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Approximately three hours later, the Groudon immersed in manipulating earth and sensing the mysteries of cosmic law lifted its head with a premonition.
On the distant horizon, countless light points appeared—rays, high-explosive shells, and armor-piercing rounds fired by the Federation's long-range strategic soul devices deployed along coastlines and bases. Like a downpour, they poured toward the expanding landmass, attempting to hinder its growth.
Gu La felt no surprise—only anticipation. His low voice echoed amid the magma's roar: "Finally… It seems the Plane Lord won't personally intervene until the Federation is thoroughly beaten and terrified."
His thoughts shifted. The terrifying soul ring configuration beneath his feet vanished quietly, yet the power of the million-year eighth soul ring condensed and erupted silently!
Eighth Soul Skill: Heaven and Earth Overturn!
Instantly, the entire heavens and earth seemed stirred by an invisible giant hand!
Tens of miles ahead of the Groudons, the seabed crust roared under unbearable pressure.
Seawater was forcibly pushed aside by irresistible might, revealing the seabed—deep, bottomless, with magma flickering beneath!
Then came a scene that chilled souls to the bone—the exposed seabeds on both sides, like clay in a god's hands, surged upward at visible speed!
Rock twisted, compressed, and fused under law's power. In mere breaths, they transformed into two majestic mountain ranges, each soaring over thousands of meters.
These peaks weighed hundreds of millions of tons. As if existing since primordial times, they carried an aura of absolute dominance. Under Gu La's will, they moved like colossal gates, crushing stars with their momentum as they slammed together!
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!!!!
The collision's sound defied description, shaking the entire planet!
Destructive shockwaves erupted from the impact point, expanding outward in rings!
The Federation's distant projectiles and rays—still far from the Groudons' bodies—detonated prematurely in the sky, bursting into futile fireworks before the heavens' wrath.
After the impact, smoke and dust filled the air as seawater flooded back.
The two mountains, now fused into one colossal range, stood like eternal monuments on the newborn land's edge—becoming this gestating continent's most solid, most terrifying framework and boundary.
Seawater flowed through mountain crevices, forming new straits and waters.
Inside the Federation's highest council chamber, deathly silence reigned.
Through real-time footage from high-altitude reconnaissance soul devices, all delegates had witnessed the "mountain-making" miracle.
Raising thousand-meter peaks with a wave of the hand, obliterating all Federation attacks through collision… this had completely shattered their understanding of "power."
A previously conciliatory inland delegate turned deathly pale, lips trembling as he muttered unconsciously:
"Such enemies… can our Federation… truly stop them?"
His voice echoed eerily in the pin-drop-quiet hall. No one could offer a confident answer.
Brief silence gave way to panic spreading like plague.
Someone grasped at straws, shrieking a proposal: "God-Slayer! We still have one last God-Slayer soul projectile! Deploy it! Fire! It must kill them!"
Immediately, a sharp voice cut in with derisive laughter: "What 'God-Slayer'? It failed to kill even Yun Ming! Sea God Douluo has confirmed—these beasts are true god-level! Real gods! Your projectile wouldn't even scratch them!"
All eyes turned to Chen Xinjie on the screen—arms wrapped in bandages, face iron-gray.
Chen Xinjie took a deep breath, his tone pained yet resolute: "Correct. According to… reliable intelligence, these two beasts are indeed divine-level entities. Conventional means, including tenth-grade soul devices, are ineffective."
"Now, we vote on deploying the ultimate strategic deterrent—the God-Slayer soul projectile. Those in favor, raise your hands."
He raised his hand first. Some hawkish delegates from the Sea God Legion, War God Hall, and coastal regions hesitantly followed.
But the votes fell short of majority.
In the chamber, delegates closely tied to the Spirit Pagoda—especially those backed by the Leng family and even the Phoenix Clan—sat motionless, expressionless.
Others who had witnessed or deeply understood the Shrek massacre, unwilling to risk another catastrophic backlash from a failed "God-Slayer," remained silent.
Per the Federation's highest emergency decree, deploying the God-Slayer soul projectile required unanimous consent.
Chen Xinjie's face darkened until it seemed water might drip from it. Through clenched teeth, he forced out: "Why? Tell me why you disagree! These are true god-beasts!"
"They're altering our planet's fundamental structure. If we let them expand land unchecked, triggering global geological disasters, Douluo Planet itself faces collapse! What are you hesitating for?!"
An unraised delegate adjusted his glasses, replying calmly: "General Chen, don't exaggerate."
"Our geologists' preliminary simulations show that even when the new continent fully forms, global impact will mainly affect coastal regions—raising sea levels, submerging some cities."
"We can evacuate residents in advance. Long-term, a developable new continent's strategic value and economic benefits far outweigh the untapped vast ocean. To me, this may be the Federation's new opportunity."
"Nonsense! Using poison to quench thirst!" Chen Xinjie roared. "How do you know they'll stop after one continent? What if they create a second, third? Will you take responsibility for that?!"
An elder neutral delegate mediated: "Sea God Douluo, calm yourself. Currently, these divine beasts haven't attacked non-military targets. Past conflicts began with our interception and provocation."
"Perhaps… we should observe for now. Once they complete the landmass, if they still refuse to leave, we can then decide on using the ultimate measure. It won't be too late. Forcing attacks now only increases casualties and escalates conflict."
This sentiment echoed more delegates' thoughts.
Since they couldn't win or stop them, why not accept reality and consider how to claim a share of this soon-to-be-born continent?
Vast potential profits began diluting initial fear. The chamber's tide turned subtly.
Chen Xinjie watched these politicians already calculating benefits, his heart turning to ice.
He knew he couldn't push the God-Slayer plan alone anymore.
Defeated, he sank into his seat, staring at the screen where two beasts relentlessly expanded the land. A profound sense of powerlessness washed over him.
He couldn't leave—as one of the Federation's top fighters, he had to guard here. Yet he also knew a quasi-god and existing soul devices couldn't reverse the tide.
He could only watch helplessly as oceans were devoured, continents born, the Sea God's authority eroded—and await an unknown, possibly worse future.
In the plane's core space, Tang Hao watched the Federation council's vote trend toward compromise. His face darkened until it seemed to drip water.
He understood—he could no longer rely on these profit-blinded humans.
As someone closely tied to the Sea God, he knew such massive oceanic erosion and transformation would irreversibly damage the Sea God's power, rooted in oceanic faith and authority. This he would not tolerate.
Taking a deep breath, light gathered in his hand. The divine artifact—the Seven-Colored Hao Tian Hammer—materialized, radiating rainbow light nurtured by plane-origin power for millennia.
Turning to Ah Yin beside him—gentle, surrounded by life energy—he said gravely:
"Ah Yin, use your Blue Silver Domain to fully mask my aura fluctuations. I must strike with lightning speed to slay these beasts before they react or summon allies!"
"Brother Hao, be extremely careful!" Ah Yin's eyes brimmed with worry, but her movements were decisive.
Hands forming seals, her god-tier Blue Silver Domain expanded instantly. Emerald light, soft as gauze, completely isolated and confused Tang Hao's aura and divine power fluctuations from the outside world.
Fortunately, they were far from Abyss breaches. Otherwise, even a god-tier Blue Silver Domain couldn't fully conceal spatial ripples from such high-level combat.
At the new continent's edge, magma surged.
Gu La focused intently on guiding earth power, savoring the landplate extending and solidifying under his will while deepening his grasp of earth laws—eroding the Sea God's authority.
Suddenly, he sensed it—a powerful force descended without warning, locking surrounding space's energy flow. A razor-sharp killing intent plummeted from above!
Looking up, he saw a colossal hammer shadow wrapped in seven-colored mist—seeming to carry the plane's entire weight—tearing through clouds with star-shattering force, smashing toward him and the Groudon martial soul!
Tang Hao's long-awaited killing blow!
Groudon's magma eyes showed no fear—only human-like contempt.
It clearly sensed Tang Hao's divine power was merely at second-tier god level, heavily dependent on controlling the Douluo plane.
Yet Gu La himself, though from another timeline, was still recognized by the Douluo plane's core—suffering no rejection. This meant he wasn't without hope in pure power confrontation!
"ROOOOAR!"
Facing this earth-shattering hammer, the Groudon roared, fearlessly channeling the Groudon avatar's vast divine power.
"Titan Body! Magma's Wrath!"
Its massive frame instantly hardened with dark-red metallic luster, defense surging. Simultaneously, its maw opened, vomiting a thicker, near-dark-gold beam of condensed magma destruction energy—shooting upward to meet the Seven-Colored Hao Tian Hammer.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!!!!"
Divine powers collided head-on! Seven-color mist and dark-gold magma clashed midair, exploding into a light that dimmed sun and moon, unleashing apocalyptic energy storms.
Space tore with fine black cracks. Seawater beneath vaporized into a massive void. The newborn land's edge trembled violently.
In the stalemate, Tang Hao's heart sank.
He held the plane's "geographical advantage," Ah Yin's "human harmony" through aura masking, and even the "temporal advantage" of a sneak attack—yet he still couldn't instantly overwhelm the opponent. Worse—he felt his power being pushed back by the opponent's pure, savage magma force!
"Damn it!" Tang Hao's face turned ashen. Not daring to delay, his body spun rapidly in the air, employing the Power Accumulation technique from the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique to build force for a decisive breakthrough.
"Hmph. After all these years, still the same old tricks. No progress whatsoever!" Gu La's mind scoffed.
While maintaining the magma beam, he divided his focus—again invoking earth authority!
"Heaven and Earth Overturn!"
"BOOM! BOOM!"
Near Tang Hao, two more thousand-meter peaks erupted from the sea without warning.
This time, the mountains didn't collide. Like two giant palms carrying hundreds of millions of tons of crushing force, they clamped down from left and right on Tang Hao—fully committed to the Power Accumulation Hammer Technique.
Tang Hao's face blanched. Forced to break his technique, the Seven-Colored Hao Tian Hammer swept horizontally, barely shattering the incoming mountains.
But this shattered his offensive rhythm, sending his blood essence churning.
As he prepared to regroup and attack again, Ah Yin—below, maintaining her domain and sensing plane fluctuations—suddenly cried out in alarm:
"Brother Hao, it's bad! Just now, seven different locations simultaneously triggered elemental lightning tribulations! Someone's attempting Heavenly Refining! And they… they seem to have bypassed the plane consciousness's conventional barriers, communicating directly with the most primal laws!"
"What?! Seven people attempting Heavenly Refining simultaneously?!"
Tang Hao's face changed drastically. Instant understanding dawned. "It's a diversion! No—open strategy! These beasts created chaos here to draw my attention while their accomplices seize the chance to break through Heavenly Refining!"
His head snapped toward the Groudon below—seemingly mocking him—eyes blazing with fury.
His lifelong efforts to limit god-craftsmen, preventing mortals from glimpsing plane secrets through elemental lightning, had been forcibly shattered by this method!
Sensing the plane's laws destabilizing from seven simultaneous Heavenly Refining lightning tribulations' energy fluctuations, Tang Hao knew he couldn't stay.
He had to return immediately to stabilize the plane's laws and deal with those attempting to "smuggle" through Heavenly Refining.
Otherwise, the plane core's secrets risked exposure.
"Beasts! I'll spare you today! But I will claim your lives another day!"
Tang Hao roared with unwillingness. The Seven-Colored Hao Tian Hammer feinted, his figure vanishing into space under Ah Yin's domain's cover.
Sensing Tang Hao's aura completely fade—and receiving synchronized information from seven avatars (Mu Yi, Du An, Alice, etc.) about successfully triggering and initially surviving elemental lightning tribulations, gaining precious Heavenly Refining experience and insights—the Groudon's magma mouth curled into an utterly smug smile.
Plan successful!
Not only had he forced back the Plane Lord, venting earlier frustrations—but he'd also paved all avatars' paths toward Divine Craftsmen status and beyond.
This newborn continent would become one of his future vital foundations.
"Next…" Gu La gazed toward the Blood God Legion's direction, his eyes deep and dangerous. "Time to consider how to 'digest' this new territory… and have a 'chat' with the Abyss Plane."
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