Wu Changkong and Lin Moxuan's battle entered its final stage. Neither held back any longer. Both activated their Martial Soul True Bodies.
Lin Moxuan's eighth spirit ring lit up. The Emerald Qilin phantom roared at the sky. A pillar of emerald light, reaching to heaven and earth, descended from the sky. Crystal light filled the world, dreamlike and ethereal. Wherever the light passed, even space seemed to crystallize, making people unconsciously want to sink into it, falling into an eternal emerald dream.
Wu Changkong also used his eighth spirit ability. The cold air around him condensed into countless ice flowers. The moment these ice flowers bloomed, the temperature in the air plummeted. The power of Extreme Ice was completely integrated into his Heavenly Frost Sword's sword intent, condensing into an invisible yet indestructible sword light.
The two destructive forces collided head on. A blinding light swallowed everything. Emerald and ice intertwined. Crystal light and sword intent entangled. The space of the entire arena twisted and deformed at that moment.
When the light faded, everyone saw Wu Changkong's sword, stopped three inches from Lin Moxuan's throat, unable to advance further.
Because half of Wu Changkong's body, from his right shoulder to his right hand, to half his chest, had completely turned into translucent emerald crystal. Under the light, that half-crystallized body reflected a dreamlike radiance.
Wu Changkong was silent for a long moment, then sighed softly.
"I lost."
Although he had expected it, he had not thought he would lose so early.
"I have heard of your deeds. If you had not neglected your cultivation before, I might not have won."
Lin Moxuan shook his head and turned to leave the stage.
"When we both reach our peaks in the future, we will fight again."
Wu Changkong glanced at the woman who had come to cheer him on, quickly looked away, and looked back at Lin Moxuan.
"We will."
Although he was cold by nature, he still had a desire to win.
The two left the stage, but the applause from the audience continued for a long time.
After watching this match and a few more rounds, Huo Yuhao said to Wang Hongchen, "Since we have reached a deal, I would like to go to the Central Division to inspect Qiankun Questioning Love Valley. Is that possible?"
"Of course."
Wang Hongchen nodded. He traced a light screen in the air and gave Huo Yuhao some things.
"These are the materials Mingde Hall has collected on Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, as well as the authority to open the passage to it. I hope they will be useful."
"Thank you."
Huo Yuhao thanked him and disappeared from the spot.
In the Central Division of the Star Dou Combat Network, Huo Yuhao appeared and saw a familiar figure walk onto the field.
It was Gu Ruiqiu.
Huo Yuhao paused, his gaze falling on the graceful figure on the field.
He knew she was participating in the selection. Gu Yuena had also come to cheer her on. As for Gu Ruiqiu's strength.
When the battle began and the battle armor on Gu Ruiqiu appeared, the entire audience erupted.
"I was not mistaken last round. She really does have Four Word Battle Armor."
"She actually has Four Word Battle Armor. What is her relationship with the Divine Craftsman?"
"Your reclusive sects do not even know this? The Dragon God is a Spirit Transmission Envoy of the Spirit Transmission Tower and has a very good relationship with those two. Is it strange that she has Four Word Battle Armor?"
"A Four Word Battle Armor Master with the ultimate power of the Golden Dragon martial soul. I imagine that apart from Limit Douluo, few can match her."
That was exactly it.
Huo Yuhao agreed with these knowledgeable Douluo people's opinions.
Now, aside from Limit Douluo, there were few at the Titled Douluo level who could match Gu Ruiqiu.
However.
"Dragon God? When did that become her title? Was she not very resistant to it yesterday?"
Huo Yuhao looked at the person beside him in confusion. Gu Yuena had appeared there at some point.
"It is not a title. It is a nickname. Does the Star Dou Combat Network not have nicknames? She was not resistant to the Dragon God title before. She directly used Dragon God as her nickname."
Gu Yuena's tone was quiet. "After hearing my words yesterday, she wanted to change it, but I stopped her. And because she had not yet chosen a title for herself, the audience mistook her nickname for her title. They are all calling her that now. After today's battle, her title will basically be set. At least, that is how it will be in the eyes of the world."
If enough people called her that, even if it was not, it would become so. At most, Gu Ruiqiu herself would disagree. But she could only blame herself for liking to stir up trouble.
However, it was not really a big deal. It was just a title. There was no actual loss.
It was not as if inheriting a title meant inheriting World-shaking Wisdom.
Huo Yuhao smiled upon hearing this. "You do not need to take the Dragon God's deeds so seriously."
"How can I ignore such things after hearing them? At best, I can try not to think about them. Since Ruiqiu has stirred up this scene, it is good to tease her a little. Consider it a way to relax."
Gu Yuena smiled helplessly, then glanced at Huo Yuhao.
She had reason to suspect that Yuhao, who knew of the Dragon God's deeds, might have secretly joked about her before. After all, in others' eyes, those deeds were indeed absurd enough to make one laugh.
But she could not blame anyone else. It was the Dragon God's fault.
"Enough. Let us not talk about this."
Gu Yuena looked away, no longer entangled in this topic. "You came over so quickly. Has the match over there finished?"
"The first round is over. The second round has just begun. But after observing Xiaoyan and the others' subsequent opponents, there are no particularly strong ones. There is no need to worry."
Huo Yuhao looked at the boundary of the virtual space.
"So I came over to inspect the different dimension connected here and make some arrangements."
"A different dimension. So it was not my imagination."
Gu Yuena also looked at the boundary of the void, looking thoughtful. "Who left this behind?"
"It is the place where the Love God fell after being betrayed by her lover. It is used to test emotions and sincerity." Huo Yuhao shrugged.
"As the Love God, she was betrayed, yet she came to test others' sincerity." Gu Yuena was speechless.
As a deity, she had not even seen her lover's true face clearly in the beginning. Yet after death, she wanted to test mortals' True Love.
Could she even test it properly?
Were those who passed Qiankun Questioning Love Valley's test really in True Love?
She did not believe it.
"It was never a good place to begin with. Do not worry about the logic inside." Huo Yuhao shook his head.
In the original work's Tang Sect records, it was a treasure ground. But in his view, it was purely an Evil Place.
Not to mention the Abstract rewards Qiankun Questioning Love Valley gave, just looking at its activation conditions revealed its Bloodiness.
Every time Qiankun Questioning Love Valley opened, it required the lives and blood of a pair of men and women who had betrayed love. (This was indeed the case in the original work. See Soul Land II, Chapter 352.)
In other words, it was a Blood Sacrifice.
If such a place were left in the world and exploited by others, the consequences could be imagined. According to the original work, the Holy Spirit Cult seemed to have used Qiankun Questioning Love Valley many times, each time capturing a couple or lovers to sacrifice. They would watch them betray their love between life and death, then use them as Living Sacrifices to open Qiankun Questioning Love Valley.
To call such a place a treasure ground was simply laughable.
"If that is the case, do you need my help?"
"No. I am only sending people to scout and carve some runes inside, and set up some soul tools. I will not enter myself."
Huo Yuhao said, his figure moving, arriving at the boundary of the virtual space.
Gu Yuena followed closely behind.
Standing at the boundary of the virtual space, Huo Yuhao recalled the materials Wang Hongchen had given him and searched for the passage established by Mingde Hall.
In this day and age, Mingde Hall naturally did not practice Blood Sacrifice.
Through research, Mingde Hall had long mastered Qiankun Questioning Love Valley's Spatial Coordinates. They had even built this different dimension based on it, so naturally, they had other ways to enter Qiankun Questioning Love Valley.
This derived different dimension had a gateway leading to Qiankun Questioning Love Valley. Although opening it required a large amount of spatial power, compared to Blood Sacrifice, it was apparently nothing.
"The gateway."
"It is here."
Huo Yuhao raised his hand. As his spirit power surged, the originally chaotic space suddenly split open, revealing a gateway. It was silver white, with faint light at its edges. It was precisely the stable passage built by Mingde Hall.
After finding it, Huo Yuhao did not immediately use the authority Wang Hongchen had given him to open the passage. He first made preparations.
This passage allowed entry but not exit. After all, Qiankun Questioning Love Valley's rules could even restrict a Limit Douluo. Without completing the Questioning the Heart and Adventure stages inside, one could not leave. Of course, there was one exception, those who, like the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder, were too old and had no emotional entanglements, and were exempted from the trial.
And such a person.
Huo Yuhao indeed had one.
The Seven Old Demons were once again forced to work overtime, looking at Huo Yuhao expressionlessly.
As thousand year old demons, their past loves and hates had long since vanished. Now they were only souls, even more in line with Qiankun Questioning Love Valley's exemption conditions than the Holy Spirit Cult's Grand Elder.
However, just in case, he decided to screen them.
"Those of you who are not lovers, step forward."
The seven stepped forward in unison.
Huo Yuhao said, "..."
As the Shrek Seven Devils, not a single couple among them. You did not inherit the tradition. No wonder you became cannon fodder.
"Then Nightmare and Destruction, you two first."
Huo Yuhao came before the two old demons and placed additional measures on them, such as restrictions that would cause their spirit bodies to self-destruct if they tried to reveal certain information or if their souls were searched.
The Seven Old Demons did not know much about him, but since he planned to do some probing, it was better to set some restrictions.
After doing all this, Huo Yuhao carved some special runes and gave some soul tools to the two.
"Go in and carve these runes into the void."
These runes and soul tools could make fine adjustments to the spatial structure, accelerating his progress in merging and refining Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, and preparing in advance for the eventual devouring of it.
Speaking of which, this had a sense of Deja vu.
Arranging runes, refining a "realm." He was actually an Emperor Sovereign?
This thought suddenly occurred to Huo Yuhao, and he found it somewhat amusing.
Then this "realm" was far too Petty.
A moment later, watching the two old demons enter the passage, Gu Yuena looked at Huo Yuhao and sent a telepathic message. "Yuhao, you set restrictions on them. Do you believe there may be deities inside?"
"Yes."
Huo Yuhao nodded. "Mingde Hall has not controlled Qiankun Questioning Love Valley either. The materials cannot be fully trusted. Sending them in to carve runes and place soul tools is also a way to probe. It is just a casual attempt. Success is welcome, failure is no harm."
"But would that not Alert the Enemy by Rash Actions?"
Gu Yuena glanced at the five old demons. "They are spirit bodies. It is too strange for them to enter Qiankun Questioning Love Valley."
"Mingde Hall has sent all sorts of things into it over the years for research. Spirit bodies are not that strange."
Huo Yuhao smiled. "Moreover, spirit bodies pose the least threat. Even a deity with only a trace of divine consciousness could easily control them. Precisely because of that, if there is a deity inside and something seems wrong, the likelihood of them appearing might be higher."
If they hesitated and deliberated even when facing a group of spirit bodies, then Huo Yuhao felt that the deity inside was not a Douluo divine realm deity.
Douluo deities were not that cautious. There were too few Old Schemers.
It was a vast lake surrounded by mountains. The water was clear to the bottom. The most peculiar thing was that it was actually gold and silver in color.
In the center of the lake, a round patch of golden water emitted an intense golden light, like a warm sun. Next to it, a crescent shaped silver lake leaned against it, emitting a soft silver glow. The sun and moon shine together, coexisting in one lake.
Nightmare and Destruction Old Demons had just appeared here when they got to work without delay, arranging runes and setting up soul tools according to Huo Yuhao's orders.
They encountered nothing unusual along the way. But before they could finish setting up, a voice sounded in their ears.
"Spirit bodies only. Age too great. No need to undergo True Heart Adventure. No possibility of love. No reward. Permission to leave."
"..."
Was this place discriminating against them?
Nightmare Old Demon's face darkened. Before they could react, they were thrown out of Qiankun Questioning Love Valley.
Huo Yuhao was not surprised. He sent the next group of old demons in.
Their advantage in such a situation was not having to endure the trials or pay the price. The disadvantage was that they would be kicked out before long.
But that was fine. Qiankun Questioning Love Valley would not set a blacklist and ban entry, nor would it throw out what was placed inside. They could just enter repeatedly.
Mingde Hall had used the same method to study Qiankun Questioning Love Valley's space.
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, several dozen days had gone by.
While Huo Yuhao was preparing to refine Qiankun Questioning Love Valley, the Federation selection battles were also becoming increasingly intense.
After the competition points, even Limit Douluo had participated, and they were unfamiliar to the general public.
As for Yun Ming, Duoqing Douluo, and the others, they naturally would not participate. Their identities were too sensitive. Like Guan Yue, they were unsuitable to become War Temple Master. If they took the position, thinking of Shrek's past, it would give the public a sense of hidden promotion, which would not be good.
And while the selection was in full swing, Huo Yuhao's side also encountered an unexpected development.
"The restrictions I set have been erased?"
Huo Yuhao's gaze condensed, his brow furrowed tightly.
During this time, he had felt like he was competing with thin air. He had not expected
there to actually be a problem here.
To erase his restrictions, the spiritual power level would need to be at least higher than his current level.
In other words, it was the Divine Origin realm.
"Mingde Hall's monitoring of this space is very thorough. It could not be Da Ming, Er Ming, or the others. Then, who could the existence inside be?"
***
Dive deeper into the story with 30+ advance chapters, available now on Patreon!
patreon.com/CNBLUE
If you're enjoying the novel, please consider leaving a review. Your support is crucial and helps the story grow immensely. Thank you!
(End of Chapter)