"Ice Empress, don't get excited yet. We need to plan this carefully."
After saying this, Huo Yuhao refocused his attention on the god-sealing platform in his hand.
He pondered for a moment, then slowly raised his right hand, tracing his index finger in the air several times.
Where his fingertip passed, fine golden runes emerged out of thin air.
After lingering in the air for a brief moment, these runes fell one by one onto the surface of the god-sealing platform.
The moment the golden runes touched the transparent outer wall, they merged in silently, like water droplets dripping onto a water surface.
The crack from which wisps of cold air had been seeping out suddenly disappeared completely after the last rune sank into the god-sealing platform. It had been temporarily sealed by magic.
With a thought, Huo Yuhao stored the god-sealing platform inside the Undead Plane.
Having done all this, he finally turned his gaze to the Body Sect Spirit Douluo before him.
If it had been anyone else who dared to attack him, he wouldn't have hesitated for a second and would have wiped them out with a single thought.
But the person before him was different.
Huo Yuhao had practiced the Body Secret Method Ten Thousand Years in the future. Strictly speaking, he shared the same lineage as this black-clothed man.
He remained silent for a moment before finally letting out a soft snort.
"Consider yourself lucky."
As his voice fell, the fourth spirit ring beneath his feet quietly lit up.
A black light flashed in the dark corridor as the Myriad Thoughts Return to Nothingness Domain silently unfolded.
The ability of this Domain could not only drain the target's mental force and emotions but could also reach the deepest level of their consciousness.
Reading memories, rewriting cognition, and reshaping fragments—it was like putting a pen to a book already filled with words once more.
The moment the Domain covered him, the man's dazed eyes slowly closed. His body stiffened for half a breath before falling backward like a felled piece of dead wood. The back of his head hit the ground with a dull thud, and then there was no more movement.
Huo Yuhao clapped his hands and said, "All done."
Huo Yuhao glanced at the Body Sect disciple on the ground, then turned around to quickly retrace his steps.
Soon, he passed through the narrow passage and reappeared in the public hall of the Mingde Hall underground base, where the battle was already drawing to a close.
More than half of those black-clothed Body Sect experts had already vanished from the hall.
Huo Yuhao's gaze swept over the surroundings, only catching sight of a few black-clothed figures retreating toward the edge of the large hole, their movements swift and decisive.
He didn't know how these Body Sect disciples communicated with each other, but they clearly possessed an extremely efficient means of communication, and they must have already received the order to retreat.
Teacher Xuan was currently leaning against a wall, panting. There were several scratches on the surface of his spirit tool armor, indicating that he had also gone through a rather difficult fight, but he seemed to be largely unharmed.
Before long, a figure appeared in the hall—it was Jing Hongchen of Mingde Hall.
His face was currently so dark it was almost black, and his eyes, which usually held a hint of sharpness and enthusiasm, were now terrifyingly red, their depths bloodshot with rage.
Standing in the center of the hall, he looked at the utter mess on the ground and the wounded being helped away. His fists clenched so tightly they creaked, and he squeezed out a few words through his teeth, one by one.
"Body Sect! Body Sect!"
Every word seemed to be wrenched from the deepest depths of his chest, carrying a gnashing hatred.
Since its establishment, Mingde Hall had never suffered such a heavy blow.
After panting on the spot for a few breaths, he seemed to suddenly remember something. His bloodshot eyes shrank abruptly, and his expression turned even uglier.
Without even having time to say a word, he turned around and walked quickly in another direction.
Huo Yuhao watched his retreating figure, guessing roughly where he was heading.
Meanwhile, Sect Master Du Busi's face was also extremely unsightly.
This time, almost all the high-level members of the Body Sect had mobilized, but the losses from the battle just now far exceeded his expectations.
The power of the Spirit Tools from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy was far greater than he had anticipated.
However, the reason Sect Master Du Busi ordered the retreat was not because he couldn't bear the casualties, but because someone had sent back word that the god-sealing platform had been secured.
Yet at this moment, as he looked down at the disciple lying on the ground, his brow furrowed into a tight knot.
This disciple was the very one who had just sent him the message saying 'the god-sealing platform is in hand.' But now, this man was lying on the cold ground empty-handed, with no sign of the god-sealing platform anywhere on his body.
The man was quickly woken up. Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Sect Master Du Busi's face, so gloomy it could almost drip ink.
He froze for a moment, then looked around. The faces of several Elders were all familiar, yet for a moment, he couldn't understand why he was lying here.
He jumped to his feet, instinctively blurting out, 'Why am I here?'
Hearing this, Sect Master Du Busi's anger was like hot oil being poured on a fire, instantly flaring to the peak.
"Why are you here?!" His voice suddenly rose, his coarse tone suppressed with a rage that was almost ready to erupt. "I'm asking you, where is the god-sealing platform?!"
Shaken by the roar, the man trembled and instinctively shrunk his neck. He then raised his head, blinking blankly. "The god-sealing platform?"
Seeing this blank expression, Sect Master Du Busi almost felt an urge to slap him down.
That face was filled with confusion and bewilderment, as if 'god-sealing platform' was a term he was hearing for the very first time.
At this, the surrounding Elders also sensed that something was amiss.
No matter what, the core objective of this operation was the god-sealing platform. There was no way he should have this kind of expression.
Just then, a middle-aged man walked out from the crowd.
His build was neither tall nor muscular, but his head was extraordinarily large, almost twice the size of an ordinary person's. He looked like a big-headed doll, strangely bizarre.
This man was named Lang Zhi, with the title Shouyang, and his Spirit was his massive head.
Although the Shouyang Douluo was not a pure Spirit-type Spirit Master, as the brain was the core component of the head, his mental force was naturally much more robust than ordinary experts of the same rank.
He walked up to the still-dazed disciple and placed a hand on the top of his head.
Closing his eyes, his robust mental force probed deep into the other's consciousness like an extremely fine thread.
After a few breaths, he opened his eyes, turned to Sect Master Du Busi and the other Elders with a grave expression, and spoke in a deep voice.
"His memory has been altered, and the traces are very clean. The opponent's mental force must far exceed mine, and the god-sealing platform was likely taken by that person."
His words caused the brows of the surrounding people to furrow in unison. Since when did these people from the Sun Moon Empire who played with Spirit Tools produce an existence with such powerful mental force?
Furthermore, for some reason, the opponent didn't seem to deliver a lethal blow. Otherwise, with that person's powerful mental force, a single Spiritual Impact would have been more than enough to shatter this disciple's Spiritual Sea.
Sect Master Du Busi's face was as dark as water. He stood in place, silent for a long time.
His fists slowly clenched at his sides, his knuckles making soft creaking sounds.
He had to admit that this operation had been an utter failure.
Not only did they fail to obtain the god-sealing platform, but they also lost personnel.
He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
The surging rage in his chest was forcibly suppressed, ultimately turning into a heavy, cold snort.
"Retreat. The people of the Sun Moon Empire could catch up at any moment. If we don't leave now, we won't be able to."
The Elders looked at each other. Although reluctance was written on everyone's face, no one voiced any objection.
Sect Master Du Busi's judgment was correct. After all, the Body Sect was operating within another country's territory. Once the Sun Moon Empire mobilized its army and stronger Soul Engineers to block them, their small numbers would not survive a battle of attrition.
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.