Chapter 797: Astonishing Harvest
Tang Shi's speed was quite swift. Yang Haoran had only just looked at a few collectibles when Tang Shi finished arranging the dozen or so spiritual entities and arrived at the collection room.
"Master!"
Tang Shi respectfully saluted Yang Haoran's back. Yang Haoran first glanced at the collectible in his hand, then gently placed it back in its original spot, before finally turning around and looking at Tang Shi with a smile.
"Have a seat. We can talk at leisure."
Inside the collection room, there was a stone table with a stone chair on either side. Yang Haoran pointed to one of the chairs and said with a smile to Tang Shi.
"This subordinate is fine standing."
Tang Shi did not actually sit in the chair; instead, he remained standing, respectfully responding to Yang Haoran.
"Heh heh, it's just the two of us here. There's no need to be formal or polite. If I tell you to sit, just sit. Besides, this position is practically tailor-made for you."
Yang Haoran sat down on the stone chair opposite Tang Shi. Compared to Tang Shi, he sat much more casually, pulling out a cigarette, offering one to Tang Shi first, then lighting one for himself.
Tang Shi took the cigarette but didn't light it. Yang Haoran didn't insist, but took a deep drag himself before saying with a smile to Tang Shi.
"First, tell me about those dozen or so Evil Spirits."
The dozen or so spiritual entities Yang Haoran had just seen in the training grounds were, without exception, all Evil Spirit-level entities. Judging by the power fluctuations emanating from them, they could only be considered very ordinary within the Evil Spirit realm.
Although they were just ordinary Evil Spirits, with a significant gap compared to top-tier Evil Spirits, a dozen or so Evil Spirits was no small number. For the current Yang Haoran, it was definitely a considerable force.
With such a considerable force suddenly at his disposal, Yang Haoran, as their master, was naturally both shocked and delighted. However, he was very curious as to how Tang Shi had achieved this, so he was the first to ask Tang Shi about it.
Hearing this, Tang Shi nodded respectfully and immediately began to explain.
"The reason Master didn't see any familiar faces this time is that shortly after Master's last departure, your other spiritual entities were dispatched by this subordinate to carry out missions. These dozen or so Evil Spirits are the harvest from their missions, but not the entirety of it—only one part of their gains."
Yang Haoran listened intently. He took a drag from his cigarette, then his gaze swept over the collectibles in the room.
"It seems the additional collectibles in this room are also gains they brought back from their missions."
Yang Haoran spoke with a smile. Tang Shi, in turn, nodded in response.
"Master is correct. These additional collectibles are also part of their gains. However, their total harvest is even greater than what Master currently sees."
As he spoke, Tang Shi retrieved six small black bottles from his personal dimensional space and respectfully pushed them towards Yang Haoran.
Since Tang Shi began following Yang Haoran, his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, making him a far cry from his former self. While not among the top-tier Evil Spirits, he was certainly in the upper echelons. This increase in strength had allowed him to successfully open his own dimensional space.
Yang Haoran wasn't surprised or bothered by this development. At that moment, his entire attention was focused on the six small black bottles before him.
He sensed the presence of seals on the six small black bottles. He didn't speak immediately; instead, he picked up one of the bottles and meticulously examined it in his hand.
"These should be Soul Concealing Bottles, right?"
After his inspection, Yang Haoran confirmed what the small bottle in his hand was.
The other five small black bottles on the table were identical to the one in his hand; all of them were Soul Concealing Bottles.
Underworld Officials used Soul-Gathering Beads to collect souls. However, besides Soul-Gathering Beads, there were many other methods and artifacts in the world that could be used to gather souls, and Soul Concealing Bottles were one such example. It was just that most of these artifacts were not as effective as Soul-Gathering Beads.
Although he was already certain in his heart that these six small black bottles were Soul Concealing Bottles, Yang Haoran didn't state it definitively; instead, he asked Tang Shi in a somewhat uncertain tone.
"That's right, these small bottles are indeed Soul Concealing Bottles. This subordinate spent some effort to acquire them."
Tang Shi responded respectfully, confirming that Yang Haoran's guess was correct.
"Since these small bottles are Soul Concealing Bottles, then whatever is sealed within them must be spiritual entities."
All six small bottles were adorned with seals. Before the seals were broken, it was impossible to sense what was inside the bottles, and Yang Haoran was no exception.
However, since they were Soul Concealing Bottles used for collecting souls, Yang Haoran couldn't think of any other possibilities for what might be sealed inside besides spiritual entities. He also believed that Tang Shi wouldn't be bored enough to use Soul Concealing Bottles to hold other things and then also apply seals to them.
"Master possesses eyes like a torch. What is sealed within these six Soul Concealing Bottles are indeed spiritual entities, and all of them are Evil Spirits. Each of the six Soul Concealing Bottles contains one. Because Evil Spirits are very powerful, the Soul Concealing Bottles' own strength alone wouldn't be enough to contain them, so this subordinate placed seals on these six Soul Concealing Bottles to prevent the Evil Spirits inside from breaking free and escaping."
Hearing that each of the six Soul Concealing Bottles contained an Evil Spirit, Yang Haoran's eyebrows twitched slightly, feeling both surprise and delight.
He didn't speak, but slowly placed the Soul Concealing Bottle in his hand back onto the stone table. Seeing this, Tang Shi continued to explain.
"We successively subdued a total of twenty-three Evil Spirits. Seventeen of them were willing to submit, but these six were extremely stubborn. This subordinate couldn't convince them no matter what, so I sealed them within the Soul Concealing Bottles, awaiting Master's instructions."
It was certainly impossible for Yang Haoran not to be pleased. Twenty-three Evil Spirits was no small number; even for his current self, it was an astonishing harvest. There was no reason for him not to be delighted.
The smile on his face deepened a few shades. He glanced at the six Soul Concealing Bottles on the table, then shifted his gaze to Tang Shi.
"Heh heh, you've done very well. Your achievements are even more impressive than I imagined. This team is far more capable under your management than when I personally oversaw it. I truly didn't pick the wrong person. However, there's one thing I don't understand: why use these inferior Soul Concealing Bottles when you have Soul-Gathering Beads?"
Yang Haoran asked with a laugh. He had long ago given Tang Shi a batch of Soul-Gathering Beads, though these particular beads were products he had modified.
These modifications weren't about directly altering the Soul-Gathering Beads themselves, like an artifact refiner might—he didn't possess that skill.
His modifications merely involved placing certain restrictions and other special methods on the Soul-Gathering Beads, making it easier for his subordinate spiritual entities to collect other spiritual entities.
While they couldn't operate with the same freedom as an Underworld Official, they could still store spiritual entities that had lost their combat power within the Soul-Gathering Beads.
Soul-Gathering Beads were merely a very common soul-collecting artifact in the Underworld Office, but their quality was much better than Soul Concealing Bottles. Yang Haoran was somewhat puzzled as to why Tang Shi, despite having Soul-Gathering Beads, would instead use Soul Concealing Bottles to seal souls.
Regarding Yang Haoran's confusion, Tang Shi immediately offered an explanation.
"While Soul-Gathering Beads are indeed better than Soul Concealing Bottles, this subordinate worries that using them too much might cause trouble for Master. I cannot guarantee to Master that our people won't be discovered by a third party when using Soul-Gathering Beads."
Tang Shi's words made Yang Haoran frown slightly. After a moment's thought, he nodded, agreeing with Tang Shi's reasoning.
Although Soul-Gathering Beads were very common in the Underworld Office, even if a third party discovered them, they wouldn't immediately think of Yang Haoran. However, if someone with ulterior motives discovered that all of his subordinate spiritual entities were using Soul-Gathering Beads, it would certainly make people realize that this organization was connected to the Underworld Office. At that point, following the clues, they might indeed trace it back to him, bringing him great trouble.
By not using Soul-Gathering Beads, the risk would be much smaller. No one would connect this mysterious organization to the Underworld Office, and certainly no one would think of Yang Haoran.
"Heh heh, I've always been relatively cautious, but I still overlooked this point. Your consideration is more thorough than mine."
Yang Haoran said with a smile. Hearing this, Tang Shi quickly responded.
"Master, you overstate it. This subordinate wouldn't dare compare himself to Master. Even the most cautious person can sometimes be careless. This subordinate merely happened to think of this point."
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