Divine Realm, Asura Shrine
The Asura God clearly saw through Tang Hao's thoughts and snorted coldly. "You've already come this far, yet you still foolishly cling to love? Pathetic. But that actually works in my favor."
With that, the Asura God snapped his fingers twice, sending two beams of light down to Tang Hao and A Yin in the mortal realm. Afterward, he concealed Tang Hao's hiding place with divine secrecy.
"Right now, the Great Treasure Divine Skill hasn't matured, and the Child of Destiny hasn't reached the time to emerge," the Asura God glanced coldly at A Yin and Tang Hao. "Your conception must have my permission. If I allow you to bear a child, then you can. If I don't, then you're just infertile hens and sterile roosters."
Thus, Tang Hao and A Yin temporarily became incapable of conceiving.
Under the Asura God's concealment, the Haotian Sect deployed its influence to search the Douluo Continent for Tang Hao for many years, but all in vain.
Sunset Forest, Eyes of Ice and Fire
Anyone familiar with Douluo fans knows this geomantic treasure spot is the core reason the Shrek Seven Devils rose to godhood, as well as one of the must-grab opportunities for time travelers—specifically Tang San's fated chance.
The Eight Spider Spears' importance is debatable, but any time traveler who hands Tang San a divine-grade treasure is deemed unqualified.
It's a pity: When Huo Yuhao traveled to Douluo Continent, it was already thousands of years after the Shrek Seven Devils' era. The Eyes of Ice and Fire had long been sealed by Tang San. Entering here meant stepping into Tang San's trap.
At that point, Huo Yuhao had decided to give up on all opportunities here—until he realized he couldn't escape Tang San's scheme and came to accept the gifts of the Eyes of Ice and Fire.
After betraying Tang San in the Divine Realm, Huo Yuhao arrived on the Douluo Continent forty thousand years ago, naturally intending to seize the opportunities here.
Huo Yuhao's formidable body, forged on the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King and fused with three divine races, meant ordinary divine-grade treasures brought little benefit to him. But two things here attracted him—the remains of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King.
Huo Yuhao directly absorbed the soul bones of both Dragon Kings and took in their dragon souls transformed into spirit rings, forging an unparalleled foundation. Yet this caused the Eyes of Ice and Fire to lose their source of power. Had Huo Yuhao not done this, the remaining ice and fire energies could have lasted around a thousand more years.
Before ascending to the Divine Realm, Huo Yuhao intentionally left behind the primordial soul spirits of the Ice Dragon King and Fire Dragon King to maintain the Eyes of Ice and Fire.
It has now been over forty thousand years since his last visit to this treasure spot.
"You're here," said the Ice Dragon King.
Huo Qiqiang nodded, "I brought some disciples to gather resources."
The Fire Dragon King said, "Then the time is near. The agreement—"
"Won't exceed a hundred years; I will fulfill the promise," Huo Yuhao replied.
"That's good. We hope our choice back then wasn't wrong," said the Ice Dragon King.
"Since you followed me, I won't let you down," Huo Qiqiang promised.
The two great dragon souls opened a special spatial portal. The space before the Sunset Forest twisted, revealing the wondrous Ice and Fire Gorge to Huo Yuhao and his group.
Qian Renxue spread her wings, soaring into the sky to overlook the gorge below. The valley was shrouded in thick mists—icy blue on one side, fiery red on the other—beneath which rare treasures bloomed brilliantly all over the mountains.
At the valley's center was a miraculous pool, perfectly round. One half was ice-blue, emanating cold; the other, flame-red, radiated heat.
Qian Renxue marveled, "So this is the Eyes of Ice and Fire, the fateful treasure that enabled the Shrek Seven Devils to become gods. It's magnificent. Tang San truly was blessed by heaven."
Recalling their rise, she suddenly said, "Before Tang San's time, this place belonged to Dugu Bo. Only two in the Dugu family: Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan. After the war with the Spirit Hall, Dugu Bo soon died from poison, and Dugu Yan passed away young not long after her grandfather. With all these rare plants scattered everywhere, is there nothing to cure their Spirit Beast defects?"
Huo Qiqiang answered, "There are dozens of herbs here that can cure or alleviate their spirit toxins, but Tang San only traded for this place from Dugu Bo by giving him a soul bone toxin-condensing technique."
Qian Renxue sneered, "Poor Dugu Bo—sold out and still counting the money for others."
Huo Qiqiang said to the three behind him, "You three, follow me."
After speaking, Huo Qiqiang entered the Eyes of Ice and Fire, with Lu Yuan, Zhao Quan, and Xiao Zhi close behind.
Divine-grade treasures are just ordinary flora in the Divine Realm, offering little benefit to gods—like the Qi Rong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, which is used to make tea for guests.
Such treasures only have huge benefits before ascending to godhood. In the mortal realm, divine-grade treasures are extremely rare, highlighting the immense value of the Eyes of Ice and Fire.
Huo Qiqiang gathered three divine plants—the Octagonal Black Ice Grass, the Fiery Apricot Blossom, and the Radiant Spirit Flower—and gave them to the three geniuses of the sect, explaining how to consume them.
"These three divine plants match your spirit beast attributes. After consuming them, your original spirit beasts will advance to the ultimate forms of fire, ice, and light. The absorption process is painful, but afterward, your paths will be smooth."
"Thank you, Master," the three said, absorbing the plants with their soul power and consuming them as instructed. Then they sat cross-legged to refine the medicinal power.
While they refined, Huo Qiqiang asked, "You know the names and how to harvest these plants, right?"
"Before coming, I borrowed the divine-grade plant catalog from Soul Douluo Yue Guan," Qian Renxue said.
"Take whatever you want. Just keep the roots intact," Huo Qiqiang said casually.
"Can we really take any?" she asked.
"Sure," he replied.
"Thanks for your gift," Qian Renxue said and headed toward her first target—the Qi Rong Tongtian Chrysanthemum.
Several hours later, Xiao Zhi, Lu Yuan, and Zhao Quan finished absorbing their plants, and their spirit beasts advanced to ultimate elemental forms as expected, with soul power reaching level 40 Spirit Sect.
Huo Qiqiang led them out to hunt for ten-thousand-year spirit rings. When they returned, the valley was already stripped clean of divine plants by Qian Renxue.
"You said take whatever we want, so…" Qian Renxue sheepishly stuck out her tongue.
"I always keep my word," Huo Qiqiang said.
To him, these plants were trivial; the most precious opportunities had been secured tens of thousands of years ago. As for these plants, keeping the roots allows regrowth, and if urgently needed, they could be taken directly from the Divine Realm's gardens.
Besides, Huo Qiqiang brought Qian Renxue here because he needs a stronger Spirit Hall than the original in his future plan.
He then handed two books to Qian Renxue.
"What's this?"
"Haotian Sect's secret techniques for spirit ring explosion and the Great Sumeru Hammer, along with Tang San's Xuantian Gong and its secrets."
(End of chapter)
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