The power of faith on the Tianxuan Continent was like a large cake — and that cake already had an owner.
Anyone who tried to take a slice would be snatching food from a tiger's mouth.
Although Yali was powerful enough, the Eternal Venerable didn't believe she had a real chance.
What the Eternal Venerable didn't know was that Yali didn't just want a slice — she intended to seize the whole cake from the Sea God.
"You possess the spiritual power of the third-tier Divine Source Realm, which means you must have attempted godhood, right?" Xia Yi asked from the side.
"Young friend, once you reach the Venerable level, you'll understand — non-humans cannot become gods," the Eternal Venerable glanced at Xia Yi and replied, his voice filled with helplessness.
"Even if non-humans can't become gods, since you've cultivated your spiritual power to the third-tier Divine Source Realm, it shouldn't be difficult for you to reach the peak of the Venerable realm, right?" Yuanen Yehui asked. "Quasi-God" and "Half-God" were Douluo Plane terms — she didn't know how Tianxuan Continent classified things, but the peak of Venerable must be accurate.
The Eternal Venerable turned to look at Yuanen Yehui with admiration in his eyes. "Human girl, just over twenty and already with such strength. Even among the elven elders of my race, many of whom have lived for centuries, few surpass your cultivation. I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years, and I've never seen talent greater than yours. Even the Sea God Venerable and the Haotian Venerable were not your equal at your age."
Since participating in the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Youth Elite Competition hosted by the Star Luo Empire — and perhaps because she had always been with Ye Xinglan — Yuanen Yehui had continued dressing as a girl.
Currently, she was wearing a dark purple gown that Xia Yi had taken her to have designed in Star Luo City.
Purple hair ornaments, a purple long dress, purple lace-trimmed stockings — although everything was purple, it didn't feel monotonous at all. Combined with her curvaceous figure, flawless features, deep black eyes, luscious red lips, chestnut-red hair, and the unique aura of a fallen angel, she exuded a succubus-like allure.
"Your praise is too much, Senior. I've simply been lucky," Yuanen Yehui replied with a blush. Her Super Douluo-level cultivation had surged once during the bloodline enhancement by Er Ming, and then again when she opened the Demon Gate.
If not for those two bursts of power, she might be at the same level as Ye Xinglan.
Before coming to Tianxuan Continent, the Fallen Angel had also granted her a bit of its source power.
However, the Fallen Angel hadn't raised her cultivation — only evolved her Fallen Angel martial soul into a Six-Winged Fallen Angel.
Even after Er Ming's bloodline enhancement, the Fallen Angel bloodline still held dominance within her.
Previously, her Fallen Angel martial soul came from the Demon Monarch Alba. But after being upgraded by the Fallen Angel, it no longer had any connection to Alba — its power far surpassed him.
"I'm not praising you — I've slain several high-ranking demons who sneaked into the Eternal Forest, and the power within you bears a striking resemblance to certain demonic forces." The Eternal Venerable looked at Yuanen Yehui with a grave expression. "Demons grow and split by devouring life energy. Even when slain, they leave behind life energy. Tianxuan Continent has been at war with demons for thousands of years. Many talents have absorbed demonic life energy over time — all of them ended up self-destructing."
The Eternal Venerable didn't know about Yuanen Yehui's connection to the demon plane. He had only sensed a resemblance between her inner power and demonic forces through his third-tier Divine Source spiritual sense.
He mistakenly believed that her strength came from absorbing demonic life energy.
"Don't worry, Senior. I'll be fine." Yuanen Yehui smiled confidently. The Fallen Angel was once the ruler of the demon plane — and since she possessed its martial soul, there was no chance of backlash.
"Let's talk about you now, Senior." Yuanen Yehui's gentle smile remained. With half-god cultivation and third-tier Divine Source Realm spiritual power, there was no way this Eternal Venerable didn't have secrets — and she would never believe otherwise.
"I was once the Plane Master and Life Core of Tianxuan Continent — a true third-tier god. Unfortunately…" The Eternal Venerable sighed softly and trailed off. His eyes dimmed with melancholy, clouded by memories of the past.
"Was it because of the Dragon God War? When the Divine Realm suddenly banned non-human races from becoming gods, were you affected too?" Xia Yi asked, rubbing his chin.
"You know about the Dragon God War?" Now it was the Eternal Venerable's turn to be shocked.
Human lifespans were too short, and the Dragon God War had happened hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Even if Yali was powerful, humans shouldn't know about something that old.
"We've explored many ancient god relics in pursuit of godhood, so we've picked up bits and pieces about the Dragon God War," Xia Yi replied.
"I see." The Eternal Venerable glanced at Yali. Indeed, with her strength, she couldn't have reached this level through regular cultivation — she must have gained some divine-level opportunities.
With that, knowing about the Dragon God War made sense.
The Eternal Venerable gave a self-deprecating smile. "I was merely the Plane Master of Tianxuan Continent, a third-tier god unable to enter the Divine Realm. I only heard of the Dragon God War — I didn't participate in it. Yes, I was affected by it, but I wasn't punished by the Divine Realm. After all, as the Plane Master, if I were destroyed without a proper replacement, it would've caused massive instability on Tianxuan Continent. Back then, many god seats in the Divine Realm were vacant, and there was no one available to replace me. So, the effects on me weren't too severe."
"Then how did you end up like this?" Xia Yi grew more curious and asked tentatively, "Could it have something to do with the Sea God Venerable and Haotian Venerable?"
"No. I was wounded and left in this state by the Plane Master of the Demon Plane," the Eternal Venerable replied with a bitter smile.
"The Demon Plane's Plane Master? He doesn't have that kind of power. He's just a third-tier god too," Xia Yi scoffed. The demon invasion of Tianxuan Continent had only occurred in the last few thousand years — and by that time, the Fallen Angel was already sealed.
That Plane Master had been instantly killed by Leng Yaozhu.
How could someone like that defeat the Eternal Venerable, who was also a third-tier god?
Even if he was stronger, this was Tianxuan Continent — where the Eternal Venerable could draw on the power of the plane itself. How could he lose to a foreign Plane Master?
"The demon invasion happened during the peak of a brutal three-race war. The plane's power had fallen to rock bottom. On top of that, the three races underestimated the demons, allowing the Demon Plane to easily send Demon Lords to infiltrate Tianxuan Continent. They used demonic arrays to seal off some of my abilities. By the time the Demon Plane's Plane Master attacked me, it was already too late," the Eternal Venerable sighed again. "If not for the sudden descent of the Sea God's Light, which forced the Demon Plane's Master to retreat, Tianxuan Continent would have already fallen."
As he spoke, the Eternal Venerable turned to Yali. "The reason the Demon Plane hasn't launched a full-scale invasion may be because they fear the Sea God intervening again. I know you mean no harm by coming to Tianxuan Continent — you just want to help us repel the demons and earn a share of the faith power. But while you are strong, you're no match for the Demon Plane's Plane Master. And don't forget, the Demon Plane still has many Demon Lords. We dare not go to war with them outright. If we push them too far, and they launch a full assault while the Sea God doesn't intervene again — what would we do then?"
"That Sea God's Light you mentioned — was it the Sea God Lake on Sea God Island?" Xia Yi asked again.
"Yes." A fierce glint flashed in the Eternal Venerable's eyes. "We don't know if the Sea God will intervene again. We can't count on it — we can't afford to. So, we won't launch a full-scale assault on the demons easily. But when we strike — it will be a decisive and devastating blow."