Yan Shaozhe nodded, saying nothing more, but the worry between his brows had not dissipated.
He looked toward the deeper regions of the Star Dou Great Forest, and the ominous premonition in his heart grew stronger.
The escaped spirit, and the truth that might be hidden behind it, must be reported to the Sea Gods Pavilion as quickly as possible.
The peace of the Continent might soon be broken.
Leaving the area ravaged by the terrifying battle, Caelus and the two others successfully rendezvoused with Grandpa Hui, who had been anxiously waiting outside the forest.
Without further delay, the group once again boarded the luxurious Soul Guide carriage, rushing non-stop toward the core of the Star Luo Empire—Star Luo City.
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere was no longer relaxed; instead, it was replaced by a heavy sense of oppression.
Xu Jiujiu leaned against the soft velvet seat. The previous sharpness and calculation were gone from her amethyst-like eyes, leaving only deep worry and unease.
She finally couldn't hold back. Looking at Nebula Douluo Man Yi, who was resting with her eyes closed across from her (though her brows were also slightly furrowed), her voice carried a subtle tremor:
"Grandma Man Yi... that... that woman, what exactly happened to her?"
She even found it difficult to accurately describe that existence.
"Is she... is she really not an Evil Soul Master? But her appearance... and those questions she asked... Spirit Hall? Heaven Dou Empire? These... these are simply not questions someone from this era should be asking."
A hint of fear was present in Xu Jiujiu's tone:
"Furthermore, the aura around her was cold and deathly silent... I have never felt such pure Death Qi on any living person, or even an Evil Soul Master."
If Spirit Kite Douluo were merely a Titled Douluo-level Evil Soul Master, while terrifying, the Star Luo Empire would not be afraid.
But the implications of someone suspected to be from ten thousand years ago resurrecting in this era were chilling.
Xu Jiujiu would rather face a powerful, unknown Evil Soul Master than confront an ancient person who had crawled out of history's tomb and should have long turned to dust.
The unknown and terror brought by the latter far surpassed the former.
Nebula Douluo Man Yi slowly opened her eyes. The sharp light in her cloudy old eyes was restrained. She sighed softly and shook her head:
"Your Highness, this old one's time fighting her was too brief to glimpse the full picture. However, judging by this old one's experience and perception, her confusion and bewilderment at the time did not seem feigned, especially the intense emotional fluctuation when she learned of the destruction of Spirit Hall and the division of Heaven Dou... that could not have been faked."
Her tone was exceptionally serious:
"Although it sounds utterly preposterous, all signs indicate that she very likely... truly does not belong to our era. She is a certain 'anomaly' that we cannot understand, one that has crossed ten thousand years of time and returned."
This conclusion caused the air inside the carriage to nearly solidify.
Grandpa Hui was even more dumbfounded, feeling as if he were listening to a myth.
"This matter is no small thing; it has far surpassed the scope of ordinary Soul Master conflicts or Evil Soul Master disturbances,"
Man Yi said solemnly.
"We must report this to Your Majesty immediately so that Your Majesty can decide, and strong personnel must be dispatched as soon as possible to secretly investigate this matter. When a Titled Douluo's spirit from ten thousand years ago reappears in the world, nobody knows what kind of chain reaction it will trigger."
Xu Jiujiu nodded heavily, the last trace of hesitation vanishing from her face, replaced by the decisiveness belonging to an Empire Princess.
She instructed the guards outside the carriage:
"Remove all speed restrictions, increase the Soul Guide core power to maximum, regardless of the wear and tear, and return to Star Luo City at the highest speed possible. At all checkpoints along the way, show the Imperial token for priority passage."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The guards outside the carriage responded respectfully.
Soon, the carriage shuddered slightly, followed by a buzzing sound of Soul Power fluctuations several times stronger than before.
The scenery outside the windows began to rapidly recede at a dizzying speed, blurring into indistinct streaks of color.
The carriage truly sped like the wind and lightning, all to quickly bring this news back to the heart of the Empire.
Caelus sat to the side, silently listening to their conversation and feeling the sudden increase in speed.
He looked at the rapidly passing scenery outside the window, his heart surging with emotion.
Perhaps only he on the entire Douluo Continent knew what was happening at this moment, and only he understood that Xu Jiujiu's instinctive worry and fear were not unfounded.
That was not an Evil Soul Master, but an undeniable powerhouse from ten thousand years ago, forcibly dragged out of eternal slumber by a power that surpassed Karma, walking anew in this completely unfamiliar era.
Even more terrifyingly, Spirit Kite Douluo was by no means an isolated case.
Caelus could feel that the myriad karma true blood was completely active. It was foreseeable that in the future, more names buried by the dust of history, more existences that should have returned to silence, would be chosen by the myriad karma true blood, crossing the chasm between life and death to return to this land.
The existence of the Nirvana Corpse was destined to be unable to hide forever.
Not every Nirvana Corpse possessed the resilient will, the Titled Douluo foundation, and the luck and strength to escape the siege of two contemporary powerhouses, like Spirit Kite Douluo.
As long as any slightly weaker Nirvana Corpse was successfully captured and studied by a major power... then their identity as the resurrected, and their incredible method of revival, would no longer be a secret.
However, the impact brought by the Nirvana Corpse was far more profound than just a new type of undead.
They were not mindless zombies or skeletons driven only by instinct; they possessed complete memories, distinct personalities, and even near-complete Souls from their previous lives.
They were old friends who had returned, bearing the indelible marks of the past.
Imagine: when names that should be cold entries in historical records turn into living individuals again; when faces long blurred in memory and stolen by time become clear once more; when lovers thought to be gone forever, Bloodline relatives, or deeply ingrained enemies stand before them in another form... how should the people involved cope?
Should they ecstatically welcome this miracle that defies logic, or fear this curse that disrupts the order of life and death?
Should they embrace this illusion that has been lost and found, or collapse under the severe tearing between reason and emotion?
How should the existing social order and moral principles define and accommodate these returnees?
Caelus could already see the immense storm that the Douluo Continent would face due to the appearance of these "returnees."
And this shadow sweeping the Continent, this source of chaos that was about to overturn the order of life and death and was destined to incite monstrous waves of love, hatred, attachment, and fear... was precisely what he had brought about.
After all, the myriad karma true blood existed because of him. Although it wasn't his active choice, he could not escape responsibility.