Douluo Continent: The Underworld Emperor Halosa Lets Three Fly

Chapter 127 The Confession: Soul Guidance Technology Touching the Gods (5K)

Harosa's gaze swept over the group of Soul Masters, who were flushed with excitement.

Those Soul Masters from the Tang Sect had long since forgotten about the "origin" of the immortal herb.

What "stealing"? Lord Hades is clearly "transplanting"! How elegant, how reasonable!

When would ordinary soul masters like them ever get to enjoy the immortal herbs of the Tang Sect's Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well? Yet Lord Hades generously bestowed transplanted immortal herbs upon them. This kindness was enough to make them willingly stand on Hades' side, their eyes burning with fervor as they closely followed that towering figure.

If you insist on shamelessly claiming this is the Tang Clan's celestial herb, then so what!

A faint smile played on Harosa's lips as he felt the gazes, filled with awe and longing, converge upon him.

The satisfaction that power brought was like the finest wine, silently nourishing him and making him feel completely at ease. Indeed, power is the most nourishing thing in the world. He nodded slightly and led the group slowly into the medicinal garden that shimmered with a dreamlike glow.

Upon entering, a rich, almost tangible life energy surged forth like a gentle tide, softly enveloping everyone. This energy was pure and mild, carrying the most primal affinity of life, making all living beings present feel a comfort and joy that came from the depths of their souls, as if every cell was singing.

Even a god like Harosa, who controls death and rebirth, felt a strange sense of comfort at this pure life force.

"Deng Fengqiao," Harosa's voice was exceptionally clear amidst the rich life force, "You will preside over the distribution of the treasures here according to each person's inherent attributes." He paused, his gaze sweeping over several key figures, "Yuan Feng, Yuan Hua, Deng Fengqiao, Deng Zhan, and all ninth-level Soul Masters with the potential to reach the tenth-level Soul Master realm, will be given priority in receiving immortal herbs. The rest will be bestowed with top-tier natural treasures."

"Yes, sir!" Deng Fengqiao immediately bowed and accepted the order, his attitude extremely respectful. He knew all too well how terrifying Harosa was, and he understood that having been entrusted with the distribution was itself a test and a sign of trust. Harosa himself stood there, his invisible divine sense enveloping the entire herb garden. If Deng Fengqiao had even the slightest thought of unfairness or favoritism, it would be tantamount to courting death. Moreover, among these people were elites from the Tang Clan, whose ability to identify and match the properties of immortal herbs was their forte, something he had also mastered over the years.

Yuan Hua needs to replenish his depleted physical essence and lifespan; Yuan Feng needs to enhance his innate talent and physical constitution (although his Xuan Tie Divine Hammer Martial Soul is strong and has undergone the tempering of the Rebirth Essence, his potential needs to be further stimulated); Deng Fengqiao's own Scholar's Glasses Martial Soul is more focused on Soul Guidance Research, and he needs immortal herbs that can greatly enhance his spiritual power, comprehension, and stabilize his mind—as for the others, there are naturally rare and precious materials that match their Martial Soul attributes, and Deng Fengqiao has already made up his mind about them.

The other Soul Masters waited quietly in an open area at the entrance of the herb garden, their eyes filled with anticipation. Deng Fengqiao lagged behind Harosa, following him deeper into the thicket of immortal herbs.

Standing in the crowd, Ji Bochang watched the two figures disappear into the distance, a strong sense of determination rising within him. His clenched palms were slightly sweaty, and he prayed incessantly, "Deng Fengqiao—you must stay calm, don't do anything foolish, especially not at this time—"

Don't do anything reckless!

Harosa walked ahead with a leisurely pace, admiring the shimmering, colorful, and uniquely shaped magical herbs on both sides. He casually stretched out his finger and gently brushed over a Dewdrop of Autumn Water that emitted a soft moonlight; the dewdrops on the leaves seemed to tremble slightly as if they possessed a spirit.

"Tell me what you need, and I'll get it." Harosa's voice was calm and even, yet carried an undeniable authority.

His fingertips were shrouded in a faint gray divine power of rebirth, ensuring that the harvesting would not damage the source of the immortal herb and preventing any possible accidents.

Deng Fengqiao followed behind, but cold sweat seeped uncontrollably from his forehead. Even the abundant life energy could not dispel the chill in his heart.

He hesitated several times before speaking, his steps unsteady. Finally, when he reached a relatively secluded area, hidden by huge clusters of tulips, Deng Fengqiao suddenly stopped and knelt heavily on the ground with a thud, his forehead pressed deeply into the moist, fragrant soil.

"My lord—I—I beg your forgiveness!" His voice trembled violently with extreme fear, almost incoherent.

Harosa slowly turned around, looking down at Deng Fengqiao, who was kneeling on the ground, trembling like a leaf. A knowing glint flashed in his deep, abyss-like eyes, while the corners of his mouth curled up slightly in an intrigued smile.

"Oh?" Harosa's tone remained relaxed, even slightly amusement. "What crime have you committed?"

The slight upturn of his lips carried a playful, cat-and-mouse expression. If he couldn't even see through Deng Fengqiao's clumsy lie, then he, Halosa, was unworthy of being called a god and might as well just destroy his divine consciousness.

Hearing this seemingly casual yet incredibly stressful question, Deng Fengqiao's fear surged to its peak, and his body trembled even more violently. He dared not look up, his voice trembling with tears, speaking rapidly as if trying to spill all his secrets in hopes of a sliver of hope:

"I lied! Back then, Ji Bochang did indeed lead me into your villa! We saw Her Majesty the Holy Spirit, Ya Li! She—she was like a soulless shell, her eyes empty and numb, her life force barely there! Ji Bochang...he—he had received a great favor from Her Majesty the Holy Spirit in his early years; Her Majesty had saved him from certain death! Seeing Her Majesty in that state, he felt a pang of guilt and was determined to save her! I am his disciple, deeply influenced by his teachings in soul guidance research, and at that time—at that time, the Undead Guards were not strong enough to completely suppress Ji Bochang—I had no choice but to cooperate with him, using soul guidance technology and some medicines to secretly nurture and restore Her Majesty the Holy Spirit's nearly depleted life force!"

He took a breath and continued, pouring out his words like beans from a bamboo tube:

"Ji Bochang's plan is—to allow me, in the future, when I have the opportunity to leave the realm of gods, to secretly take His Holiness the Holy Spirit, who has restored the original essence, and escape from this place! But—? But for the past thirty years, we have been unable to contact Lord Electrox!"

"Without Elder Yi's support, the plan to leave the God Realm simply couldn't be implemented! So—so it's been delayed until now! Currently, Ji Bochang enjoys extremely high prestige among the Soul Masters. He possesses a large amount of core Soul Guidance technology and is generous in sharing it—now—now most of the capable Soul Masters in the research institute follow his lead!"

"I—I have not betrayed you, sir! I have been enduring humiliation and feigning compliance all along! I have been waiting for your return, sir! You can see for yourself! My loyalty to you is as clear as day and night! I cooperated with Ji Bochang back then because—I wanted to learn more of his soul guidance techniques so that I could better serve you in the future! My sir! Please believe me!"

Deng Fengqiao frantically expressed his loyalty, shifting all the blame onto Ji Bochang while desperately emphasizing his stance of "enduring humiliation," "infiltrating," and "learning skills to serve his loyalty," hoping that Harosa would show leniency and reduce or even exempt him from punishment. At this moment, ideals and ambitions, the pinnacle of soul guidance—none of that mattered; he just wanted to survive!

Harosa chuckled softly, the sound eerily echoing in the quiet flowerbed: "Ha—why? Is Ji Bochang's charm so great that so many people would risk their lives for him, even betraying a god?" He leaned forward slightly, an invisible pressure looming over Deng Fengqiao like a mountain.

Deng Fengqiao felt like his spine was about to break, and hurriedly replied, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "It's—it's because—"

Because Ji Bochang—he has already broken through to the level ten of Soul Master! He possesses the knowledge and key to the higher halls of Soul Guidance! And—and he is never stingy with sharing! As long as a Soul Master is eager for knowledge, he is willing to teach! My lord, this is an irresistible temptation for any Soul Master who is devoted to the Way of Soul Guidance! He said this key reason with difficulty.

The current level 10 Soul Masters are incomparable to those of years ago. Soul Guidance Technology has been constantly advancing, and technology has been iterating. A level 10 Soul Master can create Soul Guidance Devices that truly rival the power of a god, rather than merely touching upon it.

"Unable to resist?" Harosa's smile instantly turned dangerous. Though still calm, the murderous intent beneath that calm seemed to drop the surrounding temperature several degrees. "Then, can you resist death?"

"My lord, spare my life! I deserve to die! I deserve to die!" Deng Fengqiao was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. He kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the soft soil and grass roots heavily with a dull "thump-thump" sound.

Blood quickly stained the ground beneath his forehead, mingling with the soil and appearing particularly glaring. He kowtowed, his voice hoarse as he pleaded, "My lord! I only want to learn more! I want to become stronger! I want to use more advanced soul guidance techniques to expand your territory and stabilize the God Realm! You know that the Tang Sect has a profound foundation in soul guidance knowledge, which is kept secret—except for Ji Bochang, no one else in the entire God Realm can teach me anything more profound. I truly only want to serve you better, my lord!" He tried to move Harosa with his "desire for knowledge" and "loyalty."

"Heh, I'm an uncultured old man, I really didn't know that Tang Sect's soul guidance knowledge was so precious." Harosa silently muttered to himself, but his face remained expressionless.

His powerful divine sense, like an invisible scanner, constantly enveloped Deng Fengqiao, meticulously sensing every fluctuation of his soul, the flow of his blood, and the tremors of his soul power. The feedback was clear: Deng Fengqiao was not lying.

His desire for soul-guided technology is real, as is his deep-seated fear of Harosa and a certain degree of "loyalty" (or rather, the instinct to attach himself to the strong).

He genuinely wanted to learn more, and he truly believed that learning would allow him to better serve Harosa. As for his sympathy for Yali and his fear of Jibochang, these were merely superficial motivations.

Deng Fengqiao continued to kowtow frantically, his blood staining a small patch of ground in front of him. The skin on his forehead was blurred, and even a bit of white bone could be seen.

Harosa neither stopped them nor spoke again, but simply watched quietly, as if appreciating an absurd drama.

Time ticked by, and Deng Fengqiao's heart sank deeper and deeper. Despair, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around his heart. His kowtowing slowed, the force lessened, until finally only his forehead remained pressed tightly against the cold, sticky blood, as he let out a desperate and mournful sob:

"My lord, this matter is entirely the fault of Ji Bochang and myself. The others were unaware of the truth; they were merely blinded by Ji Bochang's technology and promises—I beg you, my lord, spare them! The divine realm still needs their soul-guiding technology! You, my lord, you still need them—as for me—"

He took a deep breath, as if using all his strength, and his voice carried a tragic and resolute tone, "This humble man—is willing to die—to show his loyalty to you, sir!" After saying this, he stopped moving, as if he had truly resigned himself to his fate and was waiting for the final judgment.

Just as Deng Fengqiao's consciousness was almost swallowed by despair, Harosa's lazy voice, tinged with a hint of mockery, finally rang out.

"You spoke so passionately, so 'brave'," Harosa said lightly, a hint of amusement in his voice, "but deep down, aren't you still afraid of death?" He waved his hand casually, as if shooing away a fly, "Get up. I don't want to kill you."

These few words, spoken so casually, sounded like heavenly music to Deng Fengqiao's ears! The stark contrast overwhelmed him, making him almost think he was hallucinating. He abruptly raised his head, his blood-stained face filled with disbelief, shock, and bewilderment at surviving such a catastrophe, staring blankly at Harosa.

Harosa paid no attention to his wolfish and dazed appearance, as if the life-or-death confrontation just now was just a trivial episode.

With his hands behind his back, he walked to a fragrant Qiluo Immortal Herb that emitted a seven-colored halo, but his gaze fell on the array of uniquely shaped soul guides with restrained energy fluctuations at the edge of the herb garden.

"Tell me about it," Harosa said, gesturing with his chin towards the soul tools. "What are these things? What are they used for?" With his divine sense, he could naturally perceive that these soul tools were efficiently collecting the rich life energy in the herb garden and binding and restricting it in an extremely ingenious way to prevent it from naturally dissipating and returning to the world.

As for deeper implications, such as how to deal with the rebirth-source energy that also exists in the herb garden and is harmful to ordinary life forms, and how the collected energy changes, Harosa did not delve into its internal structure in order not to damage these "fragile" man-made objects.

Still reeling from the shock, Deng Fengqiao answered almost reflexively upon hearing the question, his voice still heavy with fear and a hint of weakness from surviving a close call: "Reporting to...Reporting to Your Excellency! These are all level ten soul guidance arrays specially designed and arranged by Ji Bochang for Her Majesty Ya Li! Their prototype is a very basic 'life energy guiding collector,' which was commonly used in low-level treatment rooms during the Sun Moon Empire—"

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his chaotic thoughts, and organized his words to explain:

"But—but the environment here is extremely special and complex! Not only is the concentration of life energy astonishingly high, far exceeding that of ordinary life-bearing lands, but it is also mixed with the pure and powerful rebirth source energy left behind by you, sir! Both of these energies are of extremely high quality! Ordinary soul tools simply cannot withstand the impact and erosion of this level of energy, let alone effectively separate and purify it."

Deng Fengqiao pointed to the seemingly simple yet incredibly intricately structured soul tool nodes: "Ji Bochang used level ten soul tool technology to completely modify and upgrade the prototype. These arrays can not only efficiently 'filter' out the rebirth essence mixed in with life energy—which is highly poisonous to ordinary beings but useless, even harmful, to Your Majesty's recovery—but also compress and purify the filtered pure life energy at an extremely high rate!"

A hint of admiration for the technology involuntarily appeared in his eyes: "The quality, purity, and life essence contained in the compressed and purified life energy are dozens or even hundreds of times higher than the free life energy in nature! It's like compressing and condensing scattered water vapor into life essence! Only such a pure and powerful life essence can slowly and effectively nourish and repair His Holiness the Holy Spirit's almost completely depleted body and soul essence—" His voice lowered, carrying a hint of complexity.

Harosa listened quietly, a glint in her grey eyes. Filtering harmful energy? Collecting beneficial energy? Compressing and purifying to improve energy quality?

This is exactly what Harosa suddenly realized! This is the microscopic simplification of the basic principle by which he drove the entire Realm of Rebirth to absorb cosmic energy using the Devouring Mist!

However, he relied on the core laws of the divine realm and his own divine power, while Ji Bochang relied on exquisite soul-guiding technology! He removed impurities (low-level or harmful energy that was useless to the divine realm), collected the essence (the primordial energy of the universe), and compressed and condensed it (to form the nutrients for the growth of the divine realm)!

"Heh," Harosa let out a soft, enigmatic chuckle, his gaze once more falling on the array of soul-guided devices shimmering with light. This time, his eyes held less disdain and more genuine scrutiny and—

An indescribable sense of amazement.

"Is this the level of soul-guided technology that mortal wisdom can achieve?" Harosa's voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself, yet it also seemed to carry a hint of heartfelt emotion. "With a mortal body, you have accomplished things comparable to the creation of gods, Ji Bochang. You have truly given me a little surprise."

For the first time, his tone revealed a hint of near-reverence for the creations of mortals. This was not merely a tool; it had touched upon the realm of manipulating the essence of energy—the true "Tao," powerful enough to shake the very understanding of gods!

Soul Masters cannot shake the gods; this is an inviolable fundamental principle. However, Soul Guidance Technology can. This can be seen from Huo Yuhao, who was still in the Douluo Continent. Of course, it is mainly reflected in the Legend of the Gods, where Huo Yuhao created the Soul Guidance Device—the "King's High Ground Defense Tower."

These soul tools directly participated in the war of gods and demonstrated powerful abilities.

All of this indicates that soul-guided technology is indeed capable of killing gods.

This is why Harosa wanted to seize these Soul Masters and support the development of Soul Guidance Technology. Although he didn't need Soul Guidance Devices to kill gods, he needed Soul Guidance Devices developed to their peak to strengthen the God Realm.