Sunset Forest
What remained of the battlefield was a vast crater, its edges still glowing faintly as if scorched by the remnants of divine authority. The earth had collapsed inward, trees reduced to ash, and even the air itself seemed warped, unable to recover from the clash between two beings that did not belong to the mortal realm.
Qian Renxue lifted her hand casually.
With a simple wave, the floating dust, shattered stones, and lingering shockwaves were swept aside.
Before she could even fully turn—
Whoosh!
A harpoon of condensed divine energy tore through the air, aiming straight for her throat.
Her golden figure blurred.
Qian Renxue twisted her waist with flawless precision, the harpoon grazing past her cheek and embedding itself into the far end of the crater, detonating with a dull roar.
Poseidon staggered slightly as he emerged from the dust.
His figure was no longer stable. The vast oceanic aura around him flickered, his outline blurring as cracks of pale blue light appeared along his divine projection.
He had consumed far too much of the stored divine energy contained within the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
Yet his expression remained smug.
"Girl," Poseidon said slowly, his voice echoing unnaturally,
"let me teach you something."
His eyes gleamed with a cruel, lecherous light.
"Divine beings can brand mortals."
He took a step closer.
"Once branded, a mortal's fate, soul, and lif…belong entirely to that god."
Before Qian Renxue could move—or rather she bothered to—Poseidon smiled widely.
His divine consciousness surged forward.
Like an invading tide, it pierced through the outer defenses of her soul and directly plunged into her Spirit Sea.
Qian Renxue did not resist, she merely smiled.
---
Poseidon's laughter echoed triumphantly.
"Hahaha! Just wait—after the branding is complete, you'll become obedient."
But almost instantly—His laughter faltered.
Something was wrong, very wrong.
This was not a mortal's Spirit Sea.
Instead—
There was boundless darkness all around .
Then—
As if the clouds of chaos parted, a vast shadow emerged.
A presence so immense that Poseidon's divine consciousness instinctively recoiled.
Qian Renxue's voice echoed—not from a single direction, but from everywhere.
"It was my plan to allow you to enter my Spirit Sea."
Poseidon sneered, forcing himself to stabilize his divine form.
"You think too much, mortal."
His halberd materialized in his hands, divine runes spreading along its shaft as he poured his remaining authority into it.
"A god's mental brand—once placed—cannot be undone inside a Spirit Sea."
The darkness shifted. The shadow grew clearer.
A pair of eyes opened.
Qian Renxue's voice followed, accompanied by a faint, mocking smile.
"That logic only applied…when facing mortals."
"Tell me, Poseidon," she asked softly,
"since when is a Level 100 existence considered mortal?"
Poseidon froze. Only then—did he realize—he seemed to have ignored something.
When he first saw her…he had sensed her cultivation…at Level 100.
Cold realization struck him like a tidal wave.
'Then why…Why did I ignore something so fundamental?'
His thoughts spiraled.
'A being at Level 100… already stands at the threshold of godhood. And must possess a spiritual sea of Divine Origin realm which cannot be branded like a mortal'
For the first time since the consciousness of a God in the mortal world…realized—
He was not the hunter... but a prey.
Qian Renxue form appeared beside him and she smiled gently
But to Poseidon, that smile was the opening of hell.
An invisible ripple spread through the entire Spirit Sea.
Mental Plague, Followed by—
Mind Dragon's Breath.
Poseidon screamed.
His halberd shattered into fragments of light, his divine conciousness dissolving like foam beneath an overwhelming tide.
Then came—Hypnosis.
Layer upon layer, like chains woven from thought itself, wrapping around his fading awareness.
Qian Renxue's voice echoed calmly through.
"You know," she said softly,
"I took my time because I needed to willingly step inside, afterall, I don't know if you can transfer memories to you original body. However, here I am sure you cannot accomplish this."
Every word she had spoken. All of it had been preparation.
The divine consciousness of the Sea God began to whittle away, flaking apart like a corroded statue exposed to relentless waves. His remaining will struggled weakly, no longer capable of resistance.
At the final moment—
When his consciousness hovered at the edge of complete annihilation—
Qian Renxue reached out and captured it.
The last fragment of Poseidon's divine intent was sealed, trembling like a dying star trapped within a golden lattice.
Qian Renxue observed it with faint curiosity.
"Such good experimental material," she murmured thoughtfully.
"I can test some of my holy-undead magic on it."
At that moment, two figures emerged within her Spirit Sea.
One was vast and ancient, wrapped in silent majesty—Electrolux.
The other shimmered with pale golden light, his massive body coiling nervously—Tianmeng Silkworm.
Tianmeng spoke first, his voice still trembling.
"I was… really scared at first when he entered your Spirit Sea."
He shuddered.
"However, I felt relieved when I realized he couldn't see us. That's when I understood—you had already done something to him."
Qian Renxue merely smiled.
'This is just hypnosis combined with psychological cues...with a touch of manipulation.'
Electrolux remained silent for a moment before speaking in his calm, grave tone.
"Do not take unnecessary risks," he said.
"When danger can be resolved easily, courting it serves no purpose."
Qian Renxue turned toward him. Her smile widened slightly.
There was something dangerously unhinged in her expression.
"Teacher," she replied softly, don't you think… the thrill of risk carries a charm of madness?"
Tianmeng Silkworm stiffened.
His instincts screamed at him to retreat.
Electrolux's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
For an instant—A faint golden light flashed deep within them.
He said nothing more.
(Author notes: So Qian renxue is a manipulator who is too cautious to even face a divine consciousness. The reason why she did not use all her power earlier was, one she wanted to train her swordmanship while fighting an equally strong being and second she was not sure whether Posiedon had any way of transfer her combat information if he was killed directly. At the end of the fight she took the remaining soul as an experimental material concluding that the divine consciousness does not have any way to pass information)