The emerald brilliance that had completely flooded the secluded glade slowly began to recede, drawing back into the massive, golden trunk of the Ancient Golden Tree like a retreating tide. The suffocating, impossibly dense aura of life energy that had saturated the very air began to stabilize, leaving behind an atmosphere that felt profoundly pure, crisp, and revitalized. In the center of this tranquil clearing, Zhang Tian slowly lowered his hands, the deep, rhythmic breathing of his newly formed Life Spirit Core resonating within the quiet confines of his lower dantian.
He opened his icy blue eyes, which now bore a faint, mesmerizing emerald ring around the pupils, and turned to look at the two women who had stood vigil over him for the entire agonizing day. Bibi Dong's beautiful face was etched with lingering lines of intense worry, her pink eyes sweeping over him to check for any hidden injuries. Beside her, Jin Xi was practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, her crimson eyes wide with innocent awe and boundless excitement.
Zhang Tian offered them a warm, reassuring smile, stepping forward to close the distance. He did not launch into a long, exhaustive lecture about the complex, microscopic agonies he had just endured, nor did he boast wildly about the sheer, heaven-defying magnitude of his power. He kept his explanation brief and precise, knowing that the dense, intimidating aura radiating from his body spoke volumes on its own.
"It is done," Zhang Tian stated smoothly, his voice carrying a new, deeply resonant timbre that seemed to hum in harmony with the surrounding forest. "The process was an absolute success. My martial spirit has completely evolved into the Blood Silver God, standing at the very pinnacle of the plant kingdom. And within my dantian, the Ancient Golden Tree has helped me forge a true Life Spirit Core."
He placed a hand gently over his stomach, feeling the autonomous, rhythmic pulsing of the emerald sphere within. "It is entirely self-sustaining. It cultivates autonomously, drawing upon the ambient life energy of the world without me needing to actively meditate. More importantly, it has perfectly harmonized the chaotic, conflicting attributes within my spirit. I am whole."
Bibi Dong let out a long, shuddering sigh of profound relief, the tension immediately draining from her voluptuous shoulders. She stepped forward, ignoring the dirt and moss beneath her expensive silk heels, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pressing her soft, heavy breasts against his chest.
"I was so worried, Husband," Bibi Dong whispered against his collarbone, her voice thick with genuine emotion. "The sheer volume of energy pouring into you... I feared your mortal vessel would shatter under the strain. You took a terrifying risk."
"A risk that yielded a divine reward, Dong'er," Zhang Tian murmured affectionately, wrapping one arm around her slender waist while reaching out with his other hand to pull the eager Jin Xi into the embrace. The golden-haired girl happily buried her face in his side, wrapping her arms around his waist.
"You feel amazing, Zhang Tian!" Jin Xi cheered softly, her voice muffled against his dark robes. "You smell like the deepest parts of the forest. Like the very dawn of the world. It is so warm and comforting!"
Zhang Tian chuckled, pressing a kiss to the top of Jin Xi's golden head, then turning to kiss Bibi Dong's soft lips. "Our primary objective here is complete," he announced, his gaze sweeping over the tranquil glade one last time to offer a silent nod of profound gratitude to the slumbering consciousness of the Ancient Golden Tree. "We have lingered in the core region long enough. We should leave now and return to the mansion. There is much research to be done, and I am eager to test the limits of this new foundation."
Bibi Dong nodded in agreement. She smoothly stepped back, her demeanor instantly shifting back to the regal, untouchable authority of a Limit Douluo. She raised her elegant hands, her vast spirit power surging to grasp the spatial coordinates of Crimson Zenith City.
However, entirely without Zhang Tian's knowledge, a profound, highly intense debate was actively raging deep beneath the very ground they stood upon.
Hundreds of meters below the surface, hidden within the sprawling, crystal-illuminated subterranean caverns near the true Lake of Life, the absolute rulers of the Star Dou Great Forest were engaged in a heated discussion. The Fierce Spirit Beasts had been actively, intensely monitoring Zhang Tian's entire interaction with the Ancient Golden Tree through their vast, collective mental prowess.
Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, stood in the center of the cavern. Her beautiful, gentle human form radiated a soft, soothing green light, but her emerald eyes were wide with a mixture of profound shock and overwhelming, desperate hope. She was the one who had been the most deeply touched by the raw, unadulterated truth in Zhang Tian's earlier words to the Golden Tree.
"We cannot simply let him leave without establishing a line of communication, Di Tian," Bi Ji pleaded, her melodious voice echoing off the cavern walls. She looked directly at the imposing, dark-robed figure of the Beast God seated upon his stone throne. "Did you not feel it? The Life Energy he just condensed within his body... it is fundamentally immaculate. It is even purer, vastly more concentrated than my own healing aura. It carries the direct, unblemished blessing of the planet's Life Core!"
Bi Ji clasped her hands together, her voice trembling with emotion. "He spoke of changing the laws of the world. Of ending the eternal, bloody cycle of our kind being hunted for rings. But beyond his grand ambitions, look at the immediate reality! That boy possesses a Life Spirit Core. He might even be able to help our Lord recover from her grievous, divine injuries. I know that at his current power as a mere Spirit Sage, he cannot do so directly. But if we reach out to him... if we secretly help him get stronger and protect his growth... then the Life Energy he cultivates should absolutely be able to help the Lord heal, especially if he successfully breaks through the mortal limits and becomes a god!"
She gestured passionately toward the ceiling of the cavern. "Besides, he already knows about the Imperial Auspicious Beast. He has kept her by his side for three years, and he hasn't harmed a single hair on her head. In fact, he cherishes her. Moreover, the Imperial Auspicious Beast's progress has been astonishingly quick as a human beside him. She is thriving, safe, and wildly happy. It wouldn't be wrong to trust him. We should formally invite him to the lake."
Xiong Jun, the Duskgold Dreadclaw Bear, let out a harsh, grating snort that sounded like boulders grinding together. He crossed his massive, heavily corded arms over his broad chest, his golden-brown eyes flashing with stubborn paranoia.
"You are letting your desperate hope blind your judgment, Bi Ji," Xiong Jun argued, his voice a deep, aggressive rumble. Surprisingly, however, he was not displaying his usual, blind, homicidal hostility toward Zhang Tian. Even the aggressive bear had been somewhat humbled by the sheer magnitude of the Life Energy he had just witnessed. "I am not saying we should rush up there and tear his head off. The boy has proven he is not a typical, greedy human butcher. But contacting him directly? Inviting him here?"
Xiong Jun shook his head vigorously. "It is still far too incredibly dangerous! He is intimately, dangerously close to an inheritor of a God. That woman standing beside him reeks of absolute, rotting malice and divine slaughter. Even if the boy himself is not inherently hostile to the Spirit Beasts, and even if he has actually, genuinely thought of a way for humanity to progress without needing our Spirit Rings or Spirit Bones... letting him, and by extension, that dark woman, meet with the Lord is an unacceptable risk. The gods are treacherous. What if she is a spy for the Divine Realm? What if her presence triggers a backlash that shatters the Lord's slumber and harms the Lord?"
Zi Ji, the Abyssal Demon Dragon, leaned against a crystal pillar, her violet eyes narrowed in thoughtful agreement. "Xiong Jun speaks with uncharacteristic wisdom," she murmured seductively, though her tone was deadly serious. "The boy is a beacon of miracles, yes. But he walks hand-in-hand with a walking dark god. We cannot expose the Lord's fragility to a woman wielding a divine artifact of slaughter."
All eyes eventually turned toward the throne. Di Tian, the Beast God, sat in heavy, contemplative silence. His golden eyes stared blankly at the cavern wall, his supreme intellect rapidly calculating the infinite, branching paths of destiny that Zhang Tian represented.
Finally, Di Tian let out a slow, measured sigh. He uncrossed his legs and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"You all speak valid truths," Di Tian announced, his deep, authoritative voice instantly commanding absolute silence in the chamber. He looked at Bi Ji, offering her a rare look of gentle understanding. "Bi Ji, your heart is pure, and your hope is justified. I admit... this human is not bad. In fact, among the entire, treacherous history of the human race, he is perhaps the only one whose existence I can genuinely tolerate. I would even be willing to secretly help him achieve his grand vision, for if he succeeds, our kind will finally know peace."
Di Tian's golden eyes then hardened, shifting his gaze toward Xiong Jun and Zi Ji. "But... endangering the Lord is absolutely not something I can do. It is the one line I will never cross. The Lord's safety supersedes all other ambitions, no matter how noble. Bringing a human who holds the favor of the planet's core, accompanied by a Limit Douluo bearing a dark god's inheritance, directly to her side is a gamble with stakes too great to thing about."
The Beast God stood up, his dark robes sweeping around his imposing figure. "So, for now, we will hold our positions. I wouldn't like to contact this human just yet. We will remain in the shadows. We will observe his rise to power from afar."
Di Tian looked up toward the ceiling, sensing the spatial fluctuations beginning to form as Bibi Dong prepared to teleport them away. "Well, considering that he has intimate acquaintance with two Limit Douluos who are both deeply related to Divinity, and he now possesses the absolute blessing of the Ancient Golden Tree... there shouldn't be anything in this mortal realm that can easily kill this human. So, I am not worried about this human's safety all that much. Let him forge his own path. When he is strong enough to stand against the heavens themselves without relying on the shadows of other gods, then perhaps... we will speak."
While the ancient rulers of the forest made their cautious, solemn decisions in the dark depths of the earth, an entirely different, infinitely more profound realization was occurring in a realm existing far beyond the mortal clouds.
High above the Douluo Star, existing in a dimension of unparalleled, breathtaking beauty and absolute purity, lay the Divine Realm. Specifically, within a sprawling, endless domain of vibrant, luminous forests, floating emerald islands, and rivers of sparkling, liquid starlight, resided the Goddess of Life.
The Goddess of Life, who was officially recognized as the Life God King and one of the five supreme, unquestionable rulers of the entire God Realm, was currently sitting within her magnificent, open-air pavilion woven from living, flowering vines. She wore a simple, yet incredibly elegant dress of flowing, pale green silk that perfectly matched the gentle, compassionate warmth radiating from her beautiful, flawless features.
Suddenly, her serene, emerald eyes widened in profound, unadulterated shock.
She stood up abruptly from her seat, dropping the divine, glowing flower she had been gently tending to. She pressed a delicate hand against her chest, right over her heart, feeling a massive, unprecedented tremor echoing through the very core of her existence.
This tremor was because her supreme God Position—the ultimate embodiment of life and creation in the universe—had actually, spontaneously prompted her about the immediate possibility of a worthy, exceptional successor appearing in the lower realms.
Initially, the Goddess of Life frowned in slight confusion. 'A successor?' she thought, her mind racing.
Usually, when her divine origin resonated with such sudden, intense strength, she assumed it was just another miraculous, primordial plant being born somewhere in the vast cosmos—a sapling that possessed the sheer, concentrated potential to eventually grow and become a Life Core among one of the newly forming Lower Planes. As an entity whose very origin was traced back to the Ancient Tree of Life, born directly from the fundamental, cosmic laws of Life and Creation, and as a divine plant herself, she was naturally, inextricably connected to the lifeforces of all supreme plants across the myriad realms.
And it was precisely for this deep, origin-based reason that her God Position had sensed a successor. It had detected a newly evolved species that suddenly possessed the unimaginably pure, unblemished power of Life, and even contained a tiny, miraculous bit of the elusive power of Creation itself.
Curious and somewhat excited, the Goddess of Life closed her beautiful eyes and immediately used her vast, omniscient Divine Sense to investigate the source of this magnificent tremor. Her consciousness sailed across the cosmic void, piercing the dimensional barriers and descending directly toward the Douluo Plane.
When she finally located the source of the resonance, her emerald eyes snapped open, a delightful, melodious gasp escaping her lips.
She came to know exactly who it was, and she was thoroughly, genuinely excited that it was actually a human residing in the Douluo Plane whose martial spirit had seemingly advanced and evolved just moments ago. This meant that it wasn't merely a mindless plant being born that would passively become a stationary Life Core of a plane, but rather a sentient, intelligent human being! She could finally, genuinely pass down her heavy God Position to a worthy successor and enjoy the infinite cosmos with her husband!
Eager to learn more about her potential heir, she decided to investigate this specific human a bit deeper with her divine sense through the lower realm. She bypassed the standard, superficial checks and peered into the tapestry of his recent life, utilizing her divine authority in the exact same, intimate way as the Ancient Golden Tree had done previously to see exactly who he was, what drove him, and if his fundamental nature truly matched with her own compassionate laws.
However, as the images of Zhang Tian's daily life, his interactions, and his private moments flooded into her divine mind, the Goddess of Life's elegant brows began to twitch slightly. Then, they twitched again, much more violently this time.
A bright, rosy blush of extreme embarrassment and profound exasperation painted her flawless cheeks.
She noticed, with glaring, undeniable clarity, that this handsome, brilliant human seemed to be quite a bit of a shameless, unrepentant philanderer! He was surrounded by a veritable pavilion of incredibly beautiful, voluptuous women, and he engaged in... well, highly frequent, extremely passionate, and shockingly bold romantic entanglements with almost all of them! She saw him kissing the golden-haired girl, aggressively spanking the two feline sisters, passionately ravishing the mature crimson-haired plant empress, enjoying the fiery temper of the dragon woman, and engaging in incredibly scandalous, intimate acts with the Supreme Pontiff who carried the Rakshasa God's foul taint!
"Good heavens!" the Goddess of Life squeaked, her face burning hot as she hurriedly shielded her divine eyes with her hands, peering through the gaps in her fingers with a mixture of shock and sheer, adorable disbelief. "He has... one, two... six? Seven lovers?! And he is so... so bold with them! He touches them everywhere!"
She puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms over her chest as she began pacing rapidly around her floral pavilion, her long green dress swishing angrily.
"This simply will not do!" she huffed cutely, muttering to herself like a scandalized maiden aunt. She internally, fiercely made up her mind right then and there. "If I bring this boy up to the Divine Realm as my successor, I must absolutely, strictly ensure that this human doesn't teach his terrible, shameless habits and bad things to Little Zi! What if he corrupts my Little Zi into doing bad things? What if he convinces Little Zi that taking other wives and concubines is a fun, exciting trend?!"
She stomped her delicate foot, a tiny shockwave of blooming flowers rippling outward from the impact. "Hmph! If Little Zi even looks at another goddess, I will personally pinch his ears off!" she declared, fiercely protective of her beloved husband, the terrifying Destruction God King, whom she affectionately called 'Little Zi'.
Anyway, after taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing, flustered heart, the Goddess of Life forced herself to look past the boy's ridiculously expansive love life. As a God King, she needed to evaluate his true core, not just his bedroom habits.
Other than being a shameless philanderer who clearly enjoyed the voluptuous curves of his many women, she saw other, far more profound things about him. She saw his limitless, terrifying potential. She witnessed his calm, analytical personality in the face of absolute danger. She observed his fiercely protective nature; how he built a sprawling, impenetrable city in the frozen north solely to shelter his loved ones from the political storms of the continent.
And most importantly, she witnessed his recent, monumental interaction with the Ancient Golden Tree. She saw how it was actually the Ancient Golden Tree—a primordial entity she respected greatly—which had actively, willingly helped this human evolve his spirit and condense a Life Core, betting its own planetary destiny on his ambition.
She listened to the echo of his vow to the Golden Tree. She heard his genuine, deeply rooted desire to change the bloody laws of the world, to end the eternal slaughter of the spirit beasts, and to forge a future where humanity and nature could coexist without the need for butchery.
As the absolute kindest and most gentle God King among the five supreme rulers, she was incredibly, profoundly moved. She was very happy to see a mortal wanting, and even actively, intelligently trying to resolve the tragic, endless matter of conflict between Spirit Beasts and humans on his plane. He wasn't just dreaming; he was building spirit tools and forging new paths to make it a reality.
A soft, brilliant smile replaced her previous frown. The blush faded, leaving behind an expression of absolute, radiant approval.
"He is flawed, yes. He is ruthless when he needs to be, and far too lustful for his own good," the Goddess of Life whispered softly, gazing down through the cosmic clouds. "But his heart harbors a grand, beautiful vision. He wishes to cultivate life, not just harvest it. He is worthy."
Finally, without any further hesitation, the Goddess of Life made up her mind to officially pass down her supreme God Position to this human.
Meanwhile, back in the mortal realm, standing in the tranquil glade of the Star Dou Great Forest, Zhang Tian had just finished speaking with Jin Xi and Bibi Dong. Bibi Dong had just raised her hands, preparing to warp space and teleport them back to the northern mansion.
Suddenly, the sky above them completely changed.
The dense, ancient canopy of the Star Dou Great Forest, which had blocked out the sun for millennia, seemed to simply vanish. A brilliant, awe-inspiring, and impossibly pure green light pillar pierced through the heavens, tearing through the clouds and descending with the speed of a falling star, directly targeting Zhang Tian.
"Zhang Tian!" Bibi Dong cried out, her eyes widening in sheer panic as she instantly summoned her Limit Douluo spirit power, throwing herself forward to shield him from what she perceived as a sudden, divine attack. Jin Xi gasped, summoning her Golden Dragon Spear in a flash of lightning.
But they were entirely too slow. The divine authority of a God King was absolute.
The moment the green light pillar touched the ground, time and space within the glade froze entirely. Bibi Dong was frozen mid-lunge, her face a mask of desperate terror. Jin Xi was frozen with her spear raised. The falling leaves hung suspended in the air. Only Zhang Tian, entirely enveloped within the warm, blinding emerald light, remained conscious and capable of thought.
This was not something harmful to him in the slightest. He felt no burning pain, no crushing pressure, no malicious intent. Instead, he felt a sensation of supreme, absolute comfort, as if he were being wrapped in the warm, life-giving embrace of the universe itself.
But it was something he had absolutely never anticipated, nor had he even dared to hope for in his wildest calculations. He had expected to fight the gods, to steal their power, or to forge his own path through sheer, bloody perseverance. He had never expected the heavens to simply open up and offer him a crown.
Suddenly, Zhang Tian heard a voice in his mind. It was a voice that sounded like a gentle breeze rustling through spring leaves, incredibly soothing and carrying an undeniable, supreme majesty.
"Zhang Tian of the Douluo Plane," the voice spoke to him, echoing in the depths of his soul. "Your potential is limitless, and your heart harbors the grand vision of creation. You have been chosen. Prepare yourself to undertake the Nine God Trials for the inheritance of the Goddess of Life God Position."
Zhang Tian stood paralyzed within the pillar of light. His brilliant mind raced. He was incredibly excited for some time; his heart pounded with the sudden, massive realization that he had just been hand-picked by a true deity. But as his intellect caught up with his emotions, he realized the profound implications of accepting an established God Position. Inheriting a position meant inheriting its pre-existing laws, its limitations, and its specific duties in the Divine Realm.
He didn't want to be a successor. He wanted to be a progenitor.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Zhang Tian finally mustered his absolute courage. He looked up into the endless green light and spoke aloud, his voice echoing in the frozen glade, respectfully begging the Goddess of Life if she could talk to him directly before forcefully commencing with the God Trials.
"O Great Goddess," Zhang Tian called out, bowing his head slightly in profound respect. "I am humbled beyond measure by your gaze. But before you bind my fate to your trials, I beg for a moment of your divine audience."
There was a brief, silent pause. The green light pulsed softly.
Then, a concentrated fragment of the Goddess of Life's divine sense descended directly into his Spiritual Sea.
Within his mental ocean, the Goddess manifested as a breathtakingly beautiful, radiant woman wearing a flowing green gown, her emerald eyes looking at his spiritual projection with a mixture of gentle curiosity and slight exasperation.
"You are a bold human to halt the descent of a divine inheritance," the Goddess of Life asked gently, her voice devoid of anger, sounding more like an indulgent mother dealing with a precocious child. "What is it that you wish to talk about, Zhang Tian?"
Zhang Tian remained deeply respectful, keeping his head slightly bowed. "O Great Goddess, I am profoundly grateful for your recognition. The power of Life is the most beautiful force in the universe. But, actually... I must confess my true ambition. I wish to attempt to forge my own path. I wish to create my own, entirely unique God Position."
He looked up, meeting her emerald eyes with absolute, unyielding determination. "I want to establish my own divine laws, not inherit them. I know the path of creation is unimaginably difficult, and I know I might completely fail and burn to ash in the attempt. So, I humbly ask... can you give me the time and the freedom to attempt it? Please, do not force these trials upon my soul just yet."
The Goddess of Life listened silently, her expression unreadable.
"Furthermore..." Zhang Tian continued, taking a massive gamble. "I will be actively helping my wife, Ah Yin, to evolve her origin from the Blood Silver Empress to the true Blood Silver Goddess when I am strong enough. Her new spirit will perfectly match the absolute quality of my own. She is the very embodiment of maternal love and vibrant life."
He bowed deeply, making his ultimate request. "If my wife could have the profound, miraculous fortune of acquiring your God Trials in my stead despite her origin as a Spirit Beast... I would be eternally grateful. Even despite her original origin as a Spirit Beast who has transformed into a human, her heart is pure, and she would carry your legacy with absolute, flawless grace."
The divine sense remained completely silent for a long, stretching period of time.
High above in the Divine Realm, the true body of the Goddess of Life was standing in her pavilion, absolutely, completely stunned to hear Zhang Tian's audacious words.
She was genuinely stunned that a mere mortal actually wanted to reject the guaranteed, supreme ascension and try to create his own God Position from scratch, despite having just been offered the highly coveted God Position of a God King like herself! After all, she was not just some minor deity of a lesser element; she, as a God King, was naturally one of the most powerful, unshakeable entities in the entire Divine Realm!
She blinked, tapping her chin with a delicate finger as a highly amusing thought crossed her mind.
She wondered cutely, a soft giggle escaping her lips, if it was entirely possible that this young, ambitious Zhang Tian actually didn't know the massive, astronomical differences between a powerful God King and the ordinary, run-of-the-mill Gods? That might very well be possible! He probably thought he was just rejecting a Second Class God or a First Class God position! If he truly knew he was rejecting the position as one of the strongest gods in the Divine Realm to 'try and make his own,' he would probably be weeping tears of regret right now!
But beyond the sheer, comical absurdity of his rejection, his words made the Goddess of Life incredibly, profoundly happy.
This Zhang Tian, despite his rampant philandering and his ruthless intellect, was genuinely thinking of his wife's future in the face of absolute, divine temptation. He actually wanted his own wife to acquire the supreme God Position that he himself had just acquired, completely prioritizing her ascension and safety over his own greedy desire of quickly becoming a god. He was willing to walk the impossible, deadly path of self-creation just so his beloved could have a safe, guaranteed path to the heavens.
It made her heart swell with warmth. It made her even more absolutely sure that she was right about choosing him, and by extension, his family. A man who loved that fiercely was a man who could protect the cosmos.
But since her chosen inheritor had made a formal, respectful request, she decided to respond to him with the grace of a true ruler.
A few minutes later, Zhang Tian heard the gentle, soothing voice echo once more in his Spiritual Sea.
"You are a foolishly ambitious, wonderfully kind boy, Zhang Tian," the Goddess of Life told him, her tone laced with warm amusement and deep approval. "Very well. I will grant your request. This God Position, the Seed of Life, will remain dormant within you. It will stay with you until you either fail your grand ambition and make up your mind to accept it yourself, or until you successfully decide to pass it to your lover when she finally meets the necessary physical and spiritual conditions for accepting her God Position."
The Goddess of Life smiled, a radiant expression that filled his mental ocean with blooming lotuses. "And as for the matter of your lover being born originally as a Spirit Beast... you do not need to worry. I do not mind it at all. Life is life, regardless of its original vessel. As long as your lover genuinely passes the God Trials and possesses a truly kind, compassionate heart, she shall be welcomed as my successor…I will make sure of it."
Zhang Tian felt a massive, crushing weight lift off his shoulders. He accepted her divine words solemnly, bowing deeply once more.
"I thank you with all my heart, Goddess of Life," Zhang Tian replied, his voice thick with genuine, profound gratitude. "I will not fail your trust."
"See that you do not," the voice faded, the divine presence retreating from his mind like a passing breeze.
Soon, the massive, brilliant green pillar of light illuminating the glade vanished completely, retracting back into the heavens as quickly as it had appeared. The frozen constraints of time and space shattered instantly.
However, the God Position of the Life God King did not leave him. It had manifested in the form of a small, glowing emerald Seed of Life, resting safely and quietly deep within the very center of his Spiritual Sea. It contained the dormant, watchful divine sense of the Goddess of Life, a supreme legacy which would only activate if Zhang Tian specifically asks her for activating the God Trial for himself, or in the future case where his lover Ah Yin's evolved spirit perfectly matches and triggers the God Trial.
With the light gone, reality snapped back into motion.
Bibi Dong completed her desperate lunge, her hands grasping empty air where the pillar had just been. She stumbled slightly, her pink eyes wide with frantic panic, before she realized Zhang Tian was standing perfectly fine, completely unharmed and smiling softly. Jin Xi blinked in confusion, lowering her Golden Dragon Spear as she looked around the suddenly empty glade.
Both women had been utterly paralyzed, unable to move a single muscle while Bibi Dong had sensed an immense, terrifying, and incomprehensible surge of divine energy and pure Life Energy radiating from that Pillar of Light.
"Zhang Tian! What was that?!" Bibi Dong demanded, rushing forward to grab his arms, her heart pounding furiously against her ribs. "That energy... it was divine! It was a God descending upon you! Did it hurt you?"
"I am perfectly fine, Dong'er," Zhang Tian chuckled warmly, wrapping his arms around her trembling form and kissing her forehead to soothe her panic. Jin Xi quickly joined the hug, burying her face against his back in relief.
Zhang Tian did not keep secrets from his inner circle. He calmly and clearly told them both about the monumental matter of the God Position descending upon him, and his subsequent negotiation with the deity.
The two women were really, profoundly surprised. Their jaws practically dropped as they listened to his casual explanation of talking directly to a descending God.
But they were even more shocked and completely astounded by the second half of his tale. They couldn't believe that Zhang Tian actually, willingly wanted to pass off this guaranteed, supreme God Position directly to Ah Yin, choosing to walk an infinitely more dangerous path simply out of love and grand ambition.
It truly was shocking to both of them.
After all, although Jin Xi was naive to the cosmic hierarchy and didn't know it was specifically a supreme God King's Divine Position—she only thought of it simply as a very powerful God offering him a prize—Bibi Dong knew the terrifying, absolute truth.
Just moments ago, while she had been frozen by the light, the fragmented Divine Sense of the Rakshasa God still lingering in her mind had been screaming in absolute, groveling terror. The Rakshasa God had frantically informed Bibi Dong that the aura descending was actually the personal, direct Divine Position of the Goddess of Life!
Bibi Dong knew the situation in the Divine Realm now. The Goddess of Life was not just a deity; she was one of the five supreme God Kings, an entity who could rightfully be considered one of the five absolute, unquestionable rulers of the entire Divine Realm! Furthermore, her husband was the God of Destruction, who was also a God King and another one of the five rulers. It meant this specific husband-wife duo was actually two of the five ultimate rulers of the entire universe!
To reject a God King's throne was an act of madness that defied all mortal comprehension. It was like a beggar refusing the keys to the imperial treasury because he wanted to try building his own bank.
Still, despite the sheer, overwhelming magnitude of what he had just casually deferred, Bibi Dong didn't say a single word of protest or criticism. She simply stared up at him, her pink eyes filled with an intoxicating, dizzying mixture of sheer awe, absolute submission, and burning lust.
She knew, with unwavering certainty, that her Zhang Tian must have had his own brilliant, flawless, and terrifyingly ambitious plans. If he believed he could forge his own God Position, then by the heavens, he would do it. And he loved Ah Yin enough to hand her the keys to the universe. It made Bibi Dong love him even more fiercely, realizing the depth of his devotion to his women.
"You never cease to amaze me, Husband," Bibi Dong whispered reverently, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
"Come," Zhang Tian smiled, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He took Bibi Dong's hand and wrapped his other arm around Jin Xi's waist. "Let us return to the mansion. I am incredibly excited to share this news of all that has happened today with Ah Yin and the others. Tonight, we celebrate."
Bibi Dong smiled, her spirit power flaring as she once again grasped the spatial coordinates. With a silent folding of space, the trio vanished from the glade, leaving the Ancient Golden Tree to resume its silent vigil over the world.
Meanwhile, deep in the dark, subterranean core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, a profound, terrified silence had fallen over the cavern of the Fierce Spirit Beasts.
The previous, cautious plan of Di Tian, Bi Ji, and the others to potentially, secretly contact Zhang Tian in the distant future was instantly, permanently shelved for now.
They had all felt the suffocating, transcendent descent of the God King's Divine Position over Zhang Tian. The sheer magnitude of the Goddess of Life's aura had pressed them flat against the cavern floor in instinctual reverence.
Now that Zhang Tian himself had officially become a recognized, chosen inheritor of a supreme divinity—and a God King, no less—they absolutely couldn't dare to approach him casually, nor could they ever risk letting him approach their slumbering Lord. The eyes of the God Realm were now firmly, undeniably fixed upon the red-haired youth.
They were initially a bit worried about the safety of the Imperial Auspicious Beast caught in the crossfire of that divine beam. But as they cautiously extended their senses, it seemed that the descending God didn't seem to have any intention of killing or harming the Imperial Auspicious Beast at all. Jin Xi's aura remained vibrant and completely untouched by divine malice.
This meant that she shouldn't be harmed by Zhang Tian's side, even with the gods watching. For Di Tian and the others, while they had lost any hope of directly utilizing Zhang Tian to heal their Lord, the fact that their Auspicious Beast was safe under the protection of a future God King's household was, ultimately, not a bad news at all.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels [Villain: Manipulating The Heroines Into Hating The Protagonist] and [Harem Master: Seduction System].
Also, check out 20 Chapters Ahead for this fanfic on my P.atreon.
P.atreon link: https://bit.ly/evildragon04