"So it really is her."
Seeing the sudden appearance of Ah Yin, Xia Yi immediately thought of the gaze that had secretly observed him from the center of the pillar of Life God Power on Devil's Island.
Ah Yin's evolution into the Tree of Life must have required absorbing a significant amount of life force.
Of course, for Blue Silver Grass to evolve into the Tree of Life, life force alone would be far from enough.
Ah Yin's ability to evolve into the Tree of Life absolutely involved Tang San's help.
Previously, Ah Yin had taken on the form of the Seed of Nature and hidden herself within the Golden Ancient Tree at Shrek Academy in order to evolve into the Tree of Life.
"Hmph, so what if you're the Life Core of the Douluo Plane? Your evolution isn't complete yet — you can't stop me."
Watching Ah Yin attack directly, Leng Yaozhu let out a cold snort, leapt into the air with the Yellow Emperor Sword in hand, and unleashed a slash — a dragon and phoenix soared into the sky. The web of vines shot out by Ah Yin's Blue Silver Overlord Spear was instantly torn apart.
The moment Leng Yaozhu saw Ah Yin, she knew: now that the battle had begun, she wasn't the only one involved.
The Plane Lord, Tang Hao, hadn't made a move himself, and instead sent Ah Yin to intercept her — it had to be that Leng Yulai was engaging the Plane Lord.
Although Leng Yulai had not yet become a god, with her second-tier Divine Origin Realm spiritual power, she was fully capable of stalling the Plane Lord to prevent his appearance.
Otherwise, the Plane Lord would never allow the not-yet-fully-evolved Ah Yin to take such a risk.
"Senior, can the Blue Silver Emperor really evolve into a Tree of Life?"
Watching Ah Yin, Yali curiously asked the Goddess of Life within her spiritual world.
When it came to understanding the Tree of Life, there was likely no one in the world who surpassed the Goddess of Life.
The Goddess of Life's true body was the Tree of Life, which she had refined into a super divine weapon.
"Strictly speaking, all plants can evolve into a Tree of Life, but the possibility is extremely slim. It requires repeated metamorphosis and evolution, as well as guidance from a true Tree of Life."
As the kindest and most gentle goddess in the Divine Realm, the Goddess of Life, though sealed by Yali, still patiently explained without any anger.
She even somewhat admired Yali.
Although Yali hadn't become a god yet, her understanding of the path of life had already surpassed some healing-type gods from the Divine Realm.
If a deity were willing to step down, it wouldn't be difficult for Yali to inherit a first-rank divine position.
She might even be able to create a divine position of her own.
Although their stances differed, the Goddess of Life still offered occasional guidance to Yali.
And she would seriously answer Yali's questions.
"So what does that make Ah Yin?" Yali asked curiously.
"Before Zi (Destruction God) and I fell, we entrusted our super divine weapons — the Tree of Life and the Staff of Destruction — to Sea God Tang San, along with our Seeds of Life and Destruction. As long as Tang San gave a branch of my Tree of Life to his mother, and with his help as a Divine King, along with my Life Blessing, it wasn't difficult for Ah Yin to undergo metamorphosis into a Tree of Life." the Goddess of Life explained.
"Life Blessing? What is that?" Yali frowned slightly.
"The Life Blessing was something I gave Tang Wulin when I was still a peak Divine King. Even then, using Life Blessing consumed a tenth of my divine power — not temporarily, but permanently. Even in the Divine Realm, it would take me decades to recover this power."
The Goddess of Life paused and continued:"My Life Blessing allows Tang Wulin to possess life force far beyond that of ordinary humans, granting him powerful self-healing abilities and helping him comprehend the laws of life more easily. If not for the Life Blessing, when the Golden Dragon King's god core entered his body, he likely would've exploded and died. Perhaps because much of the blessing's power was used to counter the Golden Dragon King's destructive force, its effects are not so apparent on him now."
"But what does the Life Blessing you gave Tang Wulin have to do with Ah Yin? Can it be passed on to his grandmother or something?" Yali asked with curiosity.
"Of course not. What I mean is, during her evolution, Ah Yin may have resided inside Tang Wulin for a time. By sensing the Life Blessing left in him, she completed the final phase of her metamorphosis. As she stands now, Ah Yin is a quasi-Tree of Life." the Goddess of Life said.
"Quasi-Tree of Life? Didn't you just say she finished her transformation? Why is she still only quasi?" Yali asked, confused.
"Your sister Yaozhu is quite formidable. Just like she said, Ah Yin hasn't fully completed her evolution. To become a true Tree of Life, Ah Yin still needs a large amount of life energy. Though she absorbed a lot on Devil's Island, it's still far from enough. I don't know if Tang San prepared other energy sources for her. If not, she might have to wait for the Divine Realm to return or for the Douluo Plane to ascend. At that time, as the Life Core of the plane, she would be strengthened through feedback. But that's only if she's still the Life Core by then."
The Goddess of Life shook her head. With the Divine Realm currently absent, Tang San couldn't help Ah Yin. Leng Yaozhu was determined to elevate the Douluo Plane into a Divine Realm, and by that time, she would likely already be a god.
Would she allow Ah Yin to continue serving as the plane's Life Core?
Obviously not.
"I see." Yali nodded and couldn't help but ask:"Then… will Sister Yaozhu be in danger now?"
"Before Ah Yin completes her evolution, she can't match your Sister Yaozhu. But even incomplete, Ah Yin was once a god-level powerhouse, and more importantly, she's the Life Core of the Douluo Plane. On this plane, she has a natural advantage — all natural laws are more inclined to support her. Your Sister Yaozhu won't have an easy time defeating her. But your sister… I can't see through her. Who knows what hidden trump cards she still has?"
The Goddess of Life sighed, her expression complex:"Xia Yi's Huangdi Neijing and the Hetu Luoshu are incredibly profound and full of infinite possibilities. You should spend more time understanding them. Maybe, one day, your achievements could surpass mine and Zi's."
"It's just a shame that we are only fragments of broken divine will now. If our true bodies were still alive, perhaps we could use the Hetu Luoshu to take a step beyond the Divine King Realm."
The Goddess of Life's voice was full of regret.
"So… senior no longer opposes me being with Xia Yi?" Yali was stunned.
"Our conflict with Xia Yi — or with the soul beasts — is only a matter of stance. You don't belong to the Divine Realm, so we won't impose our beliefs on you."
The Goddess of Life chuckled bitterly:"Before, I arrogantly believed that the Douluo Plane belonged to the Divine Realm, and that you did too. Now, I finally understand — the Divine Realm can no longer reclaim the Douluo Plane. Forget the soul beasts — just your Sister Yaozhu alone, once she breaks through to Divine King, no one in the Divine Realm could oppose her."
"So… what you're saying is, you won't force me to oppose Xia Yi. But you'll still treat him as an enemy, right?" Yali asked helplessly.
"That's one way to put it."
The Goddess of Life sighed:"Zi and I were both enforcers of the Divine Realm Council. We've defended the Divine Realm for countless millennia. No matter what, our allegiance won't change. For the Divine Realm, we would gladly perish again."
Her voice was filled with determination. These weren't empty words — they had already died once for the Divine Realm, and would do it again without hesitation.
"Then by helping me now… doesn't that count as aiding the enemy?"
Yali suddenly thought of something.
There would inevitably be a reckoning between the Divine Realm and the soul beasts. In other words, Xia Yi and the Divine Realm would eventually stand on opposing sides.
If that day came, and Xia Yi needed her, she would surely help him.
If so, why would the Goddess of Life still nurture her? Even if she admired her, wasn't this too much?
And even the God of Destruction didn't stop it.
"You could say… we're leaving a thread of hope for the Divine Realm. Yali, you're very much like me. If one day, the Divine Realm truly falls, I believe you'll give the surviving gods a way out."
The Goddess of Life's voice grew heavy.
Although they were sealed deep in Yali's spiritual world, they had learned much through her.
With Xia Yi in the equation, they truly feared the Divine Realm might fall to the soul beasts.
Now that Gu Yue had acquired the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and the Destruction God Core — and with the Hetu Luoshu — the Goddess of Life believed it wouldn't be long before an even stronger Dragon God was reborn.
They themselves didn't mind dying again for the Divine Realm. But they couldn't stand idly by and watch all gods vanish completely.
Training Yali was a way to ensure that, if that day came, her connection with Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu might allow her to save some surviving gods.
It was just a form of contingency.
The Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction both knew that turning Yali back to their side was impossible. The best they could do was leave the Divine Realm a sliver of hope.
Hearing all this, Yali fell into silence.
She hadn't expected Xia Yi to give such pressure to the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction.
As for promising to help the Divine Realm — she really wasn't sure she could do it.
The Goddess of Life said they were alike — kind-hearted, yes, but even kindness had its limits.
Especially in matters as big as this.
If what they feared really came to pass, and Xia Yi and the soul beasts truly wanted to annihilate the gods...
She would find it very difficult to speak up for the gods.
She understood the truth of "wildfire cannot kill it all; spring winds bring life again."
That was exactly what had happened after the Dragon God War — the Divine Realm hadn't wiped out the soul beasts completely, and now Xia Yi and Gu Yue had emerged as unpredictable threats.
If the soul beasts truly defeated the gods, would Xia Yi and Gu Yue repeat the same mistake?
Not likely.
She wasn't naïve enough to use Xia Yi's feelings for her or Yaozhu to try and "persuade" him.
Let alone the fact that, even now, she still hadn't decided whether or not she wanted to become a god.
Seeing Yali's silence, the Goddess of Life said no more.
She understood Yali's dilemma.
This was the normal reaction.
If Yali had agreed right away, she would've thought Yali was just deceiving her.
She only wanted to leave a path open for the Divine Realm. Whether that path could be taken — that was up to fate.
(End of Chapter)