The people of the Impermanence Division had already swiftly exited the underground cavern the moment Ji Yingying released her soul rings.
They were well aware of the destructive power of Lord Yama's Netherflame on souls, so to avoid accidental injury, they immediately retreated to a safe distance.
The Netherflame transformed the entire underground cavern into a sea of blue fire. Accompanied by the continuous wails of resentful spirits, the underground space became incredibly eerie and terrifying, as if it had become a true abyss of hell.
The battle fluctuations lasted for only a dozen seconds, then everything returned to calm. The azure flames gradually began to dissipate, leaving behind only silence.
When the Impermanence Division cautiously re-entered the underground secret chamber, only Ji Yingying stood alone in the spacious chamber.
As for where the other evil soul masters had gone, the answer was self-evident.
"Go, liberate your parents."
Ji Yingying's gaze fell upon a young girl with light pink long hair standing at the entrance.
The girl looked about fourteen or fifteen years old, with healthy wheat-colored skin. Although not possessing a stunning, peerless beauty, her features were delicate, and her overall appearance was above average.
"Yes, Lord Yama!" The girl's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Before her words faded, she rushed into the depths of the underground chamber. Her movements were extremely skilled, clearly indicating her familiarity with this secret chamber.
Not long after, the faint sound of the girl's weeping could be heard from the depths of the chamber.
Though not loud, the crying conveyed complex emotions of intertwined sorrow and joy. Clearly, she had found the souls of her parents, who had been cruelly imprisoned by the Holy Spirit Church for years.
A few minutes later, the girl reappeared before Ji Yingying.
At this moment, her eyes were bloodshot, and clear tear streaks were visible at the corners, recounting the grief she had just experienced.
The girl came before Ji Yingying, bent her knees, and knelt heavily with a thud.
Her voice, hoarse from excessive excitement and crying, spoke with deep gratitude, "Thank you, Lord Yama, for helping me fulfill my wish. I vow to join the Impermanence Division and serve Lord Yama wholeheartedly from now on, without a single word of complaint!"
This girl was named Nana. Since childhood, she had been deeply ensnared by the Holy Spirit Church.
To control her, the Holy Spirit Church cruelly imprisoned the souls of her parents, using them to coerce her into serving them.
Under duress, Nana had no choice but to obey the Holy Spirit Church's orders, painstakingly getting admitted into the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy to act as an undercover agent, gathering intelligence for the Holy Spirit Church.
However, Nana's heart had never given up on finding an opportunity to liberate her parents' souls. It was just that her own strength was limited, and facing the powerful Holy Spirit Church, she had always lacked a good chance.
Until the Impermanence Division found her, promising to help her fulfill this wish. The only condition was for her to lead them to this secret stronghold of the Holy Spirit Church.
Now, she had personally witnessed the Holy Spirit Church's branch, which had enslaved her for years, crumble under the Impermanence Division's assault, and had personally liberated her parents' souls.
In this world, she had no more attachments.
Out of her deep-seated hatred for the Holy Spirit Church, and her gratitude towards the Impermanence Division and Ji Yingying, she decided to join the Impermanence Division, continuing to fight against the Holy Spirit Church to the death, while wholeheartedly serving her benefactor.
The Holy Spirit Church had not only killed her parents but also imprisoned their souls for years. This deep-seated hatred filled Nana with animosity towards the Holy Spirit Church.
And during her time as an undercover agent at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, she discovered that the Mingde Hall had secretly colluded with the Holy Spirit Church, working in treacherous cahoots.
This discovery made her feel disgusted and hateful towards the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and even the entire Sun Moon Empire.
"Good. From now on, you are a White Impermanence of the Impermanence Division," Ji Yingying said, taking out a white Impermanence mask from her embrace and handing it to Nana.
The information about Nana was originally provided by Lu Jingming, so there was no need for an assessment process.
Nana's talent was considerable, and with time and careful cultivation, becoming a Titled Douluo was not impossible.
Moreover, her martial soul was very unique, making her extremely suitable to become an excellent assassin. The Impermanence Division's style of action and mission nature were perfect for her.
Furthermore, Nana was now unburdened and profoundly grateful to Ji Yingying for helping her achieve her wish, completely loyal.
Given her personality, if Ji Yingying were to ask her to die at this moment, she would likely immediately grab a knife and slit her own throat.
At the same time, Ji Yingying received an important piece of information from Nana: this Holy Spirit Church stronghold was originally overseen by the Holy Spirit Church's Third Elder himself.
This Third Elder was a Rank 9 Soul Engineer, titled Dark Lightning, but he had left the Sun Moon Empire with his people yesterday, heading to the Heaven Dou Empire, targeting Dragon City.
When Lu Jingming received these messages from Ji Yingying, information about the Holy Spirit Church's Third Elder flashed through his mind instantly.
This Third Elder had long been obsessed with Nan Shuishui, the Sect Master of the Earth Dragon Sect in Dragon City. He was Nan Shuishui's devoted admirer, his love unrequited.
This time, he made such a big fuss, taking the Fourth Elder and most of the cult members to the vicinity of Dragon City in the Heaven Dou Empire. His target, besides Nan Shuishui, was clearly no one else.
Nan Shuishui, the Sect Master of the Earth Dragon Sect, was a powerful Soul Douluo.
Her Rouge Dragon Martial Soul possessed powerful annihilation abilities. With the advantage of this martial soul, she could even exchange a few blows with ordinary Titled Douluo, making her strength not to be underestimated.
However, she was about to face the Holy Spirit Church's Third Elder, Douluo Dark Lightning, and Fourth Elder, Douluo Nether Ghost, two evil soul masters at the Titled Douluo level.
Such powerful opponents undoubtedly posed a huge threat to Nan Shuishui.
Unless she continuously confined herself to Dragon City, once she left the city's protection, her fate would surely be dire.
In fact, given Douluo Dark Lightning's obsession with Nan Shuishui, he had long wanted to find an opportunity to abduct her.
However, Dragon City had the Heavenly Dragon Douluo of the Heavenly Dragon Sect overseeing it. This Heavenly Dragon Douluo was a Super Douluo with unfathomable strength, which made Douluo Dark Lightning not dare to act rashly.
Coupled with the Holy Spirit Church previously being in a dormant development phase, the Cult Master had relatively strict restrictions on the actions of the various elders, so Douluo Dark Lightning did not dare to disobey orders and make a big move rashly.
But now the situation had changed; the Holy Spirit Church had already formed a cooperation with the Sun Moon Empire.
Although they were still in a dormant period, they no longer had as many reservations as before.
At least many powerhouses in the Sun Moon Empire already knew of the Holy Spirit Church's existence, which loosened the restrictions on their Titled Douluo-level elders considerably, making their actions more free.
It was also because of this news that Lu Jingming opposed the Snow Empress's idea of directly seizing the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow.
He planned to intervene at the opportune moment when the Earth Dragon Sect faced a crisis, first letting the Earth Dragon Sect owe them an enormous favor.
This way, asking for the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow and the Extreme Ice Divine Crystal Mine later would naturally be much easier.
Not only that, Lu Jingming even considered the possibility of subduing the Earth Dragon Sect.
After all, as the situation developed, Dragon City would eventually be conquered by the Sun Moon Empire. As long as the Earth Dragon Sect did not wish to perish with Dragon City, they would need to find a new place to settle.
And Lu Jingming felt that Haiyuan City was quite suitable.
It was based on these considerations that Lu Jingming abandoned the simple and brutal method of directly seizing the Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow.
In his opinion, while a bad reputation was still a reputation, it was ultimately not as far-reaching and beneficial as a good reputation.
Just like the Body Sect, although they were renowned throughout the continent, their crude and unreasonable way of doing things gave people the first impression of a group of brutes who only knew how to use force, instinctively creating repulsion.
Lu Jingming did not want Haiyuan City to follow in the footsteps of the Body Sect and earn an unlikable reputation.
Moreover, adopting such a roundabout strategy would not consume too much energy or time.
Given the strength of those two Holy Spirit Church elders, bringing the powerful Snow Empress to deal with them would be completely effortless.
This way, they could smoothly acquire the desired treasures, gain the goodwill of the Earth Dragon Sect, and eliminate a scourge for the people, achieving multiple objectives at once.
"If I remember correctly, the Sunset Forest is near Dragon City. Those immortal herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well should be beneficial to you, The Greater Lord Rukkhadevata!"
Lu Jingming slightly raised his right hand, his gaze falling upon the blood-colored stigmata on the back of his hand, and spoke softly.
"I'm not sure, but according to your description, absorbing the memories and powers of those immortal herbs should be able to strengthen the World Tree stigmata's power," a gentle, intellectual voice softly chimed.
Accompanying the voice, a beautiful figure in white appeared behind Lu Jingming.
This woman had long hair that transitioned from white to green, with a delicate braid tied at the ends. Her ears were pointed like an elf's, and her entire being exuded a gentle and intellectual aura.
"The essence of the World Tree is not a tree in the biological sense, but a combination of knowledge, memory, and wisdom. The power of life also comes from this," Lu Jingming turned slightly, looking at the woman behind him, and analyzed, "As the embodiment of the World Tree, if you absorb those immortal herbs, you should be able to gain their unique abilities and simultaneously enhance the stigmata's power."
The immortal herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well each possessed miraculous effects, all of them spiritual beings of heaven and earth, and all had already developed their own sentience, belonging to the plant-type soul beasts.
And before this woman, known as the Lord of the Thousand Trees, the power of these immortal herbs could undoubtedly become nutrients to nourish her.