"Alright."
"What?"
"I said, I can spare their lives." Lin Xiao looked at the Sixth Holy Servant and repeated himself.
"Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!"
The Sixth Holy Servant fell to her knees, as if afraid Lin Xiao might change his mind. In the next moment, she pulled out a dagger and aimed it at her own chest.
But before she could raise her arm fully, Lin Xiao stepped forward swiftly and gripped her wrist tightly.
"There's no need to rush to sacrifice yourself for the cult."
The Sixth Holy Servant looked up at Lin Xiao. Having spent years in the Holy Spirit Cult, she had heard of certain methods, and a trace of fear rose in her heart, though it was quickly suppressed.
Her hand loosened, and the dagger fell to the ground. She knelt again. "Please, sir, command me."
"Command is too strong a word…" Lin Xiao lowered his voice, staring intently at the Sixth Holy Servant. "I want you to tell me what happened during your Spirit Ascension Ceremony."
The souls of other Holy Spirits in the cult, which were incomplete, were controlled by the Holy Spirit Cult, so Lin Xiao naturally wouldn't ask them anything. But the Sixth Holy Servant's soul was in his hands, so he asked directly.
At the same time, his hands weren't idle. Soul power surged, and the Higanbana flower in his right palm began to emit a red glow.
He didn't know the exact steps of the Spirit Ascension Ceremony or whether those who underwent it had any restrictions preventing them from revealing details.
But if anything seemed even slightly amiss, he could ensure the Sixth Holy Servant would be utterly destroyed in an instant.
Having experienced such intense ups and downs in such a short time, the Sixth Holy Servant had no capacity to think too deeply and recounted the events of that day in full.
"I followed the Elder into the altar. There was nothing else inside, only a statue of the Holy Emperor…"
"And then?"
"Then… the statue… worship…" The Sixth Holy Servant's voice suddenly became fragmented, and her hands instinctively clutched her head.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao's soul power was ready to strike.
But the next moment, the worst-case scenario didn't occur.
"I was worshipping… I… I can't remember… I…"
The Sixth Holy Servant clutched her head tightly, her expression contorted with either fear or pain, letting out incomprehensible roars from her throat.
"What about the Elder who went in with you? What was he doing?"
"…Nothing… he… watched me… worship…"
The soul in Lin Xiao's hand suddenly struggled violently, as if trying to break free from his control and merge with the Sixth Holy Servant before him.
With a surge of soul power, Lin Xiao retracted the Higanbana flower, and the residual soul vanished along with it.
On the ground, the Sixth Holy Servant seemed to gradually calm down.
Was it because her soul was incomplete that she lost those memories?
Lin Xiao was quietly speculating when he suddenly turned to look in the direction he had come from.
A small figure was hiding behind a tree, hands covering their mouth, holding their breath tightly.
But such actions were all too clear to a soul master's perception.
"Tap—"
Lin Xiao took a step toward the figure, but his cloak was suddenly grabbed. "Sir… Holy Emperor… please…"
The Sixth Holy Servant's words trailed off as she finally lost consciousness, her hand slipping from Lin Xiao's cloak.
Holy Emperor?
In this short time, the Sixth Holy Servant had mentioned this name more than once. According to her, the Spirit Ascension Ceremony wasn't conducted by the Elder but rather by the statue of the Holy Emperor.
Having lived in the Holy Spirit Cult for so many years, Lin Xiao was naturally aware of the Holy Emperor's title. The cult revered this Holy Emperor.
However, whether from his past-life memories or his usual observations, the Holy Emperor seemed more like a fabricated figure, never displaying any abilities worthy of the cult's worship.
Even in his memories, up until the Holy Spirit Cult's destruction, the Holy Emperor never appeared, as if he didn't exist at all.
But if a mere statue could perform a Spirit Ascension Ceremony capable of splitting souls, it didn't seem like something without substance. Could the Holy Spirit Cult truly be worshipping some deity?
Lost in thought without answers, Lin Xiao looked at the unconscious Sixth Holy Servant before him and let out a soft sigh.
As dusk approached, the sky grew dim. A streak of light flashed across the sky before landing outside Mingdu City.
As the capital of the Sun Moon Empire, flight was prohibited above Mingdu, and Lin Xiao was no exception. Retracting his soul tool, he habitually glanced around and actually noticed something.
Among the crowd, there were several familiar auras. Though their appearances differed, the subtle soul power fluctuations they emitted were all too familiar to him.
These were likely Holy Spirit Cult disciples. For so many to appear here en masse, could it mean Nightmare Douluo had returned from headquarters?
His guess was soon confirmed.
In the underground hall of the branch altar, many people were gathered, and when Lin Xiao returned, he found the scene surprisingly lively.
"How is the Sixth Holy Servant?" Nightmare Douluo was the first to speak, likely having learned of the matter from the Holy Spirits here.
"Teacher, the Sixth Holy Servant betrayed the cult, and I have dealt with her."
"Mm." Nightmare Douluo merely nodded.
She was just a Holy Servant, not someone he cared much about.
However, another figure in a black robe glanced at Lin Xiao. "I recall the Sixth Holy Servant here was quite decent. Killing her like that seems a bit of a waste… Hey, kid, you didn't secretly hide her because you fancied her looks, did you?"
Lin Xiao turned to the speaker and saw it was the Seventh Elder, Masked Douluo.
"Enough, Old Seven. Not everyone is like you." The Third Elder interrupted Masked Douluo. "Since Lin Xiao's back, let him meet Mo Ke. It won't be long before you two might become classmates."
The Third Elder pushed forward a boy of about twelve or thirteen.
"Though Mo Ke's cultivation talent is lacking, his aptitude for soul tools is remarkable. I plan to send him to the Sun Moon Imperial Academy."
"Thank you, Teacher," Mo Ke quickly said.
The other elders nodded as well, acknowledging the Third Elder's direct disciple.
"Let's put idle talk aside for now." The Second Elder, seated at the head, spoke, and the hall instantly fell silent. "Bringing so many people into the city isn't for casual chatter. Mingdu's underground trade should have a share for our Holy Cult."
"If we can swallow the Ordinary Alliance, that Shangguan Wei'er…" The Seventh Elder, Masked Douluo, licked his lips as he spoke.
"Old Seven!" A trace of anger flashed across the Second Elder's face. "Ever since you broke through to Titled Douluo, how long has your cultivation stagnated? It's time you disciplined yourself."
"Second Brother, I…" Masked Douluo tried to argue, but seeing the Second Elder's increasingly grim expression, he ultimately held his tongue.