Chapter 1174: Not Yet Out of Seclusion
After waving his hand and stowing away the wooden box, Yang Haoran had initially intended to assimilate the Talisman Master Power Seed right there. However, after a brief consideration, he decided to head to his cultivation room instead. After all, the cultivation room was fully equipped, and assimilating there would be far more convenient.
He had only come to the study moments ago to ponder some issues, not specifically to cultivate. It was only after he had thoroughly considered those problems that he made the spur-of-the-moment decision to assimilate the Talisman Master Power Seed, thus taking out the wooden box.
Now that he had decided to begin the assimilation, he paused to consider and still felt it would be more convenient to proceed in his cultivation room. So, he conjured a sealing talisman and sent it towards the Talisman Master Power Seed hovering above. The talisman enveloped the power seed, then transformed into a small black orb that fell into his hand. On this black orb, faint, incomplete talisman lines could still be discerned.
Grasping the black orb, Yang Haoran left the study and headed towards his exclusive cultivation room, arriving at its entrance shortly.
The cultivation room door was open, and a figure was busy inside, cleaning and wiping down everything. This person was none other than Xiujuan.
Whenever Yang Haoran wasn't using the cultivation room, Xiujuan would diligently clean it daily. This routine extended not just to the cultivation room, but to all other areas exclusive to Yang Haoran; she meticulously cleaned them every day.
Yang Haoran hadn't visited this cultivation room for some time, and Xiujuan knew he wasn't inside, so she had come to clean as usual today.
Sensing someone at the entrance, Xiujuan turned to look. Seeing that the visitor was Yang Haoran, she quickly put down the rag in her hand and hurried to him, bowing deeply in greeting.
"Haha, you've worked hard. However, I need to use this cultivation room urgently, so there's no need to clean it today."
Yang Haoran said with a smile. Xiujuan promptly assented, then swiftly put away her cleaning supplies. After bowing once more to Yang Haoran, she exited the cultivation room.
No sooner had Xiujuan stepped out than Yang Haoran recalled something.
"Wait."
Yang Haoran said with a faint smile. Xiujuan paused, a hint of confusion on her face.
"Does the Guardian have any other instructions?"
Xiujuan asked, her attitude remaining respectful despite her slight bewilderment.
"Has that friend of mine still not left her room?"
Xiujuan instantly understood what Yang Haoran meant and who he was referring to.
"Reporting, Lord Guardian, she still hasn't come out, not at all, even now."
Xiujuan gave a definite reply. Yang Haoran nodded with a smile upon hearing it.
"Heh, I see. You may go about your duties. If there's any movement from her side, remember to notify me immediately."
Xiujuan respectfully assented, then vanished from Yang Haoran's sight, while Yang Haoran entered the cultivation room alone.
After closing the door, Yang Haoran set up a restriction barrier, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
The friend Yang Haoran spoke of was none other than Zhong Siyu, whom he had personally brought here a year ago due to her severe injuries. Since Zhong Siyu entered seclusion a year ago, she had never left her room.
Initially, Yang Haoran was quite concerned about Zhong Siyu, checking on her temporary residence every so often. However, each time he saw only a tightly shut door. Since Zhong Siyu had set up a restriction barrier around the room, he couldn't discern her situation inside at all.
He was concerned about Zhong Siyu not because his relationship with her was particularly good, but because he worried she might suddenly emerge from seclusion and cause trouble in his Guardian District. Therefore, he had to keep a close watch, aiming to avoid complications as much as possible.
In the beginning, Yang Haoran's visits to check on Zhong Siyu were much more frequent. But after several months passed, Zhong Siyu hadn't even left her room or made any sound. Coupled with the increasing intensity of the great war, his attention on her gradually decreased.
And in the past few days, he had barely paid any attention to Zhong Siyu's movements, which was why he couldn't help but ask just now when he saw Xiujuan.
While Yang Haoran's attention on Zhong Siyu had waned as time passed, it didn't mean Xiujuan wasn't paying attention. Following Yang Haoran's instructions, Xiujuan constantly monitored the movements at Zhong Siyu's residence. Even while cleaning Yang Haoran's cultivation room just now, her perception remained enveloped around Zhong Siyu's residence; if there was any movement from Zhong Siyu's side, she would perceive it immediately.
It was precisely because of this that when Yang Haoran asked her about it, she could give a definite reply without hesitation.
Although he was somewhat surprised that Zhong Siyu hadn't emerged from seclusion yet, Yang Haoran felt relieved after a moment's thought. After all, breakthroughs definitely took a considerable amount of time, and the higher the realm, the harder the breakthrough became, requiring even longer. This was perfectly normal. Zhong Siyu's continued seclusion could only indicate one thing: her breakthrough likely hadn't succeeded yet.
"I'll ignore her for now. Anyway, Xiujuan is keeping an eye on her, and if there's any movement, Xiujuan will definitely notify me immediately. I'll focus on assimilating the Talisman Master Power Seed in my hand first."
Yang Haoran said with a faint smile. He then went to his usual cultivation area and sat down cross-legged. Next, he lightly tossed the black orb in his hand. The black orb hovered in the air, slowly blooming like a flower. In the blink of an eye, the talisman peeled away, and the Talisman Master Power Seed once again emitted golden light, reappearing in his sight.
This time, there were no further complications. Yang Haoran adjusted his mindset, then switched the power seed within his body. The Spirit Power seed was sealed, and the Talisman Master Power Seed was consequently unsealed and activated. The power within his body thus switched from Spirit Power to Talisman Spirit Power. Finally, he began to assimilate this Gold Talisman Master's power seed according to the Talisman Order's inherited method.
While Yang Haoran was assimilating the Gold Talisman Master's power seed in the cultivation room, a different scene was unfolding in the Flock of Demons Society's meeting room.
Due to the Flock of Demons Society's growing strength and increasing membership, all kinds of matters, big and small, had increased accordingly. Therefore, the Flock of Demons Society's high-ranking members would hold a meeting every so often. The main purpose of these meetings was, naturally, to formulate the next steps and deal with current issues, with various reports being indispensable before these discussions.
Today was the Flock of Demons Society's monthly scheduled meeting day. As president, Bai Xue naturally wouldn't forget this important day. So, as the meeting time approached, she bid farewell to Yang Haoran's other trusted subordinates in the combat meeting room and rushed back to the Flock of Demons Society's meeting room.
By the time Bai Xue arrived at the meeting room, all high-ranking members of the Flock of Demons Society were already quietly waiting in their seats. Seeing her appear, all high-ranking members rose and saluted.
With President Bai Xue's arrival, the meeting naturally commenced. The person specifically responsible for reporting immediately gave Bai Xue a detailed report.
Everything was covered in a detailed report: how many new members the Flock of Demons Society had gained this month, how many old members had died while executing missions, how many missions had been carried out in total, how much had been seized, how many enemies had been slain, and so on.
After the report concluded, it was time for the segment dedicated to addressing current issues and formulating the next plan. Since everyone was familiar with the procedure, the meeting proceeded smoothly, without any disarray. Furthermore, although their Flock of Demons Society had experienced a continuous stream of minor incidents over the past month, nothing major had occurred, so the duration of the entire meeting was not long.
As the meeting ended, the high-ranking members of the Flock of Demons Society departed one after another. They needed to implement the plans formulated at this meeting, and some issues indeed required timely resolution, so they did not linger after the meeting, immediately rising and leaving the meeting room. There was only one exception: none other than the fox demon Bai Jiumeng, who was in her white fox form.
When Bai Jiumeng first joined the Flock of Demons Society, she still worried that Yang Haoran and Bai Xue would deceive her, so she harbored a degree of wariness in her heart towards both Bai Xue and Yang Haoran, the 'big boss' behind the scenes. She also found it difficult to develop a sense of belonging to the Flock of Demons Society as an organization.
However, as time passed, Bai Jiumeng's wariness towards Bai Xue and Yang Haoran gradually diminished, and she slowly developed a sense of belonging to the Flock of Demons Society. This was because she gradually realized that Bai Xue and Yang Haoran had indeed not deceived her.
Since she joined the Flock of Demons Society, the tasks assigned to her were all reasonable, and after each mission, she smoothly received the appropriate rewards. There had never been any instance of rewards being withheld for various reasons.
Yet, this was merely secondary. The main reason was that neither Yang Haoran nor Bai Xue had ever forced her to do anything, nor had they used their status or organizational rules to oppress her. This led to a shift in her impression of Yang Haoran and Bai Xue.
As for why she gradually developed a sense of belonging to the Flock of Demons Society, the reason was that the Flock of Demons Society had all sorts of demons, so there was no racial discrimination. Furthermore, they were quite considerate towards her, a newly joined fox demon. Over time, a certain bond formed between them, and thus, a sense of belonging slowly grew towards the Flock of Demons Society.
And because of her powerful strength and the significant services she rendered to the Flock of Demons Society, she became a high-ranking member of the organization.
In the past, when meetings ended, she, like the other high-ranking members, would immediately leave the meeting room and wouldn't linger there. Today, however, she uncharacteristically did not, which left Huang Sha, the vice-president, looking confused and aroused curiosity in Bai Xue, the president.
"Jiumeng, do you perhaps have something you need to discuss with just the two of us?"
Bai Xue glanced at Huang Sha beside her, seeing his confused expression. She knew Huang Sha certainly didn't know what was going on with Bai Jiumeng, so she turned her gaze back to Bai Jiumeng and asked with a charming smile.
"Mm, I'd like to go back for a visit."
Bai Jiumeng didn't beat around the bush and immediately gave a definitive reply.
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