Somewhere in the Black-Corner Region!
A contaminated black land, its surface occasionally revealing some bone-white colors, which were clearly the skeletons of some creatures, with a strange chill permeating the surroundings.
A figure in white, somewhat transcendent, slowly appeared at the end of the land, looking so out of place with the surrounding environment.
Jiang Yun raised his head, his gaze fixed on the distance, on the dark horizon, where the outline of a mountain range appeared, but beyond that mountain range, it was shrouded in a layer of icy mist.
Feeling the fluctuations from the Soul Token in his hand, Jiang Yun knew he was approaching his destination.
As the sun set, the cold mist that permeated the forest gradually thickened. In this environment, visibility was extremely low. Even using soul perception, one could only detect about a hundred meters nearby before it could no longer extend.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
In the white mist forest, where occasional low beast roars echoed, a faint sound of air breaking suddenly rang out, making the place even more eerie and terrifying.
However, Jiang Yun continued to walk in step by step with a calm expression, not knowing how much time had passed.
The surrounding mist began to thin, and on a distant hillside, a massive black grand hall, like a crouching primordial beast, appeared.
In the gloom, looking at the dark grand hall, an eerie and terrifying aura slowly permeated, giving off a chilling and dreadful feeling.
"The Soul Palace certainly found a good place. As expected of the largest organization on the Dou Qi Continent. Compared to it, the other imperial clans are just worthless parasites. No wonder Hun Tiandi looked down on them so much!"
Surveying the grand hall before him, Jiang Yun murmured in a low voice, a hint of disdain in his eyes when he spoke of the imperial clans.
Compared to the hero Hun Tiandi, the other few, in Jiang Yun's eyes, were simply not worthy of winning!
Coming back to his senses, Jiang Yun stopped thinking and looked at the spatial barrier in front of him. He took two steps forward, a black light swirling around his finger, and then gently drew a door about ten feet wide in the distorted space.
Jiang Yun did not rush in but raised his hand again. Spiritual seals quickly flew out of his hand and landed on the surrounding spatial nodes. Only after the space was completely sealed did he step in with satisfaction.
Slowly walking towards the dark grand hall, after a moment, he finally found a few people dressed in black robes.
"Let's go. This time, I must collect enough souls. I'm about to reach the Dou Wang realm, and it's time to prepare a Soul Breaking Pill," said one figure among them, who seemed to be the leader.
"Alas," another person said, "ever since Jia Nan Academy made its move, the unrest in the Black-Corner Region has significantly decreased, making it even more difficult for us to collect souls."
The last person said in a sinister tone, "Why don't we just go all out and target the students of Jia Nan Academy, especially those from the Alchemy Department? They have weak strength but strong soul power. This way, we can definitely gather enough souls to exchange for pills quickly."
Upon hearing this, the leader scolded, "Are you trying to die? How dare you touch people from Jia Nan Academy?"
"Grand Elder Su Qian will have to thank me again. I've helped him get rid of another rat eyeing the academy. Next time I see him, I'll have a good chat with him!"
Just then, Jiang Yun's calm voice rang out, startling the three of them.
They looked up to see a figure in white standing quietly not far from them. He was tall, and though he stood calmly, he exuded a sense of suppressing the heavens and earth.
It made the three of them tremble!
Jiang Yun's gaze calmly rested on the three, but at this moment, the three felt a tearing sensation in their souls, causing them to break out in a cold sweat.
"Enemy attack—"
A sharp shout rang out, and the next moment, a large hand suddenly struck out. In an instant, space twisted, and heaven and earth shattered.
"Boom—"
Only a huge, bottomless pit was left in place, and the three figures were gone.
Jiang Yun calmly took out a black pouch and collected the souls of the three. This was also Protector Xuan's equipment, specially used by the Soul Palace to absorb soul bodies.
The desperate shouts and the huge commotion outside instantly drew the attention of everyone inside the Soul Palace. Immediately, angry roars echoed.
"Who dares to trespass in my Soul Palace—"
Five figures, imbued with killing intent, shot out from the grand hall. Their gaze swept around, finally settling on Jiang Yun.
Jiang Yun's gaze calmly fell on the five, and he said lightly, "All present. Three Dou Emperors, two Dou Kings. Your Soul Palace truly has a vast foundation!"
"A mere Dou Wang dares to cause trouble in the Soul Palace? I will extract your soul and make you suffer the pain of being devoured by ten thousand souls!" a black-robed figure sneered.
"Boom—"
No sooner had the black-robed figure finished speaking than Jiang Yun, a man of action rather than words, brought down a battle halberd burning with black flames. It was massive and chilling, as if it would cleave the entire world apart.
"Ah—"
The Soul Palace members cried out. At this moment, the surrounding space seemed to be confined, unable to move. They could only watch as the great halberd descended.
Even before it drew near, the aura from the halberd's blade sent shivers down their spines, and their souls trembled in fear!
Facing the threat of death, the five immediately erupted with all their might. Black mist surged, transforming into a giant black serpent that roared across the sky, rushing towards Jiang Yun.
"An ant trying to shake a tree!"
Jiang Yun snorted coldly, shaking his large hand. The great halberd, burning with black flames, easily sliced through the black serpent, cutting the five in half.
"Ah—"
The five, now in two halves, were not yet dead. A cluster of black flames appeared on their bodies, and their souls began to burn with the flames, emitting shrill screams.
In a short while, the five figures on the spot completely lost their life force, their souls extinguished.
After killing the five, Jiang Yun's eyes showed no ripples, as if he had merely crushed ants by the roadside, a casual act.
The dark grand hall was right before him. In the middle of the grand hall, the two characters 'Soul Palace' were carved with soul power, and faint wails could be heard emanating from these characters.
In Jiang Yun's soul perception, several Dou Spirits and Dou Kings were still hidden around. A black flame flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes, followed by several screams. A moment later, several figures slowly appeared before Jiang Yun.
"Greetings, Master!"
They all knelt before Jiang Yun. At this moment, their bodies were wreathed in black flames, and they looked at Jiang Yun with fanatical eyes. However, there was no ripple in the depths of their eyes, clearly indicating that they had been refined by Jiang Yun into emotionless Fire Slaves.
Jiang Yun, expressionless, opened the door of the Soul Palace and walked straight in without hesitation.
The interior of the hall was vast, with countless black chains spreading out like a spider web. At the ends of these chains, countless light clusters floated, and within these light clusters were ethereal soul bodies.
Shrill screams were incessant, but none of this could shake Jiang Yun's heart.
He arrived at a huge, dark stone pillar in the depths of the grand hall, on which there was a small groove. According to the information Jiang Yun had extracted, this stone pillar was both what the Soul Palace used to imprison soul bodies and a communication device.
It could be used to report to superiors, but Protector Xuan's rank was not high enough; he was merely a Human-rank Protector and could only transmit messages unilaterally, waiting for a response from the Venerable Elder in charge of him.
Now, Jiang Yun had good news that he believed would attract the attention of the Soul Palace' higher-ups and summon a Venerable Elder. By then…
With that thought, Jiang Yun unhesitatingly pressed Protector Xuan's token into it, simultaneously transmitting a message through soul power.
"Yao Chen, the number one Alchemist on the continent, has appeared!"
After transmitting the message, Jiang Yun sat down cross-legged with a calm expression, waiting quietly.
"I hope an interesting fellow comes!"
This was a massive, dark grand hall. In front of this grand hall, the palace where Jiang Yun was located seemed somewhat small.
The grand hall was terrifyingly huge, entirely dark grey, giving off an extremely oppressive feeling.
Inside the grand hall, there were more than a dozen black stone pillars, each a hundred zhang tall. The pillars were covered with numerous eerie runes, faintly shimmering with faint light, flashing like countless eyes, sinister and solemn.
Black chains wrapped around the stone pillars, and at the ends of those chains were countless light clusters. Within those light clusters were indeed numerous soul bodies with tightly closed eyes!
If the soul bodies where Jiang Yun was numbered in the thousands, then the soul bodies here were densely packed, no less than a million.
Just then, an old, indifferent voice slowly echoed through the grand hall.
"Yao Chen?"
As this old voice sounded, a vast pressure suddenly descended, and an old man in purple robes mysteriously appeared.
"What Yao Chen? Where is Yao Chen?"
Accompanying the appearance of the purple-robed figure, a slight fluctuation immediately came from a certain void. Then, a figure completely wrapped in a black robe slowly emerged from the distorted space.
He looked at the purple-robed figure with some uncertainty!
Seeing the newcomer, the purple-robed figure, who was Venerable Qin Tian, said with some hidden meaning, "Just now, a Human-rank Protector from the Black-Corner Region sent a message saying he found traces of Yao Chen. After all, Yao Chen is someone the Hall Master specifically named, and not a single clue can be missed."
Watching the black-robed figure's expression grow increasingly sinister, Qin Tian said leisurely, "This Venerable still has a batch of souls to receive in the Northern Region of Central Plains and cannot spare himself for now. Would you trouble Brother Mu Gu to make a trip to the Northwest Continent?"
The black-robed figure was Yao Chen's junior brother, Old Mu Gu, an Eighth-Rank Alchemist of the Soul Palace. Hearing Qin Tian's words, a cold killing intent flashed in Mu Gu's eyes as he cupped his hands to Qin Tian and said, "Then I thank Brother Qin Tian."
With that, Old Mu Gu reached out and produced a jade bottle, a look of heartache flashing in his eyes. Glancing at Qin Tian, Mu Gu gritted his teeth, "This Grade 8 Pure Heart Pill will serve as a thank you gift. When I capture Yao Chen, there will be a further generous reward."
Casually taking the jade bottle Mu Gu handed over, Qin Tian's lips curled into a smile: "No need to be so polite. As fellow members of the Soul Palace, we should help each other. Moreover, Yao Chen is someone the Hall Master specifically named. It's a pity this fellow is extremely cunning and has outstanding soul power. He narrowly escaped last time. With Brother Mu Gu, a Grade 8 Alchemy Grandmaster, making a move this time, it will surely be a piece of cake!"
Noticing the killing intent in Mu Gu's eyes, Qin Tian subtly reminded him that Yao Chen was someone the Hall Master specifically named, and he couldn't let him die.
Although the relationship between Yao Chen and Mu Gu was very secretive, they had heard about it. Now, doing a favor for an Eighth-Rank Alchemist brought many benefits.
As long as the final outcome wasn't messed up!
As for helping Mu Gu conceal Yao Chen's whereabouts, Qin Tian wouldn't dare even with ten times his courage. He genuinely feared Soul Miesheng, the Hall Master of the Soul Palace.
Hearing Qin Tian's words, Mu Gu's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice, "Naturally, Yao Chen narrowly escaped last time, and his soul must be damaged now. He has no way to escape!"
Qin Tian's words reminded him that Yao Chen could not die, at least not before seeing Soul Miesheng. Fortunately, he only wanted Flame Mantra and Yao Chen's Bone Spirit Cold Fire.
"Tear—"
Mu Gu's sleeve stirred slightly, and a shriveled, bone-thin hand slowly extended from within his sleeve. With a gentle tear, a dark spatial passage appeared, and Mu Gu stepped through without hesitation.
"Yao Chen, this time, let's see where you run!"
Qin Tian watched Mu Gu leave and smiled triumphantly again. Then, he flicked his sleeve, and the space rippled and twisted, and his figure slowly and strangely disappeared within the distorted space.
As the two left, this massive, dark grand hall once again became dead silent.
"Screech—"
A sharp cry sounded. In the desolate sky, sudden gusts of wind could be heard.
At the edge of the sky, a small black dot appeared. Moments later, the black dot came with the wind, transforming into a huge, fierce-looking magical beast. With a low roar, it flapped its wide fleshy wings, stirring up a gust of wind, and quickly flew across the sky.
If anyone were present, they would recognize it as the famous Tiger Eagle Beast, usually known for its ferocity. However, at this moment, it appeared exceptionally docile, even thoughtfully raising a Dou Qi barrier to shield the two 'masters' on its head from the howling winds.
There was no other way. The forced-to-work Tiger Eagle Beast dared not offend the two masters above, especially Zi Yan, the Ancient Void Dragon. The bloodline pressure she constantly emitted was simply too terrifying.
On the huge head of the Tiger Eagle Beast, a black-robed youth sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating with closed eyes. A purple figure leaned lazily on his leg, casually popping alluring-looking pills into her mouth.
"Gulp—"
Swallowing another pill, Zi Yan shook the empty jade bottle, pouted, put away the jade bottle, and looked up at Jiang Yun, saying, "Xiaoyun, where are we?"
Hearing Zi Yan's question, Jiang Yun's eyes twitched slightly, then slowly opened. His gaze swept over the extremely tiny ground below, then he lowered his head and said to Zi Yan, "A country called Sheng Guang. We are not far from the Jia Ma Empire we are heading to. At our speed, we should arrive in another seven days."
"Seven more days!" A disappointed voice came from Zi Yan's mouth. After leaving Jia Nan Academy, only half a month had passed from her initial excitement and anticipation to her current annoyance and impatience.
Indignant, Zi Yan angrily patted the Tiger Eagle Beast beneath her, "It's all your fault for being so fat and flying too slowly."
Screaming in terror, the Tiger Eagle Beast dared not delay and sped up by another three points.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun looked up at the faintly visible mountain range in the distance and said, "It's only a Rank 4 beast; it can't get much faster. Ahead is the Magical Beast Mountain Range. It borders several countries, including the Jia Ma Empire. Why don't we go explore there? It's also a good opportunity to replenish our medicinal herbs."
Hearing Jiang Yun's suggestion, Zi Yan's eyes immediately lit up. She stood up at once and said, "Let's go! I love treasure hunting the most!"