Douluo Continent: Little Huo Niang Taken Away by Di Tian

Inside the underground council chamber of the Holy Spirit Church headquarters, the candlelight was dim, illuminating a dozen or so figures sitting around a long table.

Ye Xishui sat in the main seat, her gaze sweeping over each of the core members present—Zhongli Wu, Long Xiaoyao, Feng Ling, and several elders and retainers at the title Douluo level.

Zhang Peng sat at the end of the table, like a shadow with no presence.

"Everyone's here." Ye Xishui cut to the chase, her voice cold and resolute. "According to the intelligence brought back by Scorpion Tiger... this is a golden opportunity. But hunting the Beast God isn't something that can be accomplished with just passion."

She paused, her gaze falling on a communication soul tool at the other end of the long table.

The communication device flickered slightly, indicating that the connection had been established.

"Your Highness, why don't you state your conditions?" Ye Xishui said directly.

Xu Tianran's voice came through: "Sect Leader Ye is straightforward. My Sun Moon Empire can send troops—not the open army, but the most elite Soul Master squad of Mingde Hall, all equipped with level nine fixed-position Soul Guidance Artillery shells. But there are three conditions."

He held up one finger: "First, after the Emerald Swan is captured alive, it will be handed over to my Sun Moon Empire for three months of research. If the life energy of a soul beast with extreme life attributes can be extracted for the manufacture of soul tools, the production of level nine soul tools of my Mingde Hall will at least triple."

"Secondly, my Sun Moon Empire wants half of Di Tian's corpse."

"Thirdly—" Xu Tianran continued, "Our Sun Moon Empire also needs half of the soul rings of the soul beasts that die during the entire process. Whether or not we have time to absorb them is our business."

The meeting continued, and Ye Xishui laid out the hunting plan on the table...

With each word Ye Xishui spoke, Zhang Peng's heart sank a little deeper.

The plan is meticulously structured with a clear division of labor, taking into account almost all possible variables.

To an unsuspecting Soul Master, this would appear as a flawless hunt.

Zhang Peng lowered his head, his fingers trembling slightly under the table.

It's too perfect. So perfect it's chilling.

The more flawless the plan, the more accurate it shows that the Evil Emperor's bait was. Ye Xishui had completely believed the "intelligence" and had even put herself into the script of "hunting the Beast God".

It was late at night when the meeting ended.

Zhang Peng returned to his room, set up a mental barrier with his back to the wall, slumped into a chair, and let out a long breath.

Outside the window, the night wind howled, like some kind of ominous premonition.

The following day, Zhang Peng was "promoted" to the head of a branch of the Holy Spirit Cult outside Mingdu for his meritorious service in the Demon Forest.

It's less of a promotion and more of a transfer away from the center of power.

Ye Xishui and Zhong Liwu probably felt that he, as a "newcomer," still needed more experience... but Zhang Peng couldn't be more eager to get away from that group of lunatics.

He immediately set off and arrived at a secluded valley deep in the mountains outside Mingdu.

The entrance to the valley was concealed by a soul-guided barrier disguised as a mountain wall. Without an internal token, no outsider would ever be able to discover this place.

"We respectfully welcome the scorpion tiger as our offering!"

The branch leader—a middle-aged man with a burly face and sunken eyes—knelt in unison with a dozen core followers at the entrance, their posture almost obsequious.

Zhang Peng glanced at it expressionlessly, flicked his black robe, and walked straight in.

Inside the main hall, the branch manager respectfully poured Zhang Peng a cup of tea, while he himself stood below with his hands at his sides.

"Let me introduce the branch." Zhang Peng picked up his teacup, took a sip, and thankfully, it wasn't soaked in human blood.

"This branch was established ten years ago. In these ten years..." the branch manager began to speak eloquently, his tone full of pride, "we have successively provided the main sect with thirty-seven qualified evil soul masters, developed seven underground strongholds around Mingdu, and controlled three underground intelligence lines..."

As he listened to those numbers, Zhang Peng's fingers slowly traced the rim of his teacup, but his heart remained cold.

These beasts... how many people have they harmed in the past ten years!

Unfortunately, there's nothing he can do now. He can't expose himself, he can't act impulsively, and he can't alert the enemy.

He could only listen and endure, waiting for the "hunting the beast god" plan to officially launch. Only then, when the Holy Spirit Cult's elite forces were fully deployed, would he have a real chance to turn the tide.

"Well done." Zhang Peng smiled approvingly, his tone indifferent.

The branch manager was flattered and bowed even lower.

"The Scorpion Tiger Offering Ceremony will be held in two days. This branch's monthly gathering will take place then, and all the believers from the surrounding area will come to attend."

The branch leader's eyes gleamed with fanaticism. "As is customary, a group of 'candidates' will be formally baptized and join our church on the day of the assembly."

"I am very much looking forward to it." Zhang Peng nodded slightly, but his eyes were filled with coldness.

Two days later.

The rally was held within the branch.

"Let us praise the Holy Spirit!!"

The branch manager stood on a high platform, arms outstretched, his voice echoing in the air.

"Holy Spirit! Holy Spirit!! Holy Spirit!!!"

Hundreds of believers below the stage shouted in unison, creating a deafening roar.

Some people had bloodshot eyes and fanatical faces, some knelt down and worshipped devoutly, and some shouted while scratching their skin with their fingernails, as if they could not express their loyalty to the "Holy Spirit" otherwise.

Zhang Peng sat on a chair on one side of the platform, observing coldly.

His gaze passed over the fanatics and landed on a corner a little further away in the crowd, where dozens of people stood with their heads down, expressionless, and numb in their eyes.

Zhang Peng could tell at a glance. These people hadn't come voluntarily.

The souls of their family members must be imprisoned in some pool of blood by the Holy Spirit Cult, used to blackmail them into working for them.

They didn't want to become evil spirit masters, didn't want to kill, and didn't want to devour other people's life force, but once they stepped into this abyss, there was no turning back.

Fortunately, these people still have time before they "make a choice".

Zhang Peng sighed inwardly. Once the hunt was launched and the Holy Spirit Cult's elite forces were deployed, these coerced individuals might still have a sliver of hope.

"Brothers and sisters!" the branch manager announced again, "To welcome the arrival of the Scorpion Tiger Offering, I have decided—to officially let more brothers and sisters join us! Now, those whose names I call, please come up to the stage!"

He unfurled a list, his voice drawn out and slow, as if pronouncing a death sentence:

"Yang Bo! Yu Fang! Li Fan!...Nana..."

With each name read aloud, a suppressed tremor rippled through the distant crowd.

The person whose name was called turned deathly pale instantly.

"No...no no no..." A gaunt young man suddenly knelt on the ground, clutching his head and crying out in despair, "I don't want to! I don't want to become an evil spirit master!!"

"Praise the Holy Spirit."

The branch manager raised his hand expressionlessly, and a jet-black beam of soul power pierced through the young man's brow.

The young man didn't even have time to scream before he fell straight down.

The entire stadium fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even more frenzied cheers.

"Hahahaha! It's finally my turn!" A burly man with a face full of scars laughed maniacally as he strode onto the stage, his eyes filled with twisted excitement.

The last girl called out—Nana—just stood silently, like a soulless puppet.

Zhang Peng took in all of this.