Hill and the family clans patriarchs stood up from their seats in fright. They panically looked all around as though anticipating something to show up.
A chilling wind blew and the thin layer of barrier protecting the meeting room shattered while the energy towers that powered it exploded. The glistening energy crystals scattered everywhere.
Every defense protecting the meeting room crumbled in an instant. Immediately following that, a sinister, ruthless energy flooded the chamber and displaced every elemental energy. Those in the meeting room who were the most influential and powerful characters in Witherbone City felt shivers traveling down their spines. They were unable to assemble elemental energies to effectively defend and attack.
Then, finally, Han Shuo made an appearance. He calmly walked towards those people belonging to the highest echelon of their society as though he was talking a walk in his own backyard.
“What?” Hill’s heart sank. In a rather anxious voice, he asked, “Haven’t you left Witherbone City? What have you come back for?”
Hill knew that Han Shuo’s strength far surpassed his and everyone else in the room combined. He was afraid for anyone who made an appearance by immediately destroying every defense surely wasn’t there to make friends.
“Good, excellent, everybody’s here. That’d save me from taking a few extra trips,” Han Shuo laughed grimly after he looked at the faces of those gathered in the meeting room and saw that all those who had been named by Dagassi as conspirators against the House of Han were all present.
“Bryan, what the hell do you want? Wasn’t the matter already settled? What more do you want?” Hill’s eyes were wavering. He had an ominous feeling that he wouldn’t be so lucky this time.
“How would it be settled when you are still alive?” remarked Han Shuo in chilling laughter. Then, when Hill’s face jolted, Han Shuo calmly launched his attacks. The upgraded Cyano Demonblaze whooshed out and the fierce, ghostly flames began engulfing Hill’s chest.
With one thought of his consciousness, hundreds of demon generals emerged and swarmed at those family clan patriarchs. Those ferocious incorporeal creatures invaded their bodies and started tearing and devouring their flesh and bone.
Those demon generals that had been unleashed from the Cauldron of Myriad Demon were made from midgod or highgod souls. Fifty to sixty of them would simultaneously attack a person, gnawing that flesh, bones, and brain matter. They overcame their targets in no time.
A single demon general might not be able to do these patriarchs any harm. But if there were dozens of them attacking at the same time, especially if there were demon generals made using highgod souls, those patriarchs would stand no chance. In just moments, all those patriarchs of major family clans in Witherbone City turned into shriveled, lifeless bodies.
Demon generals had the ability to evolve. They could improve their strength by devouring flesh, brain matter, and bone marrows. If a spirit demon was evolved beyond a certain level, it could be refined into an avatar.
Compared to the flesh, brain matter, and bone marrow, the divine soul was the most nutritious food for demon generals. But as the divine souls could be turned into new demon generals, the Cauldron Spirit restrained the demon generals and stopped them from devouring those highgod souls.
Under the Cauldron Spirit’s control, several greyish lumps flew into Han Shuo’s body. Following that, the demon generals flew back into the Cauldron.
By now, in the meeting room, the only victim that Han Shuo had yet to kill was Hill who was howling and wailing in pain. The upgraded Cyano Demonblaze now possessed even greater destructive power. Hill’s skin, flesh, and even his soul were slowly cooked by the ghostly green flames. Green blazes could be seen raging inside his eyes.
While Hill shrieked and cried, Han Shuo extended his right hand, made a claw, and put it above Hill’s head. Five blades then abruptly shot out from Han Shuo’s fingertips.
The five blades went through Hill’s cranium like a hot knife cutting through butter. After penetrating deep into his brain, five strands of energies wrapped Hill’s burning divine soul. Not only could Hill not escape, but he also lost all ability to transmit messages.
Strands of consciousness flowed through the five blades and invaded Hill’s soul. Han Shuo soon located a Brand in a corner of Hill’s soul, emanating a strong aura of death. It was incompatible with Hill’s soul and was constantly releasing minute strands of energies that stimulated his soul.
Immediately, Han Shuo realized that this was the Divine Brand that the Overgod of Death had placed in Hill’s soul. After carefully sensing it for a moment, Han Shuo could feel a desolate, ancient, and powerful presence.
It was obvious to Han Shuo the function of this Divine Brand. Han Shuo also knew that once Hill was killed, the Overgod of Death will immediately be alerted and learn about everything that had transpired.
Han Shuo carefully avoided the Overgod’s Brand and bore deep into Hill’s soul using the consciousness in the form of millions of strands. Then, similar to how he had treated Li Wei, he started deleting the memories from Hill’s soul. But instead of selectively deleting some of the memories, Han Shuo was going for a full, thorough wipe. After the divine soul was formatted, it no longer had any self-awareness or any thoughts. Han Shuo then extracted the soul from Hill’s body and stored it in a special container.
Having cultivated to such a high level in demonic arts, Han Shuo’s understanding of the soul had far surpassed that of every god on Elysium, even those who cultivated the energies of life, death, and destiny. Perhaps even an Overgod could not perform such an intricate operation to the soul.
Han Shuo had killed Hill’s self-awareness but kept his soul alive to avoid receiving the wrath of the Death Overgod. He came up with the idea as he traveled back to Witherbone City.
With his self-awareness wiped out, Hill could not communicate with the Overgod of Death through the Divine Brand. And as his soul was technically still alive, the Overgod wouldn’t know that Hill was as good as dead.
But Han Shuo knew that this was just a temporary solution. Sooner or later, news about Hill’s death will get out and by then, the other City Lords in the Death Dominion will report to the Death Overgod about what had happened. It was only a matter of time before the Overgod would learn of the matter.
And the brief delay was all the time that Han Shuo needed. He would head to the Darkness Dominion, get rid of Wallace, Hofs, and Larikson, and leave. By then, even if the Overgods of Death and Darkness wanted to kill Han Shuo for murdering his enemies, he would have been long gone from their territories.
As Han Shuo observed Hill’s divine soul stored inside a special container, a light bulb suddenly lit above his head. He had an idea on how to rapidly raise the strength of his House of Han members.
He could kill highgods, extract their divine souls, destroy their self-awareness, and wipe away every bit of their memories irrelevant to cultivation. After that, Emily and the others could fuse with these divine souls without self-awareness and possess the highgod insight and knowledge into their energy, saving hundreds if not thousands of years otherwise needed.
One may increase their divine energy, and thus their strength, through the power of faith, divine essences, or by devouring another cultivator’s divine energy as the godhunters do. But more often than not, the cultivation realm state was the true obstacle to making breakthroughs. Without gaining sufficient insights and understanding, no amount of divine energy would allow one to ascend to the next realm and gain greater strength.
But if one possessed sufficient understanding and knowledge, making breakthroughs was basically guaranteed as divine energy can be slowly accumulated with time.
Han Shuo thought about the idea carefully, examining its feasibility and risks. Moments later, Han Shuo became elated as he was certain that the idea was absolutely viable. He raised his head, laughed cheerfully, and started fantasizing the future. He could almost see every member of his Han Family standing proud and tall as highgods!
Han Shuo was perhaps the only person in the universe with such profound understanding and mastery towards the soul that would allow him to perform such an unnatural thing.
The patriarchs of every major family clan in Witherbone City were around Han Shuo as lifeless bodies. Hill the City Lord had his self-awareness wiped clean and his mindless soul was kept in a special container by Han Shuo like a living specimen.
Han Shuo did not stay in the City Lord’s Mansion for too long. After committing the murders, Han Shuo calmly and stealthily left the crime scene.
After quietly leaving Witherbone City, Han Shuo started traveling towards the Darkness Dominion at his top speed. Seven days later, Han Shuo appeared at the most powerful city of the Darkness Dominion – the City of Gorging Clouds.
Han Shuo’s target was Larikson of the House of Broadhurst. He was a late-stage highgod of destruction and he had once mounted a sneak attack on Han Shuo with Felder.
Han Shuo knew that Larikson would never let his House of Han off for Han Shuo had killed his son. This was evident in Larikson’s attempt to exterminate the House of Han by besieging Fort Lasberg. To spare his House of Han from potential troubles in the future, Han Shuo was determined to eliminate Larikson.
At first, Han Shuo thought that with his strength, getting rid of Larikson would be a piece of cake. But when he got to the Broadhurst Residence, he realized that it wouldn’t be anything as easy as what he did in Witherbone City.
The defensive boundary around the Broadhurst Residence was incredibly complex and strong. An eternal darkness made of intense element of darkness would float above the Residence like a giant canopy at all times.
With just one look, Han Shuo could tell that the Shield of Darkness protecting the Broadhurst Residence cannot be deployed by a highgod. He also vaguely sensed the presence of an extremely powerful darkness energy inside the Residence.
“So the hearsays are correct. Yarus, the City Lord of the City of Gorging Clouds has indeed entered the realm of overgod,” Han Shuo murmured to himself as he gazed at the Broadhurst Residence shrouded by darkness.
