The headquarters of the Spirit Pagoda was located in the central-left region of the continent, situated right on the edge of Shrek City, where land was as expensive as gold. When the two factions silently competed against each other, they left a vacuum zone between them.
The distance between the two locations could not be considered very close, but it was definitely not far. Ningguang had started keeping an eye on this treasure trove of feng shui back when she first got into real estate.
As a former outer area of the Star Dou Great Forest, this place possessed an incredibly rich, pristine, and natural charm. Filled with a bounty of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, it could be considered a blessed land for cultivation. Many low-level Soul Beast lived in the surrounding areas--none exceeding the thousand-year level--which added a unique touch to the scenery.
Unfortunately, what used to be a paradise for Soul Beast now only had its former core zone remaining, and the Lake of Life was surrounded by layers of high walls.
Yet, leaning against the Spirit Pagoda to the left, Shrek City to the right, and the former Star Dou Great Forest above, its geographical location was exceptionally superior.
The environment was brimming with spiritual energy, the weather was smooth and favorable, the climate was extremely comfortable, and it was completely free from the noisy sounds of various cities. It was an absolutely perfect treasure trove for real estate!
Thus, Ningguang immediately bought the plot of land. After preserving the original forest landscape, she constructed a bunch of villa districts. Then, with just a bit of casual hype, the villa districts were sold out just like that...
One could only say that doing real estate was truly fucking lucrative.
Inside one of the black villa districts, a young black-haired girl reached out her delicate hand to push open the main door of a villa, starting her daily morning run.
[Have you seen the Star Dou Great Forest at four in the morning? I have!]
The early morning sunlight shone upon the Star Dou Great Forest, shedding its light over the earth. A gentle breeze blew past, bringing a hint of coolness. The leaves drifted with the wind, and occasional chirps of birds echoed from within the forest.
Gazing at this beautiful scenery, Hei Loulan once again marveled that the alternate world was indeed better!
Her powerful physical fitness allowed her to feel the spiritual energy permeating the outside air. As the gentle breeze lightly brushed past her body, a wave of refreshing comfort swept through her entire being.
Most importantly, there were no bugs here!!!
Cultivation was not something that relied merely on a minor matter like tempering the physical body.
Hei Loulan's biggest problem right now was that the power she obtained had come too easily. Having already become Wan Ye, she could actually ascend to the fruit status of a great divine ability in the cognitive sense quite casually.
Not to mention that she also possessed a heaven-defying path-clearing divine ability like the Anatta Avatar. In terms of knowledge, she also had the lifelong learnings of her "masters" from the Six Lives and Five Realms, and her clones could even awaken their own Natal Divine Ability, which she could directly take and use.
What she lacked was the accumulation of time, whether compared to Titled Douluo or to those with great divine abilities.
Those who could reach this level of power had all stepped onto a path of suffering that ordinary people would find hard to endure, and every single step on their path was an unforgettable experience.
Those with great divine abilities all started by honing their muscles and bones, tempering their Dharmakaya, and walking up step-by-step. If they had not gritted their teeth to persevere, they would have thought about giving up every single second. Without their own persistent training, they could never have reached the level of a great divine ability.
As for the cultivation method of Titled Douluo during the era of the first Douluo book, they had no knowledge regarding spiritual power, no so-called soul cores, and in fact, only possessed a single basic meditation Law--nothing more. So how did they train themselves up to become Titled Douluo?
The answer was that they ground their way through by brute force. They ground their soul power, ground their willpower, and enhanced their spiritual power imperceptibly. Every single one of their mentalities was top-tier. Even if they had deficiencies in certain aspects, there would absolutely be a bias or even an obsession in one aspect guiding them forward.
Therefore, Hei Loulan was most optimistic about the era of the first Douluo book producing users of great divine abilities, followed by the era of the third Douluo book, which theoretically had the most flourishing martial souls. As for the era of the second Douluo book, it was neither here nor there.
In that era, there was only one fellow who played with swords who caught her interest.
As Hei Loulan ran freely, thoughts drifted through her mind. Her physical stamina depleted bit by bit, her bodily organs were mobilized, and her body consciously inhaled and exhaled the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around her.
While running, she adjusted her state, keeping her essence, energy, and spirit in a state of balance, allowing her body to better nurture and elevate itself.
Running was the lowest-level code within human genes. When running with all one's heart and soul, the wind would whistle past one's ears, filtering out redundant thoughts and leaving behind only the purest breathing and heartbeat.
Seeming to sense something, Hei Loulan stopped thinking and threw herself entirely into running by following her physical instincts, moving through the great forest like a patch of dark shadow.
"Stop accelerating! I really can't run anymore! I know you can sense me!" A exasperated voice accompanied by heavy panting resounded behind Hei Loulan.
"Haha, keep up! Once we reach the place, I'll treat you to something delicious." Hei Loulan knew this was Na'er, who had been split off from the Silver Dragon King. She had probably been bullied by Gu Yue after taking human form and had come to seek refuge with her.
However, if someone wanted to be Wan Ye's lackey, their quality still needed to be tested. Although raising a small pet was indeed fine, it wouldn't do without a bit of willpower.
Right after that, a girl who was excessively beautiful leaped out from a small corner in the inner section of the Star Dou Great Forest, possessing silver hair and purple eyes, looking radiant and beautiful.
She quickly ran toward the decelerated Hei Loulan, and then her entire person pounced straight over.
"Big boss! Please take care of me!"
Like a human pendant, Na'er hung both her hands around Hei Loulan's neck. Following Hei Loulan's running, she flew through the air in an extremely manga-like posture.
Her entire face was teary-eyed, which looked great when paired with her large, purple, doll-like eyes! Very beautiful.
Hei Loulan merely glanced casually at the shadow Na'er had leaped out from, secretly estimating Di Tian's degree of mastery over the Law of "darkness."
Throwing someone directly out from a shadow? This was something quite a few dark-attribute humans could do, so there was no reason Di Tian couldn't.
However, to be able to play with shadows like a teleportation portal, it was feared that this divine dragon, Di Tian, had already reclaimed a bit of his past glory.
In this world where the laws had changed drastically, it was feared that within three to five years, he should have the courage to touch the divine tribulation.
Under the circumstances of the Dragon God's suppression, a Soul Beast becoming a god head-on! Tsk tsk, it would probably be strong as hell, right?
And then to play around with the Divine Domain--couldn't afford to provoke him, couldn't afford to provoke him indeed.
Hei Loulan casually lifted and tossed the pendant Na'er down, giving her a slap on the butt while she was fake-crying and playing pitiful.
She made Na'er run along with her, and the two of them ran together toward the rebuilt Shrek City. Today was the bidding day for Shrek Academy, so it could not be missed.
Inside the Star Dou Great Forest.
At this moment, the Lake of Life under the shining sunlight appeared exceptionally quiet and beautiful. Unlike the Lake of Life that was about to dry up in the past, the life force within the earth had been devoured and transformed by Di Tian.
Di Tian, who sat upright on the Lake of Life, caused the Lake of Life to grow a bit with his every breath. Currently controlling the Law of darkness, Di Tian kept his eyes closed, drawing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth with extreme meticulousness.
Having restored his original form, Xiong Jun widened his pair of bear eyes. As someone who planned to overthrow Di Tian and become the boss of the Star Dou Great Forest, he really couldn't quite understand why Di Tian had suddenly become so arrogant?
"Oh man! Di Tian's aura changes day by day, how can the transformation be so big?"
Standing beside him was an eerie young man who closed his eyes to sense the power of devouring. As the ruler of the plant system, the Myriad Demon King could better sense the current might and prosperity of Di Tian.
"Xiong Jun, your vision is too shallow. I have always believed that seniority is the most important thing. It seems I've never been wrong!"
The Myriad Demon King's pair of eyes, which had a black base with a hint of crimson, were completely full of smiles. This was the true Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts! This was the one who would lead the Soul Beast to develop!
The crowd of Soul Beast all gathered around Di Tian, murmuring softly in low voices. No one went to look at the true Co-Sovereign of Soul Beasts, who had failed to transform and had been split into two halves.
A young girl just quietly held Brigitte, who was comforting her, remaining silent and speechless.
"Alright, alright, My Lord, do not lose heart! Didn't He also say it? Your divine consciousness was shattered again and again, so transforming into human form is bound to cause a split."
Fine! Today was another day of losing face for the dragon.