Douluo Continent: Starting with controlling Ning Rongrong and establishing the Holy Cult

This went on and on until the girl was nearly driven to her death by the ancient banyan tree, and finally it stopped.

This was the first time Ning Rongrong had ever seen someone directly call her an evil soul master, and so confidently at that.

Looking closely at the girl in front of me, she still appears to be around sixteen years old...

Huh? Why did you say "still"?

"Never mind." Ning Rongrong shook her head without thinking much of it, then heard Ning Fengzhi's question: "Who are you? Do you have any accomplices?"

"Hmph, I won't tell you anything... Ahhh!"

The girl's idea of ​​making a comeback was nipped in the bud by Gu Rong.

She glanced at the three of them, her scalp tingling, but finally relented:

Before I tell you the answer, can I ask you a question first?

"You have no room for negotiation!" Gu Rong said sternly, about to increase the pressure.

"Never mind, Uncle Gu, let her ask her." Ning Fengzhi saw the girl's aggrieved expression and couldn't help but think of Ning Rongrong's aggrieved look, feeling a little sorry for her.

The girl looked puzzled and said, "Why did you come to this space? Logically speaking, you shouldn't have the ability. I don't even know how to get out."

"Didn't you invite us in?"

Ning Fengzhi initially thought the stone near the Great Soul Arena was an invitation or provocation. Now, it seems that's not the case. So, what's the matter with this stone...?

"How were you invited?" the girl asked, even more puzzled.

The stone was still in Ning Fengzhi's hand, and he hesitated. Ning Rongrong saw her father's hesitation and realized something was wrong.

She absolutely would not allow anything about the stone to be revealed. This would arouse suspicion and ultimately cause the Holy One to rewind time!

So she quickly said, "Alright, you've finished asking your questions, now tell me who you are."

Gu Rong was stunned, the girl was stunned, and Ning Fengzhi was also stunned.

Ning Fengzhi looked at Rongrong with a mixture of approval and unease.

He almost revealed the information to the enemy, which was a grave taboo. But wasn't this stone the very thing the enemy had used to lure them in? Could there be another story behind it?

Ning Fengzhi considered for a moment, then decided not to mention the stone for now, and instead asked:

"Yes, who are you?"

The girl's eyes widened, clearly indicating that she did not accept Ning Rongrong's statement.

But feeling the pressure on her shoulders, she finally spoke: "My name is Zhao Xiaoya, I am Zhao Asi's granddaughter, and also the last survivor of this space."

When Zhao Xiaoya said the word "granddaughter," she was clearly somewhat reluctant.

"They don't get along?" Ning Rongrong wondered. She did know Zhao Asi; back on the Soul Arena, she could hear the sounds outside, and Zhao Asi was that evil Soul Master, the Soul Douluo.

Huh? So, Zhao Asi is dead?

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Your grandfather is dead?"

Zhao Xiaoya rolled her eyes at Ning Rongrong.

"You're dead now, aren't you?"

Having received the answer she wanted, Ning Rongrong nodded contentedly.

Very good, the biggest threat is gone, no, rather, there is no threat now.

The saintess ritual must have been disrupted. The officiant is gone, and the evil spirit master is gone too. Although we don't know what happened, it's really great.

Seeing that Ning Rongrong was alright, Ning Fengzhi continued, "What happened here? Why did they die, and why is there so much smoke here?"

After Zhao Xiaoya was arrested, the smoke did not dissipate, which aroused Ning Fengzhi's suspicion.

Zhao Xiaoya raised her head, her voice filled with grievance: "It was my grandfather's soul skill. This soul skill can fill a certain area with this smoke, and only designated personnel can be unaffected by the smoke. It was originally intended for concealment, but for some reason, this smoke came into contact with the purple fire and caused an explosion. Everyone except me died, including my grandfather. Moreover, the soul skill was not canceled after my grandfather died."

"Why didn't you die?" Ning Fengzhi asked.

"How would I know?" The girl shrugged innocently. "Perhaps my grandfather suddenly realized his mistake and regretted nailing me to the cross?"

"The cross?" Ning Rongrong immediately grasped the key word. The sainthood ceremony and the cross could easily be combined into one word—a sainthood candidate.

She stared at Zhao Xiaoya, looked her up and down, and then said, "Were you nailed to the cross before?"

“Yes.” The girl nodded slightly. Fortunately, Gu Rong’s supervision of her had decreased, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to react like this. Her eyes darted around, and she continued, “They seem to say that I am a candidate for sainthood and that I should be sacrificed to the holy god.”

"A sacrifice...?" Ning Rongrong looked at Zhao Xiaoya suspiciously. She clearly saw Zhao Xiaoya's eyes darting around, which was indeed quite suspicious.

Moreover, the word "sacrifice" felt strange to her. During the saintly ceremony she experienced, Donald and others referred to it as "welcoming."

What's even stranger is that this candidate for Saintess openly refers to himself as an evil soul master, something Tang Twelve never does. According to her understanding, the candidates for Saintess should be innocent beings.

Ning Rongrong shook her head and said, "I don't believe it."

"Why would I lie to you? My grandfather's body is right there."

Zhao Xiaoya pointed to the corpse that Ning Rongrong and Ning Fengzhi had previously identified.

“But that doesn’t prove anything. We still don’t know why you’re an evil spirit master, or why you attacked us,” Ning Fengzhi added from the side.

"That's funny, everyone's asking the same question... Ouch, I'm sorry, don't mess with me." Zhao Xiaoya wanted to laugh, but Gu Rong's grip tightened considerably. "I'll say it. My grandfather is an evil spirit master, my father is an evil spirit master too, so of course I'm an evil spirit master too."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Ning Rongrong interrupted.

"No, I don't recall... Even if I did, I didn't manage to kill anyone." Zhao Xiaoya glanced elsewhere and said after a moment's thought.

Ning Rongrong breathed a sigh of relief and then asked, "Then why did you attack us?"

"When I regained consciousness, I found everyone was dead. After failing to find a way out, I was about to clean up my grandfather's body—after all, he was my blood grandfather—when you came in. Of course, I was on guard, right?" Zhao Xiaoya said matter-of-factly. "By the way, could I clean up my grandfather's body? I'm a good person, I think there must be some misunderstanding between us."

Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong looked at Ning Fengzhi and then at the ancient banyan tree.

The two shook their heads, meaning they couldn't believe it, but they could take a look.

The three men pushed Zhao Xiaoya closer to Zhao Asi's corpse on the ground.

Seeing the former Soul Douluo powerhouse fall, Ning Rongrong had an indescribable feeling.

Based on Zhao Xiaoya's description, it seems to be an accident, but there are too many suspicious points.

Ning Rongrong had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

The most crucial piece of evidence is that Zhao Asi is far too poor.

At least the previous Donald had the Holy Spirit Scroll and the Holy Spirit Pill...

Chapter 43 Zhao Asi in the Purple Flame

The three watched as Zhao Xiaoya packed up Zhao Asi's belongings.

For a relatively long period of time, Zhao Xiaoya behaved quite well.

She straightened Zhao Asi's hair and took away Zhao Asi's clothes—the most valuable thing Zhao Asi had on her.

Yes, there wasn't a trace of storage items on Zhao Asi, nor anything else of value. This black robe might be worth five or six gold soul coins; it was the most valuable thing he had.

Watching Zhao Xiaoya's retreating figure, Ning Rongrong thought of Zhao Asi's eyes, which had been gouged out, and asked, "What happened to your grandfather's eyes?"

"Oh, his eyes. He doesn't have eyes, or rather, his eyes are artificial, the kind that can be removed and installed. Because of his special martial soul, he can see clearly even without eyes. Before coming here, I remember he sent his artificial eyes for repair."

Zhao Xiaoya picked up the conversation very smoothly, as if it were really true.

Although Ning Rongrong didn't quite believe it, she didn't raise any questions.

"Alright, all done cleaning up." Zhao Xiaoya clapped her hands, looking innocent and carefree.

"Hey, let me ask you something, is your grandfather really that poor?"

Ning Rongrong couldn't suppress her doubts any longer and finally asked the question she had always wanted to know.

The presiding person of the holy maiden ceremony, Contra, how come he has nothing?

“Poor? Of course, my family has been poor for three generations.” Zhao Xiaoya nodded, but this was clearly different from what Ning Rongrong had imagined.

"I mean, why is there nothing on him?" Ning Rongrong took a breath and slowly exhaled.

"Really?" Zhao Xiaoya belatedly realized, looking surprised. "Do you think he should have something on him?"

"Hmm... I'm asking you, are you familiar with the Holy Spirit Cult?"

Zhao Xiaoya nodded and said, "I know, my grandfather was one of them, but I wasn't."

"Then why didn't your grandfather have any of those Holy Spirit Cult's pills, scrolls, or anything like that?" Ning Rongrong continued to ask.

But after hearing this, Zhao Xiaoya fell silent and looked at Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong seemed to see a hint of questioning and a touch of coldness in her eyes.

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong also sensed that something was wrong and perked up.

They had been secretly discussing whether the undercover agent had intervened, sacrificing himself to ruin the saintly ceremony.

But now, hearing Ning Rongrong's words, they were reminded of unpleasant memories. It was Ning Rongrong's most terrifying moment, when she was going crazy all day long, just to find someone who could admit to seeing the scroll and pills she mentioned.

Ultimately, such a person did not appear.

Tang Twelve didn't see it; she was lying to Rongrong. It must be said, she did the right thing.

But right now, Rongrong is still holding onto this matter.

"Pills and scrolls... I've never heard Grandpa mention them before."

Ning Rongrong was momentarily dazed, and when she looked at Zhao Xiaoya again, her eyes were filled with confusion.

Ning Rongrong rubbed her eyes, checking repeatedly, but she no longer saw any expression on Zhao Xiaoya's face other than confusion.

The father and the others talked with Zhao Xiaoya. It seemed that the saintess ceremony was over, and all that was needed was to put out the fire—was it really over?

A number of questions suddenly surfaced in Ning Rongrong's mind.

From the note, Huo Shengsheng, to the words of the Silver Dragon King.

Ning Rongrong, as if possessed, took out the slip of paper from her spatial soul tool. It was still blank. However, the thickness of the paper seemed uneven. She had only noticed this after training.

Ning Rongrong held the note up to the purple flame, but still couldn't make out anything.

She sighed and put the note away. Suddenly, she realized something was wrong—a point of doubt she had considered before but had been interrupted by her survival instincts.

Where is Huo Shengsheng? Why did she end up at that grilled fish restaurant?