Accompanying the dragon脉, dragon roars emanated.
At this moment.
Mount Changbai, where the dragon脉 was located, vibrated, triggering an avalanche. It was as if a dragon was enraged, about to tear through, but fortunately, it was located in a high mountain rarely reached by people, so the avalanche caused no casualties.
However.
This great commotion.
On the peak of the dragon脉 mountain, a middle-aged man stood. He possessed a majestic appearance, and if born in ancient times, he would undoubtedly have been an emperor or a king.
He seemed to sense the reason for the dragon脉's anger, his eyes like torches, gazing towards the Greater Khingan Range, as if trying to see through the vast distance to witness everything happening there.
"Hmm? Someone has refined a Zhenguo-level ghost object?"
As he spoke.
The middle-aged man frowned slightly, pointing his finger at the dragon脉 mountain peak, tracing golden patterns in the air. With a clap, the outlined ancient golden talisman was sent into the dragon脉.
Instantly.
The dragon脉, which had been roaring to the heavens, returned to a state of peace and serenity.
Although he had not gone to the Greater Khingan Range, as the guardian of the dragon脉, and a True Dragon Guard stationed in the Northeast, how could he not know what had been happening in the Northeast recently? With a little deduction, he could guess the general situation.
"Is the Senluo Division in the Northeast refining a Zhenguo-level ghost object? Is it to counter our division, or for the Dragon Locking Well, or... for both?"
The middle-aged man mused.
However.
He had no intention of leaving. His responsibility was to guard the dragon脉, and he would not leave unless the foundation of the dragon脉 was threatened.
And clearly.
The Senluo Division had anticipated this. Therefore, even when borrowing the energy of the dragon脉 to refine a Zhenguo-level ghost object, they did not dare to directly attack the dragon脉 peak. Instead, they operated from other parts of the dragon脉, collecting resources by hunting the monsters of the Northeast Five Families, to avoid detection. After all, the monsters in the Northeast had all been influenced by the energy of the dragon脉 to some extent.
...
On the other side.
In a cave within the Greater Khingan Range.
Looking at the Soul Summoning Banner, which floated in the center of the altar without any wind, the fat man's heart was filled with excitement:
"Heh heh, it's refined, the Soul Summoning Banner, a Zhenguo-level ghost object."
With a flash.
The fat man appeared on the altar and reached out to take the Soul Summoning Banner. He did not play with it or examine it. He glanced back outside the cave:
"It must be chaos out there now. Fortunately, the Tailor helped attract attention, but I can't relax. I need to leave here first."
Even from within the cave, the fat man could sense the immense turmoil caused by the refinement of the Soul Summoning Banner. He dared not linger and quickly left with the banner.
And as he had expected.
Not long after he exited the cave.
Outside the Greater Khingan Range, numerous ghost exorcists had already arrived, including the elders of the Northeast Five Families. The number of mice from the Hui family alone was staggering, numbering at least hundreds of thousands.
"Search with all your might, find the people from the Senluo Division, and find out exactly what ghost object the Senluo Division has refined."
The voice belonged to Huang Qingshan.
He was originally heading towards the Tailor's location, but the situation here forced him to divert his helicopter.
As his command fell.
A vast swarm of juniors from the Northeast Five Families, like a dark cloud, poured into the Greater Khingan Range, surging towards the vicinity of the cave that still emanated a terrifying aura. Although these juniors from the Northeast Five Families were essentially ordinary mice, snakes, and so on.
But their sheer numbers were overwhelming, and the search was conducted by sheer volume.
Soon.
Under the search of the juniors from the Northeast Five Families, Huang Qingshan found the extremely well-hidden cave.
Upon entering.
Huang Qingshan and the others were shocked by the bloodiness inside. Some even vomited profusely at the overpowering stench of blood. Huang Qingshan, enduring the stench, approached the altar:
"What kind of ghost object was refined here? Can you tell?"
He asked an old weasel on his shoulder.
It was an elder from the Huang family.
The weasel leaped down instantly, transforming into a small old man leaning on a cane. He examined the altar back and forth, then conversed with several analysis team members from the Weidao Division. After a while, from the residual clues, they pieced together the situation.
"Soul Summoning Banner? Are you sure?"
Upon hearing the weasel's words, Huang Qingshan's expression changed, and he said sternly:
"Is the Senluo Division planning to expand aggressively and truly emerge from the shadows?"
As he spoke.
The assistants and other ghost exorcists accompanying him cast questioning glances.
In response.
Huang Qingshan did not hesitate and explained:
"You all know the function of the Soul Summoning Banner, right? It's for summoning souls. And a Zhenguo-level Soul Summoning Banner's function is essentially the ultimate version of soul summoning and guiding. It can summon souls from any sentient being, whether dead or alive, forcibly summoning them."
"Simply put, if I were holding that Soul Summoning Banner now, and your strength was weaker than mine, you would all have your souls directly extracted with a wave of my banner and absorbed into the Soul Summoning Banner for my use."
Horrifying.
Everyone present felt their hearts leap upon hearing this, understanding why this item could be classified as Zhenguo-level. It could definitely shake or even overturn a nation.
Imagine.
If someone reached the level of a True Dragon Guard, or someone like the mastermind behind the Northeast Senluo Division, holding this Soul Summoning Banner, a single wave could cause widespread death, with virtually no chance of survival, as there were too few people stronger than them.
Moreover...
After their souls were taken, they could be utilized by the wielder. This was even more exaggerated than a zombie outbreak. Zombies needed to be bitten to become zombies, but with the Soul Summoning Banner, with just a wave, living beings within a certain range would have their souls sucked away and become its slaves.
With this item, the Senluo Division would no longer need to fear the Weidao Division. Unless they brought Zhenguo-level magical artifacts, if they dared to send powerful individuals, the Senluo Division would dare to absorb those experts into their ranks.
...
At the same time.
Outside the Greater Khingan Range.
Relying on his own strength, although Huang Qingshan and the others reacted promptly, the fat man still managed to leave the Greater Khingan Range with the Soul Summoning Banner.
He had no intention of staying in the Northeast and decided to leave the region.
Before leaving.
The fat man took out a box from his pocket:
"Right, there's one more thing to do."
It was given to him by the Tailor, who said that after the Soul Summoning Banner was refined, he had something to ask for his help, and the details were inside the box.
Immediately.
The fat man opened the box. Inside was a piece of paper with an address and a letter:
[Fatty, you've kept your promise and haven't forgotten my request. When you read this letter, I've likely been captured by the Weidao Division. You don't need to save me, because I need you to do me a favor next, and whether I'm saved or not will be the same.
I need you to go to a place, the address is written for you, the first address there. There are two coffins, one is my main body, and the other is my mother's.
I think by the time you read this, with your intelligence, you should know what I want you to do.]
As the fat man read up to this point, he subconsciously glanced at the Soul Summoning Banner in his hand, and suddenly understood why the Tailor had asked him to refine the Soul Summoning Banner before opening the box. His mouth twitched uncontrollably:
"Tailor, you rascal... are you trying to steal my swagger? Why so melodramatic, sacrificing everything to resurrect your mother and becoming a villain."
As he spoke.
The fat man's eyes flickered. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment, but he just stared blankly in the direction of the Tailor, murmuring:
"Tailor, I always said your swagger was low-class, I was wrong. Now your swagger is higher than mine."
As he spoke.
The fat man continued reading the letter.
And as he read on, his brows gradually furrowed, and he even let out a rare curse:
"Tailor, you damn it!!"
...