"You mean… there's a way to revive my parents without using the method your clone mentioned earlier? Is that right?"
Lan Fozi Child's eyes were still red-rimmed with tears. Her large eyes stared wide, her voice full of disbelief.
"Yes, there are two choices."
Ning Rongrong patted her own forehead, looking somewhat helpless.
"My autonomous clone didn't finish explaining to you! She really is considerate of the main body, but there's absolutely no need for that."
Seeing Lan Fozi Child's confused and puzzled expression, Ning Rongrong gave a light cough and explained:
"Your parents haven't been dead for more than half an hour. They can be directly revived."
"Re… really?" Lan Fozi Child's voice trembled slightly.
"Yes. After my clone was dispelled, the memories I obtained from them show that the time flow for the Demon Empress and Deep Sea Demonic Whale King was paused. From that perspective, it hasn't exceeded one hour."
"Reviving them is possible."
"It can't be that simple, right?" Lan Fozi Child thought for a moment longer.
"Mm…" Ning Rongrong nodded. "After revival, they won't have their original strength."
"Why?" Lan Fozi Child's face showed confusion.
"Explaining it would be complicated." Ning Rongrong shrugged.
"Specifically, soul rings and soul beast souls involve rules set by the Dragon God. I can't change them for the time being."
"Just like how soul beasts face a tribulation lightning strike every hundred thousand years of cultivation—even the first-level god Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena can't stop the soul beasts of Star Dou Great Forest from being struck by lightning. I can't do much about it either."
"Not strong enough?"
"Don't speak if you don't know how to." Ning Rongrong's face darkened at Lan Fozi Child's innocently blunt expression.
You know I'm not strong enough and still say it out loud—are you trying to pick a fight?
"In short, to sum it up." Ning Rongrong seriously studied Lan Fozi Child for a moment before continuing, "I can rewind time to before they died, but they cannot inherit their original power. They'll probably only retain about a thousand years of cultivation."
"A thousand years… that's way too little, isn't it?"
To reduce two powerhouses standing at the pinnacle of the world to almost no cultivation.
Was this really revival, or was it humiliation?
"No way around it. Ten-thousand-year soul beasts involve rules that are very hard to circumvent." Ning Rongrong also sighed. "However, their consciousness can be fully retained. It's equivalent to losing their power but keeping their original minds—somewhat similar to how soul beasts take human form."
"Although the success rate is one hundred percent, it feels quite cruel. That's probably why my clone didn't even mention it."
"It really is quite cruel." Lan Fozi Child said helplessly.
Knowing her parents' personalities—her mother the Demon Empress might be able to accept it, but her father, who had reached nine hundred and ninety thousand years of cultivation, turning into a thousand-year soul beast would be worse than death for him.
"This… let's skip this one for now! What's the second method?"
Lan Fozi Child sighed inwardly. After being hunted this time, she had matured a great deal.
She had also heard from her parents that a divine war might occur in the future. Losing cultivation would make things even more dangerous.
"The second is to use the souls and bodies of the Demon Empress and Deep Sea Demonic Whale King as your foundation. With bloodline as the connection, send you into the Divine Realm."
"As long as you become a god, using your own bloodline as a guide, both of them can continue to exist in another form."
"But aren't soul beasts unable to become gods?" It would be impossible not to be tempted. Compared to the first option, even if the second had a lower probability, it was far more appealing.
Although she was just a child a little over a hundred thousand years old, her father the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had an extremely deep obsession with becoming a god. Influenced by him over the years, she couldn't possibly claim she had no desire for the Divine Realm.
"That's the second point I mentioned." Ning Rongrong paused slightly before continuing, "Soul beasts cannot become gods—this is tied to the Dragon God's rules, and I can't change it either. But there are workarounds."
"Workarounds?"
"Exactly." Ning Rongrong explained, "For example, like what Xue Di did. Xue Di can't be considered a complete soul beast—her original form is the Ice and Snow Maiden, an ice-attribute elemental spirit."
"So you're saying I should abandon the Deep Sea Demonic Whale racial bloodline?"
"Yes." Ning Rongrong noticed that Lan Fozi Child, who had previously been as clueless as Bing Di, was now unexpectedly sharp. Perhaps getting smashed by Bo Saixi's condensed Seagod's Trident using the Seagod martial soul had knocked some sense into her.
"In summary: use bloodline to build the connection, take you, the Demon Empress, and the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's energies as the foundation, and with the power of the entire ocean, help you break through to the Divine Realm."
"If successful, you yourself will become something like an Ice and Snow Maiden—an elemental spirit."
"Or perhaps more accurately, a pure water spirit."
"This way, although it doesn't completely bypass the Dragon God's rule that soul beasts cannot become gods, I have methods to achieve the corresponding workaround."
"What's the probability?" Lan Fozi Child gritted her teeth. "And what form will my parents take afterward? Will they also be gods?"
"The probability is roughly sixty to seventy percent. As for the Demon Empress and Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's state, it will be similar to—but not exactly the same as—Dugu Yan's ninth soul ring soul spirit. Both will be able to exert their original strength."
After finishing, Ning Rongrong fell silent, seemingly giving Lan Fozi Child time to think.
Time passed second by second.
Lan Fozi Child sank into deep thought.
"You only have ten minutes to decide. Even for me now, I can't lock the souls and bodies of the Demon Empress and Deep Sea Demonic Whale King in time and space rules for too long."
"Mm…"
Lan Fozi Child nodded. Struggle appeared on her face.
But after only half a minute, she made her decision:
"I choose the second method. I think even if my father and mother could still know what's happening in the outside world, they would probably…"
"No." Ning Rongrong interrupted her. "The Demon Empress and Deep Sea Demonic Whale King both don't want you to encounter danger. As parents, they would probably feel that way in most cases!"
Silence. Lan Fozi Child fell silent again.
She had to admit—Ning Rongrong was right.
Given how much her parents loved her, even if they lost their power, they would still want her to live safely.
But she herself…
"Huff—" Lan Fozi Child took a deep breath. "I'm also a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who has passed one tribulation. Even in death, I must have the dignity of a Deep Sea Demonic Whale King."
"I understand." Ning Rongrong nodded and said no more.
In truth, Ning Rongrong had roughly anticipated Lan Fozi Child's choice. After being hunted this time, Lan Fozi Child realized just how powerless she was against certain existences.
Her parents living on as thousand-year soul beasts—even if alive—wouldn't be much better than death.
Moreover, in the future, with divine war looming, insufficient strength would be extremely dangerous.
"What do I need to do?" Lan Fozi Child looked at Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong didn't answer immediately. She formed several hand seals.
Instantly, Lan Fozi Child felt the world shift.
When her vision cleared, two enormous Deep Sea Demonic Whales were floating on the sea surface.
They were precisely her father the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and her mother the Demon Empress.
Thick blood qi filled the air, extremely pungent.
"Dad… Mom." Lan Fozi Child turned her gaze away, gritting her teeth and refusing to look at the two corpses any longer.
Something flew into view. Lan Fozi Child instinctively reached out and caught it. Then, looking at the seemingly ordinary sword in her hand, her expression turned stunned:
"This is…"
"My Glazed Sacred Sword—a perfectly ordinary super-divine artifact." Ning Rongrong's calm voice came over. "Use this sword to stab yourself in the chest, right at the heart. Remember—stab hard."
Lan Fozi Child: "???"
(End of chapter)