Holy Spirit Cult Headquarters

Those symbols formed a twisted, eerie emblem, as if countless suffering souls were tangled around one another.

That bizarre symbol, the black-robed figures, Ronova's warning of an evil aura, and the buildings erected within a Soul Beast forest all reminded Yin Chen exactly where he was.

The Holy Spirit Cult!

The name flooded into his mind, and Yin Chen finally understood where he was.

One of the continent's three great Soul Beast gathering grounds—the most dangerous and bizarre Evil Demon Forest within the Sun Moon Empire.

And this was where the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters stood.

At that thought, Yin Chen's mouth twitched and his little face darkened. Good grief, he had actually stumbled into the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters by accident. Wasn't this practically delivering himself to their doorstep?

He wanted to retreat and hide beneath the forest's protection, but it was already too late.

"Who goes there?!"

A sharp cry rang out.

Almost the instant he was discovered, several figures radiating chilly Soul Power fluctuations appeared like ghosts from different directions, surrounding him in an instant.

Their faces were pale, their eyes filled with bloodlust and cruelty. The Soul Power surging around them carried foul, ominous auras. They were clearly all Evil Soul Masters, and at least Soul King level.

When they saw that the intruder was merely a little girl of around six, with silver hair, violet eyes, torn clothes, and an exquisitely delicate face that could not be concealed even by her ragged appearance, they did not relax. Instead, their suspicion and vigilance deepened.

What kind of place was this? The depths of the Evil Demon Forest—the entrance to the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar.

How could an unarmed, seemingly harmless six-year-old girl possibly appear here alone?

Something abnormal was bound to be suspicious. Thinking of those Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the forest that could take human form, the Evil Soul Masters treated the situation as though facing a great enemy. They secretly gathered their Soul Power, ready to launch a fatal strike at any moment.

They would rather kill by mistake than let down their guard.

Just as the tension reached its peak and Yin Chen's heart rose to his throat, a crisp female voice carrying a hint of laziness and teasing abruptly rang out.

"Oh~ Why is the surface entrance so lively today? Why are you all surrounding such a little cutie?"

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a petite figure strolling over from nearby.

She was a loli dressed in an extravagant black Gothic dress and carrying an exquisite black parasol. Her features were as delicate as a doll's, but her red eyes held a weathered amusement completely at odds with her appearance.

Upon seeing her, the Soul King-level Evil Soul Master guards immediately bowed. Their respectful voices carried a trace of fear. "Greetings, Third Consecrator."

The newcomer was the Holy Spirit Cult's Third Consecrator, a level ninety-seven Title Douluo renowned for her strange methods and unfathomable temperament—Scarlet Douluo Feiyan.

Feiyan walked forward with elegant steps, ignoring her tense subordinates as she appraised Yin Chen, who stood surrounded at the center while forcing himself to remain calm.

Her red eyes, which seemed capable of piercing through souls, swept over Yin Chen. Then, as if she had seen something extraordinarily amusing, she suddenly burst into laughter. Her laughter only grew louder, and she even exaggeratedly wiped at nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Hahahaha... This is killing me! A real human little girl, clearly six years old by bone age, without even the slightest Soul Ring fluctuation, actually scared you bloodthirsty lot into this state?"

"Hahahaha! You're embarrassing the Holy Spirit Cult beyond belief!"

Feiyan laughed so hard that her whole body trembled, even her parasol swaying along with her.

As a level ninety-seven Super Douluo, her insight was exceptionally sharp. At a glance, she saw through Yin Chen's true nature—he was absolutely not a transformed Soul Beast, but a genuine human child whose bloodline seemed somewhat special.

Seeing a group of Evil Soul Kings who were normally vicious and terrifying too frightened to move by a little girl struck her as utterly ridiculous.

Yin Chen's little face remained taut as he watched the Gothic loli laughing herself silly before him, alarm bells blaring in his mind.

This girl, who looked only slightly older than him, felt countless times more dangerous than all the Evil Soul Masters around them combined.

Feiyan's scarlet eyes studied the tiny child before her with great interest, as though she had discovered a novel and amusing toy.

Holding her parasol, she leaned down slightly and asked in a sweet, syrupy voice laced with teasing, "Little cutie, tell big sister, how did you manage to wander into such a lovely place all by yourself?"

Yin Chen secretly grumbled, You old monster, who are you trying to fool by pretending to be young?

Still, on the surface, he did his best to imitate the gentle yet tranquil disposition he remembered from Castorice.

He raised his amethyst-like eyes, a perfectly measured sheen of tears quickly gathering within them. His voice carried a trace of choking fear and lingering terror.

"M-My name is Castorice. I... I came with my family's elders to hunt my first Soul Ring."

His little hands anxiously twisted the torn hem of his clothes, every detail perfectly acted.

"But... but our luck was terrible. We encountered a really, really terrifying Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... Elder... he... he stayed behind to protect me..."

His words broke off at just the right moment, leaving ample room for imagination. Large tears rolled down his fair cheeks, the performance flawless.

He continued through sobs, "I... I ran as hard as I could. I don't know how long I ran, and then... then I ended up here... I saw the buildings, and I thought... thought I was saved..."

This explanation painted a vivid picture of a six-year-old child who had suffered a sudden disaster, panicked in terror, yet still clung to a sliver of hope.

But as Feiyan listened, the amused smile on her lips only grew more pronounced.

She lightly tapped the tip of her parasol against the ground, producing soft tapping sounds, as though keeping time with Castorice's story.

"Oh? Hunting your first Soul Ring, and you ran all the way into the depths of the Evil Demon Forest?"

Feiyan tilted her head, her red pupils gleaming with a light that saw through everything.

"Little Castorice, do you know how far this place is from the edge of the forest? What family that isn't tired of living would bring a freshly awakened child here to serve the Soul Beasts a feast?"

Her tone was gentle, but every word cut to the heart, openly exposing the enormous flaws in his story.

Yet, to Castorice's surprise, Feiyan had no intention of pursuing the matter further.

She straightened up and lazily yawned, as if their earlier exchange had merely been a tedious diversion.

"Well~ forget it, forget it."

Feiyan waved her little hand, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Where you came from, whose little darling you are, and why you were able to appear here... none of that matters."

Her gaze swept across the Evil Soul Masters around them, who remained on guard, before finally returning to Castorice. Her smile turned cold and cruel.

"What matters is that you've come to the Holy Spirit Cult. Since you're here, do you really think you can leave so easily?"

Her words carried an unmistakable chill.