However, the old monk in the cassock refuted the Gothic Lolita's guess.
"Purifying the Mother of Ghouls is not something a mere exorcist can do. When I passed by the temple, I felt a faint wisp of Immortal Aura, which was very brief and weak, but it must have been caused by Immortal Arts," he said. "Furthermore, that area is heavily guarded by the Sitri family. First, an exorcist can't use Immortal Arts, and second, it's impossible for them to enter and exit the temple so easily. The most likely scenario is that the Underworld found a solution. After all, the lord of that city is the next head of the Sitri family, who is also the sister of the new Demon King Leviathan."
A problem that the previous generation couldn't solve would naturally not be expected to be solved by a junior. Thus, the old man guessed that the upper echelons of the Underworld had found a way to deal with it.
The man and woman were also willing to believe this guess. After all, matters concerning gods and devils would not be the responsibility of a mere exorcist.
"It's a shame, though. Since the Mother of Ghouls has been purified, the plan for Lord Kokubo to devour her power to grow is no longer possible."
The "Kokubo" they spoke of was also known as the "Embryo of the Empty Void," a being created by a group of high-ranking evil spirits who sacrificed human lives as energy. It was a monster created by the evil spirits to revolutionize the history of life. If it were to fully grow, they estimated that it would be no less powerful than the Demon Kings of the Underworld or the chief gods of various mythologies. By then, they, like the mythological factions that controlled most of the world's resources, would establish a paradise controlled by them, the evil spirits!
However, just as life needs to be nurtured, and humans grow from an embryo, Kokubo currently existed in the form of an "embryo" and needed energy to grow. The Mother of Ghouls and her tens of thousands of infant spirits would have been the best nourishment. But now, they would no longer have the opportunity to access that place.
"Then let's stick to the original plan, old man. A chef who was possessed by a spirit in a school's cafeteria poisoned and killed many students and teachers. Let's have Lord Kokubo absorb those recently deceased souls. Even if we don't interfere, they will disappear on their own."
"Let's do that," the old man nodded slightly.
At this moment, the Gothic Lolita continued, "What about that exorcist hunter? If he keeps going, he might find us. And I'm quite interested in him."
"As for the exorcist hunter, we'll continue to investigate. If we find a lead, we'll send someone to him. If we get the chance, we'll possess him and make him one of us," the old man said slowly. "After all, it's time for us to expand our ranks."
On the other side, Luo Guang had been focusing on his cultivation since returning that day. He attended classes during the day and went home to train after school. He also found out what the flag gifted to him by the Mother of Ghouls was—a Sacred Gear.
Its ability was quite good. When activated, the Sacred Gear would automatically create a formation that could be used to trap or kill people, covering an area the size of a sports field. However, this was only its most basic ability. Another ability was to absorb souls to strengthen itself. This sounded exactly like the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
"Sacred Gears are indeed diverse. It's a shame it's not a Longinus, just an ordinary Sacred Gear," Luo Guang sighed slightly. If it were a Longinus, it might be able to absorb the souls of even gods. When he needed to fight, he could just release a few god remnants, which would be much more convenient than him fighting in person.
Of course, Luo Guang didn't mope about it. This small flag was an unexpected bonus, and its presence or absence didn't affect him much. And to be able to handle future troubles with ease, he couldn't slack off on his daily cultivation, especially in terms of Immortal Aura and Immortal Arts.
The Power of Light and magical power didn't significantly improve his physical fitness, but Immortal Aura was the complete opposite. The stronger his Immortal Aura was, the stronger his physical fitness would be. The more solid his foundation was, the more he would be able to unleash the full power of Est. It was like a high-performance race car—if the driver was no good, the car's performance wouldn't matter.
However, he couldn't practice Immortal Arts at school, so Luo Guang simply stopped thinking about cultivation and started reading a novel. He had already mastered the school's curriculum, so there was no need to look at boring textbooks.
But just then, the noise around him suddenly quieted down. He looked up and saw the beautiful black-haired girl, Tsubaki Shinra, wearing the female uniform of Kuoh Academy, approaching him. When he saw her, he had a good idea of what was going on.