Realm of the Night God - Chapter 122: Killing and Extracting Souls

What is a burial master? Beyond the Night Watch lies the role of burial master, and Divine Envoy Deng Feng is the burial master of Lecheng, the only one Lecheng has now.

The burial master is essentially a position within the Yin Division, similar to the Night Watch, but with a higher status in the Yin Division, and the title of divine envoy is just a respectful address from the Night Watch to the burial master. In their eyes, the burial master is an envoy sent by the Death God to various places, hence the respectful title.

There is no limit to the number of Night Watches under each burial master. The burial master can determine the number of Night Watches based on the size of the city and their own strength.

The appearance of each Night Watch will not cause any irreversible negative effects on the burial master, but it will cause some consumption, which takes a certain amount of time to recover from.

There is no limit to the number of Night Watches a city can have, as Yin Division does not concern itself with such trivial matters, or rather, the higher-ups of Yin Division do not bother with it. However, the number of burial masters in a city is fixed, there can only be one.

At this moment, the undead told Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing that the mummified corpse in front of them was named Xue Li, and this Xue Li was the burial master of Lecheng, which naturally surprised Yang Haoran because Deng Feng is the burial master of Lecheng now, and a city cannot have two burial masters.

However, Xu Meijing’s reaction next surprised Yang Haoran even more. She seemed to know this Xue Li, and from what she said, this Xue Li indeed was the burial master of Lecheng.

Seeing the surprise and confusion on Yang Haoran’s face, Xu Meijing explained, “Xue Li was indeed the burial master of Lecheng, but he was the previous one. Deng Feng took over after he disappeared.”

With Xu Meijing’s explanation, Yang Haoran understood what was going on.

“Since you know him, then you must know about his actions. This lunatic, during his time as the burial master of Lecheng, was a disaster for our entire city. He not only killed countless living beings but also spared no animals. He was worse than a beast!”

The undead’s tone suddenly became excited again, as if his hatred for Xue Li had reached an indescribable level.

Xu Meijing shook her head and said, “I don’t know him personally, I just know of him. There are no secrets in this world. I know some of his actions.”

Yang Haoran’s expression changed slightly at Xu Meijing’s words, as if she was indirectly confirming what the undead had said.

In other words, this burial master Xue Li had indeed committed such insane acts!

“Did he really dare to do that?” Yang Haoran still found it hard to believe.

Xu Meijing gave him a disdainful look and said, “Don’t doubt it. He really did. During his time as the burial master of Lecheng, he not only targeted ordinary people but also believers from various sects or disciples of those sects.”

“The Night Watch are the guardians of the night, ensuring its peace. Hence the name Night Watch. The burial masters, on the other hand, guide the souls of the dead to the underworld for reincarnation. They are the true funeral directors for the deceased. But Xue Li was different. He truly interpreted the meaning of the term ‘burial master’ to the fullest. Instead of fulfilling his duty to send the undead to the underworld for reincarnation, he directly buried living people.”

With Xu Meijing’s affirmation, although Yang Haoran’s facial expression didn’t show strong reactions, he was still greatly surprised inside, while Xu Meijing continued to speak.

“Because of his actions, many sects caused quite a stir, which had a negative impact on our Yin Division. He provoked public outrage, and combined with our Yin Division’s rules being violated, we naturally had to clean house. But before we could take action against him, he suddenly disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Yang Haoran frowned slightly. “Did he deliberately hide?”

“At that time, many people believed that Xue Li fled out of fear of punishment, deliberately hiding. This aligns with your current thoughts. Yin Division even issued a special order to hunt him down, to eliminate this traitor. And the sects and exorcists who had grudges against him, upon knowing that he had lost the protection of Yin Division, had no hesitation and openly launched a frantic pursuit against him.”

“But since then, there has been no news of Xue Li. Yin Division did not find him, and it’s said that neither did the sects nor the exorcists who were hunting him. He disappeared as if evaporated from the earth, leaving no trace or any information about him.”

“This was decades ago. I heard it from an old veteran in the Night Watch. After so many years, no one mentions this anymore. Neither Yin Division nor other sects, or even exorcists, have remembered this former burial master of Lecheng. Perhaps, only those who hate him to the bone still think of him from time to time.”

With that, Xu Meijing glanced at the undead floating in the air. It seemed like she directed her last sentence to him.

Xu Meijing gave the undead a dangerous vibe. Seeing Xu Meijing looking at him, he instinctively stepped back, his excited expression disappearing, replaced by fear. There was no trace of the arrogance he had when he first emerged from the soul gathering bead.

Xu Meijing didn’t press the undead further. After giving him a glance, her gaze shifted to the walls of the stone chamber, which were marked with numerous blade scars. She had a look of realization on her face.

“Now I roughly understand how he died. No wonder the curse above the stone gate integrates several different forces. It seems that the curse is the result of his enemies teaming up. What surprises me is that he even provoked the monster clan.”

“To become a burial master, one must be a strong celestial soul practitioner. To trap such a strong practitioner alive in this narrow stone chamber, those people must have paid a hefty price. As for why I could easily dispel the curse in this stone chamber, it’s not because the curse is weak, but because most of its power should have been expended when dealing with Xue Li. Plus, with decades passing, its power has greatly diminished. So, I could easily break it. It’s hard to imagine how strong the curse in this stone chamber was decades ago.”

Listening to Xu Meijing’s analysis, Yang Haoran was also extremely surprised. Xue Li was a celestial soul practitioner, and Xu Meijing was one too. Yang Haoran hadn’t witnessed Xue Li’s methods, but he vividly remembered Xu Meijing’s strength. To be able to trap such a strong practitioner alive in such a small stone chamber was indeed not a simple matter.

However, Yang Haoran still had some doubts in his mind, and among them, the one he cared about most was how Master Zhou discovered this place and why he went to such lengths to open this stone gate. Did he know what was inside?

Xu Meijing didn’t have as many doubts as Yang Haoran. Her only question was why Xue Li did what he did. He massacred living beings, extracted souls, and cultivated evil spirits. A burial master of the Yin Division actually committed such insane acts, but for what purpose?

“Why do you think Xue Li did this in the first place?” Xu Meijing turned her gaze to Yang Haoran and asked.

Yang Haoran, lost in thought about Master Zhou’s motives, was abruptly interrupted by Xu Meijing’s question.

He didn’t delve deep into the question and casually replied, “Could it be for the same reason as us Night Watch, to enhance his own strength? So, he resorted to insane methods to harm living spirits and extract souls, gaining benefits from higher authorities?”

Yang Haoran’s speculation seemed somewhat reasonable, but Xu Meijing didn’t even think about it and shook her head directly. She said, “Xue Li wouldn’t have done such a thing unless he was a fool.”

“Why?” Yang Haoran frowned slightly and asked.

“Are you stupid?” Xu Meijing immediately felt that her words were inappropriate and changed her tone. “Forget it, I take back what I just said.”

With a pause, Xu Meijing continued, “We Night Watch hand over souls to gain the opportunity to be infused with Soul Qi from the burial master. Similarly, when the burial master takes souls from the mortal world to the underworld, they also gain benefits, more than you can imagine. But, have you considered one thing? If Xue Li sends the souls he collected through crazy means to the underworld, he exposes himself directly. If it were you, would you do that?”

Yang Haoran was stunned by her question. While he thought Xu Meijing made sense, he couldn’t help but think of another thing: Wang Qing’s soul!

Wang Qing’s death was somewhat related to him, and he had already handed Wang Qing’s soul over to Deng Feng by the end of the month. Would Wang Qing seek opportunities to reveal this?

When he handed over the souls, he hadn’t thought much about it. Now, reminded by Xu Meijing, he realized that his actions were somewhat inappropriate. Wang Qing’s and Gao Liang’s souls should not have been handed over.

If Wang Qing and Gao Liang revealed this matter, it would be troublesome. However, he hadn’t directly attacked Wang Qing. If Deng Feng did come for him because of this, he could still find a reason for himself, although it might sound weak. But any reason was better than none.

However, before Deng Feng came for him, he needed to make some preparations. These preparations naturally involved verbal preparation, otherwise, he would be quite passive when improvising later.

Of course, it would be best if Deng Feng didn’t come for him!

Seeing Yang Haoran standing still, Xu Meijing didn’t intend to ask him anything further. Instead, she turned her gaze to the undead. Ignoring the fear in the undead’s expression, she asked, “Since you’re a victim, do you know why he did this in the first place?”

Originally just a casual question from Xu Meijing, she didn’t have much hope. However, she didn’t expect the undead’s answer to surprise her greatly.

“I know! He did this to refine something with our souls!”

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! BokuBoku]