Several months earlier, while conducting Soul Beast experiments in the depths of the Ice Sea, they had chanced upon an extremely unusual Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
The Soul Beast clearly possessed an utterly terrifying aura.
Yet its condition was exceptionally weak, and it frequently appeared near icy natural energy veins.
It seemed to be frantically absorbing energy. Drawing on their years of experience studying Soul Beasts,
they quickly arrived at a bold conjecture.
It was transforming.
That Soul Beast was preparing to transform and cultivate anew.
To verify their conjecture,
the two had secretly watched the Far North for half a month.
Once they had confirmed it, they immediately returned to the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters.
They then borrowed from Supreme Cult Leader Ye Xishui a Level-Nine Soul Tool designed specifically to track the life fluctuations of high-level Soul Beasts.
Now, the moment of harvest had finally arrived!
The brown-haired man couldn't help letting his imagination run wild.
"A high-quality Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast transforming!"
"If we can capture it alive and bring it back to the Holy Cult,"
"it'll be an enormous achievement!"
"We might even make a breakthrough in that plan that's troubled the Holy Cult for years!"
Amid the blizzard, the two exchanged a glance, boundless madness and greed rising in their eyes.
Then they sped off in the direction of the red dot.
What they didn't know was that, at that very moment, on the other side of this frozen wasteland,
another group was racing toward the same area.
The Far North's sky was a dull gray.
Heavy clouds churned, like a vast canopy of ice and snow pressing down on the earth.
Against this bleak backdrop, a silver-white screen hovered before Kong Deming.
On the screen
was a live feed from a high-altitude reconnaissance satellite.
Two indistinct figures struggled forward through the blizzard.
The wind and snow interfered with the image, causing ripples and static to appear from time to time, but they could still lock onto the targets' approximate location.
Watching the screen, Kong Deming furrowed his brow slightly and said in surprise, "There really are people out here."
He turned to Xu Tianyao beside him, his expression difficult to read.
For this trip to the Far North, Xu Tianyao had actually persuaded Mingde Hall and the military to temporarily redirect a military reconnaissance satellite responsible for monitoring the northern border.
Across the entire Empire, few could obtain authorization at that level.
Kong Deming had originally thought the boy was making a fuss over nothing.
Now, it seemed
the boy had clearly come prepared.
Meeting Kong Deming's scrutinizing gaze,
Xu Tianyao said excitedly, "Grandfather, let's follow them. We might make an unexpected discovery."
"Oh?"
Kong Deming narrowed his eyes and pressed him, "Do you know them?"
Xu Tianyao nodded.
"If the intelligence is accurate, they should be from the Holy Spirit Cult."
At that, Kong Deming's previously calm expression instantly darkened.
Anger surged in his aged eyes.
"The Holy Spirit Cult?"
Seeing his reaction, Xu Tianyao's heart tightened.
He had expected Kong Deming to be surprised, perhaps displeased.
But he hadn't expected such a strong reaction.
Kong Deming slowly turned around, staring hard at Xu Tianyao.
"When did you get involved with them?"
"Who gave you this information?"
"Was it Xu Tianran?"
The three questions made the atmosphere around them tense in an instant.
Xu Tianyao could even feel the vast, ocean-like Soul Power within Kong Deming stirring faintly.
The old man before him was clearly furious.
Kong Deming knew, of course, that Xu Tianran had secretly made use of the Holy Spirit Cult's power.
During the palace coup, as the old emperor's health worsened and unrest erupted across the land, there had been signs of the Holy Spirit Cult's involvement behind the scenes.
Kong Deming had chosen to turn a blind eye.
It was politics—the price that had to be paid for a transfer of power within the Empire.
But Xu Tianran was Xu Tianran.
Xu Tianyao was Xu Tianyao.
The former was the emperor of the Empire.
The latter was the successor Kong Deming had chosen with his own hands.
He was the junior he valued most, and the one he intended to train by passing on everything he had learned in his lifetime.
He would never allow Xu Tianyao to become entangled with those Evil Soul Masters.
Never!
Seeing the anger in Kong Deming's eyes,
Xu Tianyao seemed to understand. He had apparently mistaken something.
Kong Deming's tacit permission for Xu Tianran to use the Holy Spirit Cult
didn't mean he approved of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Much less that he would allow Xu Tianyao to associate with them.
Most likely, he despised the Holy Spirit Cult just like any decent person, and was always thinking of wiping them out.
Thinking this, Xu Tianyao hurried to explain, "Grandfather, you've misunderstood."
"I have nothing to do with the Holy Spirit Cult."
"Elder Brother has never asked me to get involved with them, either."
Kong Deming said nothing. He simply watched him quietly, waiting for him to continue.
Xu Tianyao went on, "Actually, the information was discovered by Elder Brother's people."
"The Holy Spirit Cult has been secretly searching for high-level Soul Beasts lately. It seems they're conducting some kind of experiment."
"Several months ago, they found a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in the Far North that was in an unusual condition."
"After analyzing the situation, Elder Brother suspected that the Soul Beast might be preparing to transform and cultivate anew."
Only then did Kong Deming's gaze shift slightly.
A transforming Soul Beast?
No one on this continent could fail to understand the value of those four words. They meant a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Soul Bone, ripe for the taking.
Xu Tianyao continued, "If the intelligence is accurate,"
"then it's probably a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast with the Ultimate Ice attribute."
"And my Moon Martial Soul also has the Ultimate Ice attribute."
"That's why Elder Brother told me to pass the information on to you."
"He wants to use the Holy Spirit Cult to find that Soul Beast."
"Whether we get our hands on the opportunity will depend on our luck."
The wind and snow howled. Kong Deming fell silent for a moment, and the chill in his eyes gradually faded.
With his keen mind, he could naturally tell whether Xu Tianyao was lying.
A moment later, the old man slowly raised a hand and gave Xu Tianyao's shoulder a firm pat.
"Remember."
"You can make use of Evil Soul Masters."
"You can observe them, too."
"But never approve of them, trust them, or depend on them."
"Some things, once you get them on you, can never be washed clean."
Xu Tianyao's heart stirred. He nodded earnestly. "Don't worry, Grandfather. I understand. Not only will I never become one of them, but once I'm strong enough, I'll destroy them!"
Only when Xu Tianyao spoke of exterminating them did Kong Deming finally smile.
He even reached out to brush the snow from Xu Tianyao's shoulder, just like any ordinary elder.
"All right, you've passed."
As he spoke, he turned his attention back to the satellite screen in his hand.
The image was now flickering constantly, with swathes of static appearing.
Clearly, the storm layer above the Far North was interfering with the satellite signal.
Kong Deming furrowed his brow and said quietly, "We can't waste any more time."
"In this weather, the satellite will last at most another half hour."
"Come on. We need to catch up with them."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man grabbed Xu Tianyao beside him and stepped forward. The silver-white Soul Tool Thruster beneath his feet flared to life.
His figure turned into a streak of light and shot into the blizzard.
Ahead of them, two Evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult were racing toward the same destination. In an ice cavern not far away lay the greatest treasure in the Far North!
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