Chapter 71: Purification

"What's taking that guy so long?" Tang Ya grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. She glanced at the inside of the house, checking to see if Huo Yuhao was coming out now. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow, and frustration started to bubble up inside her.

"He has his Sharingan, he should've already saw the entire place already and with how confident he looked, he would've already purged the... curses. So what's taking him so damn long?" She hesitantly looked into the silent and eerie open lobby.

After Huo Yuhao said that he was going to take care of the spirits lingering in the house, Tang Ya didn't stay inside the house. Instead, she stood outside, anxiously waiting for him to finish. She might be cold hard killer now in her journey for revenge but even the most ruthless person can't help but feel a sense of unease in such a creepy environment. The abandoned house, with its decaying walls and broken windows, seemed to emit an aura of darkness that sent a chill down Tang Ya's spine.

Tang Ya glanced at her surroundings, feeling the weight of the silence. The only sound she could hear was the wind gently rustling through the overgrown trees. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to ward off the cold and the growing sense of dread.

"Come on, hurry up," she muttered under her breath. The longer Huo Yuhao took, the more her imagination started to run wild. "Seriously, we're already planning on annihilating the Ironblood Sect. My home, we could use it as our headquarters. But what does he say? Nooo. Because we'd be attacked by their allies and or enemies, or the worst case scenario is that the empire wouldn't accept that we took down the Ironblood Sect, even though it's clearly justified. So now we're just have to buy this, this haunted villa!"

As Tang Ya's impatience grew, she couldn't help but pace back and forth in front of the house. The sun began to set, casting long shadows that danced eerily on the walls. The fading light only added to the building unease inside Tang Ya. Time seemed to move slower, and every minute felt like an eternity. She felt a gnawing sensation of anxiety in her stomach, and her impatience grew with each passing moment.

Unable to bear the suspense any longer, she was about to take a step forward when something caught her attention.

"Ah! This, this..." Tang Ya gasped, eyes wide, her entire body trembling as she looked down with her hands outstretched.

Standing below her was a tiny, white fluff of adorable called a Snow Rabbit, it's tiny nose twitching. This was the Snow Rabbit that had accompanied Huo Yuhao in his training in the Extreme North! But this was the first time it had ever revealed itself to anyone.

Huo Yuhao never intended to bring the little one with him but due to certain circumstances, he couldn't help but bring it along. How might you ask? He taught it Transformation Jutsu.

Well, more like he forcibly transmitted the Jutsu into its tiny mind, also forcing it to develop intelligence equal to a human so it could use the Jutsu perfectly. Its main purpose could only be revealed when there's... enemies, though sometimes he would use it as a distraction.

Since he could handle the things in the huge house, Huo Yuhao decided to let the Snow Rabbit wander around and have fun.

"Where did you come from, little one?" Tang Ya cooed, her impatience momentarily forgotten as she knelt down to get a closer look. "Did you get lost?"

The Snow Rabbit hopped closer, its ears perked up in curiosity as it sniffed the air. Tang Ya couldn't help but smile, feeling a warmth in her heart that she hadn't felt in a long time.

"Hey there," she said softly, extending a hand towards the rabbit. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

Impressively, the Snow Rabbit hopped closer and nuzzled Tang Ya's hand. She let out a small laugh, feeling a sense of comfort in this unexpected encounter. As she petted the rabbit gently, she was about to take it in her embrace when she felt a shiver down her spine, her surroundings suddenly cracked and the sound of glass breaking was heard.

"W-What was..."

*Boom!*

Tang Ya's jaw dropped as part of the second floor of the house exploded, her entire face was drained of all colors when ghostly cries of sorrow and anguish was heard. She paled even further when another explosion occurred and she saw numerous green apparitions flying all around the sky.

'Yuhao, what the fuck are you doing?!' Tang Ya unhesitatingly ran away, her soul rings arose and Blue Silver Grass vines appeared behind her acting as a shield, while she desperately held to the Snow Rabbit in her arms who looked completely calm.

She wasn't leaving Huo Yuhao behind, she was just... doing a tactical retreat! Yes, that's right! When she comes up with a plan to deal with the spirits she'll go back and save Huo Yuhao.

'I'll come back for you, Yuhao! Don't you worry!!' She was just about to leave the abandoned house when a powerful surge of energy erupted from within. A blinding light filled the air, illuminating the dark surroundings.

Tang Ya stopped in her tracks, frozen in both fear and curiosity. She glanced back at the house, torn between running away and finding out what was happening inside. But her concern for Huo Yuhao outweighed her fear, and she couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone in such a dangerous situation.

"Yuhao, you owe me some roasted fish!!" Taking a deep breath, Tang Ya steeled herself and dashed back towards the house, her soul power surging through her body.

All the while the Snow Rabbit just chilled in her arms, completely undisturbed by everything around it.

Compared to the bloodshed and carnage it saw that day, this was just another normal day for it.

...

"Y-You..." Vold looked on in disbelief, down on his knees and helpless. His body glitching between his and Hao's appearance. The Death Stick, his martial soul, in his hand was slowly disintegrating as well as his soul rings.

But he didn't care about that, his eyes looked up at the boy slowly approaching him. He looked handsome, lean and muscular, anybody would think he was a young man at the crisp of eighteen years of age. Someone that had just entered adulthood and was ready to take on the world.

But Vold knew, as a former Evil Soul Master that specializes in the dead, souls and spiritual power, he was able to get a simple scan over the boy's body: he was just thirteen years old! A Soul Elder at that age, who seemingly specializes in souls and spiritual power, there was no one like that back in his era.

It was why he was so hesitant to kill the boy, he was a perfect vessel! It might seem like he had truly resurrected from the dead and he had all his powers back, but it was farther from the truth. With the current body that he was using, he could only last for around two months.

He needed another body, one that was young and had a lot of potential being a soul master, and Huo Yuhao was the perfect replacement.

'But to think he would easily defeat me like that,' Vold could feel the pull of the afterlife calling him once more, his soul unstable and on the brink of destruction. He tried to reach out with his remaining strength, to somehow grasp onto life a little longer, but it was futile.

'Just who is this boy? To have such dense aura of death and decay, something only I have only seen from the Old Man of the Mountain have, yet he can use the light element like someone with the Angel martial soul could and command over the souls more than me, someone who has lived for many millennia! Is he even really a Evil Soul Master as well?'

'Huo Yuhao' stared down at Vold, his grey eyes cold and indifference. As if taking down a once infamous evil soul master meant nothing to him. Which was true as the Calamity Necromancer Electrolux, the elder currently borrowing Huo Yuhao's body, was someone who was once qualified as the God of Death, had faced much stronger and evil opponents.

Vold's struggles and pleas fell on deaf ears, as 'Huo Yuhao' continued to approach with a calm and composed demeanor.

"No, please!" Vold begged, his voice hoarse and filled with desperation. "I can serve you, I can be of use to you. Spare me, spare my soul!"

'Huo Yuhao' paused, a glimmer of consideration crossing his eyes. As the real Huo Yuhao started talking to him inwardly, don't mistake it as him giving mercy or leniency towards Vold. Oh no, he had stopped Electrolux because he was considering of having Vold as a slave.

'I understand what you're saying Little Yuhao, but trust me. He's more useful for us to absorb than be kept as a subordinate. Forgot about people figuring out that you've got an evil soul master as a subordinate, but he'll be quite costly.'

'What do you mean, elder Electrolux?' Huo Yuhao asked, curious.

Because they wanted to save up their energies in case of emergencies, Ancestor, Skydream and Ice Empress were in deep sleep and wouldn't wake up unless Huo Yuhao was in absolute danger. So it was currently only him and Electrolux right now.

Electrolux then explained, 'Vold didn't truly achieve True Resurrection, that's something only Gods could do. What he did is just a higher level of possession skill that allowed him to take over a body and gain power. But his soul is still unstable, and it won't be able to maintain its form for much longer. If we forcibly absorb his soul, we can gain his pure soul essence; it'll be great for my soul, and it would also do wonders to your soul power and spiritual power. Plus, we can make sure he doesn't pose a threat to us in the future.'

Huo Yuhao considered Electrolux's words. It made sense, and it would ensure their safety in the long run. He nodded, a determined look in his eyes.

"You have brought destruction and suffering upon countless lives," 'Huo Yuhao' spoke, his aged voice steady and unwavering. "Your actions have tipped the balance between life and death, and for that, you must face the consequences."

He raised his hand and a grey magical circle appeared underneath Vold, surrounding him in a glowing light. Vold's struggles intensified as he desperately tried to resist the force that was pulling him towards the circle, but it was futile.

"No, please!" Vold pleaded one last time, his voice filled with despair and fear. "I don't want to disappear like this!"

But 'Huo Yuhao' remained unmoved. With a flick of his wrist, the magical circle activated.

Vold let out a pained cry, his body glitching and flickering as his soul struggled to maintain its existence. The once powerful Evil Soul Master was reduced to a mere shell of his former self, consumed by fear and desperation.

"P–Please! I still haven't gotten my revenge! The entire reason for my continued... scummy existence." Tears trickled down his eyes, despair overcoming him. "The things I've done... The people I killed and tortured, I–! I know I don't deserve this second chance of life, but someone else certainly did... The one I loved, my beloved..."

Huo Yuhao didn't slow down his movements but the slight flicker in his eyes showed that he was slightly affected.

But Vold didn't notice. Feeling that this was end for him, his resistance vanished. He allowed himself to be pulled into the magical circle, his spiritual body pulling away from Hao bit by bit.

"...I didn't start out as an Evil Soul Master, like most are." Vold said, feeling helpless. "When my martial soul awakened, it wasn't like this and had the appearance of a simple looking stick. When I was at your age, I wasn't even a Soul Scholar. Feeling that I had no chance of becoming a formidable Soul Master, I gave up on the path and walked the path of an ordinary man."

"Because I had soul power and a soul ring, I managed to become a small noble in the Heaven Dou Empire. For a couple of years, I only thought about strengthening and flourishing my land. Everything was like that until I... met her."

Vold's eyes lit up, soft and gentle, and for a moment, the man he was once were before being an Evil Soul Master appeared.

'Huo Yuhao' silently listened, hearing his story resonated something deep in Electrolux's soul.

"I loved her, no, I still love her! Now and forever." He closed his eyes painfully. "We lived our lives peacefully and it all changed, when a civil war broke out in the Empire. Those bastards, those bastards! Heaven Dou Empire, Tang Sect, and Shrek Academy! Those fucking hypocrites! Aah, ah... My wife... Lin'er... Forgive me..."

Looking up without a word, Huo Yuhao raised his hand, a faint glow emanating from his palm. As he brought his hand down, Vold's spirit occupying Hao's body completely cut off and gathered into a blue ball of light.

The eerie silence settled over them once again, as the remnants of Vold's presence faded away from Hao's unconscious body. At that moment, Electrolux returned the control of the body to Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao stood there, his gaze fixed upon the blue ball of light, Vold's soul essence. His mind was filled with conflicting emotions, a mix of relief, weariness and... sympathy.

'Will this how I'm going to end up as well, if I fail in my vengeance?'

Tang Ya emerged from the shadows, her eyes wide with disbelief, tightly hugging onto the Snow Rabbit.

"... What the fuck?"

....

AN: Sorry for the delay. I was busy for the last few days with the fam and friends; partying and celebrating the New Year.

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