"We have lost."
A hoarse, low voice came from the demon spirit, carrying a hint of relief.
She struggled to maintain her half-kneeling posture and looked up at Chen Yi standing before her. Chen Yi stood like a deep pool and a towering mountain.
Hearing this, Chen Yi calmly and composedly slowly withdrew the divine Mace from his hand, which contained majestic divine power.
The lightning on the Mace disappeared. His gaze quietly turned toward the once-glorious and renowned god of Douluo, now fallen into the abyss.
"In that case," Chen Yi said in a calm yet serious tone.
"I would like to ask senior a question."
"Heh…" The demon spirit let out a low, ambiguous laugh. She slowly straightened her body a little and looked at Chen Yi with cold eyes.
"You're not going to kill me?"
Chen Yi slowly shook his head. "When you took action, you showed mercy and had no intention of killing me."
"This person is not bloodthirsty. I thank you for your mercy. Moreover, the purpose of this person stepping into the Demon Realm was not only to suppress the threat of invasion but also to achieve various other goals."
"Oh?" A strange light flashed in the demon spirit's eyes, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"What is it?"
Hearing this, Chen Yi looked into the distance. Qian Renxue, clad in golden armor, noticed Chen Yi's gaze and immediately flew over as a streak of golden light.
Qian Renxue first glanced at the uninjured Chen Yi and showed a joyful expression. Worry and pride filled her eyes. Then she turned her gaze toward the god she respected most.
Chen Yi said to the demon spirit, "Senior, Xue'er received the Angel's Nine Trials many years ago and has now safely completed the first seven trials."
"However, because Poseidon manipulated the Angel's Trial, fearing unknown dangers, I could never allow her to rashly attempt the subsequent trials."
At this time, his eyes became markedly sharper as he stared intently at the demon spirit.
"In the previous discussion, you mentioned that you destroyed your own Angel status at the time. I am very puzzled by this and would like an explanation."
Hearing this, the demon spirit revealed a soft, enigmatic smile. Her gaze lingered for a moment on Qian Renxue's beautiful face before she slowly spoke. Her voice carried nostalgia and a faint pain.
"The Angel divinity was indeed destroyed by my self-destruction at that time. Afterward, in my remaining consciousness, I could occasionally sense the situation on Douluo Continent vaguely. I discovered that the aura of the Angel divinity at the time had not completely disappeared but existed in a fragmented and distorted form."
"At the time, I made a conjecture… that Poseidon probably used some secret method to collect the fragments of my god position that scattered after my self-destruction."
"And using the partial authority they forcibly took from me, they pieced these fragments together… to create a false god."
"This patchwork Angel position may appear complete on the surface, but in reality its foundation is fragile, its internal rules are chaotic, and it is full of cracks due to forced binding and the intrusion of foreign impurities."
"It may look magnificent on the outside, but if subjected to sufficient external impact, it will completely collapse."
The demon spirit said this while looking at Qian Renxue and spoke seriously, "It was correct that he did not let you continue the god trials. Undergoing trials in this god state is extremely dangerous."
"Moreover, this sacred status has likely been Poseidon's private domain for a long time, and he must have set many hidden traps and backdoors within it."
"Your decision to undergo this polluted and monitored sacred trial would be like jumping into a pit of fire and would ruin your future."
Chen Yi suddenly realized that many unsolved mysteries in the original work now seemed explained.
This was probably why, in the original novel, after Qian Renxue inherited the Angel God position, her performance fell far short of expectations and she ultimately had the position taken by Tang San.
Bibi Dong, who withstood the fatal strike of the Asura Demon Sword, suffered damage to her god position but remained completely unharmed herself. The root cause was likely that Qian Renxue had inherited a false god position altered by the Sea God.
"However," the demon spirit changed the subject, a faint smile appearing in her eyes.
"Just recently, when I sensed the state of the Angel sacred status, I noticed that the aura of sacred authority had reappeared within the aura emanating from the sacred status. It was faint, but it definitely existed."
At that time, a satisfied expression appeared on the demon spirit's face.
"It seems that something happened to Poseidon afterward, forcing him to relinquish his divine authority."
Hearing this, Qian Renxue couldn't help showing a joyful expression.
Among the three major authorities, only the sacred authority had been restored, but this was undoubtedly wonderful news.
It meant the integrity and power of the Angel God position would be strengthened, and in the future, after she inherited the divine status, she would possess even stronger power and be better able to assist Chen Yi.
However, the demon spirit's next words struck like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads.
"However," the demon spirit's voice regained calm, "this is also the limit that this patchwork Angel position can withstand."
She looked directly into Qian Renxue's eyes and said, "Even if in the future you inherit this god position and regain the authority that originally belonged to the Angel God from Asura God and Poseidon, you will not be able to reintegrate them into this god position."
"Why?" Qian Renxue asked anxiously, her face turning pale.
"Because," the demon spirit spoke each word clearly, "the foundation of this godhood is far too fragile. It is merely forcibly pieced-together fragments and can barely withstand the revival of divine authority—that is already its limit."
"If we forcibly incorporate judgment and purification into the process, the fragile balance within the god position will instantly collapse, leaving only one outcome for you and the god position."
"The godhood will completely collapse. For you, at best your cultivation will be entirely lost; at worst… your soul will scatter."
Qian Renxue swayed slightly, anger appearing in her eyes. She had thought hope had appeared, but the road ahead was still full of thorns and a dead end.
Chen Yi also frowned, looked at the demon spirit, and asked in a low voice, "Senior, you understand the Angel sacred status better than anyone. Is there no way to completely repair this wounded sacred status?"
The demon spirit stared at Chen Yi, remained silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"The foundation of the Angel order was born from the pious faith and wishes of countless beings."
"If… we possessed a vast amount of faith power in material form, we might be able to repair this wounded god position, erase the dark hand left by Poseidon, resolve the internal problems, and truly restore it to a complete state."
Hearing this, Chen Yi frowned even more deeply.
Faith power?
The Angel God had died thousands of years ago. The faith power she left behind had probably been secretly devoured by Poseidon long ago.
How many pure angels still remained on Douluo Continent who continued to believe? Where could they gather enough faith power in a short time to restore the god position?
This was indeed an almost unsolvable problem. Accumulating faith required a long time and many believers—it could not be achieved overnight.
But just as Chen Yi felt overwhelmed, Qian Renxue's eyes lit up and she immediately spoke.
"That's right! We have it! Faith power… we have obtained it!"
As she spoke, she raised her jade-like hand and gently stroked her smooth forehead with her slender fingertips.
The next moment, a soft yet dazzling golden light radiated from between her brows, and a golden sphere the size of a fist appeared in her hand.
The moment this precious sphere appeared, the surrounding air seemed to become sacred, and even the unsettling demonic aura surrounding the demon spirit faintly dissipated.
"This…" Chen Yi suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared at the golden gem.
With his current understanding, he clearly recognized the faith and will power residing within it. He understood that this was not merely a matter of quantity but also of extremely high quality.
"Faith power! And what a vast and pure faith power it is!"
The demon spirit couldn't help but cry out in disbelief, her entire body trembling slightly with excitement.
"This… this is almost equivalent to the total amount of faith I accumulated over the thousands of years until my death… Where on earth did you obtain this?!"
Such a massive amount of high-level faith power would be a shocking treasure even in the God Realm. How could a human who had not yet become a god, Qian Renxue, possess it?
Sensing the gazes of Chen Yi and the demon spirit, Qian Renxue immediately recounted the entire origin of the faith pearl.
After listening to Qian Renxue's account, Chen Yi couldn't help taking a deep breath as a warm emotion surged in his heart.
"Senior Life Goddess," he muttered to himself. The Goddess of Life's actions had undoubtedly been dangerous. Despite the inherent risks, this friendship and care were truly profound.
On the other hand, after hearing this, the demon spirit fell silent for a moment before letting out a complex, bitter sigh.
"Who would have imagined… that even the Life Goddess, who always strictly adhered to the rules, would now adapt and do such a thing?"
Infiltrating the sealed Angel Temple and secretly bringing Qian Renxue into the God Realm through the statue… these actions had already touched the limits of certain rules in the God Realm.
If the faith orb had not been right before her, the demon spirit would not have believed that the Life Goddess she had always remembered as just and peaceful would do such a thing.
Thinking of this, her gaze turned back to Chen Yi. The complex emotions in her eyes seemed ready to overflow.
"Truly… worthy of being Thunder God's chosen successor." The demon spirit's voice carried emotion.
"Your influence is truly… astonishing."
Chen Yi also snapped out of his thoughts and stared at the demon spirit.
"Now that we possess the faith power needed to repair the god position, shall we begin repairing the Angel sacred status?"
The demon spirit suppressed all the complex emotions in her eyes, and her expression became solemn.
She carefully sensed the powerful will power hidden within the faith pearl and slowly nodded.
"That will be enough. This faith power is not only sufficient to repair the wounded god position but more than enough."
Hearing this, Chen Yi and Qian Renxue exchanged glances, excitement visible in each other's eyes. Hope for restoring the god position had been born!
However, at that moment, the demon spirit's gaze involuntarily turned toward the dimly lit Angel Sword beside her.
Her gaze shifted back and forth between the Angel Sword and Qian Renxue, constantly changing.
Finally, her gaze settled once more on Qian Renxue's beautiful face.
"Even if… the Angel position is successfully repaired," the demon spirit's voice carried unprecedented seriousness.
"This is merely a repaired product. Its most important core authority remains outside. Even if fully repaired, its maximum potential can only recover to the level of a top-tier second-class god at best. Returning to its former peak is virtually impossible."
Hearing this, Chen Yi's heart stirred. He looked at the demon spirit.
"Senior's words… do you perhaps have another idea?"
The demon spirit took a deep breath and fixed her gaze on Qian Renxue.
"I… have another method."
"If successful, you will not only inherit the repaired divinity but also a new divinity filled with infinite possibilities."
"Furthermore, if we consider the possibility of restoring the powers of judgment and purification in the future…"
The demon spirit's next words shocked both Qian Renxue and Chen Yi.
"It is not impossible to elevate the Angel-like sacred status to an even higher level."
…