A Fortune in Retreat, the Holy Spirit Cult's Headquarters in Evil Forest

Tracking Communication Soul Tools basically came in matching sets, with at least a pair of two.

After Meng Hongchen discovered Yan Jingchuan's location, she immediately rushed toward him.

Both sides sped toward each other, quickly meeting up.

"Yan Jing..."

The moment they met, Zheng Zhan wanted to lecture him about something, but his first glance landed on Zhang Peng and the other two.

Those three Titled Douluo were simply too conspicuous. Apart from Ye Yulin, who was not overly surprised, everyone else was inevitably stunned. Zheng Zhan even summoned his martial soul and raised his guard to the utmost.

"Go! Leave the Star Dou Great Forest immediately! A beast tide could break out at any moment!"

There was no time to let Xiao Hongchen and the others ask questions. Time was too precious. Yan Jingchuan did not dare gamble on whether more ferocious beasts were pursuing them, or whether there might be a large-scale beast tide.

Neither was something they wished to face. Their top priority was to get as far away from the Star Dou Great Forest as possible.

At Yan Jingchuan's signal, Zhang Peng and the other two grabbed Xiao Hongchen and the other students, flying at full speed.

Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan had no idea what was going on, but there was no time to ask. They could only hurry after them.

It later proved that Yan Jingchuan had overreacted somewhat. The Extreme North had probably left too deep an impression on him.

It was not until they reached Star Luo City and rested for a day that they learned the ferocious beasts had merely carried out a slaughter in the core area. The disturbance had not been large and had not caused any particularly serious consequences.

This was merely described as a minor Soul Beast riot in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"So this Soul Beast riot was caused by you? What exactly did you do? And aren't you going to properly introduce those three?"

Inside a hotel in Star Luo City, Zheng Zhan and Ye Yulin fired off three questions in a row.

Faced with their intense curiosity, Yan Jingchuan reluctantly revealed part of the truth.

"As for who those three are, I won't say for now. I can only tell you that they are from the Holy Church."

The Holy Church? Zhang Peng and the other two were not in the room. Everyone from the Sun Moon Empire wore thoughtful expressions.

Students like Xiao Hongchen and Ji Juechen had never heard of the Holy Spirit Cult, but Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan were different.

As high-ranking members of the Sun Moon Empire, they knew something about the Holy Spirit Cult.

After all, even the imperial family had already colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult. How could court consecrates like them know nothing at all?

"As for what we did, we entered the core area and killed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Golden Tortoiseshell. The Soul Beast riot was most likely caused by that."

Yan Jingchuan spoke calmly, but to everyone else in the room, this was anything but a trivial matter.

"You killed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"

"And it was a Golden Tortoiseshell..."

Yan Jingchuan smiled and nodded, looking utterly unconcerned.

"'Yeah,' my ass! Do you think the core area is your backyard? Even Titled Douluo might not dare enter it! Yet you killed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and a Golden Tortoiseshell at that—a lucky Soul Beast! If it were true, how could you possibly have come out in one piece?!"

Zheng Zhan was an old stickler and scoffed at Yan Jingchuan's claim. Ye Yulin did not really believe it either.

The shock in Xiao Hongchen and the other students' eyes gradually turned into suspicion at Zheng Zhan's words.

Yan Jingchuan did not explain. Sometimes, explanations were feeble and powerless. He preferred to let facts speak for him.

With a swipe over his storage Soul Tool, he took out the heavy, profound Hundred-Thousand-Year Golden Tortoiseshell Trunk Bone, golden throughout.

When the radiant treasure-light of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone appeared before them, every one of them fell silent, staring blankly at the Soul Bone in Yan Jingchuan's hand.

Facts always spoke louder than words.

Of everyone present, Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan, the two Titled Douluo, felt it most deeply. The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Beasts were generally of inferior quality to those of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms. Seeing a Soul Bone produced by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for the first time, they could clearly sense the terrifying soul power fluctuations coming from it.

Whoever absorbed this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone would see a significant increase in strength.

After staring at it for a long time, Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan finally forced themselves to look away, though reluctantly.

"You left the group without permission just for this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone?"

Zheng Zhan changed the subject and asked.

"No. It was only a bonus. My actual objective was something else."

When Yan Jingchuan said that, even he felt he sounded a little too pretentious.

"What could be more valuable than a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone? Not even a ninth-grade Soul Tool could necessarily compare. This is one of the greatest treasures in the Soul Master world."

Ye Yulin was puzzled. He wanted to get to the bottom of it and see what incredible treasure Yan Jingchuan had obtained that made even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone seem beneath his notice.

Yan Jingchuan kept his mouth tightly shut about Life Gold and did not reveal so much as a hint. Ye Yulin could not pry anything out of him.

Life Gold was far more precious than a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone. Let alone one such Soul Bone, even ten might not be enough to trade for a tiny bit of Life Gold.

This was something that could even heal the injuries of god-level powerhouses. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone was not even worthy of carrying Life Gold's shoes.

This trip had been dangerous, but the gains were real. Calling it a millionfold return on retreat would not be an exaggeration.

"Since you've obtained such a treasure, absorb it quickly. Don't let it draw the covetous eyes of others after too much time passes."

Ye Yulin could sense Zheng Zhan's longing. He truly feared that his colleague would be unable to restrain himself, so he urged Yan Jingchuan to absorb it as soon as possible.

Yan Jingchuan nodded. It was indeed time to absorb it, but he would not be the one doing so.

The Golden Tortoiseshell's attributes did not suit him and even conflicted with his own somewhat. He already had suitable targets in mind for both his Soul Ring and Soul Bone, so this one was of no use to him.

"Xiao, hurry up and absorb it!"

He raised his hand and tossed the Hundred-Thousand-Year Golden Tortoiseshell Trunk Bone to Xiao Hongchen.

At that moment, everyone was dumbfounded. Their jaws hung wide open, and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Y-you... you're not absorbing it yourself? This is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone!"

Yan Jingchuan shrugged, utterly unconcerned.

"The attributes don't fit, and I already have plans for a trunk bone."

"The attributes don't fit, but it's Hundred-Thousand-Year..."

Seeing that Ye Yulin still wanted to persuade him, Yan Jingchuan repeatedly waved his hand.

"Elder Ye, if I can kill a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast once, I can kill a second one."

His calm, confident tone left Ye Yulin unable to say a word.

To Yan Jingchuan, Soul Beasts had never been friends. Ideas like peacefully coexisting with Soul Beasts were simply too naive.

Would you reconcile with your mortal enemy and then live with them in peace?

Even if Soul Spirits existed in the future, they would merely solve the need for Soul Rings. They would not reduce the slaughter of Soul Beasts at all. On the contrary, they would greatly accelerate the extinction of Soul Beasts.

The original story was a typical example. The Spirit Pagoda claimed it would form equal contracts with Soul Beasts, but in reality? Where was the equality? Once humans no longer had to worry about running out of Soul Rings, their greed would only drive them to raise their butcher's blades and slaughter without restraint.

Xiao Hongchen, who had caught the Soul Bone on instinct, felt as though his brain had short-circuited. He tried restarting several times, but every attempt failed.

"Xiao, what are you standing there for? Once you're done, we still need to head back."

Yan Jingchuan's urging finally brought him back to his senses. Xiao Hongchen was instantly moved to tears.

"Old Yan, from today onward, you are this young master's brother from another father and mother!"

Meng Hongchen: ...

"No, no, no! Call me godfather!"

Xiao Hongchen's face instantly darkened at those words.

"That goes too far!"

They did not remain in Star Luo City for long. After Xiao Hongchen absorbed the Soul Bone, he successfully broke through to Rank 40. It would be most suitable for him to acquire his Soul Ring at the Jingyang Mountain Range after returning to the Sun Moon Empire, so there was no need to make another trip to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The group spent several days returning to Bright City. Yan Jingchuan did not go back with them. He needed to visit the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters and, while he was there, meet the great-grandfather and great-grandmother he had never met.

Evil Forest, beneath a small mountain peak.

Yan Jingchuan followed Zhang Peng and the other two through a special restriction and entered.

This place was not dark, damp, and grim, but a brightly lit, orderly large-scale underground workshop.

The headquarters' main altar used a multilayered, deep structure. The farther down one went, the more the space narrowed, forming an inverted-pyramid hierarchy.

After passing through the Soul Tool research workshops in the upper levels, there were more and more private small rooms as they descended. The smell of blood gradually filled the air, and Yan Jingchuan occasionally heard screams and wails.

They made their way to the deepest-level council hall. Around twenty chairs were arranged along both walls, reserved for high-ranking figures such as elders and consecrates.

At this moment, more than half of them were already occupied. Clearly, they were waiting for him.

Seated at the central seat at the far end was the cult leader, Zhongli Wu. Behind him stood the beautiful vice cult leader, Feng Ling, dressed in a silver gown.

When Yan Jingchuan arrived, Zhongli Wu rose to his feet.

"Everyone, the Holy Son our cult has been longing for is here."