"You, in such a weakened state—what use are you to soul beasts, Soul Beast Empress?"
"Wouldn't it be better if I absorbed you instead? Who knows, maybe it'll let me break through this world's constraints?"
With that ominous voice, the aura around the Demon Empress surged dramatically. The pressure of a half-god's power instantly bore down on Gu Yue.
But who was Gu Yue?
The Silver Dragon King!
She had fought even True Gods before—would she really fear a half-god? Even though Gu Yue was incomplete and wounded, a mere half-god was far from enough to pose a threat.
A flash of purple-gold light burst forth. The Demon Empress launched her attack without hesitation. Gu Yue, meanwhile, raised her arm, silver scales appearing along it to shield herself.
At the instant the purple-gold and silver lights clashed, a powerful shockwave exploded from their center, radiating out and smashing countless stones within the cave. But before the debris could fall, another wave of energy blasted out and turned the rocks into powder.
"What is this?"
Both Gu Yue and the Demon Empress changed expressions, immediately pulling apart and warily eyeing one another.
But in that moment, another shadow—pitch-black—moved.
"Master!"
Seeing the Demon Empress strike at Gu Yue, Di Tian grew anxious. Though Gu Yue's power was nothing to worry about, her identity as the Silver Dragon King—a half-body of the Dragon God—held immense symbolic meaning, especially for a dragon like Di Tian.
How could he allow a fish hiding in the deep sea to threaten her?
Without hesitation, Di Tian unleashed his Black Dragon Claw, ready to teach the fish a lesson. However—
"Wait, Di Tian! Don't attack yet!" Gu Yue's voice came from behind, but it was already too late. Di Tian and the Demon Empress had already made their moves.
Boom!
Earlier, Gu Yue had only defended and didn't fight back. But Di Tian struck with the full force of a half-god, intending to clash head-on with the Demon Empress.
Yet, just like Gu Yue, the moment they exchanged blows, Di Tian realized why she had backed off earlier—he felt a faint sense of suppression emanating from the Demon Empress!
"You… have you already touched that realm?"
"Of course."
Darkness was gradually suppressed by purple-gold light. Before Di Tian could react, the Demon Empress transformed her fist into a palm and struck his shoulder directly, forcing him to retreat to Gu Yue's side.
"I didn't expect a soul beast from the deep sea to reach such a realm… I really underestimated you," Gu Yue said, her tone turning serious. Although the Demon Empress wasn't as strong as Gu Yue, the rest of the soul beasts couldn't compare.
In that brief clash, Gu Yue sensed that the Demon Empress's strength was on par with Di Tian—they were both half-gods.
But the reason the Demon Empress could suppress Di Tian was because she had progressed farther within the half-god realm!
Di Tian's strength was already at the peak of the half-god level. But the Demon Empress? She was a half-god who had already touched the boundary of True Godhood! Just like she had said herself—only a step away!
All she needed was the right opportunity, and she could ascend directly to True God!
Of course, it would be a god without a god position, since the God Realm no longer existed.
"Oh no, not at all. I didn't expect the Soul Beast Empress to possess power no less than a True God. Seems I misjudged you." The Demon Empress waved her hand with a wry smile. Though the battle was brief, both sides had accurately gauged each other's strength—and mutually chose to stop.
"No more tests," Gu Yue said. "We are both soul beasts. We shouldn't keep fighting among ourselves, letting humans grow ever stronger."
She extended her hand again. "Let's cooperate."
"I will assign the remaining soul beasts into the Holy Spirit Cult, and they will coordinate with your actions. We must eliminate all humans!"
"Of course. How could I ever spare those humans who massacred our kind?" the Demon Empress replied with a smile. "Even those humans inside the Holy Spirit Cult—they'll be next once the outside world's humans are destroyed!"
"You're not afraid they'll find out and leak your plan?"
"How could they? If you don't say it and I don't say it—who would know?" The Demon Empress smirked dismissively. "Besides, those guys are Evil Soul Masters, reviled by all in the outside world. Even if they told someone, who would believe them? And how would they find me?"
"This place is the deep sea, completely isolated from the outside world. The clash of our powers just now didn't stir the land in the slightest."
"No one will ever know we've already formed an alliance. When the humans show weakness—that will be the moment of our soul beasts' great counterattack!"
Despite the earlier friction, Gu Yue ultimately succeeded in forming a cooperation with the Demon Empress, and they began formulating a large-scale counteroffensive against humanity.
However, shortly after Gu Yue and Di Tian left, Di Tian immediately spoke up. Though he had remained silent after being forced back, that didn't mean he had no opinion.
"Master, that one clearly still harbors evil intentions."
During their talks, the Demon Empress's gaze had repeatedly landed on Gu Yue's heart. Clearly, she had other plans.
"I know. What she said earlier wasn't just empty talk—she really did plan to devour me to ascend to godhood… It's just that, after confirming our strength, she didn't dare to act rashly."
Gu Yue, while incomplete, could still suppress the Demon Empress—at least until she truly became a god. As for Di Tian—though slightly suppressed earlier, that was without using any soul skills. If it came to a real fight, he still had his Dragon God Claw!
"That's why I gave her a way out," Gu Yue continued. "Right now, our top enemy is humanity. If our internal conflict benefits the humans, it would be a terrible loss for us. So we must unite—at least until humanity shows signs of decline. Before that, she shouldn't dare to turn on us…"
But after Gu Yue left, the Demon Empress's face turned vicious again.
"I never imagined… another Silver Dragon King still existed…"
"Damn it. I really can't deal with her on my own."
It was clear from their earlier clash—even the Demon Empress herself believed she couldn't defeat Gu Yue.
But...
Was that truly the case?
The answer: Not necessarily.
A certain man's figure began to surface in her mind. Even the Demon Empress's expression grew solemn—even more serious than when she faced the Silver Dragon King.
"If I borrow his power, I could definitely devour the Silver Dragon King…"
"But after that, I'd be under his control."
"The power of the 'Abyss'… truly dangerous!"
"If it's not a last resort, I'd better not use it lightly."