Inside the main hall, the Holy Spirit Cult's worshippers and elders, including the Grand Worshipper Shi Yue and the Evil Phoenix Douluo Feng Ling, all let out a long breath, as if they had been rescued from drowning. They scrambled to their feet, eyes filled with awe and lingering fear as they looked at the Demon Empress. Just now, they had truly felt the approach of death.
The Demon Empress ignored these ants. His gaze returned to Huo Yuhao and he said in a calm tone:
"Tell me, what do you mean by 'a common enemy'? How do you intend to cooperate with me?"
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao dispersed the Honkai energy and mental power surrounding him, deactivated [Herrscher Armament: Illusion of Mind], and returned to his original appearance. Only his scarlet eyes remained deep and unfathomable. He spoke in a low voice:
"My mother's soul was forcibly taken away by the Sea God, Tang San, and imprisoned in the God Realm. I want to go to the God Realm and take back my mother's soul."
He paused, his gaze meeting the Demon Empress's hateful stare.
"And you seek revenge against the Sea God Tang San for killing your husband. Our goals are both aimed at the same high and mighty deity. Since we share the same goal, why can't we cooperate?"
Huo Yuhao put forward his terms:
"If you agree, I can honor you as the Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, with a status equal to mine. We will share all the resources of the Holy Spirit Cult and conspire together to kill the gods."
Upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words—especially that Tang San had taken his mother's soul—the Demon Empress was slightly taken aback at first. Then, as if she had heard something extremely ridiculous, she suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahaha… good, good, truly good."
Her laughter stopped abruptly. She looked straight into Huo Yuhao's eyes, her gaze sharp as a knife, as if trying to pierce his soul and see through all his pretense and obsession. She said in a deep voice:
"Okay. I agree."
"Let me see just how far you can go on this path of defying the gods while bearing such a destiny."
In Huo Yuhao's eyes, she saw something similar to herself—an almost obsessive determination. However, what sustained her was her deep-seated hatred for Tang San. What supported Huo Yuhao, on the other hand, seemed to be a different, more complex emotion—was it the desire to save his mother? Or anger and resentment at being manipulated by the gods?
She became somewhat interested in this young man and wanted to see how far he could go.
Moreover, reason told her that if she actually fought Huo Yuhao and Xiao Wu here at the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters, even if she won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory that would not benefit her at all. On the contrary, it might provoke the dissatisfaction of Mobius and even the entire World Serpent organization.
As the being who granted her the core power of the Herrscher of Thunder, Mobius was someone the Demon Empress deeply feared, and the power contained within the shadowy World Serpent made her feel even greater awe. No one knew better than her how powerful and extraordinary the Herrscher Core's power was—power enough to allow her to break the ancient curse in the bloodline of the soul beasts.
Long before her cultivation reached the limits of humanity, she had used her power as the Herrscher of Thunder to comprehend a cruel truth:
Soul beasts cannot become gods through their own power.
Some supreme being had placed an invisible curse on the entire soul beast race.
Soul beasts are forbidden from becoming gods unless certain unknown and stringent conditions are met.
This curse was hidden and powerful. Ordinary soul beasts could not detect it at all. Even the Beast God Di Tian was completely unaware of it. But she, through the Herrscher of Thunder's power to control electromagnetic forces, had glimpsed the shackles that bound the very source of all soul beast bloodlines.
In her view, it was almost impossible to completely break the curse on the entire soul beast race. This curse targeted the entire race, and the one who had cast it was incredibly powerful. She even suspected that their level surpassed that of a God-King of the God Realm.
While it was hopeless to lift the curse on all soul beasts, it was not entirely impossible to lift the curse on an individual.
She herself had relied on the essence of the Deep Sea Demon Whale King and the Vortex Demon God Osial from a parallel world to gather a vast amount of energy far beyond the ordinary limit. Then, with the power of the Herrscher of Thunder's core as a guide, she forcibly tore apart the curse shackles that bound her and stepped into the god-level realm.
In addition to this, there were two other theoretical methods:
First, to sacrifice a massive amount of life energy, triggering a qualitative change through sheer quantity and forcibly breaking through the curse seal targeting a single individual.
Second, if a deity was willing to lend a hand, the power of that deity could also lift the curse from a single soul beast.
However, in any case, lifting the curse on the entire soul beast race was as difficult as reshaping the laws of heaven and earth. Even a God-King would find it almost impossible.
The Demon Empress had no interest in delving into the source of the curse imposed on the soul beasts' bloodline; her only concern was that this curse hindered her path of revenge. But precisely because of this, she understood more clearly than anyone else the preciousness and power of the Herrscher Core—a supreme blessing that could break the shackles of the gods and grant her the power to defy fate.
Therefore, she was unwilling to fall out with the unfathomable World Serpent organization before achieving her revenge.
Huo Yuhao's invitation to cooperate happened to coincide with her interests, providing her with a stable base and an "ally" with special powers and a common goal.
Seeing that the Demon Empress and Huo Yuhao had finally reached an agreement, the last bit of hope Elder Moyin Douluo had been clinging to completely collapsed. His spirit was utterly dejected. Having played his last trump card, he discovered that it had only allowed others to become allies. He could no longer muster any other thoughts and, as if his spine had been removed, obediently chose to submit, bowing his head deeply in the direction of Huo Yuhao and the Demon Empress.
At this point, Huo Yuhao had finally gained firm control of the entire Holy Spirit Cult and had unexpectedly obtained the powerful divine assistance of the Demon Empress. The goal of saving his mother's soul no longer seemed so unattainable, and his confidence soared like never before.
However, before he could march towards the Divine Realm, he still had a long-standing debt that needed to be settled in the mortal world.
Duke of the White Tiger.
The man who had kidnapped his mother, the man who didn't even know he existed.
Judging by the timeline, the situation on the continent was about to undergo a dramatic change.
According to reports from the Holy Spirit Cult's spies planted in the Sun Moon Empire, with the "help" of the Lord Ravager, the Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology was developing at an astonishing speed. Its military strength was changing rapidly, its massive war machine already in full operation, and a cold torrent of metal was poised to be unleashed. The shadow of war had already loomed over the three great empires of Star Luo, Heavenly Soul, and Dou Ling.
…
Time flew by, and a year passed quietly amid intense preparations, covert schemes, and the accumulation of individual strength.
For ordinary people, a year might just be another cycle of the four seasons. But for the Holy Spirit Cult lurking in the Great Star Dou Forest, for the ambitious Sun Moon Empire, and for the three great empires that sensed impending doom, this year was the calm before the storm—a period of accumulation that would determine the future of the continent.
The warm afternoon sun shone through the crystal glass of the dome of Haiyuan City, casting dappled light. In the garden, silvery laughter drifted on the breeze.
Little Lu Mingyin had grown quite a bit taller. She chased after a butterfly, her little face flushed from running. March 7th held up a camera, constantly snapping photos of the exciting moments while shouting:
"Little Yinyin, look over here, give me a smile!"
Elysia sat on a nearby swing, gently swaying and humming an unknown lullaby, her eyes crinkling as she watched this vibrant scene, as if all the beauty in the world had gathered here.
Lu Jingming stood on the veranda not far away, gazing tenderly at his daughter. This tranquility and joy were treasures he was willing to give everything to protect.
A familiar fragrance drifted over. Changli gracefully came to his side, naturally taking his arm and snuggling closer with her soft body. She also looked in Lu Mingyin's direction, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, but the words that came out shattered the warm atmosphere before them:
"The Sun Moon Empire is about to take action."
Lu Jingming's smile did not fade; instead, it carried a hint of calm confidence.
"I expected this. It's been tough for Xu Tianran to endure and accumulate for so long."
Aside from themselves, probably no one understood the Sun Moon Empire's movements better than Haiyuan City, which controlled the "Will of the Plane."
"The show is finally about to begin, and the day when we take center stage is not far off."
He spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something trivial that had nothing to do with him.
With the unfathomable strength of Haiyuan City, it would not be difficult for them to sweep across the land and forcibly unify the Douluo Continent. However, such a move, under the guise of military conquest, would breed countless hidden dangers: alienation of the people, covert resistance, and millions of subsequent governance problems.
He preferred to wait until the three great empires showed signs of fatigue, or even collapse, under the military might of the Sun Moon Empire. At that time, he would then act as a savior—defeat the powerful Sun Moon Empire and the Lord Ravager behind it, and rightfully take over everything to integrate the continent.
The former approach was domineering, simple, and direct, but fraught with endless troubles. The latter was the way of the king: it required patience and maneuvering but would result in a solid foundation.
Lu Jingming hated trouble and didn't want those around him, who were devoted to him, to be caught in endless turmoil in the future. Therefore, his choice had been clear from the beginning.
"Let's prepare our legions as well."
He glanced once more at the corner filled with laughter and chatter, a fleeting, almost imperceptible warmth flashing in his eyes before it was replaced by indifference.
"The gears of fate have begun to turn."
He turned and left, his steps steady. The pristine land behind him, like an idyllic paradise, would be kept away from the storm that was about to sweep across the continent by his most forceful means. No matter how turbulent the outside world became, the tranquility and beauty here must not be disturbed by anyone.
With a flash, Lu Jingming disappeared from Haiyuan City and stepped into a strange space—the Star Inner Sea.
The scenery here was very different from before. Countless mysterious bands of light flowed and intertwined in the void, forming a vast and intricate network. At the center was a huge sphere of light composed of pure energy and information flows. The Herta and Ruan Mei stood before the sphere of light, whispering to each other.
Ruan Mei's arrival had brought about revolutionary changes to this world. With Douluo Star's will as the core, and with her and The Herta's wisdom that transcended their era, they had managed to transform the entire planet into the prototype of an unprecedented celestial computer.
Even geniuses like them needed sufficient computing power to support them when facing massive amounts of information and deduction.
Now, under Ruan Mei's enlightenment, the dimensional will of this planet had transformed into a true star soul, possessing independent life and form. It had become the core processor of this planet-level computer.
Perhaps due to Lu Jingming's peculiar sense of humor, the transformed Star Soul had taken on the appearance of a vibrant and beautiful young girl, especially striking with her head of emerald-green twin ponytails. Lu Jingming named her Hatsune Miku.
With the birth of Hatsune Miku, the mountains and rivers, the aura of living beings, the flow of energy, and even the subtle movements of various forces throughout the Douluo Continent were all clearly presented to Lu Jingming's will, as if he could see the lines on his palm.
With the support of this "planetary consciousness's" terrifying guidance and computing power, the soul technology of Haiyuan City was undergoing silent yet rapid iterative upgrades. Without anyone noticing, even a level-12 soul tool that had only existed in theory had been successfully developed. And this was merely the result of Hatsune Miku's own deductions and optimizations based on the existing soul tool system of the Douluo Continent; it had not required The Herta to personally intervene.
Moreover, during that year, Lu Jingming also returned, as promised, to the parallel world where Qian Renxue lived. There, he fulfilled his promise to the Angel God, not only making her completely his woman, but also bringing with him the help of Ruan Mei and The Herta. The intertwining of angelic holiness and the allure of mortal life created a truly unforgettable experience.
But more importantly, Douluo Star in that world was also transformed into a celestial computer. After its star soul took human form, she became a beautiful white-haired girl with a cool temperament and a figure far more stunning than Hatsune Miku's. Lu Jingming named her Yowane Haku.
In a sense, Hatsune Miku and Yowane Haku, these two beings born from Douluo Star's will in different timelines, could be considered a pair of unique sisters.
With the full support of Yowane Haku, the development of the Martial Soul Empire's soul guidance technology could be described as meteoric. The achievements made in just one year had surpassed the accumulation of hundreds of years of normal development.
Lu Jingming stayed in that world for quite some time, only leaving after he confirmed that Qian Renxue was carrying their bloodline. This had been Qian Renxue's persistent request. She wanted to continue the purest angelic bloodline, and Lu Jingming, as the partner she had chosen, naturally had the responsibility to fulfill her wish. However, the gestation of a god-level lifeform was extremely difficult, and for this reason, he did indeed spend more time and "energy."
At this moment, Lu Jingming's gaze pierced through the dazzling light streams of the Star Inner Sea, as if he could already see the flames of war about to rise across the continent. The layout was complete, the pieces were all in place, and all that remained was the clarion call to usher in a new era.
He murmured to himself, a mixture of anticipation and chill in his voice:
"The stage is set. It's time for the actors to take the stage."
...