In Shrek City, within the Tang Sect's secluded cultivation area, Huo Yuhao picked up a piece of rare metal and hammered it for a while. Before long, however, he stopped, shook his head, and set the metals aside.
"Yuhao, I've seen you struggling for half the day. What's wrong? Don't you like the Materials?"
"Tianmeng Brother," Huo Yuhao replied within his Sea of Mental Force, "No, these Materials are all excellent. They are sufficient to support the core components of a Rank 9 Soul Guidance Device. It's just that what I'm preparing to make now is a chest plate, which is also the core of the entire humanoid Soul Guidance Device."
"I have already Broken Through to Rank 90. Although I haven't yet Broken Through to the Realm of Super Douluo, I've touched the threshold of a Ten-Rank Soul Engineer. The armguard I gave to Wang Dage is already a Rank 9 Soul Guidance Device. Once the chest plate is formed, I'm confident I can forge this Soul Guidance Device into a Rank 10 Soul Guidance Device."
"However, for a Rank 10 Soul Guidance Device, these Materials are a bit insufficient."
Huo Yuhao had even tried many rare metals secretly transported from the Sun Moon Empire, but they still failed to meet his standards.
"Have you tried Spirit Bones?"
"Snow Empress?" After more than a year of living together, Huo Yuhao was no longer unfamiliar with this new resident in his Sea of Mental Force.
"I don't understand Soul Guidance Devices," the Snow Empress said, "but once, in the Extremely North Land, I saw humans using Soul Guidance Devices that contained the power of Spirit Bones. Even the rarest metal shouldn't be comparable to Spirit Bones produced by Spirit Beasts, right?"
Huo Yuhao's thoughts moved quickly.
As Materials for Soul Guidance Devices, Spirit Bones naturally far surpassed all metals. Even a low-quality ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone would be enough to elevate the quality of a Soul Guidance Device. If Spirit Bone power could truly be integrated and combined with rare metals, it might indeed meet his requirements.
The problem was that he hadn't mastered the technique of crafting Soul Guidance Devices from Spirit Bones. Moreover, where would he even find Spirit Bones to practice with?
"Someone is looking for you."
Just as Huo Yuhao was deep in thought, Electrolux's aged voice echoed within his Sea of Mental Force.
Huo Yuhao instinctively spread his mental force outward, yet his mental detection revealed no outsiders.
Electrolux let out a silent sigh. The mental force sealed by Tianmeng Iceworm had long since been fully absorbed by Huo Yuhao. His current mental force already surpassed that of most people on the Douluo Continent.
However, the one who had arrived had almost exceeded the scope of a Spirit Master. With only a trace of Divine Sense remaining from his previous life, Electrolux could vaguely sense him. Others, even someone as outstanding as Huo Yuhao, remained completely unaware.
It was not until Huo Yuhao reached the front courtyard and saw Wang Nan speaking with two Tang Sect Disciples at the entrance that his eyes widened in disbelief.
Using mental force had long since become Huo Yuhao's instinct. His gaze and mental perception usually extended together. Yet today, his eyes clearly saw Wang Nan standing there, while his mental detection found absolutely nothing.
The mismatch between sight and perception left him momentarily unaccustomed.
"Wang Dage?"
"Yuhao." Wang Nan nodded. "Not bad. You've reached Rank 90, but it seems you don't have your ninth spirit ring yet?"
Although Wang Nan showed no spirit power or mental force fluctuations, he had instantly seen through Huo Yuhao's cultivation the moment he spoke.
"Wang Dage, you also know that mental-force-type Spirit Beasts are extremely rare," Huo Yuhao said. "It's not easy to find a suitable spirit ring. I'm currently preparing to add a spirit ring to my second Spirit and Break Through with the help of that Spirit."
"That's perfect," Wang Nan replied. "I need your help with something, and perhaps I can even find you a suitable spirit ring."
If it were any other Spirit Master, even a Titled Douluo, Wang Nan would not be confident that the Spirit Beast's power could be safely absorbed by a human.
But Huo Yuhao was different.
He had already condensed a Soul Core ahead of time. In Wang Nan's perception, Huo Yuhao possessed two Soul Cores within his body, and he could faintly sense several other distinct auras as well.
"What is it? I'll prepare a little first."
Hearing Wang Nan's words, Huo Yuhao agreed without hesitation and immediately began checking the contents of his storage Soul Guidance Device.
"It's nothing too difficult. I just need you to purify some Revenant."
"Like last time?"
A few years earlier, when the Sun Moon Empire had just retreated, Wang Nan had once come to him with a special Soul Guidance Device containing a large number of Revenant. They had all been purified using the power of necromancy.
"No. This time, we're going to them directly." Wang Nan looked at Huo Yuhao. "We're going to the Fiend Forest."
Although Wang Nan harbored doubts about achieving a God Position and speculated that there might be another Path to godhood besides the Power of Faith, that was still only a hypothesis. Before it was verified, he had no intention of abandoning the route of accumulating Power of Faith.
And on today's Douluo Continent, nothing could harvest more faith than eliminating the Holy Spirit Cult.
"The Fiend Forest? Isn't that the Evil Emperor's territory?" Within Huo Yuhao's Sea of Mental Force, the Snow Empress felt confused by the name, but she did not ask further.
Although Wang Nan appeared to possess no aura at all, to them, he was far more terrifying than Mu En had been back then. Even Tianmeng Iceworm, who possessed a million years of mental force and had the deepest connection with Huo Yuhao, was doing his utmost to suppress his own presence, not daring to reveal even the slightest trace.
Only Electrolux remained relatively calm. As a being who had once touched the realm of a "God," he knew that before Wang Nan, their concealment was only a matter of time.
Moreover, what they feared was Wang Nan developing greed upon learning of their existence. In truth, Wang Nan was not that kind of person. Even without them, he had already reached his current level of cultivation.
"Yes, the Fiend Forest," Wang Nan said with a smile and a nod. "It's also the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult."
"Didn't the Holy Spirit Cult already get annihilated?"
"A centipede dies but never falls," Wang Nan replied calmly. "Although Death God Douluo and Dragon Emperor Douluo have fallen, there are still survivors within the Holy Spirit Cult. Evil Soul Masters improve their cultivation far faster than ordinary Spirit Masters. If they are not completely eradicated, the Holy Spirit Cult will resurface sooner or later."
"There are indeed some selfish motives on my part," he added, "but a place filled with resentful Spirits like that truly needs purification."
"I understand, Wang Dage." Huo Yuhao nodded. "Then shall we depart now?"
"There's no need to rush. I can see you haven't been resting well lately. Adjust your state first. This won't be an easy task."
Huo Yuhao scratched his head sheepishly. "I've been busy with Soul Guidance Device research recently."
"Then," Wang Nan said, "do you want to talk with me for a bit?"
"Okay."