If he could have located Tang Wulin and Tang San's hiding place, things wouldn't need to be so complicated.
He could have simply waited until Tang Wulin fully inherited the Shura God's divinity, then attacked his hiding place and snatched away the Shura God's god position and the divine weapon Shura Sword.
Unfortunately, the Tang family had been laying down roots in their own backyard for far too many years.
If Tang Wulin, with Tang San's support, continued to hide and cultivated the Shura God position to its peak—then reassembled the Sea God position—it would become a real problem.
The best timing, and the best plan, would be to strike just as Tang Wulin was beginning to inherit the Shura God's divinity—seize the god-king-level divinity and the divine Shura Sword before he had a chance to fully integrate it, and definitely prevent the Sea God divinity from being restored.
With this thought in mind, Di Tian chose to emerge at this critical juncture of Tang Wulin's divine inheritance.
He was done pretending. He laid his cards on the table.
It wasn't just about using Gu Yuena to lure Tang Wulin out—even if Tang Wulin reacted to just the slightest slip-up from Gu Yuena, Di Tian was confident he could drag him out of hiding.
Following the traces of Tang Wulin's past, they created a simulated illusion of his earlier life.
Di Tian and Gu Yuena arrived at a forging workshop—Tang Wulin's first workplace.
The Mang Tian Workshop, led by Mang Tian, had joined the alliance headed by the Shrek Seven Devils.
Mang Tian, a level-6 master craftsman, and his top disciple—also Tang Wulin's senior brother and a level-5 craftsman—constituted a decently influential force.
Both master-level smiths were serving Tang Sect and contributing to the rebuilding of Shrek Academy.
When Di Tian and Gu Yuena arrived at Mang Tian's workshop, the Shrek Seven Devils and Ya Li had chased Yuanen Yehui to the residence of Tang Ziran and Lang Yue.
Strangely, as soon as they arrived, Xie Xie and the others suddenly felt dazed, losing track of Yuanen Yehui.
Just as they were about to split up and conduct a carpet search, the main door across from them opened—and Tang Ziran and Lang Yue walked out.
The Shrek Seven Devils froze, eyes wide.
To them, this man and woman were far too familiar.
Especially for Xie Xie and Xu Xiaoyan, who had been classmates with Tang Wulin the longest—they knew that Tang Wulin's parents had disappeared when he was nine.
They had even seen a family photo of the three.
Their powerful memories made it impossible to forget—the man and woman before them were identical to the people in that photo. Even after more than ten years, they hadn't aged, and now they were here, in Ao Lai City.
Xie Xie tentatively asked, "Uncle Tang Ziran, Aunt Lang Yue… is it really you?"
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue exchanged a look, both surprised to hear someone call their names.
Di Tian had been right—someone really had come.
And someone who could call them by name was surely someone who knew their son, Tang Wulin.
"You're Wulin's friends, right? Please come in."
With this delay, Yuanen Yehui had long since vanished.
After discussing it, the group decided to temporarily give up the pursuit.
Tang Wulin's suddenly reappeared parents raised a thousand questions.
In a short but meaningful exchange, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue finally learned from the group about Tang Wulin's growth and experiences.
Though Xie Xie's account revealed some changes in Tang Wulin's personality—especially after he entered Shrek Academy—the joy of learning about their son washed away any discomfort.
In turn, Xie Xie and the others learned about the couple's mysterious disappearance and return.
When the name "Di Tian" echoed in the room, everyone was shocked.
Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were stunned because the young man who had saved them claimed to be Di Tian—the Beast God, king of soul beasts!
They had read about Di Tian in books but never made the connection.
The Shrek Seven Devils were stunned for a different reason—because Di Tian was Tang Wulin's mortal enemy!
Back at the Tang Sect Tian Dou Branch, if Gu Yuena hadn't stopped him, Di Tian would have killed Tang Wulin.
So how could this be…
But the shock didn't last long—they quickly realized Di Tian's scheme.
He had emerged from his leisure in the Star Dou Forest, playing this "big move" in front of them, for one reason only:
To lure out Tang Wulin, who was hiding deep in secrecy.
Once Tang Wulin learned of his parents' return, he would surely reach out.
And Di Tian would seize that moment—after all, it was he who brought them back.
If he could bring them back, couldn't he take them away again?
Just as the group was anxiously devising countermeasures, Tang Ziran and Lang Yue dropped another bombshell:
"There's one more thing—the girl named Gu Yuena, who came with Di Tian… she's pregnant with his child."
Xie Xie: "???"
Xu Xiaoyan: "!!!"
"…?!"
It was a bombshell that was both shocking and yet strangely made sense.
After all, dragons are inherently lustful.
And Di Tian was the most dominant of dragons.
Gu Yuena, once a prisoner, had spent considerable time under his control. Her getting pregnant was not exactly unthinkable.
Even if they could accept it—Tang Wulin definitely couldn't.
They had heard from Da Ming that when Wulin found out Gu Yuena had been "defiled" by Di Tian—he almost shut himself down. Only his biological mother helped him out of that mental abyss.
If this pregnancy news reached Tang Wulin…
Wouldn't he explode?!
He'd probably charge out of his hidden realm, hellbent on killing Di Tian.
As these thoughts fired off like lightning, the group quickly made a decision:
They must hide this from Wulin.
At least until he finished inheriting the Shura God's divinity.
They had to stall as long as possible—until Tang Wulin had the power to fight Di Tian head-on.
From Tang Ziran and Lang Yue, they learned that Di Tian had seemingly left a clue about his next location.
Xie Xie decided to go alone, even at risk, to follow him.
But when he reached Mang Tian's forging studio, he had once again just missed Di Tian.
When he asked, Mang Tian looked puzzled and replied:
"Di Tian? A young man was here earlier, said he wanted to commission some spirit-forged metal to make a soul tool… for his pregnant wife."
"As for where they went? Well…"
From Mang Tian, Xie Xie once again learned Di Tian's next stop.
Meanwhile, Di Tian and Gu Yuena had arrived at another landmark in Tang Wulin's personal timeline—a key place in his past.