"What happened next?"
"Later, a Holy Envoy stepped forward and led us out of the headquarters through a secret passage."
"Holy Envoy?" Lin Xiao's brows furrowed slightly. Having once been the Grand Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, he was all too familiar with the aura of the cult's Holy Envoys. Yet when he had returned to the headquarters, he had not sensed the presence of any Holy Envoy.
Even in the main hall of the headquarters, he had seen no traces left behind by any Holy Envoy taking action.
"Exactly." The "senior brother" standing before Lin Xiao spoke with considerable certainty. "It was… the Holy Envoy under the Grand Elder."
Grand Elder?
Lin Xiao's heart stirred.
Since he had joined the Holy Spirit Cult, he had never heard of the Grand Elder taking any disciples, nor did he know that Holy Envoys were serving under the Grand Elder.
Even after he himself became an Elder, he had never heard any related information from Zhongli Wu or the other Elders.
As for whether the Grand Elder had taken disciples later on… that was even more impossible. That Grand Elder had long since become Lin Xiao's soul ring; her soul had already dissipated. How could a Holy Envoy serving under her suddenly appear?
He raised his eyes and glanced at the few people before him, sensing the fluctuations of their spiritual power. Lin Xiao neither confirmed nor denied it, merely nodding slightly. "Continue."
"Yes." That senior brother cupped his fists once more. "Afterward, the Sun and Moon Empire began launching widespread pursuits against the Holy Spirit Cult and evil soul masters everywhere. With nowhere to go, we could only follow the Holy Envoy's lead and head overseas."
"You said you went overseas?"
"That's right. The Holy Envoy had frequently traveled with the Grand Elder across the seas and was quite familiar with the area. She brought us to a small island, and for these past years, we have been living there."
"Hmph, a bunch of nonsense!" Lin Xiao let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeve. The people before him immediately felt a heavy pressure descend upon their shoulders.
"In recent years, the Sun and Moon Empire's soul guidance technology has advanced by leaps and bounds. Under the leadership of Mingde Hall researcher Ma Rulong, large soul guidance ships and soul guidance submersibles capable of resisting sea soul beast attacks and venturing into the open ocean have only just appeared."
"All the large islands in the surrounding area have been explored, and no traces of humans have ever been found on them."
"Are you telling me that a few years ago, before Mingde Hall developed ocean-going soul guidance ships, you were already able to reach even farther places where sea soul beasts exist?"
As his icy voice fell, the few people standing before Lin Xiao could no longer withstand the pressure he emitted and began to tremble slightly.
The person leading them lowered his head, gritting his teeth tightly. A wave of panic suddenly rose in his heart. A deathly silent aura spread from the Eighth Elder before him, as if the God of Death, symbolizing death itself, had gently brushed across his cheek.
"E-Elder, every word this disciple has spoken is true. That Holy Envoy possesses the ability to command sea soul beasts. We did not travel by soul guidance device or ship, but rode sea soul beasts to reach overseas."
The person before him spoke haltingly. Lin Xiao instantly understood what that "Holy Envoy" truly was.
It was not human at all. If he was not mistaken, that "Holy Envoy," like the Grand Elder, was a sea soul beast from the ocean, and her cultivation was probably not low.
The sudden appearance of these few people in Dongyang City was probably also due to them relying on the power of the sea soul beasts to return, just like when they left. The ominous aura in their bodies had probably been unconsciously due to that.
Thinking of this, Lin Xiao did not immediately withdraw his aura completely.
"Since you have already settled overseas, why have you few returned?"
"We dare not deceive the Elder; we had no choice." That disciple moved his body slightly. "During this period, the small island where we settled has been constantly assaulted by tsunamis. If not for our cultivation, we would have long fallen into the deep sea."
"Just then, the Holy Envoy returned and informed us that a great terror had appeared in the ocean. It is no longer safe there now. She still has important matters to handle and cannot look after us for the time being, so she found a way to send us back."
"To conceal our identities, we have been addressing each other as senior and junior brothers."
Lin Xiao looked the few people over, remaining silent for a moment.
If possible, he also wanted to meet this "Holy Envoy" they spoke of. Although she, like the Grand Elder, was not human, her attitude toward humans was clearly different.
Not only had she brought these few people overseas to escape the Sun and Moon Empire's pursuit, but she must have carefully screened those she took away.
Otherwise, the ones appearing before him now would definitely not be these people who had left a rather deep impression on Lin Xiao. The reason they had guarded the headquarters without ever having the chance to go out was precisely that they had not made many contributions within the Holy Spirit Cult.
Even after reappearing in Dongyang City, if not for the baleful aura on their bodies that they themselves had not noticed, they would not have been treated as evil soul masters.
Lin Xiao did not know what criteria the "Holy Envoy" used to select people, but somehow it aligned somewhat with his own thoughts.
However, before that…
Lin Xiao's gaze swept over the few people once more. "I will not pursue the past matters any further. Since you have come, you may as well act together with me."
"Yes, please give your orders, Elder."
"Since you few have come from overseas, you should have seen quite a few people who went out to sea."
"The risks at sea are considerable. Even if these people perish in the ocean, it will not cause any suspicion. You will lead me to find the traces of these people."
As his words fell, the leading person's figure trembled slightly. Sensing the pressure emanating from Lin Xiao, he remained silent for a long time before finally spitting out a single word rather bitterly, "Yes."
"What, you are unwilling?" Lin Xiao's voice turned cold. Without waiting for the man to respond, he raised his head and looked toward the others. "What about you?"
The group seemed to hesitate slightly. After pausing for a moment, they finally agreed.
Seeing this, Lin Xiao nodded slightly.
Not everyone possessed the courage to throw away their lives. Among all the people he had seen, the only one who could face death calmly was the White Tiger Duke, Dai Hao, from back then.
Under the coercion of his strength, although these few people had all agreed, the brief hesitation before they did so was enough to show their attitude.
That was already sufficient.
"Enough, all of you may rise." Lin Xiao waved his hand, allowing the group to straighten their bodies, as if brushing something off them.
"The Holy Cult no longer exists; there is no meaning in leaving you a few disciples behind." Lin Xiao let out a long sigh. "Leave Dongyang City and go somewhere else. No one should come to disturb you anymore."
As his voice fell, Lin Xiao's figure had already disappeared from before the few people, leaving only a fading afterimage in his original spot.
"If you have nowhere to go, you may head to the Northern Lands."
As the voice faded, Lin Xiao's figure also vanished, leaving only the few former Holy Spirit Cult disciples in the original spot, looking at each other in dismay.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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