Fang Chang's raised spider leg paused in front of the god, with drops of purple venom dripping intermittently from its sharp tip.
Gu Yue, who had been standing nearby for quite some time, also leaned in curiously and stared at the god. "Speak. Where did that woman go?"
"I… sigh." The god let out a long breath and stammered, "Our power cannot be replenished in this world. That's why, for many years now, we've spent most of our time in slumber."
"But in order to maintain control over the human world, twelve of us take turns being sent here roughly every hundred years to keep watch."
"As for the others… they each enter hibernation in the Extreme North, freezing themselves to slow down the loss of divine power."
"If nothing unexpected happened, the Goddess of Life and the others should be there. But as for her exact location… I don't know."
"The Extreme North?" Fang Chang fell into thought upon hearing that familiar yet distant name—he had indeed forgotten about that place.
Compared to the Divine Realm, the Douluo Plane's soul power was far less refined, nowhere near as pure as divine power.
Because of that, the gods who descended from the Divine Realm found it nearly impossible to fully replenish what they expended. Over time, like this group of second- and third-tier gods, they would gradually weaken.
Thus, freezing themselves to slow the loss of power became the most effective method for these gods to survive in this world long-term.
After the god finished speaking, Fang Chang mercilessly thrust his spider leg into the god's chest, ending his life.
"What now?" Gu Yue had thought they would find the Goddess of Life here, only to find a few small fry instead. She was clearly irritated.
"What else can we do?" Fang Chang rubbed her head. "We'll have to take another trip to the Extreme North."
Moments later, the two of them emerged from the underground palace and returned to the surface. By then, the hundreds of gods who had been waiting outside the city had also arrived in the skies above the imperial capital, waiting for orders.
"We're heading to the Extreme North," Fang Chang announced. His body turned into a streak of red light as he shot into the sky, speeding toward the north.
Behind him, Gu Yue and the hundreds of gods swiftly followed, tracing his path and setting out once more.
Back in the imperial capital, Zhu Zhu was still hiding behind Zhu Jing. Her eyes stared blankly in the direction Fang Chang had departed. "Big Sister… where is he really from? How can he be so…"
"Don't think about it, little one," Zhu Jing said, sighing. "We don't belong to the same world. Though I can't say for sure, I'm almost certain Fang Qi comes from another world entirely."
"Perhaps… the world of the Spider God."
She had once harbored the idea of making Fang Chang her husband. Thinking back on it now, her thoughts at the time seemed utterly ridiculous.
As for Zhu Zhu, she had initially treated Fang Chang as a reborn soul beast on par with herself. But his actions had become increasingly outlandish, and the strength he revealed more and more unfathomable.
By now, there was no longer any way for her to interact with him like before. An invisible chasm had already opened between them.
The Extreme North—located at the northernmost edge of the Douluo Continent—was a land perpetually buried in snow and ice, considered one of the forbidden zones of humanity.
Yet for many ice-type soul beasts, it was a paradise. The extreme cold also made it the perfect hiding place for fallen gods fleeing the Divine Realm to freeze themselves.
On the permafrost plains, untouched by humans for millennia, hundreds of figures slowly descended—it was Fang Chang and his group.
"Surround the area and set up restrictions. Prevent any of the old gods from escaping through the void," Fang Chang ordered as soon as they arrived.
The selected gods responded immediately, turning into streaks of light that circled the borders of the Extreme North. Their powers linked together, forming a net-like formation connecting heaven and earth.
Once the outer ring was sealed, only Fang Chang, Gu Yue, Bibi Dong, and a dozen others remained—the strongest among their ranks.
Fang Chang glanced at the three groups now formed and nodded. "Let's split up. If you find anything, send a signal first. Don't act alone out of greed for merit."
The dozen or so gods were divided into three teams to explore the east, west, and central paths of the Extreme North in search of the frozen gods.
The eastern team was led by Bibi Dong, while Qian Renxue took charge of the western path. The two led most of the remaining gods and were the first to move out.
As for the central path, it remained under Fang Chang and Gu Yue's command—the two strongest of them all.
"Let's go too," Fang Chang said, reaching for Gu Yue's hand as they prepared to head deeper into the icy wasteland.
But Gu Yue suddenly stopped. "Wait."
She closed her eyes and pushed her divine power to the limit, as if searching for something.
Moments later, she opened her eyes again, a sharp glint flashing within.
"This way," she said, pointing slightly west of the central route.
"You can sense her?" Fang Chang looked pleasantly surprised by her unusual behavior.
If she could sense the goddess's presence, their search would become much easier.
"Just barely," Gu Yue nodded. "It's faint, but I can roughly pinpoint a direction."
Following her lead, the two resumed their journey, moving swiftly through the frozen wasteland.
The climate here was unlike anywhere else. Even with their god-king-level strength and powerful soul beast bodies, the cold still managed to seep through.
White and black intertwined along the landscape, forming a monochrome world where time and space seemed to lose all meaning.
Above, the snow never seemed to stop. Though it wasn't heavy, it clung endlessly and wore down the spirit.
"These old bastards really know how to pick a place," Gu Yue grumbled after walking through the suffocating atmosphere for a while.
"Take it easy, my Lady Gu," Fang Chang chuckled, scooping up a clump of snow and tossing it at her face.
Gu Yue instinctively dodged backward. "Oh, you're really asking for it!"
A dragon tail swished out from behind her, sweeping the snow-covered ground and launching a spray of powder toward Fang Chang.
Their brief squabble dispelled the dreary mood considerably. In the Divine Realm, both of them held high status and rarely had moments like this to fool around.
Now, this rare opportunity gave them a taste of a simple, joyful world for two.
But elsewhere, things weren't going quite as smoothly.
On the east and west paths, under Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue's respective commands, the gods advanced with little conversation. Their divine senses swept through the snow nonstop, terrified of missing a single spot.
It was Qian Renxue's team who first encountered something unusual. Roughly two hours into the journey, they discovered a frozen god encased in ice.
Without hesitation, she led her team forward and destroyed the old god completely. That battle greatly lifted her team's spirits.