Chapter 121: Emissary of Death Xue Li
Yang Haoran had thought that the reason the stone chamber hadn't collapsed was due to the dense demonic curses and the special material of the chamber itself. He never expected that it was merely because Xu Meijing had deliberately controlled her strength.
Was Xu Meijing's formidable power even more terrifying than he had imagined, or were the demonic curses within the stone chamber weaker than she had claimed? At this moment, he truly couldn't distinguish.
Just as Yang Haoran was still reeling from Xu Meijing's words, a surprised exclamation came from her lips.
“Oh? Isn't this our Underworld Office's Soul-Gathering Bead? ”
Xu Meijing's words made Yang Haoran's expression shift. He didn't linger outside the stone chamber, stepping inside.
With the demonic curses gone, Yang Haoran felt no discomfort upon entering the stone chamber, but he remained highly vigilant.
Approaching Xu Meijing, he followed her gaze and indeed found a bead beside the mummified corpse.
Outsiders might not recognize this bead, or might mistake it due to unfamiliarity, but as agents of the Underworld Office, Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing could never mistake it.
Xu Meijing was right; beside the mummified corpse, there was indeed a Soul-Gathering Bead.
Yang Haoran activated his Ghost Eye, hoping to discern something from the mummified corpse, but to his disappointment, the corpse was now just an ordinary mummified corpse; he discovered nothing.
“Heh, this is getting more and more interesting. It even has one of our Underworld Office's Soul-Gathering Beads. ”
Xu Meijing chuckled, then, without any noticeable movement, her Killing Blade transformed into a wisp of Yin Qi and merged into her body. The terrifying aura around her also receded with the disappearance of her Soul Armament, returning to her usual demeanor.
Yang Haoran specifically sensed her, and could no longer detect that terrifying power from before. It was as if it had never existed. At this moment, Xu Meijing felt no different from normal to him. Although the power fluctuations emanating from her body indicated she was much stronger than him, compared to after she opened her soul, the difference was simply like heaven and earth.
No wonder Master Zhou had capsized in her hands. With such deep concealment, let alone capsizing, he wouldn't even be surprised if her boat could outrun a sports car on land.
After retracting her Soul Armament, Xu Meijing beckoned to the Soul-Gathering Bead beside the mummified corpse. The bead rose on its own, floating suspended before her.
Inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, Soul Threads intertwined and swam. Besides the Soul Threads, there were also several clusters of Soul Qi. Soul Threads and Soul Qi filled the entire Soul-Gathering Bead.
The Soul Threads were transformed from Wanglings, while the clusters of Soul Qi were formed from true Evil Spirits. However, this Soul Qi was not the refined Pure Yin Qi that was infused into Night Watchers during cultivation, but merely a state that Evil Spirits took after being collected into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
“With so many Wanglings, and a few Evil Spirits, perhaps this unfortunate fellow who died here truly was one of us, from the Underworld Office,” Xu Meijing said, looking at the Soul-Gathering Bead before her.
“Not necessarily. What if he stole this Soul-Gathering Bead? ” Yang Haoran offered his opinion.
“That possibility isn't excluded either. ”
Xu Meijing acted indifferently, as if she didn't much care whether the mummified corpse before them was an Underworld Office agent or not.
The ghostly entities within the Soul-Gathering Bead had been quiet before, but they seemed to have detected Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing's presence, and their emotions instantly grew agitated.
Ghostly faces materialized inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, roaring and wailing at the two of them incessantly, and repeatedly crashing their Spirit Bodies against the Soul-Gathering Bead, as if trying to break free.
Although their roars didn't transmit from inside the Soul-Gathering Bead, it was clear from their expressions and reactions that they were utterly frantic.
“Strange. Why are they so agitated? I can understand Evil Spirits acting this way, but ordinary Wanglings are usually quite docile inside a Soul-Gathering Bead. Why are they so frantic? ” Yang Haoran looked puzzled.
“If you stayed in there for too long, you'd probably be even crazier than them. Looking at how frantic these Wanglings are, they must have been stuck in this Soul-Gathering Bead for quite a few years. But what's truly going on, we'll know once we let out a Wangling and ask. ”
As her voice fell, Xu Meijing injected a wisp of Spirit Power into the Soul-Gathering Bead, then extracted a relatively stronger Wangling from it.
This Wangling had clearly devoured other Wanglings, possessing a heavy and malevolent Yin Qi. The moment it was taken from the Soul-Gathering Bead, it immediately transformed its Spirit Body into its gruesome appearance from before death, then snarled and roared fiercely at Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing, as if trying to assert dominance or vent its fury.
Xu Meijing's expression turned cold. She hadn't expected the Wangling she released to be so ill-behaved. However, she had no intention of indulging it. Spirit Power enveloped her right hand, and she slapped it across the face.
Wanglings have no physical form, only a Spirit Body. Under normal circumstances, ordinary physical attacks cannot harm them. Let alone slapping them with a hand, even biting them wouldn't work.
However, if the hand is imbued with Spirit Power, the situation changes entirely. The following scene fully demonstrated this: the still-roaring Wangling was directly slapped away by Xu Meijing.
This slap inflicted no small amount of damage on the Wangling; its Spirit Body had visibly faded. Judging by its appearance, if Xu Meijing had amplified the Spirit Power in that slap just a little more, she might have completely dispersed the ghost's Spirit Body.
This sudden turn of events not only stunned the Wangling but also quieted down the other roaring Wanglings inside the Soul-Gathering Bead. Only a few Evil Spirits remained fearless, roaring and wailing within the bead.
After taking that slap, the Wangling immediately shut its mouth. It snapped out of the joy of its "re-gained freedom" and realized that the Yin Qi emanating from these two individuals was even stronger than its own. It instantly understood their identities, and its face displayed both fear and hatred.
“Heh, I don't like your current gaze. What, do you want another slap? I promise you, this slap will make your soul scatter and dissipate,” Xu Meijing said with a cold smile.
The Wangling's Spirit Body trembled, and it quickly suppressed the hatred in its eyes, leaving only fear on its face. From that previous slap, it had no doubt that the woman before it possessed such power, nor did it doubt that she would use it.
“J-just now, I was too agitated. I've been stuck in the Soul-Gathering Bead for too long, so. . . ” The male ghost struggled to force a smile, stammering out an explanation.
“Don't give me useless talk. Just answer what I ask,” Xu Meijing said, tucking her right hand back into her pocket.
The Wangling naturally dared not say no. It quickly nodded and said, “Don't worry, whatever you ask, I will answer truthfully, truly. . . ”
“Who is he? ”
Xu Meijing glanced at the mummified corpse before her and asked the Wangling.
“His name is Xue Li. I was killed by him, and my soul was also collected by him into the Soul-Gathering Bead. ”
At the mention of Xue Li, deep hatred flared in the Wangling's eyes. If not for its fear of Xu Meijing, it would surely have gone berserk again.
“He killed you and collected you into the Soul-Gathering Bead? ”
Yang Haoran's brow furrowed. If the Wangling wasn't lying, then the Soul-Gathering Bead floating before Xu Meijing belonged to this Xue Li. And if Xue Li had the ability to collect Wanglings into a Soul-Gathering Bead, then it was highly probable he was indeed an Underworld Office agent.
However, the only thing that surprised him was why this mummified corpse, Xue Li, would kill the Wangling before them and then collect its soul into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
“Do you have a grudge against him? ” Yang Haoran asked the question in his heart.
“No grudge. I didn't even know him before. Not only did he kill me, but ninety percent of the Wanglings in this Soul-Gathering Bead died by his hand, and those few powerful Evil Spirits were also cultivated by him. ”
The Wangling's words were shocking. Not only was Yang Haoran startled by what it said, but even Xu Meijing's face involuntarily showed a look of shock.
“Are you messing with us? ” Yang Haoran's expression changed. He found the Wangling's words highly unbelievable.
If Xue Li was an Underworld Office agent, it wouldn't be difficult for him to use his abilities to eliminate an ordinary person. If he had an irreconcilable feud with the other party, it wouldn't be impossible for him to kill someone. This much, let alone Xue Li, even Yang Haoran himself had done.
Although Wang Qing's death wasn't directly his doing, he was undeniably implicated. At that time, he had only just become a Night Watcher. If he dared to do such a thing, it wouldn't be strange for Xue Li to dare as well.
However, the number of Soul Threads inside this Soul-Gathering Bead was countless, and there were even several powerful Evil Spirits—all created by Xue Li. Yang Haoran truly found it hard to believe.
The duty of an Underworld Office agent is to guide Wanglings and eliminate malevolent spirits, preventing various deceased entities from disturbing the order of the mortal realm. Wantonly slaughtering living people and cultivating Evil Spirits—this wasn't just disturbing the mortal realm's order; it was also bringing shame to the Underworld Office. Once such a matter was exposed, the severe consequences were unimaginable.
Although Yang Haoran wasn't Xue Li, he was also an Underworld Office agent. From his standpoint, he truly didn't want to believe that the Wangling's words were true.
Seeing Yang Haoran's skepticism and unfavorable expression, the Wangling panicked and quickly explained, “Truly, what I said is all true! This Xue Li is a madman! He relied on being an Underworld Office Emissary of Death to act recklessly in Lecheng. After nightfall, it was supposed to be the world of Wanglings, but during his time in Lecheng, after nightfall, it was no longer the world of Wanglings, but his, the Underworld Office agent's, paradise! ”
“What did you just say? Xue Li? He's an Emissary of Death? And Lecheng's Emissary of Death? ”
Yang Haoran's inner shock intensified. However, just as his voice faded, Xu Meijing, who had been frowning in thought, suddenly changed her expression. Her eyes sharply fixed on the Wangling before them, startling the Wangling immensely!
“You just said his name was Xue Li? ” Xu Meijing asked with a grave expression.
The Wangling was too scared to speak. The slap Xu Meijing had given it earlier had left too deep an impression. It merely nodded fearfully, not daring to say anything.
“Xue Li. . . Xue Li. . . I knew that name sounded familiar! So it was him! I never imagined he would die here! ”
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