Heaven Dou City wasn't far from Shrek City's Spirit Pagoda headquarters, with only Tianyu City in between. Flying at full speed, Xia Yi and Lan Fozi soon arrived at the headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda in Shrek City.
After entering Leng Yaozhu's office, Xia Yi noticed that Yali was also there.
Xia Yi immediately understood—she was here to ask Leng Yaozhu for the Ghost Emperor.
Judging by her current expression, as Xia Yi expected, she had been turned away.
"Yaozhu-jie," Lan Fozi was the first to greet Leng Yaozhu.
Mu Xi didn't dare be slow. She immediately wriggled out of Xia Yi's arms.
"Ouch!" Because she was too nervous and her body wasn't fully recovered, she accidentally twisted her ankle.
"What are you panicking for? It's not like Zhu'er is going to eat you." Xia Yi laughed and quickly helped her up.
Leng Yaozhu also flashed to Mu Xi's side, helping her up while shooting a fierce glare at Xia Yi.
"Greetings, Heavenly Phoenix Your Majesty, Holy Spirit Your Majesty." Mu Xi respectfully saluted Leng Yaozhu and Yali.
"There's no need to call me Heavenly Phoenix Your Majesty. You're the same as Fozi, just call me Yaozhu-jie from now on." Leng Yaozhu replied, shooting Xia Yi another glare.
"Alright, Yaozhu-jie." Mu Xi exhaled a little in relief and bowed carefully.
"Just look at her," Leng Yaozhu glanced at Yali.
Yali's mouth twitched slightly, but she waved her hand, and a palm-sized Wish Angel flew out, landing above Mu Xi's head.
As the life-filled soul skill spread from her head through her body, Mu Xi instantly felt completely rejuvenated. Even her lower body stopped hurting.
"Thank you, Holy Spirit Your Majesty," Mu Xi bowed to Yali again, but there was a strange gleam in her eyes as she looked at Yali—something wasn't quite right.
She glanced at Yali, then turned to Xia Yi.
If Yali had been by her side to help her recover like this earlier, she wouldn't have been so quickly exhausted and fallen asleep. She could've kept going.
"It's nothing, it's nothing," Yali's eyelid twitched wildly. As an Ultimate Douluo, she instantly understood what Mu Xi was thinking from that glance.
How bold of Mu Xi!
Was she seriously thinking that during her intimate time with Xia Yi, Yali should stand nearby and help restore her stamina?
Not just Yali—both Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu twitched at Mu Xi's gaze.
Even they didn't dare to entertain such a thought.
It had to be said—Mu Xi had quite the imagination.
Seeing the weird looks from Yali, Leng Yaozhu, and Xia Yi, Mu Xi immediately realized—these people had guessed what she was thinking.
In an instant, Mu Xi's face turned red down to her neck.
She had no idea how she could even entertain such an outrageous thought.
Thankfully, Yali had a good temper. If it had been any other Ultimate Douluo, and she dared to think something like that in their presence, she might've been slapped to death already.
"Yaozhu-jie, hand over the Ghost Emperor and Dark Blood Demon to me. I'm willing to pay any price," Yali broke the awkwardness by speaking up, looking resolutely at Leng Yaozhu. She had come specifically for the Ghost Emperor and Dark Blood Demon.
"I already told you. If you have Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin go kneel and apologize to the innocent civilians who died in the Cangshan district explosion in Mingdu, I might consider it. Otherwise, no way." Leng Yaozhu snorted coldly.
"During the explosion, Cao Dezhi was with the Blood God Legion, and Zang Xin was trapped by your sister. They didn't even give the order," Yali said through gritted teeth.
"They're the Tang Sect's leader and vice leader. Even if they didn't give the order, they still bear responsibility." Leng Yaozhu sneered. "Even if they didn't personally order the bombing of the underground weapons factory, they were the ones who approved the factory's continued production of soul tool bombs. Without that, this tragedy never would've happened."
"You might be right," Yali nodded slightly, then looked up at Leng Yaozhu. "But do you think I have the power to make them kneel and admit fault?"
"Then pass my message to them. If they don't do as I say, they'll end up like the Holy Spirit Cult. Don't think just because they're in hiding that I can't find them. I have ways." Leng Yaozhu said coldly.
"I'll pass it on. But I still want the Ghost Emperor and Dark Blood Demon. Ming-ge was killed by them. I won't forgive them." Yali's eyes burned with killing intent at the mention of Yun Ming.
"No. At least for now, I don't want them dead. So don't even try to persuade me." Leng Yaozhu said calmly.
"Then when do you plan to let them die?" Yali asked in a low voice.
"I don't know. For now, they're still useful. If they cooperate, maybe I'll even spare their lives." Leng Yaozhu replied.
"What exactly are you planning?" Yali's eyes filled with suspicion. Since when could the justice-driven Leng Yaozhu tolerate these evil soul masters from the Holy Spirit Cult?
"You really want to know?" Leng Yaozhu narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Yes!" Yali nodded firmly.
"You've been with Yun Ming for so many years. You should know that he was only one step away from godhood but could never break through. Do you know why?" Leng Yaozhu asked seriously.
"I know. Because there's no longer guidance from the God Realm, and because of the plane suppression of the Douluo Plane." Yali answered with gritted teeth.
"Exactly. Those two reasons." Leng Yaozhu smiled faintly and said seriously, "I want to create my own God Realm and break those limits."
"Create a God Realm?" Yali was shocked. That was something even Yun Ming had never dared to dream of.
"What does that have to do with those evil soul masters from the Holy Spirit Cult?" Yali pressed.
"I can't explain it clearly to you. But they're still useful. As for the exact method, I only have a rough idea. I'm still figuring it out." Leng Yaozhu gave a bitter smile. Although she was confident and had guidance from Xia Yi and experience from soul beasts creating their own God Realm, creating a new one was easier said than done—she still felt lost.
"I see… in that case, I'll take my leave." A trace of bitterness flashed in Yali's eyes, and she said no more.
Compared to Leng Yaozhu's plan to create a God Realm, her personal vendetta seemed trivial.
She understood the weight of things.
"Wait," Leng Yaozhu suddenly called out to Yali.
"What is it?" Yali stopped and turned around.
"Let me check your body." Leng Yaozhu instantly appeared at Yali's side and grabbed her arm before Yali could even react.
Even as an Ultimate Douluo, Yali couldn't resist in front of Leng Yaozhu. Before she understood what was happening, a stream of pure soul power entered her body through her arm.
Yali was shocked to find that although the soul power Leng Yaozhu injected wasn't much, her own soul power, despite being at the Ultimate Douluo level, couldn't resist it. Instead, it moved aside on its own to make room.
"You—what are you doing?" Yali asked, alarmed. Even though she trusted Leng Yaozhu, having her soul power completely controlled was terrifying.
In this state, Leng Yaozhu could easily take her life with just a thought.
"Nothing. I was just curious how you managed to break through the limit. Now it seems my guess was right." Leng Yaozhu looked at Yali with a complicated expression.
"What are you trying to say? Why wouldn't I be able to break through?" Yali scoffed, unconvinced.
You can cultivate to such terrifying levels, and I can't even break one bottleneck?
"I never doubted your talent. I doubted your body. Even if your mental trauma was healed, your physical condition shouldn't have allowed you to break through to this level," Leng Yaozhu said softly.
"I broke through and gained deeper insights into the power of life. My body is fully recovered," Yali retorted.
"I just confirmed all that." Leng Yaozhu's voice was soft, but her gaze toward Yali carried an indescribable complexity.
"Then what's the problem?" Yali was unhappy with Leng Yaozhu's gaze—it was like pity.
"Do you really want me to say it?" Leng Yaozhu sighed and said, "Yali-jie, just one question: If happiness and truth contradict each other… which would you choose?"
"What happiness do I have left?" Seeing the seriousness in Leng Yaozhu's expression, Yali realized the matter was grave. She took a deep breath and said, "If you know something, tell me. I can handle it."
"In that case, I'll say it. You might hate me forever, but as your sister, I feel it's my duty to let you know the truth." Leng Yaozhu took a deep breath and said seriously, "Yali-jie, do you know how worried I was when I heard Shrek Academy was attacked by the Holy Spirit Cult and Yun Ming was missing or dead?"
Upon hearing this, Yali felt a warm current in her heart. She gave a bitter smile and said, "Why worry about me? I was in Mingdu at the time. Were you afraid I'd do something foolish? It's true—I did have the urge to kill myself and follow Ming-ge. But Mingdu, Shrek City… so many innocent civilians were in hospitals, untreated, because of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. How could I just die and leave everything behind?"
Yali's eyes were filled with bitterness. When she first sensed Yun Ming's death, she truly wanted to die with him. If it weren't for seeing the hospitals in the Cangshan District of Mingdu overcrowded with people, and then thinking of Shrek City likely being the same, there might not be an Ultimate Spirit Douluo now.
Leng Yaozhu didn't respond directly to Yali's words and continued, "Sister Yali, I understand you. Everything you said, I had already imagined. But when I heard you were still alive, I still felt deeply saddened."
Yali grew angry, her gaze turning cold as she glared at Leng Yaozhu. She said coldly, "So you were hoping I'd die? Do you think that I have to die for Brother Ming to be worthy of him?"
"Sister Yali, is that what you think of me?" Leng Yaozhu gave a bitter smile.
"If that's not the case, then why were you hoping I'd die?" Yali's expression remained cold.
In her mind, Leng Yaozhu simply couldn't let go of Yun Ming. She purely felt that not dying for Yun Ming was a betrayal to his memory.
Leng Yaozhu smiled bitterly and said, "I knew you'd misunderstand. Yes, when I heard you were okay, I was indeed saddened. It wasn't until I heard that your hair turned white overnight that I finally let out a breath of relief."
"My hair turned white overnight, and that made you feel better? And you say you're not upset on Brother Ming's behalf?" Yali's gaze grew even colder. She could accept dying for Yun Ming, but being pushed toward death by her best friend—that she couldn't accept.
"Let me finish," Leng Yaozhu shook her head and said, "You forgot—your life is linked to Yun Ming's. He died, so how could you not be affected? At first, I thought your white hair was due to depleted life force. But then you broke through to the Ultimate level—that shouldn't have been possible."
Yali's body stiffened. If she still couldn't understand what Leng Yaozhu meant by now, she didn't deserve to be called the Spirit Saint Douluo.
Yes, her life was shared with Yun Ming's. It was only because Yun Ming shared his life force with her that she had survived back then.
But now that Yun Ming was dead, the source of life force should've been severed too. Why hadn't she been affected?
The reason Leng Yaozhu felt relieved upon hearing her hair had turned white overnight was that she thought it meant something had gone wrong with the source of life.
But Yali knew clearly that her hair had turned white not because of life force issues—but from overwhelming grief.
Now, after she had broken through to the Ultimate level, it once again made Leng Yaozhu suspicious.
If her life force was really shared with Yun Ming's, then after his death, she would've at least suffered grave injuries.
Under those circumstances, it would've been impossible for her to break through.
Even if her emotional wounds had healed, any issue with her life source would have prevented a breakthrough.
In that instant, a possibility Yali refused to even consider—one that she'd rather die than accept—surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.
Yali finally understood why Leng Yaozhu had asked her whether she wanted happiness or the truth.
Once that thought clicked, Yali's expression wasn't one of sorrow—but suddenly turned ferocious.
"Impossible. You're lying to me! Don't try to drive a wedge between us. Brother Ming would never lie to me, let alone use me! Leng Yaozhu, don't think I don't know what you're trying to do. You're just jealous of me and Brother Ming and trying to drive us apart!" Yali screamed at Leng Yaozhu hysterically, her eyes filled with venomous rage—as if Leng Yaozhu were her mortal enemy.
She would rather die than believe Yun Ming's love was a lie.
Leng Yaozhu wasn't angry. Instead, she stepped forward and gently hugged Yali. She understood her completely. A love that had lasted decades—if it suddenly turned out to be a lie, anyone would break down. If it had happened to her, she might have fallen even harder than Yali.
"Sister Yali, I'm not doubting Yun Ming. Just like you, I believe he wasn't capable of such a thing. It's very possible that he, like you, was also in the dark. If you want the truth, you can seek out the Light-Dark Douluo. This matter is definitely connected to her and to Yun Ming's teacher, the Heaven-Blessed Douluo. Only they would know the real story," Leng Yaozhu said coldly. In fact, she already had a rough idea of what had happened.
But this was something Yali had to verify for herself.
Leng Yaozhu still had faith in Yun Ming's character. But as for the others in Shrek Academy—forget it.
Leng Yaozhu knew very well, even if Yun Ming wasn't directly responsible, he probably knew the truth a long time ago.
But he couldn't bring himself to tell Yali and could only try to make it up to her as best he could.
In reality, with Yali's cultivation and understanding of life force, no matter how perfectly the Heaven-Blessed Douluo and Light-Dark Douluo had planned it, Yali should have noticed something.
But she loved Yun Ming too deeply. Deep in her subconscious, she instinctively avoided thinking in that direction. She had been running away from the truth.