Douluo Continent: The Underworld Emperor Halosa Lets Three Fly

The pervasive, engulfing mist was eventually completely absorbed by the origin of the God Realm of Rebirth, revealing the original core area. It was completely empty; both the fragments of the Destruction Origin and the fragments of the Life Origin encased in the Gold of Life had vanished, as if they had never existed.

Harosa carefully savored the subtle yet undeniably real sense of power that the divine realm was giving him as it grew stronger. He opened his palm, and a wisp of grayish-white rebirth essence flowed like a serpent at his fingertips, seemingly more condensed than before.

Without hesitation, with a slight thought, this wisp of the essence of rebirth instantly split into twelve more subtle, yet equally pure streams of energy. The eerie green flames in the eye sockets of the twelve undead spirit knights who stood silently by his side flickered simultaneously.

Harosa flicked his finger, and twelve wisps of grayish-white energy precisely entered the brows of the twelve undead knights!

"Nourish you with my essence, and ascend to the realm of gods as soon as possible," Harosa said calmly. He himself needed time to accumulate strength to reach a higher level, but strengthening his forces was the top priority.

If these twelve quasi-god level undead knights can advance further and step into the threshold of godhood, they will become a force to be reckoned with in his hands.

Having done all this, Harosa's figure vanished instantly from the Realm of Rebirth.

……

In the heart of a primeval forest, deep within the Star Luo Empire, on the Douluo Continent, a place rarely visited by humans.

Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting dappled patterns. Deng Zhan lay comfortably on a wicker deck chair, eyes closed, enjoying the rare tranquility and gentle breeze. As a puppet controlled by the Soul Seed imprint, he had long resigned himself to his fate; being able to steal half a day of peace was his greatest pleasure.

Suddenly, a cold voice rang in his ear without warning:

"Oh, feeling so comfortable? Have you completed the task I assigned you?"

"Ah!" Deng Zhan jerked up from the recliner as if he'd been pricked by a needle! Seeing the figure that had appeared silently before him, his composure instantly vanished, replaced by terror and obsequiousness. He bent over so low his back was almost touching his knees, his voice trembling, "M-Sir! You...you've come! The mission...the mission is being handled with all my might! I dare not slack off!"

Harosa ignored his fawning expression and walked straight to the recliner. Deng Zhan immediately and tactfully stepped aside. Harosa unceremoniously lay down, comfortably adjusted his position, and then casually stretched out his hand.

Deng Zhan immediately acted like the most clever servant, quickly bringing over an exquisite fruit platter filled with fresh fruit and carefully placing it on the low table next to Harosa, his face full of a fawning smile.

Harosa casually picked up a fruit, took a bite, and nodded with satisfaction. This old fellow's strength was mediocre, but his ability to read people and serve them was quite good.

"Continue," Harosa said calmly.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Deng Zhan quickly responded, organizing his thoughts briefly, his tone carrying a hint of self-satisfaction, "Sir, you instructed us years ago to thoroughly investigate the defenses around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. That task was finally accomplished recently!"

"Oh?" Harosa raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice. "I remember you kept saying that the Tang Clan's defenses were like an iron barrel, impenetrable and impossible to breach?"

Deng Zhan, beaming, quickly explained, "Thanks to your good fortune! A while ago, for some reason, a major upheaval occurred at the Tang Clan headquarters! Sect Master Ling Yunzhi, the two Vice Sect Masters Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin, along with several top-tier hall masters, all hurriedly left the headquarters and their whereabouts are unknown! Even the defenses around the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well were significantly weakened. I seized this opportunity, sparing no expense, and used my deepest and most reliable informants to obtain the defense map!"

He paused, a hint of lingering fear and感慨 on his face: "Later I learned that it was that ferocious Hades, His Majesty Harosa, who launched another surprise attack on Shrek City! The Tang Sect's higher-ups went to provide support...tsk tsk, you have no idea how fierce it was, I heard that both Shrek and the Tang Sect..."

Deng Zhan was getting into his story when Harosa suddenly interrupted him, asking in a flat tone, "Oh? How did you know it was me?"

"Huh?" Deng Zhan's smile froze instantly, and cold sweat poured down his forehead. His previous "Thanks to you" was purely habitual flattery, something he hadn't thought about at all! Now that Harosa had directly exposed it, he suddenly realized a terrifying possibility!

"You...you...you are..." Deng Zhan's voice trembled violently, his eyes wide with disbelief and extreme fear. "You are Hades...Your Majesty Harosa?!"

He only knew that the one controlling him was an unfathomable powerhouse. He was tormented by the Soul Seed Mark to the point of wishing he were dead. How could he dare to investigate the other party's true identity?

Upon suddenly learning the truth, the immense shock left his mind blank. He felt as if his bones had been removed, his legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to the ground. Hades, Harossa! That legendary, ruthless killer who slaughtered titled warriors like dogs! And he had been working for him all along?!

"Alright, stop standing there like an idiot." Harosa looked at Deng Zhan's terrified expression and said impatiently, "Bring out the deployment map."

Deng Zhan snapped out of his daze, scrambling to his feet. He frantically retrieved a soul-guided tablet the size of a washbasin from his storage soul-guided device, his hands trembling as he handed it over, his voice still shaking: "M-Master...here you go...it's all...it's all on here..."

Harosa took the tablet and swiped his finger across it. The screen displayed a detailed topographical map of the area surrounding the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, densely marked with dots of various colors and detailed annotations.

"My lord, look," Deng Zhan suppressed his fear, leaned closer, and pointed at the screen to explain, "These yellow dots are confirmed locations with powerful soul-guided weapons or soul-guided arrays deployed. The weapon's level and function are marked next to them. These red dots... are areas that are suspected to be defended, but cannot be fully confirmed due to tight security or interference from special soul-guided barriers."

Deng Zhan swallowed hard and added, "My suggestion is... to treat these red dots as areas with strong defenses. The Tang Clan has been operating the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well for too long; they must have many trump cards up their sleeves."

Harosa carefully examined the map and markings, then nodded. This was precisely why he needed Deng Zhan to do it. The Tang Sect was no longer the Tang Sect of ten thousand years ago; they controlled the most advanced soul-guided technology, especially their wide-ranging, powerful, and interconnected soul-guided defense system. Even he, if he were to recklessly rush into it without knowing its capabilities, could suffer heavy losses.

The Tang Clan's reputation as an arms dealer became quite prominent during the Douluo Continent III and IV eras. Be careful; there's no need to get yourself injured.

He put away the soul-guided tablet and turned his gaze back to Deng Zhan: "How's the other task I gave you going?"