Without the interference of the Demon Emperor Whale and her daughter, Zhu Ziyang and his party smoothly completed the cleanup of the battlefield.
Sixteen Demon Whales—more than 500,000 years' worth of life force—were all absorbed and converted by Zhu Ziyang. Ever since he obtained the Fallen Scythe, Zhu Ziyang's control over the power of death had become almost instinctual, and the conversion of life force into soul ring age had reached a nearly perfect 1:1 ratio.
As a result, the current soul ring configuration of the Stillness Fate Ending Scyth had already reached nine red soul rings—a terrifying setup that only appeared in legends.
Zhu Ziyang was extremely pleased. Although these soul rings, whose age had been raised after acquisition, could not grant him a second soul skill, the existing soul skills themselves had been upgraded to the level of hundred-thousand-year soul skills, which was already more than satisfactory.
Aside from Zhu Ziyang's soul ring gains, they also obtained nine soul bones as spoils of war—five from the five hundred-thousand-year Demon Whales, and four from the remaining ten-thousand-year ones.
"Sigh! What a pity, these five hundred-thousand-year soul rings are basically wasted!" Zhang Lexuan looked at the five red soul rings floating on the sea and couldn't help but sigh.
"Not entirely wasted. After all, they'll return to the world's cycle," Zhu Ziyang replied with a smile, his thoughts drifting momentarily to the World Will.
"That's true," Zhang Lexuan agreed, "but still, seeing these masterless hundred-thousand-year soul rings fade away is a bit heartbreaking. Thankfully, the soul bones won't vanish, and there's also this whale glue—we'll be able to take it back. Not bad!"
"Mm! Of the nine soul bones, five are hundred-thousand-year bones. We're only missing a skull to complete a full set," Zhu Ziyang said, examining the Demon Whale soul bones. "And out of the four ten-thousand-year soul bones, two are skulls. Quite the coincidence!"
"Brother, Sister Lexuan, thank you for all your hard work!" Jiang Nannan and Qian Lingyi arrived with the Silvermoon Spirit Fish King, Jiang Nannan smiling warmly.
"Haha, it was nothing," Zhu Ziyang chuckled, then looked to Zhang Lexuan and asked, "Sister Lexuan, have you completed your trial?"
"Alright!" Zhang Lexuan nodded and immediately began checking the results of her seventh Scarlet Trial.
"Hey! Shuishui, isn't it time for you to fulfill your promise?" Jiang Nannan turned toward the Silvermoon Spirit Fish King with a playful smirk.
"Honored Divine Envoy, please allow me to return to my clan and handle some follow-up affairs first. I shall then offer myself in tribute to you," replied the Silvermoon Spirit Fish King, without the slightest hesitation or attempt to escape, speaking with a tone of reverence.
"No problem," Jiang Nannan nodded. "Actually, you don't need to offer yourself as a sacrifice. See that little person on my brother's shoulder? That's a soul spirit. You just need to become mine."
"Soul spirit?" The Silvermoon Spirit Fish King looked confused, but no one paid her much attention as Zhang Lexuan's results were already in.
Seventh Scarlet Trial complete. Reward: One level of soul power and an increase of 1,000 years to all soul ring ages. Her soul power rose again, reaching Rank 94. Although her ring colors remained the same—two purple, five black, two red—she was already quite satisfied. After all, that lineup was already terrifying in its own right.
After Zhang Lexuan finished absorbing her trial rewards, Zhu Ziyang said, "Alright, let's head back. Silvermoon Spirit Fish King, these Demon Whale corpses are yours to deal with. With all this whale flesh, your clan should see a major boost."
"Really? You're too generous! Praise your boundless kindness!" The Silvermoon Spirit Fish King was overwhelmed with emotion. She bowed her head in deep reverence.
"Heh." Zhu Ziyang chuckled and boarded the Moon God Shuttle with the three girls, heading toward the Silvermoon Spirit Fish Clan's territory.
The Silvermoon Spirit Fish King also sped off toward her domain. She needed to get there quickly so her clan could transport the Demon Whale corpses back before other sea soul beasts—like sharks with keen senses—caught wind of the scent.
On the Moon God Shuttle, after a few brief instructions, Zhu Ziyang and the three girls entered the Divine Inheritance Realm. Those two divine cores were still waiting to be deciphered.
The moment he entered, Zhu Ziyang saw the Angel God Core and Rakshasa God Core floating at the top of the God Ascension Path. A stream of grey-white energy swirled around them—examining, perhaps repairing. As soon as Zhu Ziyang appeared, that stream of energy spiraled around once and then vanished into the temple.
"Xiao Bai!" Zhu Ziyang called from the steps of the God Ascension Path.
"Don't shout. I already know why you're here," Xiao Bai's voice replied.
"You know my reason? Then why don't you go ahead and say it?" Zhu Ziyang grinned.
"You want to ask whether these two divine cores can form proper divine inheritances, right?" Xiao Bai said.
"Then what's your answer?" Zhu Ziyang asked, smile unwavering but with a hint of anticipation.
"That's not the right question. Divine cores and divine positions are essentially the same. A divine position is just the pre-arranged inheritance method left behind while the god still lived. A divine core, on the other hand, results when a god dies unexpectedly without leaving such a method," Xiao Bai explained. "What you should be asking is how to unlock the inheritance from a divine core."
"Er…" Zhu Ziyang rubbed his forehead. "So then?"
"My answer: the Angel God Core should be given to that girl Qian Lingyi. Her bloodline and abilities are highly compatible with the Angel God—over 90% chance of activating the divine inheritance," Xiao Bai said.
That was exactly what Zhu Ziyang had in mind. As a descendant of the Qian Clan, no one was more suited to inherit the Angel God position than Qian Lingyi.
"As for the Rakshasa God… honestly, it's too badly damaged. I don't recommend finding a successor," Xiao Bai sighed. "I can feel Xiao Cai and Xiao Hong's helplessness within it. I finally understand why they chose to abandon their god positions back then."
"Xiao Cai? Xiao Hong?" Zhu Ziyang was stunned.
"Yeah, the original Asura God and Rakshasa God. Xiao Cai and Xiao Hong were their nicknames," Xiao Bai explained.
"Like how you're Xiao Bai?" Zhu Ziyang tried not to laugh.
"Uh… something like that." Xiao Bai coughed awkwardly and quickly changed the subject. "The Asura and Rakshasa Gods were among the eight kings of the Divine Realm, jointly maintaining cosmic order. Asura represented reason, and Rakshasa represented emotion. They complemented and cherished each other. If one's divine position became unstable, the other would inevitably be affected."
"So now that the Rakshasa God's divine level has fallen to 2nd Class, does that mean…" Zhu Ziyang's expression turned strange.
"Yes," Xiao Bai confirmed. "The Divine Realm catastrophe damaged the Rakshasa God's source. With emotion and reason unbalanced, Xiao Cai lost control, and Xiao Hong lost fairness. Though husband and wife, they turned into bitter enemies."
"They both chose to abandon their positions—perhaps to avoid becoming puppets of the divine order."
"The original Rakshasa and Asura Gods were married?" Zhu Ziyang was visibly excited. Gossiping about gods—only he would get the chance.
"Surprised? The Divine Realm's Eight Kings were four couples. Balance of yin and yang, harmony of soul and stars," Xiao Bai said, as if it were obvious.
"Er… fair enough." Zhu Ziyang's smile faded. "Continue."
"Ten thousand years ago, they allowed Tang San to inherit both the Sea God and Asura God positions but tacitly approved his slaying of the Rakshasa successor—probably to reduce the negative influence on Asura," Xiao Bai said. "It was a temporary solution. If the Rakshasa God cannot be repaired, this generation's Asura God will eventually fall under the same fate—becoming a puppet of chaos."
"So you're saying I shouldn't pass on the Rakshasa God?" Zhu Ziyang asked, catching the implication.
"Yes," Xiao Bai confirmed. "If it can't be repaired, best not to bring it back to the Divine Realm. A damaged 2nd Class Rakshasa God could dangerously destabilize the current Asura God."
"In short, it would be a negative influence," Zhu Ziyang mused.
"If you really want to balance the Asura God, you'd be better off fixing the Rakshasa position," Xiao Bai advised. "A rational and just Asura God is much easier to deal with. After all, even the existence of the Sea God position is considered defilement in his eyes."
"If it were that easy to repair, it wouldn't be like this today," Zhu Ziyang said with a shrug. "Forget it, then. Leave the Rakshasa God here. I'll take the Angel God Core."
(End of Chapter)
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