Did the fact that Huo Yuhao was the Spirit-Ice Douluo conflict with him being a reincarnated deity?
Not at all. Rather, it made more sense.
Only if the Spirit-Ice Douluo was a deity could it explain how he'd lived through ten thousand years and returned in reincarnated form. Only if Huo Yuhao was a deity could it explain his knowledge of divine secrets.
One could say that if anyone now claimed the Spirit-Ice Douluo wasn't a deity, no one would believe them.
And regarding divine-level knowledge, they naturally had to ask the expert.
Huo Yuhao didn't correct them.
After all, this misunderstanding was advantageous for now.
He would become a deity eventually.
Buy the ticket first, board the train later.
"You should know about the Demon Plane—it's far weaker than the Douluo Plane. Yet they have ways to continuously open planar passages. With the Abyss Plane's greater strength, they could certainly open other passages if they wanted—it would just come at a cost. So don't hold onto wishful thinking."
Huo Yuhao's words darkened many faces, especially the Chairman's and Yu Guanzhi's.
They thought of the missing Ye Hui.
No one knew what would happen if a Fallen Angel martial soul wielder fell into the Holy Spirit Cult's hands, or whether the Cult would ally with the Demon Plane. (In the original, Ye Weiyang: It might not necessarily cause anything—I was just a minor character.)
Huo Yuhao noticed this but didn't explain the relevant plans.
Elder Electrolux would soon be infiltrating the Holy Spirit Cult as a spy. The fewer people who knew about Ye Hui, the better.
Always keep a card up your sleeve.
"But just like the Abyss Passage in the Endless Mountains, the more powerful the Abyss creature, the heavier the planar suppression, and the harder it is to descend through the passage—requiring more and more energy to sustain it."
Huo Yuhao paused.
This trait reminded him of the Tianyuan.
"And given the Abyss Saint Lord's strength, even with the help of the Killing God and the Holy Spirit Cult, getting him into the Douluo Plane against its resistance would certainly be extremely difficult." His words were deliberately suggestive.
"In other words, while the Holy Spirit Cult and the Abyss Plane could open other passages, opening a new one, deploying sufficient forces, and enabling the Abyss Saint Lord to enter the Douluo Plane would all come at a considerable cost?"
Zhang Huanyun looked thoughtful. "Then the Holy Spirit Cult must have made extensive preparations. If we disrupt those preparations, can we force them to fight at the Abyss Passage in the Endless Mountains? There, we can lure them in and confront the Abyss Saint Lord?"
If so, they could gain some initiative.
Fighting on home turf was better than letting the enemy open another passage elsewhere and gather their forces for a full-scale war.
"Theoretically, yes. If their preparations fail, there's a good chance they'll instead break the Abyss seal in the Endless Mountains and fight to the death."
Yu Guanzhi nodded. "But we need to figure out what those preparations are."
"They're the Holy Spirit Cult—evil soul masters." Harossa, who'd been silent, spoke coldly. "What kind of preparations could they make? Nothing but evil methods using life and souls."
There was no need to discuss it—just thinking about the Holy Spirit Cult's methods revealed what their preparations would be.
As the Dark Department Head, Harossa knew evil soul masters' methods all too well.
Throughout Douluo history, whenever evil soul masters made major moves, it always involved blood sacrifices, souls, and the like. They had a pattern.
For the Holy Spirit Cult, blood and souls were the cheapest resources.
When the Holy Spirit Cult planned something big, thinking in that direction was always correct.
Could those deranged evil soul masters possibly come up with anything innovative?
Even if they could, whenever resources were involved, they'd inevitably turn to life and souls—they'd never go looking for heavenly treasures.
Hearing this, Yu Guanzhi was momentarily speechless, but couldn't refute.
Evil soul masters... were like that.
Their methods never changed.
Huo Yuhao also chuckled inwardly.
It had to be said—evil soul masters knew how to deal with evil soul masters best.
Without him having to say anything, Harossa had hit the nail on the head.
The Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array's core was based on souls and blood—all the Holy Spirit Cult's specialties.
This was truly a gift tailor-made for them by the Abyss Saint Lord.
"If that's the case, the Holy Spirit Cult's preparations for opening the Abyss Passage likely involve the people of Douling and Xingluo. That's probably the main reason they occupy those lands. Douling has a population of about 26 million, Xingluo three times that. If such numbers are blood-sacrificed through evil methods, the power involved..."
Zhang Huanyun stopped mid-sentence, his expression darkening.
Even if those weren't Douluo Federation citizens, he couldn't ignore it.
Wang Hongchen's face was also grim. He took a deep breath, analyzing: "Xingluo's military strength is greater than Douling's, and they have the Divine Domain Douluo—a Limit-level existence. The Holy Spirit Cult is unlikely to conduct bloody sacrifices there, as it would risk conflict with Xingluo. Better to keep Xingluo as a nuisance for us."
"By contrast, the Douling Empire is far weaker and has no ability to resist the Holy Spirit Cult. It's highly likely to be sacrificed as a pawn to open the Abyss Passage—if the Killing God doesn't care about his followers."
The Douling Continent didn't even have a Limit Douluo. If war broke out, the Douluo side could resolve it in short order with just one carrier battle group and some top-tier experts.
With such national strength, even if the Holy Spirit Cult committed atrocities, the Douling Empire would be powerless to resist.
"Then Douling needs to be a priority..."
Rong Tianling listened in silence, clenching her fists, forcing herself to focus and contribute various insights to the discussion.
Watching this, Gu Yuena transmitted to Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, do you also agree with disrupting the Holy Spirit Cult's original plan and forcing them to break the seal in the Endless Mountains?"
Huo Yuhao sighed. "The Holy Spirit Cult's original plan would require massacring tens of millions of people."
The sacrifice to simply open the Abyss Passage might not require that many, but the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array needed millions of souls.
In the original story, the Holy Spirit Cult had launched two God-Slaying Grade shells at Shrek City, partly to harvest the millions of souls there.
In this world, since the Holy Spirit Cult couldn't wreak havoc on the Douluo Continent, they'd certainly turn their attention to Xingluo and Douling.
Huo Yuhao wanted to save who he could—he couldn't stand by and watch such atrocities.
All he needed was for the Abyss Saint Lord to descend to the Douluo Continent. That didn't require the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array to be completed.
For the Abyss Saint Lord, the purpose of establishing the array was merely to provide a divine-level vessel for his descent. There were plenty of other ways to solve that.
After all, there were now many bodies on the Douluo Plane suitable for the Abyss Saint Lord's descent.
Moreover, he'd promised Lan Fozi to save her mother.
So he certainly wouldn't let the Blood River God-Slaying Grand Array be completed and let the Demon Empress step into that trap.
Hearing that the plan required tens of millions, Gu Yuena understood Huo Yuhao's intentions and asked no more.
The meeting lasted for hours, and ultimately finalized the general strategy and details for dealing with the Abyss and the Holy Spirit Cult.
However, since some of these matters were based on Huo Yuhao's intelligence and guided speculation, even though everyone considered them highly likely, they could not be guaranteed—so verification was still needed.
Still, everyone felt the meeting had been highly productive.
The persistent problem that had plagued the Douluo Plane for six thousand years finally had a potential solution.
***
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