After reviving the Blazing Emperor and sending the Spirit Emperor away with him, the Abyss Saint Lord closed his eyes and once again extended his consciousness to the Douluo Continent, intending to contact the Demon Emperor and give some instructions.
But to his surprise, after scanning, he couldn't find the Demon Emperor's trace at all.
The Abyss Saint Lord opened his eyes, frowning slightly.
Clearly, the Demon Emperor had run into trouble—likely encountering an accident while helping them break the seal.
"Never mind. There are still a few Possession Demons left—enough to serve as communication channels with the Holy Spirit Cult."
He didn't investigate the Demon Emperor's whereabouts further.
An Emperor-level existence was no longer of much use to the current situation. If a piece was lost, replace it with another.
So what exactly had happened to the Demon Emperor, whom the Abyss Saint Lord had overlooked?
This matter had begun several hours earlier.
Upon receiving Huo Yuhao's notice and learning of the Blood God Legion's crisis, the War Heaven Douluo had rushed over without rest.
And he hadn't come alone—accompanied by a contingent of War Temple experts, including the new War Temple Temple Master, Rong Tianling.
In midair, the War Heaven Douluo turned to Rong Tianling beside him. "Thank you for your assistance, Temple Master."
Before he could finish, Rong Tianling waved her hand.
"This involves the Abyss and the Holy Spirit Cult—it's not your concern alone. No need for thanks. Instead of pleasantries, think about how to awaken the Heaven Favored Douluo."
On this matter, the War Heaven Douluo wasn't worried. "Lord Huo Yuhao has already given me the means to deal with the Possession Demon. I'm not concerned about that. What I worry about is what happens after my teacher is rescued."
He stopped, not continuing.
But Rong Tianling and the other War Temple members understood his concern.
Once the Possession Demon was eliminated, the Heaven Favored Douluo would have to face the "cruel" reality:
The aftermath of knowing he'd helped the Holy Spirit Cult—the fear and guilt; the academy he'd devoted his life to destroyed for treason; and most absurdly, his wife having cuckolded him during his absence.
Learning all this, even a Limit Douluo like the Heaven Favored Douluo might not be able to bear it.
He might fall into depression on the spot.
In silence, the group quickly located the Demon Emperor and his group of Title Douluo using the coordinates provided by the Blood God Legion.
At that moment, the Demon Emperor, lying in ambush fifty li from the Blood God Legion, spotted these unexpected visitors and his expression changed.
Why were War Temple experts here, and heading straight for them?
He didn't think they were just passing by.
But it didn't make sense.
If the Blood God Legion, suspecting sabotage due to the Abyss Passage anomaly, had sent out scouts and eventually found them, that would be understandable.
But the ones who came were the War Temple—who shouldn't be here—and they'd sent both the Temple Master and Deputy Temple Master, plus several War Gods. That was very suspicious.
The Demon Emperor had a sinking feeling he'd been set up.
His expression darkened.
Besides using the contingency the Saint Lord had placed through him to open the Abyss Passage, he'd brought these Holy Spirit Cult Title Douluo for another purpose: to have them break into the Blood God Grand Array and further destroy the Blood God Legion's means of sealing the Abyss Passage.
The Blood God Grand Array, specifically designed to counter the Abyss Passage, could harness the power of the plane and was arguably the Douluo Continent's most advanced formation. However, because it fundamentally relied on the plane's rejection of the Abyss, it only barred outsiders—it posed little restriction on locals.
If these "human experts" could infiltrate the Blood God Legion's heart and act at the array's core, the Blood God Grand Array would collapse.
But now that the War Temple had them cornered, how could the plan proceed?
Seeing that the War Heaven Douluo and Rong Tianling's auras had already locked onto the area, with the War Gods spreading out to cut off all escape routes, the Demon Emperor frowned and finally shouted:
"Scatter and break out! Whoever can escape, escape!"
Without hesitation, the Holy Spirit Cult Title Douluo around him, who had been performing the sinister ritual, scattered in all directions.
The Demon Emperor himself chose a direction and fled quickly.
But the Heaven-Favored Douluo was a semi-divine, not a quasi-divine. Although the Possession Demon's innate talent meant that no quasi-divine could easily defeat him, his mastery of spatial arts still fell short of that of a quasi-divine.
So before long, the War Heaven Douluo caught up.
"Since that's the case, let's fight it out."
The Demon Emperor coldly eyed the War Heaven Douluo and Rong Tianling, who was covering him nearby, his face stern.
Just two quasi-divines—he didn't believe they could really do anything to him.
If you can break my defense, I'll admit defeat!
Without preamble, the battle erupted.
Two fiercely powerful spear intents collided in the void, a muffled thunder echoing between heaven and earth.
The Demon Emperor's spear intent crashed down like raging seas, wave after wave of overwhelming dominance, like a tyrant leading a million troops to crush all resistance.
But the War Heaven Douluo's War Heaven Spear was entirely different—sharp, pure, and unstoppable. Its silver-white spear light seemed able to pierce all things, tearing even the sky itself.
Clang!
Spears clashed, sparks flying.
A visible shockwave spread out from the point of impact, sending debris and deadwood flying hundreds of meters away, and causing even space itself to tremble violently.
"War Heaven Douluo, you still call this old man 'Teacher,' don't you? By blocking me today—are you trying to kill your master?"
Before the shockwave from their clash had faded, the Demon Emperor's words struck the War Heaven Douluo's heart like a poisoned dagger.
But Guan Yue remained unfazed, his spear intent growing even more concentrated.
Seeing this, the Demon Emperor's left hand became ethereal, using the Possession Demon's innate energy to neutralize Guan Yue's attack, and he continued, "Or are you trying to save this old man? All by yourself? You can't even wound me!"
The War Heaven Douluo said nothing, simply swinging his spear.
Among Limit Douluo, he was rated the most balanced and stable quasi-divine—steady in all situations.
He rarely created miracles, his cultivation never advancing as fast as his senior brother Yun Ming's, but it was always consistent, never giving opponents an opening.
So such words barely affected him.
Silver-white spear light rained down like a storm; Guan Yue's assault grew fiercer.
But the Possession Demon's innate mechanism was too formidable—he couldn't break through it.
Seeing the War Heaven Douluo's attitude, the Demon Emperor felt unease for no reason.
He didn't ignore it. He used his full power, his spear thrusting forward. In that instant, the Spear God realm manifested—his spear transformed again, as if it were the very principle of heaven and earth.
What was the Spear God realm? For spear practitioners, it was touching a hint of divine essence.
Man and god were ultimately different.
The moment this spear thrust out, heaven and earth changed color.
The air around them seemed to have been sucked out—all air currents, light, and even sound twisted, collapsed, and converged on the spear tip. The dark-gold spear became a black bolt of lightning connecting heaven and earth, carrying a destructive spiritual will straight toward the War Heaven Douluo's chest.
But the War Heaven Douluo was also a Spear God.
He could use similar techniques.
And his were stronger!
Guan Yue united his essence, energy, and spirit. A spear intent purer than the Demon Emperor's, closer to the great path, manifested from the War Heaven Spear. When it thrust forth, only this silver-white light seemed to exist in heaven and earth, grinding the Demon Emperor's attack to nothing.
The Demon Emperor narrowed his eyes, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. He offered no resistance—intending to use his innate talent to turn this power back on Guan Yue.
As a Possession Demon, though he was confident that the War Heaven Douluo and Rong Tianling could not wound him, he also found it difficult to harm powerful quasi-divines with his own power.
Turning the enemy's strength against them was the way to go.
But just as the Demon Emperor abandoned his defense and fully activated his innate talent, a golden light burst from Guan Yue and shot into him. A smile appeared on Guan Yue's face; the Demon Emperor's froze.
"What is this?!"
The Demon Emperor felt this power—absorbed along with the attack—enter his Sea of Spirit. A consciousness within it was awakening.
This was—
"Divine consciousness!" The Demon Emperor's expression changed drastically—he'd felt this power before.
He'd truly been set up.
Sensing danger, he immediately tried to temporarily withdraw from the battle and deal with that divine consciousness.
Though the divine consciousness that had entered him wasn't strong—with time, he could handle it—if two quasi-divines assisted it with their spiritual power, it would be difficult.
But escaping two quasi-divines, especially when they were prepared, wasn't easy.
"Trying to run?" Rong Tianling, who had been watching, suddenly struck, deploying a spatial seal to cut off the Demon Emperor's retreat.
At the same time, she produced a palm-sized soul tool from her robe—a jade-green plaque covered in mysterious runes, radiating dense, nearly tangible life energy.
Life Prison, a one-use soul tool specially made to restrain the Demon Emperor.
As Rong Tianling activated it, emerald light burst from the plaque, forming another massive barrier outside the spatial seal. The dome-shaped barrier enveloped the area within a hundred zhang. Its green walls flowed with runes, emitting an aura the Demon Emperor instinctively loathed.
Life energy was the natural enemy of Possession Demons. They detested it because they couldn't directly possess or utilize it—if humans wore life crystals imbued with concentrated life energy, Possession Demons would refuse to possess them.
Though for Possession Demons already inhabiting a host, they could use the host to absorb and neutralize such life energy, with life energy present, he couldn't break through the barrier using his Possession Demon abilities.
"You... deserve to die!"
The Demon Emperor's eyes nearly split. His dark gold spear thrust out, trying to break the green barrier. But how could Rong Tianling and Guan Yue let him succeed?
Blazing flames and the War Heaven Spear met it from both sides, shattering the purple-black spear light. The explosion echoed within the barrier, making the green walls tremble but holding firm.
The Demon Emperor considered lowering his defenses, using his innate ability to absorb their attacks and focus entirely on his Sea of Spirit. But they followed up with spiritual attacks, preventing him from influencing that strand of divine consciousness.
He was completely trapped.
By then, the divine consciousness had taken human form.
Him?!
The familiar figure shocked the Demon Emperor.
Huo Yuhao, awakening inside him!
Huo Yuhao's divine consciousness stepped into the depths of the Sea of Spirit and awakened the Heaven Favored Douluo's and his Spirit Soul's consciousnesses.
Instantly, a wave of rejection surged from the body's Sea of Spirit and every cell, like a rising tide, drastically reducing the Demon Emperor's power.
"Your race's abilities are certainly strong, but they're only possession, not devouring. So you must preserve the host's consciousness, soul, even his Spirit Souls. Otherwise, you couldn't use the host's intelligence and abilities—and that creates a fatal weakness."
In Huo Yuhao's view, the Possession Demons' abilities resembled the supernatural beings from Lord of the Mysteries who consumed magical potions—their power was more a usurpation, not truly their own.
Possession Demons were certainly strong after occupying human bodies, but they also had to resist "madness" and suppress the host's original consciousness. If something went wrong, their power would plummet, becoming something even a strand of his divine consciousness could handle.
And now, the Heaven Favored Douluo's consciousness had awakened within him!
The Heaven Favored Douluo's consciousness had been suppressed by the Demon Emperor for a long time, like a lamp covered by thick cloth, its flame barely flickering.
But the strand of divine consciousness Huo Yuhao had brought was like a breeze, blowing away the cloth and rekindling that flame.
"What happened to me..." A tired, aged voice echoed in the Sea of Spirit, then, recalling the possession experience, it turned to raging fury, "Damn the Holy Spirit Cult—allying with the Abyss Plane!"
The Heaven Favored Douluo's spiritual body appeared in the Sea of Spirit, the entire sea trembling—the body's true owner's most instinctive rejection of the invader.
The Possession Demon—the Demon Emperor's true form—was forced out of his consciousness, appearing as a purple-black spiritual body, collapsing in panic before Huo Yuhao and the Heaven Favored Douluo.
"You... you..." The Demon Emperor's voice trembled as he looked between them, a crushing despair rising in his heart.
The Heaven Favored Douluo's icy gaze studied him—decades of suppressed humiliation, the agony of being controlled against his will. He wanted to tear the Demon Emperor apart, but knew he couldn't.
"He's mine to handle now." Huo Yuhao's voice came from beside him.
The Heaven Favored Douluo was silent for a moment, then nodded, bowing solemnly. "Then I'll leave him to you, Lord. Thank you for saving me."
Huo Yuhao waved his hand, seized the Possession Demon, and vanished from the Sea of Spirit, appearing outside to meet the War Heaven Douluo.
"You two catch up."
Before the War Heaven Douluo could thank him, Huo Yuhao's divine consciousness spoke and disappeared with the Demon Emperor's body to the Undead Plane, leaving Rong Tianling, the Heaven Favored Douluo, and the War Heaven Douluo.
"You two talk. I'll handle the remaining Holy Spirit Cult members."
Rong Tianling glanced at them and left, giving them space.
"Thank you for your help, Temple Master." Guan Yue watched her go, then turned to the Heaven Favored Douluo.
For a moment, only the master and disciple remained on this broken wilderness.
"Teacher..."
After a long pause, Guan Yue opened his mouth, a thousand words stuck in his throat, finally emerging as a choked sob.
The Heaven Favored Douluo looked at his disciple's aged face, recalling their last meeting when Guan Yue had been a young, heroic man. His expression grew distant.
After a moment, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Guan Yue, how long was I controlled?"
He had no memory of the possession.
Guan Yue shuddered and said quietly, "Teacher, you've been missing for nearly a hundred years."
"I see... How are you and the academy doing?"
"Senior Brother and I are both well—we've both become quasi-divines. Senior Brother's spiritual power has even reached the Divine Origin realm." Guan Yue's heart leaped. He didn't know how to broach the topic of Shrek, so he decided to start with something that would interest his teacher.
As expected, hearing that Yun Ming had reached the Divine Origin realm temporarily diverted the Heaven Favored Douluo's attention.
"Is that so? The student surpasses the teacher. You've both surpassed me—though I anticipated that when I took you as disciples."
The Heaven Favored Douluo sighed. "I just didn't expect Yun Ming to touch the divine realm."
He didn't ask about Shrek—since Yun Ming had touched the divine level, what could have gone wrong?
They reminisced a little more, carefully avoiding Shrek and Long Yeyue.
Just as Guan Yue was about to ask how the Heaven Favored Douluo had been possessed, his teacher suddenly glanced toward Rong Tianling's direction.
"You called her Temple Master—she's the new War Temple Temple Master? Did Chen Xinjie retire? He's over two hundred now—about time. And she's a quasi-divine who emerged in the last century? Truly, the new generation surpasses the old."
Guan Yue: "..."
He'd tried to avoid the topic, and yet it came back.
But he understood—the Heaven Favored Douluo and Chen Xinjie were of the same generation; it was natural to be curious.
Knowing he couldn't avoid it, Guan Yue sighed and said heavily, "The Vast Sea Douluo defected from the Federation because of the Light and Dark Douluo."
The Heaven Favored Douluo's expression froze. He stared at Guan Yue with a face full of question marks.
"???"
He understood every word, but together they made no sense.
What did "Chen Xinjie defected from the Federation because of Long Yeyue" mean?
Chen Xinjie and Long Yeyue had indeed been lovers once, but Chen Xinjie had chosen to separate for the sake of the Federation, the military, and his family. He'd even married and had children. Now you're telling me he betrayed the Federation, his family, and the military—for Long Yeyue?
Then what was the point of their separation?!
Were they insane?
And Long Yeyue—she'd married him. Now you're saying that after he disappeared, she got involved with Chen Xinjie again? What did that make him? Just part of their flirtation?
The Heaven Favored Douluo felt his health declining, his face turning green.
But then he realized: if Chen Xinjie had defected because of Long Yeyue, that meant Long Yeyue had done something against the Federation.
As if reading his thoughts, Guan Yue—now with nothing to lose—told him everything: the Demon Emperor controlling him to steal Eternal Heaven, Shrek's destruction, Long Yeyue's death, the reincarnated deities...
The flood of information hit him like a tidal wave. The words "Shrek's destruction" struck like lightning, nearly making him black out.
The world felt so foreign he thought he was dreaming.
"Teacher..." Guan Yue looked at his teacher's ashen face, not knowing what to say.
The Heaven Favored Douluo raised a hand, signaling him to stop. He closed his eyes, looked up at the sky, his aged face full of exhaustion. After a long silence, he let out a low sigh.
"Let me... be alone."
Guan Yue opened his mouth, but didn't continue.
Actually, he still had one big revelation left.
Outside rumors said that Teacher and Long Yeyue had a child who died young. But according to some War Temple War Gods, that child was actually Chen Xinjie's—reliable information from Long Yeyue's thought manifestation before death.
(Note: In the original from Chen Xinjie's perspective, that deceased child was the Heaven Favored Douluo's and Long Yeyue's. But in others' eyes, it was the Heaven Favored Douluo's.)
Guan Yue didn't know whether Long Yeyue was pregnant when she married his teacher, or if the child had already died.
But in outside rumors, that child was attributed to his teacher.
If his teacher knew and accepted it... well, that was still hard to take. But it was better than unknowingly being cuckolded.
"I hope Teacher already knew about this back then, otherwise..."
Guan Yue sighed inwardly and swallowed his words.
He dared not say more.
Given his teacher's current fragile state, dropping the bombshell that "you might have been cuckolded" might really send him off on the spot.
(Long Yeyue, Chen Xinjie, and the Heaven Favored Douluo's relationship is such a mess. Long Yeyue, as the Heaven Favored Douluo's wife, kept thinking of another man. According to the original, it seems she never let him touch her. What was the point of marrying him? Just bullying an honest man?)
***
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