Douluo: Steal Tang San's luck and become stronger!

That stone gate is said to be the entrance to the land where the gods inherited their legacy. But how to open it, and what lies beyond, remains unknown. All that is known is that the concentration of poisonous miasma around the temple is terrifyingly high, even capable of eroding soul power shields, and that powerful guardian beasts or restrictions exist there.

Ding closed the booklet and looked at Tang Lan.

"Regarding these two heritages themselves, the information we have collected mentions that the one in the Death Desert is suspected to be related to divine duties such as 'desert,' 'drought,' 'illusion,' or 'guardian,' and ancient documents vaguely refer to it as the 'trial of the desert god.'"

The area of ​​the Poisonous Swamp of Misfortune is clearly associated with dark forces such as 'toxins,' 'calamity,' 'corrosion,' and 'life-stealing,' and is recorded in some cult texts as the place where the 'God of Calamity' passed on his legacy.

He emphasized the words "god of calamity," his eyes carrying a clear warning.

This kind of divine inheritance, which sounds extremely sinister, is probably also extremely dangerous and unpredictable. It is by no means the first choice for righteous soul masters, and may even be full of deadly traps and mental pollution.

"This is all the information I know about these two places where deities have passed on their divine lineage."

After Ding finished speaking, he let out a long breath, as if he had completed a difficult task.

He looked at Tang Lan and asked.

"So, what is your third question?"

He had assumed Tang Lan would immediately raise a third question, perhaps one more directly related to the Holy Spirit Church and the current situation.

However, Tang Lan smiled slightly, a smile that appeared somewhat unfathomable under the moonlight.

He shook his head and said.

"As for the third question... I haven't thought about it yet. I'll leave it for now and ask you for advice later if I need it."

"You owe me?!"

Ding's expression instantly became incredibly interesting, first astonished, then frustrated, and finally turning into a helpless state of being both amused and exasperated.

In all his years in the intelligence business, this was the first time he'd ever encountered someone who "owed" him the opportunity to ask questions! It was like a sword hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment, making him feel uneasy.

He was someone who valued "settling accounts with cash" and disliked owing favors or debts; this sense of uncertainty made him very uncomfortable.

"Your Excellency..."

Ding was somewhat annoyed, but seeing Tang Lan's calm demeanor, he knew that arguing was useless; the other party had clearly made up her mind.

He stroked his beard dejectedly, and finally had no choice but to accept it.

However, upon further reflection, Ding Huo felt that perhaps this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The person before him was mysterious and powerful; rather than severing all ties, it was better to maintain a connection. That way, he could seek help or make exchanges in the future.

This "owed" question might be a good pretext or bargaining chip. However, the initiative seemed to be firmly in the other party's hands, which frustrated him somewhat.

In order to ease the atmosphere and leave a less confrontational impression for possible future "cooperation", Ding hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to speak.

"Since you have no problems for the time being, then I will say a few more words as a bonus."

He straightened his Taoist robe, his gloomy expression vanished, and he regained the composure befitting a leader of an intelligence organization. His voice also lowered, carrying a sense of announcing a secret.

"I suppose you are also curious about the 'Listening Wind Pavilion' behind me. We call ourselves 'Listening Wind' to outsiders, but within the organization, we have a more ancient and core name—'Dawn'."

"breaking Dawn?"

Tang Lan's eyes flickered slightly, and Wang Qiu'er also turned her attention to her.

This name seems to contain some kind of meaning.

“Yes, ‘Dawn’.”

Ding Huo nodded, a complex light flashing in his eyes, a mixture of pride and emotion.

"The founder of the organization is said to be a peerless powerhouse who was exceptionally talented thousands of years ago and reached the level of a ninety-ninth Limit Douluo. The original ideal of that predecessor was to establish a powerful organization that could truly change the continent's landscape, set things right, and lead the Soul Master world toward the light."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of indescribable sigh.

"However, whether it was because the ideal was too grand and difficult to achieve, or because he later saw through the changes in the world and the complexity of human nature, that predecessor eventually gave up the idea."

He took a different approach, completely transforming the organization's goals and nature into a 'shadow' organization that remained aloof from major powers, focused on collecting and selling intelligence, and maintained absolute neutrality.

They also established the most fundamental ironclad rule of the organization: those who 'Dawn' must always remain in the shadows and never interfere in the affairs of the mainland from the light of day; otherwise, they will bring about the destruction of the entire organization.

Ding Huo's tone became serious.

"This ironclad rule has been passed down for thousands of years and has been strictly followed by successive leaders of 'Dawn'. It is precisely because of this absolute caution and secrecy that we have been able to survive to this day amidst the ever-changing political landscape and the rise and fall of various forces on the continent, and to establish this intelligence network covering the entire continent."

Tang Lan listened quietly without interrupting. A secret intelligence organization founded by a Limit Douluo and passed down for thousands of years possessed a depth of knowledge far beyond what outsiders could imagine. This also explained why "Listening Wind Pavilion" could claim independence from all sides and obtain so much classified information. When Tang Lan casually asked, "So, who is the current leader of 'Dawn'?"

At that moment, Ding shook his head and refused almost without hesitation and decisively.

"I'm sorry, but this matter is absolutely impossible to disclose. The leader's identity is the organization's top secret, concerning the very life and death of 'Dawn.' No matter how much you offer, even if you bring a mountain of gold, we will never sell a single piece of information about the leader. This is our bottom line, and there is absolutely no room for negotiation."

His attitude was unusually firm, even carrying an unyielding air. Seeing this, Tang Lan knew that this matter could not be forced and did not press the matter further.

What needed to be said has been said, what needed to be done has been done, but one question remains. Ding Huo felt utterly exhausted from wading into these murky waters tonight and didn't want to stay a moment longer.

He cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Tang Lan and Wang Qiu'er. "If you have nothing else to attend to, I shall take my leave. If you require my assistance in the future, you may contact me through... well, if fate allows, we shall meet again."

He had intended to leave his contact information, but considering the other party's mysterious and unpredictable nature, and not wanting to get too involved, he changed his mind.

However, just as he turned to leave and had taken two steps, he seemed to suddenly remember something and stopped.

He turned his back to Tang Lan and the other person, remained silent for a few seconds, and then, without turning his head, whispered something at an extremely fast pace.

"There's another piece of news, which I'll give you as a bonus. The 'Bloody Bird' project that you're investigating... according to the latest information we at 'Dawn' have, it seems that the Holy Spirit Cult doesn't just intend to implement it in Rose City."

Similar traces of hidden formations and unusual activities by members of the Holy Spirit Cult have been discovered in several surrounding cities, including 'Gray Rock City,' 'Iron Forest Fortress,' and 'Hundred Streams Town.' Be careful; their schemes… may be larger than anticipated.”

After saying this last sentence, Ding Huo's figure seemed to blend into the night wind. His blue Daoist robe swayed in the moonlight, and he appeared at the street corner dozens of feet away. With another flash, he completely disappeared into the vast night. His speed was worthy of his title as a titled Douluo with the Wind Chasing Bird Martial Soul, which is characterized by agility and attack.

Once again, only Tang Lan and Wang Qiu'er remained on the bridge.

Wang Qiu'er walked to Tang Lan's side, gazing in the direction Ding Huo had disappeared, her golden eyes filled with contemplation.

"This last message from Ding Huo... is it a gesture of goodwill, a warning, or does he feel the situation is serious and feel compelled to offer a reminder?"

Tang Lan's gaze was deep as she spoke slowly.

"Perhaps it's a combination of both. He informed us of the name 'Dawn' and sent us news about the spread of 'Bloody Birds,' both to show his sincerity and value, hoping we wouldn't see him as an enemy or even try to silence him; and also to remind us."

The situation is deteriorating. The scale of the Holy Spirit Cult's actions may exceed expectations. Let us be prepared and not be easily defeated... After all, if we are defeated or die, it will not benefit them either. If the Holy Spirit Cult investigates, he still risks being exposed.

He paused, his brows furrowing slightly.

"The simultaneous deployment of 'Bloodthirsty Birds' in multiple cities... this is indeed a grand undertaking. If they were to launch it all at once, the casualties and chaos would be incalculable, and the entire southwestern border would likely be transformed into a bloodbath, allowing the Holy Spirit Cult to take advantage of the chaos to achieve even more ulterior motives."

How should we respond?

Wang Qiu'er asked. Even with the Tang Clan's forces in the southwest, the two of them alone would find it difficult to simultaneously protect several cities.

Tang Lan pondered for a moment, then said.

"This matter is of great importance and cannot be completely resolved by our covert actions alone. We must involve official forces, or at least raise our vigilance and conduct advance investigations. As the lord of a city, Xu Yu has the responsibility and the channels to pass on the early warning information to neighboring sister cities and higher authorities. We... can only do our best to push forward."

He glanced at the sky.

"Go back first. We need to get this information out as soon as possible."

The two did not linger and quickly left the stone bridge. Under the cover of night, they quietly returned to their room on the top floor of the Guangyao Restaurant.

Back in her room, after confirming that she was safe, Tang Lan immediately went to her desk, spread out the letter paper, ground the ink, and picked up her brush.

The first thing he wrote was a letter to Xu Yu, the lord of Rose City. In the letter, he mentioned, in a relatively subtle but significant way, that he had learned of this through "special channels."

The threat of the "Bloodthirsty Bird" sacrificial array may not be limited to Rose City. Similar arrangements are also suspected to exist in surrounding areas such as Gray Rock City, Iron Forest Fortress, and Hundred Creek Town. Xu Yu is reminded to strengthen the self-inspection within the city and is advised to issue warnings to surrounding cities and superiors in his official capacity to jointly prevent and control the situation.

Regarding the source of the information, he only vaguely mentioned "reliable intelligence" and hinted that it might be related to a larger conspiracy within the Holy Spirit Cult. The letter made no mention of "Faceless," Tang Lan, or the Tang Clan, using cautious wording to achieve its warning purpose without excessively revealing itself.

After writing it, he sealed the letter with specially made sealing wax, a method of sealing secrets used by the Tang Clan for emergency communication, so that the recipient would immediately know its importance.

Immediately afterwards, he began writing the second letter.

This letter was addressed to Su Bai, the Tang Clan's representative in Rose City. In this letter, his tone and content were much more direct and detailed.

He first acknowledged Su Bai's previous work, and then issued new instructions.

First, use all covert means to verify the veracity of Ding's information regarding the spread of the "Bloody Birds" to several surrounding cities as soon as possible, and assess its threat level. Second, expedite the investigation into the disappearance of the Guangyan Chamber of Commerce headquarters; he vaguely sensed a possible connection between the two events.

Third, the deployment and testing of the "Soul Beast Inducer" should proceed as planned and feedback on the results should be provided promptly. Fourth, continue to closely monitor the Holy Spirit Cult's activities in Rose City, especially the surveillance of other suspicious individuals on the list, and the movements of "Vinacent".

Finally, he mentioned the information he obtained from Ding Huo about the two places where deities inherited their power, and instructed Su Bai to use the Tang Clan's intelligence network to secretly gather more detailed information, historical records, and modern exploration records about the "Death Desert Sand Sea City" and the "Misfortune Poison Swamp Ten Thousand Poison Cave" for future reference.

This letter was also sealed using Tang Sect secret techniques and included an emergency contact code that only Su Bai could recognize.

After finishing the two letters, the sky outside the window was already faintly turning gray, and the long and thrilling night was about to pass.

Tang Lan summoned a reliable evil spirit master servant who was on duty outside the door and had become a confidant of "Faceless". He handed the letter to Xu Yu to him and gave him some instructions in a low voice.

The attendant accepted the order and quietly left the restaurant. He would use a covert channel controlled by Tao Zuo—a channel used by the Holy Spirit Cult to transmit ordinary messages—to deliver the "anonymous" warning letter to a specific official in the city lord's mansion, who would then forward it to Xu Yu.

As dawn broke, the chill and silence of the night in Rose City had not yet been completely dispelled, but in another border city not too far from Rose City—Black Iron City—it had already ushered in its darkest and bloodiest "dawn."

Meanwhile, in Black Iron City next to Rose City, flames had already filled the sky, illuminating it as bright as day. The firelight was not a warm orange-yellow, but a strange, viscous dark red, as if mixed with countless drops of blood, making the sky above Black Iron City look like the entrance to hell.

Within the city, the once orderly streets had been transformed into a slaughterhouse, the pungent stench of blood mingling with the smell of burning flesh, permeating every inch of the air. The shrill screams, inhuman howls, desperate cries, dying groans, the explosive clashes of clashing soul skills, the thunderous roar of collapsing buildings… all these sounds intertwined to form a mournful elegy of destruction, an endless chorus of voices.

The dark red flames greedily licked at the wooden houses, shops, and even the corpses, crackling and popping. The ground was already soaked in blood, the viscous plasma forming nauseating streams that meandered along the street's crevices, reflecting the eerie firelight from the sky.

What's even more chilling is that the flowing blood seems to have come to life, constantly evaporating wisps of blood-red mist. The mist twists and condenses in the air, eventually transforming into fist-sized, blood-red, blurry bird phantoms that exude a strong aura of death and resentment!
These blood-red birds let out silent shrieks, flapping their wings formed of condensed mist, and frantically converged towards the largest, slowly rotating, dark red blood cloud above Black Iron City, as if returning to its nest! (End of Chapter)