Chapter 1495: Fire Rock Island
Some time ago, Tang Shi sent Yang Haoran a large batch of souls, a truly astonishing quantity. It must have been the result of the Myriad Ghost Grotto's long-term collection efforts.
After arriving in the Great Night Empire, although the Myriad Ghost Grotto transitioned from operating in the shadows to openly, its activities remained unchanged from its time in Jingling Continent. While gathering various intelligence, it also collected a wide array of resources for Yang Haoran, among which were souls.
These souls were all gathered by members of the Myriad Ghost Grotto from across the world. They included Guardian Spirits of Spirit Mediums, Evil Spirits and malevolent Evil Spirits, and even ordinary souls with no offensive capabilities. No soul was overlooked, whether human or demon.
Yang Haoran was no longer a Guardian of the Underworld Office. His identity had undergone a significant transformation, and as a result, his method of dealing with these souls had also changed, exhibiting both similarities and differences.
The similarity was that he would still open his Ghost Eye to examine all souls, understand their pasts, and sort them: those to be kept were kept, and those suitable for refining into pills were used for that purpose.
The difference was that, in the past, he would erase any sensitive memories that could potentially disadvantage him from the souls he screened before submitting them to the Underworld Office. As for whether the Underworld Office reincarnated them or kept them working in the Underworld to atone for sins, that was entirely up to the Underworld Office; he neither interfered nor worried about it.
Now, however, he was no longer a member of the Underworld Office, and naturally, he couldn't hand over these souls he'd kept to them. Thus, all these souls were retained by him and protected very well.
Of course, he didn't keep these souls for the purpose of refining Soul Pills. If that were his intention, there would be no need to sort them at all; refining them all in one go would be much simpler. The reason he kept these souls was due to other considerations.
However, just as he was reveling in his happiness, he received a Communication Talisman—one from Bai Xue.
The talisman's message was simple: an urgent request for him to rush to an island named Fire Rock Island, complete with its detailed coordinates.
Bai Xue's Communication Talisman made Yang Haoran realize that something significant had occurred. Otherwise, Bai Xue wouldn't have so urgently requested his presence on this 'Fire Rock Island. ' However, the talisman didn't specify what had happened, so Yang Haoran couldn't discern the nature of this major event. Still, his intuition told him it likely wasn't good news; Bai Xue must have encountered an insurmountable problem, hence the need for his personal intervention.
Yang Haoran, who had been delighted by the unexpected emergence of a Soul Crystal, felt his joy dissipate instantly. As he mentally speculated on the unfolding events, he retrieved an item from his personal spatial dimension.
The item was roughly the size of a baby's fist, resembling a goose egg. It featured a screen that covered more than half of its surface, displaying two sets of numbers—precisely Yang Haoran's current detailed coordinates. This device was a small positioning magic tool crafted by the Great Night Empire, used, as its name suggested, for locating positions.
While not a high-grade item, it was an indispensable tool for citizens of the Great Night Empire venturing out to sea. With it, they wouldn't lose their way in the vast Eastern Sunrise Ocean, and if danger arose, they could send their coordinates to request aid from their allies.
With this positioning magic tool in hand, combined with the coordinates provided by Bai Xue, Yang Haoran could accurately locate Fire Rock Island, even though he had never been there before.
Without this positioning magic tool, or any other locating instrument, finding an unfamiliar island in the Eastern Sunrise Ocean would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. After all, islands in the Eastern Sunrise Ocean were as numerous as stars in the sky, and a blind search would yield little result.
After a thorough check, confirming his positioning magic tool was functioning perfectly, Yang Haoran sent a Communication Talisman to Old Master Wu, giving a few instructions before immediately tearing open space and departing from the Night God Palace.
Fire Rock Island earned its name because the island was barren, devoid of any vegetation, possessing only fiery red rocks of varying sizes that resembled burning flames. Thus, the sea demons in the nearby waters christened it Fire Rock Island.
Fire Rock Island looked quite beautiful and was vast in area. However, it lacked precious resources, which was why sea demons rarely set foot there on normal days, making it incredibly desolate.
In recent days, however, things were different. The desolate Fire Rock Island had become bustling, even overflowing with people. This transformation occurred because the Great Night Empire's expeditionary army had recently stationed itself on Fire Rock Island, making the island exceptionally lively.
Inside a temporarily erected tent, Bai Xue sat in the main seat. The usual allure was gone from her face, replaced by a look of deep worry. From her expression, it was evident that she had encountered significant trouble.
Lei Bao and Hou Yu sat in positions below Bai Xue, facing each other, allowing them to clearly see each other's current expressions.
Neither of them wore the worried expression Bai Xue did. Both appeared calm, with even a hint of barely concealed schadenfreude in their eyes, looking very much like they were waiting for a good show.
Now, Lei Bao and Hou Yu, despite undergoing long periods of ideological re-education, had indeed developed a sense of belonging to the Great Night Empire and acknowledged themselves as its members. However, regarding their status as vice-presidents of the Flock of Demons Society, they still harbored some dissatisfaction. This discontent wasn't directed at the Flock of Demons Society itself; it stemmed purely from their reservations about Bai Xue as the president, the reason being that Bai Xue's strength was somewhat weaker than theirs.
Someone weaker than them, and a woman at that, was able to become their direct superior, which gave them considerable cause for dissatisfaction.
Lei Bao and Hou Yu dared not show their discontent with Bai Xue too overtly. Many factors contributed to this, such as Bai Xue's greater seniority, or the fact that Bai Xue had many loyal confidantes within the Flock of Demons Society. If they were too obvious, it would undoubtedly provoke resentment from Bai Xue's inner circle, potentially leading to conflict. If the matter escalated, they might even face punishment.
However, these were not the most crucial factors. The primary reason was Yang Haoran himself. Bai Xue had been with Yang Haoran for countless years, serving as his confidante. If their dissatisfaction with Bai Xue became too apparent, they worried Yang Haoran might become displeased with them, and if Yang Haoran were displeased, the consequences would be severe.
Although they didn't dare to display their dissatisfaction with Bai Xue too openly, they were more than happy to see her in a difficult spot. If Bai Xue made a major mistake, that would be even better. Then, Yang Haoran, considering the overall situation, might relieve Bai Xue of her presidential duties, and at that point, as vice-presidents, they could contend for the position of president!
Seated below Lei Bao and Hou Yu were two more individuals: one clad in a black robe, the other in Blood-Clad attire. The former was the head of the Myriad Ghost Grotto and Tang Shi's confidante, while the latter was the head of the Iron Blood Demon Hall, a confidante of the siblings Jing Qi and Jing Miao.
The head of the Myriad Ghost Grotto was entirely shrouded in a black robe, wearing a Smiling Face Mask. Thus, not only was it impossible to discern their expression, but even their gender remained unknown.
The head of the Iron Blood Demon Hall was a young woman. Though seemingly not old, the chilling aura emanating from her was incredibly potent. Simply by sitting there, doing nothing, she gave off an unsettling feeling. She was expressionless at the moment, showing no joy or anger, making it impossible to deduce her inner emotions from her face.
The five high-ranking officials of this expedition were gathered, but Huang Sha was nowhere to be seen. That was because Huang Sha had already returned to the Great Night Empire; after all, the Flock of Demons Society needed to operate, and its remaining members required management. Thus, after receiving support from the Myriad Ghost Grotto and the Iron Blood Demon Hall, Bai Xue had sent Huang Sha back to the Great Night Empire.
The tent remained silent for a long time before the impatient Lei Bao finally broke the stillness.
“President, waiting here idly is no solution. If something truly unexpected happens, how will we explain ourselves to the Great Emperor? ”
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