Chapter 97

A thread of spiritual consciousness drifted into the dantian, and Qin Lie suddenly paused. He noticed that the vortex within his dantian had stopped spinning at some point.

Even when he tried to channel his spiritual energy and gather strength, the vortex in his dantian remained motionless.

He was taken aback, focusing intently and observing carefully, and found that the spiritual energy in his dantian seemed to have diminished significantly...

The spiritual clouds that had originally been everywhere, thin and diffused, now gathered in clusters, becoming dense and rich.

It wasn't that the spiritual energy had decreased, but rather it had become refined and condensed, transforming from a scattered state to a concentrated one.

It seemed to have been thoroughly refined and purified by the vortex.

"Rumble!"

As the Heavenly Thunder Punishment began to circulate, there was no change in the dantian, but thunderous sounds came from his bones.

Fine currents of electricity, like sparks, began to surge from his acupoints, flowing rapidly along his meridians, all converging toward the dantian.

Qin Lie's mind trembled.

Since he began cultivating the Heavenly Thunder Punishment, the thunder power hidden deep within his acupoints, bones, and flesh had never actively converged toward the dantian!

The thunder power and the spiritual energy in the dantian had always been distinct, rarely intersecting.

Only during battles, when spiritual energy flowed from the dantian, would a bit of thunder power be released, merging with the spiritual energy to enhance his attacks.

Under normal circumstances, the thunder power would never actively converge into the dantian!

Something was wrong!

Qin Lie became tense, preparing to focus his mind, but then he heard a loud rumble in his head, as if his entire body had become the source of thunder, shaking violently.

The thunder power within his body, at this moment, escaped his control, becoming wild and surging toward the dantian.

The moment the first fierce and domineering thunder power entered the dantian, his mind was jolted, and he instantly lost his sense of self. All his thoughts and consciousness were forcibly pulled into a small world within the dantian, rolling and surging with the flow of thunder.

He was lost, his eyes closed, his body trembling slightly, unable to control himself.

At this time, the massive ferocious soul, transformed from the soul beast, roared and fiercely attacked the light barrier formed by the Senluo Hall warriors.

"Bang!"

The ice-blue light barrier suddenly shattered, blue light splashing out.

Two Senluo Hall warriors immediately spewed blood, their eyes filled with bloodshot, their spirits shattered.

"Qin Lie! Gao Yu! Is there any way? If there is, act quickly!" Ban Hong shouted, his voice hoarse and low.

He was already at the end of his strength, unable to even shout loudly.

At his fingertips, a miniature purple spirit snake tried to form but could not take shape.

Blood trickled uncontrollably from Ban Hong's nostrils, ears, and eyelids, his face grim, yet he had no solution.

At this moment, Liang Zhong was being fiercely attacked by the soul beast, the light of Qingyue gradually dimming. Several wounds on his shoulders were being corroded by poison.

Liang Zhong could not provide any assistance.

Outside the valley, Xiong Ba of the Red Flame Association, Na Luo of the Water Moon Sect, and Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian of the Star Cloud Pavilion, all looked terrified and uneasy, frightened by the crisis within the valley.

They instinctively moved toward the valley, trying to find a way to help Liang Zhong and the Senluo Hall fight against the soul beast.

"Stay back! Don't cause more trouble!"

Liang Zhong's body was thrown out, and in mid-air, he was burned by a flame beam, his hair catching fire.

He saw the urgency on the faces of Xiong Ba, Tu Ze, and Na Luo, understanding their intentions, and desperately shouted, forbidding them from entering the valley.

Na Luo, Xiong Ba, and Tu Ze's steps were halted by his shout, their faces growing more anxious, their hearts more uneasy.

They clearly saw that this was the most critical moment. If Liang Zhong or Xie Jingxuan couldn't hold on, the Senluo Hall would be at a significant disadvantage.

Especially Xie Jingxuan, who was fully activating the Vermilion Bird's blood, was completely defenseless.

The ferocious soul, in a state of madness, had shattered multiple layers of defensive barriers. If it broke through one more layer of dark green light, it could directly attack Xie Jingxuan's head, severely injuring or even killing her.

If Xie Jingxuan died, no one could continue to exert the power of the Eight Extremes Fire Array, making it impossible to refine the soul beast, and thus preventing its advancement.

The carefully planned extermination operation would be in vain, and they would immediately face the bitter consequences of failure.

A soul beast that had successfully advanced to the fourth stage, with its ferocity, could slaughter all the martial artists in the stone forest, and even the cities of Ice Rock, Water Moon, and Red Flame might suffer the consequences of their failure, leading to a catastrophic outcome.

"Qin Lie!"

"Qin Lie!"

Ban Hong and Gao Yu both shouted at Qin Lie, hoping he could summon the heavenly thunder to resolve the crisis.

Unfortunately, Qin Lie seemed to hear nothing, unaware of their expectations, his eyes tightly closed, his body trembling.

There was no thunder in the sky, no lightning on Qin Lie, everything was as usual.

Ban Hong and the Senluo Hall martial artists gradually lost hope, their eyes dimming, seemingly aware that the operation was about to fail.

"Whoo! Whoo!"

Above everyone's heads, all the soul beast's split souls gathered into a terrifying ferocious soul, several dozen meters tall.

This ferocious soul, gathering the power of all the split souls, exuded an overwhelming pressure. After it formed, the last layer of dark green light barrier exploded.

Xie Jingxuan suddenly found herself defenseless.

Her eyes, which had been tightly closed, twitched, as if sensing the terrifying pressure from above.

"Lord! I am powerless!" Ban Hong shouted hoarsely.

"Roar!"

The massive ferocious soul, with its terrifying might, suddenly descended from the sky, aiming to destroy all the troubles in one strike, to annihilate everyone, including Xie Jingxuan.

Xie Jingxuan's body emitted a strange vibration, her eyelids under the demon mask twitching even more, as if she was trying to wake up.

But she seemed to be encountering some trouble, and despite her efforts to break free, she couldn't manage it.

The ferocious soul, carrying thick black clouds, was about to descend, aiming to annihilate all threats.

Ban Hong closed his eyes in despair, and the Senluo Hall martial artists lowered their heads, unable to bear the sight.

"Huh?"

At this moment, Gao Yu exclaimed, a wave of energy suddenly emanating from the ghost face ring on his hand.

In the next moment, the Yin energy he had cultivated for many years, all the cold and sinister spiritual energy in his body, surged into the ghost face ring.

"Zzz!"

A jet-black, ink-like Yin energy began to emanate from his body, rising to the sky, slowly gathering above Gao Yu, forming a vague giant shadow.

The shadow, like a mountain, had two large curved horns on its head and a pair of black wings that could obscure the sky.

The shadow was indistinct, but as soon as it formed, a terrifying aura that could destroy heaven and earth enveloped the entire sky and earth.

This aura was extremely evil and malevolent!

Like a giant demon from the depths of the netherworld, breaking free from endless shackles, descending upon this world.

Inside and outside the valley, all intelligent beings with souls felt their souls tremble!

The spirit beasts of the Extreme Cold Mountains, outside the valley, crouched down, their bodies shaking, as if submitting to the ground.

Outside the valley, Tu Ze, Na Luo, Xiong Ba, and others, their legs trembling, could not stand steady under the pressure of the giant demon's shadow.

Their wills were completely shattered!

Inside the valley, Liang Zhong, Ban Hong, and the Senluo Hall martial artists suddenly felt heavy breathing, as if a mountain was pressing on their shoulders, their minds trembling, all looking at Gao Yu with shock, at the giant demon shadow floating above his head.

Even the ferocious soul formed by the soul beast's split souls paused its attack.

Compared to the vague giant demon shadow above Gao Yu's head, the ferocious soul seemed to have weakened, its ferocity suppressed, and it dared not attack.

The soul beast's main body, which had been making Liang Zhong increasingly desperate, also stopped its pursuit, its three cold, sinister, and evil eyes all looking at the vague demon shadow, revealing deep fear.

Like lower-level beings suddenly being observed by a top predator in the food chain, they instinctively felt fear.

The soul beast was afraid, whether its main body, main soul, or split souls, all felt uneasy.

It stopped, its main body and the ferocious soul formed by the split souls silently observing, not daring to make any rash moves.

Unlike the ferocious soul formed by the soul beast, the terrifying demon shadow that emerged from Gao Yu's body was not afraid of the surging flames. It floated in the raging fire, completely unaffected.

Its appearance made all the beings inside and outside the valley feel terrified and uneasy, bringing the intense battle to a sudden halt.

Everyone was stunned by the terrifying demon shadow that emerged from above Gao Yu's head, their gazes filled with fear and unease.

However, Gao Yu, who was being stared at by everyone, had an extremely strange expression.

He looked at Qin Lie...

He could faintly sense the unease of the mysterious demon shadow, as if he heard a voice reaching his soul, a voice that seemed to come from the demon above his head.

"Leave quickly! Get away from here, get away from here!"

Strange syllables, which Gao Yu had never heard before, but he understood their meaning.

—The voice was urgently urging him to leave.

Initially, Gao Yu did not know what the demon shadow was afraid of, but as he took a step toward Qin Lie, and as the voice suddenly became more urgent and panicked, he suddenly understood.

The sudden appearance of the demon shadow seemed not to be for the ferocious soul above everyone's heads, not for the soul beast...

It was because of Qin Lie!

—It was forced out by Qin Lie!

For some unknown reason, and for something it sensed, it suddenly appeared, constantly urging Gao Yu to leave, to quickly get away!

—Stay away from Qin Lie!

"Why? Why? What do you have? What will happen to you? It makes the soul beast tremble, makes the spirit beasts outside cower, why is it so afraid of you, why does it want me to leave your side?"

Gao Yu shouted in his heart, the voice reaching his soul causing his head to ache.

He clutched his head in pain, his face twisted, his eyes fixed on Qin Lie, taking steps backward.

...

PS: First update of the day, there will be four updates today~~

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