In the heavily guarded treasure vault of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, at its very center, Bo Saixi appeared silently. The vault was brightly lit, but even treasures that would have stirred the hearts of any aristocrat or mighty noble caused not a single ripple in the sea-blue eyes of the goddess.
"Strange..." Bo Saixi frowned a little, murmuring to herself. "Just as the Sea God foretold, there is nothing here resonating with the relic." As she spoke, her right hand rose, gently rolling up the wide sleeve. On the inside of her wrist was a clear, pale gold trident emblem, glowing with a soft, stable light—yet there was no pulse, no abnormal burning within it.
"The Sea God Trident isn't reacting either..." Bo Saixi's frown deepened, her beautiful face tinged with confusion.
"According to the Sea God's clear revelation, the Sea God's Heart should be at the very core of the Heaven Dou royal family. When I get close enough, as the core component of the artifact, it should inevitably resonate with the Sea God Trident, but here..."
She swept her gaze over the rows of shelves, suspicion sprouting in her mind.
"Could it be...the Sea God's Heart isn't here? Was it moved?" Bo Saixi's eyes finally penetrated the thick vault walls, falling upon the emperor's bedchamber. If within the palace, there was a place even more secret than the imperial treasury where the most important secrets could be hidden, it could only be the emperor's own quarters.
"It looks like...I'll have to go there and confirm it for myself." Slightly unsettled, Bo Saixi concealed herself once more, preparing to investigate further into the palace.
At that moment, the trident mark on her wrist suddenly shone with dazzling light. It only lasted for an instant, yet a stream of clear, fragmented information flooded Bo Saixi's consciousness through the emblem.
"This place...has existed for a long time...its aura has faded away...and is gone..."
Although fragmented, the core message was unmistakably clear—the Sea God's Heart had been stored here for a long time, but it was gone now, perhaps even removed from the territory of Heaven Dou City.
"What?!" Bo Saixi stopped, whirled around, and swept her keen gaze over the treasure vault, as if searching for more clues. She tried to draw more detailed information from the brand—who had taken it, in which direction, any trace at all—but the glowing mark on her wrist faded back to its quiet shimmer, offering no further response.
Bo Saixi's eyes glimmered with uncertainty, while her beautiful face turned frosty.
For the very first time, events had deviated from the Sea God's clear guidance. The Sea God's Heart had vanished?! Who in the world could have accomplished such a feat—removed an artifact so well hidden that even Bo Saixi herself could barely sense it, from the well-guarded Heaven Dou Imperial Palace? Did the royal family take it themselves? Or had some other force gotten there first?
She scanned the whole vault with spiritual power one more time, confirming there was not a single trace left of the Sea God's aura. Facing this, she turned around decisively.
With the Sea God's Heart now nowhere to be found, Bo Saixi's other key mission became the top priority: guiding the Chosen One, Tang San.
"Well...it's just the right time. Let's go check on Tang San."
…
In the shadowy bustle of Heaven Dou City's streets, Bo Saixi's figure appeared, quietly heading toward Shrek Academy.
….
…
The Realm of the Gods, Sea God Palace
Sea God sat tall on a throne studded with countless treasures of the ocean. His face was shrouded in holy light, unseeable, but the aura emanating from him was somber and irritable.
"How odd..." Sea God's deep voice echoed through the vacant hall, carrying a barely perceptible irritation. "By all my calculations and intuition, the Sea God's Heart should be in the hands of the Heaven Dou Imperial family. Why...has it disappeared from Heaven Dou City?"
Focused, Sea God closed his eyes and attempted to commune with the sea in search of the relic's general location through his divine senses.
Suddenly, he sprang his eyes open, disbelief sweeping over his face.
"I...I can't sense it at all?! How could this happen?"
Hearts and sources are connected for a god. Unless someone intentionally threw the essence into a death trap set by other divine beings, or sealed it with powers of the same rank, such a total loss of connection should never happen.
Unconsciously, Sea God's slender fingers drummed the throne's arm, issuing a deep, steady beat.
"Was it perhaps...sealed by a god's power?"
His expression darkened. The Sea God's Heart was not only the energy core of the Sea God Trident but also the key to its potential evolution into a super artifact, harboring immense value for Sea God's own divine progression. If it were truly lost, corrupted, or damaged by another's power, it would be an irreparable blow.
"Who could..."
Sea God mused, divine lights flickering in his eyes. This was a matter of utmost importance—he must investigate thoroughly himself.
The next moment, his form disappeared from the throne.
…
The Divine Temple is a sovereign domain, its authority and laws embodied in its establishment, which only the most powerful gods may claim. Even divine kings, unless they held the central authority of the Divine Realm, could not barge in without risking violent backlash and resistance.
Ever since the Angel God's fall, the Angel God Temple fell into silence and decay, its light dimmed, as if awaiting the awakening of a new master after long years.
Sea God appeared silently outside the temple. Without entering at once, he carefully surveyed his surroundings, only stepping forward when he was sure no other gods watched. Like a ripple in water, his figure slipped easily into the Angel Temple.
Surprisingly, the hallowed temple left behind by the Angel God—so sacred—did not bar Sea God, nor did it sound any warning, as if silently acquiescing.
Inside, the Angel Temple's vastness and solemnity startled all comers. At its center stood a massive angel statue with six wings, dim but radiating a feeble, merciful, and holy aura.
Without pause, Sea God walked straight into the temple's depths, toward the Angel God's throne. After a swift scan for safety, he turned his right hand. In his palm appeared a softly pulsing heart radiating holy golden light.
The heart pulsed ever so slightly, and each throb sent ripples through the temple's sacred aura, flickering the holy light throughout the hall.
Seeing this, a touch of pride rose in Sea God's eyes.
After a moment, Sea God focused his mind on the heart, his immense divine sense quietly moving out, bypassing the elemental wall protecting the Douluo Continent, and stretching down toward the mortal world.
…
Douluo Continent, Spirit City, Worship Hall
The huge angel statue still shone with sacred majesty, within it harboring a silent consciousness tinged with the aura of the sea.
Naturally, this was a wisp of Sea God's divine sense, temporarily anchored here through the help of the Heart of the Angel, utilizing the statue that shared the same sacred energy source.
Divine ripples, invisible, swept through the hall as Sea God 'saw' Qian Renxue kneeling in repentance before the statue.
"Not bad at all..." Sea God's indulgent voice rang out. "Someone worthy of their ancestors."
He lingered, then sent his awareness even further—scanning in more detail, extending across nearly all of Spirit City, especially deep into the hall and the Pope's palace.
Still, the results were disappointing.
"Strange...even here, the Sea God's Heart is not present." His divine sense shivered, disturbed. "Then, where is it?"
The fragment of divine sense quietly withdrew, rushing across endless space, returning to Sea God's true body in the Angel God Temple.
"Not in Heaven Dou City, nor the Spirit Hall..." Sea God repeated softly. "Then, among those left on the Douluo Continent, who else..."
All at once, as if remembering something, his eyes narrowed sharply.
"Could it be...that child?"
Sea God's face turned grave. "If it's really him, or the presence behind him, that detected and seized it first...this could become very troublesome."
His gaze drifted toward a certain direction in the Divine Realm, lowering slightly at the corners.
"I...cannot win against them."
…
On the Mortal Plane
Chen Yi slowly opened his eyes, and in that moment, two sharp beams—solidified, tangible streams of light—shot forth. Flickers of purple lightning crossed his gaze, accompanied by the soft crackling of energy.
"Level seventy...I've finally reached it." Chen Yi slowly clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power within him, as well as the complete fusion of the Thunder Hell Prison Vine Soul Bone in his right arm. An irrepressible excitement lit up his features.
Yet, before he could fully grasp the wonder of this breakthrough, an irresistible force suddenly descended—without warning or sign. It felt as though it arose not from outside, but from some slumbering corner deep within himself.
Chen Yi hardly had time to react. In an instant, everything went dark: his outside senses vanished, his body unresponsive, all perception abruptly cut away.
"Is this...the depths of my own consciousness?"
When he regained awareness, Chen Yi found himself standing in a strange space. Yet almost immediately, he recognized where he was.
Alert, he surveyed his surroundings, trying to understand what had happened, and where the overwhelming force that brought him here came from.
All of a sudden, his gaze was drawn to the core of a nebula-like fog in the depths of his mental sea.
"Teacher...?!"
…