If it had been in the past, the Demon Empress would never have believed she would so easily agree to submit to someone.
Even if an unprecedented opportunity were placed before her, she would never yield.
In her eyes, following someone else's orders was far more unbearable than simply being killed.
Yet now, she had no idea what was happening—she no longer seemed to resist the idea of submitting to someone.
Of course, that "someone" had to be Xia Yi.
Had she really proposed suppressing her soul power to battle Xia Yi just for the Ocean Cauldron?
No!
The Demon Empress shook her head!
She understood better than anyone—her sudden desire to submit to Xia Yi wasn't simply because of the Ocean Cauldron. There were other reasons, even ones she herself couldn't fully comprehend, mixed into it.
The Ocean Cauldron—rather than calling it the trigger, it was more like an excuse.
It gave her a reason to convince herself.
Although Xia Yi sometimes seemed unreliable, the Demon Empress felt he was someone she could truly trust.
In fact, when she first met Xia Yi in that carriage on the way to Shrek City, she had an intuition—only by following Xia Yi would she truly have the chance to exact her revenge on the Sea God.
What Xia Yi didn't know was that ever since he forged the Earth Cauldron, not only had Star Luo City been thrown into chaos, but even a certain God of Emotions residing in a massive black hole deep in the cosmos had sensed it.
—
"Tianmeng, did you all feel that? Something seems to have happened on the Douluo Continent. The Fate Skull that Qiuer gave me suddenly lost a significant amount of power."
In the Douluo Divine Realm's Core, the God of Emotions slowly opened the vertical eye on his forehead—it was the Eye of Destiny.
Not long ago, ever since obtaining the broken Sea God's Trident, Tang San had gone into seclusion.
Along with him, the God-King Chang Gongwei had also entered seclusion.
Before leaving, Tang San temporarily handed over the key to the Divine Realm Core to Huo Yuhao, instructing the Gods of Kindness and Evil to assist him.
Just now, Huo Yuhao had suddenly felt that his Eye of Destiny's power had drastically weakened.
Having been in the Divine Realm for years, and due to the seal on Tang Wutong's body, he had almost never wasted time on romance, instead devoting himself entirely to cultivation.
Originally, with the blessing of fortune, his Eye of Destiny had been on the verge of evolving into an Ultra Divine Weapon. But just now, it had abruptly regressed to an ordinary Divine Weapon.
"How could this happen? Have soul beasts gone extinct on the Douluo Continent, causing them to lose their fortune?"
Seven figures slowly appeared beside Huo Yuhao. The Ice Emperor spoke in a deep voice.
"Father, is the Extreme North still safe?" Snow Empress frowned and asked.
"We've all left. With the Titan Snow Devil King barely reaching 300,000 years of cultivation, how could he possibly defend the Extreme North? I told you he wasn't trustworthy! Mother and Grandfather never should have made him the ruler of the Extreme North!" The Ice Bear King, Xiao Bai, spoke angrily.
"I don't know what's going on either." Huo Yuhao shook his head. Looking at the Snow Empress and Ice Empress, he said gravely, "I'm sorry. As a god, I cannot interfere in lower-realm matters. Even though I hold half of the Snow Empress' decree and am technically a half-ruler of the Extreme North, I still failed to protect it."
Just then, the doors of the Divine Realm Core suddenly swung open.
The God of Kindness walked in slowly.
"Huh? God of Emotions, why are you here? Weren't you with the Butterfly God? Why are you back so soon?"
"What do you mean, 'so soon'?" The God of Emotions, Huo Yuhao, was utterly confused.
"I just went to your palace to find you, but you and the Butterfly God were in your room. You refused to come out, only gasping for breath while telling me to wait for you here. I didn't want to disturb you two, so I came straight over. How did you get here before me?" The God of Kindness asked curiously.
"Impossible! I've been in the Divine Realm Core this whole time!" The God of Emotions shook his head.
"Then… who was in the room with the Butterfly God?" The God of Kindness half-joked, thinking Huo Yuhao was just embarrassed and pretending not to know.
"Yeah… who was it?"
The God of Emotions suddenly froze.
The next moment, his gaze turned blood-red as he stared at the God of Kindness, his killing intent surging.
"Are you telling the truth?!"
"Uh… wait, that really wasn't you just now?" The God of Kindness' expression finally changed, staring at Huo Yuhao in shock.
"I have to check!"
Huo Yuhao ignored the God of Kindness, transforming into a streak of light and vanishing from the Divine Realm Core at an extreme speed.
—
"Something major just happened."
The God of Kindness immediately notified the God of Evil, then also transformed into a streak of light and chased after Huo Yuhao.
When Huo Yuhao arrived at his and his wife's palace, he was just in time to see a handsome young man stepping out from within.
The God of Emotions, Huo Yuhao, was utterly shocked—because this young man looked exactly like him!
The only difference was that this "God of Emotions" was only wearing a robe.
Shock was quickly replaced by fury.
Now, Huo Yuhao finally understood what the God of Kindness had been talking about.
The person standing before him wasn't him—but someone who had taken on his appearance and approached his wife, the Butterfly God!
"DIE!"
Enraged, the God of Emotions' forehead glowed green with fury. The Blade of Life, forged from the Gold of Life, materialized in his hand.
Blinded by rage, he forgot all techniques and simply swung his sword down!
"Heh, you've got good taste. That woman… is quite~ tender."
The other "God of Emotions" chuckled, his body transforming into golden light and vanishing on the spot.
He didn't fight Huo Yuhao at all!
"Think you can escape? No chance! Judgment of Sin! Salvation of Kindness!"
Two voices rang out at the same time—it was the God of Kindness and the God of Evil, who had just arrived.
"You won't be able to stop me."
The voice of the golden figure echoed.
In the next instant, all the golden light completely vanished without a trace.
"How is this possible?!"
The Gods of Kindness and Evil were both horrified.
Though they were relatively weak among the God-Kings, they were still God-Kings.
Yet even when working together, they hadn't been able to touch the intruder's clothing.
Could it be that this person's power had already surpassed the level of a God-King?!
Just then, a soft voice sounded.
"Yuhao? What are you doing?"
The Butterfly God stepped out of the room.
Her long, soft blue hair cascaded down her shoulders, and she was only wearing a robe, revealing patches of pink-tinged skin in several places.
Her delicate, flushed face was filled with satisfaction.
Upon seeing the God of Kindness and the God of Evil, she hurriedly grabbed a coat and put it on.
"God of Kindness, God of Evil, why are you here? Come inside and have a seat. I'll cook for you and Yuhao! Hehe, you wouldn't believe it—Yuhao has been so much more amazing lately."
The Butterfly God giggled, her bright eyes full of happiness as she looked at Huo Yuhao.
—
"This past… time…?"
The God of Emotions threw his head back and roared in agony—before fainting on the spot.
During this period, because Tang San was in seclusion, he had been overwhelmingly busy, spending almost all his time at the God Realm Hub.
The seal within Die Shen's body had only been recently lifted.
He himself hadn't even…
And yet, such a thing had already happened.
How could the God of Emotions possibly accept this?
"Let's head back first," the God of Kindness said solemnly, no longer paying attention to the God of Emotions.
After this incident, she suddenly recalled that there had been a few times when the God of Evil had also acted somewhat strangely.
"Alright." The God of Evil nodded, a sharp glint flashing through his eyes. He, too, suddenly remembered—there had been two occasions when the God of Kindness had also seemed rather unusual.
(End of Chapter)