Chapter 1436: It Must Be Him
The Qing Shan Great Emperor's words slightly eased the tense atmosphere between Luo Yao and the Underworld Emperor, and his reminder also provided Luo Yao a temporary way to back down.
With the Qing Shan Great Emperor's reminder, Luo Yao seemed to recall the matter himself. Without hesitation, he immediately used his Underworld Iron Tome to locate Yang Haoran's Underworld Iron Tome.
Everyone else present, whether Great Emperors or Guardians, now fixed their gaze upon Luo Yao.
Under their collective gaze, Luo Yao's eyes suddenly lit up as he looked at the Underworld Iron Tome. This scene naturally fell into the eyes of the others present.
"How is it? Did you find anything?"
The Qing Shan Great Emperor asked first, his face serious. Though the others remained silent, their unwavering gaze on Luo Yao indicated their equal desire for an answer.
Luo Yao shifted his gaze from the Underworld Iron Tome to the Qing Shan Great Emperor. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he nodded gently, then spoke with a solemn expression.
"I've found his location!"
"Since you've found his location, why are you still dawdling? Why not quickly lead us there? Do you intend to stall for him, to give him a chance to escape?"
The Underworld Emperor asked coldly. Luo Yao's expression turned ugly, his brows furrowed, and he couldn't help but retort.
"If I, Luo Yao, wanted to stall for Yang Haoran, I wouldn't have told you I'd found him!"
Despite his words, Luo Yao still waved his hand, tearing open a spatial rift.
"Follow me!"
With that, Luo Yao was the first to step into the spatial rift, followed closely by the three Great Emperors. Xu Meijing also entered the spatial rift after the three Great Emperors, not waiting until the very end. However, her expression remained unchanged, as aloof as ever, making it impossible to discern her true emotions from her face.
When Luo Yao led the group out of the spatial rift, they found themselves in the Cloud Haze Mountain Range, where they saw a scattered array of Underworld Iron Tomes. Yang Haoran's Underworld Iron Tome was among them, conspicuously positioned at the forefront, while the Underworld Iron Tomes of the other Emissaries of Death lay in a section below.
Aside from the multitude of Underworld Iron Tomes, the mountain summit bore widespread signs of human trampling, almost as if the entire peak had been leveled. From this, it was evident that a considerable number of people had gathered there previously.
The scene before them prompted certain conjectures in the minds of the four Great Emperors. From the traces left behind, a picture had already formed in their thoughts.
"It seems we arrived too late. Let's sweep the perimeter of this mountain range and see if we can find anything else!"
The Jun Prefecture Great Emperor sighed, then sternly ordered his subordinate Guardians.
The other three Great Emperors, seeing this, also issued the same commands to their own subordinate Guardians. Luo Yao was no exception.
Although the Tongzhou Great Emperor was dead and there was no one to command the Guardians of the Tongzhou Underworld Office, they proactively spread out, searching and examining a section of the Cloud Haze Mountain Range. Since the other three Great Emperors had given the same orders to their subordinate Guardians, they knew what was correct to do even without direct command. Approximately half an hour later, the Guardians successively returned to the mountain peak where the four Great Emperors were located, bringing back their investigative results. Signs of human trampling were ubiquitous throughout the entire Cloud Haze Mountain Range. This implied that the entire Cloud Haze Mountain Range had previously gathered an immense number of people; describing it as a sea of people would not be an exaggeration, as the Cloud Haze Mountain Range was not small, and achieving such a gathering would require an enormous population.
Considering the sudden disappearance of all personnel from Yang Haoran's Ninth District and combining it with the findings from the Cloud Haze Mountain Range, both the four Great Emperors and the numerous Guardians likely surmised what had transpired.
The facts indicated that Yang Haoran was not dead. Not only was he alive, but the Tongzhou Great Emperor had died, and even the two Guardians brought by the Tongzhou Great Emperor had vanished without a trace. No one present would believe that this matter had absolutely no connection to Yang Haoran.
Furthermore, the sudden appearance of over six thousand additional Emissaries of Death in the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District, as well as the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth District's personnel, were, in their view, also Yang Haoran's doing. This was because only Yang Haoran possessed all the necessary conditions; they could think of no one else besides him.
"The situation is very clear now. Yang Haoran committed a capital crime, knowing he couldn't escape the Underworld Office's laws, so he colluded with external enemies, causing the deaths of the Tongzhou Great Emperor and two Guardians from the Tongzhou Underworld Office. As for transferring all personnel from the Jingling Continent Underworld Division's Ninth District, it was likely to preserve his forces and allow them to form a new power."
The Jun Prefecture Great Emperor spoke, his face grim and brows tightly furrowed, presenting his assessment. Upon hearing this, the Underworld Emperor turned his gaze to Luo Yao, whose face was dark.
"Luo Yao, do you have anything more to say?"
At the Underworld Emperor's question, everyone present looked at Luo Yao, including the usually aloof Xu Meijing.
Luo Yao's face was distorted with extreme anger, his body trembling slightly from the intensity of his rage.
"This matter is certainly inseparable from Yang Haoran, I won't deny that. However, the exact truth of what happened still needs to be thoroughly investigated. I say this not to shirk responsibility. Once the matter is clear, I, Luo Yao, will never evade any responsibility that falls upon me, and I will accept whatever judgment the three Great Emperors decide!"
Luo Yao's words were forceful and sounded incredibly sincere, as if they came from the depths of his heart.
The Underworld Emperor scoffed, his expression full of disdain. From his reaction, it was evident that he didn't believe a word Luo Yao said.
"At present, there's not even a ghost's shadow throughout the Cloud Haze Mountain Range. Yang Haoran must have successfully transferred all his personnel. Our continued presence here serves little purpose. Therefore, I suggest we immediately return to the Underworld to discuss this matter thoroughly. Furthermore, the demise of the Tongzhou Great Emperor is no longer a secret within our Underworld Office; there's no doubt that our Underworld Office is already in chaos, especially the Tongzhou Underworld Office, which must be even more turbulent. If we don't immediately return to the Underworld and promptly discuss feasible countermeasures, I fear an even greater disaster will ensue. Should the Death God lay blame, none of us four can bear that responsibility."
After the Underworld Emperor's cold snort, he had intended to mock Luo Yao and forcibly tear away Luo Yao's last shred of dignity. However, the Qing Shan Great Emperor did not give him the chance, speaking before him.
Upon hearing the Qing Shan Great Emperor's words, the Underworld Emperor, who was about to speak, hesitated slightly before closing his mouth. Although he knew that the Qing Shan Great Emperor was currently speaking in Luo Yao's defense, he could not deny that the Qing Shan Great Emperor's words were indeed sensible.
With the Tongzhou Great Emperor now fallen, only four of the Underworld Office's five Great Emperors remained, significantly impacting the overall strength of the entire Underworld Office. In such a situation, the first priority was to stabilize the Underworld Office's situation, prevent the chaos from spreading, and avoid greater and more adverse consequences. They also had to prevent external enemies from exploiting this opportunity. The Underworld Emperor understood the stakes involved and knew that now was indeed not the time to contend with Luo Yao, so he hesitated slightly before falling silent.
"The Qing Shan Great Emperor is right. Our most pressing task now is to immediately return to the Underworld to thoroughly discuss countermeasures, lest we incur greater losses for our Underworld. As for Luo Yao's culpability, it will not be too late to deal with that after the truth is thoroughly revealed and the matter is fully resolved!"
The Jun Prefecture Great Emperor also expressed his agreement. He and the Qing Shan Great Emperor were not typically allies; if this were back in the Underworld, he would never have endorsed the Qing Shan Great Emperor's words, let alone spoken in his favor. However, the current situation was different. Even though he wasn't on the same side as the Qing Shan Great Emperor, he supported his suggestion because, like the Underworld Emperor, he clearly understood the critical implications.
With the Jun Prefecture Great Emperor's agreement, and the Underworld Emperor's silence signifying his tacit approval, Luo Yao, of course, wouldn't utter a single word of dissent. It was clear that the Qing Shan Great Emperor was helping him, and quite successfully at that; how could he be so foolish as to refuse?
With four Great Emperors present, there was naturally no room for the Guardians to interfere. Since all four Great Emperors agreed to immediately return to the Underworld, the Guardians dared not utter a word of dissent. Thus, everyone immediately opened the Ghost Gate and rushed back to the Underworld.
As she stepped through the Ghost Gate, Xu Meijing's expression remained entirely unchanged, her steps unfaltering. She didn't even spare the Cloud Haze Mountain Range a second glance, entering the Ghost Gate and departing as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred!
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