Ye Ling looked at the trembling Mutou Masao and said, "Why did you attack the Dragon Department?"
Feeling Ye Ling's powerful aura, Mutou Masao swallowed hard and said tremblingly, "Izanagi wants to choose the Dragon Department's base as the venue for the ceremony. Not only did I receive the mission to attack the Dragon Department, but three other members of Takamagahara are also preparing in secret."
Ye Ling asked again, "Do you know any information about the other three people?"
Mutou Masao shook his head, "No... Takamagahara members are all independent. We never contact each other, and I only communicate with a few members privately."
"The other three people who received the mission this time have all been active abroad. I'm not familiar with them, and I don't know their specific tasks."
"Is that so..."
Ye Ling murmured, his brow furrowed slightly.
If only the Mutou family was targeting the Dragon Department, the matter would be easier to resolve. They just needed to suppress the Mutou family, and everything would be fine.
But now, there were three other unknown enemies lurking in the shadows, capable of devouring the Dragon Department at any moment. With the Dragon Department's strength in Yang Country, the base would definitely not be able to withstand an attack from a cultivator above the eighth rank!
If an eighth-rank cultivator launched a strong attack, it would be utterly devastating!
Most of the Dragon Department members were Chinese, and Ye Ling was currently on good terms with the Dragon Department. In this situation, he did not want to see the Dragon Department destroyed by Takamagahara.
"Emperor!"
Just as Ye Ling was contemplating how to deal with Takamagahara's attack on the Dragon Department's base, Qi Zhuyue ran into the banquet hall with a panicked Wang Liren.
Wang Liren, ignoring the mess around him, said to Ye Ling in shock, "Emperor, something terrible has happened. Our Dragon Department members have been attacked everywhere, and I received a distress signal. An eighth-rank cultivator has broken into our base and is slaughtering indiscriminately!"
"The Dragon Department has suffered heavy casualties!"
"What?"
Upon hearing Wang Liren's words, Ye Ling's eyes flickered. He immediately scanned the Dragon Department's base in the suburbs of Dongdu with his divine soul. He saw a raging fire and corpses scattered everywhere!
Outside the Dragon Department's base, there were also many corpses of Arabe members, looking just like the Dragon Department members, all killed by the same person!
Mutou Masao said, "It must be a member of Takamagahara who made the move!"
Ye Ling's expression turned cold. He waved his hand, and the surrounding space distorted rapidly. The few people in the hall were instantly brought by Ye Ling to the sky above the Dragon Department's base.
Seeing the tragic scene below, Wang Liren's eyes turned red, and his body trembled violently. "H-how could this happen? I, I just received the distress signal from the base..."
Before going to Mutou Masao's birthday banquet, Wang Liren had received news of the Dragon Department members being attacked in various places. He had initially thought it was an accidental event and had not informed Ye Ling, choosing to handle it himself.
But he never expected that just after seeing the bodies of the victims, the Dragon Department base would deliver such devastating news. He rushed to find Ye Ling for help.
To his surprise, the Dragon Department base had already been wiped out!
Ye Ling quickly glanced at the Dragon Department's base and said, "The opponent is very strong and their methods are clean and swift. From the attack on the Dragon Department to the end of the battle, it took less than ten minutes. I estimate that by the time you received the message, the opponent had already swept through the base."
Ye Ling had not expected other Takamagahara members to be targeting the Dragon Department. While he was at Mutou Masao's birthday banquet, his attention was not on the Dragon Department's base, allowing the opponent to seize an opportunity.
Ye Ling landed in the base with the others and scanned the surroundings again. "There's still the aura of a barrier here. It seems the guy was very cautious. He deliberately shielded his spiritual energy fluctuations when he made his move, so as not to be detected by others."
"The Arabe members outside were probably killed when that guy left."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, a flicker of despair crossed Wang Liren's eyes. He knelt on the ground, looking at the raging fire, and murmured, "W-why... Who could be so cruel?"
In the past few days, Wang Liren had been personally rectifying the Dragon Department, and his relationship with the employees there had grown stronger.
The charred bodies, burned by the fire, had greeted him with smiles this morning...
Seeing the horrific scene before him, Wang Liren felt an unbearable tightness in his chest, unable to breathe.
Mutou Masao walked up to a corpse and, seeing the contorted body, his eyes changed slightly. He exclaimed, "The one who did this... is him?"
Hearing Mutou Masao's exclamation, Ye Ling turned to look at him and asked coldly, "Do you recognize him?"
Feeling Ye Ling's killing intent, which was almost solid, Mutou Masao trembled and quickly said, "I, I recognize him... The person who made the move is well-known in the circle, called Ghost Hand Jack... He is an eighth-rank cultivator from Western Europe who joined Takamagahara a few years ago."
"For some reason, Ghost Hand Jack harbors great hostility towards Chinese people, and he likes to twist human bodies into pretzels when he kills. His tastes are exceptionally perverted. These bodies are all twisted, which clearly indicates Ghost Hand Jack's work!"
Hearing Mutou Masao's words, Wang Liren also recalled something and quickly said, "I've heard of this person before. He was a member of the Ghost Hand Mercenary Group. Seven years ago, he attempted to invade China's border and had a direct confrontation with our Cangyan Army."
"At that time, Ghost Hand Jack was only at the seventh rank. He had his arm broken by General Li Wuxin of the Cangyan Army. The Ghost Hand Mercenary Group was annihilated, except for Jack who escaped."
"I didn't expect... this guy to have joined Yang Country's Takamagahara and become an eighth-rank cultivator!"
Ye Ling said with a solemn expression, "It seems that guy holds a grudge against China because the Ghost Hand Mercenary Group was destroyed. His brutal attack on the Dragon Department's base now is likely an act of revenge."
"Such a person cannot be left alive, otherwise, Yan Hua will not be at peace in the future."
Hearing Ye Ling's words, Mutou Masao realized his chance to earn merit and quickly said, "Emperor, I know this Ghost Hand Jack and I know the location of his safe house in Dongdu!"
"He just attacked the Dragon Department. He should be resting in his safe house now. I can take you there immediately!"
Ye Ling, however, shook his head, "Ghost Hand Jack is not urgent. He will die sooner or later. The priority now is the Dragon Department."
Wang Liren nodded, his voice filled with grief, "Indeed, our compatriots died in a foreign land. Even if their bodies cannot be brought back, we must cremate them and let their souls return to their homeland?"
Ye Ling chuckled, "Why let their souls return to their homeland?"
Wang Liren was stunned and looked at Ye Ling in confusion, "Emperor?"
He didn't understand why Ye Ling would say that.
However, Ye Ling did not offer Wang Liren further explanation. He simply released the demonic energy within him and let it spread outwards.
Soon, dense demonic clouds gathered above the Dragon Department's base, accompanied by rumbling thunder.
The surrounding atmospheric pressure dropped significantly.
Mutou Masao looked at Ye Ling in terror, his body trembling violently again, "This, this power..."
He felt an unimaginable pressure from Ye Ling!
What was he trying to do?
Ye Ling glanced around and stretched lazily, "They haven't been dead long, their souls haven't entered the cycle of reincarnation yet..."
Wang Liren stared blankly at Ye Ling, who was surrounded by demonic energy. A terrible thought suddenly occurred to him. He stared at Ye Ling and said, "Emperor, are you going to..."
Rumble...
Before Wang Liren could finish speaking, the ground began to shake.
A giant black gate rose behind Ye Ling, engraved with extremely complex patterns and emitting an extremely terrifying pressure!
Wang Liren, Qi Zhuyue, and Mutou Masao were all stunned by the black gate behind Ye Ling.
That gate was incredibly awe-inspiring!
Ye Ling whispered, "Gate of Life and Death: Samsara Rebirth!"
Boom!
The giant gate boomed open, and the souls that had fallen into the underworld flew out from within the gate!