The Cult Master's Consciousness

Lin Zhiying had been waiting for almost half a month.

At first, she thought the Underworld Bureau procedures should be quite quick; after all, they'd become ghosts, why would they need to go through bureaucracy?

As it turned out, she underestimated these officials who acted as ghosts.

If you don't call and follow up, you guys are really incompetent.

So she waited two or three days, then another two or three days, and then another two or three days, for a full half month. Finally, she couldn't resist and dialed the number of Hu Mang, the Underworld Bureau consultant, again.

This time, however, Hu Mang did not feign ignorance or shirk responsibility; instead, he enthusiastically offered advice and suggestions.

Since the other party wants to investigate the Ghost Dragon Vein, then let's investigate. Let's start with the corpse of the Turbid Dragon.

For example, through some special measurement methods of the Underworld Bureau, they first examine the corpse of the Turbid Dragon to see if there are still any Yin-Yang Node.

If so, it would be possible to deduce the level of the Ghost Dragon Vein the "Sea Yaksha" was riding, and even pinpoint its location.

Dragon Vein evolution, Dragon Vein branches, secondary Dragon Vein, main Dragon Vein, Dragon Vein center, Dragon Vein source.

These are the six standards for dividing Dragon Vein at Heavenly Gate, applicable to both Yin-Yang Dragon Veins.

The Turbid Dragon that was killed should have been a main Dragon Vein.

The newly formed artificial Sea Dragon Vein should be a secondary Dragon Vein.

The ghost ship in Hu Mang's hands, in theory, should be somewhere between the evolution of the Dragon Vein and Dragon Vein branches.

According to the "Records of the Netherworld Record," a branch of the Yin Dragon Vein Dragon Vein must have at least five Yin-Yang Node.

One Dragon Vein evolution is enough.

Therefore, Hu Mang didn't mind guiding the other party to find a few more Yin-Yang Node, which he would then devour one by one.

Once he reaches the level of "Dragon Vein Branch", he can create different "underground stations" just like the Ghost Subway he rode before. As long as he is on this Underworld sea line, he can travel to any station at any time.

This exchange started at the beginning of the Autonomous Association meeting and lasted until it was almost at its closing time before finally ending.

Hu Mang let out a long breath. As expected, professionals are not easily fooled. If he hadn't known the answers to some professional questions in advance through the Ghost Ship's consciousness, he would have had a hard time answering them.

After the exchange ended, several beams of Golden Core energy shot out from the villa on the island, clearly indicating that they were rushing to leave after the meeting.

"Are you envious? If you want, you can also attain the Golden Core anytime. It's a pity we left in too much of a hurry back then, and I didn't take you with me."

Hu Mang turned his head, looked at the old man opposite him, and tilted his head.

"Excuse me, do I know you?"

"You may call me Elder Min," Elder Min, raising his head slightly and smiling, revealing a pair of eyes filled with crimson demonic light.

Hu Mang sighed inwardly. Going to sea to seek revenge against the demonic path was really just an excuse. Could you demonic cultivators please stop trying to get close to me?

I'm really not interested in exorcising demons and protecting the righteous.

"So, you're a remnant of the Holy Son Cult?" Hu Mang asked.

Elder Min was taken aback. "You know me?"

"Someone introduced you to me," Hu Mang stretched out his palm, and with a flash of light, the remnants of the two mechanical magic paths, the mechanical Dantian, and the Divine Sense implantation slot all appeared.

"Oh, those people from the Mechanical Divine Cult, I didn't expect you to have fought with them," Elder Min said, first with a look of realization, then with a thoughtful expression.

So you went to sea back then to find out about your origins?

No, I'm here to dig up graves.

"Whatever you say goes," Hu Mang said, too lazy to explain further. He glanced thoughtfully at Jiacha not far away.

"So, Zheng Qingbo really did have a collaboration with the demonic path, and that collaboration partner was you. And the fragment of the 'Blood-Piercing Essence-Reversal Art' that I obtained back then was actually given to me by you?"

"That's right, I originally wanted to nurture you further, but I didn't expect your awakening speed to be much faster than I anticipated!"

The Elder Min looked at her as if she were looking at a rare treasure.

"A flawed Sealed Holy Son is not rare. Flaw means limited potential. I am not short-sighted. Only a complete Sealed Holy Son has the potential to truly awaken the demonic vein. You were one of the test subjects I had my eye on back then. You have a higher chance of developing a complete Seven Absolutes Devil Meridians than others, if you don't die from the backlash of Demonic Qi."

No, if it weren't for my foxy mother, I would have been dead long ago.

Hu Mang continued to complain in his mind.

Suddenly, a beam of blood-red light shot out from Elder Min's eyes, and Hu Mang almost instinctively manipulated the Heavenly Devil Field to dissipate the blood-red light into nothingness.

"Excellent! It's the Stone-Flicking Devil Meridians, the most difficult of the Seven Absolutes Devil Meridians to unlock. Moreover, the intensity of your demonic intent suggests you've awakened more than one demonic vein. And it's only been a short time, less than half a year! Your talent is so strong that even the leaders of the sects back then might not be able to match it!"

Elder Min's eyes burned even more fiercely, to the point of being almost maniacal.

Hu Mang said softly:

"Even if I have extraordinary talent, why would I betray my identity with the Heavenly Gate and mingle with you remnants of the demonic path? At worst, I'll just surrender myself. Don't think I don't know that there are legitimate Devil Cultivator within the Heavenly Gate."

"But you've come out after all, and this is your second time. This shows that you care a lot about your background. Don't you want to know who your biological parents are?"

"Don't you want to establish a foothold overseas? How about Zheng Qingbo's? We have a lot of leverage over him. As long as you agree to return to our Holy Son Cult, the Zheng Family Garden will be your gift! Besides that, we can help you reach the Core Formation stage immediately!"

"I would have formed the Core long ago if I wanted to," Hu Mang said casually, turning his palm around. The perfect Golden Nature in his palm transformed into a golden ray of light.

"How can this help?"

"Good! Good! Good!" Elder Min's eyes shone even brighter.

"Forming the Golden Core is relatively easy, but what about the Nascent Soul? Do you want to form Nascent Soul in a short time? As far as I know, even at Heavenly Gate, Nascent Soul isn't something you can do at will."

Hu Mang was taken aback:

"You also have methods to achieve Nascent Soul formation in a short period of time?"

"Of course, our Holy Son Cult is different from other factions that cultivate Holy Sons and then send them to the Immortal Dynasty to serve as slaves. The Holy Son Cult is just a cover. Our real goal is to cultivate the next Holy Cult Sect leader and bring back the consciousness of the former leader!"

"Wait a minute," Hu Mang frowned, "The Holy Cult leaders you're talking about, are they the five who were suppressed by Martial Emperor during the Old Heavenly Gate period?"

"So, you're not training me to be the leader, but rather to be a vessel for your cult?"

Hu Mang finally let out a cold laugh.

"Do you think I'd be stupid enough to become the vessel for that old man's reincarnation?"

"No, it's definitely not a furnace!"

Seeing that more and more Golden Core Elder Min knew that now was not a good time to talk, and said somewhat anxiously.

"There are some things I can't tell you before you officially join my sect, but what I can tell you is definitely not about possession."

He paused for a moment, then suddenly sent out a Divine Sense.

"You come from the Heavenly Gate, so you should know that before the Five Virtues evolved, the Old Heavenly Gate couldn't produce Spirit Transformation at the Nascent Soul stage. But the Martial Emperor suppressed the five great sect leaders of that time with his Spirit Transformation level combat power. He relied on nothing other than the Sea Dragon Vein. As a supreme being, he forcibly controlled more than a dozen Sea Dragon Vein, forcibly raising his cultivation to the Spirit Transformation."

"However, this method can only suppress the five former sect leaders, not completely erase them. Without a true Spirit Transformation, one cannot destroy the Nascent Soul. And the consciousness of the sect leaders who were suppressed by the Sea Dragon Vein back then has probably long since merged into the Sea Dragon Vein. As long as you refine the Nascent Soul, you can directly ascend to the heavens in one step."

"Moreover, if you devour the Nascent Soul of the five sect leaders, you'll likely not only reach the Nascent Soul, but also the Spirit Transformation stage in no time!"

After sending this final thought, Elder Min hurriedly departed.

Hu Mang turned his head and looked towards the gate, where he saw Zheng Qingbo's last figure getting into the car.

He didn't come over as expected.

As for Hu Mang, he was not tempted by the Nascent Soul or even the Spirit Transformation mentioned by the other party.

The thought that flashed through his mind was—

The remnants of the Holy Son Cult are probably having a tough time these days. If they really are Zheng Qingbo's mastermind, they wouldn't need to be so subservient to him, or even deliberately keep their distance.

So, this Elder Min is just one of Zheng Qingbo's collaborators. Are there other people behind Zheng Qingbo?

On the way back to the city, Hu Mang noticed that Sister-in-law Liang's complexion wasn't very good either.

He thought about it and decided to show some concern for his sister-in-law.

Liang Yanqiu did not hide her thoughts from him.

"Today, the Autonomous Association passed a resolution rejecting the proposal for Heavenly Gate to move in."

"So bold?"

All of us combined are no match for a single Nascent Soul from the Heavenly Gate.

"But they passed another proposal, which was to have the Yu Household replace Heavenly Gate and move into the newly opened Haishi."

Is it the Yu Household again?

Hu Mang was surprised.

Given the relationship between the Yu Household and Heavenly Gate, as long as his family settles in this sea city, there is no need to worry about any suppression attempts from within Heavenly Gate.

This operation sounds quite clever; it preserves Haishi's independence while also giving Heavenly Gate face.

Was this an operation orchestrated by the Yu Household themselves, or was someone else using the Yu Household's Tiger Skin to carry out this scheme?

Seeing Liang's somber expression, Hu Mang's heart stirred, and he asked:

"Was it Zheng Qingbo's proposal?"

Liang Yanqiu nodded slightly.

It's the Yu Household again, and the remnants of the Demonic Cult again. Zheng Qingbo is like an octopus, digging into every direction.

However, from another perspective, perhaps it is precisely because he tried his hand at everything that he has become the Boss Zheng is today.

Meanwhile, inside the Zheng Family Garden, in a very elegantly decorated hall...

Zheng Qingbo smiled as he looked at Elder Min and asked, "How was your assessment today, Elder Min? Is that young man qualified to join your sect and become a candidate for Holy Son?"

Elder Min snorted coldly, "So-so, much worse than I expected."