Chapter 567: Hand Him Over
Translator: Radiant Editor: Radiant
“What?” Xue Ying frowned. “The other is at Three Chieftains Sacred Mountain?”
Three Chieftains Sacred Mountain was situated in the 40th layer of the Dark Abyss. It might not compare to the Lake Heart Island when it came to how dangerous it was, but no place able to resist the Cosmos Apocalypse could be underestimated.
‘Going into the ruins to find the avatar would be too difficult. I’m not proficient in the Dao of Karma either, so it would be impossible for me to keep track of him once I enter.’ Xue Ying shook his head inwardly. ‘It seems I’ll have to enter his territory in search of answers.’
“Sou.”
The Starfield Flying Ship entered another tunnel in spacetime it created then headed toward the deeper layers of the Dark Abyss.
Xue Ying had yet to even meet the Howling Devil Cult Leader, but he began feeling a trace of enmity towards this person once he found out that he was collecting countless souls. In most cases, demons would gather souls if they cultivated certain savage secret techniques. If that was indeed the case, Chi Qiu Bai’s destiny would surely be tragic!
‘I can only hope my conjecture is wrong and Big Brother Eternal Wind is still alive,’ Xue Ying thought.
Before long, Xue Ying arrived at the 37th layer world of the Dark Abyss.
This was a vast world, and a cold wind, sharp like a blade, whistled all over the place; some of the weaker demons would simply be cut to pieces by this wind. At the very center of this vast world resided the central power! Here, a large palace ceaselessly shone light on a sea made up of countless bones.
‘I hear that this Howling Devil Cult Leader personage is completely mad. He started a sect by himself, and even had his palace built over a sea of skeletal remains.’ Xue Ying stored his Starfield Flying Ship. Standing above the sea of bones, he looked towards the palace, which was now relatively close to his location. ‘There are various people with eccentric personalities in the Deity world as well, but I’ve never heard reports of someone building their palace on a sea of bones.’
“Hong~”
Xue Ying released a dark aura of destruction and even some of his willpower. Together, they spread out in every direction like a shockwave. The sea of skeletons, which originally saw many ghosts howling out over their injustice, turned completely silent at that moment! Even the gale of sharp wind turned dead silent.
An entire region of five million kilometers became still and silent—there was not even a trace of wind—and in mid-air, at the very center of this area, stood the crimson-robed Xue Ying.
“Cult Leader.”
“Cult Leader.” The Demonic Gods on patrol immediately rushed out to report the incident to their superiors in a panic as soon as they saw this scene.
Back in the skeleton palace giving off a sinister feeling, the Howling Devil Cult Leader was sitting on his throne while being served by a large group of demonesses. With a frown, he looked up, his vision passing through the palace door to land directly on the crimson-robed figure who was standing just five million kilometers away. As soon as he got a proper look at the figure, especially at the robe he wore, the Howling Devil Cult Leader’s expression paled ever so slightly; he had instantly recognized the robe.
In the Deity world and the Dark Abyss, these robes which were known to have been personally refined by the Bloodshed God Emperor were only worn by Bloodshed Tavern Masters. They were also quite unique in their design, which made them was easily recognizable. Of course, if one sought to deliberately hide the unique appearance of the robe, people would not be able to recognize them. In most cases, however, no Bloodshed Tavern Master would care enough to conceal the unique appearance of their robe.
“A Bloodshed Tavern Master?” The Howling Devil Cult Leader immediately roared, “Everyone, get lost.”
The very moment he finished speaking, the Howling Devil Cult Leader turned into a black fog. He passed through the obstacles of the void to arrive five million kilometers away, right in front of Xue Ying. There, the black fog condensed back into the figure of the Howling Devil Cult Leader who politely bowed. “Greetings, Bloodshed Tavern Master. Might I ask what is your business here, in my Howling Devil Abyss World? If there’s any matter I can assist with, please let me know. I’ll do my best to help.”
“Howling Devil Cult Leader, I have indeed come on business,” Xue Ying began. “Of the countless souls you’ve collected over thirty thousand years, you’ve obtained a certain one from Da Er Hao. I must ask that you return that soul.”
The Howling Devil Cult Leader was astonished.
Souls?
He had indeed collected countless souls for the sake of cultivating the first half of the “Blood Demon Scripture”, but he had never revealed this matter to anyone. Was this matter something than an expert with the combat power of a powerful existence would ask about? Unless… this man suspected him of having obtained the “Blood Demon Scripture”?
The Howling Devil Cult Leader could not be blamed for overthinking this matter. After all, the allure of this first half of “Blood Demon Scripture” was incredible indeed, especially considering it was an absolute art. In addition, the second half of the scripture was the basis of the Heavenly Emperor of Great Destruction’s fame, the existence closest to becoming a Ruler in the entire Dark Abyss! If this matter were to be revealed, the Howling Devil Cult Leader would certainly fail to keep it safe. Of course, he had already obtained the inheritance, but he still wished to hold onto the treasure, which he could then exchange in the future, once he became stronger.
He could allow other people to receive the inheritance… for an appropriate price, of course.
“Tavern Master… I’ve indeed collected countless souls back then. How could I even know which was the one I received from Da Er Hao?” The Howling Devil Cult Leader shook his head.
“It was the soul of one named Chi Qiu Bai,” Xue Ying continued, giving the Howling Devil Cult Leader a meaningful look.
The Howling Devil Cult Leader felt a shock pass through his heart.
Chi Qiu Bai?
Of course he knew about him. He originally seemed to be an unremarkable soul—not even a Deity! But this was purely a battle of wills, and one the final nine souls which eventually emerged victorious belonged to a person named Chi Qiu Bai. Since he only recently attempted refining these nine souls with the greatest willpower, he also received part of their memories and had a brief understanding of Chi Qiu Bai’s situation.
In spite of the inner shock he received, he remained outwardly calm.
“Have you used these souls to cultivate a secret technique?” Since Xue Ying could not decent any gap in the man’s behavior, he could only become more direct in his questioning.
“Hahaha, in the Dark Abyss, using souls to cultivate secret techniques is far too ordinary.” The Howling Devil Cult Leader laughed. “Can you blame me for such a thing, Tavern Master?”
The killing intent in Xue Ying’s eyes was now clearly visible.
The Howling Devil Cult Leader’s heart jolted in surprise. Such terrifying willpower!
“You will hand over Chi Qiu Bai’s soul. Don’t worry if you can’t tell him apart from the others; you can just take out every soul you still have in your possession and I’ll check through them. You can refuse… but that will only mean I’ll have to act and check through everything myself,” Xue Ying coldly said. “I suggest you just hand them over.”
Personally act to check through everything?
How could he let the Bloodshed Tavern Master search through his belongings? The true body he left behind in his territory held his most important treasure, the first half of the “Blood Demon Scripture”! If Xue Ying were to check through everything, it would surely be discovered!
“I truly do not know anything about the soul of any person named Chi Qiu Bai.” The Howling Devil Cult Leader was adamant in his refusal.
“Hm?” Xue Ying frowned.
“Right! Back then, I handed over a batch of souls to another powerful existence,” the Howling Devil Cult Leader added. “I remember now; that batch also contained the souls I received from Da Er Hao. Yes, I’m quite sure of this.”
Powerful existences were known to have a nigh-perfect memory.
“Pledge an oath with the Will of the Abyss as the witness that you are not lying,” Xue Ying said. “I will then let you go search for that powerful existence.”
The Howling Devil Cult Leader immediately became anxious.
Of course, he had never given souls over to any powerful existence!
He had personally used up all those souls, and Chi Qiu Bai was already one of the nine souls with the most willpower! How could he dare pledge an oath with the Will of the Abyss as the witness!
“Tavern Master, you should not be too excessive in your behavior.” The Howling Devil Cult Leader began to feel quite frustrated and inwardly anxious at the same time. He was well-aware that there was no powerful existence in the Dark Abyss who would care about any logic he presented. Their tempers were all very unreasonable. But it was precisely because he was refining the first half of the”Blood Demon Scripture”, even though he had yet to finish his cultivation, that his attitude already transformed. The way he saw it, it would not be long until no ordinary powerful existence could afford to be his opponent?
“If you aren’t willing to pledge the oath, I can only assume that you are lying. I’ll just go ahead and personally conduct the check, then.” Xue Ying was still just standing there, but the surrounding void began distorting, followed by the appearance of many figures. A total of nine bodies appeared, all of them wearing the same black armor. This set of armor was actually the true appearance of the “Extreme Annihilation Mysterious Body”. Every last one of these figures was emitting a destructive, vicious aura.
World bodies could take on millions different transformations. They could change into any appearance, allowing them to transform even into weapons. In fact, they could imitate Xue Ying’s luminous sun force as well as his extreme annihilation mysterious body. Of course the dark destructive aura could be easily mimicked.
These nine bodies surrounded the Howling Devil Cult Leader from all sides.