Upon hearing this, Hua Yichen gradually calmed down.
Losing face in front of those old acquaintances was definitely not acceptable.
Hua Yichen straightened his appearance, prepared himself, and quietly waited for the online meeting to begin.
When the time came, the seat beneath him transformed into a Simulation Pod, similar to those used in the Spirit Elevation Platform.
Seeing this, Luo Yanglu also timely withdrew, standing guard outside to prevent emergencies from interrupting the meeting or Uninvited Guests from barging in.
Hua Yichen lay back in the pod. An electronic voice sounded in his ears. "Identity verification. Eastsea Spirit Transmission Tower Master, Carefree Douluo, Hua Yichen. Connecting to temporary meeting space. Please relax."
The next moment, a slight sensation of weightlessness and spatial displacement came. Hua Yichen was already seated in a meeting room chair.
Beneath his feet was a smooth, mirror like floor with soul tool array patterns, feeling realistic. Surrounding him were towering pillars and a high dome. Soft, bright light fell. The air seemed to carry an indescribable aura that calmed the spirit.
A huge conference table was in the center. Besides the head seat, there were dozens of chairs on both sides.
Because the matters to be discussed at this meeting were very important and many people were participating, this virtual meeting room had been activated.
With the Spirit Transmission Tower's technology, it was natural to create a virtual space similar to the Spirit Elevation Platform for the meeting room. Such a meeting room was far superior to ordinary soul communicators in both confidentiality and immersive participation.
Hua Yichen had participated in many meetings before. Facing the surrounding scene, his expression did not change. His gaze swept over the many figures that appeared.
As one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars, the Eastsea Spirit Transmission Tower's seat was in the middle front section. As soon as he came online, he saw many familiar faces, as well as some new seats that had appeared after permission changes.
The most eye catching were naturally the seats of the two newly appointed Spirit Transmission Envoys, Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena. Their seats were closer to the core area than ordinary seats, adjacent to the Tower Master and Deputy Tower Masters' seats.
At this moment, the seats representing Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena were already lit. Two familiar figures sat within. Seeing Hua Yichen's gaze, the two smiled and nodded.
The Spirit Transmission Tower high ranking members who came online one after another would, more or less, let their gazes linger on Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena for a moment. Their expressions were complex, filled with awe, curiosity, gravity, and friendliness.
In a short time, they had leaped from promising young talents to beings on par with myths and legends. This sudden change in identity made many high ranking members of the Spirit Transmission Tower somewhat uncomfortable.
But for those who knew some of Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena's background, there was no impact.
Although this was Huo Yuhao's first time participating in a Spirit Transmission Tower high level meeting of this era, there were also many familiar faces among those present.
Besides Snow Empress, Emperor Tian, and Hua Yichen, some savage beasts were also impressively present. Little White (Ice Bear King), Ten Thousand Demon King, Red King.
Huo Yuhao's gaze met these familiar figures, with Little White's emotions being the most excited.
Over the years, Huo Yuhao had been in contact with many savage beasts and had spoken with Little White. But because the latter was guarding the Extreme North in Snow Empress's place, this was the first face to face meeting since Huo Yuhao's return.
However, due to the occasion, Little White still did not say anything inappropriate.
When the Spirit Transmission Tower branch tower masters, heads of various headquarters departments, and core high ranking members like the Spirit Transmission Envoys were basically all present, Qianku Dongfeng had also taken his seat. He did not appear at the last moment, playing the big shot.
Officially, he was the Tower Master. Privately, he would have to call many people here "senior." Everyone gave him the respect due to a Tower Master in official matters, so he naturally had to return the courtesy and not get carried away. Otherwise, if someone asked him privately for a spar, it would be Embarrassing.
Moreover, unlike other forces on Douluo, there were many in the Spirit Transmission Tower with the prestige to become Tower Master. For example, nominating Snow Empress or Emperor Tian as Tower Master would certainly have supporters.
One could say that, apart from Tower Master Su Tong and the First Generation Tower Master, every subsequent Tower Master of the Spirit Transmission Tower felt immense pressure. After all, becoming Tower Master only proved you were capable. It did not mean you were the most suitable, nor did it mean you could do as you please.
This subtle power ecology was also one of the invisible cornerstones that allowed the behemoth of the Spirit Transmission Tower to maintain internal balance and stand firm through ten thousand years of storms.
Before the meeting began, Qianku Dongfeng's gaze fell on Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena. He stood up and nodded to the two.
"I have not had the chance to visit you two before. Please forgive me. Taking advantage of this meeting, I would like to express my personal respect, as well as the Spirit Transmission Tower's sincere welcome to the two deities."
As the Tower Master, in official settings, especially at the Spirit Transmission Tower's highest meeting, it would normally be impossible for him to be the first to express respect to two newly appointed Spirit Transmission Envoys. But at this moment, no one found it inappropriate.
Those who did not know the true identities of Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena felt it was due respect for reincarnated deities. Those who knew their identities thought it was only natural, and some even felt Qianku Dongfeng's posture was not enough.
And facing this scene, there were also those holding back laughter.
For example, Bear Lord, and another, the little mermaid Liya, who had recently awakened.
"The current Spirit Transmission Tower Tower Master, on behalf of the Spirit Transmission Tower, welcoming the First Generation Tower Master?"
In Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit, even Liya's normally reserved expression broke character, a smile spreading across her face.
"No matter how you look at it, this scene is so amusing. Is this what you usually see?"
"Pretty much." Skydream had developed resistance to such scenes and now calmly explained, "This sense of temporal dislocation has caused quite a few jokes."
Hearing this, Liya saw the meeting begin after Huo Yuhao responded to Qianku Dongfeng. Her smile gradually subsided, and she became a bit Gloomy.
"So why did Yuhao not wake me up earlier?"
Her position had almost been taken by that immortal herb.
The small incident within the Sea of Spirit did not affect the progress of the external meeting.
Qianku Dongfeng looked at an empty seat. Facing everyone's gaze, he said, "As you all know, the first topic for today's gathering is this. As you can see, the Spirit Transmission Tower has also been invaded by Possession Demons."
Many had already noticed that someone was absent. Upon hearing Qianku Dongfeng's words, their hearts instantly sank.
Everyone present had been censored and cleared of suspicion of being Possession Demons. They all knew some of the inside story. But they truly had not expected that one of their colleagues and friends had actually fallen victim to Possession Demons.
Hua Yichen looked at the empty seat, his expression also unpleasant. That was the seat of the headquarters' "Spirit Soul Management Department" head, Green Wood Douluo Mu Qingfeng.
Mu Qingfeng was low key and pragmatic, in charge of one of the Spirit Transmission Tower's most core operations. He managed the registration, distribution, tracking, contract status monitoring, and related resource allocation of branch spirit souls. This position might not seem as cutting edge as the research and development department, but it directly related to the daily operational stability of the spirit soul system and the immediate interests of soul masters. It also handled massive soul master and spirit soul matching data. Its importance went without saying.
For such a person to have been possessed by a Possession Demon, the damage could be imagined.
However, without knowing that Possession Demons had already entered the continent's interior, having only one high ranking member of the Spirit Transmission Tower fall victim was, in a sense, fortunately. After all, soul masters below the Spiritual Domain realm simply could not resist Possession Demon possession.
It seemed the flow of spirit souls into the Xingluo Continent was indeed related to their internal affairs.
Hua Yichen thought to himself.
"Besides this high ranking member, Green Wood Douluo, four core position personnel at headquarters have also fallen victim. They are now all under surveillance."
Qianku Dongfeng's voice was as hard as iron. Every word he spoke was like an ice cone striking the hearts of the attendees.
The Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters' method of screening for Possession Demons was naturally not as simple and crude as Emperor Tian checking Ji Xuanqiu by simply throwing a Life Crystal at him.
Previously, the Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters had screened through methods such as recruiting volunteers for life energy research and experimental leakage of life energy, allowing internal personnel to come into contact with life energy, thereby identifying Possession Demons.
Although life energy could only protect a person from being possessed by a Possession Demon and could not save those already possessed, because Possession Demons extremely hate life energy, it could be used as an identification method.
After all, as long as one was a native of Douluo, they all liked life energy. Even evil martial soul possessors like Hades Douluo were no exception. Those who felt discomfort upon contact with life energy naturally became suspects.
It was thanks to this feature that the Spirit Transmission Tower headquarters could quickly complete its inventory without Alerting the Enemy and revealing that they had already discovered the Possession Demons.
Snow Empress also spoke at this time. "On the Federation Council side, with the cooperation of Divine Brush Douluo and the Dark Department, an inventory has also been conducted. Three councilors were found."
Those three were the ones she had been watching before. They had all participated in the proposal for the popularization of spirit souls among commoners. Her targeting had been correct.
After a pause, Snow Empress continued, "However, the theft of the Eternal Heaven previously implicated many councilors. Those councilors disappeared before facing Federation judgment. The Federation previously believed they had fled to avoid punishment. Now they believe it is more likely that the Possession Demons changed their identities."
"In other words, just in Mingdu alone, there are at least eight Possession Demons?"
Bear Lord frowned deeply and snorted coldly. "These guys have apparently been lurking in the Douluo Continent for some time. With the total number of Possession Demons not exceeding thirty six, more than half of them are probably lurking in various places across the Douluo Continent."
The Spirit Transmission Tower had been one of the four major forces on the Douluo Continent, and was now one of the three. The Possession Demons would not ignore it. The Federation even more so.
There should have been some inside Shrek as well. But they had probably withdrawn in advance after hearing that the Federation was going to act against Shrek.
The attendees were silent for a moment, quietly receiving this information. Finally, an elderly man who was one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars was the first to ask, "Now that the headquarters and the Council's screening are complete, should we immediately launch a review of the other branches, cities, spirit beast gathering places, and so on?"
For the other branches, only important personnel like them, the branch tower masters, had been confirmed. The middle level and lower level personnel below had not yet been inventoried.
Besides the Spirit Transmission Tower's Eighteen Heavenly Pillars, there were also Mingde Hall, the War Temple, the Dark Department, various Federation metropolitan governments and military districts, spirit beast gathering places, and others, all potential infiltration targets. The Possession Demons' goal was clearly to undermine continental stability and seize key intelligence and resources. These hubs of power, force, and resources would certainly be on their covetous list. They could not let their guard down just because the high levels were clean.
But within the Spirit Transmission Tower was one thing. If they used life energy to identify Possession Demons everywhere else, not to mention whether they had enough life energy and energy, the Possession Demons would certainly notice something was wrong.
So the elderly man's question essentially asked whether headquarters had developed a more convenient identification method.
Leng Yaozhu looked at the elderly man who had raised the question, Heart Image Douluo. Sensing the faint pressure emanating from him, her expression turned solemn.
Peak Spiritual Domain realm spiritual power.
This Heart Image Douluo had quietly advanced to Limit Douluo without a word? Even his spiritual power, with the blessing of his martial soul, had directly reached the peak Spiritual Domain realm that ordinary Near Divines possessed.
As expected of the body martial soul "Brain."
However. Limit. She was also nearing that realm. After dealing with the Possession Demon matter, she would go into seclusion.
Leng Yaozhu thought to herself.
Huo Yuhao also glanced at Heart Image Douluo, an expert who had appeared in the original work.
In the conventional sense, this was the person most qualified to touch the Divine Origin realm. One could only say that the formidable characters of the Dragon King legend were concentrated among the older generation. Unfortunately, in the original work, the Spirit Transmission Tower's ending was bleak, and this person barely appeared.
Facing Heart Image Douluo's question, Qianku Dongfeng looked at the head of the Soul Tool Research Institute. The latter stood up and adjusted his glasses.
"Regarding how to find Possession Demons, thanks to the remnants of the one time divine weapon provided by Tower Master Snow Empress and His Majesty Huo Yuhao, combined with research on life energy, we have achieved results. We have developed a Possession Demon Detector."
"It can emit wave frequencies similar to life energy, conducting broad-spectrum, low-intensity scanning within a kilometer radius. Only Possession Demons will appear on the detector. Normal soul masters and spirit beasts will not trigger the detector's alarm."
Hearing this, everyone felt reassured. Fist Emperor Douluo, one of the Eighteen Heavenly Pillars, laughed, "Your Soul Tool Research Institute has Render Great Service this time. With this detector, screening our branches will be much easier. At least there is a clear direction. We no longer have to grope around like Headless Flies, relying entirely on intuition and background checks."
Fist Emperor Douluo was a sturdy, loud voiced elderly man with a straightforward personality. His face was now full of smiles, clearly very satisfied with the detector's appearance.
"You flatter me. Without research subjects, it would have been difficult for us to achieve results so quickly."
The head of the Soul Tool Research Institute shook his head, glancing at Snow Empress and Huo Yuhao, not taking credit.
Without research material, many things could only exist in theory.
"Now that we have the detector, we do not need to worry about finding Possession Demons."
Soul Calming Douluo frowned. "But after we find all the Possession Demons, how should the possessed people be dealt with? Should we kill them with divine weapons?"
Fist Emperor Douluo, who had just shown joy, was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. His mood was not good.
Heart Image Douluo also sighed softly.
Those who had been possessed included some of their colleagues and friends. Forced to betray because of the Possession Demons, and then having to be dealt with by them, naturally soured their moods.
But in history, those possessed had been treated as dead without exception. There were no known cases of being saved.
Just as they were thinking this, Huo Yuhao, who had remained silent, spoke with a smile, "Leave it to me. I have a way to rescue the souls of the possessed."
His words were like a torch suddenly lighting up in the darkness, instantly dispelling the gloom that had permeated the meeting room. Everyone's gazes focused on Huo Yuhao. Many faces were filled with disbelief.
Could the possessed truly be saved?
Heart Image Douluo's eyes lit up.
Yes. For them, finding and killing Possession Demons was already difficult enough. But with a deity present, they might be able to hope for more.
***
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