As a former master of the plane, the Eternal Venerable was not only stripped of his godhood by the master of the Demon Plane, losing his status as the plane's ruler, but also had to watch helplessly as the Demon Plane continuously devoured the life energy of the Tianxuan Continent.
If given the chance, he would undoubtedly kill those demons without hesitation.
But he didn't dare to risk the destruction of the plane by going to war with the Demon Plane.
"I understand now. You're trying to create gods, right?" Xia Yi suddenly thought of the Sea God Venerable and the Clear Sky Venerable.
"Uh, that's right." The Eternal Venerable looked at Xia Yi with some surprise, then revealed a relieved expression and said, "Since you've visited the Sea God Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable, it's natural that you'd have guessed something."
"I'm not of the human race, so I can't become a god again. That's why I passed the god positions of Plane Master and Life Core to the Sea God Venerable and the Clear Sky Venerable. As long as one becomes a god, the Tianxuan Continent can launch a counterattack. Even if they aren't a match for the Demon Plane's master, as long as they can destroy the Demon Gate in an instant and seal it, preventing the Demon Plane from reopening the gate, then the Tianxuan Continent will have won." The Eternal Venerable's eyes flashed with killing intent as he said coldly, "By then, the demons remaining on the Tianxuan Continent will be trapped like fish in a barrel. Once they're slain, the Plane Master and Life Core can absorb their life energy to replenish the Tianxuan Continent's plane power."
The Eternal Venerable didn't just want to repel the Demon Plane—he also wanted to make it cough up all the life energy it had devoured from the Tianxuan Continent over the years.
Ordinary people couldn't absorb the demons' life energy. But for the Plane Master and Life Core, converting the demons' life energy into that of the Tianxuan Continent would be effortless.
"So that's how it is. Since the Clear Sky Venerable and Sea God Venerable were working with you, what did you mean earlier when you said that the people behind them are not someone we can afford to offend?" Xia Yi grew even more curious.
"Although I passed the god positions to them, I'm not the one behind them." The Eternal Venerable shook his head and said, "Do you know why I so easily guessed that you weren't from the Tianxuan Continent? Because neither is the Sea God Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable. It's just that you arrived directly, while they came through reincarnation."
"I don't know exactly where they came from. They claimed they were sent by the Sea God to save us. They already had god-level cultivation before and won't take long to inherit the god positions of Plane Master and Life Core." The Eternal Venerable glanced at Yali again and said softly, "From our earlier exchange, I could already sense it—your abilities suit the Life Core god position even better than the Sea God Venerable. If it weren't for the Sea God's backing, I would have preferred to pass the Life Core god position to you."
"The Sea God Venerable is from the Sea Demon Clan, right? I thought non-humans couldn't become gods?" Xia Yi continued to ask.
After the Dragon God War, the God Realm decreed that non-humans could not become gods.
That rule was spread across the 108 planes under the God Realm's jurisdiction via the God Realm Central Hub.
Even though the God Realm has since vanished, unless a new central hub forcibly rewrites that rule, it remains in effect.
Even in the Douluo Plane, non-humans couldn't become gods until Leng Yaozhu fused the Douluo Seal into the plane's laws.
The only way to become a god was through the Genesis Origin.
The Sea God Venerable's Sea Demon Clan belonged to a branch of the Beastmen race—how could they inherit a god position?
"Not all Sea Demons are actual demons. Didn't you also think I was an elf?" the Eternal Venerable said with a smile. "The Sea God Venerable has a human body but was raised by a Dragonman of the Sea Demon Clan. That's why he claims to be one of them."
"I see." Xia Yi rubbed his head, a new guess forming in his mind—but he wasn't sure if it was true. He continued, "Do you know how long ago the Sea Dragon Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable reincarnated into the Tianxuan Continent?"
He still couldn't make sense of many things.
According to the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction, they died after using all their power to resist a temporal-spatial turbulence when the God Realm was struck by it.
When their power clashed with the turbulence, part of it scattered into the Douluo Plane, forming Devil's Island.
That should've been around two thousand years ago.
The Fire Li Clan also appeared in the Douluo Plane around the same time due to the temporal-spatial turbulence.
So, the turbulence likely occurred about two thousand years ago.
If that's the case, how does Tang Wulin, who's only in his twenties, fit into this?
Even assuming that one day in the God Realm equals one year in the lower realms, the time difference still doesn't account for everything.
"They reincarnated into the Tianxuan Continent over two thousand years ago," the Eternal Venerable said with a sigh. "Even for gods, reincarnating with memories intact isn't easy. It takes extensive preparation. When the Sea God Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable's souls arrived in the Tianxuan Continent, their spiritual power was at the divine official level. We put in great effort to preserve their memories and have them reincarnate into exceptionally talented human geniuses."
If it were only about preserving memory, it wouldn't have taken so long. The key issue was that exceptionally talented humans didn't appear in every generation.
To go further on their path, the Sea God Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable waited many years for such rare talents to emerge.
"If the Sea God Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable were arranged by Tang San, it must've been right before the temporal-spatial turbulence. That would mean the turbulence appeared over two thousand years ago, and Tang Wulin was likely sent to the Douluo Plane after the turbulence had already appeared. The timeline must have been affected by the turbulence—this is probably the only explanation." Xia Yi speculated silently. That was the only reason he could come up with.
If it hadn't been right before the turbulence, with Tang San's strength as a God King, protecting the Sea Dragon and Clear Sky Venerables' memories should've been easy.
There would've been no need for them to waste so much time.
"Venerable one, I don't know which plane you come from, but if you're seeking a fast path to godhood, I can't help you—nor can the Tianxuan Continent give you what you want. You'd be better off seeking opportunities in other planes. But if you're willing to wait, you can stay in the Eternal Forest. As long as you agree to protect the Eternal Forest, then once the Sea Dragon Venerable and Clear Sky Venerable become gods, I can grant you my share of the elf race's faith energy—excluding what belongs to them and the Sea God." The Eternal Venerable looked at Yali once again.
He could feel that Yali's understanding of the path of life far surpassed his own.
Keeping her would benefit the elf race, the Eternal Forest, and the entire Tianxuan Continent.
That was why he was willing to explain so much.
"How much is your share?" Xia Yi asked with interest.
"Currently, of the elf race's faith energy, the Sea God receives 70%, and I get 30%. But I've already given all of mine to the Clear Sky and Sea God Venerables—to help them become gods faster. After they ascend and become the Plane Master and Life Core, each of them will only take 10% of the faith energy from me," the Eternal Venerable explained honestly.
"So you're saying—we protect the Eternal Forest and the elf race, and all we get is 10% of the faith energy? And only after the Sea God and Clear Sky Venerables become gods?" Xia Yi replied, clearly annoyed.
"That's right," the Eternal Venerable replied with a smile, still looking at Yali. "This venerable is only one step away from becoming a god. Even with just 10% of the faith energy, it won't take long for her to ascend."
Hearing the Eternal Venerable say it so matter-of-factly, before Xia Yi could respond, Ye Xinglan, who stood to the side, couldn't help but exclaim, "Only 10%? What are we, beggars?"