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This was where the Soul Gu Frog resided. Due to its Dou Qi being countered by the Heavenly Flame, the Soul Gu Frog suffered heavy damage from the engulfing purple-black fire. A quarter of its massive body was blown apart, and the soul entities stored within it were rioting uncontrollably, trying to break free from its body.
Qian Renhan stood before the immense body of the Soul Gu Frog, examining it for a moment before speaking, "There is always a price to pay. Though I've lost some of the energy from the Three Thousand Burning Flame, I've gained you in return."
The next moment, Qian Renhan slashed open a massive gash in the frog's belly with his sword and stepped inside through the wound.
Inside, the Soul Gu Frog was completely filled with soul entities. Their expressions were grotesquely twisted like malevolent ghosts. Wails echoed constantly in Qian Renhan's ears—cries of agony born from endless torment, savage howls unleashed in eternal slaughter, low moans of zombie-like creatures who had lost their will in infinite darkness.
An ordinary person entering the Soul Gu Frog's body would be tainted within just a few breaths by the vile aura, their personality warped beyond recognition, turning into a mad, frenzied killer. Compared to this, even the blood sacrifice rituals in the Hell Path of the Slaughter City's audience chamber were as innocent as an infant before an elephant.
But Qian Renhan was no ordinary man. He cared nothing for fame, saw beauty as mere bones, and regarded wealth as filth. He had grown through endless slaughter, revered only strength, and in his eyes, these wails were no more than a delicious feast.
In the next instant, countless thin black threads formed from evil Dou Qi extended from the wings of the Fallen Angel behind him. They pierced through every soul entity and linked them back to the Soul Gu Frog. The devouring had begun.
During this process, the Soul Gu Frog let out a shrill and tragic croak. Everyone watched as the beast's hill-like body began to melt away at a speed visible to the naked eye, its aura plummeting rapidly.
"Return!"
Sensing that the Soul Gu Frog was being devoured, Hun Moqian waved his hand. Under the pull of his Dou Qi, the slit in the frog's abdomen—large enough for a person to enter—was torn wide open. The frog's body collapsed into a pool of blood-red, viscous fluid that flew into his hand. At the same location, a pitch-black sphere of terrifying energy floated.
That blood-red viscous fluid was the Gu insect that created the Soul Gu Frog, while the sinister black energy sphere contained the soul entities.
"Heh… courting death. How dare he enter the Soul Gu Frog's body? Even the Hall Master himself would be driven insane by the soul force within," Hun Moqian sneered coldly, then swallowed a medicinal pill and changed into a fresh set of clothes as his flesh slowly regenerated.
The energy sphere began to shrink. In just a few breaths, black wings emerged first, followed by a blood sword, black robes, white hair, and finally Qian Renhan's entire face. He opened his mouth and swallowed every soul entity within the Soul Gu Frog.
After consuming them all, Qian Renhan's Dou Qi surged explosively. A tremendous, oppressive aura radiated from him, dispersing the surrounding purple-black mist like bursting bubbles. He had advanced to the early stage of Four-Star Dou Saint.
"Sorry to disappoint you," Qian Renhan said, reopening his eyes. His scarlet gaze was sharp and unwavering, no different from before.
Hun Moqian's pupils widened in disbelief. "You… weren't affected by the Soul Gu Frog's vengeful spirits!"
"Affected? Heh, are you referring to that? You think I'd be swayed by a bunch of nourishment? No matter how evil they are, they're still just food."
As his words fell, the space around Qian Renhan rippled faintly. He instantly vanished and reappeared behind Hun Moqian, unleashing dozens of blood-colored sword slashes in the blink of an eye.
"Netherworld Funeral!"
All of Hun Moqian's chains danced like venomous serpents, striking at Qian Renhan. The blood-red sword qi collided with the chains, and crackling sounds rang out as they shattered one after another.
"Puff! Puff! Puff!"
Several of the crimson sword slashes landed on Hun Moqian's body, each cut slicing deep into the bone.
At the Dou Saint level, every star represents an entire tier of power. Even Xiao Yan, during his time as a Dou Saint, couldn't fight across ranks unless he merged the Destruction Fire Lotus.
Blood sprayed in all directions. As it did, a black light surged from Hun Moqian's brow. A mass of black mist emerged and tore open space at incredible speed, escaping the domain and fleeing toward the outskirts of Holy Pill City.
He had separated his soul from his body and fled. Any cultivator with strong soul power could perform this technique.
"You won't get away."
A spatial vortex appeared. Qian Renhan suddenly reappeared in front of the fleeing Hun Moqian and reached out to grab his soul body.
Under normal circumstances, a difference of just one Dou Saint star would allow an opponent to escape even if they couldn't win. But unfortunately for Hun Moqian, his opponent was Qian Renhan, a master of spatial manipulation. The Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan excelled in spatial evasion, and naturally, their ability to pursue enemies was just as formidable.
"Hun Moqian, let your soul be the key to pushing my soul force to the peak of the Heavenly Realm."
Evil Dou Qi surged in Qian Renhan's palm as he opened his mouth, ready to devour Hun Moqian's soul.
Just then—"Rumble!"
A sudden upheaval shook the space above Qian Renhan's head. In the next instant, an overwhelmingly vast soul fluctuation surged out from the void and violently collided with his own soul force!
"Aahhh!"
Caught off guard by such a terrifying impact, Qian Renhan let out a pained scream. Blood flowed from all seven orifices, and a sharp crack-crack-crack sound of shattering echoed endlessly in his mind.
"Soul power at the peak of the Heavenly Realm? Who is it?!" Qian Renhan opened his bloodshot eyes wide and looked up toward the void above. In his grasp, Hun Moqian suddenly grew excited.
"Hall Master, save me!" he cried out in delight.
A calm and emotionless voice, devoid of any ripple or passion, echoed from the unseen figure:
"The soul body of my Soul Hall's Vice Hall Master is not something you can devour at will. I originally planned to take care of a few troublesome matters after the Nether Lotus Demon Flame emerged… but since you've managed to defeat one of my Vice Hall Masters, you may as well return with me to the Soul Hall first."
As the voice fell, Qian Renhan suddenly felt the heavens and earth around him freeze in place. Even his soul seemed to halt entirely, as though this entire realm had been sealed off in an instant.
The void rippled violently, and then, in the sky, a massive black hand spanning several hundred meters condensed out of thin air. It reached directly toward the space where Qian Renhan stood.
"If your true body came, I might still have a way to escape. You think you can catch me from a distance?"
With a sneer, Qian Renhan hurled Hun Moqian's soul body toward the giant black hand, preparing to detonate it.
Suddenly, the space shattered once more. Another equally colossal hand materialized in the sky—this one even more powerful. It forcefully took control of the soon-to-explode soul body, capturing it in its grasp.
The two massive hands collided in mid-air with a thunderous boom. A terrifying shockwave swept across the heavens, instantly breaking the spatial confinement that had sealed the realm.
"Old ghost, how dare you interfere with me!"
The Soul Hall Hall Master's furious voice echoed from within the void.
A slow, elderly voice replied, "I simply don't wish to see Sacred Pill City—built up by generations of effort from the Pill Tower—reduced to ruins."
With those words, the aged figure casually tossed Hun Moqian's soul body toward the other hand and added,
"Take him and leave. Whether I stopped you, or that soul body self-destructed, the boy has already made his escape."
Beneath the pressure of both enormous hands, Qian Renhan had already vanished into the void the moment he flung away Hun Moqian's soul.
"That voice… it's the Grand Patriarch!"
The Pill Tower's Great Elder instantly recognized the elderly voice, his face filled with emotion and excitement.
The spatial currents gradually returned to their normal flow. The massive black hand hovered for a moment, then left with Hun Moqian's soul body in tow. The other great hand slowly faded away into nothingness.
(End of Chapter)