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--- Chapter 407 ---
"Thunder God's Temple?" Han Yuan studied his surroundings in confusion before looking down at the Purple Gold token in his hand. "This thing is actually the key to the Thunder God's Temple?"
"But I heard that the Thunder God's Temple had long drifted away from the Douluo Divine Realm and now floats in god knows where."
"Regardless, since the God of Destruction gave me this token, there must be something special about this temple."
Strictly speaking, it wasn't Han Yuan's own physical body that entered the Thunder God's Temple, but actually his mind. Suddenly, he noticed a fleeting white light in the corner of his eye.
Han Yuan frowned slightly. "A spirit?"
"Nah, how can there be a lingering spirit here?"
He followed the trail of the fleeting white light and arrived at a grand hall made of the same Purple Gold metal used to make the Thunder God's Token.
The fleeting white light Han Yuan noticed turned out to be a white-furred lion releasing faint sparks of white electricity. It walked toward a giant throne made of countless blades and lay silently near the footrest.
The white lion unexpectedly opened its eyes, revealing a pair of wild yet majestic golden irises.
"Familiar scents of lightning..." The lion said, not speaking aloud, but the surrounding lightning responded to its presence, creating an indifferent voice.
"You're... Thunder God's heir."
"The new throne holder, I see."
"But you're not ready yet," The lion sighed, narrowing its gaze.
"Come back when you truly comprehend the Path of Lightning."
After hearing that, Han Yuan found himself returning to the Samsara Isle of Paradise.
"Holy shit! At least tell me more..." Han Yuan shouted while looking down speechlessly at the Thunder God's Token, which had disappeared into the Thunder God's mark on his forehead.
Then, Han Yuan's lips twitched in frustration. "Isn't it too cliché to just say 'you're not ready yet' and 'come back when you're ready'? For goodness' sake!"
Han Yuan tapped his forehead helplessly. "Acting so mysteriously, aren't you just a big cat?"
If Han Yuan wasn't mistaken, the white lion was the close companion of the Thunder God—the 1st Class Beast God, the Heavenly White Lion King.
In the brutal war between Beast Gods and Human Gods, the Heavenly White Lion King chose to side with the Thunder God and mysteriously vanished after the Thunder God's fall.
Nevertheless, since Han Yuan found the Heavenly White Lion King in the Thunder God's Temple, it was clear the God of Destruction had been protecting it all along.
Asura God was probably worried that the Heavenly White Lion King would expose something about him—something the God of Destruction could use.
Nevertheless, Han Yuan couldn't recall any appearances of the Heavenly White Lion King in the later series of Douluo Dalu.
"Wait..." Han Yuan then remembered that the God of Destruction and the Goddess of Life had sacrificed themselves to protect the Douluo Divine Realm from Space-Time Turbulence.
After their sacrifices, their godhood fell into the hands of Tang San, who later passed it to his son, Tang Wulin, and his unfortunate daughter-in-law, Gu Yuena.
The Heavenly White Lion King was likely still drifting in the vast universe alongside the Thunder God's Temple by then.
If Han Yuan's bold speculation was correct, then the fate of the Heavenly White Lion King was rather grim—just like the fates of the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction.
As expected, nothing good happens when you stand on Tang San's side. Han Yuan shook his head gently. "Sigh, let's not dwell on that thief."
"I can't punish Tang San too much anymore, because the Asura God will definitely get defensive over his precious heir."
"But monitoring that guy is a different matter." With that in mind, Han Yuan calmly summoned the Purple Silver Ruin Monarch and operated one of its willowy branches to access all the plants' connections in the Douluo Plane.
This 'connection' could break space and time, easily ignoring any barriers—even dimensional ones—as long as it was within Han Yuan's influence and sense.
When Han Yuan opened his eyes, he saw Tang San sitting under a thorny-looking rafflesia surrounded by countless bloody threads. He gazed at the abnormal-looking grass in Tang San's palm and commented, "Red Silver Slaughter Grass? No, Emperor, huh?"
"Tsk, tsk, what dense killing qi. Just how many lives has this fellow taken in the past few months?"
"And instead of following the original poison path, this guy's martial soul has evolved into a blood and slaughter path—what a twisted approach to unorthodox cultivation."
"I guess this is what happens when Ah Yin takes Blue Silver Emperor's bloodline away."
"That guy, Xiaogang, must be furious because Tang San changed the direction of his cultivation for his first martial soul."
"Oh well, he can also cultivate two paths at once."
Tang San's Red Silver Slaughter Emperor seems to be a grotesque version of the Blue Silver Emperor.
The grass has transformed drastically. It's no longer ordinary grass but has evolved into curling, thorny vines with sharp-edged leaves. Gone is the gentle and vibrant vitality of the Blue Silver Emperor. Instead, these vines now possess a demonic, blood-red hue.
Han Yuan sensed Tang San's aura and chuckled, "Surprisingly, Tang San has reached the Spirit King realm in his cultivation."
"He must have devoured all the lives within five miles."
"Asura, oh, Asura, aren't you concerned that your dear successor has an unstable foundation?"
"How could the future Godking Tang San achieve a profound Dao with such a shaky foundation?"
"Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"
"Well, jokes aside, Asura really provides cheats for Tang San. His spirit ring configuration already exceeds the standards."
"Yellow, purple, purple, black, black? Not bad."
"Wait, he copied me? Nah, that can't be, right?"
"Fortunately, Asura can't overwrite the first two spirit rings and spirit bones that Tang San has absorbed. All he could do was improve the existing spirit skills and the age of the spirit rings."
"The origins of these spirit rings have become too tied to Tang San's martial soul due to the workings of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, so flushing them out would be harmful to him."
The 'gift' Han Yuan left for Tang San is a spider's hair-like spirit bone that was 'perfectly' absorbed by his face.
Under Asura's influence, it has transformed into erratic crimson tentacles that cover his face like a mask. However, it is such a hideous mask that even children would cry at the mere sight of it.
Not far away, Han Yuan also spotted Tang Hao protecting Tang San from the shadows.
However, Tang Hao's current appearance was different from the Clear Sky Douluo everyone knew, as the double attacks from Dugu Bo and Ah Yin had changed everything. People would hardly recognize him now.
Tang Hao's hair is now white, and he appears very skinny, almost like skin stretched over bones, with a nonexistent right arm. His blood and qi are very erratic, leaving only a few sparks of vitality.
In fact, the only thing keeping Tang Hao alive is the hidden Asura's Divine Force within his Death God's Domain and his will to protect Tang San.
To Han Yuan, Tang Hao now resembles an undead—a zombie tormented by the pain of aging and decay but forced to live by Asura to become Tang San's bodyguard.
As unfortunate as it is, a man like Tang Hao deserves such a fate!
"I can't attack you directly, but who says I can't do it indirectly? The path of cultivation is a way against heaven, isn't it?" Han Yuan chuckled as he let thunderclouds gather above Tang San.
He did this as naturally as possible, allowing some spirit beasts to battle and generate enough heat for clouds to form and rain to fall in the area.
The fact is that he made it so good that even gods would think it was a coincidence, but it wasn't. Even then, even Asura God would think Tang San is simply unlucky because his luck has been falling recently.
"Tsk, tsk, cultivating such an evil technique. Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning, Tang San?"
Then, the sound of thunder echoed in the area as Han Yuan withdrew his senses.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHHHHHHH!"
"NOOOOOOOO! XIAO SAN!"
All that remained was the sound of a blood-curdling scream and Tang Hao's panicked shout.
.
.
Meanwhile, Han Yuan's mind returned to the Samsara Isle of Paradise and summoned everyone to his side. Ah Yin threw herself into his arms and wept, worried about him.
"Ah Yin, I am fine," he smiled, feeling in a good mood after punishing Tang San a little.
"Mm." Ah Yin buried her face in his chest. The warmth of his body made her comfortable. Her panicked heart is gradually at ease.