Chapter 99

Chapter 98: The Soul Mask

Tang Yuanhao was already a genius on the verge of ascending to the realm of immortals. He had no interest in the trivial matters of the business, as it would be an insult to his talent!

Actually, he didn't want to come, even when Emperor Tang requested his help. What changed his mind was hearing that the opposing party was Ding Hao. During the autumn hunt, he had met Ding Hao and didn't think much of him. However, later, he heard that Ding Hao had single-handedly dealt with the Purple Ape of the Mystic Cloud, which piqued his curiosity. That's why he came to Wuzhou to see what secrets this young man held.

The Grand Elder was already used to Tang Yuanhao's arrogant attitude and said, "Kongming, please sit down with Tang Fei." Then he introduced, "This general is the newly appointed Heavenly Hero General under Emperor Tang."

The black-bearded man bowed to Tang Kongming.

Tang Kongming returned the bow, sat down with Tang Fei, and then said, "With the personal arrival of the Crown Prince, our Tang family's business can finally avenge its past humiliation and thoroughly torment them!" As he spoke, a look of deep resentment appeared in his eyes. "I will make sure they repay the insult to our Tang family a hundredfold!"

The Grand Elder said, "It's not that easy to take them down."

The Heavenly Hero General nodded and said, "Indeed, Emperor Tang originally sent me to capture Ding Hao, but later I found out that Ding Hao is a key protected disciple of the Nine Provinces Academy!"

"What? He is a key protected disciple of the Nine Provinces Academy?" Tang Kongming was shocked. As a former disciple of the Nine Provinces Academy, he understood the implications clearly!

In the Nine Provinces world, the most powerful entity was not the Three Emperors and Nine Lords, but the Nine Provinces Academy! The Academy's disciples could not be arrested or interrogated by even the Three Emperors. Although Ding Hao was not an Academy disciple, he was a key protected individual!

In other words, he was not an Academy disciple, but he was treated as one!

Tang Kongming's face turned pale as he asked, "What should we do?"

The Grand Elder bowed to the sky and said, "By the grace of His Majesty, the Crown Prince has come to assist. Can this matter be resolved?"

Tang Kongming was taken aback, thinking that the Crown Prince was also an Academy disciple, so could he violate the Academy's rules?

At this moment, the Heavenly Hero General provided the answer, "The Crown Prince is willing to use his remaining chance to ask the Will of Heaven to publicly interrogate Ding Hao! This will make him tell the truth and reveal the truth to the public!"

"Excellent!" Tang Kongming slapped his thigh and cheered, "Good! Wise! Emperor Tang is indeed our clan's leader and the master of the three provinces! With the Crown Prince's Will of Heaven, that little brat won't have a chance to squirm! What will Ling Yunxiao say then? Hahaha, we finally have a way to deal with this little brat!"

As he spoke, the Grand Elder also nodded, a cold smile on his face, "Little Ding Hao, daring to oppose our Tang family, you are like a mantis trying to stop a cart. You will be crushed by our rolling wheels!"

The Heavenly Hero General also said, "Rest assured, as long as he confesses, we can immediately request the Will of Heaven to revoke his blessing from the Immortal Maiden! Such a person does not deserve the Immortal Maiden's blessing! At that point, we can do whatever we want to him!"

At this, all three of them wore sinister smiles.

...

"What? They actually plan to use the Will of Heaven against me?" Ding Hao's face changed dramatically.

Fortunately, he had planted a Blood Cloud in Tang Kongming's body, so he learned about this plan in advance. Otherwise, he would have had no room to maneuver.

"What should I do?" Ding Hao quickly returned to the Star Absorption Stone to discuss a plan with Jiu Nu.

"Who would have thought that after I used the Will of Heaven to interrogate the truth from the fourth Ding, they would now use it against me!" Ding Hao thought, "What goes around comes around, and the cycle of karma never fails. I never imagined I would one day be interrogated by the Will of Heaven!"

In the Blood Cloud, Jiu Nu pondered, "The Will of Heaven is very difficult to resist..."

Ding Hao asked, "If we do the same as with the Soul Suppressing Pill and absorb the power of the Will of Heaven into the Star Absorption Stone, would that work?"

"It won't work," Jiu Nu said. "The Will of Heaven is the collective will of all people in the Nine Provinces. It not only has powerful spiritual energy but is also a collection of mental energy! Even if the Star Absorption Stone absorbs its spiritual energy, you still won't be able to resist its mental energy!"

Ding Hao was disappointed, "What should I do then? Do I have to tell the truth under the Will of Heaven?"

Da Huang said, "Damn it, let's just escape to the outer realms and become demon cultivators instead. We'll be free and easy."

Ding Hao shook his head, "That's the last resort! We shouldn't take that step unless absolutely necessary. Once we take that step, there's no turning back!"

Jiu Nu also said, "Master is right. The best way to reach the higher realms is still through the Nine Provinces Academy. With their help, you can advance to the Qi Condensation stage and enter the greater world. If you cultivate on your own, you'll have to reach the Foundation Establishment stage in the outer realms, which is much harder without the Academy's resources."

Ding Hao frowned, "But if I have no choice, I'll have to do that. If I tell the truth, it's over for me!"

In fact, he was worried about more than just himself. If he told the truth in public, not only would he be ruined, but Ling Yunxiao would also be affected and suffer!

Jiu Nu thought for a while and finally said, "I have an idea. Is the soul in your Blood Soul Lamp still there?"

In the Blood Soul Lamp, the current soul was Dugu's soul.

Ding Hao took out the lamp, inserted a spirit stone, and the soul flame lit up. Dugu pleaded, "Genius Ding Hao, please spare me! Let me enter the cycle of rebirth. I have already told you everything I know!"

"Dugu, help me one more time, and I'll let you go," Ding Hao said with a faint smile, then placed the lamp in the Blood Cloud.

"No! No!!" Dugu saw Ding Hao's smile and knew it wasn't good, but he had no choice!

Jiu Nu took the lamp and said, "My plan is to use Dugu's soul to create a fake soul. I call this a Soul Mask. Then, we'll use this Soul Mask to shield your true soul. When the Will of Heaven descends, it will target the Soul Mask, not your soul. At that point, your body will still be controlled by your true soul, so you can lie!"

"Really?!" Ding Hao was overjoyed, "Jiu Nu, you really are capable! Great! We'll use a fake layer to deceive the Will of Heaven!"

At this, Ding Hao's face showed a cold smile, "If this works, I can even deceive the Will of Heaven! I'm looking forward to seeing the expressions on the Tang family's faces!"

However, Jiu Nu was not happy and sighed, "I just recovered, and now I have to create this. After this, I'll need a long time to rest and won't be able to help you. Be careful."

"What?" Ding Hao was surprised. He hadn't realized how much Jiu Nu had become an important helper.

Jiu Nu said, "But it's not a problem. You should try to expand the Star Absorption Stone. When more sealed souls are released, I'll wake up sooner. But I won't wake up before the Imperial Examination. Be careful during the examination! Cultivate your Sea of Qi quickly."

Ding Hao thought for a moment. This was the only option, so he nodded.

Jiu Nu said, "Wait, it will take some time to create."

While Ding Hao was busy dealing with this, Ling Yunxiao also received the news.

For him, this news was nothing short of a devastating blow.

"Bad news, the Tang family plans to use the Will of Heaven to interrogate Ding Hao," Ling Yunxiao, usually calm, now had a greenish face.

Xu Yuanjun was furious, "What right does the Tang family have to interrogate Ding Hao? Don't forget, Ding Hao is a key protected disciple of the Nine Provinces Academy, not just anyone to be interrogated!"

Ling Yunxiao sighed, "But Emperor Tang has already intervened, and the Nine Provinces Academy has a vice-chancellor from Tang Province. The Academy has agreed to let Ding Hao be interrogated by the Will of Heaven."

"This is very troublesome," Xu Yuanjun's face turned pale.

Ling Yunxiao said, "Now we can only hope that he really didn't do it."

Xu Yuanjun hesitated, "I feel... the incident with the Eye-Cleansing Tree Spring is likely related to Master Ding. If he dared to rob them in broad daylight, he could also destroy the Eye-Cleansing Tree Spring."

"Ah! This kid is so restless, he even dared to... the Four Sacred Trees! This has caused a huge disaster. I wonder how he will resolve this!" Ling Yunxiao slapped the table in frustration, but it was too late to complain. He thought for a moment and then asked, "Where is this brat?"

Xu Yuanjun said, "I don't know. After he robbed the Tang family's business, he disappeared. No one knows where he went."

Ling Yunxiao sighed, "I hope this kid stays away and doesn't come back."

"But if he doesn't come back, the pressure on you will be greater. The Tang family will say you are harboring Ding Hao and hiding him,"

Ling Yunxiao took out the White Light Sword from his spirit treasure pouch, looked at it, and then put it back. "He saved my life and gave me this sword. How can I let him die? Even if I have to send him to the outer realms, I can't let him be interrogated by the Will of Heaven!"

Hearing this, Xu Yuanjun nodded, "I understand, City Lord. I'll inform the brothers to intercept Master Ding before he returns! We won't let him go home!"

Ling Yunxiao nodded, "Don't bring him to the City Lord's residence. There are too many people and eyes. Take him to the estate outside the city, and I'll meet him there. Then, send him away."

Saying this, Ling Yunxiao sighed, "What a talented youth from Wuzhou, forced onto this path. I am so frustrated!"

"City Lord, don't be sad. This is Master Ding's fate," Xu Yuanjun consoled.