Chapter 204: The Opportunity to Enter the Netherworld
The researchers at Mingde Hall were incredibly valuable not for their combat skills, but for their expertise in developing soul tools. In the original story, a large number of them perished during the Ontology Sect's attack, which severely slowed down the research and development of soul tools. This delay pushed back the Sun Moon Empire's timeline for launching its war, postponing their efforts to unify the Douluo Continent.
Now, however, thanks to Huo Yuhao's foresight, the researchers had a chance to survive. After hearing his words, their initial panic gradually subsided as they followed his instructions. After all, Huo Yuhao was the disciple of Xuan Ziwen, the chief researcher, and was highly regarded by Jing Hongchen. He had also brought the honor of winning the Continental Soul Master Tournament for the Sun Moon Empire. Within Mingde Hall, his reputation was immense.
"Yuhao, Mingde Hall is really under attack... If it weren't for your suggestion to strengthen the defenses, many of these researchers would have lost their lives today," Xuan Ziwen said gravely as he walked over.
Normally, researchers were entirely focused on their work, often ignoring external affairs. If an attack were to happen under these circumstances, the consequences would be catastrophic.
Nearby researchers, overhearing Xuan Ziwen's words, were momentarily stunned before discussions broke out.
"What? Strengthening the defenses was Huo Yuhao's suggestion? I thought it was the dean's idea! No wonder I found it strange when the defenses were being built. Given the dean's personality, he would have used all that rare metal to develop new soul tools instead!"
"If Yuhao hadn't proposed strengthening the defenses, we would have suffered heavy casualties today. Many families would have been torn apart."
The researchers' expressions shifted to gratitude, and many looked at Huo Yuhao with newfound admiration after all, he had just saved their lives.
Before long, they had gathered their belongings and followed Huo Yuhao into the underground passage for safety. Any potential losses were now limited to property damage. The researchers were well off, and with the use of storage soul tools, they had managed to take almost all valuable items from Mingde Hall with them.
However, as Huo Yuhao led them through the passage, a familiar voice echoed in his spiritual sea.
"Yuhao, my power has recovered to a certain extent. I just tested something I can now enter the Netherworld. Also, I've noticed some changes in that golden light within your mind. Over the past few days, it seems to have accelerated my recovery speed quite a bit," Electrolux's voice rang out.
Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised. Changes were expected after all, the Plane Consciousness had now completely severed itself from Tang Hao's parasitic influence.
It made sense that Electrolux hadn't noticed his communication with the Plane Consciousness. In the original story, even gods who descended to the lower realms would face suppression from the Plane itself. However, this suppression appeared to be flexible, with limits.
The God Realm controlled numerous planes and celestial bodies, all bound by its rules. Otherwise, if a god were to descend for law enforcement, only to be suppressed and defeated by a weaker native, it would be utterly humiliating.
Huo Yuhao planned to reveal the truth about the Plane Consciousness to Electrolux in the future and have them cooperate to help him grow stronger. After all, Electrolux was a trustworthy teacher unlike Yu Xiaogang, who even managed to mess up hunting spirit beasts for Tang San.
Previously, when he had been transported into the Golden Tree, Electrolux and his soul spirits had assumed it was due to his nature as a reincarnated god, believing it was a unique ability he possessed.
In his spiritual sea, Huo Yuhao materialized his spiritual body and asked, "Teacher, if you can enter the Netherworld now, does that mean you can bring souls back from it?"
If retrieving important souls from the Netherworld was possible, Huo Yuhao figured he could use them as powerful assets. After all, he was bound to clash with Tang San eventually.
"Of course. Don't worry I tested it earlier, and I can retrieve souls from the Netherworld at an incredibly fast rate. I can even show you right now," Electrolux reassured him.
Huo Yuhao's thoughts raced. If retrieving souls was truly this easy, he could consider pulling out Du Busi's soul and using it to destabilize the Ontology Sect. Du Busi was Du Busi's older brother and the previous leader of the Ontology Sect. He had been killed by Mu En years ago, which led to Du Busi inheriting the sect.
If things went south, Du Busi would undoubtedly flee instead of fighting Jing Hongchen and the others head on. The possibility of him escaping was high, and it was unlikely that Jing Hongchen and his forces could hold him back. If the situation became desperate, Du Busi might even sacrifice himself to ensure his sect members escaped.
As Huo Yuhao led the researchers out through the underground passage, he encountered Jing Hongchen, who was rushing toward Mingde Hall.
After quickly explaining the situation, Jing Hongchen immediately flew off in the direction of Mingde Hall, followed by several fully armed soul engineer battalions.
Underground Below Mingde Hall
Inside the tunnel excavated by the burrowing soul tool, Du Busi looked up toward Mingde Hall with a puzzled expression.
The Ontology Sect had been continuously bombarding the hall's defenses with soul tool shells, yet no matter how much they attacked, the silver grey metal walls only became deformed they simply wouldn't break.
"Is the Sun Moon Empire's defense this strong? Or is it that Xu Jiawei gave us defective soul tool shells? We haven't even managed to break through the outer wall?" Du Busi muttered in frustration.
Xu Jiawei's original plan was to infiltrate Mingde Hall first and detonate the soul tool shells from the inside, causing mass casualties and chaos. This would strike a devastating blow to the research facility, as training skilled researchers required significant time, but killing them took only an instant.
More importantly, the resulting confusion would have provided the perfect opportunity to steal the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo a double victory.
However, Du Busi soon realized that Mingde Hall's security was far tighter than Xu Jiawei had described. The supposed "loose defenses" were nonexistent, and infiltration was impossible. After multiple failed attempts, he had no choice but to order a direct bombardment.
Unfortunately, even after prolonged attacks, the walls had only warped instead of breaking.
"Sect Master, what should we do?" a middle aged man asked anxiously.
Du Busi's expression darkened. "According to Xu Jiawei's intel, we already know the location of the hundred thousand year soul beast embryo. I'll personally take down the wall and draw the attention of the Sun Moon Empire's powerhouses. The rest of you, charge in and grab the embryo!"
With that, Du Busi surged forward, his body glowing with dark green energy. A deep emerald shadow loomed behind him, radiating a powerful, overwhelming aura.
(End of chapter.)
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