Tai Tan initially thought Huo Yuhao would follow his lead and make a promise, setting off soon to pluck that Yearning Heartbroken Red.
However, Huo Yuhao did not mention plucking the Immortal Herb at all; instead, with a solemn expression, he retorted, "Seniors, Donger's condition can't possibly be as simple as an early Spirit Awakening that her physical body couldn't bear, right?"
This sudden question instantly made the air in the main hall fall silent.
Niu Tian's gaze fell upon Huo Yuhao, his brows furrowing slightly: "What do you mean by saying that?"
Huo Yuhao met that gaze unhurriedly and unflinchingly, saying in a calm tone, "I have examined Donger's body. Her most serious problem is a missing Soul."
Hearing this, both Niu Tian and Tai Tan were startled in their hearts; they hadn't expected Huo Yuhao to know even about this.
They naturally knew what was going on. Although they hadn't witnessed the process of Tang Wutong's Soul being torn apart with their own eyes, after learning about it, they harbored extreme dissatisfaction toward Tang San in their hearts.
Yet facing Huo Yuhao and Wang Donger at this moment, it was impossible for them to spill the whole story of this matter from beginning to end no matter what.
As if awakened to something by these words, Wang Donger lowered her eyelids slightly and murmured, "No wonder my memories are incomplete... So it turns out to be a missing Soul."
She raised her head, her big pink-blue eyes staring unblinkingly at Niu Tian and Tai Tan as she pressed further, "Big Dad, Second Dad, what is going on here?"
Facing this question, Niu Tian and Tai Tan looked at each other in dismay, for a moment not knowing how to reply.
The main hall was silent for a moment, and the air seemed to have grown a bit thicker.
At this time, Huo Yuhao chimed in again, adding in an unhurried tone, "Seniors, during my investigation, I also discovered another matter: Donger is not only missing a part of her Soul, but there is also an extremely powerful Seal within her Spiritual Sea."
"Therefore, I feel that her missing Soul does not seem to have formed naturally; rather, it looks much more like it was man-made."
With the God King of Destruction backing him up from behind, Huo Yuhao's confidence right now was extraordinary; all those things that used to make him have reservations were now completely nothing worth mentioning.
That was why he had the guts to lay this matter out clearly right here in the Clear Sky Sect. Even if Tang San found out, he wouldn't be afraid.
Hearing this, the expression on Wang Donger's face changed even more. She looked at Niu Tian and Tai Tan with incredible shock in her gaze, and tears faintly flickered in her eye sockets.
The deception of her loved ones was already hard for her to accept; could the ultimate truth be even more terrifying than that?
Facing Wang Donger's expression at this moment, Tai Tan didn't even dare to look straight into her gaze and slightly turned his head away.
At the critical moment, Niu Tian still stepped up to shoulder the heavy burden.
His brain spun rapidly, and within a few breaths, he wove together a set of answers that he believed were logically consistent.
He slowly sighed, his tone carrying the helplessness of being cornered against a wall: "Donger, back then, precisely because you underwent Spirit Awakening early, it caused your mental force to be exceptionally powerful, far exceeding the tolerance limit of your physical body, which placed pressure on the normal development of your body."
"With no other alternative, your father could only split away a part of your Soul and store it away, which allowed you to grow up smoothly."
"Once the problem with your physical body is completely resolved, that split-away part of the Soul will return. By then, you will be the healthy and complete you."
Knowing that she had always been kept in the dark, a layer of grievance and unease had already accumulated in Wang Donger's heart.
Now this unease was completely ignited by Niu Tian's explanation, which sounded self-consistent yet consistently skirted around the crucial issues. She couldn't listen to a single word.
With tears welling in her eyes, carrying an unprecedented vulnerability and stubbornness, she said, "Big Dad, I only found out today that I lost my past memories because of a missing Soul."
"I don't even know who my parents are, not even the slightest impression."
"You said all this was done by my father for my sake, so where on earth is he?"
"And where is that part of my memories that was split away?"
Faced with Wang Donger's series of questions, Niu Tian opened his mouth, only to find that he had no idea how to answer at all.
Say that her father was the Sea God Tang San?
Yet as a dignified God King, could it be that he couldn't even solve his own daughter's problem and had to resort to methods like tearing apart a Soul?
As for where that split-away part of the Soul actually was, even he wasn't clear; he only knew that Tang San had his own plans, and that part of the Soul was not within the Divine Realm.
Seeing Niu Tian's appearance of being unable to give an answer, the tears that had been swirling in Wang Donger's eye sockets finally fell like a breached dam.
She abruptly stood up, her gaze sweeping across Niu Tian and Tai Tan's faces, her voice choking with sobs yet carrying an unprecedented sharpness: "I can't figure it out. What is there about these things that cannot be said? Or is it that you guys simply don't care whether I live or die!"
As her voice fell, she reached out to wipe her eyes forcefully, then turned and sprinted wildly toward the outside of the main hall's doors.
The expressions of both Niu Tian and Tai Tan changed drastically. They looked at each other in dismay for a moment, yet neither immediately got up to chase after her, because they didn't know how to handle the situation before them at this moment either.
Tai Tan helplessly sighed, his gaze turning to Huo Yuhao, subconsciously wanting to flare up in anger.
But on second thought, this matter had nothing to do with Huo Yuhao from beginning to end, so he could only swallow that breath back down and let out a sullen hum.
Huo Yuhao also stood up at this moment, looking at Niu Tian and Tai Tan as he spoke: "Seniors, I'll go check on Donger."
Niu Tian didn't say much else, only silently nodding.
Huo Yuhao no longer stayed, turning and quickly walking out of the main hall, chasing after the direction where Wang Donger had disappeared.
...
On the surface, the Divine Realm was completely peaceful; sea of clouds surged and divine light flowed, as if everything was in the most perfect order.
Yet any deity who had a slight understanding of the situation in the Divine Realm knew that the discord between the Sea God Tang San and the God of Destruction had long been no secret.
Frictions between the two, both overt and covert, occurred from time to time. However, most deities didn't care too much, simply treating it as two God Kings having different philosophies and occasionally arguing a few words, not expecting any more serious consequences.
They would not have thought that if the current situation were allowed to continue developing, it would ultimately brew a divine war that would sweep through almost the entire upper echelon of the Divine Realm.
And the fuse for this war had already been planted many years ago.
At the fringe area of the Divine Realm, there was an extremely dense forest.
The sky here presented a faint emerald-green color, as if even the light itself had been stained with an aura of life.
The air was permeated with rich vitality, vegetation was lush and luxuriant, and everything appeared tranquil and serene.
This place was called the Forest of Life, which was the residence of the Goddess of Life, one of the five God Kings.
Although she was noble as a God King, she chose to live in this forest at the very edge of the Divine Realm, for the purpose of guarding the boundaries of the Divine Realm and maintaining the integrity and balance of the Law of the Divine Realm.
Right in the dead center of this Forest of Life stood an extremely huge ancient tree.
The trunk was as thick as a mountain, and its branches and leaves were as luxuriant as a canopy, blocking out more than half of the entire sky.
Above the treetop crown, there was an exquisite and natural treehouse, woven from the branches and vines of the ancient Tree of Life itself, blending as one with the entire giant tree.
This place was the residence of the Goddess of Life, the Life Treehouse.
At this moment, the Goddess of Life was sitting on a thick branch of the ancient tree, her slender and beautiful legs swinging casually, just like a young girl resting while sitting on a swing.
She wore an emerald-green dress, the hem of her skirt trailing down both sides of the branch, gently swaying in the breeze.
Her soft emerald-green eyes were looking into the distant sea of clouds, wondering what she was thinking about.
Immediately, a gentle voice softly uttered from her mouth: "What matter makes you so happy?"
Right beside her, a purple-black figure quietly appeared at some point, and it was precisely the God of Destruction.
He did not answer immediately, but only slightly turned his head to look at the Goddess of Life's leisurely and carefree appearance, a rare trace of an extremely faint arc floating up at the corners of his mouth.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.