145: cruel plan

At this moment, he was whispering something to the incomplete corpse inside a jade coffin.

"Son, don't be anxious. With another 100,000 living Souls, your Soul will be complete."

"Great Ghost sent back news that a ruthless person has appeared in this Endless Sea Region, someone even more ruthless than your father was back in the day. At such a young age, he destroyed the Sea Dragon Clan."

"This time, he even slaughtered tens of thousands of Xuantian Hall Cultivators, destroyed nine islands, and butchered a Saint. This person is not only ruthless, but his talent is also terrifying."

"Father is coming out of seclusion this time to first complete your Soul, and then I will bring back that Genius's body for you to use. Once you succeed in the Possession, you will instantly become a Saint."

As if understanding what the old man said, a gale of Souls erupted inside the jade coffin.

"Good, good, good! Son, don't be anxious, Father is taking you out right now."

If anyone from the top factions of the Endless Sea Region were here, they would recognize this person as the number one fiend of the Endless Sea Region—Cruel Thousand Souls.

The aura of Cruel Thousand Souls was clearly at the Great Perfection of the Second Heaven of the Saint Rank, the same level as the Xuantian Hall Master.

Back then, in order to Cultivate, Cruel Thousand Souls committed a monstrous tragedy and was besieged by his enemies and the Righteous Path.

He himself was severely injured, and not a single member of the Li Family remained, leaving only his son's incomplete corpse and remnant Soul.

With no other choice, he was forced to hide on this Ghost Island for a hundred years, switching to Cultivate ghost-path Cultivation Techniques to heal his injuries.

Afterwards, by utilizing a million living Souls, he managed to make his son's Soul mostly complete. Next, he needed the body of a Genius.

Just at this juncture, Ji Mo appeared. He believed this was destiny for him and his son, so he decided to come out of seclusion.

"Ten Thousand Ghosts, come forth!"

Suddenly, in every place where ghost Qi gathered within the canyon, ferocious ghosts crawled out one after another, bowing repeatedly to Cruel Thousand Souls.

"Master, what are your orders this time? Do you need us to go and harvest living Souls?"

Cruel Thousand Souls waved his large hand, and an aura manifested in the space.

"This time, not only do I need 100,000 living Souls, but I also need you all to help me search for someone."

"This is that person's aura. I want you to help me search this Endless Sea Region to find him. The last location where this person appeared was at Xuantian Hall's Heavenly Wolf Island."

"Find this person, do not alert him, and contact me immediately. This person is very important."

"Yes, Master." The ten thousand Souls accepted the order and flew off, disappearing into the sky and earth.

...

At this moment, inside the main hall of Xuantian Hall.

The three Saints of Xuantian Hall: Hall Master Hong, Vice Hall Master Ren, and Vice Hall Master Meng.

The three Saints of the Three Saints Sect: Sect Leader Qiu Yi, Sect Leader Qiu Er, and Sect Leader Qiu San.

The Sea Dragon Clan, represented by the Sea Dragon Clan Leader.

The Brotherhood Alliance, represented by its Alliance Leader.

This lineup was undeniably powerful, with a total of eight Saints. The strongest was undoubtedly the Sea Dragon Clan Leader; after his Bloodline went berserk, he was capable of fighting a Saint of the Third Heaven.

"Everyone, over these past few months, we have continuously searched for traces of Ji Mo, but unfortunately, it has been to no avail."

"Ji Mo must have a precious treasure on his body that conceals his aura. Today, Ji Mo committed a monstrous tragedy within our Xuantian Hall's maritime territory and fled."

"His aura has disappeared again. I used the Sacred Artifact sea-gazing mirror and still couldn't lock onto his location, as if this person doesn't exist in this world at all."

The Sea Dragon Clan Leader then interjected:

"This brat is simply a loach, too cunning. Furthermore, you of the Human Race have always underestimated this brat, allowing him to escape repeatedly."

"Who could have foreseen this! When this brat first entered the sea region, what was his cultivation level? Even killing Strategist Wen required him to pull out all the stops. Who would have known that in just one short year, this brat would be capable of slaughtering a Saint."

The Alliance Leader of the Brotherhood Alliance also felt aggrieved. He had been completely dragged into this, and as a result, things had turned out like this, with him facing a life-and-death crisis at any moment.

One must know that he had only just entered the Saint Rank; he hadn't yet enjoyed the respect of the masses, the cheers of his Family, or the enjoyments of life, yet now he was risking his neck.

"Alright, this is not the time for blame or shirking responsibility."

The leader of the Three Saints Sect then took over the conversation,

"The bounty order we issued previously was a matter of private grievances, but the slaughter and island destruction Ji Mo has committed now is a major event affecting the operations of the Endless Sea Region."

"We should contact the Heavenly Punishment Army to intervene. I believe the Heavenly Punishment Army will not remain indifferent to this matter."

"At the very least, making Ji Mo offend the Heavenly Punishment Army, and thereby offend His Majesty Emperor Yang, would be a good thing for us."

Everyone nodded in unison, all agreeing with Sect Leader Qiu Yi's words.

"Don't be too optimistic. Right now, the focus of the Heavenly Punishment Army is not on these matters in the Endless Sea Region."

At this moment, Vice Hall Master Meng of Xuantian Hall suddenly spoke up.

"As far as I know, because the news of an ancient Imperial Rank Secret Realm about to emerge has come out, the Heavenly Punishment Army of His Majesty Emperor Yang is spread across the Lower Four Domains, paying attention to spatial changes at all times."

"They want to be the first to receive news of the Secret Realm's emergence. Otherwise, the Heavenly Punishment Army would have already mobilized; why would we need to go find them?"

Hall Master Hong tapped the table, attracting everyone's attention.

"Don't count on outsiders. At this juncture, nothing is more important than the emergence of the Secret Realm. Do not hold too much hope for the Heavenly Punishment Army."

"We still need to rely on ourselves. Let me state my plan."

"Now that Ji Mo cannot be found, we only have two paths. The first is for me to continuously use the Sacred Artifact sea-gazing mirror to probe for Ji Mo's location."

"As long as he reveals even a sliver of aura, he can be captured. We will then launch a thunderous operation together, descending immediately to slaughter everyone and everything within a radius of ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand, li of his location."

"I don't fear that he will be able to hide again."

Even though these people were Saints, they were startled by this ruthless plan. Slaughtering every living being within a radius of a hundred thousand li—this was a monstrous massacre!

Ignoring everyone's reaction, Hall Master Hong continued:

"The second method is to seek help from the Sun Emperor. With His Majesty the Sun Emperor's cultivation, he will definitely be able to find traces of Ji Mo."

"The Sun Emperor currently remaining in the Lower Four Domains is only a Clone at the Fourth Heaven of the Saint Rank; he might not be able to find Ji Mo."

"Furthermore, even if he could find Ji Mo, who among us has enough Face to make the Sun Emperor take action? The Imperial Rank is high and mighty; no matter how much of a Prodigy Ji Mo is, he wouldn't be taken seriously by the Imperial Rank."

"Let's not overthink it for now. I feel that waiting and watching is a more reliable approach; let's listen to the old Hall Master."

The Sea Dragon Clan Leader was the first to stand up and agree with Hall Master Hong's plan.

The others looked at each other; there was no other way. They didn't have the Face before the Sun Emperor either, so they had no choice but to agree.

The Vice Hall Master of Xuantian Hall, surnamed Ren, spoke up:

"Now you need to first pacify your own factions. Ji Mo has let out words, and for those Disciples, the pressure is not small."

"It's possible that some might flee privately. Don't let it be that before we even kill Ji Mo, everyone has already run away."

Hearing this, those with factions immediately felt troubled, racking their brains for a solution with furrowed brows.