Chapter 22

"Boom—"

Pitch-black flames permeated the sky and sea, the high temperature vaporizing a massive amount of seawater. Guang Biao and his Black-Grade Character Doukai instantly turned to ash, as if they had never come to this world.

The Teng Snake slowly closed its giant maw, its massive body blotting out the sky and sun. It raised its upper body high, its black scales solid and cold. Those scarlet vertical pupils pierced through the sea of clouds, resembling two blazing furnaces.

Compared to this spirit of heaven and earth, which condensed the world's flames and the power of deceit, humans were as small as dust. Yet, a single speck of dust stood atop the giant snake's head, with burning molten gold flowing in its pupils!

"Let's go, let's go meet... God King Tang!"

The voice echoed through the sky, bone-chillingly cold. Zhao Xuanzhen was not soft cotton, nor was he a persimmon easy to squeeze; he neither provoked trouble nor feared it!

During the battle at the Eastsea Academy Primary Spirit Ascension Platform, Tang San had disregarded martial virtue and attempted to plant a divine consciousness imprint. Zhao Xuanzhen knew he had been targeted by a dog; if he didn't resolve Tang San's divine consciousness, he would never have a day of peace in this life!

Tonight, the stars were brilliant; it was the night when the timing was most favorable for Zhao Xuanzhen. He might as well use this golden opportunity to end the God King and secure a peaceful environment for the future, free from the interference of gods!

Following the command of the Master of Qimen, the Teng Snake roared at the sky. Its body flew up as if riding the clouds and mist, transforming into a bolt of black lightning that streaked across the sky, charging straight toward the target!

In the Zero Class dormitory of Eastsea Academy, Tang Wulin abruptly stopped his meditation. On his forehead, the Golden Trident rune appeared clearly, and his black-and-white pupils had changed, at some unknown point, to the blue-gold belonging to the ocean.

The youthful vigor of the boy was gone; Tang Wulin's expression was indifferent, containing only calculations devoid of emotional fluctuation.

The body of Tang Wulin, the soul of Tang San.

Tang San, lurking in the sea of spirit, occupied his son's body for a simple and brutal reason: he had sensed that overwhelming killing intent, directed solely at him, approaching rapidly from afar!

"Having to use a backup plan again, I see." Tang San sighed lightly. "The last time it was the Star Dou ferocious beasts; that Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King understood spatial attributes, which was how it managed to open a spatial channel and escape with that group of beasts. I wonder who the visitor is this time..."

A ray of light emerged from between his brows, and a four-meter-long trident hovered before Tang San. Golden brilliance flowed like water. The moment the trident appeared, the sea adjacent to Eastsea City suddenly boiled, emitting excited, whimpering sounds.

Holding the trident, Tang San floated up lightly, preparing to help his son crush all difficulties and obstacles in his path. Even if it were only a strand of divine consciousness, the arrogant God King did not believe anyone on the Douluo Continent could stop him!

High above, the stars were exceptionally bright, and the firmament looked like a giant curtain inlaid with countless gems. Two figures stood facing each other from afar, the air currents surging and churning incessantly.

"Who are you?"

Tang San frowned deeply. Zhao Xuanzhen was shrouded in the power of deceit, his entire being bizarre and constantly shifting. The Teng Snake was even beyond the God King's understanding; its appearance was that of a super ferocious beast, yet its aura was vastly different from a soul beast—it seemed to be a part of the Douluo Continent's heaven and earth itself!

"Have you forgotten?"

Zhao Xuanzhen chuckled, placed his palm on his forehead, and forcibly pulled out the Soul of Deceit that had previously deceived Tang San. With a forceful pinch of his fingertips, after a crisp cracking sound, the trident imprint dissipated.

"Variable of fate!"

With the spirit imprint rendered ineffective, Tang San's expression became extremely gloomy. As the Sea God's intent shifted, the ocean stirred up layers of giant waves, and terrifying energy gathered continuously in the air.

Pointing the Sea God Trident forward, the sharp blade gleaming with cold light, Tang San said coldly: "I am setting things right and giving you a chance to become Wulin's guardian. If you offer up all your luck and bone blood for him, you might have the fortune to join the ascending Divine Realm in the future and become a glorious divine official!

And you, you have rejected supreme glory!

Evil one, you have already embarked on the path to your own destruction!"

"Twenty thousand years later, and you only have one set of 'righteous indignation' plus 'path to destruction'? Truly, there's no originality."

Zhao Xuanzhen's mouth curled into a mocking arc. Tang San caught that unmistakable mockery, and his grip on the trident tightened.

"Enough talk, let's see the real deal!"

Zhao Xuanzhen's gaze was as cold as ice, and he shouted in a low voice: "Eight Divine Powers, Teng Snake, return to position!"

The Teng Snake's mountain-like giant body rushed into Zhao Xuanzhen's body. The Eight Deceitful Gods instantly transformed into the Eight Divine Powers representing deceit, becoming a part of the Master of Qimen!

The drifting scattered clouds were attracted by the Teng Snake, coiling like a giant snake and casting a spiral shadow. A scarlet snake-pattern imprint bloomed on Zhao Xuanzhen's forehead, like a cluster of illusory, burning, eerie flames!

"Boom—"

With the Eight Divine Powers Teng Snake entering his body, a scarlet ring suddenly expanded from Zhao Xuanzhen as the center; it was a power field formed by the fire of deceit!

The sky trembled and became chaotic due to the surging fire elements. Tang San watched the figure at the center of the domain expressionlessly. Around Zhao Xuanzhen's dazzling golden pupils, blood-colored cracks gradually spread.

"The power of that giant snake has transferred to you."

Tang San felt he had seen through the truth and said dismissively: "This method does not elevate your life level; you are still a quasi-god, vulnerable to a single blow!

Between a quasi-god and a god, there is a world of difference!"

As the trident swung, the seawater in the distance surged into the sky. Giant water dragons condensed high in the air, containing the great power from the depths of the ocean, roaring as they charged toward Zhao Xuanzhen. Everything in their path was shattered, the whistling sound shrill and piercing!

"You are right, so merging with the Teng Snake was merely a prerequisite for carrying another power."

The sky suddenly erupted with countless rays of brilliant starlight. The starlight crisscrossed, outlining a massive star formation map, crushing the water dragons formed from seawater!

With nine stars as the center, the formation runes circulated. Each star seemed to possess life, echoing and pulling at each other, constructing a complex and exquisite star power system. A heart-palpitating, magnificent aura radiated outward.

Bagua Qimen, Heavenly Disc Dao Art!

The Bagua Qimen is composed of four discs: Heaven, Earth, Man, and God. Zhao Xuanzhen often uses the Earth Disc, which represents geographical advantage, for combat, keeping the God Disc, which has eight types of divine assistance, as his trump card.

And on this once-in-a-millennium night of brilliant stars, the power of the timing was magnified dozens of times, and the Heavenly Disc's star power surpassed the God Disc, which had not yet fully awakened the Eight Deceitful Gods!

Once the Heavenly Disc Dao Art appeared, Tang San was finally moved. After all, it was only a strand of divine consciousness, not the true descent of a god, and the reserved divine power was limited. Zhao Xuanzhen, having absorbed the Eight Divine Powers Teng Snake and added the Heavenly Disc amplified by the stars, possessed the capital to threaten him!

"Nine Stars, Cessation."

The star power sealed the sky, the earth, and the ocean, isolating all leakage of aura. The battle between the two was bound to be earth-shattering; Zhao Xuanzhen prevented future trouble, stopped Leng Yaozhu from joining, and also cut off the connection between Tang San and the ocean!

Tang San waved the Sea God Trident. The 108,000-jin Sea God artifact felt as light and free as a feather, the blade drawing a circular arc in the air.

Golden Thirteen Tridents, Unfixed Storm!

Golden rings expanded in circles, dense and overlapping. The sky began to constrict, the ocean waves became quiet, all things fell silent, and the golden rings of the Unfixed Storm enveloped the world!

As Tang San's standard opening move in combat, once the Unfixed Storm hit an enemy, even a god would be bound for a period, followed by the violent, storm-like attacks of the Sea God Trident!

"Soul of Deceit."

With the advantage of foresight, Zhao Xuanzhen understood the hard-control mechanism of the Unfixed Storm. Pitch-black flames mixed with the Heavenly Disc's star power surged out, and the Teng Snake's cunning and changeable evil fire perfectly blocked all the golden rings!

"Stars, gather here!"

Looking up at the sky, Zhao Xuanzhen's pupils were like the boundless starry sky, so deep that no end could be seen. Star after star lit up, and countless golden star points hung high in the sky, as if illuminating the night of the entire world into daylight.

The stars poured back into the Heavenly Disc, and the gorgeous light piled up and squeezed. The nine stars were the most dazzling; they were the Big Dipper plus the two stars Zuo Fu and You Bi. At this moment, they were crazily absorbing star power, and the veins of the Heavenly Disc star map became increasingly fiery, fiery, as if they could never reach their limit!

"White clouds for a thousand years, empty and leisurely!"

Tang San lost his composure, his face becoming somewhat ferocious. On a night of brilliant stars, the power of the stars was inexhaustible; a single strand of divine consciousness was not enough to contend with the stars of the entire sky.

The Heavenly Disc's star power transformed into a Cessation Formation, preventing him from absorbing the ocean's energy, which made matters worse. If he didn't resolve Zhao Xuanzhen, the divine power left by Tang San's consciousness would inevitably be exhausted, forcing him into a deep sleep, unable to influence the trend of the Douluo Continent, and even his ten-thousand-year plan would slip out of his control!

As the Sea God Trident danced, layers of golden halos appeared on Tang San's body. The halos gathered into drifting clouds, ethereal and void. The flow of time slowed down—the vicissitudes of life!

"Empty—"

The Golden Thirteen Tridents divine skill was interrupted. Tang San's movements suddenly stalled, the starlight firmly imprisoning him, and time returned to its normal flow!

"The ocean crawls at the feet of the sky, and you have always been illuminated by starlight!" Zhao Xuanzhen slowly revealed the truth.

Astrological control, absolutely established!

My mechanism is above yours!

"Bind the fierce and lock the evil, Nine Luminaries Seal!"

The Earth Disc commands elements, the God Disc contains divine power, but what the Heavenly Disc is best at is sealing!

Zhao Xuanzhen's palms suddenly closed, and the star power responded. The Heavenly Disc star map condensed nine rotating star crystal rings. The majestic star power leaped, and these energies, born from the vast starry sky, flowed along the star orbits, weaving a mysterious sealing star array.

The world seemed to have pressed the pause button; the seawater stopped surging, and the air stopped flowing. Zhao Xuanzhen walked toward Tang San on the light stairs woven from star power, and the sealing star ring began to take effect.

"Just a seal, that's not enough, is it?"

A sigh echoed in the void. Zhao Xuanzhen looked toward the source of the sound, and a half-black, half-white figure appeared between heaven and earth. Although the aura was chaotic, it had clearly transcended the quasi-god level and ascended to the divine realm.

"You are... the Spirit of the Douluo Plane!"

Every move of this figure secretly matched the laws of heaven and earth; besides the spirit of this plane, Zhao Xuanzhen could not find a second answer!

"Yes."

The Spirit of the Plane looked at Tang San under the star power restraint, a monstrous hatred of wanting to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin flashing in its eyes, and it said:

"Variable of fate, my remaining time is limited, let's keep it short.

As long as Tang San is not removed, the Douluo Continent will never know peace. Even if it is only a strand of divine consciousness, he cannot be given a second chance to stir up trouble.

Before the Divine Realm was drawn into the spatial turbulence, Tang San sent a human named Tang Hao into the core of the plane, causing him to devour my body and consciousness and become the new Spirit of the Douluo Plane.

For thousands of years, I have lost my control over the Douluo Continent step by step. I thought about self-destructing to drag Tang Hao to perish together, but that method treats the symptoms but not the root cause. As long as Tang San is alive, there will be Zhang Hao and Wang Hao to replace my position in the future.

Until your appearance, I had a new idea.

Taking advantage of my barely clear consciousness, I will burn myself, drag Tang Hao into a deep sleep together, buy time for you to transcend the shackles of the world, and at the same time grant you the power to annihilate the Tang San divine consciousness before you!

The heaviest price, I will bear for you!

I only ask one thing of you: carry my will forward and help the Douluo plane break free from Tang San's control and be reborn!"

Zhao Xuanzhen did not agree, but asked instead: "Spirit of the Plane, to entrust the future to me so easily, are you not afraid that I will become the next Tang San?"

The Spirit of the Plane raised its head and laughed: "Of course I am afraid, but think about it from another perspective: no matter what, it won't be worse than the current situation.

Even if it's a gamble with no certainty, I must seize the glimmer of hope to turn defeat into victory, do everything in my power to lay out plans for future generations, never retreat, and never yield even in death!

I am the Spirit of the Plane, and I shall open a path to life for Douluo!"

"I promise you, let the continent be reborn."

Zhao Xuanzhen whispered, somewhat moved by the Spirit of the Plane's unyielding nature.

Dragging Tang San and Tang Hao off the altar at the cost of burning yourself, you Spirit of the Plane, you fellow!

In front of the Heavenly Disc star power and the Spirit of the Plane, Tang San's divine consciousness understood there was no hope of a comeback, and his voice was as cold as poison: "Your actions are meaningless. When the Divine Realm returns, your blood will naturally dye the Douluo Continent red!"

"Humans will never yield, nor will they accept the ten-thousand-year plan arranged by the God King. We swear to fight the evil god to the end!" Zhao Xuanzhen's gaze was like a torch.

"Twenty thousand years ago, I was blind and thought you were the Son of Luck of an era. Ten thousand years ago, you used your daughter to tie down the second Son of Luck and destroyed the Emperor Auspicious Beast of the soul beast clan." The Spirit of the Plane said, full of hatred.

"These blood debts, I remember them all!

I would rather fight to the death to get some justice back from you first!"

The Spirit of the Plane ignited with flames with a boom. Intense pain struck, and blood beads seeped from the gaps in its skin. The continent wept blood and wailed because of the Spirit of the Plane's self-immolation, from which came the faint, unwilling roar of a middle-aged man.

A limit exchange of one for two, annihilating Tang San's divine consciousness and dragging Tang Hao in his body into a state of heavy injury and deep sleep. The Spirit of the Plane's laughter was happy and wild; suppressed for thousands of years, it had finally found a chance to retaliate against the Tang family!

"Variable of fate, I have cleared away most of the threats to this continent for you today, but the Abyss, Demon Hell, and other planes are still eyeing Douluo covetously.

After falling into a deep sleep, I am powerless against those enemies; you need to find a way to solve them."

As its origin gradually burned, the Spirit of the Plane's voice became lower and lower.

"There is one more thing: the plane's life core is facing the same dilemma as me; the Blue Silver Emperor is devouring its consciousness and energy.

If you can, please help it; it will give you some feedback."

After speaking, the Spirit of the Plane dissipated into dots of light, and the shining seven-colored energy fell toward Zhao Xuanzhen.

"Kill Tang San... this is my last power!"

(End of chapter)