“Those who were in the lead have become my collection,” Bai Xuan said coldly. “Their souls are being slowly refined.”
"Haha, as expected of the seventh brother, ruthless enough!" the bear-masked man laughed.
The man in the fox mask narrowed his eyes. "But I heard that all your followers have been arrested, and even the Green Maple Manor has been sealed off?"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense because of the fox mask's words.
When everyone behind their masks looked at Bai Xuan, their eyes held a hint of suspicion.
His entire operation was raided, and his men were all arrested. How did he manage to escape unscathed?
Qiqi's little hands gripped Huo Yuwei's fingers tightly, her palms sweating.
Bai Xuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered, "Third Brother's information network is quite impressive. However, you only know half of it. Those who were captured were just useless outlaws; their deaths are no big deal. I already moved the truly important things."
"Oh?" the bird-masked man pressed, "What about the offerings? Were they moved too?"
“Of course.” Bai Xuan said calmly, “All one hundred and thirty-two children with pure Yin destiny have been safely delivered to the backup base. Here is the list.”
He took out a roll of animal hide from his bosom.
This was faked by Qiqi last night using a special potion. The list and data on it are real; they are memories they retrieved from the Three-Eyed Soul.
However, the source has become a "backup base".
The fox-masked man took the animal skin and examined it; his eyes, hidden beneath the mask, flickered.
"Seventh Brother is indeed thorough in his work. However, with such a huge loss, what about the leader..."
“I will personally apologize to the sect leader,” Bai Xuan interrupted him. “No need for Third Brother to trouble himself.”
Just then, the tall figure deep inside the hall slowly turned around.
It was a person wearing a pure black mask. The mask had no facial features, only two empty eye sockets, inside which burned blood-red flames.
He wore a black robe embroidered with golden runes and held a white bone scepter in his hand.
A powerful pressure instantly enveloped the entire hall!
Qiqi felt her breath catch in her throat, and Huo Yuwei immediately shielded her behind him, while Bai Xuan also tensed up slightly.
"Everyone's here?" the Netherworld Cult Leader asked, his voice deep and oppressive, as if it came from the deepest hell.
"Greetings, Master!" The six envoys, including Bai Xuan, bowed in unison.
Qiqi and Huo Yuwei also lowered their heads; they couldn't stand out at this moment.
The Netherworld Cult Leader's gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on the "Three-Eyed Envoy".
"Seventh Brother, I've heard about what happened in Yunshan."
Bai Xuan immediately knelt on one knee, trembling with fear, and begged for forgiveness, "This subordinate has failed in his duty, please punish me, Master."
"Punishment?" The Lord of the Underworld chuckled, a laugh that sent chills down one's spine. "You deserve punishment. However, considering that you moved the offerings in time, your merits and demerits cancel each other out. Get up."
"Thank you, Master!" Bai Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stood up to return to his original position.
He wasn't sure if this hurdle was temporarily over.
"Let's get down to business." The Lord of the Underworld walked to the altar. "The night of the alignment of the seven stars is three days earlier than usual, as you all know, right?"
"Yes," the assembled envoys replied.
"How is the collection of offerings progressing?"
The fox-masked man, one of the three envoys, stepped forward. "Reporting to the Master, we have collected 108 people in the area under our jurisdiction, exceeding the target."
The bird-masked man, the five envoys continued, "I have collected ninety-seven people, but I am still missing three."
The bear-masked man, the Second Venerable, said in a gruff voice, "We have 120 men here, that's more than enough!"
The other envoys also reported their figures, which ranged from ninety to one hundred and twenty.
When it was Bai Xuan's turn, he said in a deep voice, "I have collected 132 people, and they are all safe."
"Very good." The Netherworld Cult Master seemed quite satisfied. "A total of 876 people have been selected, and we still need 123 more. There are still 87 days until the ceremony, so there is plenty of time."
He paused, then gently tapped the ground with his bone scepter.
"However, the Xuanmen has been making frequent moves lately, and there are signs of harassment at their strongholds in various places. In order to avoid any unforeseen complications, I have decided to speed up the process."
"Please give us your instructions, Master," the assembled envoys said in unison.
"Starting today, all envoys will personally lead teams to conduct a final cleanup of the target area."
The Netherworld Cult Leader's voice turned cold, "Remember, better to arrest the innocent than let the guilty go free! I need to gather 999 sacrifices within sixty days!"
Sixty days!
This moment made Qiqi's heart sink.
This means that the Netherworld Cult will continue its frenzied capture of children, and more families will suffer misfortune.
"Furthermore," the Netherworld Lord continued, "the preparations for the altar must be expedited. Fourth brother, you are in charge of inspecting all the formations. Sixth brother, you oversee the 'nurturing' of the offerings, ensuring their souls are in optimal condition before the ceremony. Eldest brother and second brother, you strengthen the guards inside and outside the valley; I don't want any accidents to happen."
"Yes, sir!" The envoys who were named bowed and accepted the order.
"Seventh Brother." The Netherworld Cult Leader suddenly looked at Bai Xuan.
Bai Xuan's heart tightened. "Your subordinate is here."
"You've lost quite a few men, so you don't need to go out for now. Just stay in the valley and help Lao Liu manage the offerings."
Bai Xuan was overjoyed. They had been worried about what excuse to use to contact the children.
Unexpectedly, as if on cue, someone offered them a pillow; the Netherworld Cult Leader actually delivered this opportunity to them.
"Yes, your subordinate will do his best."
The meeting lasted another half hour, mainly discussing specific action plans and resource allocation.
Bai Xuan handled the situation well throughout, without revealing any flaws.
After the meeting, the dignitaries left one after another.
As the man in the fox mask passed by Bai Xuan, he suddenly stopped and said, "Seventh Brother, your follower... looks unfamiliar."
He was referring to Huo Yuwei.
Bai Xuan calmly replied, "He's newly recruited, quite skilled, and quick-witted. What, Third Brother, are you interested?"
"Hehe, just a casual question." The man in the fox mask chuckled, waved his bone fan, and left.
But Qiqi could sense that the gaze lingered on Huo Yuwei for a moment before finally moving away.
The three envoys seemed to have become suspicious of Brother Huo.
After leaving the main hall, Bai Xuan led the two to the area where the dungeon was located.
On the way, he transmitted his voice, "Those three envoys just now may have figured something out. I have a feeling that this person is very cunning and difficult to deal with, we need to be careful."
“I felt it too.” Huo Yuwei frowned. “He seems to be paying special attention to you, and he’s even keeping an eye on the people around you.”
“It’s not just me,” Bai Xuan said. “He’s like that with everyone. This person is meticulous, suspicious, and a difficult character to deal with.”
During their conversation, they arrived at the entrance to the dungeon.
This is a stone building built on a mountainside, with four guards at the entrance.
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