Halosa held a slender grey rod in his hand and lightly traced it across the ground, his voice cold as he said, "Netherworld Rebirth!"
Visible to the naked eye were dense ghostly flames emanating from his body as the origin point, spreading outward and touching all the strange creatures with a few strands of flame...
Standing there, he presently seemed like a reaper from hell!
Leng Yulai muttered darkly behind him, "So this is Vice Sect Hierarch's ultimate domain, Netherworld Rebirth? Truly terrifying!"
At the very least, it gave him a sense of crisis that even surpassed that of the Sect Hierarch!
"Vice Sect Hierarch is indeed formidable. With just his domain, he has made these ants experience despair!"
"That's right. Vice Sect Hierarch's fame has resonated across the entire Continent for hundreds of years!"
"The Federation could never have imagined that we, the Holy Spirit Cult, were aware of their covert operation. Their strongest is merely an ordinary Titled Douluo, hahaha!!"
On the Federation's side, the Titled Douluo responsible for the escort, upon seeing this terrifying domain...
His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he said in a trembling voice, "This domain... Netherworld Rebirth, he is the Vice Sect Hierarch of the Holy Spirit Cult, Nether King Douluo, Halosa! I never thought this guy was still alive!!"
This was a Limit Douluo-level powerhouse; in front of him, he was just an ant that could be crushed effortlessly!
Halosa, noticing his name was recognized by the other, said in surprise, "Youngster, you actually know me!"
"Too bad, you still have to die. Of course, if you're willing to submit to our Holy Spirit Cult, you can save your life!"
The Titled Douluo did not respond; instead, he turned to the other Federation members and said, "I'll cover for you. Run!!"
Seeing this, Halosa simply said indifferently, "Foolish!"
In his Netherworld Rebirth Domain, they wanted to escape, but it was simply impossible!
With a slight clasp of his hand, the Titled Douluo felt an invisible giant hand gripping his neck, slowly lifting him into midair...
Suddenly, an intense suffocating sensation caused his pupils to constrict and veins on his forehead to burst...
Halosa coldly said again, "I'll ask one more time, are you willing to submit to the Holy Spirit Cult?"
The Titled Douluo clenched his teeth tightly and managed to spit out a few words, "No... impossible... pugh!"
Before he could finish his sentence, his body was torn asunder, and his life force rapidly dissipated...
Only then did Halosa pat his sleeve, as if he had done something exceedingly easy!
Leng Yulai looked toward the remaining Federation members and Xingluo soldiers, confused he asked, "Vice Sect Hierarch, what should we do with these people?"
Halosa said unruffled, "Keep that high-ranking one, kill all the rest!"
Leng Yulai slightly nodded, and the Darkness Phoenix, over a hundred meters tall, soared in the sky...
Nine soul rings slowly rose from beneath...
As one of the soul rings lit up, the Darkness Phoenix spewed out scorching black flames from its mouth, pouring down on those below...
The Federation members and others tried to flee, but under the repression of the Netherworld Rebirth Domain, they couldn't escape the range at all...
Consequently, one by one, they turned to ash under the extreme heat...
Only the high-ranking official from the Federation was left, collapsed on the ground, staring at the black flames scattered everywhere, his eyes filled with a color of utter despair...
Halosa took steps towards him, mockery flashing in his eyes, "Relax, you are still of use to us, I won't kill you yet!"
The man involuntarily backed away a few steps, his lips trembling as he said, "You... what exactly do you want to do?"
Halosa looked directly into his eyes, "Nothing much, just to have you deliver a message back to the Federation!"
Immediately, relying on his immense spiritual power, he altered the former's memory...
Although doing so meant that the subject would not live much longer, the objective had been achieved!
Looking at the unconscious federation high-level official, he casually ordered, "Clean up the scene, and then retreat!"
Leng Yulai took a deep breath and rapidly extinguished the flames around him...
The collapse of the buildings made the checkpoint look like it had been subjected to an attack by soul tools...
...
Xingluo Empire!
Hearing the news, Dai Yueyan said with a face full of rage, "What?? The federation's team was attacked on their way to the Star Luo Empire Palace, and the entire army was wiped out?"
The soldier charged with delivering the message bowed his head, "Yes... Yes, that's correct!"
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger. This interaction with the federation was conducted in secret. It's unknown which power obtained the message beforehand and launched the attack, then framed our Xingluo Empire!"
"That's right, we should remain calm now and find the hidden hand behind this. We can't let the Xingluo Empire take the blame for this unwarranted accusation!"
"I think, this incident is most likely the doing of the Holy Spirit Cult! The federation should be able to understand this!"
Dai Yueyan forcibly suppressed his fury and said in a deep voice, "Were there any discoveries at the scene?"
Yes, if he lost his reason, that would be falling right into the adversary's trap!
The soldier hesitated for a moment, "Reporting to Your Majesty, there was nothing unusual about the battle situation. Judging from the extent of the surrounding buildings' collapse, it seems both sides used soul tools in the fight!"
"It's very possible that there really is a traitor within our Xingluo Empire's military who attacked the federation's team!"
Dai Yueyan fell silent...
After a few seconds, he spoke again, "Let's not be too hasty in our judgment of this matter. Presumably, once the federation learns of this, they will initiate contact. We can't let this incident shatter the good relations between us!"
...
Federation, Council Hall!
The atmosphere was extremely tense...
One of the federation's high-level officials spoke up first, "Not long ago, our team sent to the Xingluo Empire was attacked. It's very likely that there is a leak inside the federation!"
The others also echoed, "That's right, there were no incidents during the operation, but the attack occurred just as we were arriving at the Star Luo Empire Palace. This matter is not so simple!"
"Yes, I also don't believe that the Xingluo Empire's Emperor, already overwhelmed with the Holy Spirit Cult matters, would do such a thing to tarnish the relationship between both sides!"
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open...
The federation official, whose memory Halosa had altered, rushed into the room...
Seeing everyone discussing, he immediately bellowed, "This incident was the doing of the Xingluo Empire. They collaborated with the Holy Spirit Cult to launch an attack on us. If it weren't for the selfless protection of the Titled Douluo responsible for our escort, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to return to the federation alive!"
Upon hearing this, the rest of the federation high-level officials did not completely believe it...
"You have just woken up from unconsciousness, could there be a problem with your memory?"
But the former said with a categorical tone, "Impossible, I saw with my own eyes how the Xingluo Empire's soldiers and the Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Soul Masters surrounded us, and they used large-scale lethal soul tools for indiscriminate bombing!"
"The whole Xingluo Empire has long been thoroughly infiltrated by the Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Soul Masters. The so-called emperor is merely a puppet, not worthy of our trust at all!"
...