Near Ghost Mountain, Chu Yun Empire.
At this moment, Protector Yuan Blood Soul in disguise stood confronting Protector Tie.
"Protector Tie, are you truly unwilling to grant even this small favor?"
Protector Yuan's icy voice echoed from within the black mist.
"If Lord Mu Gu's assignment is delayed because of you, do you really think you can bear the consequences?"
"Heh heh heh..."
"If Lord Mu Gu's task can't be completed, what does that have to do with this Protector?"
Protector Tie sneered disdainfully.
"It only proves that you're incompetent."
Protector Yuan seemed to be enraged by those words.
"Since you've put it that way..."
"Then this Protector won't hold back any longer."
Just as the atmosphere reached the brink of violence, two Dou Emperor auras suddenly appeared within Protector Tie's perception.
Protector Yuan, who had been facing him, also had the black mist around him surge, evidently having sensed the two Dou Emperor presences as well.
"Heh heh..."
"So what if you forbid it?"
"This Protector will simply take those souls by force. The souls of those two Dou Emperors from the Chu Yun Empire belong to me now."
"What can you possibly do about it?"
With those cold words, the black mist around Protector Yuan surged as he shot toward the two Dou Emperor auras.
"I can't let him succeed."
A sharp light flashed through Protector Tie's eyes as he chased after him at an even greater speed.
"If he succeeds once, there'll be a second time, a third time, and countless more after that."
Before long, Protector Tie overtook Protector Yuan.
"So this is all a Protector from the Central Plains is capable of?"
"I already told you."
"The souls of the Chu Yun Empire belong to this Protector."
"I'll be taking these two souls instead."
"Heh heh~"
The instant he passed Protector Yuan, Protector Tie mocked him.
Immediately afterward, black mist exploded around him, further increasing his speed as he lunged toward the two sensed Dou Emperor auras.
The moment the two figures came into view, Protector Tie waved his hand.
Two black chains shot explosively from the black mist.
They tore through the sky with astonishing speed, so fast they were nearly impossible to follow.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The chains flew directly toward the two figures, Lin Yuan and Zi Yan.
Seeing this, Zi Yan grinned.
Taking a step forward, she shielded Lin Yuan behind her.
A brilliant purple light erupted from within her body, gathering around her jade-like fist and forming a thin layer of purple crystal.
At the same time, Lin Yuan retreated a step in perfect coordination while rapidly forming hand seals.
"Zi Yan Overlord Fist!"
With a sweet shout, the purple radiance around Zi Yan's fist erupted like a volcano.
A vast torrent of purple light vaguely took the shape of a dragon as it blasted forward with overwhelming fist force, instantly colliding with the two venomous python-like chains.
Boom!
The collision produced an earth-shaking explosion.
Terrifying shockwaves swept across the sky like a raging storm.
"Break!"
With another shout, the two black chains exploded under the combined assault of the purple light and fist force.
Protector Tie looked at Zi Yan in surprise.
Although that attack had merely been a casual strike on his part, he hadn't expected a mere Dou Emperor to block it head-on.
"Heh heh heh..."
"A Dou Emperor this young..."
"And capable of stopping one of my attacks. She's undoubtedly a genius."
"Unfortunately..."
"My favorite thing to do is eliminate geniuses. As for the other one..."
However, when Protector Tie's gaze shifted to Lin Yuan behind Zi Yan, his expression changed drastically.
At that moment, an incomparably brilliant seal had already formed in Lin Yuan's palm.
"Three Radiant Seal Art, Starry Sky Seal!"
The instant the seal took shape, boundless Heaven and Earth Energy surged toward it.
Countless starlights also gathered into Lin Yuan's palm.
An immense and terrifying aura spread outward.
Locked onto by that frightening pressure, even Protector Tie felt genuine fear rise from the depths of his soul.
"This is bad."
"I've run into real monsters."
"These two definitely aren't from the Chu Yun Empire."
Without hesitation, Protector Tie immediately shouted,
"My friend, please stop!"
"This was all a misunderstanding."
"I mistook you for someone else."
"Heh..."
Lin Yuan smiled mockingly.
Holding the radiant seal in one hand, he looked at Protector Tie with amusement.
"You attacked with killing intent the moment we met. And you call that a misunderstanding?"
"Monster..."
"I actually preferred the arrogant version of you from a moment ago."
"M-Monster?"
"You brat!"
"You're courting death!"
Enraged by Lin Yuan's ridicule, Protector Tie flew into a fury.
Dense black mist burst violently from his body.
The overwhelming energy hidden within caused space itself to ripple.
At that moment, another figure wrapped in black mist shot over from the horizon, stopping beside Protector Tie.
A mocking voice immediately rang out.
"Heh heh..."
"How embarrassing, Protector Tie."
"You couldn't even deal with two Dou Emperors."
Protector Tie snorted coldly.
"These two aren't ordinary."
"They're not from the Chu Yun Empire."
Looking warily at the radiant seal in Lin Yuan's hand, he proposed to Protector Yuan, "You and I should work together."
"We'll split the two Dou Emperor souls."
"One for each of us."
"Agreed."
"I want the little girl."
Protector Yuan looked calmly toward Zi Yan, who was still surrounded by purple light.
Hearing that, Protector Tie glanced at Protector Yuan with a strange expression.
"The little girl?"
"That larger soul is obviously much stronger."
"Could this fellow from the Central Plains have some strange preferences?"
"Fine."
"Then this powerful soul belongs to me."
Looking greedily at Lin Yuan, Protector Tie nodded decisively.
"Heh heh."
"Agreed."
"The smaller one is yours."
"The bigger one is mine."
"Let's attack."
"Agreed."
A strange gleam flashed simultaneously through the eyes of Protector Yuan and Lin Yuan.
"Three Radiant Seal Art, Starry Sky Seal!"
With a soft shout, Lin Yuan flicked his thumb.
The radiant seal left his palm, transforming into a star-like silver seal that shot directly toward Protector Tie.
Protector Tie's expression became extremely grave.
His hands danced rapidly, forming several seals.
The dense black mist surrounding him suddenly compressed.
Within moments, it completely condensed into a pitch-black sphere of energy.
"Nether Soul Burial!"
The black sphere appeared.
Protector Tie's eyes sharpened as he prepared to meet the incoming silver seal head-on.
At the same time, he shouted,
"Protector Yuan!"
"Now!"
Protector Yuan did not disappoint him.
The instant Protector Tie called out—
Thrust!
A hand wrapped in black mist pierced straight through Protector Tie's chest from behind.
Its target was precise the Soul Storage Bag hanging before him.
Rip!
Protector Yuan withdrew his hand, clutching Protector Tie's Soul Storage Bag.
He instantly retreated from the battlefield, leaving behind a severely wounded and utterly stunned Protector Tie, who was immediately engulfed by the incoming silver torrent.
The Starry Sky Seal collided violently with Nether Soul Burial around Protector Tie.
Layers upon layers of black-and-silver energy ripples exploded across the heavens.
The shockwaves instantly snapped every tree throughout the mountain range below with endless cracking sounds, frightening countless Magical Beasts into fleeing.
Even several towering mountain peaks collapsed beneath the aftershocks, sending countless enormous boulders crashing down the slopes.
Several minutes later as the turbulent energy finally dispersed, the heavily weakened Protector Tie slowly emerged.
The black mist surrounding him had become incredibly thin.
His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Protector Yuan with overwhelming hatred.
Meanwhile, Protector Yuan stood shoulder to shoulder with Lin Yuan, casually playing with the Soul Storage Bag he had seized from Protector Tie, the very bag containing two years' worth of Protector Tie's painstakingly collected souls.
Seeing this, Protector Tie instantly realized he had been completely set up.
"At this point, there's no use thinking about anything else. Escaping with my life comes first."
With that thought, his voice rang out, filled with icy hatred.
"Protector Yuan, you despicable traitor! To steal the souls I collected, you actually joined forces with outsiders to attack a fellow Protector! The higher-ups in the Hall will never let you off!"
Before he had even finished speaking, Protector Tie did not hesitate in the slightest.
He forcibly condensed what little black mist he had left around himself and fled toward the horizon at full speed.
"Heh heh heh... Trying to run? Not a chance."
Seeing Protector Tie flee, Protector Yuan suddenly clenched his hand.
The space a short distance ahead of Protector Tie instantly twisted violently, causing his escaping figure to slow considerably.
At the same moment, the well-prepared Zi Yan flashed in front of him.
She threw a punch, unleashing a concentrated burst of purple radiance.
The impact sent Protector Tie flying backward.
Lin Yuan followed up seamlessly.
He released a wisp of Fallen Heart Flame sub-flame, transforming it into a dragon-shaped fire spirit over thirty meters long, which swallowed Protector Tie whole in a single bite.
"AAAHHH—!"
A bloodcurdling scream echoed across the surrounding mountains.
Maintaining complete composure, Lin Yuan precisely controlled the Heart Flame, roasting Protector Tie for several minutes before transforming the dragon-shaped fire spirit into a sturdy flaming barrier, trapping Protector Tie's severely weakened soul inside.
At this moment, all the black mist protecting Protector Tie had completely dissipated.
His weak, translucent soul body was fully exposed.
Several minutes after the Fallen Heart Flame withdrew from his body, Protector Tie finally managed to recover somewhat.
With deep fear in his eyes, he stared at the flaming barrier surrounding him.
Retreating to what he believed was a safe corner, he glared viciously at the three before him especially Protector Yuan, who was still leisurely playing with the Soul Storage Bag.
"You damned traitor!"
"You've broken the Hall's rules!"
"If today's incident is exposed, not even Lord Mu Gu will be able to protect you!"
"And you two!"
"If you kill me, the Hall of Souls will never let you go!"
"Heh..."
Lin Yuan smiled faintly, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Don't worry."
"I have no intention of killing you."
"However..."
"Seeing how spirited you still are, I imagine the training sessions that await you will be quite enjoyable."
As he spoke, he casually waved his hand.
The flaming barrier suddenly shrank, tightly wrapping around Protector Tie's soul.
"AAAHHH—!"
Amid a cloud of sizzling white smoke, another agonizing scream rang through the air.
Only after Protector Tie had been burned until his soul became almost completely transparent, half dead and barely conscious did Lin Yuan finally seal him inside a black box.
After putting the box away, Lin Yuan looked with satisfaction at the Soul Storage Bag in Protector Yuan's hand and chuckled.
"Hehe..."
"With this many powerful souls, my future research into soul techniques can advance by a huge margin."
"The commotion just now wasn't small."
"Someone will probably come to investigate soon."
"We should leave first."
With a thought, Lin Yuan stored both the Blood Soul and the Soul Storage Bag inside his Soul Ring before leaving the area together with Zi Yan and flying toward Sky Poison City.
Along the way, they happened to encounter the Little Fairy Doctor, who was flying toward them at high speed.
"Lin Yuan,"
she asked, "A short while ago, I sensed an enormous energy fluctuation, at the level of a Dou Ancestor. Was that related to you two?"
Lin Yuan nodded with a smile.
"Yes."
"We were rather fortunate today."
"Zi Yan and I happened to find the Hall of Souls Protector assisting the Myriad Scorpion Sect."
"So we took the opportunity to deal with him as well."
The Little Fairy Doctor's eyes widened with surprise.
"You defeated a Dou Ancestor-level enemy that easily?"
Her astonishment was only natural.
Neither Lin Yuan nor Zi Yan looked as though they had just fought a fierce battle.
Their auras remained steady, and neither of them bore even the slightest scratch.
Zi Yan immediately placed her hands on her hips and laughed proudly.
"Hehe! Little Fairy Doctor Sister, my brother and I are unbeatable when we fight together!"
"You little girl."
"Be a little more modest."
Lin Yuan laughed as he patted Zi Yan's head before turning back to the Little Fairy Doctor.
"Let's find somewhere quiet."
"I'll explain everything in detail, and then we can discuss our next course of action."
The Little Fairy Doctor nodded.
"Come with me."
"We'll talk at the place where I usually cultivate in seclusion."
"No one will disturb us there."
With that, she took the lead toward the headquarters of the Poison Sect, while Lin Yuan and Zi Yan followed closely behind.
Sky Poison City — Poison Sect Forbidden Grounds
Following the Little Fairy Doctor, Lin Yuan and Zi Yan passed through layer after layer of heavily fortified defenses before arriving beside the stone pool where she normally cultivated in seclusion.
Looking at the pool filled with incredibly dense energy, a trace of surprise flashed across Lin Yuan's eyes.
"What an extraordinary pool."
"What an excellent formula."
Following his gaze, the Little Fairy Doctor also looked toward the pool, pride appearing in her eyes.
"This pool of poisonous water was created after I painstakingly refined and balanced the properties of over a hundred different poisonous herbs and venomous creatures."
"The various toxins complement one another, making the energy contained within extraordinarily dense."
"However, poison is still poison."
"The toxins in this water are incredibly potent, strong enough to corrode flesh itself."
"So, Zi Yan..."
"Even you mustn't touch this water carelessly."
As she spoke, she quickly grabbed the curious Zi Yan before she could get any closer.
At the same time, she placed a storage ring into Zi Yan's hand.
"You seem to like medicinal ingredients very much."
"Take this."
"Consider it a meeting gift."
Zi Yan examined the storage ring.
The moment she saw the enormous quantity of medicinal ingredients inside, her eyes lit up.
"I'm rich!"
She immediately ran off to one side, happily inspecting and counting every single item.
Counting spoils had become one of her habits after all their recent treasure hunting.
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan walked over beside the Little Fairy Doctor and praised sincerely,
"This poison pool..."
"Little Fairy Doctor, your talent in the art of poison is still something others can only envy."
The Little Fairy Doctor glanced at him helplessly before sighing.
"I don't think it's anything worth envying."
"If I had a choice..."
"I'd much rather become an alchemist."
"Unfortunately, even after obtaining a Heavenly Flame, I still can't become one."
"I don't see it that way."
Lin Yuan raised an eyebrow meaningfully.
"Doesn't the Chu Yun Empire have the concept of combining poison arts with alchemy?"
"Poisons and medicinal pills are both refined from natural treasures."
"Perhaps the boundary between the two isn't as distinct as people believe."
The Little Fairy Doctor frowned slightly.
"Are you referring to the concept of 'Poison-Pill Fusion'?"
"The idea Yan Li has been promoting?"
"Oh?"
"So you've studied it as well."
Lin Yuan nodded gently.
"That's exactly it."
"When I encountered Yan Li in the Jia Ma Empire, he handed over the results of his research to me."
"I've studied them."
"It's still a very immature theory, but it's certainly an interesting one."
"In my opinion..."
"Someone like you, who possesses the Nether Poison Flame, may actually be the ideal person to explore and develop that path."
"Really...?"
"Who knows?"
Lin Yuan smiled lightly before his expression turned serious.
"Whatever the future holds, we'll explore it together."
"But for now..."
"Let's focus on what's right in front of us."
"First, we'll eliminate the Myriad Scorpion Sect and complete our plan to unify the Chu Yun Empire."
"By coincidence, Zi Yan and I captured the Hall of Souls Protector today."
"The Myriad Scorpion Sect has now lost its greatest external support."
"Once we've synchronized all our intelligence, we can finalize our operation against the Myriad Scorpion Sect."
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