"Faith..."
After listening to this, the soul beasts felt completely bewildered; after all, the Power of Faith was truly something inaccessible at their level.
But overall, they understood one thing:
As long as they maintained their faith, the Ice God would eventually "return."
"My Lord," the Titan Snow Demon King spoke up. "By telling us this, aren't you afraid that we soul beasts of the Extreme North will renege on our deal?"
In the Titan Snow Demon King's eyes, since the Ice God needed their faith, and this human needed it too, there would be competition. Was this human not afraid of losing that competition?
"Will you?"
This rhetorical question showed Chen Junting's considerable confidence.
Actually, if they weren't soul beasts but humans, he absolutely wouldn't have laid all his cards on the table. He might have even concealed the truth, or directly fabricated plausible lies to confuse them.
But soul beasts were different.
Although he was also human himself and it wasn't nice to say, compared to cunning humans, soul beasts appeared exceptionally honest and pure.
To interact with them, one had to exchange true sincerity for true sincerity.
"My Lord, you are quite extraordinary."
After listening, the Titan Snow Demon King stared at Chen Junting for a long time.
After a long while, whether it was him or the other soul beasts of the Extreme North, all revealed solemn expressions. "My Lord, earlier I, the Titan Snow Demon King, promised that if you found the Ice God's relic, you would be our friend forever. From now on, we will honor that promise."
Good, good, good!
The Titan Snow Demon King's words left Chen Junting extremely satisfied.
It truly made the effort he had put in completely worthwhile.
He knew very well that even if the faith of the Extreme North was split evenly between him and the Ice God, the sheer volume contained within would still be exceptionally massive.
I've hit the jackpot!
His Heavenly Eye opened and closed as his gaze fell upon the Ice God's statue.
Ice God, my apologies.
"Just in time."
After retracting his gaze, Chen Junting suddenly said, "Didn't we say earlier that we needed to collect materials to set up two grand arrays? I think now, we don't even need to look for those array materials."
Hearing this, the Snow Emperor quickly caught his meaning.
"You mean borrowing the Ice God's temple to set them up."
"Exactly."
Although he didn't know what materials were used to construct the outer walls and other architectural parts of the Ice God's temple besides these paving ice crystals, they were surely no ordinary objects. It was just that due to the passage of too much time, some materials had likely already vanished.
"Furthermore, setting up the arrays here not only saves the materials I just mentioned, but it will also make the deployment much smoother. The power of the arrays will be formidable, and it will protect the safety of the temple."
Striking while the iron was hot, Chen Junting's words inevitably tempted the soul beasts.
Especially his final few sentences.
The stronger the arrays' power, the better it was for them naturally. Moreover, since there was hope for the Ice God's "return," the safety of the temple was obviously important.
"Alright, then we'll set them up here." After a brief discussion, the Titan Snow Demon King and the others made their decision.
Using the Ice God's temple as the core and the array's eye, they would lay down the Heaven-Deceiving Grand Array and the Guardian Grand Array. From now on, the area within a hundred-mile radius of the Ice God's temple would be the absolute core of the Extreme North, its status equivalent to the Great Ferocious Beast Zone of the Great Star Dou Forest.
While Chen Junting and the others were busy setting up the arrays at the Ice God's temple, the Tian Hun Empire's army had already securely stationed themselves in Extreme North City. Under imperial decree, they had also conscripted a large number of civilian laborers from several nearby cities that still had civilian populations.
After all, Extreme North City had suffered damage twice; its defensive fortifications were basically completely ruined. To redeploy the fortifications, they had to completely clear away the original ruins before rebuilding.
The Tian Hun Empire also intended to take this opportunity to make the defensive fortifications even superior. For example, thoroughly installing defensive soul tools into the city walls to strengthen their resistance against the outside world.
Seeing that Extreme North City was gradually getting back on track...
"Old Ye, I'll leave this side to you."
At this moment, Du Busi was preparing to leave.
When the beast tide erupted in the Extreme North, the moment he received the plea for help from the Tian Hun Imperial Family, he had rushed over without stopping.
Now that the beast tide matter was mostly resolved, and with Ye Xuanji, an Ultimate Douluo, stationed here, it was unlikely any more unexpected incidents would happen at Extreme North City.
Because of this, Du Busi naturally prepared to head south. After all, the Sun Moon Imperial Navy's whereabouts were unknown, and it was unclear when the naval battle between the Sun Moon Empire and the Tian Hun Empire would erupt. It was best for him, Du Busi, to go back and hold the fort. Besides, he was worried that the Sun Moon Empire wouldn't play by the rules.
Under the current situation, the Sun Moon Empire was at a disadvantage.
To avoid defeat—or even to achieve victory—in the war, the Sun Moon Empire would inevitably resort to every conceivable means to claw back the advantage.
Look, they had even thought of triggering a beast tide.
It was highly possible that the moment the war broke out, their Ultimate-tier combat power would personally take the field right away. If that really happened, relying solely on the strength of the Tian Hun Navy and the Body Sect members left to guard the area, they wouldn't have the slightest chance of winning. At most, they could hold the line for a bit.
But they could only hold the line for a little while.
It was precisely because of this that Du Busi wanted to head south.
Ye Xuanji naturally understood his concerns and nodded. "Go ahead. You, the Sect Master of the Body Sect, really have your hands full."
"Who asked my disciple's wife to be from the Tian Hun Imperial Family?" With that, Du Busi soared into the sky, turning into a streak of flowing light as he hurried toward the southwest alone.
As for that 100,000-year soul beast...
It had already perished of its own accord, leaving behind only a 100,000-year Soul Bone that Du Busi had collected.
However, what the southbound Du Busi didn't know was that he was already too late.
The Sun Moon Empire hadn't just deployed one Ultimate Douluo-tier combatant, but two. They had already destroyed thirty percent of the Tian Hun Empire's navy at the fastest possible speed, and had even breached three coastal cities in the vicinity, including Haibo City, continuing their advance.
Their goal was to seal off a section of the Tian Hun Empire's territory and use this land as a springboard for the future. Clearly, they intended to use this method to bring the flames of war to the Tian Hun Empire, rather than letting the war spread to the Sun Moon Empire's homeland.
...
"Who is it!? Since you're here, stop hiding in the shadows!"
During his journey, Du Busi came to a sudden halt.
His soul power surged around him, and his aura continuously radiated outward!
Swish—
A sound of piercing the air suddenly arrived.
The vigilant Du Busi's brow furrowed as he dodged to the side.
In an instant, a dark-red streak of light brushed past his side. It was brimming with killing intent, and the attack was incomparably sharp and piercing.
A strong one!
This thought had just flashed through Du Busi's mind.
Without hesitation, his Martial Soul instantly completed its attachment.
His short figure instantly expanded. Almost simultaneously, his left fist clenched, and leveraging his forearm, he violently smashed down at that dark-red streak of light!
Boom—
In an instant, that streak of light was reduced to dust.
Du Busi didn't pause for a moment. He fiercely twisted his waist, and that fist instantly swelled to the size of a water vat as he violently swung it out. That's right! He swung it out, just like a sledgehammer!
Boom—
Amidst the massive echo, a figure was sent flying backward as if shot out of a cannon. If an ordinary Title Douluo had taken this punch, they probably would have died on the spot.
But clearly, the person who took this punch was no simple figure.
Right at this moment, a bloody light appeared.
"So you're Du Busi."
As she spoke, a figure slowly walked out of the bloody light, appearing out of thin air before Du Busi. When she appeared, the surrounding air visibly distorted. All the bloody light seemed to be worshipping her, setting the stage for her arrival.
However, Du Busi completely ignored this theatrical entrance. Boom— Without a second word, he clenched his fist and smashed it out viciously!
The woman reached out with a claw. A surging wave of boundless blood transformed into a blood claw, directly catching Du Busi's punch. At the same time, her other blood claw slashed down, aiming straight for Du Busi's head.
Du Busi let out a cold snort, his body not moving an inch, as he fiercely slapped out into the void. Instantly, the entire sky seemed to shift with his palm's momentum, and violent winds suddenly howled.
Boom—
Fist and claw collided, and a terrifying shockwave violently surged!
A furious roar rang out as a dense, dark-green light shot straight into the sky, dyeing half the sky dark green. His body instantly swelled, multiplying in size by over ten times in the blink of an eye.
Following that, an attack fiercely blasted out!
At the same time, strands of blood souls condensed around the woman. Along with a dense dark aura that seemed to turn into black clouds, blotting out the sun, it directly stood in equal opposition to the dark green light in the sky.
For a moment, streaks of black light spread in all directions.
"I'll just call you 'Ye Xishui' for now. But to think you could ambush me with just one person. You're looking down on this old man too much."
His punch smashed down, causing ripples in the surrounding space.
However, "Ye Xishui" didn't care at all about Du Busi's words. Instead, her voice grew even colder, her tone even more bloodthirsty. "Du Busi, today, this place shall be your burial ground."
As her words fell, Soul Rings lit up one by one.
The next moment, "Ye Xishui" directly activated her Martial Soul True Body. At the same time, another Soul Ring instantly lit up.
Whoosh—
In the sky, terrifying blood permeated the air. Layer upon layer, a blood-colored aura resembling towering waves swept down from the heavens.
Seeing this, Du Busi decisively coated his already dark-green skin with a layer of golden radiance, forcefully taking on "Ye Xishui"'s Heaven-Overflowing Sea of Blood. At the same time, he was knocked out of the high altitude.
And below was a hilly terrain.
Just as Du Busi was about to counterattack, he paused. Even his gaze fell upon the hilly area below.
Because at this moment, Du Busi spotted a semi-circular metal dome on top of a mountain peak. This metal dome was about ten meters in diameter and entirely iron-gray in color. Whether it was day or night, it didn't look conspicuous at all. But the moment he saw it, even Du Busi felt a sudden palpitation in his heart.
Even though there wasn't the slightest fluctuation of soul power, the oppressive feeling emitted by this soul tool actually surpassed that of a Class-9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell.
"Du Busi, this is the gift I have prepared for you."
"Ye Xishui" waved her hand, and all the soul tools hidden in the surroundings lit up. However, these soul tools weren't for attacking, but for sealing the area, preventing Du Busi from leaving this range in a short time. He would have no choice but to forcefully endure the attack of the Death God soul tool.
That's right.
This soul tool was the Death God Pagoda!
(T/N: Sometimes also referred to as just the Death God)
The Death God soul tool was something "Ye Xishui" had obtained from the real Ye Xishui. It was hailed as the soul tool closest to a Class-10 soul tool.
And this soul tool had only one function—
To release a beam of Light of the Death God. Its attack range was five kilometers, and it could be fired high into the sky or blasted into the earth.
Moreover, what fascinated "Ye Xishui" was that the Light of the Death God emitted by the Death God soul tool was also known as the Light of Eternal Annihilation. As for the outcome of being swept by it... one could only say that there had never been any living being or material that continued to exist after being struck by it.
Even if you were a Title Douluo, you would be reduced to ashes.
Feeling this sense of palpitation...
Destroy it!
This soul tool must absolutely not be allowed to appear on the battlefield!
The moment this thought emerged, Du Busi decisively stopped his previous momentum and instead took a step directly toward the mountain peak.
He wasn't sure if this soul tool could take his life, but he knew for certain that it could absolutely take the lives of all Soul Masters below the Super Douluo level. Therefore, it could absolutely not be allowed to exist!
Almost simultaneously, from within the semi-circular shell, a conical soul tool slowly drilled its way out. This soul tool was entirely dark-red. The moment it appeared, a terrifying fluctuation of soul power continuously spread out, even causing Du Busi to feel a sharp, piercing pain originating from his spiritual power and his very soul.
This soul tool absolutely had to be eliminated!
The next second, from the towering dark-red spire, a pale-white beam of light shot out like lightning, aimed directly at Du Busi. In reality, this white light was also mixed with an unremarkable dark power.
This beam of white light was as thick as a water vat. It didn't look like it possessed any magnificent aura, and its color was a pale white. But the moment it appeared in the air, it had already transformed into a pillar of light several kilometers long, sweeping horizontally across.
The instant it appeared, time itself seemed to freeze. Wherever it passed, space was completely sliced open, yet it didn't produce the immense suction force that generally occurred when the air was torn apart, as if another dimension had been completely cowed by it.
The feeling this gave Du Busi was like facing the Beast God Di Tian in a fit of rage. It seemed... seemed... to be not inferior in the slightest.
The speed of this Light of the Death God was simply too fast. Like a flash of lightning, it arrived in an instant, reaching right in front of Du Busi.
At the exact same moment, Boom—
A mysterious explosion suddenly detonated high up in the sky!
Immediately after, the aftermath of the explosion, intertwined with the Light of the Death God, violently spread out in the high altitudes of this battlefield.
By the time the explosive aftermath dissipated, the battlefield at this moment looked as if a rag had been wiped across the sky. Wherever the white light passed, everything was reduced to nothingness. Even the soul tools positioned in front of the white light to prevent Du Busi's escape were completely obliterated.
Even Du Busi was nowhere to be seen at this moment.
"He escaped?"
"Ye Xishui" revealed her figure, looking somewhat disheveled.
It turned out that at the very last second, Du Busi had made the ruthless choice to detonate a Class-9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell to stop her from making her move.
Then, Du Busi seized the opportunity, using the two massive attacks to destroy the restricting soul tools, and fled far away. As long as there was an opening, and when the difference in strength wasn't too great, every Ultimate Douluo had their own methods; escaping wasn't impossible.
Therefore, "Ye Xishui" could still accept this outcome. Besides, the current Du Busi, even if not dead, was half-crippled.
However...
"What a pity."
"Ye Xishui" landed next to the Death God soul tool.
If she had enough vengeful spirits, she could have completely eradicated Du Busi.
But earlier, to help the members of the Holy Spirit Cult increase their strength, a large portion of the accumulated vengeful spirits had already been used up.
They could only replenish them during the war to come.
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