Chi!
Nine massive law-bound chains extended from the void, each one piercing through the body of the Abyssal Saint Lord.
As powerful as he was, the Abyssal Saint Lord was completely restrained and immobilized under the suppression of these nine chains.
"I've already informed my mother of your existence! Even if you kill me, my mother will avenge me! Everything I've suffered today will be repaid double!" the Abyssal Saint Lord roared. The Abyssal Plane lacked divine-level powerhouses, which was why he was currently being so miserably overwhelmed.
But if his mother intervened, he wouldn't be the one getting surrounded today.
"Die!" Gu Yue, wearing the Dragon God's Heart, descended from the sky. Her terrifying silver dragon spear directly pierced the Abyssal Saint Lord's body.
His terrifying power was being devoured completely by the silver dragon spear.
All of it was transferred by Gu Yue into the nascent Soul Beast Divine Realm.
"Let's retreat?" After draining the Abyssal Saint Lord, Gu Yue vanished with all the soul beasts into the crack in the sky.
The rift closed, and all the soul beasts disappeared without a trace.
"Clean up the battlefield! Count the casualties!" Zhang Huanyun ordered.
The seeds of the Abyssal Kings' planes were seized, and with them, all abyssal realms collapsed, wiping out every last abyssal creature.
Zhang Huanyun still felt like he was dreaming—he never imagined the Abyssal Plane, which had plagued humanity for over 6,000 years, would be resolved just like that.
Very soon, the casualty report came back: the Blood God Legion had lost 32 soldiers, including Lan Muzi of the Blood God Battalion.
In short, a negligible loss!
"Come with me." As the battle concluded, Xia Yi was pulled into a room by Leng Yaozhu.
Leng Yaozhu poured him a cup of tea and said seriously, "Xia Yi, it's time you told me—what exactly is your relationship with those soul beasts?"
This was a question Leng Yaozhu didn't want to ask—or perhaps, didn't want to ask so soon.
But since Leng Yulai had already hinted at the truth, it would be hard to keep pretending she knew nothing.
She had no choice but to seek honesty from Xia Yi.
"Zhu'er, do you trust me?" Xia Yi looked up into her eyes and asked softly.
"I trust you!" Leng Yaozhu nodded without hesitation.
A satisfied smile spread across Xia Yi's face. "I come from the Star Dou Forest. I was just a little fox spirit, living quietly—until I encountered the awakening Soul Beast Overlord of the forest. That's when the Plane's Will set its sights on me, and I was forced to take human form. That's how I met Yulai in Heaven Dou City, and through her, I met you."
"You... you're a shapeshifted soul beast?!" Leng Yaozhu stood up in shock.
"You could say that. I admit to being a shapeshifted soul beast from the Star Dou Forest," Xia Yi nodded and looked playfully at Leng Yaozhu. "What? Zhu'er, are you going to reject me now? Sniff sniff... so heartbroken!"
"Is that really how you see me?" Her eyes immediately reddened. Though she knew he was joking, she couldn't help but overthink it, afraid he might misunderstand her.
"Alright, alright, I was kidding! Don't be mad, Zhu'er!" Xia Yi got up and gently massaged her arms in apology. "I believe my Zhu'er would never reject me for something like that."
"The soul beast overlord you mentioned must be that silver dragon we just saw, right? I want to know her identity," Leng Yaozhu said softly.
"Now that's going too far. You can't make me betray her," Xia Yi clung to her arm helplessly.
Gu Yue had appeared entirely in dragon form today—first, to declare the soul beasts' return to the world, and second, because she didn't want Leng Yaozhu to discover her true identity just yet.
Since she didn't want it revealed, Xia Yi wouldn't spill it.
Leng Yaozhu took a deep breath and said, "The Spirit Pagoda has long recorded that aside from Di Tian, there may be another terrifying soul beast overlord sleeping in the Star Dou Forest. That overlord just revealed herself with overwhelming power today. If we don't settle things with them now, how can we ever feel at ease?"
"Yaozhu-jie, the Soul Beast Overlord only wants one simple thing—if humanity cooperates, she won't cause trouble," Xia Yi said with a smile.
"What does she want?" Leng Yaozhu asked curiously.
"First, all the soul beasts caged by the Spirit Pagoda must be returned to us," Xia Yi said seriously. "Since this is out in the open now, there's no more delay. Once I return to the Pagoda, I'll personally take over retrieving those soul beasts."
"I haven't agreed yet," Leng Yaozhu said.
"This isn't up for debate. Agree or not, it must happen. You handle any opposition from inside the Spirit Pagoda," Xia Yi said firmly.
This was a core issue for the soul beasts—there could be no compromise.
"I'll agree to that," Leng Yaozhu nodded. The demand was reasonable, and she couldn't think of a way to refuse.
The only difficulty lay in silencing dissent from within the Spirit Pagoda.
But with her and Leng Yulai's strength now, they could truly make everyone else shut up.
Even the Qian Gu family wasn't a threat to them anymore.
Leng Yaozhu understood—she had to play the villain now. Otherwise, if the Soul Beast Overlord acted directly, the Spirit Pagoda could be wiped off the map.
No matter how powerful it was, could it be stronger than the Abyssal Saint Lord?
Today, Gu Yue had led all Nine Dragon Kings into battle—a clear warning to humanity.
"Second, all soul beast spirits and all spirits made using soul beast souls must be returned," Xia Yi continued.
"Fine!" Leng Yaozhu nodded again.
"I'm not finished yet. Even the spirits absorbed by humans, as long as they were made from soul beast souls—they must be returned too," Xia Yi added.
"That's going too far! You want all soul masters to cripple their own cultivation just to extract the spirits?" Leng Yaozhu jumped up in anger.
Cultivation was already hard enough—asking all soul masters to self-destruct would throw the human world into chaos.
"I'll compromise. These spirits can be reclaimed after the soul masters die," Xia Yi offered.
"That's more like it." Leng Yaozhu sat back down.
"Also, soul beasts will no longer compete with humans for the Douluo Plane. We're going to create our own world. We'll move all surviving soul beasts from this plane to the new one. Humans must not interfere in the process," Xia Yi said.
"No problem. I'll inform the Sun-Moon Federation," Leng Yaozhu nodded.
"Alright, that's all for the official matters. Now let's talk about... personal matters!" Xia Yi gritted his teeth and finally said it.
"Personal matters? What kind?" Leng Yaozhu smiled. "As long as you're not planning revenge against humanity, I'll accept anything—even if it's a little outrageous."
She was in a good mood. Once she heard the soul beasts were leaving the Douluo Plane, she completely relaxed.
"I have two wives among the soul beasts... that shouldn't be too outrageous, right?" Xia Yi shrank his neck and said cautiously.
"You—are you serious?!" Leng Yaozhu's eyes instantly filled with tears. "You think me, Yulai, and Yue'er haven't treated you well? They love you with all their hearts—how could you do this to them?!"
"Zhu'er, of course I know how good you all are to me," Xia Yi gently embraced her. He was aggrieved too—this was all arranged by Gu Yue, but now he had to do the explaining.
He kissed her hair and shamelessly said, "It's because you treat me so well that our Soul Beast Overlord was afraid I'd defect to humanity. So she forced two wives on me. I was violated."
It was plausible!
And not exactly a lie!
He really was forced.
The Demon Empress was so strong he couldn't resist at all.
"One day, I'm going to make that Soul Beast Overlord pay," Leng Yaozhu clenched her fists. How could she be so shameless—trying to use women to bind Xia Yi?
"At least tell me who they are," she said through gritted teeth.
"Zhu'er, I'll tell you, but you can't get mad, okay?" Xia Yi said nervously.
"Fine, I won't get mad. Is it Zi Ji and Bi Ji from the Star Dou Forest?" Leng Yaozhu bit her lip. Those two seemed most likely to her.
"No... it's a mother and daughter," Xia Yi said in the quietest voice possible.
"A mother and daughter?!" Leng Yaozhu froze, her trembling finger pointing at him. "You... you're sick—mmph!"
"Don't say such things!" Xia Yi hurriedly covered her mouth and explained, "The soul beast worldview is different from humans'. They're both soul beasts. This kind of thing is easier for them to accept than it was for you and Yulai."
"You! You!" Leng Yaozhu's face turned red and purple in anger. After a long pause, she smacked his hand away and gritted her teeth. "Tell me—who are they?!"
"The leader of the Holy Spirit Cult," Xia Yi said slowly.
"The Holy Spirit Cult's leader?! The Holy Spirit Cult's leader?!" Leng Yaozhu repeated it twice to confirm, then locked her gaze on Xia Yi. "I didn't hear that wrong, did I?!"
"I've told you everything. Hey, hey—Zhu'er, that vase is very expensive! Please don't throw it!" Xia Yi backed away in panic as she raised a half-human-sized vase.
"Brother-in-law!"
Xia Yi didn't expect that after escaping one disaster, he'd fall into another. As soon as he fled from Leng Yaozhu's room, he ran right into Leng Yulai.
"Yulai! Sob sob! Your sister is too violent. I missed you," Xia Yi immediately hugged her and began to complain.
"It's fine. I'll go comfort her," Leng Yulai smiled softly and turned to head into Leng Yaozhu's room.
"Yulai!" Xia Yi grabbed her hand.
Leng Yaozhu truly needed her now. Though she hadn't lashed out at Xia Yi, it was only because she didn't want to ruin their relationship.
She buried all her sadness and pain inside.
Only Leng Yulai could help her release those emotions.
But wasn't that unfair to Yulai too?
Leng Yaozhu was hurt, sure—but so was Leng Yulai.
And now she had to help him by comforting her sister?
"Brother-in-law, is there something else?" Leng Yulai turned back with a gentle smile.
"Yulai, I'm sorry," Xia Yi gently pulled her into his arms as well, filled with guilt.
"You must feel bad because you told my sister the truth but not me, right? Brother-in-law, you don't need to—because I can already feel your heart," Leng Yulai smiled sweetly. "Okay, leave big sis to me. I'll calm her down—promise it won't ruin our plans to all sleep together tonight~"
She giggled, slipped from his embrace like a wisp of smoke, and strolled into Leng Yaozhu's room.
Xia Yi stood there in a daze, expression stiff. "Maybe women being too straightforward isn't such a good thing either…"
(End of Chapter)