Everyone had a fear of death, and everyone had entertained the thought of what it would be like to attain immortality. As the king of an empire, he had naturally had the same thoughts in the past.

"That's right, they're doing this to pursue that unfathomable goal," Tang Wulin said, "This is something that I only figured out for myself after the event. I'm sure you're very familiar with the history of the Spirit Hall, right? There was a legendary final battle between the Tang Sect Master, Tang San, and the Spirit Hall Master, Bibi Dong. At the time, both of them had already become gods. In the end, Bibi Dong was defeated and killed, and her godseat was destroyed, while Tang San ascended to the Divine Realm."

Xue Yuntian nodded in response. "Indeed, there are extensive records on this chapter of history in the data vaults of the royal family."

Tang Wulin continued, "Then I'm sure that you noticed that both Tang San and Bibi Dong had become gods. Why was it that Bibi Dong was able to reach that level as the Spirit Hall Master? And why is it that following their ascensions, only Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao has managed to successfully follow in their footsteps? The Spirit Pagoda is already standing at the very pinnacle of the entire continent. If they want to advance even further, then their only possible objective would be to take control over the entire federation, or even the entire Douluo Star.

"Aside from the objective of ascension, I can't think of any other reason that would fuel such strong ambitions. As for how they're going to take that final step, I don't know, but I'm sure they have some methods they want to try. Also, there's something else I can disclose to you. Have you heard of the Douluo Continent's Blood God Legion?" Tang Wulin asked.

Xue Yuntian shook his head in a befuddled manner. "Does such a legion exist in the Douluo Federation? Are they very powerful?"

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "They are indeed very powerful, and they've existed for 6,000 years. You've never heard of them as they've been constantly guarding a secret. On the Douluo Continent, there is a spatial passageway that links us to another plane. That plane is more powerful than ours, and it's constantly attacking us in an attempt to destroy and devour us. The Blood God Legion was founded for the specific purpose of keeping that plane at bay. 6,000 years ago, the legion was founded and consisted of a conglomeration of powerful beings from Shrek Academy, the Tang Sect, the Battle God Hall, and the Spirit Pagoda. Since then, these heroes have been guarding the spatial passageway between the two planes for generation after generation."

"Is that true?" Xue Yuntian was staring at Tang Wulin in a stunned manner.

Tang Wulin nodded in response. "It is. I'm telling you this secret as the threat posed to our plane by the abyssal plane is constantly mounting in magnitude. This isn't because the abyssal plane itself has become more powerful. Instead, it's because they've found allies in our world who wish to invite the abyssal plane into our plane to destroy and devour everything. Those allies of theirs are none other than the Evil Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult! The Holy Spirit Cult is naturally doing this for their own benefit, and their objective has to be congruent with that of the Spirit Pagoda; they also wish to ascend beyond this world.

"Looking at the past trend, it seems that people are able to ascend once every 10,000 years, and it's been around 10,000 years since Spirit Ice Douluo Huo Yuhao ascended to the Divine Realm. I have reason to believe that the Spirit Pagoda is colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult because the method of ascension they're pursuing involves the destruction of the entire Douluo Star. If I hadn't discovered members of the Holy Spirit Cult in the Spirit Pagoda, I still wouldn’t have been able to connect the dots, but now, I can see that there's an extremely high likelihood that this is the case.

"The Blood God Legion was only just barely able to force back the last abyssal tide, but what about next time? If the Spirit Pagoda and Holy Spirit Cult joins forces to release the abyssal plane into this world, then the demise of the entire Douluo Star will become virtually unavoidable."

Tang Wulin's brows furrowed tightly as he continued, "It's undoubtedly the case that they've already strayed onto the wrong path. Due to the destruction of Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect headquarters, they've become the undisputed number one superpower on the Douluo Continent, and the Eagle Faction is also firmly holding the upper hand in the federal parliament, which is why a war is now imminent. If a war were to break out, the Holy Spirit Cult would undoubtedly be the main beneficiary. They crave death, and widespread death would greatly benefit their cultivation.

"Hence, I have reason to believe that there are definitely members of the Holy Spirit Cult lurking on both the Dou Spirit Continent and the Star Luo Continent. As such, our fundamental objective is to prevent this war from happening so the Holy Spirit Cult won't become any more powerful than it already is. At the same time, we hope to unite more powers of justice to work toward protecting our homes together when the need arises."

Xue Yuntian stared at Tang Wulin in silence for a long while.

He had considered many ways through which Tang Wulin would try to persuade him, but never did he think that Tang Wulin would disclose such an astonishing collection of information to him.

As the Tang Sect Master, he definitely wouldn't lie about something like the abyssal plane. If things really were as Tang Wulin theorized, then the Dou Spirit Empire was at risk of being destroyed at any moment!

The Holy Spirit Cult and Spirit Pagoda were going to destroy the entire continent to create an avenue for ascension! Just the mere thought of this sent chills running down his spine.

Even though Tang Wulin was only providing his own speculation, his theories were very logically sound.

Indeed, there was no other way to explain why the Spirit Pagoda would be pursuing more power despite how immensely powerful it already was, and why it was colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult.

He had already sent people to conduct a thorough investigation into the destruction of the Spirit Pagoda headquarters, and within the wreckage, he had found many pieces of evidence that would be very damning to the Spirit Pagoda.

The few remaining members of the Spirit Pagoda had started a protest and demanded that the royal family provide them with protection, as well as reconstruct the Spirit Pagoda. Xue Yuntian had already agreed to their demands, but now that the Tang Sect had announced responsibility for the attack, he had no choice but to place the entire original site of the Spirit Pagoda headquarters into lockdown, and he had no intention of returning the site to the Spirit Pagoda anytime soon.

After that, Tang Wulin didn't say anything further; he merely sat in his seat and looked out at the scenery within the palace around him.

The royal palace of the Dou Spirit Empire was truly a masterpiece of construction and craftsmanship, and there was always something new to see. All of the buildings and pavilions were extremely uniquely and intricately designed, and it was truly like paradise.

Compared to a world of steel and concrete, Tang Wulin much preferred this more antiquated and natural setting, and he was especially fond of the pure and fresh air here.

Xue Yuntian's mind was in a state of complete turmoil. During the past few days, he had considered many, many things. He had worked with the Tang Sect for many years, and with the Tang Sect's immaculate reputation, he had no reason to doubt Tang Wulin's words.

Even more importantly, following the destruction of the Spirit Pagoda's Dou Spirit Empire headquarters, he no longer had any choice. On top of that, the conditions offered to the Dou Spirit Empire by the Tang Sect were clearly more beneficial to the empire.

His top priority now was to prevent the imminent war and ensure the survival of the Dou Spirit Empire; everything else would have to come after that.

The vehicles drove on for close to 20 minutes before finally stopping in front of a lavish and grandiose palace.

Xue Yuntian got out of the vehicle first, then voluntarily strode over to Tang Wulin's side before making an inviting hand gesture. The fact that he was willing to make such a gesture even though he was the king of an empire was already indicative of many things.

Tang Wulin smiled and nodded, and just as he was about to get out of the vehicle, Xue Yuntian suddenly said in a decisive manner, "Sect Master Tang, I've made my decision. On behalf of the Dou Spirit Empire, I accept all the conditions proposed by your Tang Sect and would like to forge a collaborative relationship between our two parties."