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The location of the Holy Light Development Association was in the outskirts of Ming Capital. From the surface, it appeared to be a lonely and dilapidated grand cathedral.
However, when Shui Wuya and his group followed Ma Xiaotao into an underground passage inside the cathedral, they were greeted with a whole new scene.
"This is the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Sect," the voice of the Domineering Sovereign of Evil Eye echoed in Shui Wuya's spiritual world as they appeared in a dim underground world.
Looking around, there were stalactites hanging overhead, while the ground was littered with palaces built from piles of human skulls and bones, filled with a thick aura of death and blood.
The scale was grand, even comparable to the Imperial Palace of the Sun and Moon Empire!
If an ordinary soul master were to inadvertently trespass here, they wouldn't need anyone to act; they would simply perish due to the dense aura of death.
"Greetings, Saintess!" After Ma Xiaotao appeared, more than ten evil soul masters emitting a deathly aura quickly appeared before her and knelt down on one knee.
"Where is the Sect Master?" Ma Xiaotao's voice sounded icy.
"Reporting to the Saintess, the Sect Master left the headquarters a few days ago and has not yet returned," a soul master immediately responded.
Upon hearing this, Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brows. She had originally planned to introduce Shui Wuya directly to the Sect Master, Zhong Liwu, but it seemed the Sect Master was currently absent from the headquarters.
"Well, since the Sect Master is temporarily away, I will take you to the Soul Device Shrine first," Ma Xiaotao said, turning around. She glanced at Shui Wuya, her eyes flickering with a deep and dark light, as if she were observing his reaction.
"As you wish," Shui Wuya smiled faintly. At this point, even without explicit discussion, both sides understood each other's intentions.
Especially in this dim and death-filled underground world, no matter how you looked at it, it had nothing to do with the "Holy Light Development Association" mentioned by Ma Xiaotao.
"You're a clever one," Ma Xiaotao nodded approvingly at Shui Wuya's demeanor, then led Shui Wuya and his group to navigate through the palace buildings.
Along the way, they encountered many evil soul masters, all of whom showed great respect to Ma Xiaotao, bowing continuously.
However, when those evil soul masters saw Shui Wuya and his group, they displayed hostility. Fortunately, with Ma Xiaotao present, they didn't act on their hostility on the spot.
Soon, the group entered a grand palace with a modern architectural style.
As far as the eye could see, there were excellently crafted soul device workbenches everywhere, along with separate rooms for soul device manufacturing.
The further they walked, the more soul device materials they encountered, stored in large containers like regular merchandise.
"This is the Soul Device Shrine, where the soul engineers of the sect forge their soul devices. There is an abundance of soul device materials here, and each soul master can help themselves," Ma Xiaotao explained to Shui Wuya as they walked.
Although Shui Wuya appeared to be listening attentively, he was actually indifferent to everything, including Shui Yuanchen and Shui Songshan.
Shui Songshan was under a restriction, his life and death controlled by Shui Wuya, with no rebellious thoughts left.
His mind was set solely on finding his soul device.
The three of them silently explored the Holy Spirit Sect with their spiritual powers, remaining hidden and undetected.
"Ye Xishui, Long Xiaoyao, and Zhong Liwu are not here."
"That soul device is not here either."
Shui Yuanchen and Shui Songshan secretly communicated with Shui Wuya in turn.
Upon hearing this, Shui Wuya felt slightly puzzled. It was strange that there were no super Douluo presiding over the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Sect.
Before long, Ma Xiaotao led Shui Wuya and his group to the central hall of the Soul Device Shrine.
"You can wait here for now. When the Sect Master returns, I will introduce you to him," Ma Xiaotao instructed, dispersing the bystanders from the central hall and preparing it specifically to accommodate Shui Wuya and the others.
Ma Xiaotao had successfully recruited the manager of the Wuya Soul Device Shop, which could be a great accomplishment. Perhaps she could even exchange it for a session of soul power infusion!
She looked at Shui Wuya and his companions, feeling quite pleased with herself.
However, just as she finished speaking, an extremely dense aura of death silently appeared in the central hall.
Then, a gust of black wind rushed in from outside the door, swiftly transforming into more than a dozen figures dressed in white robes.
Among them, an elderly man with a sinister gaze stood out. He held a nine-section snake staff, his body stooped, his blood and energy depleted, his face as pale as a corpse.
"Saintess, you've broken the rules. You shouldn't have brought outsiders back to headquarters without permission," the old man with the snake staff said with a cold and hoarse voice, his nine-section snake staff emitting a crimson and eerie light from its eyes.
"I, as the Saintess, don't need others to dictate my actions," Ma Xiaotao retorted, seeming displeased with the arrival of the old man with the snake staff, making a gesture as if she were about to take action.
Every faction has conflicts between the new and old powers, and the Holy Spirit Sect is no exception.
Ma Xiaotao's rise meant that other elders had to give up their positions. Who could endure that?
Power, always a matter of contention.
With the presence of the Supreme Elders, they dared not go too far, but they could certainly throw obstacles in her way in other aspects.
"Humph! Ma Xiaotao, as a law enforcement elder of the Holy Spirit Sect, others may fear you, but I don't!" In an instant, the old man with the snake staff uttered a sharp rebuke, emanating a pressure akin to that of a Super Douluo, charging towards Ma Xiaotao and the others.
"Do you think I, as the Saintess, fear you?" Ma Xiaotao retorted sharply as she too unleashed a formidable pressure of a Supreme Douluo.
"Boom!"
The collision of the two pressures echoed thunderously in the central hall, shaking its very foundations.
Shui Wuya watched the spectacle calmly, seeming indifferent.
However, as the clash between the two pressures intensified with each passing moment, the central hall suddenly filled with an ethereal voice.
"Enough."
In the next moment, a figure of an elder in a gray robe materialized in the space between the old man with the snake staff and Ma Xiaotao.
In his right hand, he held a white crystal ball emitting a brilliant white light, which immediately diffused the escalating clash of pressures!
A Ninth-ranked Soul master!
As Shui Wuya observed the appearance of the elder in the gray robe, his gaze locked onto the white crystal ball in the elder's hand, realizing it was a Ninth-ranked soul device!
"Tch, a trash soul device. I could make one with my toes," Shui Songshan sneered disdainfully, though his voice was too low for anyone to hear.
"This is the Soul Device Shrine painstakingly built by our Holy Spirit Sect. Do you intend to destroy it?" The elder in the gray robe gazed calmly at Ma Xiaotao and the old man with the snake staff.
(End of chapter)