Chapter 1185: Could He Not Be Dead?
Before the great battle, the Ancient Demon Palace was no treasure trove, yet all the major forces viewed it as such, hoping to try their luck here. As a result, ninety-nine percent of them lost their lives within.
However, the Ancient Demon Palace had now become a true treasure trove. The magical artifacts and treasures of the fallen from various major forces, along with the scattered collections from the shattered independent spaces—not to mention anything else—these two alone represented an immense fortune. Thus, the Ancient Demon Palace had indeed transformed into a genuine vault of riches.
Yet, even knowing that the Ancient Demon Palace was now a treasure trove, others dared not step inside. They lacked the courage, forced to watch as Lu Wu led his Night Watchers, steadily gathering all sorts of valuable items.
It would certainly be impossible to say they weren't envious. Those standing afar, or lurking in the shadows, all coveted the various treasures within the Ancient Demon Palace. But a God of Carnage stood within the Ancient Demon Palace, and it was precisely because of this presence that they dared not step a single half-pace into the Ancient Demon Palace, nor even approach it.
The God of Carnage in their eyes was, naturally, Yang Haoran. Although they perceived him as heavily wounded, his strength vastly different from his peak, they still dared not entertain thoughts of the Ancient Demon Palace's treasures, much less Yang Haoran himself. Yang Haoran's ferocity had burrowed deep into their hearts, leaving them without even a sliver of wishful thinking.
The Night Watchers sweeping the battlefield weren't merely collecting scattered items from burst independent spaces and the deceased's belongings. The souls of the dead were also valuable to the Night Watchers, especially the souls of Spirit Mediums, which held even greater worth to them. Naturally, they wouldn't miss out on those.
Just as Yang Haoran had said earlier, "Take everything of value. " Lu Wu and his Night Watchers, of course, understood the meaning of those words.
They did not defy Yang Haoran's will, nor did they dare to. Thus, wherever they passed, it was as if a swarm of locusts had descended. Everything of value was collected, leaving behind only dismembered limbs and broken bodies, utterly worthless to the Night Watchers.
In addition to collecting various treasures, these Night Watchers were also, at Yang Haoran's command, searching for Wan Wu Yi's corpse. However, as of yet, Wan Wu Yi's body had not been found.
He had previously spent some time searching for Wan Wu Yi's corpse, but the lack of results had left him dissatisfied. Now, as Lu Wu led the Night Watchers in cleaning the battlefield, they too were searching for Wan Wu Yi's body, yet still found nothing, which somewhat puzzled him.
Though he never considered his memory exceptional, certainly not comparable to a monstrous talent like Gu Yi, his recollection of matters he cared about had always been sharp. The area he had first searched, in his estimation, should have been the very place where Wan Wu Yi died, yet inexplicably, not a single trace of Wan Wu Yi was found there.
Given the astonishing number of casualties in this great battle, sweeping the battlefield consumed a considerable amount of time. Throughout this process, Yang Haoran never left the Ancient Demon Palace, standing quietly and watching everyone work. As for what he was thinking, no one but him knew.
Of course, those observing the Ancient Demon Palace from hidden vantage points or a distance, though coveting the Underworld Office's massive haul, had not been blinded by greed. They refrained from recklessly entering the Ancient Demon Palace.
"Guardian," Lu Wu began respectfully to Yang Haoran, "the entire battlefield has been swept clean. All the spoils are here, please take a look!"
Behind Lu Wu, on one side, was a towering heap of various items, containing both precious treasures and common goods. Lu Wu, following Yang Haoran's instructions, had collected everything of value, thus creating the magnificent, mountainous display before them.
On the other side, behind Lu Wu, stood another mountain—this one far larger than the hill of accumulated items. For this was a mountain of corpses. All those who had tragically perished in today's battle, whether their bodies were intact or dismembered, were now piled together!
The sheer scale of the casualties was immense, which was why their bodies had formed such a colossal mountain. However, this mountain did not evoke images of grandeur, but rather the bloodshed and brutality of the battle.
Yang Haoran's gaze swept over the two mountains behind Lu Wu, one large on the left, one small on the right. A faint smile lingered on his face, his expression unchanging, as if these two mountains had not stirred his inner world.
After a mere glance, his gaze finally settled on the smaller mountain of accumulated items.
"Heh heh, there's no need to inspect them. First, take all these things back to the Death God Temple. I'll arrange for someone to handle them later."
Yang Haoran spoke, and Lu Wu nodded in affirmation. But then Lu Wu recalled another matter and continued to report to Yang Haoran.
"Guardian," Lu Wu said, "although the battlefield here has been cleared, we haven't searched the Ancient Demon Palace itself yet. We don't know if there are any treasures inside, so I've arranged for my subordinates to thoroughly search all the buildings within the Ancient Demon Palace, inside and out. We might still find quite a few good things!"
At this moment, besides Xiang Chuan, only Lu Wu stood before Yang Haoran. As for the other Night Watchers, just as Lu Wu had said, they had been dispatched by him to search the Ancient Demon Palace.
"Heh heh, there shouldn't be any treasures left in this Ancient Demon Palace," Yang Haoran said with a faint smile. "If there were, they've probably all fallen into Wan Wu Yi's hands. After all, he knew about this Ancient Demon Palace before any of us, and he entered it before any of us. If even you know to conduct a thorough search of the entire Ancient Demon Palace, would Wan Wu Yi not have known to do the same when he first entered?"
Yang Haoran asked Lu Wu with a faint smile. Lu Wu thought about it and realized that Yang Haoran's words were indeed very reasonable. If even he could think of this, how could the cunning and treacherous Wan Wu Yi not have thought of it?
"Your subordinate will withdraw the men immediately," Lu Wu said. "Since there are no treasures left in this Ancient Demon Palace, I won't let my brothers waste their time here."
As Lu Wu finished speaking, he was about to order the recall of his Night Watchers, but Yang Haoran stopped him with a wave of his hand.
"Since you've already ordered them to search, let them continue," Yang Haoran instructed. "Perhaps your men will indeed find something that slipped through the net. However, the possibility is small, so don't hold out too much hope."
Lu Wu nodded in agreement, discarding the idea of immediately recalling his Night Watchers. But at this moment, he recalled another matter.
"Guardian," he said, "following your instructions, we carefully examined every corpse, but we did not find Wan Wu Yi's body."
As these words fell, Xiang Chuan also spoke up.
"I haven't found him either," Xiang Chuan stated. "Logically speaking, even if Wan Wu Yi knows some secret art unknown to us, at most it would only make his soul disappear. His deceased physical body shouldn't vanish. To this day, I've never heard of such a method."
As he spoke, Xiang Chuan's gaze shifted to Yang Haoran, and that impish smile reappeared on his face.
"Heh heh, I say, Big Brother," Xiang Chuan chuckled, "are you sure Wan Wu Yi is really dead? What if he's not dead at all, merely faking his demise to mislead you all, then secretly sought an opportunity to escape? And he actually succeeded. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why there's no trace of his corpse."
Xiang Chuan presented his perspective. Although the smile on his face seemed impish, his words were quite logical.
"You're right," Yang Haoran affirmed Xiang Chuan's view. "From the current situation, it's indeed highly possible that Wan Wu Yi isn't dead, which is why we can't find his corpse now."
Yang Haoran confirmed Xiang Chuan's opinion. Upon hearing this, Xiang Chuan felt a surge of smugness and then asked Yang Haoran again.
"So what do we do next? " he asked. "Should we seal off the entire Gu Mo City with a barrier formation and then conduct a carpet search until we find Wan Wu Yi?"
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