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Hunter's mouth gaped open, unwilling to believe Ning Tianchen's words.
But Ning Tianchen's confident demeanor caused him to waver slightly.
Ning Tianchen's strength was clearly superior to Cooper's, yet the latter had demanded his submission—how could that make sense?
It seemed perfectly reasonable that Ning Tianchen had killed Cooper.
The Holy Spirit Sect only recruited the continent's elite forces. Could Ning Tianchen's group not be considered elites?
If he brought them back to the sect, Hunter's mission would not only be faultless but might even be seen as a great achievement. He might even gain access to resources needed to break through to Soul Douluo.
With this in mind, Hunter immediately changed his tone, his eyes filled with enthusiasm. "We are all followers of Lord Cassius—we are kindred spirits."
"Your willingness to join us is naturally welcomed. However, I have an unreasonable request… I wonder, Senior…"
Ning Tianchen barked, "Speak!"
Hunter cautiously asked, "Senior, after you join the sect, might I place myself under your command?"
Within the Holy Spirit Sect, each priest had their own subordinates.
Originally, Hunter had been under Cooper's command, but with Cooper dead, he was now unaffiliated.
The subordinates of the other priests were tightly knit groups, and if he were assigned to one of them, he would inevitably face exclusion.
On the other hand, Ning Tianchen's group had just joined the sect and didn't yet have any followers. If he could become their first major subordinate, the benefits in the future would be immense.
Moreover, Ning Tianchen's displayed strength indicated he would undoubtedly become the sect's Grand Priest in the future. Following such a powerful figure promised limitless prospects.
To achieve his goal, Ning Tianchen readily agreed, "It's possible. Now, can you tell me about the sect's situation?"
Hunter thanked him profusely and then proceeded to spill everything he knew.
The Holy Spirit Sect had four priests in total, excluding Cooper, leaving three.
Two of these priests were weaker than Cooper, but whether they were Title Douluos or not was impossible for someone of Hunter's level to discern or know.
The Grand Priest Hurhan's strength far surpassed Cooper's, reportedly reaching the Super Douluo level.
This information had been casually mentioned by Cooper. Since Hurhan's strength was greater than Cooper's, the latter naturally couldn't ascertain his soul power level.
In addition, the Holy Spirit Sect had numerous branches across the continent to recruit more members.
For example, the leader of the evil soul master group Ning Tianchen's team encountered in Hedu Village was the branch leader of that region. The others were elite forces privately developed by this branch leader.
As for the weaker peripheral members, they kept a low profile, avoiding trouble in the human world. They only hunted spirit beasts and absorbed their blood to enhance their strength in areas far from human settlements, near the outskirts of spirit beast forests.
According to Hunter, the Radiant Sun Empire's crackdown on evil soul masters was particularly intense. Even the Radiant Sun Emperor himself occasionally entered the fray to hunt high-level evil soul masters.
"It's rumored that within the Radiant Sun Imperial Palace hides an extraordinarily powerful individual, one whom even the Grand Priest cannot defeat. Lord Cassius once issued a divine decree: whoever kills the Radiant Sun Emperor will become Cassius's personal representative, holding a position above even the Grand Priest."
These words were Hunter's way of hinting to Ning Tianchen's group to build merit within the sect to achieve higher status.
In his view, aside from Ning Tianchen, no one else in the sect had the strength to infiltrate the palace and assassinate the Radiant Sun Emperor.
This was news Ning Tianchen's group had never heard before.
The Radiant Sun Empire's dominance on the continent, seemingly able to attack whomever they pleased, now made sense.
However, Ning Tianchen paid it no mind—he had no intention of interfering in the affairs of the Sun and Moon Continent.
"Based on what you said earlier, the intelligence you obtained also came from within the Radiant Sun Imperial Palace?" Feng Xiaotian seized upon a "flaw" in Hunter's words and pressed further.
Before he could finish, Hunter quickly explained, "Over a decade ago, the Grand Priest infiltrated the Radiant Sun Imperial Palace. It was during that time that these documents and pieces of intelligence were obtained."
"The Radiant Sun Emperor's strength is inferior to the Grand Priest's, but when the Grand Priest attempted to act, he was locked onto by an unknown presence within the palace. The owner of this presence seemed unwilling to reveal themselves, allowing the Grand Priest to escape."
It all made sense now.
Of course, this wasn't what Ning Tianchen wanted to know. "After all this talk, you still haven't revealed the location of the sect's headquarters. Are you doubting us, or do you refuse to join my ranks?"
Hunter pleaded repeatedly before finally revealing the truth. "I truly don't know the exact location of the sect's headquarters. We have several teleportation points set up in the forest. Each time we arrive there, the priest chants a specific incantation, and only then are we teleported to the headquarters."
"I remember the incantation, but it requires someone with sufficient strength to activate it effectively."
Under Ning Tianchen's persistent questioning, Hunter finally divulged all the intelligence he possessed.
Once Ning Tianchen was certain no further useful information could be extracted, his gaze darkened. "Xiaotian, kill him."
Hunter's eyes widened in panic, and he begged desperately, "Master, I've told no lies! Everything I said was true. And am I not already under your command? Have you forgotten?"
Before Ning Tianchen could respond, Feng Xiaotian sneered, "We never negotiate with evil soul masters."
With that, Feng Xiaotian's wolf claws slashed across Hunter's throat.
Hunter's eyes widened in realization just before his death.
From the very beginning, Ning Tianchen's group had been extracting information from him. Once he revealed everything, his fate had already been sealed.
…
After disposing of the evil soul masters' bodies, Zhu Zhuqing and Oscar retrieved the soul tool from Cooper's possession.
The six of them returned to the Butterfly Valley. Ning Tianchen took out the so-called "divine artifact" mentioned by Hunter and placed it before the stone golem.
"Is this it?"
The stone golem emerged from the ground and carefully examined the small object in its palm.
Several minutes later, it handed the item back to Ning Tianchen. "Yes. But I sense an unusual energy within it. Destroying this object won't be easy—it might even release a massive amount of energy upon shattering, potentially obliterating everything around it."
"But I believe that with this object in your possession, you should easily find the location of their lair."
Nothing within the Butterfly Valley escaped the stone golem's perception, including Ning Tianchen's group's earlier conversation with Hunter.
Looking at the bread-shaped "divine artifact," Ning Tianchen couldn't discern anything unusual.
After some thought, he decided to store the "artifact" back in Cooper's soul tool to avoid any accidents.
"Oscar, how long is your divine trial deadline?" Ning Tianchen asked.
The God of Food was only a second-tier god, so the difficulty of the trial wouldn't be too high, and the time limit should be relatively generous.
Oscar scratched his head and replied, "Ten years."
"Ten years?" Ning Tianchen was initially surprised but soon understood.
Had they not questioned Hunter earlier, it was unlikely they'd find the Holy Spirit Sect's lair within ten years on their own.
Since the time limit was generous, there was no need to rush.
Under Ning Tianchen's arrangements, everyone stayed in the Butterfly Valley to cultivate their soul power. Once Feng Xiaotian broke through to Level 80 and obtained his eighth soul ring, they would confront the Holy Spirit Sect, which would help alleviate some of Ning Tianchen's burden.
It was worth noting that after completing his previous trial, Feng Xiaotian had received a one-level soul power reward. His current soul power level had just broken through to 79, leaving him still some distance from becoming a Soul Douluo.
…
Over the next five months, the group remained deep within the Butterfly Valley, cultivating in an area abundant with spiritual energy.
Ning Tianchen, who had originally been at Level 86.5, successfully broke through to Level 88, bringing him one step closer to Level 90.
Among the others, except for Feng Xiaotian, everyone gained two to three levels.
As for Feng Xiaotian, breaking through a major realm was inherently difficult, especially given the significant divide between Soul Sage and Soul Douluo. His slower progress was normal.
Even Ning Tianchen, with the full power of the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well, had taken several months to break through.
Originally, Feng Xiaotian wouldn't have needed to waste so much time.
For soul masters, aside from soul rings and soul power levels, the quality of soul power was also crucial.
During these five months, Feng Xiaotian spent nearly half his time refining his soul power. By now, his strength was incomparable to what it had been five months ago.
One day, Feng Xiaotian successfully broke through to Level 80. The stone golem promptly "ushered" them out of their cultivation site.
The energy in the Butterfly Valley was limited and needed to sustain the spirit beasts throughout the valley. Ning Tianchen's group couldn't monopolize this resource indefinitely.
Chen Huayu hadn't used a divine-bestowed soul ring for his seventh soul ring, and at the moment, everyone still needed to wait for the sisters to finish their trials. They couldn't accompany Feng Xiaotian to hunt for his eighth soul ring just yet.
So, Chen Huayu handed over the divine-bestowed soul ring to Feng Xiaotian.
When the time came for him to break through, Feng Xiaotian could repay the favor by helping him hunt for an eighth soul ring.
"Thanks," Feng Xiaotian said, bumping fists with him.
Next, Feng Xiaotian found a quiet spot to absorb the divine-bestowed soul ring.
Given his strength, he was fully capable of attempting to absorb a hundred-thousand-year soul ring for his eighth soul ring.
After waiting a few more days, while Feng Xiaotian was still in the process of absorbing the soul ring, Yu Die and Cai Die emerged from the palace beyond the stone archway.
Ning Tianchen and the others quickly asked about their situation.
The sisters had both received Ninth-tier Divine Trials, with their respective god positions being the Left-Wing Butterfly God and the Right-Wing Butterfly God.
Originally, there was only one Butterfly God position, and the trial difficulty was immense—too difficult for either of them to complete alone.
Ultimately, the Butterfly God split the god position into two, halving the difficulty.
Notably, once both of them completed their divine trials, they would be able to use a fusion technique in the future to merge into the fully realized Butterfly God. Before merging, each of them would only possess the strength of a second-tier god.
"Butterfly God Senior mentioned that after we merge, our combined strength will surpass that of the Sea God," Yu Die said thoughtfully.
"But what level is the Sea God? We're not sure," she added.
Ning Tianchen suddenly chuckled.
He knew the Sea God all too well.
Though he disapproved of the Sea God's methods, there was no denying the Sea God's strength.
The Sea God was a first-tier god but possessed a super divine artifact—the Trident of the Sea God. In terms of strength, the Sea God ranked just below the five great god kings and was the undisputed leader among first-tier gods.
No wonder the Butterfly God's trial was so difficult—the strength of the deity determined the difficulty of the trial!
The difficulty of the Asura God's trial wasn't simple either, but Ning Tianchen had been lucky. Tang Chen had already used up all the trial content left behind by the Asura God on the Douluo Continent, forcing the Asura God's trial to piggyback on other deities' trial locations.
"Don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Just relax. We've gone through many trials on our journey, and there's no obstacle we can't overcome. If it gets too difficult, everyone here can help you."
"I'm afraid that won't work," Yu Die said with a bitter smile, shaking her head. "The Butterfly God's inheritance site is here. We can't return with you."
"The Butterfly God Senior said that the subsequent trial content will take place on this continent, so we must stay here. Otherwise, traveling back and forth between the two continents wouldn't leave us enough time."
The group fell silent.
They had arrived with eight people, but now two would remain behind. What kind of situation was this?
Moreover, when they left, they would surely return on the Devil Ray ship. Without it, the sisters would be stranded on this continent.
Yu Die seemed to sense their concerns and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. Once we complete the Ninth Trial, we'll have the strength to fly back on our own."
"We're staying here not only to complete the trial but also to search for our mother. The Butterfly God Senior told us that Mother is on this continent, and the captain is with her."
"When you leave, don't forget to tell Captain Chen that we'll find his father."
Ning Rongrong wanted to say more, but Zhu Zhuqing stopped her.
This was the sisters' decision, and no one else had the right to interfere—especially since it concerned their divine trials.
…
The group sat on rocks outside the stone archway, conversing for a long time.
Saying goodbye to everyone, the sisters felt reluctant, but to fulfill their "family's" destiny, they had to stay behind.
"By the way, do you remember Lone Wolf?" Ning Tianchen asked.
Yu Die nodded, then looked puzzled.
Lone Wolf had suffered the same fate as Zhang Chenghuan and had already been escorted out of the Butterfly Valley. Why bring him up now?
Ning Tianchen: "When we leave, we'll contact him and try to recruit him."
"In the future, when you travel across this continent, you'll need a local guide. He's the most suitable person."
Compared to Zhang Chenghuan and the Cang family, Ning Tianchen preferred to trust Lone Wolf, who had no affiliations.
While working with influential families might make things smoother, these families weren't easy to deal with. If they didn't gain any benefits, would they really be willing to help?
Lone Wolf had been hunted by his enemies, and by the time the sisters began traveling across the continent, he would likely have reached the Soul Douluo level.
At that strength, they could both suppress him and help him avenge his grievances, ensuring his loyalty as their guide.
After a pause, Ning Tianchen also shared what he knew about the Radiant Sun Imperial Family with the sisters.
The fact that such a powerful individual was hidden within the Radiant Sun Empire indicated clear ambitions.
The unification of the Sun and Moon Continent might occur during this era—it was the natural course of events. Ning Tianchen certainly didn't want the sisters to blindly support any nation once they "emerged."
Taking his advice to heart, the sisters retrieved a notebook from their soul tool and carefully jotted down his points.
When Ning Tianchen finished speaking, Cai Die stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Don't worry, we're not children—we'll be careful."
Yu Die spoke seriously. "Cai's right. Our goal here is simply to complete the trial. We won't meddle in unrelated matters."
"Don't worry. This continent isn't some man-eating beast, and besides, we're not weak either. It's not so easy for us to get into trouble."
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