"Deep Sea Dragon King Cannon!"
The Sea Dragon King launched a devastating strike.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao immediately shielded the girls behind him.
Then, the red ninth soul ring on his Frost Centipede True Body flickered. A blinding golden light burst forth from the ring, and a hexagonal crystal appeared in front of the Frost Centipede. The golden light from the soul ring gradually dyed the entire body of the centipede gold.
It was the Super Soul Skill – Heart of the Ocean!
Its special effects weren't much different from when Li Ya had used it.
This was a soul skill from a new soul ring obtained by Jin Qiuer, which Huo Yuhao was now borrowing. It also concealed his original soul ring abilities.
After Li Ya sacrificed herself to Jin Qiuer, this super soul skill became the sole soul skill of that hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
Yes, a hundred-thousand-year soul ring only had this one ability — that's the uniqueness of a super soul skill.
One move stronger than two!
As the Sea Dragon King's pure energy attack burst forth, Huo Yuhao fully activated the Heart of the Ocean, absorbing the entire attack without leaving a trace.
Cracks began to appear across the Frost Centipede True Body, with terrifying energy flowing within, as though Huo Yuhao was struggling to contain the absorbed power.
Immediately afterward, he triggered the second phase of the Heart of the Ocean: Curse of the Ocean's Heart!
Golden-blue soul power erupted from the crystal and surged toward the Sea Dragon King.
This attack combined the Ultimate Ice attribute, water attribute from the Sea Dragon King, and spiritual power, forming a terrifying trinity.
But it also heavily drained Huo Yuhao's soul power. After launching the attack, even before it struck the Sea Dragon King, the Frost Centipede True Body completely shattered, his martial soul returning to the soul imprint, and Huo Yuhao plummeted weakly from the sky.
Xian Lin'er rushed to catch the falling Huo Yuhao.
"Cough… Sorry, I can't hold on any longer," Huo Yuhao said weakly, coughing a few times.
None of the others blamed him — on the contrary, they were grateful — though they anxiously watched the Sea Dragon King's direction, waiting to see what happened.
The reflected attack didn't directly hit the Sea Dragon King but was first blocked by the Deep Sea Domain barrier.
The barrier grew especially solid, resisting the external assault.
But it wasn't enough to block a super soul skill. Cracks rapidly formed in the domain's barrier. The Soul-Controlling Centipede immediately made the Sea Dragon King open its mouth to charge up soul power, preparing to clash head-on.
There was no option to flee. If the Sea Dragon King tried to escape, the domain would vanish — and the attack would land faster.
Another Deep Sea Dragon King Cannon was fired.
At the moment the soul power barrier shattered, the new attack collided with the Curse of the Ocean's Heart. The two forces crashed into each other, resulting in an even more terrifying explosion.
A devastating explosion erupted on the sea surface.
Without hesitation, the Sea Dragon King dove into the ocean, hoping the sea would absorb the shock.
Meanwhile, Xian Lin'er, Cai Meier, and Han Ruoruo had to protect the exhausted Huo Yuhao while struggling to survive.
The Golden Armored Earth Dragon Soul wrapped around the four of them.
It managed to shield them for just a moment before giving a sorrowful cry and shattering, returning to the martial soul.
Fortunately, that moment was enough for Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier to activate their martial soul true bodies.
"Seventh Soul Skill: True Body of the Azure Flame Dragon!"
"Seventh Soul Skill: True Body of the Dragon Soul!"
Surprisingly, Cai Meier's martial soul true body was also beast-shaped — and in the form of the Golden Armored Earth Dragon.
This was another unique trait of her martial soul — it had two true body forms: Dragon Spear and Dragon Soul.
In the soul master world, a few weapon-type martial souls with beast soul powers could have such special effects in their true body forms. It was a sign of extraordinary martial soul quality.
For example, ten thousand years ago, the Snake Lance Douluo from the Spirit Hall had such a trait.
Han Ruoruo took over carrying Huo Yuhao and fully released a soul power barrier to shield them.
Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier stood outside the barrier, guarding them. As the explosion's shockwaves hit, their martial soul true bodies began to break apart and gave out mournful cries.
"Cough… Thank goodness, everyone's alright."
Huo Yuhao coughed, looking pale and frail, but still held himself up to check on the others.
Among the group, only Huo Yuhao could barely serve as a healer.
The four had ended up on a drifting glacier.
They had no idea where they were. After barely escaping the explosion, they fled across the sea in a daze, completely losing their direction.
Eventually, they found a larger ice floe and landed on it to rest. But even this glacier drifted aimlessly with the waves.
The Sea Dragon King was nowhere to be seen.
Fortunately, their storage soul tools contained supplies. They pitched a tent on the glacier and lit a fire.
Otherwise, their weakened states might've meant death from the cold.
In the tent, they could only rely on the seams for awareness of the outside world.
Even in the warmth, their complexions remained pale and their conditions poor. But, thanks to Huo Yuhao's diagnosis, they had no irreparable injuries or permanent damage.
Xian Lin'er and Cai Meier had merely exhausted their soul power, stamina, and mental energy. Their broken martial soul true bodies had left some injuries, but they were recoverable.
Han Ruoruo had suffered the worst — her post-demonized state left her weak, and the backlash from her shattered martial soul left her unable to use any power for now. But with rest at the academy, she could recover in time.
As for Huo Yuhao, the other three thought he was in about the same condition as them.
"This time, we survived only because we were on the edge of the explosion. If we were any closer, we wouldn't be so lucky," Xian Lin'er sighed and warned, "Yuhao, your ninth soul skill is powerful, but it comes with risks. You have to be more cautious when using it in the future."
Huo Yuhao nodded. "I understand, Senior Sister Xian."
Watching from the side, Cai Meier couldn't help but feel touched. If one didn't know about the past between Xian Lin'er and Huo Yuhao, she truly seemed like a wonderful senior who cared deeply — even now, thinking only of Huo Yuhao's safety.
Han Ruoruo said nothing, but her mind was troubled. Now she was no different from an ordinary person — a burden to the team.
Just as the group was about to speak further, a strange light shone through the seam of the tent, drawing everyone's alert attention.
They rushed outside and were stunned to see, on the sea, a magnificent crystal palace that had somehow appeared — as if made entirely of crystal, radiating seven-colored light under the sun.
Clearly, it was no ordinary place.
They exchanged wary glances. With the glacier already docked at the palace, they had no choice but to approach.
As if sensing their arrival, the crystal palace's grand doors slowly opened from within, revealing a golden glow.
A majestic voice echoed in their minds:
"This is the Land of Divine Grace! Pass the trial and meet the criteria, and you shall be watched by the gods — and granted their blessing!"
"Intruders, accept the trial!"
In the next instant, all four were pulled into the crystal palace as the doors closed behind them on their own.
Huo Yuhao: Now it's my turn! I activate the field card – Crystal Palace! I summon a Crystal Palace to help me cultivate!
This crystal palace, of course, was made by Hao-ge.
The purpose was to stall Xian Liner, Cai Meier, and Han Ruoruo, while also helping them recover and improve, so that when Hao-ge returned, he could train alongside them.
Constructing the crystal palace wasn't difficult—among the captured soul beasts, one had the ability to create crystals. It took less than an hour to erect the massive structure.
Inside the palace, Hao Yuhuo's avatar personally took charge. As soon as the three women were drawn into the crystal palace, he unleashed his spiritual powers, firmly taking control of Xian Liner, Cai Meier, and Han Ruoruo.
Afterward, Hao Yuhuo even delivered a Fantasy Ice Mirage Fist to them. This technique would plunge enemies into an illusion. Given the gap in strength, as long as Hao Yuhuo didn't deactivate the ability, the three women would remain forever trapped in a "training illusion" he crafted.
Then, Hao Yuhuo had his avatar provide them with resources salvaged from the deep sea—meant to replenish their depleted energy and strengthen their potential. All of this was to maintain the illusion that they were gaining experience inside the crystal palace.
Finally, Hao Yuhuo chose to leave the crystal palace to handle affairs in the Ice Sea.
There was still a huge backlog of beast materials waiting to be processed, the situation with the "demonic children and grandchildren" needed to be investigated, and he needed to evaluate the progress of his "cauldrons."
The avatar remained behind in the crystal palace.
In that time, the avatar hadn't changed much—except that it was now preparing to break through to the god level.
The avatar, created from the physical body of a soul beast, shared Hao Yuhuo's power and, in theory, should have no problem breaking level 100.
But the problem lay in the materials—it was built from the corpse of a soul beast, so it was still considered a soul beast.
And becoming a god as a soul beast on the Douluo Continent was nearly impossible.
While the avatar's spiritual power had reached the Divine Origin Realm, its physical body had failed to achieve a god-level breakthrough.
It always felt like something was missing.
Only after Hao Yuhuo shared some divine power with it did it gain an opportunity for advancement.
However, Hao Yuhuo had a feeling that if the avatar used his divine power to ascend, it might end up like Niu Tian and Tai Tan—becoming a servant to a god.
He could only have the avatar continue experimenting.
Now though, Hao Yuhuo had a new idea:
If a full soul beast body didn't work...
Then what about a half-human, half-soul beast?
The newly discovered Demon Empress made for an excellent host body.
Rebuilding the avatar into a carrier for the "middle corpse" or "upper corpse" might just work.
Through constant trials, Hao Yuhuo had begun to understand how to separate the middle and upper corpses from his body.
Since the lower corpse couldn't return, he would need to separate the other two as well to maintain his own balance.
Moreover, separating the three corpses would help his cultivation. In Buddhist terms, this was known as "breaking attachment," which would bring great wisdom, enlightenment, and cultivation.
Even better—the cultivation and insights of the three corpses would still feed back into Hao Yuhuo himself.
Following the guidance of the avatar's memories, Hao Yuhuo soon found the "beast material storage site."
It was a coastal ice plain in the Far North.
Many sea soul beasts had been captured and brought ashore, stripped of their cultivation and imprisoned.
They were guarded by his demonic descendants.
As Hao Yuhuo arrived, the demonic offspring were already lined up in formation, waiting to welcome their ancestor.
The bitter cold of the Far North couldn't dampen their gratitude for the ancestor, nor extinguish their burning devotion to him.
Before Hao Yuhuo even landed, he heard them shout in unison—
"Ancestor! Boundless power, ever-victorious, undefeated in all battles!"
"Ancestor! Supreme and mighty, divinely powerful, peerless under heaven!"
"Ancestor! Heaven's chosen, blessed with eternal fortune, long life equal to the heavens!"
"The ancestor's kindness can never be repaid!"
"Loyalty!"
With those cries, the icy plain surged with demonic energy—it was like a realm of monsters.
Hao Yuhuo: "…"
After he landed, the demonic offspring rushed to him, hugging him and weeping. As if just seeing his face had overwhelmed them with emotion—they cried as if not crying meant disloyalty.
"All right, all right—where did you learn this?" Hao Yuhuo asked, speechless.
"It was the Soul-Grabbing Centipede!" one centipede demon raised a claw.
Sure enough, it was the Soul-Grabbing Centipede. He proudly stepped forward and said, "Ancestor, I designed this entire welcoming ceremony based on the sea soul beasts' memories!"
Hao Yuhuo glanced him up and down. The Soul-Grabbing Centipede had mutated from a Ghost-Faced Centipede. It looked similar but was green-bodied, with a purple ghost face on its first carapace segment—like a real human face plastered onto a centipede. Its poison trait had faded, but its spiritual power had greatly increased.
Given his golden "mid-level centipede" status, Hao Yuhuo had no choice but to praise him.
Hao Yuhuo said, "Mm, good work. You've worked hard. Keep it up, and I'll find a grand-matriarch to marry."
The Soul-Grabbing Centipede burst into tears of joy and shouted, "The ancestor praised me! The ancestor will find a grand-matriarch! A grand-matriarch!!!"
Other centipede demons looked on enviously, their bodies trembling with excitement.
"But… what does the ancestor marrying a grand-matriarch have to do with you?" one centipede finally asked.
The Soul-Grabbing Centipede lunged and slapped that centipede hard, yelling, "If the ancestor is happy, I'm happy! If the ancestor is blessed, I'm blessed! Everything I have belongs to the ancestor! Loyalty!"
The slapped centipede suddenly understood, burst into tears, and shouted, "Loyalty!"
Then all the centipede demons started crying again.
They were just too loyal.
Hao Yuhuo wasn't sure whether the Soul-Grabbing Centipede was truly clever… or cleverly dumb. Weren't spiritual types supposed to be smarter?
Could this be "great wisdom appears foolish"?
Later, the demonic offspring formed up, and Hao Yuhuo began reviewing them.
Compared to before, their numbers had grown—some from reproduction, some were new recruits taught in demonic cultivation. Most were centipede-type soul beasts.
Because only centipede-types were well-suited for their cultivation methods.
The first generation of centipede demons had suffered significant casualties, but their souls had been stored in the Hao Emperor Banner to continue cultivation.
The surviving centipede demons were in rapid development. Some had even taken on human forms—though they still had grotesque centipede heads.
To Hao Yuhuo, they looked... ugly-cute.
More than fifty centipede demons had gained humanoid bodies, all with power rivaling beast kings. A few were nearing the fierce beast level.
Mind you, they'd only been training for five years—ten at most.
Their rapid progress was due not only to their demonic cultivation but also to the massive influx of flesh and blood they had devoured.
In short: the demonic descendants were, without a doubt, evil soul beasts by Douluo standards. Even in the wider cultivation world, they'd be seen as monsters.
But so what?
After all, under the sacred mountain, monsters eat humans too.
After inspecting the younger generation of demon offspring, Huo Yuhao didn't rush to leave. Instead, he sat down to discuss the Dao with them.
The main purpose was to personally guide their cultivation.
When the big boss of the group teaches you the way to success himself—tell me, isn't that moving?
This lecture lasted a full day and night.
Actually, the time spent wasn't too much.
Because all the demon descendants cultivated similar techniques, the differences came mostly from individual bloodlines and talents, resulting in varying outcomes. Huo Yuhao mainly addressed those discrepancies.
Additionally, the centipede demons existed in clusters. Guiding one meant guiding an entire group.
As for their future cultivation, they only needed to follow the steps and keep devouring—there would be no major problems.
In fact, Huo Yuhao gave more attention to newly recruited members, even personally meeting each new demon—consider it a newcomer benefit.
These new demons were originally soul beasts. After cultivating demon techniques, they had essentially become spirits or demons. Some had even transformed completely.
For those who weren't centipede demons, Huo Yuhao kindly taught them some general-use demon cultivation methods and techniques. Though these weren't as high-quality as those for the first-generation demon offspring, they were practical enough.
Otherwise, cultivating centipede techniques blindly could easily lead to deviation and death.
Most of the new demons were sea soul beasts, and none had reached ten-thousand-year cultivation.
Those above ten thousand years had already been eaten by the demon descendants. Those surpassing a hundred thousand years had been saved specifically for Huo Yuhao.
The demon descendants knew that to raise good underlings, you had to train them young.
Among the new demons, Huo Yuhao discovered a particularly interesting existence—a sea-blue centipede, unusually beautiful, like a piece of art. However, she struggled to cultivate the centipede techniques.
Upon inspection, Huo Yuhao was surprised to discover she wasn't actually a centipede, but a dragon-type.
More importantly, she had a high-purity dragon bloodline.
After some questioning, he learned that she was a sea soul beast, calling herself a sea centipede.
With a light touch of spiritual imprinting, Huo Yuhao ensured her loyalty and then taught her suitable techniques and cultivation methods. He also renamed her Sea Dragon Centipede and instructed the other demon descendants to take good care of her.
The demon descendants were first puzzled, then enlightened, and finally swarmed around her. Someone even started calling her "Grandma" on the spot.
Huo Yuhao could only shake his head helplessly.
…
The progress of the demon descendants greatly satisfied Huo Yuhao. Next, it was time to deal with the beast materials.
"This way, Ancestor!"
A centipede demon clad in golden armor led the way for Huo Yuhao. It looked like a general in golden armor. It had already mostly assumed human form—even the head resembled a human's, except for the centipede-like mouthparts.
Its true body was a golden centipede, evolved from the one with the golden bloodline and the greatest potential back in the centipede garden. After evolving, its strength and potential had significantly improved.
Only the newly arrived Sea Dragon Centipede could compare in potential.
In terms of raw strength, the degree of human transformation said it all—this demon had surpassed the Beast King level and was close to becoming a Savage Beast.
If it could fully transform its mouth, it would truly become a Savage Beast—and more precisely, a Demon King.
Only demons who fully transformed into human form were eligible to be called Demon Kings. The rest were merely Great Demons or Lesser Demons.
Among all the demon descendants, the Golden Centipede had the strongest combat power and naturally served as the leader.
So, it was fitting for him to personally guide the ancestor.
Under the Golden Centipede's lead, Huo Yuhao arrived at the holding area for the captured beasts.
Most of them were sea soul beasts, kept in a dehydrated state.
Without seawater, their strength had already weakened significantly. Combined with the freezing conditions of the extreme north and having their powers sealed, the sea soul beasts had become extremely frail.
On the icy plain, many sea soul beasts huddled together, trying to keep warm against the frigid northern winds—a pitiful sight.
However, these beasts included not only ten-thousand-year Beast Kings and over-hundred-thousand-year Savage Beasts but also many with rare bloodlines. They had once ruled parts of the ocean.
People weren't joking when they said you could gather twelve Demon Kings from them!
In fact, more than twelve Savage Beasts had already been captured. The Soul-Capturing Centipede truly hadn't been exaggerating.
Previously used soul beasts like the Hundred-Tentacle Demon King, Storm General, and Sea Dragon King were all kept separately—still injured and yet to recover.
If the Demon Sovereign hadn't previously slaughtered a swath of soul beasts in the ocean, the harvest would have been even greater. Most of the beasts here had been captured in or near the Ice Sea.
Of course, there were trade-offs. Without the threat of powerful soul beasts, the early development of the demon descendants had gone smoothly.
Sweeping over the area with his divine sense, Huo Yuhao quickly gained a good grasp of the situation.
As his overwhelming spiritual pressure passed over the beasts, a hush fell across the frozen plain. The silence wasn't out of respect—but fear.
Huo Yuhao then selected a batch he didn't need and told the Golden Centipede to distribute them to the demon descendants—only their beast souls needed to be returned.
The demon cultivation methods used by the descendants could even devour the energy from soul rings, so there was no worry of waste.
He also specifically instructed that the Sea Dragon King be given to the Sea Dragon Centipede. Huo Yuhao wanted to use the Sea Dragon King to help her awaken her innate water element.
The Golden Centipede was momentarily stunned but quickly understood. He thanked Huo Yuhao profusely and pounded his chest, promising to make sure Grandma Sea Dragon got all the best resources.
"I didn't… You know what, forget it. You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just go make the arrangements. I'll handle things here," Huo Yuhao said with a helpless wave.
The Golden Centipede bowed respectfully, then happily left with the beast materials.
With these new resources, several more Demon Kings were bound to emerge among the demon descendants.
…
Huo Yuhao then examined the remaining soul beasts.
Almost all were Savage Beasts. Only two Beast Kings remained—both with excellent bloodlines, possessing Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) lineage.
Among the Savage Beasts, the most valuable was undoubtedly the mother of Li Jing and Li Ya: the Sea Princess.
Yes, her title was literally Sea Princess, and her entire mermaid tribe was named after her. In merfolk society, females were considered superior, and they generally had stronger cultivation potential.
The Sea Princess possessed not only a powerful bloodline but also extremely high cultivation—comparable to an Ultimate Douluo. In the ocean, she was near the top.
Among all the sea soul beasts Huo Yuhao had encountered, only the Demon Sovereign had confirmed strength above hers.
There were a few sea soul beasts with strength equal to hers, but their potential had been depleted, and their bloodlines weren't as high-quality.
Still, the Sea Princess also had little chance of breaking through to the million-year level. After all, that was an entirely different threshold.
A soul beast's strength usually reflected its bloodline quality. But some hadn't reached their limits yet, while others had exhausted their potential.
Without extraordinary opportunities, beasts who had run out of potential usually died at the next heavenly tribulation.
Huo Yuhao directly approached the Sea Princess.
She and her tribe were imprisoned together. Most of them had their lower halves and arms frozen—only their heads remained mobile.
Upon Huo Yuhao's arrival, only Sea Princess Hui glared at him, but her haggard appearance made her angry gaze seem more like a petulant tantrum, oddly amusing to him.
The hatred of an entire race was merely entertaining to Huo Yuhao.
How could a predator empathize with its prey?
The other Sea Princess clan members lowered their heads in fear. Huo Yuhao's divine aura had terrified them.
To subdue the clan, casualties were inevitable. Now, all male Sea Princes were dead, leaving barely a hundred females, including the twenty-some captives.
Among them were several 100,000-year Beast Kings and three ferocious beasts over 200,000 years old.
Li Jing and Li Ya were future potential, not the clan's core strength.
Otherwise, the Sea Princess wouldn't have dominated the Ice Sea.
The souls of the fallen were collected by Huo Yao's minions and sent to the Hao Emperor Banner, reuniting with the clan's two princesses.
Li Jing and Li Ya's opinions were irrelevant.
As merfolk, the Sea Princess clan was undeniably beautiful, their allure growing with strength—Sea Princess Hui most of all.
Her figure resembled Li Jing and Li Ya's but was fuller, her body over four meters long, with an exceptionally curvaceous form. Her upper body was that of a stunning mature woman, her golden crown gleaming, and her lower fish tail, tail-like Li Ya's, bore golden scales at the base, though more extensive.
In her youth, she might've been a Sea Princess, but now, Sea Queen suited her better.
Had the Demon Emperor's traces not been found, she could've been a vessel for a clone. Now, she was merely cultivation material.
Huo Yuhao floated up, hooking her chin with a finger, smiling. "Might Madame join me in bed tonight?"
"Pah!" Sea Princess spat at him.
Huo Yuhao laughed heartily.
He pulled her into the Rakshasa Secret Realm. The upcoming cultivation required its concealment to block external detection and muffle disturbances.
Sea Princess was just the start.
Next were all the Sea Princesses and other beast materials.
Three days and nights later, the ice plains were devoid of soul beasts. Only the cold wind lingered, as if carrying away some sorrow.
In the Rakshasa Secret Realm, Bibi Dong sat dazed, closer to Huo Yuhao, now on the bed.
Zi Ji's had been broken. As long as Huo Yuhao spared Star Dou Forest, she wouldn't resist, even showing signs of active appeasement.
Bibi Dong, overwhelmed by relentless stimuli, had sealed herself off, neither resisting nor cooperating. But Huo Yuhao knew only one condition remained to break her.
Over these three days, Huo Yuhao processed all beast materials.
Those unable to transform or male were consumed—flesh and soul power devoured. Soul bones and rings were absorbed or fused. Beast souls were sent to the Hao Emperor Banner. Their luck was assimilated into Huo Yuhao's.
Zi Ji and Bibi Dong, witnessing it all, felt fear, disdain, and grief, but ultimately accepted it.
Huo Yuhao refined his Ring Fusion Technique, improving its efficiency and ensuring no waste.
Soul bones were fused into his divine armor, enhancing its quality.
His bloodlines—White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Heavenly Dragon, and Phoenix—were strengthened, except for Phoenix, reaching impressive levels, each forming corresponding qi-blood soul rings.
Beyond these, he had Behemoth and Purple Radiance Heaven-Destroying Dragon bloodlines.
The Behemoth bloodline, nurtured by qi-blood power, grew slowly, elevating the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear tattoo's cultivation, now officially 100,000 years.
The Purple Radiance Heaven-Destroying Dragon bloodline, from the Sun Moon Xu family, was a dragon clan bloodline but preserved separately. As a sub-dragon bloodline tied to the Dragon God, it might prove useful.
Though Huo Yuhao used many Beast Kings and ferocious beasts, his strength only advanced slightly.
His true power was already immense.
Per the Holy Spirit Feathered Serpent, in divine armor and full combat, Huo Yuhao rivaled a weaker Tier 1 god, though not sustainably.
His gaze fell on the immortal herbs, fully converted but unharvested, like the others.
He planned to use them when breaking through to Tier 1 god, amassing power in one go.
The serpent noted that godhood transformed attributes into ultimate forms, with cultivation focusing on law comprehension and power accumulation. Without bottlenecks (ignoring divine position quality), only insufficient insight hindered progress.
Beyond gains, Huo Yuhao noticed a flaw in his cultivation.
He'd developed a lustful fixation on women, unprecedented for him.
Before, he'd at most remark "quite a taste"; now, he considered writing a critique for Sea Princess.
This stemmed from a flaw in his Lower Corpse.
Though separated from his body, the Lower Corpse wasn't severed, remaining linked and growing, fueling his desires.
"The Middle and Upper Corpses need addressing soon," Huo Yuhao decided.
Resisting carnal indulgence, he pushed away the clinging Zi Ji, stood, and approached the pool.
Perhaps the beast materials' malice before consumption had generated more Rakshasa Stone Milk. A figure soaked within.
Sea Princess—her soul form, to be precise.
Her soul was transforming, her mature face contorted in pain.
Since the Far North's operations were underway, there was no need to dismantle them. Manipulating Sea Princess to stir chaos in the Far North sounded intriguing.
Her will had been forcibly converted.
For 200,000-year-old Zi Ji, Huo Yuhao used subtle methods.
For 600,000-year-old Sea Princess, he was blunt.
The soul beasts' greatest luck lay with the dragon clan, not merfolk.
Her transformation needed time, and Huo Yuhao wasn't rushed.
He soothed Zi Ji, patted Bibi Dong's head, and left the Rakshasa Secret Realm.
He had another engagement to attend.
While the main clone ventured to sea, it took along a group of Sun Moon Empire cauldrons for training and cultivation.
This included the harem's Empress, Imperial Consort, four Noble Consorts, and Yu Mandance from the cold palace.
The Xu family team's Nana, Luan Fei, Ye Guyi, Xu Tianzhen, and three Heavenly Dragon maidens.
Plus Shangguan Wei'er and her disciple Ye Su.
The harem cauldrons primarily provided phoenix qi for Huo Yuhao. Their perceptions were twisted upon leaving Mingdu, turning them into existences like Nan Shuishui.
The Empress and Yu Mandance, despite their vendetta over a killed son, could laugh and serve Huo Yuhao together.
Their child was merely a prop in their play with Huo Yuhao.
Nana and the others, to varying degrees, were mentally influenced, ensuring absolute loyalty to Huo Yuhao, with decent cultivation talent.
The focus was on the three Heavenly Dragon maidens, followed by Ye Guyi; others were secondary.
After leaving Mingdu, they practiced sinister techniques, rapidly boosting strength.
With ample resources, these evil methods posed no side effects.
Most importantly, they bypassed moral concerns.
Many techniques were deemed evil due to ethical violations. Remove the issue, and evil techniques became divine.
The results were gratifying.
Under Huo Yuhao's nurturing, the harem cauldrons regained their potential, nearing Super Douluo. Yu Mandance broke through to Level 96.
Shangguan Wei'er also reached Super Douluo.
The three Heavenly Dragon maidens gained combat power comparable to Super Douluo, their strength resembling soul beasts rather than soul masters.
Nana, Luan Fei, Xu Tianzhen, and Ye Guyi advanced to Soul Douluo.
Ye Su was on the verge of Titled Douluo.
They were training on another island when Huo Yuhao appeared, sparking their delight.
Meeting cauldrons meant one thing: cultivation.
However, cultivating with most cauldrons no longer significantly boosted Huo Yuhao's strength, only satisfying his desires and purging emotional and cultivation impurities.
Only the absorbed phoenix qi nourished the Snow Lotus, fostering its growth.
The Snow Lotus's phantom floated beside Huo Yuhao, spinning as if expressing joy.
Huo Yuhao sighed inwardly. He couldn't focus solely on cultivation, having developed excessive techniques for cauldron use—a bad sign.
Techniques were fine, but not at cultivation's expense, a result of Lower Corpse imbalance.
Fortunately, he could suppress it.
Post-cultivation, Huo Yuhao spent time enhancing the cauldrons' quality with Fortune Sacred Cigars, sparing no resources.
…
After handling the Ice Sea beast materials, Huo Yuhao returned to the Crystal Palace.
Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, and Han Ruoruo remained in slumber, their consciousnesses undergoing a trial called "Divine Grace."
In the trial, they faced life-and-death crises with Huo Yuhao, earning rewards that healed injuries, restored soul power, and advanced their cultivation.
Even Xian Lin'er's erased memories were restored through Divine Grace rewards.
Lost memories? No problem—Hao Bro crafts new ones, more vivid than the originals.
Thus, Xian Lin'er confessed her true feelings to Huo Yuhao.
Cai Mei'er sensed trouble.
Han Ruoruo was stunned.
Yet, Huo Yuhao feigned amnesia, reacting with shock.
He had no plans to restore his memories—not until Wang Dong'er was secured.
But the Divine Grace trial wasn't over.
They entered the final stage: "Path of Recultivation, Heart of Inquiry."
All memories were sealed, their consciousnesses reverting to their martial soul awakening, retracing their cultivation path.
This time, Huo Yuhao, Xian Lin'er, Cai Mei'er, and Han Ruoruo were same-year students at Shrek Academy. As geniuses, they met, competed, and bonded.
Naturally, forbidden feelings emerged during their shared cultivation, sparked in the girls' budding hearts.
The youthful Huo Yuhao, with peerless talent, stunning looks, and a gentlemanly demeanor—arrogant outwardly, gentle inwardly—embodied worldly perfection.
Which girl wouldn't be smitten?
The three were no exception.
Their close bond with Huo Yuhao gave them an edge, leading to overt and covert rivalry for his affection.
Eventually, Huo Yuhao noticed their feelings, confronting them openly, declaring, "I, Huo Yuhao, am devoted to cultivation!"
Their love ended before it began.
But someone refused to let it end there.
Cai Mei'er, always lively and gentle, made a bold move: to bind Huo Yuhao by consummating their bond!
Given the strength gap, she enlisted Xian Lin'er and Han Ruoruo.
"Rather than let outside vixens have him, we'll take him ourselves! Even if he hates me, I won't regret tasting him!" Cai Mei'er's words shocked them for life.
Xian Lin'er, typically domineering, was uncharacteristically shy. "No, this betrays Yuhao! I won't agree! How's this different from throwing yourself at him like a cheap woman?"
Cai Mei'er vowed, "Failure is gifting; success is pure love! Ruoruo, your thoughts?"
Han Ruoruo hesitated, then nodded firmly.
Xian Lin'er was floored.
Among them, Han Ruoruo, the steadiest with a virtuous wife's aura, agreed to Cai Mei'er's outrageous plan?
"At least I won't regret it," Han Ruoruo explained.
As Cai Mei'er and Han Ruoruo prepared, Xian Lin'er stopped them, ultimately joining in.
She refused to lose to others or be left out!
"But I go first!" Xian Lin'er declared. "Otherwise, I'll report you."
"Only if I get a taste first!" Cai Mei'er refused to lose out.
Han Ruoruo: "Me too!"
Exploiting Huo Yuhao's trust, they drugged him, subduing him as the drug took effect.
They took turns, confessing passionately.
Xian Lin'er: "Yuhao, I'm sorry. You may hate me, but right now, I truly love you."
Cai Mei'er: "Yuhao, I'll make it up to you with everything I have. Please don't hate me, okay?"
Han Ruoruo: "Yuhao, I only want to be family. Even if we never meet again, today's memory will be my treasure."
…
In reality, Huo Yuhao, sensing their fervent love, got goosebumps.
"This move? Swap genders, and it's a death sentence minimum. Even so, it's pretty low!" he muttered.
He hadn't scripted this. He only guided; the choices were theirs.
He'd planned three romance routes, but the targets turned the tables, romancing him instead.
Huo Yuhao: *Oh no, I'm the target!*
"Whatever, let's get it done."
In reality, Huo Yuhao began cultivating with the three.
Gradually, reality and illusion merged.
The Crystal Palace, glowing with seven-colored light, took on an ambiguous, hazy hue.
Huo Yuhao: *Family, who gets this?!*