Chapter 55: The "Hehehe" Monster Arrives!
"Soon, very soon! Once I reach the forest below, no matter how outstanding Jiang Yun's soul power is, he will not be able to find me. Once I escape with my life, I will make those Jia Nan Academy bastards pay!" As he fled at top speed, Han Feng thought frantically.
But just as he was about to escape with his life, a voice tinged with mockery rang out, nearly splitting his soul apart.
Boom —
In the blink of an eye, purple light flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes. A purple soul chain shot toward Han Feng's soul body.
Just as Han Feng was about to escape, the chain caught up to him in an instant and bound him tightly.
"Ah —" No one knew how the purple chain was constructed. The moment it touched Han Feng, it transformed into streams of energy chains that seeped into Han Feng's soul body, completely locking away the soul power within him, rendering him unable to move.
At the same time, it brought with it a pain that penetrated deep into the soul, tormenting him to the point of wishing for death.
Han Feng's soul body lay on the ground, struggling desperately. His twisted, venomous face was faintly visible. Jiang Yun's face carried a hint of melancholy. "Medicine Emperor, your soul power is certainly not weak. Unfortunately, I happen to be quite skilled in this area as well. If I let you escape like this, would not all the effort I put into setting this trap be a waste?"
"It was you —" Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Han Feng suddenly understood. All of this was a trap set by Jiang Yun. He had been wondering how the people of the Jia Nan Academy could be so calculating and so bold as to ambush them.
So it turned out that everything was the work of this unfamiliar person before him.
But why?
"Why? I have no grievance with you, nor any enmity. Why go to such lengths to deal with me? And you seem to know me quite well?"
That was also Han Feng's question. Why did Jiang Yun, a stranger, know his mindset so well that he knew using a heavenly flame would make him rush headlong into the trap?
"You will know after this."
As his voice fell, Jiang Yun reached out his hand toward the depths of Han Feng's soul.
Seeing this, Han Feng knew what Jiang Yun was going to do. The seemingly formless soul power struggled desperately in Jiang Yun's hand, but it could never escape the grasp of that hand. As it struggled, it kept emitting deep-blue flame to burn Jiang Yun. This was the Sea Heart Flame.
Unfortunately, Jiang Yun also had a heavenly flame, and a stronger one at that. Once a ball of white flame appeared in Jiang Yun's palm, the Sea Heart Flame could no longer harm him.
"A heavenly flame!" Han Feng's eyes widened as he stared at the flame burning in Jiang Yun's palm. A flash of greed passed through his eyes, followed immediately by deep fear.
At the same time, an indescribable pain arose in his heart.
Back when he had obtained the Sea Heart Flame, ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame List, he had nearly lost his life. The subsequent refinement had been agonizing. It could be said that he had invested immense effort into this heavenly flame. Now, the heavenly flame had become his only condition for survival.
But Jiang Yun also had a heavenly flame protecting his body. The Sea Heart Flame was easily stripped from him. Naturally, he was extremely unwilling.
But now, the situation was stronger than he was. Reduced to a captive, he had no choice.
"Mmgh!"
A muffled grunt sounded. Han Feng's soul body trembled violently. A wave of weakness washed over him, which also meant that he had completely lost control of the Sea Heart Flame.
The ownerless Sea Heart Flame, from a small deep-blue flame seed, suddenly swelled to two or three feet high. The temperature around it began to rise as well.
The deep-blue flame looked extremely mysterious. As it rose, it slowly spread out like clear seawater. Faint ripples, like water waves.
Water and fire attributes were normally counteracting and mutually restrictive. Yet here existed a strange flame where the two coexisted as one. It could only be said that the original owner of the Myriad Flames Imperishable Body had indeed been terrifying, creating so many unique flames on the Dou Qi Continent.
Looking at the deep-blue flame in his palm, the black dragon in the center of Jiang Yun's energy vortex flashed with greed.
"Not so fast, not so fast. Good things come to those who wait. They are all yours." Jiang Yun chuckled lightly, soothing the Saint Demon Flame within him. He swallowed the Sea Heart Flame in one gulp. As soon as it entered his abdomen, the Saint Demon Flame eagerly pounced on it.
It swallowed the Sea Heart Flame in one gulp and returned to the center of the energy vortex, quietly circling.
After temporarily settling the Sea Heart Flame, Jiang Yun looked at Han Feng, whose aura was weak. He took out a jade bottle. With a wave of his hand, a suction force stuffed Han Feng's soul into the bottle. Then, a wisp of flame rose from his finger, circled around the bottle's surface, and sealed the opening. This guy might still be useful for some waste utilization.
After dealing with Han Feng, Jiang Yun looked at the remaining figures. They showed no sign of life at all. Their soul power had also been extinguished. Their cultivation was still lacking, and their soul power was not as deep as Han Feng's. They had ultimately departed first.
A peak fifth-grade spiritual array could already be invincible within the Dou Zong realm. The Four Symbols Heaven and Earth Seal that Jiang Yun had finally executed had not yet reached the power of a Heaven Class Dou Technique. The array's grade and their cultivation level set the limit. It could only be called a quasi-Heaven Class Dou Technique.
But even that was enough to be astonishing. It had severely wounded the Earth Demon Old Ghost and the others in one fell swoop. This showed the power of that seal technique.
With a wave of his hand, several rings of various colors fell into Jiang Yun's hand. At the same time, white flames spontaneously ignited on the corpses.
Killing and setting fires, destroying bodies and erasing evidence — Jiang Yun was beginning to get the hang of it.
From among the many rings, he took out a rather mysterious blue ring. This was Han Feng's Youhai Ring, was it not?
A high-grade ring was indeed a rare item.
A high-grade ring could be set with a soul imprint by its owner. This meant that even if someone else got the ring by chance, they would have to erase that soul imprint to take anything from it. And in doing so, the ring's owner would sense it. This kind of nearly self-protecting ability was unique to high-grade rings.
Jiang Yun's soul power probed inside. A resistance tried to block him out.
"Hmph —, I have dealt with Han Feng himself, let alone his tiny little ring."
After violently breaking through its soul imprint and leaving his own imprint on it, Jiang Yun finally began to carefully examine Han Feng's collection.
The probing lasted only a short while before Jiang Yun slowly withdrew his mind from the ring.
Even his heart could not help but feel some joy. The things Han Feng had plundered over the years in the Black-Corner Region were almost countless. Although he had used up quite a few ingredients to compensate with pills, his collection was still extremely impressive.
Among it, the Bodhi Transformation Saliva was conspicuously listed. He had ultimately failed to fathom its mystery. After going around in circles, it had finally fallen into Jiang Yun's hands.
There were also various kinds of Dou Techniques and cultivation methods, including five or six Earth Class techniques and methods.
And of course, Jiang Yun's goal — the Burning Art.
But in Jiang Yun's eyes, none of these were the most important. The dense collection of pill formulas, and most importantly of all, the alchemist inheritance within them — these were the most important things in Jiang Yun's eyes.
Han Feng's teacher had been Yao Chen. Most of his wealth had originally been Yao Chen's collection. Now that Jiang Yun had obtained it, it would make his own alchemy path smoother.
It was also one of the several things Jiang Yun had been eyeing on Han Feng's person.
After going through Han Feng's wealth, Jiang Yun also examined the rings of the Earth Demon Old Ghost and the others. Although their collections were also rich, they were not enough to excite him.
"Xiao Yun!"
"Jiang Yun!"
By this time, Su Qian and the others, having recovered their Dou Qi, along with Zi Yan who had been standing guard, had also arrived beside Jiang Yun.
Looking at the corpses on the ground, smiles appeared on Su Qian and the others' faces.
"Haha, Han Feng and the others have been dealt with. Now, there is no force left in the Black-Corner Region that can threaten the Jia Nan Academy."
"Yes. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. I plan to focus on training the disciple I took in. Every time I look at you, Jiang Yun, I find that kid more and more unsatisfactory."
"Heh, what level is your disciple? Can he be compared to Jiang Yun?"
"That is still better than your granddaughter."
"I remember my granddaughter was the one who broke through to Dou Zhe first, was she not?"
"Hmph, useless. But, I could make you a grand-uncle-in-law. What do you think, Hu Qian?"
"How dare you —"
"..."
Watching Hu Qian and Wu Tianlang start arguing again, Su Qian and the others silently rolled their eyes. Useless, embarrassing things. At your age, still so unstable.
Looking at Jiang Yun, Su Qian slowly spoke. "Now that the leaders have been dealt with, according to the plan, we need to sweep through the major forces with lightning speed before the Black-Corner Region has time to react."
As he finished speaking, Su Qian suddenly erupted with a Dou Zong-level aura, showing his determination.
A moment later, the aura disappeared without a trace. Glancing at the rings in Jiang Yun's hand, a smile appeared on Su Qian's face. "You have gained quite a lot this time."
Jiang Yun looked at the rings in his hand. He fiddled with them for a moment, then handed two of them to Su Qian.
Su Qian looked somewhat confused. "What are you doing? Did we not agree that the gains from this operation would be yours? Besides, we have already received our 'payment' for taking action."
"I have no use for these things. Let the academy have them. But I am taking the ingredients. After all, I have a big eater to support."
Jiang Yun chuckled lightly and glanced at Zi Yan, who was quietly standing by. Seeing Jiang Yun look over, she grinned, showing several white teeth, her big eyes narrowing into slits.
The rings contained various Huang Class and Mysterious Class Dou Techniques, cultivation methods, weapons, and such things. Jiang Yun had no interest in them. He might as well let them shine in the academy.
"Alright. After we break through those forces, if you find anything that interests you, take your pick." Su Qian did not stand on ceremony. He took the rings and looked at Jiang Yun.
Seeing Su Qian's gaze, Jiang Yun nodded. If he encountered something that interested him, he would certainly not be polite.
"Then let us set off. Elder Qin and the others must be getting anxious."
"Great! I did not get a chance to fight earlier. It made my hands itch. This time, I am definitely going to have a satisfying fight."
Zi Yan suddenly became excited. She cracked her knuckles, a flash of excitement in her eyes.
Jiang Yun and Su Qian exchanged a glance. They could both see helplessness in each other's eyes.
With a gentle breeze, the group's traces had vanished from the forest.
No one knew how long passed.
Suddenly, bursts of black fog erupted from the mountains in the distance. The black fog curled and rose. Then, a pair of crimson-red eyes appeared from within it, looking somewhat sinister and terrifying.
"Hehehe, Han Feng that waste died just like that. Damn brat. Damn Jia Nan Academy. I was this close, this close, to harvesting a batch of high-quality soul bodies."
A hoarse voice came from within the swirling black fog, carrying a piercing, sinister laugh.
"No need to feel regret. I think you yourself are an excellent soul body."
Suddenly, an indifferent voice rang out in all directions. Although the voice was very soft and slow, to Elder Xuan's ears, it was like a thunderclap.
"Who!"
Suddenly turning his head, Elder Xuan's originally fierce eyes instantly contracted. He turned and ran without the slightest hesitation.
"This road is blocked."
Unfortunately, as soon as he turned, he saw Su Qian standing coldly in the distance, looking at him with indifference.
His heart still pounding, he looked around. Jiang Yun and the others had returned and surrounded him.
At this moment, he felt he had never been treated with such extravagance. Five Dou Zongs, plus two others of unknown depth, were all locking onto him. He was merely a small hall guardian of the Soul Hall. What had he done to deserve this?
"You discovered me long ago." Sensing that his situation was dire, Elder Xuan looked at Jiang Yun with sinister eyes.
Jiang Yun was silent. He did not answer. Instead, he looked at Elder Xuan with interest. In truth, he was very curious whether these guardians of the Soul Hall were soul bodies or living people.
Seeing that the group was completely disregarding him, as if they had him cornered, a flash of anger passed through Elder Xuan's eyes. He said hoarsely.
"You think you have me cornered?"
"Soul Burial."
As his shout fell, Elder Xuan pulled a bag from his waist. Then, a sky-covering black fog suddenly surged out from the bag, blanketing the sky like a black cloud.
One by one, illusory soul bodies with crimson-red eyes surged out like evil ghosts. Emitting shrill screams that made one's blood boil, they shot in a sky-covering manner toward the people in the valley.
"They are soul bodies. Damn it, how many people has this guy killed?" Elder Huo recognized the origin of the black shadows at a glance. His face filled with anger.
As an alchemist, he hated nothing more than this Soul Hall group that collected souls.
At this moment, he struck out in anger. His Dou Zong strength was on full display. He controlled a golden seventh-tier beast flame, skillfully executing his pill-fire techniques, extinguishing the soul bodies one by one.
Su Qian and the others were not to be outdone. They each used their own methods to attack the rushing soul bodies. Dou Qi burst forth, striking fiercely at the souls.
"Heaven Burning Great Hand Seal."
Jiang Yun looked at the sky-covering soul bodies. With a soft shout, he guided his hand. A white flame hand shot into the sky. Along the way, any blood-colored soul that touched the flame almost immediately had its illusory body set ablaze. The miserable screams rang out continuously.
"Damn it. Your flame can actually harm soul bodies?"