Xie An had more or less understood what was going on. The Spirit Pagoda was researching drugs to suppress emotions, then sending them to the Xie Family, making people outside think that the War God Temple Master was involved too.
"Could you tell me more about the drug research?"
The middle-aged man's smile faded, and he grew a little angry. He didn't want to waste his breath any longer. Two yellow, two purple, and four black Soul Rings appeared around him—eight in all. He meant to use the pressure of a Soul Douluo to make Xie An back down. After all, in his view, Xie An could only be a four-ring Soul Master at most.
As a senior Soul Douluo, he felt it was his duty to let this young fellow know that some matters were extremely dangerous and best left alone.
"Why won't you listen? I told you it was dangerous. Did you really have to make me use my cultivation to force you to back down?"
Who would have thought that Xie An would keep his power at the Titled Douluo level? Under his deliberate disguise, two yellow, two purple, and five black Soul Rings slowly rose around him—nine in total.
"I'd like to see what's so dangerous."
"A Titled... a Titled Douluo..."
According to the middle-aged man's explanation, he suspected the matter might also involve the War God Temple Master, and perhaps Xie An himself. If Xie An used his true identity to pressure him, it might confirm the man's suspicions and make him even less likely to speak honestly.
Xie An couldn't exactly use the vile method of searching his soul. If he used his Spiritual Power to probe or influence an eight-ring Soul Douluo by force, he would inevitably cause irreversible harm.
So Xie An disguised himself as a Titled Douluo. Though the age had advanced and Titled Douluos were no longer so rare, in a small place like Eastsea City, that was still enough to intimidate the man in front of him.
The middle-aged man hurriedly saluted. "So you're a senior Titled Douluo. May I ask your name, Your Excellency? This junior is Sun Wenxuan."
Sun Wenxuan was sweating profusely. Who could have imagined that a young man he'd randomly approached in the black market would be a Titled Douluo? The other man looked so young that he was either a top genius from some faction or an old monster who had never quite outgrown his childish nature. Sun Wenxuan hadn't exactly been disrespectful, but what if the man held a grudge over the slightest thing?
Sun Wenxuan was merely an eight-ring Soul Douluo with Two-Word Battle Armor. Escaping from a Titled Douluo was already wishful thinking, let alone when the other man most likely had Three-Word Battle Armor.
"All right, I'm not blaming you. Can you tell me about the drug research now?"
Xie An dispelled the pressure of a Titled Douluo and asked.
After wrestling with himself for a while, Sun Wenxuan finally steeled himself and said, "Senior, could you swear that you won't tell anyone about this?"
Cultivation on Douluo Continent had yet to progress to the point where the Abyss Plane was devoured and the world evolved. Breaking an oath wouldn't bring down a heavenly tribulation, but cultivation was about following the Heavenly Dao and having a clear conscience. Breaking an oath could lead to inner demons, which might emerge just before a breakthrough and cause it to fail. At worst, one's Soul Power cultivation might never advance again.
Xie An pretended to consider it. After a moment, he held up two fingers and said solemnly, "I swear to Heaven that I won't reveal what I'm about to hear. If I break this oath, may divine punishment befall me."
A brief note was in order here. Although the Divine Realm had already been swept away by the temporal turbulence, to most people, a Titled Douluo was already an unattainable pinnacle. Only those who reached the Limit Douluo level were qualified to learn that the Divine Realm had vanished.
Sun Wenxuan regarded him with respect. Every Soul Master on Douluo Continent knew that the Divine Realm truly existed.
Of course, aside from those at the Limit Douluo level, few knew that the Divine Realm had disappeared.
To ordinary people, Huo Yuhao, the Spirit Pagoda Master ten thousand years ago, and Tang San, the Tang Sect Master twenty thousand years ago, had both ascended to God Rank. Who knew whether anyone else had ascended in the time between them?
"Senior, there's no need to stand here. Please come to my home, and I'll explain everything in detail."
Sun Wenxuan invited Xie An to his home and used Soul Power to isolate the room. He also scattered a handful of seeds outside. His eight Soul Rings pulsed in an orderly rhythm, and soon the seeds sprouted and began to grow.
Sun Wenxuan brewed a pot of fine tea, poured a cup for Xie An, then poured one for himself.
"This matter goes back to my Martial Soul. My Martial Soul is the Tree of Life. Seven or eight years ago, my Soul Power reached level eighty-nine, but I couldn't find a way to break through. So I decided to travel across Douluo Continent in search of an opportunity."
"After two years of traveling, I happened to arrive in Eastsea City and settled in a remote inn. Since I had the Tree of Life as my Martial Soul, I opened a clinic and treated people."
"After running the clinic for a while, I discovered a strange illness. Through my Martial Soul, I sensed that although some people appeared depressed, their internal organs were actually out of balance."
"At first, I didn't pay much attention. I thought it might be some difficult-to-diagnose illness or a congenital genetic defect. But as time passed, I found that many patients had the same condition, so I began investigating."
"After analyzing each patient, I discovered that they had all taken a kind of spirit-enhancing drug from the Spirit Pagoda."
"I continued to investigate and found a drug circulating on the black market that was more potent than the Spirit Pagoda's spirit-enhancing drug. It first suppressed people's emotions, then made them extremely agitated. It was even somewhat addictive."
"I also secretly investigated the Spirit Pagoda, but the moment I entered, I was discovered and driven out."
Xie An fell silent for a moment, then asked, "Doesn't the Spirit Pagoda know the drug has side effects? And why is there a similar drug on the black market?"
"The Spirit Pagoda tells Soul Masters about the side effects before they take the drug. Some people really did improve after taking it."
Sun Wenxuan suddenly grew awkward. "As for the black market... maybe, maybe someone from the Spirit Pagoda deliberately leaked it?"
Xie An stared into Sun Wenxuan's eyes and saw that something was wrong. "What are you afraid of?"
"I... I... Oh, this can't be said. Otherwise, we'll both be in great danger. Senior, please don't bring trouble upon yourself."
Xie An thought for a moment, then took out a token of the Tang Sect. "I am the Tang Sect's Chief Offering. You can tell me the truth."
As the War God Temple Master, Xie An shouldn't have joined either the Tang Sect or the Spirit Pagoda. However, if he wanted to ensure that some of the War God Temple's policies were truly implemented at the grassroots level, cooperation was unavoidable.
So, going with the flow, the Tang Sect Master had given him a token from the Offering Hall.
When Sun Wenxuan saw the Tang Sect token, he reacted as if he had seen a just magistrate and immediately dropped to his knees.
"This humble man was blind to your status and didn't realize you were a Tang Sect Offering. I'm reporting that the Spirit Pagoda may be colluding with Evil Soul Masters."
After hesitating for a moment, he added, "The War God Temple Master may also be colluding with Evil Soul Masters."
"Everything I've said is true. If I've made a false accusation, may Heaven strike me down!"
A brief note was in order here. To most ordinary Soul Masters, Shrek was a place of lofty beings. Under Xie An's leadership, the War God Temple had introduced many measures to benefit the people, but Xie An had only been in power for a short time. Moreover, he was part of the Federation's military, which naturally made him seem somewhat distant. The Spirit Pagoda's rulers were corrupt and just as aloof, but with Shrek standing in front of it, that was less apparent.
The Tang Sect, meanwhile, was the most approachable of the four major organizations. On the one hand, ever since Huo Yuhao revived the Tang Sect ten thousand years ago, it had been determined to develop Soul Tools for civilian use. On the other, its various halls had relatively low entry requirements.
As the minutes passed, Sun Wenxuan felt as if they were lasting an entire century.
At last, he couldn't bear it any longer and looked up. Xie An's face showed no shock, only a faint smile.
"Get up. I'll ask the questions, and you answer."
Sun Wenxuan stood and replied respectfully, "Yes. I would never dare disobey an elder's order."
"Do you have any evidence for what you've said?"
Before you continue