Amidst the blood and chaos, "Zhongli Wu" stood high in the void, looking down at the scene below that had devolved into a living hell. The howling wind swept past his body, making his long robe flap loudly, while his cold face remained hidden beneath the shadow of his hood.
The corpses of millions of citizens were mangled beyond recognition, without a single piece of intact flesh. Countless streams of blood converged into rivers, gurgling as they flowed into the low-lying areas.
The altar had completely vanished, let alone those ministers, envoys, and representatives. As for the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiawei...
Whoosh—
"Zhongli Wu" reached out his large hand and gave a gentle grasp. A head covered in bloodstains landed in his palm.
With a wipe of his hand, the bloodstains cleared to reveal Xu Jiawei's head, his eyes wide open in unresigned death.
"Let's treat this head as a gift."
After placing the head into a wooden box, "Zhongli Wu" organized his thoughts. "Although a few escaped, it doesn't really matter."
"Zhongli Wu" muttered to himself, yet it also seemed like he was speaking for the Demon Empress to hear. Amidst the Demon Empress's silence, the corner of his mouth curled into a cruel smile. His palm covered the air below, and his five fingers suddenly bent!
This scene made the Demon Empress raise her eyebrows slightly.
The next second, an invisible light shield enveloped this entire region. A bizarre energy fluctuation surged from "Zhongli Wu's" palm, flooding into the light shield, accompanied by gusts of chilling Yin wind.
"Woo, woo, woo, woo—"
On the ground where blood flowed like a river, streams of black Qi rose up, accompanied by the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves. As the black Qi gradually transformed into a blood-red color, souls manifested from all directions, crashing against the light shield that enclosed this region.
Although they were ghosts, their faces were filled with terror. They desperately avoided the rising black Qi and tried to escape this shrouded region, but no matter what, they could not break free.
"Zhongli Wu" slowly raised his right hand. After a fluctuation of soul power flashed by, a Myriad Souls Banner emitting a bizarre aura appeared in his grasp. As the banner fluttered in the wind, it let out eerie whimpers that even the ghosts shrank back from.
"Uruga..."
As he chanted incantations, the ghosts felt a powerful attractive force constantly pulling at them. They were powerless to resist and were ultimately absorbed into the Myriad Souls Banner one by one.
These ghosts struggled and wailed within the banner, but they could not break free from its bindings. With every ghost absorbed, the light on the Myriad Souls Banner grew a bit brighter, as if it were devouring the essence of life. When blood-red light and black Qi rose within the banner and gradually enveloped the ghosts, the originally terrified wails transformed into shrill, mournful howls that sounded exceptionally terrifying.
"Zhongli Wu" gave the Myriad Souls Banner a beckoning wave and a roll...
"Converting so many souls into vengeful spirits will actually provide quite a bit of nourishment." He muttered to himself, yet his eyes remained as devoid of emotion as an ancient well. It was precisely this detachment that made him appear even more ruthless.
After absorbing the vengeful spirits, he reached into his storage soul tool again and took out a small, exquisite, tower-shaped soul tool that exuded an icy killing intent. The surface of this soul tool was carved with mysterious runes that flickered with a faint green light, as if it were alive.
"Zhongli Wu" tossed the tower-shaped soul tool into the air.
"Drain!"
The tower-shaped soul tool seemed to possess the ability to change size at will, instantly enlarging several times over. A massive opening appeared at its bottom, like a hungry beast, frantically sucking in the blood flowing on the ground and the remnants of the corpses. Blood and body fragments surged into the soul tool like a torrent. The originally transparent tower body was gradually dyed deep red, emitting an even more浓郁 scent of blood.
Beside "Zhongli Wu", the Demon Empress's eyes flashed with excitement. Her pale face looked exceptionally bewitching under the reflection of the blood.
"Quite a bountiful harvest this time. And there are those complete corpses of Titled Douluos..."
"Hehe—"
"Zhongli Wu's" cold sneer seemed to interrupt her words. Then the Demon Empress heard "Zhongli Wu" say:
"This is only the beginning. The Star Luo Empire has already been heavily damaged. Next up is Tian Dou City of the Tian Hun Empire. That will be another 'feast' for us."
Just then, the other evil soul master Titled Douluos rushed back from the direction of Star Luo City, gathering around them. They all exuded a chilling, evil aura.
As for what they held in their hands, it was either a Myriad Souls Banner or a tower-shaped soul tool. Clearly, they had slaughtered everyone left in Star Luo City clean. Even the White Tiger Duke's mansion in the suburbs had been destroyed. Perhaps only the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao and Dai Yaoheng, who were stationed with the Northwest Army Corps, and Dai Huabin, who was still at Shrek Academy, had survived. Even to prevent any fish from slipping through the net, they had not only destroyed the imperial palace but left only the city walls of Star Luo City standing.
"No one left behind?"
"Zhongli Wu" swept his gaze over the crowd. After receiving their confirmation, he said, "Withdraw! Next stop, Tian Dou City."
With a wave of his hand, he gave the order.
The crowd transformed into streaks of black shadows, speeding toward Tian Dou City of the Tian Hun Empire. What remained in place was a lifeless ruin and the silent wails of the dead.
On the way to Tian Dou City, the Demon Empress drew closer to Zhongli Wu and asked, "The upcoming Tian Dou City won't be as easy to conquer as Star Luo City."
"After all, Du Busi is stationed in Tian Dou. Once a battle ensues, it will definitely be hard to determine a victor in a short time. If we get entangled by Du Busi, the nearby Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will definitely rush to reinforce them quickly. By then, it will be us who are in danger."
A sharp gleam flashed through Zhongli Wu's eyes as he agreed:
"That makes sense. However..."
Saying this, he turned his gaze to the Demon Empress.
"When the time comes, we will strike first, and you attack from behind."
The Demon Empress nodded slightly. "That works."
...
Tian Dou City, as the capital of the Tian Hun Empire, originally had towering walls and strict defenses. But on the city walls now, the soldiers appeared even more ready for battle, their eyes revealing vigilance.
Currently, it was a celebration period, and there were countless nobles, envoys, and imperial relatives gathered in the city, so they dared not slack off in the slightest.
In the imperial palace hall, the Tian Hun Emperor sat upright at the top.
Below the stage, singing girls and dancing girls performed songs and dances in an atmosphere of peace and prosperity.
Just as they were enjoying the performance, "Zhongli Wu" and the others had stopped not far from Tian Dou City. Looking at that towering city, cruel smiles appeared on all their faces.
"Get ready to attack. Let's give them a show of force first."
"Zhongli Wu" said, then turned to look at the Demon Empress.
"You hide first."
"Alright."
After the Demon Empress concealed herself, an evil soul master Titled Douluo raised both hands. His ninth soul ring lit up, and the sky suddenly became densely covered with dark clouds, with streaks of black lightning shuttling through the clouds. Immediately after, the black lightning rained down upon Tian Dou City like raindrops.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Loud booms rang out, and the walls of Tian Dou City violently trembled under the bombardment of the lightning. The soldiers on the city walls fell screaming one after another. For a moment, chaos erupted inside and outside the city.
The defending troops of the Tian Hun Empire rose up to resist. Beams of soul power shot into the sky, trying to block the attacks of the evil soul masters. But their power seemed too weak in the face of a Titled Douluo; they couldn't stop this disaster from descending at all.
"Zhongli Wu" smiled disdainfully at the resistance on the city walls. He waved his Myriad Souls Banner again, releasing the vengeful spirits absorbed in Star Luo City. Carrying endless resentment, the vengeful spirits charged into the city. Wherever they went, ghostly wails and wolf howls echoed.
"Hahahaha—"
"Tian Dou City, today is your doomsday!"
"Zhongli Wu's" wild laughter continuously echoed like rumbling thunder. A series of thunderclaps seemed to explode in the minds of everyone in the imperial palace hall, further creating a feeling of "dark clouds pressing down on the city, threatening to crush it."
The Tian Hun Emperor's expression changed drastically, his face turning ashen.
However, the one whose expression changed even faster than his was Du Busi.
When the Sun Moon Empire surrendered earlier and "Zhongli Wu" and his group of evil soul masters escaped, Du Busi was already filled with pent-up anger! Given his personality, he wished he could grind all their bones to dust! But ultimately, for the greater good of the empire, he had suppressed his fury.
But now that "Zhongli Wu" had delivered himself to his doorstep, how could he let him go! He vowed to avenge his sect disciples who had died tragically!
"'Zhongli Wu'! This time, if you've come, don't even think about leaving!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of deep green light shot into the sky, directly piercing through the roof of the imperial palace hall. That dazzling radiance instantly reclaimed the battlefield, enveloping the entire Tian Dou City.
Not only that, but within the entire Tian Dou City, incredibly powerful auras suddenly burst forth one after another, like waves of air shooting into the sky. These were naturally the Titled Douluo powerhouses in the city, including the remaining elders of the Body Sect and the worshippers of the Tian Hun imperial family.
When Du Busi arrived high in the sky, he saw eight pillars of light lined up behind "Zhongli Wu," their auras exceptionally cold and sinister.
In an instant, they were about to suppress Du Busi's aura.
But the action "Zhongli Wu" took next left Du Busi and everyone on the Tian Hun imperial family's side completely bewildered.
He took out a wooden box and tossed it far over to Du Busi.
But while it was still in mid-air, "Boom—"
The wooden box exploded, but the object inside remained completely intact. Yet, it was the object inside that left everyone stunned and terrified.
"Du Busi, this is a gift from us."
It was Xu Jiawei's head!
When the head of an emperor appeared here, it meant that Star Luo City had definitely been completely massacred by them.
At this moment, "Die!"
Only two words, spoken with absolute decisiveness.
Seeing Xu Jiawei's head, Du Busi had no other reaction. Accompanied by an angry roar, a rich dark green light suddenly shot into the sky, dyeing half the sky back to dark green again.
He decisively used his Martial Soul Avatar, merging it with his own body. This caused his physical form to swell, expanding more than ten times in size in the blink of an eye. His dark green skin bulged, transforming into massive muscles as hard as granite.
With this full release, his world-shaking Qi and blood burned completely, forming an aura that shattered even the surrounding air.
"Shameless boast!"
"Zhongli Wu" let out a cold sneer. He waved his scythe remotely toward Du Busi. Du Busi snorted coldly; his massive body remained completely motionless as he slapped out fiercely into the void.
Instantly, the entire sky moved along with his palm strike.
For a moment, the weather turned chaotic, and fierce winds blew.
The scythe blade split the void open, sweeping up spatial turbulence while swelling in the wind, violently colliding with his palm.
There was no loud boom; the sky merely seemed to vibrate. But this seemingly slight tremor caused all the Titled Douluos to freeze for a moment, and it even affected the ground below.
Even though they were at a high enough altitude, and even with powerful defensive soul tool shields protecting them, violent ripples appeared.
"Woo, woo, woo—"
Amidst the howling of a Yin wind, "Zhongli Wu's" figure had already disappeared. Replacing him was a demon containing terrifying dark energy, wielding a demon scythe, yet crowned with the name "Death Demon Puppet."
Within a radius of hundreds of *li*, the entire sky changed color due to their battle. One side was an eerie black-red, and the other was a domineering dark green. Each occupied one side of the sky, and at the intersection of the two colors, winds and clouds constantly surged.
In mid-air, Du Busi made the first move. The dark green giant he had transformed into took a massive stride, as if shrinking space itself, and threw a punch straight at "Zhongli Wu's" face, intending to turn him into meat paste.
However, there was a surge of dark energy behind "Zhongli Wu." Before his demon scythe could swing out, the dark energy abruptly morphed into six arms, sinister and terrifying, grabbing toward Du Busi's incoming fist and his other limbs.
As for the demon scythe, it was raised high by his main body's hand and chopped viciously at Du Busi's neck. The stance clearly aimed for decapitation!
But how could Du Busi, who exclusively cultivated his physical body, be fragile...
Boom—
Amidst the loud boom, the two collided in mid-air. The muscles around Du Busi's neck seemed to come alive, instantly locking onto the demon scythe, preventing it from advancing a single inch.
It was at this exact moment that whether it was the Tian Hun Empire, the Body Sect, or the evil soul masters, all the powerhouses originally hovering in the air were forced to descend to a lower altitude.
However, this descent also kicked off their war!
As for Du Busi's side, the moment "Zhongli Wu" grabbed him and he locked "Zhongli Wu's" demon scythe, he shook his body. His originally large figure swelled again, transforming into a giant a hundred meters tall in the air.
Intense green light bloomed across his body, and within the green light, a faint golden halo faintly shone through. Looking at him, he appeared like a solemn and majestic statue of a god.
An opening was exposed, which made him hold back no longer. He directly used his Body Martial Soul's Second Awakening.
With a gentle shake, "Zhongli Wu's" six demon arms instantly shattered. His right hand suddenly flashed with light, and a Class 9 soul tool spiked club fell into his grasp.
Immediately after, as the spiked club swelled in the wind, Du Busi gave the demon scythe a fierce flick, followed by a heavy smash, directly shattering the shaft of the scythe.
And this spiked club soul tool was exactly the one he had snatched during the Continental Advanced Academy Soul Dueling Tournament back then. He later found it somewhat unsuitable and unable to adapt to his Martial Soul Avatar and Second Awakening, so he made another trip to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had Xuan Ziwen improve it.
For example, the soul tool rune—"Enlarge"!
Clang—
The moment the scythe shaft was smashed apart, "Zhongli Wu" violently stumbled.
Before he could react, a black shadow entered his vision, carrying a gust of fierce wind with rapid momentum!
Boom—
With a loud noise, the scythe's tail and blade crossed together to block the attack...
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