Atop the city walls, a gentle breeze blew, lifting Bi Bidong's hair.
A touch of coolness brought Bi Bidong back to her senses.
"Speak."
Her voice was cool, betraying neither joy nor sorrow.
"Elder Gui Bao has fallen in battle."
"Elder Mo Xiong is gravely injured, having lost an arm, with his cultivation level regressed..."
"Eight Soul Douluo and seventeen Soul Sages from the Martial Soul Hall have perished, with seventeen thousand soul masters, including those below the Soul Emperor level, dead or wounded."
"More than five thousand soul masters outside of Martial Soul Hall have been killed or injured."
"Over fifty thousand demons have been slain."
Gui Douluo's voice carried deep sorrow, "This is a significant loss for the Soul Masters; nearly one-tenth of Soul Land's soul masters have fallen here."
Without a doubt, it was a tremendous loss.
Since the recorded history of Soul Land, such a fierce battle had been a rarity.
"Give the deceased a solemn burial."
Bi Bidong's voice grew colder, "When Qin Xiao returns, he will surely bring back valuable information. No matter who the mastermind behind this is, they will pay a blood price."
"Yes."
Gui Douluo nodded solemnly and bowed his head before departing.
...
Elsewhere.
Slaughter City.
Tang San sat atop the tallest building in Slaughter City, his eyes closed.
At that moment, Slaughter City was dead silent; aside from Tang San, there was no one else to be found.
Suddenly.
He opened his eyes, furrowed his brows, and his expression turned cold, "Useless trash, fallen so soon?"
"Are the beings from the Demonic Plane so weak?"
His voice was filled with disdain, and a powerful divine power burst forth uncontrollably.
Boom, boom, boom.
In Slaughter City, countless buildings collapsed, a release of his dissatisfaction and rage.
After a long while, having destroyed much of Slaughter City, Tang San finally felt a bit more at ease.
"But what should I do next?"
Tang San couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Could it be time to open a gateway to the Demonic Plane?
But this thought was immediately dismissed by Tang San, "Those guys from the Demonic Plane are as useless as a lump of mud. Even summoning two Demon Lords would probably be of no use. They can't be relied upon."
"Should I perhaps open a gateway to the abyssal plane?"
Tang San hesitated.
The abyssal plane was not as simple as the Demonic Plane. The strongest forces of the Demonic Plane were only equivalent to those of Qiandaoliu. The legacy memories of the Asura God clearly recorded that the strongest beings of the abyssal plane were gods, and their combat power was not to be underestimated.
Tang San estimated that with his current power, he might not be able to defeat that god.
Thus, to open a gateway to the abyssal plane might be to invite a wolf into the house, where they could turn the tables on him.
After a long period of consideration, Tang San finally decided not to open a portal to the abyssal plane.
"What are you still planning for? You're already a god, what's there to fear, just go out and slay left and right."
"If you can't do it, give me control of your body, I'll make sure to skin and debone all your enemies, leaving none behind."
The voice of the Soul of Slaughter suddenly rang in Tang San's mind.
Upon hearing this, Tang San's expression turned cold, "My affairs don't need the interference of others."
"Hey, kid, don't you know what's good for you?"
The Soul of Slaughter said unwillingly.
As long as there was a chance to take control of the body, it wouldn't give up.
However.
Tang San was no longer interested in responding and left Slaughter City.
He had gained what he came for; staying there any longer was meaningless.
He intended to go to Sea God's Island first, see Qin Xiao, and then make a plan.
...
Meanwhile.
Qin Xiao had already arrived at an unnamed mountain range.
The summoning was growing ever stronger.
"Strange, what does this mean?"
He was very puzzled, constantly searching with his eyes.
Suddenly, his gaze locked onto a green lake surrounded by mountains.
"Could the source of the voice be beneath this?"
Qin Xiao frowned slightly.
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to find out for himself. He transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, plunging down fiercely.
Like a pebble, he fell into the lake, causing ripples to spread.
Descending further, Qin Xiao was filled with amazement.
Considering his terrifying speed, the fact that he had not reached the bottom of the lake after a long time was surprising.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "My goodness, with such depth, I'm not going to end up on the other side of Soul Land, am I?"
However, at this point, there were no better options; he couldn't just give up halfway and turn back.
That was clearly not Qin Xiao's style.
An arrow nocked must be shot; just do it.
After what felt like an eternity, Qin Xiao's view suddenly opened up, and he even saw a golden orb.
"This thing in front of me is probably bigger than Spirit City."
"Great, am I hallucinating now?"
He pinched his face lightly with his hand until a slight pain persuaded him to stop.
"It's not an illusion, it's real."
"Now I have to see what exists inside this golden orb."
With a thought, Qin Xiao approached the orb and reached out to touch it lightly.
Strangely, Qin Xiao found himself sucked into it...
A strong enveloping sensation spread through his body, but it lasted only a moment.
For Qin Xiao found that he had arrived inside the orb.
And the scenery within left Qin Xiao stunned.
"What's the situation? Is this like a small island?"
Looking around, the land was flat, covered with Blue Silver Grass, and in the very center of the island stood a golden sky-reaching tree.
Its every leaf, and even every branch, seemed as if it was cast from gold.
"You've arrived,"
a hoary voice echoed beside Qin Xiao's ear, resounding throughout the entire space.
Qin Xiao didn't move forward or back, but stood his ground and responded with a grave tone, "Was it you who summoned me?"
"Correct, it was me. You needn't be too tense, let me introduce myself; I am the World Tree, formed by the condensation of this plane's Will."
"The consciousness of the plane?"
Qin Xiao's eyebrows rose, highly surprised.
He hadn't expected that Soul Land had already given birth to a Plane Will.
"Heh, there's actually nothing surprising about it. A plane, just like a living being, possesses its own consciousness. The consciousness of a plane goes through birth, adolescence, youth, middle age, and old age before finally falling silent, waiting to be reborn,"
"And I was originally about to fall silent and wait for rebirth, but it was at this time that the plane encountered a problem, with the invasion of foreign lifeforms. Their objective is to devour life and enhance their own strength. Similarly, if they were to fall in this world, it would be equivalent to injecting new life into this plane..."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiao's face displayed a look of realization.
This wasn't difficult to understand.
Just like Blue Star in his previous life, the Douluo plane also has a life cycle.
And the tens of thousands of Demons from the Demonic Plane were equivalent to injecting new life into a Plane Will that was about to meet its end.
One should not assume this is an exaggeration.
Not to mention, how much life force did Alba and his Nine-headed Great Demon contribute?
Furthermore, the weakest among them were of the Soul Elder realm, right?
This was an unimaginable force.
"Then, may I know why you have summoned me here?" Qin Xiao felt that the Plane Will of Douluo wouldn't have called him here without reason just to chitchat.
"You protected the plane, and I summoned you here to offer my thanks in person."
"Alright, I've received your thanks, goodbye."
Qin Xiao nodded and turned to leave.
To be honest, he didn't believe the words of the Plane Will. There might be gratitude, but there were many ways to express thanks, and there was no need to summon him here, right?
"Wait a minute!"
Seeing Qin Xiao about to depart, the golden tree, incarnation of the Plane Will, rustled gently.
Qin Xiao guessed this was probably what it looked like when a person got a bit excited.
"Is there anything else?"
Qin Xiao asked again."
"Indeed, there is something else; I seek your help. I hope you can agree."
"Speak of the matter first."
"I do not wish to fall into slumber. I want more life force from alternate dimensions."
Qin Xiao replied, "Oh, then you go ahead and try."
Plane Will: "..."
What kind of response was that?
How am I supposed to try?
"Due to the rules, I can only suppress the lives from alternate dimensions. I absolutely cannot eradicate them, and since the pathway to alternate dimensions has been destroyed, I'm even more helpless."
"Uh, if you have no way, how would I have one?" Qin Xiao was somewhat speechless.
"But you do," the answer from the Plane Will took Qin Xiao by great surprise.
He himself didn't even know he had such an ability, and yet the Plane Will knew?
This was preposterous,
This time, the Plane Will obviously got smarter, "Although the portal is gone, I still remember the coordinates of that dimension. You are entirely capable of opening the interdimensional portal yourselves."
With these words, Qin Xiao understood; this Plane Will was no simple entity.
"You wish to initiate a plane war? Have me go to the Demonic Plane to hunt down Demons?"
"Yes."
"That's impossible."
"Don't be hasty in rejecting; you can benefit as well. I can grant you and those who participate in the conquest of planes powers similar to the Demons'. Slaying Demons, you can absorb their strength to enhance your own."
"You can do that too?" Qin Xiao was inwardly shaken.
"What's so difficult about that? The power to mutually devour between planes is within the scope of the rules; it's just manifested in a different way."
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
The golden tree began to shake, and a golden leaf fell, landing in front of Qin Xiao, suspended in mid-air.
As Qin Xiao puzzled over this, the Plane Will explained, "As long as the user drips blood on this leaf, they will be able to absorb the ability of creatures from an Alternate Dimension."
Glancing at the densely packed branches and leaves of the Gold Tree, Qin Xiao asked, "I suppose you benefit even more from this, don't you?"
Upon hearing Qin Xiao's words, the Plane Will replied truthfully, "Indeed, I will receive at least half of the energy absorbed from the target."
"And what benefits can I receive?"
"What more do you want? Isn't receiving fifty percent of the target's energy enough?"
"Of course it is not."
Qin Xiao nodded, "You can absorb the power of countless people who work for you, but I can only absorb what I have fought hard for, and I still have to pay a fifty percent tax to you. Is that fair?"
Ah, this... The Plane Will was taken aback.
This person named Qin Xiao was too shrewd, wasn't he? He cared not just about personal gain or loss but valued the overall situation even more.
"So, what do you want?"
"How many people do you want to send to fight in the Demonic Plane?"
"Currently, I can provide only ten thousand golden leaves, which requires you to develop further."
"Alright, then I'll take ten percent of the profits of these ten thousand people, and if I personally slay a demon, the life force I harvest should all count for me. I don't like sharing with others," Qin Xiao finally stated his terms.
What about the Plane Will?
Whoever it was, protecting one's own interests was the most important thing.
If someone was seeking us out, we could start by demanding a lion's share.
"Isn't the price you're asking a bit too high?"
After a long silence, the Plane Will finally replied.
It felt like being strong-armed.
What's with the humans these days? Don't they know how to respect their elders anymore?
"Oh, I see, then find someone else," Qin Xiao nodded and turned to leave.
"Wait, can't you be a bit less impulsive, young man?"
It must be said, even the Plane Will was helpless against Qin Xiao.
The young man fully displayed what it meant to talk past each other; he was ready to leave at the slightest disagreement. The Plane Will had never seen anything like it.
"Does this mean you agree to my terms?"
"Agreed, you can take ten percent of the life force."
Hearing this, Qin Xiao grinned.
He was quite satisfied with the result; a ten percent share was quite good. After all, his negotiating partner was no ordinary person.
"Crack!"
Just then, Qin Xiao heard a crisp snap coming from the Gold Tree, and he watched as a thick branch fell from the Gold Tree.
"There are precisely ten thousand leaves on this branch. You simply need to drip blood onto the branch, and afterwards, you will have the authority to punish anyone who detaches leaves from this branch, along with an additional ten percent life bonus," the Plane Will explained.
"Haha, I appreciate it," Qin Xiao laughed, but while his words were polite, his actions were quite the opposite.
He nonchalantly collected the glittering branch.
He had made up his mind to return to Spirit City, coax Qiandaoliu into training in another world, and strengthen the power of the Martial Soul Hall.
Or looking for Ning Fengzhi would have the same effect.
"Do you have anything else? If not, I'll be leaving?"
Having accepted a branch from the Gold Tree, Qin Xiao's attitude had improved significantly.
"Next, I will tell you the position of the space coordinates, after which you can open the portal yourself."
Qin Xiao nodded vigorously, "Go ahead, I'm listening."
...
After a while, Qin Xiao returned to Spirit City.
Compared to its usual bustle, Spirit City was now filled with an air of deadly seriousness.
Not far from the outskirts of Spirit City, there were tens of thousands of new graves.
The soil was fresh; without needing to say more, Qin Xiao knew that the unfortunate ones in Spirit City must be buried here.
"If a plane war is launched, what does it matter if one is a Soul Master? They are nothing but ants, trash in the face of true power. Even Soul Douluo are as fragile as paper," he thought.
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