Chapter 511

The clear and pleasant soul melody flowed through the soul bamboo forest, like immortal music from above the nine heavens, washing away the violence and dead silence of this world.

The Nightmare Tapir's massive body rose and fell slowly, and those giant eyes, originally filled with bloodthirst and violence, were also half-closed, revealing a kind of almost obsessive intoxication.

Its thick elephant trunk swayed slightly with the melody, as if even its indestructible scales had softened a bit in this gentle tune.

One song ended, and the lingering echoes seemed to entangle themselves on the tips of the bamboo leaves.

The Nightmare Tapir opened its eyes, and the intoxication in the depths of its eyes turned into even more intense greed after only a moment.

"Continue..."

The Nightmare Tapir's voice was hoarse and rough, revealing an intent that could not be refused.

Hua Changxi did not do as it asked. Although the soul melody could also make her feel comfortable, it consumed quite a bit of soul power.

Because her Spirit Platform had not been opened, her soul power was already weak, so naturally, she could not play for a long time.

Furthermore, the intense look of a predator coveting its prey surging in the Nightmare Tapir's eyes made alarm bells ring in her heart.

"Senior, the timing funnel has already been flipped three times..."

Hua Changxi tried to push back, but she had already quietly gathered strength under her feet.

"Long-winded!"

The Nightmare Tapir clearly lost patience, its huge rhinoceros eyes suddenly contracted, and a suffocating pressure erupted with a boom.

Immediately following, a dark and eerie light shot out, and the light condensed rapidly in mid-air, turning into a white rune shaped like a hoop.

The surface of the rune flowed with sinister patterns, emitting a restrictive aura that made the spirit tremble.

Hua Changxi, who had read the *Soul Canon*, instantly recognized that white rune—the Soul-Locking Hoop!

The Soul-Locking Hoop, once driven into a living being's sea of consciousness, can forcibly imprison the spirit, turning the enslaved into a puppet that can never turn over, only to be driven and manipulated by others.

Hua Changxi was terrified, but because she was suppressed by the Nightmare Tapir's pressure, and the Soul-Locking Hoop was too fast, arriving before her eyes in the blink of an eye, she had no way to avoid it and could only watch helplessly as the Soul-Locking Hoop sank into the center of her brow.

"Boom~"

The moment the Soul-Locking Hoop sank into her sea of consciousness, Hua Changxi felt as if her brain was about to explode.

Inside the sea of consciousness, the Shennong Cauldron appeared out of thin air, its body flowing with vast patterns, emitting a heavy pressure that suppressed the ages, directly suppressing the Soul-Locking Hoop that was trying to run rampant in the center of the sea of consciousness, making it unable to move.

At the same time, the tokens of the six great blessed lands suddenly lit up, the firelight intertwined into a circle, surrounding the Soul-Locking Hoop.

In an instant, fire soared in the sea of consciousness, and scorching flames burned fiercely, jointly launching a burning and refining attack on the Soul-Locking Hoop.

"Crack!"

Under the joint resistance of the Shennong Cauldron and the six great tokens, the Soul-Locking Seal actually shattered into dots of light in the sky like fragile glass.

"Unh~"

The Nightmare Tapir let out a painful muffled groan, its massive body also trembled violently, and at the same time, soul power surged around it, and the fluctuations were abnormal.

This is the state of the spirit suffering a severe backlash.

The Nightmare Tapir's face was full of unbelievable horror, staring dead at this weak human in front of it: "How is it possible?!"

It is a dignified peak Demon King realm powerhouse, only one step away from stepping into the Emperor realm and overlooking the Nine Nethers!

And this human in front of it only has cultivation at the General realm, with a chasm of two major realms between them. Under such an absolute strength gap, its attempt to lock her soul actually failed!

The Nightmare Tapir's gaze toward Hua Changxi changed; the previous casualness and playfulness were swept away, replaced by unprecedented solemnity.

This human's background seems to be somewhat extraordinary!

When the Soul-Locking Hoop shattered, it vaguely sensed a terrifying power that burned everything and seemed capable of refining the world. That power made it tremble instinctively.

The Nightmare Tapir was still in shock and doubt, and the next moment, its eyelids twitched again.

After Hua Changxi realized that she had almost become a puppet, a monstrous anger surged in her heart, and she directly summoned the black broken blade.

However, she did not kill the Nightmare Tapir directly after all.

The aura of the Nightmare Tapir in front of her was much stronger than Lady Chi Yan's. When she killed Lady Chi Yan, it was a narrow escape; if it weren't for luck, she might not have been able to kill Lady Chi Yan.

Now facing an even more powerful Nightmare Tapir, if she really started a fight, she would likely stumble.

And the Nightmare Tapir, after a brief shock upon seeing the black broken blade, actually showed an expression of speechlessness.

The Nine Nethers' number one fierce weapon—the Netherworld Blade, actually fell into the hands of a human!

"Leave the blade, and this King will let you leave."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi's brows knitted directly, not hiding her unwillingness at all.

Yes, the Nightmare Tapir is very powerful.

However, she is not really without the power to parry.

Being in the fifth level of the Nine Nethers, she just didn't want to expose her human aura. If she really exploded with the power of her flesh body, it wouldn't be impossible to kill this Nightmare Tapir.

"What if I refuse?"

The Nightmare Tapir did not expect Hua Changxi to refuse, and a fierce aura immediately surged around it: "Are you looking for death?"

Hua Changxi looked at it, unafraid: "A King-realm Nine Nether demon beast, wanting to kill me, you don't have that ability yet."

The Nightmare Tapir was stunned; it had never seen such an arrogant guy, and it was so speechless it didn't know what to say.

Although Hua Changxi's words were very tough, she didn't really want to fight the Nightmare Tapir, and her tone softened a bit: "Three songs for three fruits, this was a trade initiated by Senior yourself."

"Now that the song is over and the people are scattered, as a King-realm powerhouse, Senior surely won't go back on your word, so I won't bother you anymore."

"Hmph, want to leave?"

The Nightmare Tapir snorted, its giant eyes turning: "The trade was set by this King, and this King can acknowledge it. But those three fruits bought the *Soul Ballad*, and now, what this King has taken a fancy to is the blade in your hand."

"This blade is my life-saving object, I won't give it." Hua Changxi answered categorically.

"Not giving it?"

The Nightmare Tapir's evil aura surged, and the massive pressure descended again, pressing the surrounding soul bamboo until it swayed: "On this King's territory, there has never been anything this King has taken a fancy to that I couldn't get."

"If you insist on refusing, then leave your life behind, and this King will still take the blade!"

Hua Changxi hates being threatened the most. In an instant, the absolute power belonging to her flesh body surged within her, and she stared straight into the Nightmare Tapir's eyes without backing down.

"If Senior insists on fighting, then let's try. Although my cultivation is not as good as Senior's, if I want to fight to the death, Senior will probably have to lose a layer of skin."

The Nightmare Tapir's giant eyes narrowed, and it vaguely sensed that Hua Changxi's aura was changing. That instinctive trembling feeling attacked its heart again.

For a time, the two sides were deadlocked.

The air was filled with a tense atmosphere, as if a single spark could ignite it.

After a long time, the fierce light in the Nightmare Tapir's eyes gradually converged, replaced by a kind of shrewd calculation. It looked deeply at Hua Changxi and said in a deep voice: "Human, you are very tough."

Hua Changxi did not speak, waiting quietly for what it had to say next.

"The Netherworld Blade, this King is determined to get it."

"Of course, this King won't take it for nothing."

"In addition to the previous three Nine-Orifice Exquisite Soul Heart Fruits, this King will give you two more in exchange for this blade of yours."

"Don't be in a hurry to refuse. That blade is a fierce weapon of the Nine Nethers, even 'fiercer' than the Ghost Race's Soul-Summoning Banner. You, a human, holding it, aren't you afraid that humans will say you are a demonic cultivator?"

These words indeed struck Hua Changxi's heart.

She had long sensed the "fierceness" and "evilness" of the black broken blade, especially the fact that the broken blade would stimulate and foster the black flames. It was neither suitable for her to use, nor did she like it.

Exchanging the black broken blade for Nine-Orifice Exquisite Soul Heart Fruits, it seemed it wasn't impossible...

Hua Changxi looked at the Nightmare Tapir, weighed it again and again, and really did not want to fight it to the death.

This is the Nine Nethers; it's better to keep a low profile.

In a flash of lightning, Hua Changxi had already made a decision, and a look of just the right amount of struggle and reluctance appeared on her face: "Two is too few, at least... ten."

Seeing her open her mouth like a lion, the Nightmare Tapir gasped: "Human, you are too greedy!"

Hua Changxi: "The Netherworld Blade, I didn't get it easily either."

The Nightmare Tapir rolled its eyes, speaking as if the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Soul Heart Fruit were easy to get.

When it fell into the Soul River, it almost died in the river. Although it was lucky enough to run into a Soul Heart Fruit tree, it still feels lingering fear to this day.

"Ten is not possible, at most... five."

Hua Changxi was stunned when she heard this. How many Nine-Orifice Exquisite Soul Heart Fruits does this Nightmare Tapir have? It feels like this fruit doesn't seem to be very precious.

"Five... too few, at least nine."

"Nine is too many, six, no more than that."

"Forget it, I'll take a step back, eight, no less than that."

"Seven, this King will give you seven, no bargaining allowed, otherwise, we fight directly."

After speaking, the Nightmare Tapir flicked its front claw, and seven fruits emitting holy soul light and shaped like miniature hearts appeared out of thin air, floating in its palm.

"Human, don't be too greedy. The Soul Heart Fruit has the best effect only when consumed for the first time. When you take the second one, the effect is halved, and later on, the effect is approximately equal to zero, just enough to quench your thirst."

Hua Changxi still seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

Seeing this, the Nightmare Tapir hurriedly urged: "Stop talking nonsense, hand over the fruit, hand over the blade."

Hua Changxi did not move: "Given that Senior has gone back on your word before, I don't trust you."

The Nightmare Tapir was very impatient: "What do you want?"

Hua Changxi: "You give me the fruits first, and I will give you the Netherworld Blade after I leave the Soul Nightmare Valley."

"Senior is powerful, you shouldn't have to worry that I will escape from your hands, right?"

The Nightmare Tapir really didn't think Hua Changxi could escape from its hands, so it flicked its claw and gave the fruits to Hua Changxi.

After Hua Changxi put away the fruits, she galloped toward the outside of the Soul Nightmare Valley without hesitation.

Seeing that the Nightmare Tapir did not chase, she was a little surprised.

Until she reached the valley entrance and found that the Nightmare Tapir was already waiting there silently.

Hua Changxi's eyelids twitched, and she threw the black broken blade into the high sky without hesitation.

In order to lure the Nightmare Tapir away so she could run, she even spared no effort to release a trace of her flesh body's power.

"Shoo~"

Seeing the black broken blade streak across the sky like a meteor, the Nightmare Tapir was furious. Too busy to bother with Hua Changxi, it flashed its figure and went to chase the blade.

After the Nightmare Tapir's figure disappeared, Hua Changxi's tense heartstrings finally relaxed slightly. Not daring to delay in the slightest, she lifted her energy and swept toward the outside of the valley.

However, the moment her figure rushed out of the valley entrance, her footsteps stopped abruptly.

She saw a divine and extraordinary blue deer standing quietly in front of her.

Its body was surrounded by a dreamlike dark blue halo, and nine mysterious patterns were looming on its fur, as if carrying the earth veins of the Nine Nethers.

Nine-Pattern Deer!

This deer, also called the Netherworld Deer, is the legendary Nine Nether Dao Envoy, and its status is equivalent to an auspicious omen in the human world.

It is said that the Netherworld Deer never appears on its own initiative and only appears when it senses that "someone has walked out of the Netherworld Dao" in the Nine Nether lands.