191: Chapter 190 Remnant Soul

The night was like ink, and the stars filled the sky.

Xu Zhaoyang arrived faster than expected.

In less than an hour, that massive dark-black flagship broke through the clouds and hovered above the two flying boats.

The hull was thirty zhang long, cast entirely from profound iron, and engraved with dense Formation patterns that shimmered with a cold, eerie light under the moonlight.

At the bow, the massive dragon head statue had its mouth wide open, revealing a pitch-black cannon muzzle.

The Sea Quelling Divine Thunder Cannon; the power of a single shot was enough to severely injure an expert of the Dragon Fetus Realm.

Xu Zhaoyang stepped down upon the waves, his dark-black battle armor gleaming with a dull golden luster under the moonlight.

Behind him followed twenty black-armored personal guards, each one at the Late Yuanxiang Stage, their aura as deep and heavy as an abyss.

"Zhou Lie."

"Here!"

Zhou Lie knelt on one knee, presenting with both hands the letter recovered from the stone house.

Xu Zhaoyang took it, his gaze sweeping over the text on the letter.

His brows furrowed slightly.

The arch of that furrow was extremely shallow, so faint as to be almost invisible, but having followed him for many years, Zhou Lie knew what this meant.

The Admiral was truly enraged.

"Heavenly Heart Sect..." Xu Zhaoyang murmured, a sharp, cold glint flashing in his dark golden eyes. "Layman Lingxin, what immense audacity."

He put away the letter and cast his gaze toward the floating corpses of the Blood Puppets on the sea surface, then toward the cyan flying boat hovering to the side, and finally at the remains of the Heavenly Heart Sect Disciples on the deck.

"Are there any survivors?"

"Reporting to the Admiral, there is one," Zhou Lie said in a deep voice. "That person is an external Disciple of the Heavenly Heart Sect, in the Viscera Burning Realm. He tried to commit suicide when captured but was restrained by the brothers. We interrogated him just now, and he confessed some things."

Xu Zhaoyang nodded slightly. "Bring him up."

Two black-armored personal guards escorted a blood-covered middle-aged man forward.

The man was about forty years old with an ordinary appearance; his face was currently as pale as paper, and his eyes were filled with terror.

"My, my Lord, spare me..." His voice trembled. "This small one was only following orders; I know nothing..."

Xu Zhaoyang did not look at him, standing instead with his hands behind his back, gazing at the cyan flying boat.

"Did Zeng Guan bring you here to intercept the people of the Sea Quelling Department and seize that letter?"

"Ye-yes..." the man stammered. "The Hall Master said that the letter was of great importance and must absolutely not fall into the hands of the Sea Quelling Department... He-he also said that after the matter was accomplished, everyone would be rewarded with ten Spirit Stones..."

"Besides this letter, what other dealings do you have with Blood Bone Venerable?"

"No, nothing else..." The man shook his head desperately. "This small one truly knows nothing more... I am only an external Disciple, usually only responsible for running errands and delivering letters..."

Xu Zhaoyang was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked a question that surprised everyone:

"Did Blood Bone Venerable leave anything behind at your Heavenly Heart Sect?"

The man was stunned, a trace of confusion flashing in his eyes. "Le-leave what kind of thing?"

"A remnant soul," Xu Zhaoyang's voice was as calm as water. "Or, a Magical Artifact that stores a remnant soul."

The man's expression changed completely.

The change was extremely fast, so fast that one might think it was an illusion, but Xu Zhaoyang's dark golden eyes had already caught that fleeting terror.

"It seems there is," he said indifferently. "Speak."

The man trembled all over, his teeth chattering, yet he could not utter a word.

Xu Zhaoyang did not press further.

He merely raised his right hand and slightly curled his five fingers.

An invisible pressure surged from his palm, enveloping the man.

The pressure was not heavy, but it made the man feel as if his Divine Soul were being gripped by an invisible giant hand, ready to be crushed at any moment.

"This Admiral will ask one last time," Xu Zhaoyang's voice remained calm. "Where is the remnant soul of Blood Bone Venerable?"

The man's defenses collapsed completely.

"It's, it's in the Forbidden Ground behind the Heavenly Heart Sect!" He shrieked hoarsely. "Blood Bone Venerable cultivated an evil art capable of entrusting a wisp of his remnant soul within a blood fiend demon core! Every time he killed someone, he would extract a wisp of their essence soul to nourish that demon core! Three months ago, he secretly came to the Heavenly Heart Sect and handed a blood fiend demon core to the Sect Leader, saying it was just in case! The Sect Leader enshrined that demon core in the Forbidden Ground, nourishing it with the Yin Qi of the earth veins!"

A flicker of change finally appeared in Xu Zhaoyang's eyes.

Blood Bone Venerable; his remnant soul had not been extinguished.

This explained everything.

Why would the Heavenly Heart Sect dare to risk being discovered by the Sea Quelling Department and take the initiative to intercept their flying boat?

It was not just to destroy that letter.

It was even more so to protect that blood fiend demon core—the very demon core that harbored the remnant soul of Blood Bone Venerable.

If that remnant soul were obtained by the Sea Quelling Department, they could use soul-searching techniques to dig out all the secrets of the collusion between the Heavenly Heart Sect and Blood Bone Venerable.

Perhaps even more—

The true origin of that jiaolong remains, what exactly that "aura that does not belong to the Dragon Clan" within the dragon marrow was, and... whether Dragon Slaying True Person was involved in this.

"Zhou Lie."

"Subordinate is here!"

"Take men and search that flying boat. Also, search the storage Magical Artifacts of these corpses. Find me anything related to the blood fiend demon core."

"Yes!"

Xu Zhaoyang turned around, his gaze falling upon the cyan flying boat.

A faint, cold smile slowly curled at the corners of his mouth.

That smile was very cold.

"Heavenly Heart Sect..." he murmured. "This Admiral would like to see just how many more secrets you are hiding."