soul land: Huo Yuhao Inheriting Centipede Immortal

The art of Qi observation had failed for the first time.

However, Huo Yuhao wasn't fazed. After all, Qi observation wasn't considered a top-tier technique. In the cultivation world, there were numerous methods to obscure observation or even conceal fate itself.

Though Douluo Continent was a barren land for such arts, it still had its share of advanced powers—like the Golden Ancient Tree, a spirit root. So, the Holy Spirit Cult having means to block Qi observation was nothing unexpected.

After all, Huo Yuhao had already assessed that some of the Holy Spirit Cult's methods were quite akin to true cultivation techniques.

Still, being able to block Qi observation didn't mean it could block Huo Yuhao's more direct probing.

It only meant one thing: there were definitely hidden secrets within the Holy Spirit Cult—secrets that made Huo Yuhao all the more intrigued.

In the sea of his spirit, the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls gently swayed. From the shadow beneath Huo Yuhao's feet, ghostly figures separated and slipped into the shadows around the great hall, then snuck out through gaps to spread throughout the Holy Spirit Cult.

Once the banner stirred, the ghosts followed.

The temperature in the grand hall dropped sharply with their appearance. A thin layer of frost formed on the floor, only to gradually melt as the ghosts dispersed and the hall warmed again.

Huo Yuhao casually took a seat, poured himself a cup of tea, and appeared to leisurely sip at it. In truth, he was connecting with the ghosts' vision, using them to investigate the hidden parts of the Holy Spirit Cult.

He didn't recklessly use Spiritual Detection, since that could be noticed—especially by an Ultimate Douluo, who could easily sense such probes.

After all, both Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao were likely at the cult's headquarters. If they sensed something, things could get messy. By contrast, using ghosts—even if detected—would only raise suspicions of soul-controlling evil soul masters.

And Huo Yuhao? He wasn't an evil soul master. Who would suspect him?

Through the eyes of the ghosts, Huo Yuhao discovered that some people within the Holy Spirit Cult were preparing to relocate—many resources and items had already been packed up.

Soon, Tang Ya returned—but her expression looked troubled.

Huo Yuhao looked at her questioningly.

Tang Ya didn't hide anything and said directly, "The cult has reached a deal with the Sun Moon Empire. They plan to send a representative to reside in Mingdu—and my faction was chosen. As the Holy Daughter, I happen to qualify."

"..."

This time, Huo Yuhao was truly speechless.

What was going on?

 Did Kong Deming get hit on the head?

 Or had Ye Xishui really seduced the Sun Moon Emperor?

"Could it be that the pressure your clone gave them was too great, forcing them into an alliance?" Electrolux's voice echoed in Huo Yuhao's mind.

Huo Yuhao fell silent again.

After a while, he looked at Tang Ya and asked, "So, we barely escaped from Mingdu, and now we're heading back? Are you sure the Sun Moon Empire will just let us be?"

Tang Ya smiled faintly. "Don't worry, our safety will be ensured. The cult is assigning the remaining elders and half of the worshippers to my protection. As long as we don't ask for trouble, there will be no danger."

"Besides, once in Mingdu, we'll get support and resources from the empire. With that backing, our development will be much smoother."

"What about the other Holy Son? Will he go too?" Huo Yuhao asked.

"No idea. We're equals in status—I don't have control over him." Tang Ya replied with a sweet smile.

"When do we leave?"

"In the next couple of days."

Before Huo Yuhao could ask more, Tang Ya signaled for someone to escort him to rest.

She had already arranged a palace for Huo Yuhao—and even provided two enchanting and voluptuous maidens for his 'convenience.'

After Huo Yuhao left, Tang Ya's expression immediately darkened.

 On the surface, going to Mingdu seemed like a path to resources. But everyone could see the truth: she had once invaded the Mingde Hall—did anyone really think the empire would support her?

It was more likely they would quietly plot against her.

Worse, by sending her and the remaining elders and half the worshippers to Mingdu, Zhongli Wu's faction could take over the vast resources left behind.

If his faction grew stronger, they would inevitably swallow the others, gaining full control over the Holy Spirit Cult—and ultimately imprisoning her and Beibei, the so-called Holy Son and Holy Daughter.

This was directly tied to Tang Ya and Beibei's survival.

Tang Ya had long realized that Zhongli Wu wanted to bring her and Beibei completely under his control.

Thus, when she left the cult headquarters this time, she knew Zhongli Wu would not allow them to take too many resources with them.

She wanted to prepare countermeasures—but things were moving too fast. There wasn't enough time or leeway.

The Supreme Elder had made this arrangement—no one could go against his decision.

If Tang Ya were truly loyal to the Holy Spirit Cult, it would've been fine. But unfortunately, she wanted to borrow the chicken to lay eggs—using the cult's resources to rebuild the Tang Sect.

Now, she had to start thinking about how to extract the greatest benefit from this.

Everything Tang Ya did was witnessed by the ghosts in hiding—and relayed back to Huo Yuhao.

Unfortunately, ghosts couldn't read minds. They couldn't fully understand Tang Ya's thoughts, but it was clear: she was very unhappy.

Elsewhere, Huo Yuhao arrived at the palace Tang Ya had arranged for him.

The palace was luxurious and comfortable, but Huo Yuhao wasn't tempted by Tang Ya's sugar-coated trap. He shut the two maidservants out and rested alone.

After seeing Tang Ya's discontent, Huo Yuhao simply smiled—then focused on investigating the cult's headquarters again. He didn't have much time—he'd be leaving soon.

Though the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters was vast, the ghosts had already explored most of it.

They found some valuable items—but nothing Huo Yuhao found truly tempting. However, they did uncover quite a few secrets.

There were still places ordinary ghosts couldn't enter—such as areas shielded by soul tool barriers. Such places likely hid true secrets. Huo Yuhao marked them all for later.

Some ghosts were noticed, of course. The headquarters had no shortage of soul-controlling evil soul masters.

Usually, the ghosts could escape—leaving those evil soul masters confused and paranoid.

There was no need to kill—yet.

Some ghosts were captured.

One ghost found Long Xiaoyao recuperating inside a palace. Long Xiaoyao sensed the ghost and instantly grabbed it.

"Who's skulking around?!"

Just as he was about to investigate, the ghost self-destructed.

Though it didn't injure Long Xiaoyao, it did make him feel provoked and uneasy. His face turned dark.

 "Is someone spying on me? The cult leader's faction?"

Similarly, another ghost was captured by Zhongli Wu—and it exploded in his hand.

Zhongli Wu's expression turned cold.

"Daring to spy on me? Was it the Elder faction? Or the Worship faction? Did they notice I'm injured?"

He had escaped the previous soul cannon blast—but not unscathed. He had hidden his injuries. Now he suspected someone had seen through his façade and was probing him.

Thus, paranoia spread across the Holy Spirit Cult.

 Everyone began suspecting everyone else.

But no one dared to act rashly.

Because none of them were in a good state.

Still, the atmosphere within the Holy Spirit Cult had grown increasingly treacherous and volatile.

After stirring up the nerves of the Holy Spirit Cult's upper echelons, Huo Yuhao fell into deep thought. He suddenly realized—

"Wait a second, where's Ye Xishui?"

She wasn't in Mingdu, nor was she in the Holy Spirit Cult.

Wasn't it the Grand Elder who arranged for Tang Ya's 'team building' trip to Mingdu?

 "Could it be that Ye Xishui went ahead of us and we missed her? Or… is she another one skilled in laying low, got scared off, and is now hiding?"

He couldn't figure it out, but since she managed to escape with her life, next time they meet, she'll owe him two holes in return for those lives.

It didn't matter if he couldn't catch dirt on Ye Xishui. The Holy Spirit Cult wasn't going anywhere.

Uncovering the cult's secrets was still a big win—since he was already here, he had to take something valuable back.

The ghosts had already scouted out the cult headquarters, pinpointing several areas protected by soul tool arrays—zones they couldn't infiltrate. These must be where the cult was hiding something important.

But when Huo Yuhao marked all these areas on the headquarters' map, he noticed something odd.

While these key spots were near the residences of powerful figures, the defensive strength around them was all quite similar—none of them stood out as especially critical.

More curiously, each of these areas was more or less equidistant from Zhongli Wu's palace. None were particularly close to him, and none seemed like they were under his direct supervision.

A true leader of any force must hold key resources directly in hand. Even the Holy Spirit Cult was no exception.

For evil soul masters, if the cult leader didn't have enough leverage, they'd have long gone off to form their own factions.

This period's Holy Spirit Cult wasn't just a ragtag band of renegades—it was a shadowy boss-level organization strong enough to work alongside entire nations.

Naturally, for it to grow to this level, the cult had to have special legacies, powerful secrets passed down through generations.

So instead of focusing on the protected zones, Huo Yuhao turned his attention to Zhongli Wu's palace itself.

He sent out the ghosts of Mu En and Zi Ji to investigate. They detected two powerful soul signatures—both Super Douluo level—inside Zhongli Wu's palace, likely Zhongli Wu and his wife, the cult's deputy leader, Evil Phoenix Douluo Feng Ling.

"If I remember right, this Feng Ling was Senior Yan's ex-girlfriend, huh? Tsk tsk… Senior Yan really was a player."

Aside from those two, there was nothing unusual about the palace. So Huo Yuhao shifted his focus downward—beneath the palace.

If nothing was visible aboveground, then the true secrets must be hidden deep below, and tightly guarded by the cult master himself.

He released more ghosts, which burrowed underground to scout the area beneath the palace.

As expected, they soon discovered a hidden passage beneath Zhongli Wu's palace.

"That's it!"

Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao left a clone behind to cover his tracks, then phased through a wall to a secluded corner of the cult grounds. There, he summoned his Frost Jade Centipede martial soul and began digging downward.

Following the underground tunnel mapped out by the ghosts, Huo Yuhao dug over 100 meters deep before breaching into a special chamber.

"What exactly is the Holy Spirit Cult hiding down here?" Huo Yuhao was both curious and excited.

He loved uncovering the foundations of major forces—along with those foundations came their fortune and destiny, ripe for the taking.

He emerged into a blood-red chamber the size of a large football field. A heavy, metallic scent of blood hung in the air—strangely mixed with a sweet, intoxicating aroma. In the distance, a crimson glow shimmered.

Unfazed, Huo Yuhao walked deeper into the space along a carved stone path.

On either side of the path were massive blood pools, filled with thick red liquid—pure blood.

Under the eerie red energy, the blood hadn't dried at all. In fact, it seemed alive, slowly flowing.

The glowing red force that preserved the blood pulsed from within the pools like a heartbeat—bright and dim, on and off.

When Huo Yuhao tried scanning the pools with spiritual power, not only did he gain nothing, he also felt a corrupting force trying to invade his mind. Fortunately, his Buddha Light dispersed it immediately.

Besides the blood pools, the chamber's stone walls featured engraved murals—like a visual story.

To his surprise, the murals depicted the tale of the Dragon God—including its battle against a demi-god draconic being, its creation of the Nine Dragon Kings, and the eventual split into the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King.

"From this era onward, Douluo Continent started having all these stories about the Dragon God. Not just Shrek Academy—Sun Moon Empire has records too, including the legends of the Golden Dragon King, Silver Dragon King, and the Purple Radiant Sky-Devouring Dragon…"

A thousand years ago, the most powerful dragon on Douluo was recognized as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.

There were no legends of a Golden or Silver Dragon King, nor any established ideas about their corresponding powers or elements.

Clearly, Douluo Continent's history had undergone a major "discovery," leading to a rewritten narrative.

Accurate or not, it marked a new historical turning point.

For there to be such a discovery, it had to come from either archaeological exploration or cultural exchange due to the collision with the Sun Moon Continent—or both.

The Sun Moon Continent featured the Purple Radiant Sky-Devouring Dragon and the Valley of Emotional Inquiry, suggesting that it likely held many records about the gods.

These records could stem from fallen gods or remnants of divine legacies.

Sadly, no one from the Sun Moon Continent had ever ascended to godhood.

Perhaps that was because their soul tool–focused development neglected martial souls—causing their soul masters, reliant on external tools, to fall short of the divine test's requirements.

After all, which sane god would choose someone who struggles just to break past Super Douluo?

Soul tools were powerful, but they led away from the divine path.

Huo Yuhao suspected that this very place was tied to the gods.

And as he ventured even deeper—sure enough—he saw a mural of the Divine Realm War!

Records of the War of the Gods are scarce, and there is hardly any detailed account of the outcome. What was recorded mainly concerned the fall of a god.

More accurately, the fall of a Beast God!

It was a snake-like god, slain by a frenzied Dragon God. It witnessed the Dragon God's division and then fell to the Douluo Star.

This god did not entirely perish. Part of its remains turned into a stone statue, which was later discovered by humans. The first human to touch it received a "Divine Revelation", seeing the god's experiences before death and gaining part of its power and wisdom.

That person then offered blood and soul to the statue and continuously drew power from it, becoming a powerful figure and attracting followers.

After that, the records end.

"Could the first person to find the statue have been the founder of the Holy Spirit Cult? Perhaps he was already an Evil Soul Master, which would explain the blood and soul offerings. The strange inheritances of the Holy Spirit Cult might stem from the god's revelation," Huo Yuhao speculated.

Upon reading the last mural, Huo Yuhao finally stood before the statue.

It was a ten-meter-tall colossal statue standing in the center of a blood pool, its base submerged. The statue was a coiled, giant serpent. Its stone eyes, seemingly sentient, stared coldly at Huo Yuhao, exuding pressure and an aura of death—threatening to devour the soul of anyone it gazed at.

The divine pressure and aura still lingered within it.

Gods do not decay or vanish so easily.

"Countless years of blood and soul offerings have turned this into an evil god statue," Huo Yuhao murmured.

His Frost Variant Ice Centipede Martial Soul quietly emerged, crawling up his shoulder, exuding an aura faintly capable of counteracting the statue's divine pressure.

Huo Yuhao used his spiritual power to scan every detail. Sure enough, he found special markings on the back of the statue.

On its back were two tiers of symbols—a single circle above, connected to three circles below via three lines. Each circle contained a mysterious symbol.

Although unfamiliar, Huo Yuhao instinctively understood their meanings:

"A pure soul, ultimate strength, noble bloodline… to achieve Holy Spirit?"

"The three lower circles connect to the upper one—does this mean all three are needed to reach the result above?"

His expression shifted subtly.

"Is this the requirement to inherit a god position? So this is the ultimate secret of the Holy Spirit Cult—a god-level inheritance!"

Apparently, the fallen Beast God had indeed left behind an inheritance, but it fell into the hands of Evil Soul Masters, who used it for their own ends.

If Huo Yuhao could grasp the meaning at first glance, then of course past Evil Soul Masters weren't fools either—they must have attempted the process.

But the statue remained, meaning they all failed.

Suddenly, Huo Yuhao recalled the three "Saint Sons and Daughters" chosen in the original story:

Huo Yuhao — Possesses purification ability, with a spiritual attribute.

Tang Ya — Strong devouring ability, possibly containing hidden Blue Silver Emperor bloodline.

Ma Xiaotao — Possesses Evil Fire akin to Ultimate Fire, and Phoenix bloodline.

"Was it that one person couldn't meet all the requirements, so they split them up among three people and combined them later?" Huo Yuhao felt he had uncovered the truth.

In other words, the Saint Sons and Daughters were all sacrifices to fulfill the requirements to achieve the godhood of the "Holy Spirit."

The so-called "summoning of the Holy Spirit" through their union was actually a ritual to sacrifice them and attain divinity!

Now, Tang Ya had returned, and Bei Bei's extreme evil attribute was even more suitable than Ma Xiaotao's. Only one person remained—someone with either strong spiritual power or purification capabilities.

Coincidentally, Huo Yuhao himself met all the conditions!

"This is fate!" he laughed.

Though it was a Beast God's position, humans could still inherit godhood.

And considering that "that adult" possessed dual godhood, with Huo Yuhao's many martial souls, multiple inheritances only made sense.

After double-checking for safety, Huo Yuhao raised his left hand. His Palm World enveloped the snake statue, attempting to store it.

But then—a sudden change occurred!

From within the statue's unknowable depths, its eyes lit up. A figure wreathed in blood-red light flew out as a mighty voice boomed:

"Insolent! Who dares touch the Holy Statue?!"

This blood-red figure blocked Huo Yuhao's Palm World. It exuded the aura of a quasi-god, drenched in bloodthirst and pressure like a prison.

Its power far surpassed Mu En!

But as Huo Yuhao saw its true form, he simply laughed.

"A soul form?"

The Skydream Iceworm in his spiritual sea raised a finger toward the figure, turned to the Golden Xuanwu, and burst into laughter.

Even the Golden Xuanwu couldn't help but laugh.

"Just a little soul dares act arrogant before Hao-ge? That's rich!"

Huo Yuhao withdrew his hand and smiled toward the blood-colored figure:

"You're probably a former Holy Spirit Cult powerhouse. Or perhaps, you're the first Evil Soul Master who found the statue?"

"Silence! I am the Holy Emperor!" the figure suddenly roared, perhaps hit close to the truth.

Its aura surged violently, shaking the entire underground chamber.

But Huo Yuhao stood unmoved. The Holy Emperor felt a chill—realizing this foe wasn't ordinary—and attacked first.

"You are a traitor—die!"

He summoned boiling blood from all sides to strike with deadly force.

However, Huo Yuhao calmly released his Ten-Thousand Soul Banner. With its current quality and innate soul-suppressing nature, it interrupted the Holy Emperor's magic in an instant.

The Holy Emperor stood dumbfounded in midair, not understanding what had just happened.

"Countering attributes reign supreme, pretty boy~"

"Don't just stand there—come on!" Huo Yuhao waved. The Soul Banner erupted with suction, targeting the soul specifically.

"NOOO!!!" The Holy Emperor roared, but was helplessly sucked into the Soul Banner.

"No? Once you're in the Banner, you don't get to choose," Huo Yuhao said with a light smile, beckoning the Ten-Thousand Soul Banner back into his hand.

The underground chamber fell silent. The boiling blood calmed.

"The Holy Emperor, huh? I think there really was such a person in the original, but only in cult doctrines or spoken of by cultists. Even when the Holy Spirit Cult HQ was bombed, he never showed up. After the cult was destroyed, he was never heard from again."

"I recall the Holy Spirit Cult's leader ten thousand years later is someone called the Demon Emperor. Seems like they joined the cult around this time…"

"I'll go looking for them when I have time." A quasi-god level Holy Emperor, with strength nearing level 100, had possessed the giant serpent statue, and his combat power was not inferior to Di Tian when using the Dragon God Claw.

Unfortunately, he was just a soul — and he encountered the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, his natural nemesis. Now, he's become Hao-ge's dog.

If the Holy Emperor hadn't come out of the statue just to show off, and instead directly manipulated the blood pool's power, he might have stood a chance against Huo Yuhao.

Within the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, the Holy Emperor ranks just below Electrolux. Even Mu En and Zi Ji can't match him. So now, he's been thrown into Electrolux's Undead Realm for some proper training.

Electrolux's undead demi-plane has begun merging with the Undead Realm, making it more powerful than ever — subduing a Holy Emperor is a piece of cake.

With just a glance, Huo Yuhao saw the old man gripping a Soul Whip, engaging in some rather intense "Plantation Passion" with the Holy Emperor. Quietly, Yuhao backed away — best not to disturb them.

Yet even with all that strength, the Holy Emperor still wasn't worthy of being the main soul of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

If he had a divine seat, Huo Yuhao might have considered it — divine seats are rare and have growth potential. But sadly, the Holy Emperor didn't have one, and besides being strong, had no other special qualities.

At best, just a high-tier henchman.

Maybe with some luck in the future, the Holy Emperor could break past level 100 and continue to shine under the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

After dealing with the Holy Emperor, next up was the giant serpent statue and the rest of this mysterious space.

Huo Yuhao tossed the Evil God Spear into the blood pool, letting it absorb the essence within to form the Evil God Blood Ring. This blood pool was the Saint Spirit Church's accumulation over countless years — possibly even richer than what Yuhao found in the Extreme North.

The blood pool alone could nurture many Titled Douluo, maybe even Super Douluo.

But in the past, with the giant serpent statue and the Holy Emperor guarding it, the Saint Spirit Church couldn't recklessly tap into it. In fact, the pool's power was reserved for when the church's leader attempted to ascend to godhood — no leader dared to use it casually.

Every leader dreamed of divinity — but none realized the Holy Emperor was just lying in wait to snatch their fruit of labor.

Yuhao acted again, storing the serpent statue in the Heavenly Gourd in His Palm. This time, no accidents. No one popped out to interrupt.

While the Evil God Spear was still absorbing blood, Yuhao's spirit entered the Heavenly Gourd to investigate the serpent statue.

No rush to escape — if Zhongli Wu really came to check, Yuhao wouldn't mind taking him out too.

As long as no one suspects Huo Yuhao — especially Tang Ya — then anything goes.

Yuhao's spiritual form appeared in the gourd and directly infiltrated the serpent statue, probing its secrets.

It had been corrupted by blood into an Evil God Statue, filled with crimson evil energy. Without sufficient resistance, one could easily be mentally contaminated — from mild fatigue to full-blown madness.

Only the most seasoned evil soul masters could fully adapt. The Holy Emperor's soul, able to inhabit the statue, had long twisted into a demonic form — the embodiment of evil.

Didn't you see? His soul was literally glowing red.

Coincidentally, Huo Yuhao was well-versed in such matters.

Invoking Demonic Will, Yuhao's spirit turned pitch black. The statue's evil energy couldn't touch him — instead, it recoiled under pressure.

"Demonic Will" was basically Yuhao's own force of will — who knows why it was black. But a will so sovereign, how could evil ever corrupt it?

Evil? Not even close to Hao-ge!

As Yuhao explored deeper, he was surprised to find a huge treasure hoard hidden in the statue — a massive number of souls!

Souls collected over generations by the Saint Spirit Church, both human and beast, including Titled Douluo and 100,000-year-old soul beasts. All perfectly preserved within the statue.

Clearly, they were stockpiling for ascension.

When the previous great one became a god, they sacrificed an Ultimate Douluo. The Angel God's ascension required another Ultimate Douluo. The Rakshasa God caused widespread slaughter to fuel her divine seat.

Clearly, becoming a god requires massive energy.

The church elders understood this and amassed both blood and souls for generations, unsure how much was needed — so they just kept collecting.

Now, it all falls into Huo Yuhao's lap.

By guiding all the souls from the statue into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, it would rise yet again!

The number of souls in the banner would surpass 100,000!

However, that only boosts its power — not its quality. To enhance its tier, the banner would need millions of high-quality souls and a complete set of nine main souls.

Still a long way off.

Anyway — Ten Thousand Souls Banner, activate!

While it absorbed the souls, Yuhao kept delving deeper — he hadn't yet reached the statue's core.

And the core… was the divine inheritance left by the Beast God — hidden in the statue's deepest part. Yuhao soon found it.

A radiant white portal shimmered in the depths — behind it lay the divine inheritance!

The portal's sacred light kept the statue's crimson evil at bay — unable to penetrate, let alone taint the divine seat.

Yuhao attempted to step into the light — and surprisingly, it accepted him with ease.

He stood before the gate. No need to maintain his Demonic Will — his spirit returned to pure white.

"So this is the divine inheritance. I wonder if I'll be truly accepted," Yuhao thought. Based on external requirements, he should be fine.

His spirit reached out and touched the portal.

On the gate was a symbol — the same as the one on the statue's back, but inverted: one circle below, three circles above, linked by three lines.

Yuhao's hand touched the bottom circle.

The circle lit up. A stream of light followed the first line upward and lit the first top circle. He felt a sacred force scan his body.

First circle lit — test passed.

"High-quality bloodline, huh?"

More light flowed along the second line. Another scan — the second circle lit up.

Second circle lit — test passed.

"This time, extreme power."

Finally, the light traced the third line. A sacred force scanned Yuhao's soul.

But this time, the third circle didn't light up. In fact, all the lights vanished.

Yuhao froze.

"Test failed? Is my soul… not pure?"

"How could my soul possibly be impure?"

Huo Yuhao carefully examined his Sea of Spirit and saw the Skydream Iceworm rolling around in boredom, the Golden Xuanwu pondering life, and the Heavenly Dragon diligently cultivating…

"Alright, I take that back," Huo Yuhao muttered helplessly, frowning slightly.

Leaving now, before inheriting the divine position, made him feel unwilling.

"Noble bloodline, ultimate power, pure soul…"

After pondering for a while, Huo Yuhao's consciousness returned to his body. He raised his hand and summoned the giant serpent statue once again.

Then, he summoned his Mutant Frost Centipede martial soul.

"Frost Centipede, do you want a godhood or not?"

Mutant Frost Centipede: (`ω)??

Let's not forget—the Mutant Frost Centipede martial soul now had its own soul and consciousness!

"No reply? I'll take that as a yes."

Huo Yuhao directly pressed the martial soul against the giant serpent statue. The moment it touched the statue, the martial soul froze in place, as if its consciousness had been pulled from its body.

"As expected, it works for the Mutant Frost Centipede too!" Huo Yuhao was thrilled. His consciousness immediately dove back into the giant serpent statue, quickly locating the inheritance gate.

There, he found the Frost Centipede's consciousness spinning around in a daze, clearly lost and confused.

When it saw Huo Yuhao arrive, the martial soul was delighted and immediately tried to pounce on him.

But Huo Yuhao grabbed it and pressed it against the gate.

Mutant Frost Centipede: (`ω)??

"No time to explain—just go for it!"

Huo Yuhao was eager to see whether the martial soul could pass the test.

If even the Mutant Frost Centipede couldn't make it, things would get tricky. Noble bloodline and pure soul were manageable, but ultimate power wasn't something easily acquired.

If it failed, the only other option was Jin Qiu'er. But since she no longer had a physical body, could she still count as having noble blood?

As the martial soul was pressed to the gate, the circle beneath it lit up again, repeating Huo Yuhao's previous experience—three waves of divine power swept over the martial soul.

Noble bloodline – Passed!

 Ultimate power – Passed!

 Pure soul – …

This last test took much longer, as if the gate was debating the martial soul's condition. Even Huo Yuhao grew visibly nervous.

It wasn't like he absolutely needed the divine inheritance, but missing out on a clear benefit made him feel worse than losing a hundred gold soul coins.

"If you're not earning, you're losing!"

Thankfully, the last circle finally lit up—Final approval granted!

Boom!

The gate of inheritance trembled violently. Huo Yuhao quickly pulled the martial soul back a few steps, remaining alert for any potential danger.

Who knew whether this was truly a divine inheritance, or just a trap to steal a body for rebirth? Huo Yuhao himself would've done something like that, so he had to be cautious.

Even the Ten Thousand Souls Banner halted its soul absorption to remain on standby in case of emergencies, ready to act as a hidden trump card.

Fortunately, Huo Yuhao's worries were unfounded.

As the inheritance gate slowly opened, brilliant white light engulfed him and the martial soul. They began receiving the divine inheritance.

A flood of knowledge and insights poured into their minds in an overwhelming stream.

That's when Huo Yuhao finally learned whose inheritance this was:

Beast God, Sacred Spirit Feathered Serpent.

 First-Class God, God of Wisdom.

The Sacred Spirit Feathered Serpent had a noble serpent bloodline, beautiful multicolored feathers instead of scales, immunity to all elemental attacks, and the ability to travel through space. It also possessed immense spiritual power and a vast store of knowledge, harboring a strong disdain for chaos and ignorance.

Then it was physically torn apart by the berserk Dragon God.

And thus, it perished.

Before dying, the God of Wisdom left behind their divine inheritance. Because of the urgency, no divine trial was established, but the conditions for opening the inheritance were exceedingly high.

Noble bloodlines were relatively attainable in the Douluo Continent.

But ultimate attributes were extremely rare. A person who possessed one would naturally have outstanding talent.

As for a pure soul—it was a requirement of heart and spirit. Only after opening the inheritance did Huo Yuhao realize this: soul purity wasn't just about a clean soul, but also about clarity of consciousness and thought.

Without companions like the Skydream Iceworm, he wouldn't have passed either.

A qualified inheritor must either have a childlike innocence or receive the inheritance as a naive child.

Thankfully, the Mutant Frost Centipede martial soul fit the latter category.

But even then, Huo Yuhao's influence nearly caused it to fail.

"Most divine inheritances use trials to gradually reshape the inheritor into a proper vessel for the godhood. But yours sets such high standards up front—no wonder no one's ever passed it before," Huo Yuhao complained.

Besides matters of godhood, Huo Yuhao and the martial soul also received extensive knowledge, including soul tool and divine artifact forging, cultivation insights straight to First-Class God level, and common knowledge about the God Realm and the universe.

Truly worthy of the title God of Wisdom.

Unfortunately, there were no memories of the Sacred Spirit Feathered Serpent's life.

Huo Yuhao was curious about what had happened in ancient times.

"If no one had interfered, the original Huo Yuhao would've been found by the Holy Spirit Cult and sacrificed. With the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion bloodline and the Ultimate Ice attribute, he might've also inherited the Wisdom God's position. As for the pure soul—there probably would've been a workaround."

"In that case, a soul tool cultivator like him, fused with divine artifact forging knowledge, would've become even more terrifying," Huo Yuhao mused.

There was no doubt—the Wisdom God's inheritance was extremely valuable.

Even in the Dragon God's era, there weren't many First-Class Gods in the God Realm. The God of Wisdom was one of the elite among them.

In this current era, the Douluo God Realm has only 32 First-Class God positions remaining, with many unclaimed. Only a dozen or so are currently filled.

First-Class God wasn't even the final limit—if more wisdom were accumulated, the Wisdom God's position had the potential to evolve into a God King.

As the white light finally faded—

Huo Yuhao and the Mutant Frost Centipede martial soul had completed the download of knowledge. Huo Yuhao blinked and emerged from his daze.

Then, he looked at the martial soul—it seemed… oddly wise.

It gave off the impression of being a lot smarter, and yet, still somehow not all that clever.

A bizarre contradiction.

"卧龙凤雏!" ("Wolong and the Young Phoenix!") Huo Yuhao blurted out, referring to legendary strategists Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong—both brilliant, yet often underestimated.

Another change was the appearance of the Wisdom God's mark on the top of the martial soul's head.

Once it digested all the knowledge, it would officially become the new God of Wisdom. Though whether it was truly capable… that remained to be seen.

Seeing that the martial soul would need time to process everything, Huo Yuhao had no choice but to retract it for now.

The martial soul returned to the mark in his left palm. On the back of his left hand, the God of Wisdom's symbol flashed briefly.