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Leaving Bi Ji and Zi Ji's residence, Xuan Ming didn't pause for a moment. His figure transformed into a streak of light, shooting directly towards the magnificent and solemn Sea God Temple at the peak of Sea God Mountain.
The Sea God Temple, shrouded in the night, was still enveloped in a soft yet majestic golden light. Its doors were tightly shut, as if isolating everything inside and out.
Xuan Ming landed before the temple doors. He neither knocked nor announced his presence. He raised his hand, pressing his palm against the heavy doors, and his Divine Sense silently permeated them like mercury.
"Grand Priestess, it's me." His voice, transmitted directly through his Divine Sense, reached the ears of the figure meditating within the temple.
Inside the temple, Bo Saixi, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, trembled slightly. Her sea-blue eyes suddenly opened, flashing with a complex and unreadable emotion. She hadn't expected Xuan Ming to come knocking directly at this time, in this manner.
The temple doors slid open soundlessly.
Xuan Ming stepped inside, his gaze calmly falling upon the elegant and noble red figure before him.
"I apologize for disturbing you late at night," Xuan Ming said, his tone devoid of any discernible emotion. "I've come to thank you for your care on Sea God Island these past few years."
Bo Saixi's fingers, holding her scepter, tightened slightly. She looked at Xuan Ming, a mix of emotions swirling within her, unsure how to respond to this seemingly polite thank-you.
Xuan Ming didn't wait for her reply and continued, "Additionally, there's something that should be returned to its rightful owner."
He raised his hand, and with a flash of light, the Sea God Trident, entirely golden and anciently majestic in form, appeared in his grasp. The heavy trident body struck the ground with a dull thud, indicating its astonishing weight.
Bo Saixi's gaze fell upon the Sea God Trident, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes. She didn't understand Xuan Ming's intention in bringing out this Divine Artifact at this moment.
However, the next moment, Xuan Ming's actions made her pupils contract sharply, almost causing her to gasp in alarm!
Without any warning, Xuan Ming suddenly raised his right hand and pressed it against the top of his head. The golden trident mark in the center of his forehead, symbolizing his qualification for the Seagod Nine Trials, burst forth with dazzling light, resonating wildly with the Seagod's Light within the Sea God Temple!
Immediately after, a terrifying energy fluctuation that made one's Soul tremble erupted from his head!
"You... what are you doing?!" Bo Saixi instantly realized what he was about to do. Her face turned deathly pale, and she abruptly took a step forward, vast spirit power surging, attempting to stop him.
But Xuan Ming's Divine Sense, which had already reached the Divine Origin Realm, acted like an invisible barrier, firmly locking her in place. No matter how she urged her spirit power, or even tried to draw upon the power of the Sea God Temple, she couldn't budge an inch! She could only watch, her beautiful eyes filled with horror and incomprehension.
Xuan Ming ignored her struggles; his entire focus was on the process of stripping.
Stripping the Sea God's Heart, which had merged into his skull!
This was an unimaginable pain, as if his skull was being forcibly torn in half, a divine object that had already formed a close connection with his bones and Soul being violently gouged out!
Xuan Ming's face instantly turned ashen, and fine cold sweat seeped from his forehead, yet his ice-blue eyes remained terrifyingly calm, without even a hint of tremor.
He had long grown accustomed to pain. He had experienced Soul tearing; in comparison, stripping a piece of skull was merely another form of torture.
Moreover, his mental force had already transformed into Divine Sense. Although losing the Sea God's Heart would severely deplete his Origin Qi, his Foundation would not be shaken.
The Soul-nourishing resources he brought back from the Sun Moon Continent, originating from the Evil Emperor's collection, were enough for him to recover quickly.
As for the empty part where the Sea God's Heart used to be, the external evil eye brought by the Evil Emperor's sacrifice could just be integrated to fill it!
At this moment, the vast Seagod's Light within the Sea God Temple seemed to be drawn, converging like a golden tide, enveloping Xuan Ming's head. It resonated with the struggling Sea God's Heart, both aiding and intensifying the pain of stripping.
The entire process was incredibly cruel and slow.
Bo Saixi, confined by the invisible Divine Sense, could only watch as Xuan Ming's body slightly convulsed from the extreme pain, watching as the skin and bone of his forehead seemed to become transparent in the golden light. She could vaguely see a deep blue, ocean-core-like crystal being "sucked" out of his skull little by little, trailing strands of crimson blood and brilliant golden divine energy.
Her heart felt as if an invisible hand was tightly clutching it, making it difficult to breathe. She didn't understand why he would use such a brutal method?!
Time passed bit by bit in agony, from deep night until the sky began to lighten with the first hint of dawn.
As the first ray of dawn was about to pierce the sea horizon, accompanied by an almost imperceptible faint sound from the depths of his Soul, the deep blue Sea God's Heart finally completely detached from Xuan Ming's skull, hovering above his palm, radiating a soft yet vast oceanic aura.
Xuan Ming's body swayed, his face almost transparently pale, but he still stood steadily. The golden trident mark on his forehead became extremely dim, as if it could dissipate at any moment. He didn't look at the Sea God's Heart in his palm but gently pushed it.
The Sea God's Heart transformed into a deep blue stream of light and merged into the Sea God Trident, which stood silently to the side!
Boom—!
A joyful and magnificent hum echoed throughout the entire Sea God Temple! The aura of a complete Divine Artifact erupted, and brilliant golden-blue divine light shot into the sky, as if the sleeping Sea God had fully awakened! Ancient divine patterns on the trident's shaft lit up one by one, exuding a supreme majesty more powerful and complete than ever before!
Xuan Ming's thought moved slightly, and he made a final communication with the Sea God Trident. The complete Divine Artifact seemed to understand his will; its divine light receded, the hum subsided, and then it slowly flew up, hovering before Bo Saixi.
Bo Saixi instinctively reached out and grasped the trident's shaft.
What she felt was no longer the mountain-like, unyielding weight of one hundred and eight thousand jin, but a perfectly balanced heaviness, as if it was connected to her Bloodline and in sync with her heart, weighing only one hundred and eight jin, like an ordinary weapon! She could even clearly feel the vast divine force contained within it, and... its open acknowledgment of her!
The Sea God Trident, having gained the Sea God's Heart, was willing to be used by her under Xuan Ming's will! This meant that she truly possessed the qualification to strive for the Sea God God Position!
Immense surprise intertwined with deeper confusion in Bo Saixi's heart. She suddenly looked up at Xuan Ming, her voice trembling: "Why?! Why would you go to such lengths?! What... what is our relationship that would warrant this from you?!"
Xuan Ming looked at Bo Saixi, who, radiant and even more gracefully beautiful after the Divine Artifact's acknowledgment, remained silent for a moment before finally speaking the truth he should have uttered long ago.
"I killed Tang Chen."
The simple five words stunned Bo Saixi.
Xuan Ming's tone remained calm: "When I first returned to Sea God Island, I wanted to tell you. But you wouldn't see me."
"After that, you sought me out, and the things you said were... inexplicable." He recalled Bo Saixi's veiled probes and struggles, shaking his head slightly.
"Ultimately, you've looked after me on Sea God Island for so long. Whether out of duty or something else, I owe you."
His gaze was frank as he looked at Bo Saixi, "But I, in turn, killed Tang Chen, not even giving you a chance to see him again and make things clear. For this, I am ultimately indebted to you."
He pointed to the Sea God Trident, which was now perfectly attuned to Bo Saixi: "The Sea God's Heart, rather than a gift, is more like... my apology."
He paused, looking into Bo Saixi's eyes, which were filled with shock, pain, confusion, and complex emotions, and continued, "I know you are a very kind person. Having received the Sea God's Heart and gained the opportunity to advance further, even to become a god, you might hate me, and perhaps seek revenge in the future."
"But at least..." His voice deepened, carrying a subtle sense of relief, "with power and a future, you should no longer trouble Hu Liena and the others."
"For me, that is enough."
Having said that, he no longer observed Bo Saixi's reaction. Dragging his exhausted body, his Soul and body severely wounded, he turned and walked out of the Sea God Temple step by step.
The rising sun had just fully emerged from the sea, its golden light spilling across the plaza outside the temple, illuminating his pale and solitary back as he slowly disappeared down the steps.
Bo Saixi stood rooted to the spot, clutching the Sea God Trident, which felt as if it were custom-made for her. The warmth and power from the Divine Artifact were so real, yet Xuan Ming's calm but resolute words as he left filled her with immense confusion.
She finally understood the reason for Xuan Ming's almost self-mutilating act.
It wasn't admiration, nor a gift.
It was compensation, a severing, and also a kind of... arrangement to pave the way for her future.
But how she wished Xuan Ming could have kept this matter a secret, so she could pretend not to know anything.
But now that Xuan Ming had revealed it, how was she to face him?