Chapter 310

Xiao Yan's lips curled upward; he raised a finger as a sword, and instantly his Soul Force coalesced into a Soul Sword—the complete Common Realm Soul Force howled through heaven and earth, one slash sweeping the four seas; in that instant, Xiao Yan's Soul Force became like a Heavenly Sword, sweeping stars and severing sun and moon, directly slashing at Ling Tian.

Now Xiao Yan had already brought this Soul Cultivation to the threshold of mastery, capable of shaping Soul Force into form. Soul Techniques attack the Spiritual Soul; ordinary Dou Techniques can only defend against Dou Qi attacks, and ordinary people have no way to defend against the eerie assaults of Soul attacks.

"Soul Technique!" Ling Tian's face turned pale; his Bloodline Power surged, and a Ling Clan Mark appeared on his forehead.

Ling Tian was forced to use his Clan Mark to barely defend against Dou Di Bloodline!

Thud—the Soul Force sword of Xiao Yan slashed straight forward; though Soul Force was formless, in Ling Tian's perception, it was truly like a divine sword, cleaving directly into him, piercing his body to sever his Spiritual Soul!

In one strike, the dazzling Spiritual Light on Ling Tian's body dimmed instantly; he had suffered a heavy blow, staggering backward several steps with thudding steps.

Puff—a mouthful of blood spat out!

"Y-you're from the Soul Sovereign!" Ling Tian trembled as he pointed at Xiao Yan, as if seeing a ghost.

The Ling Clan had always hidden within their own Ling Realm, afraid to emerge; even within the clan, some had suggested shutting down the Ling Realm entirely and vanishing.

Wasn't it all because they feared the Soul Sovereign!

The Soul Sovereign were infamous demons with precedent—wasn't the Xiao Clan wiped out by the Soul Sovereign! And now, among all Dou Emperor Families, the Ling Clan was the weakest, yet they still held the Tuoshe Ancient Jade.

Some in the clan had once proposed surrendering the Tuoshe Ancient Jade to the Soul Sovereign, but their last shred of Dou Emperor Family dignity had prevented them from bowing, believing other Dou Emperor Families would never allow the Soul Sovereign to exterminate more Dou Emperor Families or acquire more Tuoshe Ancient Jade.

Yet the fear of the Soul Sovereign remained etched into his heart.

And Xiao Yan—strengthening himself with Soul Force, wielding Soul Techniques—was unmistakably a Soul Sovereign!

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly; a plan formed in his mind.

"Hehehe, the Ling Clan has truly grown bold—no longer hiding in their doghole, coming here."

Hearing the sharp, grating laugh emanating from the Soul Robe, Ling Tian recoiled half a step! That laugh! No mistake!!

It was the Soul Sovereign!

Hum—the Soul Token appeared in Xiao Yan's hand, its surface clearly bearing the character "Soul."

Xiao Yan's eyes darted; he sneered: "Hehehe, you dare taint the Soul-Swallowing Tribe? It seems the Ling Clan doesn't take the Soul Sovereign seriously at all."

Ling Tian's expression shifted rapidly; he gritted his teeth: "True, the Soul-Swallowing Tribe once possessed the unique ability to devour the Bloodline Power of other races. They were ultimately destroyed by a coalition of all Dou Emperor Families—but that was thousands of years ago! Now, our Ling Clan's Bloodline Power is far weaker than other Dou Emperor Families; what's wrong with me harnessing the Soul-Swallowing Tribe's power?"

!!!?

Xiao Yan's heart jolted! The Soul-Swallowing Tribe were this powerful?! They required a coalition of all Dou Emperor Families to destroy?!

Xiao Yan naturally had no idea what the Soul-Swallowing Tribe were—he'd initially thought them some powerful beast—but now, frightened by Xiao Yan, Ling Tian had revealed everything: the Soul-Swallowing Tribe could devour the Bloodline Power of other races!

"Then what the hell is down there? Weren't they wiped out? Could they have survived for thousands of years?!" Xiao Yan swallowed hard; how irresponsible were these Dou Emperor Families, leaving behind such a thing!

"Hmph, if you don't want me to inform other Dou Emperor Families, bring me the Qinghun Youlan, and I'll leave—swear not to mention this incident," Xiao Yan said grimly.

Of course, avoid fighting if possible!

At that moment, suddenly—crack! —the earth behind Ling Tian split open; a pair of ghostly hands emerged from below. Before the ghastly thing within could crawl out, an ancient, piercing voice rang out: "Help me revive, and I'll kill him for you—then no one will ever know of this."

When that ancient, piercing voice sounded, Xiao Yan and the others felt their hearts leap.

Could this be the last remnant of the Soul-Swallowing Tribe?!

Hearing the voice, Ling Tian's eyes flickered with inner struggle, then glowed crimson as he glared fiercely at Xiao Yan.

As the hoarse voice from underground faded, the ghostly hands stretched open; from their palms slowly floated forth countless spherical objects like embryonic eggs, each wreathed in black light.

The dense swarm of black embryonic eggs suddenly exploded—immediately, piercing, wailing cries pierced the Sky, and shadowy forms as dark as a storm poured down like rain, then surged wildly toward the entire valley.

Watching the dense swarm of black shadows hurtling from the Sky, not only the Dou Wangs who had reached the depths, but even the low-level Alchemists at the outer edges, who'd come only to harvest common herbs for profit, became targets!

All faces turned pale; they hastily activated their Dou Qi—but as Dou Qi began to rise, black light flashed before their eyes, and many felt a sharp pain in their chests; looking down, they saw massive blood holes torn through their chests, blood and organs spurting out!

"What are these things?"

"Ahh! Save me!"

Xiao Yan's expression darkened; he froze Bone Spirit Cold Fire, then snatched a black shadow. These things possessed human bodies, yet their hollow, crimson eyes and bestial, razor-sharp claws made him realize—they were vastly different from humans!

"Are these things the Soul-Swallowing Tribe?!"

"These things devour SpiritFlesh and Dou Qi!"

Xiao Yan's scalp prickled—these tiny, sprite-like things were the Soul-Swallowing Tribe, the very beings that forced all Dou Emperor Families to unite against them?!

Faced with these eerie Soul-Swallowing Tribe, the entire mountain range plunged into chaos; fierce battles erupted everywhere, piercing screams never ceased, crimson blood stained the earth.

In midair, Ling Tian watched the valley rapidly descend into chaos; his face grew grim. Then, gritting his teeth, he dropped his Dou Qi defenses, arms wide open—as if surrendering himself to slaughter!

"Hahahaha! You have resolve! Don't worry—I'll use these countless offerings to revive, then seek out other Dou Emperor Families, drain their Bloodline Power, and restore you—even elevate you to Divine Grade Bloodline!"

Puff! Puff! Puff!! As he spoke, countless black Soul-Swallowing Tribe burrowed into Ling Tian's body, beginning to absorb his Dou Di Bloodline!

"Aaaah!!" As his Bloodline was drained, Ling Tian let out a piercing scream; his body visibly withered before their eyes.

From a dashing young man, he instantly became a withered, dying old man—even his Dou Qi was completely sucked dry!

"Kill him! Don't let him carry word back to the Soul Sovereign!"

Xiao Yan never imagined the Soul Sovereign could exert such pressure! Ling Tian was willing to sacrifice himself just to kill Xiao Yan and silence him!

But Xiao Yan didn't understand what the Soul-Swallowing Tribe meant to the Dou Emperor Families—touching this power was to declare war on every Dou Emperor Family. For them, Dou Di Bloodline was the foundation; how could they allow a race that devoured Bloodline Power to survive?

When all the Soul-Swallowing Tribe flew back, boom—the earth shattered, and from below crawled a monster.

The monster possessed a colossal body: insect torso, human head, six fleshy wings on its back, and a single massive horn atop its head—its horn entirely black.

Now standing there, the entire world trembled; the aura it radiated was terrifying beyond measure—far surpassing Dou Zong!

"Master Yao, this isn't a Dou Zun, is it?" Xiao Yan's scalp prickled; he didn't want to admit it.

After a long silence, the voice of the Heavenly Flame Patriarch came from his storage ring—but it was grim news.

"Though not as strong as I once was… yet… it is already a One Star Dou Zun." The Heavenly Flame Patriarch's voice was low; he had once been stronger, but that was long past. Now, even with his Soul Body, and even if all of them combined, they were nothing but meat for slaughter.

"W-what kind of monster is this!?"

"Is this the Poison Master?"

"You're stupid—this clearly isn't human!"

Seeing this monster, even some Dou Huang Poison Masters could not help but feel a chill run down their spines.

At that moment, Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened—the monster was hung with countless corpses; when he saw the clothing on those corpses, his mind exploded.

All of them were disciples of Dou Emperor Families! The Class Badges on their robes even included those of the Gu Clan and the Soul Sovereign!

And several of the corpses had not yet rotted—they were still "fresh"—likely disciples of the Yao Clan, Yan Clan, and Stone Clan tricked here by Ling Tian!

The SpiritFlesh of these Dou Emperor Family disciples had been completely drained!

"The Ling Clan has been keeping this thing!" Xiao Yan asked grimly.

"No, from these life traces, it doesn't seem to have been kept captive—it was likely mortally wounded and barely clinging to life, surviving by devouring flesh until it became this monstrous thing. It bears heavy wounds and has not fully recovered." Heavenly Flame Zunzhe rejected Xiao Yan's claim.

And in truth, as Heavenly Flame Zunzhe said, when the Swallowing Spirit Clan was destroyed, its survivors fled in all directions; the Ling Clan also participated in the pursuit, and this was one of the Battlefields.

Ling Tian had accidentally discovered this fragment of history and came to investigate, where he found this monster.

Now, this creature could no longer be called the original Swallowing Spirit—it was more like a demon forged from the Swallowing Spirit!

"Kill him! He's from the Soul Sovereign—he has Dou Di Bloodline!" Ling Tian roared, pointing at Xiao Yan.

Instantly, the monster known as Swallowing Grudge turned its head toward Xiao Yan, revealing a strange smile: "Hey, Soul Sovereign. It was your Soul Sovereign who killed my clan's Swallowing Spirit King. Today, let your Soul Sovereign pay with blood!"

Xiao Yan was stunned! I'm not from the Soul Sovereign—I was just bluffing!

Boom—in that instant, the massive monster finally struck. Whether it was truly a Swallowing Spirit or had become something else, it was undeniably a Dou Zun!

No matter what kind of Dou Zun, to Xiao Yan, it was a terrifying force capable of destroying heaven and earth!

A giant hand slashed toward him—Xiao Yan's heart jolted; his Dou Qi surged rapidly through his Meridians, and he roared: "Mountain Splitting Seal!!!"

At the last possible moment, Xiao Yan finally unleashed the true power of the Mountain Splitting Seal—a colossal handprint erupted, colliding with the monster's giant palm.

"Mountain Splitting Seal! How can you even use the Gu Clan's Dou Technique? Who are you?!" Ling Tian was stunned—it was a secret Dou Technique of the Gu Clan! How could a Soul Sovereign know it?!

Among the Young Generation of Dou Emperor Families, there were competitions and exchanges—he naturally knew the Emperor's Seal Technique, but to see it on a Soul Sovereign??

Unheard of!

Even though Xiao Yan had finally unleashed the true power of the Emperor's Seal Technique, his half-step Dou Zong strength still could not withstand the Dou Zun's casual strike—he spat blood and was flung backward, crashing into the Shan Mai.

"Xiao Yan!" Xiao Yixian unleashed her Poison, instantly breaking free from her opponent, flicked her sleeve, shattering all rubble, and pulled Xiao Yan out.

"I'm fine," Xiao Yan forced himself upright, pulled out a Six-Grade healing Elixir, and swallowed it—the pill's power rapidly mended his injuries.

Xiao Yan turned his head toward the distance; through the sub-flame of Void Swallowing Flame, he knew Zi Yan had not yet opened a Space rift.

Whoosh—a wind tore through as the giant monster attacked again; Xiao Yan clasped his hands together, and terrifying Heavenly Flames rapidly fused in his palms.

At this moment, Xiao Yixian dared not hold back—she activated her Eternal Calamity Poison Body; seven-colored light patterns emerged, illuminating Space.

In that instant, as Xiao Yixian activated her Eternal Calamity Poison Body—BOOM—a blade of light flashed; as Swallowing Grudge struck, a sword pierced through the monster's giant hand and instantly drove into the earth.

A figure stepped out of thin air, suddenly bursting from the ground, appearing instantly above the basin, sword in hand!

One man, one sword, stood before Xiao Yan and the others—his bearing was peerless!

When Xiao Yan saw the figure's face clearly, his eyes narrowed—this person looked exactly like the first form Ling Tian had taken: Youdu Zunzhe!!

When his Soul Force scanned the figure, Xiao Yan's heart jolted—it wasn't human at all! It was formed from the Netherworld Poison Flame!

Heavenly Flame Zunzhe's voice came: "I understand now—no wonder this monster bears such severe wounds. Back then, he was likely drawn here by the Qinghun Youlan, discovered this monster, and ultimately self-detonated his Eternal Calamity Poison Body, using his own Heavenly Flame to permanently seal the monster here, intending to use the power of the Netherworld Poison Flame to poison it to death!"

"The Toxic Miasma sealing this entire valley is the power of the Netherworld Poison Flame."

Xiao Yan now understood why this region was so desolate, unlike the vibrant area near the entrance. The land had been poisoned to death by the explosion of an Eternal Calamity Poison Body!

"It must have been awakened by Xiao Yixian's Eternal Calamity Poison Body—some will hidden within the Netherworld Poison Flame. Perhaps he foresaw that future generations would break the seal, so he left a contingency!"

"Youdu!!!" The giant monster roared in fury: "Even when you self-detonated your Eternal Calamity Poison Body, you couldn't kill me! Now it's even less possible!"

(End of Chapter)