In the shadows, the development of the three major Deceit Beasts proceeded smoothly, and the Soul-Calling Banner could evolve to the next stage.
"By the way, the Chaotic Burial Mound can be developed as barracks."
A grey mist rose around Chu Yi, obscuring his figure and blocking prying eyes.
According to the Moon Princess, the Master of Grey Mist had obtained part of the Mother of Secrets’ authority, which allowed him to block divination, prophecy, and other methods, thus preventing the exposure of the King of Black Robes’ identity.
His figure vanished, and a human skin slowly floated out, bizarre and grotesque, transforming into an ancient banner.
Tens of thousands of souls were almost depleted at once. Chu Yi pondered where to replenish his stocks.
It seemed that the legitimate forces of the Undead Association sold souls and corpses, specifically supplying Undead-type, Soul-type, and Flesh-type Masters.
Nowadays, in the era of Beast Taming, Beast Tamers with these niche attributes would not be discriminated against. Only Abyssal-type and Twilight-type Masters with ties to the Evil Gods were universally reviled.
Suddenly, Chu Yi remembered that a city in the Federation had fallen. It had been occupied by the Evil God’s Favored and remained a forbidden area to this day.
To prevent the Evil Gods’ pollution from radiating outward, the Federation had no choice but to abandon and quarantine the place, turning it into an Evil Spirit Realm.
Every city contained at least a million souls; a walkthrough would suffice to fill the Soul-Calling Banner.
He made a mental note of this plan.
Chu Yi grasped the Soul-Calling Banner with one hand, a smirk playing on his lips. With the other hand, he opened his Star Bracelet, searching for recent photos of the Shen Family members.
Dare to provoke an Evil God? Do they think I have no temper?
His Star Bracelet was custom-made by the Qin Family and came with high privileges. It also lacked any monitoring, allowing him to immediately search for over a hundred members of the Shen Family, including entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and other social figures.
Chu Yi considered himself quite benevolent. He couldn’t bear the thought of Elder Shen and his grandson being separated by death, so he decided to send the old man for a reunion.
He waved the Soul-Calling Banner, and the skull atop its staff emitted a piercing scream. The White Bone Pearl Jade ornaments shook, and rows of characters on the flag, like wriggling centipedes, began to glow.
Soul Capturing Spell!
You wretched old codger, face your death!
Upon hearing of Shen Tianqi’s death, Shen Ling stared fixedly in one direction, fists clenched so tightly that veins bulged on them.
As the Shen Family’s Qilin son, spoiled by Shen Ling and seen as the family’s hope for resurgence, Shen Tianqi hastily committed suicide after a Beast Taming match with Chu Yi simply because he couldn’t accept failure?
There’s clearly something more to this!
"Little bastard, you’ve gone too far!" Shen Ling cursed. Chu Yi was incredibly eerie. After two years of silence, he had risen to prominence within a single week—a phenomenon hard to accept!
The spot in the Starfire Sequence was precious. Shen Ling had secured it through favors and at great cost, all to send Shen Tianqi in. But alas, Shen Tianqi was gone!
"That little bastard should have been killed a week ago to prevent any unforeseen incidents!"
"Chu Yi, always Chu Yi! Why doesn’t that mongrel just die!"
"I watched Tianqi grow up. He was always sunny and cheerful. How could he suddenly commit suicide? He must have been murdered..."
"The King’s Cub isn’t invincible! A mere Silver-rank like him can’t protect it!"
The Shen Clan Members gathered, filled with righteous indignation.
Because of Chu Yi, they had become entangled in trouble. They had recently received citations for hiring assassins, and the Wolf Fang Mercenary Corps’ involvement had been exposed.
Besides this, several sectors of the Shen Family’s enterprises were being targeted by the Qin Family, and the situation looked gloomy.
As Shen Tianqi’s parents, they wept even more bitterly. Their daughter, Shen Yun, had died at Chu Yi’s hands. Now, their exceptionally talented son had also been brutally murdered, his death cleverly disguised as a suicide.
This middle-aged couple, having lost both their children, was on the verge of a mental collapse. They hurled curses filled with venomous rancor at that monstrous bastard who deserved to be sliced into a thousand pieces.
"Silence!" Shen Ling took a deep breath to suppress his anger, letting out a cold snort.
The crowd fell silent, all eyes turning to the Shen Family’s Patriarch, waiting for him to make a decision.
"Now that Shen Tianqi is dead, we have a feud with Chu Yi," Shen Ling said calmly. "Even if we sincerely try to reconcile, will he believe us? He’d likely use reconciliation as a pretext to extract value and drain the last drop of the Shen Family’s blood." This caused everyone’s heart to sink, awakening them from their hatred to the immense pressure of being enemies with such a Demon.
Because the Shen Family would have to face not just him, but all the powerful forces supporting this Demon.
"Currently, only two paths lie before us."
"First, the Qin Family shelters Chu Yi. If our Shen Family remains in Yaoguang City, we’ll only suffer further suppression. It would be better to sell our assets and move the entire family out," Shen Ling sighed, feeling deeply aggrieved.
To be frightened by a Demon to the point of fleeing Yaoguang City with their tails between their legs, like stray dogs—it was utterly disgraceful. They were a Noble Family with a century-long standing here; abandoning it all meant a complete loss of face.
"This... How can this be!"
"Our Shen Family has operated in Yaoguang City for a century! If we abandon it all, wouldn’t we become a laughingstock?"
"Patriarch, let’s reconsider the relocation..."
A portion of the clan members voiced their opposition. Their main base of operations was here; the Shen Family’s roots were in Yaoguang City, and their connections were deeply intertwined with the local influential powers.
Shen Ling felt helpless. He had to admit, Chu Yi was indeed terrifying. Being threatened by a Demon to the point of a full-family relocation to a new city... if word of this spread, the Shen Family would become a pariah in the circles of other Noble Families.
As he was speaking, one of the Shen Family elites suddenly began to tremble. His eyes went vacant, and his face turned ashen, drawing everyone’s attention.
Before anyone nearby could react, the elite collapsed to the ground. He struggled for a moment, then breathed his last.
Everyone was shocked. Why did he suddenly collapse? Was it overexertion?
"Don’t touch him! He’s dead!" Shen Ling, more experienced in such matters, narrowed his pupils abruptly, staring intently at the rapidly cooling corpse of his kinsman.
In his perception, this junior seemed to have been devoured by some Mysterious Power, his core consumed, leaving behind only an empty shell.
What in the world happened?!
Just as everyone assumed this Shen Family elite had died from sudden natural causes, a second person, a corpulent middle-aged man, collapsed. His eyes bulged, his complexion turned a deathly purple, and his gaze was lifeless, as if something had snatched his very soul away.
Then, a third, and a fourth...
An unknown terror gripped the Shen Family. This scene was like a curse from an Evil God—a truly bizarre and terrifying event!
The probability of this happening was akin to winning the lottery!
"Quick, call for official help! Something strange and terrifying is happening!"
"This strange affliction is contagious! Everyone spread out... Ugh..."
As one clan member after another fell, an overwhelming fear crept into their eyes, leaving them in utter despair.
First, they provoked a Beast-Controlling Demon and faced his threats. Then, they endured suppression from the Qin Family. And now, this bizarre incident had erupted. It seemed the heavens themselves intended to annihilate the Shen Family!
"Red Cloud Eagle, go!" Shen Ling immediately summoned a Flying Pet Beast, grabbing a few clan members to escape the terrifying scene.
Even Shen Ling, who had weathered countless storms, felt utterly powerless at this moment.
Watching his clan members collapse one by one, pleading for help while he could do nothing, Shen Ling felt as if his eyes might burst from strain and fury. His mental state was on the verge of shattering.