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**
The darkness and violent winds continued for a long while before finally showing signs of abating.
Suddenly, Wei Yang furrowed his brow, his thoughts instantly settling as he slightly turned his head and directed his gaze toward a particular direction.
From that direction, his extended soul perception had faintly detected some movement.
Could there really be something—or someone—else in this storm of black wind?
Wei Yang narrowed his focus, carefully sensing the situation in that area.
Soon enough, he noticed a strange, flickering red glow faintly shining in the distant darkness, accompanied by indistinct, muffled sounds.
"Hmm?" Wei Yang raised an eyebrow. He stepped back into the protective barrier, lifted a finger, and pointed toward the direction of the disturbance, instructing Du Jiao, "Head that way—quietly. Don't make any noise."
Du Jiao nodded lightly in understanding. Its body shifted and moved stealthily toward the indicated direction.
"Brother Yang, what is it?" Xian'er asked in a hushed voice.
"There's something going on over there. Let's check it out," Wei Yang replied calmly.
Du Jiao's slow, silent advance continued for several minutes. The previously indistinct sounds and light gradually became clearer.
Soon, the strange red glow entered Wei Yang's line of sight.
With the help of that faint red light, he finally got a good look at what it was.
That red glow was emanating from a cluster of red flames.
Looking more closely, within the red flames was a vaguely humanoid silhouette. But given its translucent, ethereal appearance, it was clearly a soul body—without a physical form.
"Oh? A soul body? Not very strong though—just Dou Huang level."
Wei Yang was a little surprised. He hadn't expected to come across a soul body at Dou Huang level within the raging black windstorm.
"Wait... something's not right. Something else is hiding in the dark, watching!"
Wei Yang immediately sent a mental transmission to Du Jiao: "Stop. Suppress your aura."
At the same time, he silently released his vast soul power, wrapping and concealing not only himself, but also the others and even Du Jiao's massive form.
After everything was set, he made a silencing gesture to Xian'er and Qing Lin.
Both girls nodded in acknowledgment.
Du Jiao also froze, its body quickly shrinking to about ten meters in length. At the same time, it withdrew its aura as much as possible.
With Wei Yang's soul force masking them, the entire group seemed to blend into the surrounding darkness—completely erasing their presence.
"You… who are you? Why are you chasing me? I… I don't recall ever having any grudge with you!" Within the storm, the soul body encased in red flames trembled slightly in the howling black wind, its tone filled with shock and rage.
At this moment, he had no mind to worry about the rapid depletion of his soul power. He stared toward a certain spot in the shadows, his face contorted with fear and anger.
"Jie jie jie~"
A bone-chilling cackle suddenly echoed out from the pitch-black void.
Then—clang!—a black chain shot violently from the darkness like a black serpent. Its speed and agility were terrifying as it coiled toward the soul body.
"Crimson Blaze Wildfire!" The soul body roared.
Instantly, the red flames wrapped around him burst into a blazing inferno, like a torch ignited in the heart of the black void, sweeping toward the incoming chain.
In a flash, the black chain collided with the red flame.
Chi chi chi—
There was no explosive boom—just a sharp, sizzling hiss as flame and chain clashed, locked in a fierce standoff.
"Coward hiding in the shadows! Too afraid to show yourself? If you've got guts, come face me head-on!" the soul body shouted angrily.
"Jie jie jie~ You think a mere Rank 6 Beast Flame can protect you? How naïve!"
The sinister laughter came again, now laced with obvious mockery.
And just as the voice faded—
Clang!
Another black chain shot out from the darkness, slithering like a serpent through the void. It easily dispersed the black wind in its path and, with an elegant twist, bypassed the flames and coiled tightly around the soul body.
Zzzz—
As soon as the eerie black chain made contact with the soul body, wisps of white smoke began to rise from the latter's form, as if seared by a red-hot branding iron.
"Aaaargh!"
A bone-piercing scream rang out as the soul body thrashed wildly in pain.
But no matter how hard he struggled—even when he desperately recalled his crimson flames and wrapped them around the black chain to try and burn it—he couldn't do anything to stop it.
In fact, the moment he withdrew the flames, the first chain, which had been locked in a stalemate, instantly slithered up as well, wrapping him even tighter—adding injury to injury.
Until all he could do was watch helplessly as his soul grew weaker and weaker—finally dragged by the black chains into the unknown depths of darkness.
"Ahhh—Who are you?! Why are you capturing me?!" The soul body let out a wretched, shrieking roar, struggling violently, causing the chains to clatter. But it was useless. That bizarre chain of energy didn't halt in the slightest.
Clang—clang—
The two black chains grew taut, binding the soul body tighter and tighter, dragging him ever deeper into the dark void.
"Jie jie~ No matter how glorious or powerful you once were, once you become a soul body—you're nothing but prey for my Hall of Souls!" That chilling, shrill laughter echoed again, carrying with it a bone-chilling malice.
As the laughter faded, the soul body bound in chains disappeared into the darkness, dragged deeper and deeper—until his cries and presence completely faded from existence.
In the shadowed void, Wei Yang stood silently, coldly observing the entire scene unfold.
Within his line of sight and soul perception, he could see quite clearly the figure lurking in the darkness—the one behind the laughter. It was a mysterious figure cloaked in a wide, pitch-black robe, its body shrouded in swirling black mist.
Its appearance was completely obscured.
However, the oversized black robe, the grotesque laughter, and those sinister black chains—everything pointed to one unmistakable identity:
A Protector of the Hall of Souls.
Wei Yang hadn't expected that his very first direct encounter with a Hall of Souls member would happen here and now—under these circumstances.
He'd long been aware that Protectors of the Hall of Souls operated within the Black-Corner Region.
The Hall of Souls—this terrifying organization—had countless Protectors, their presence scattered across nearly every corner of the Dou Qi Continent.
Anywhere humans gathered, there was almost always a Protector lurking in the shadows.
Their operations were highly organized. Every Protector typically had a designated territory to oversee and harvest from.
For example, in the Jia Ma Empire, there was a Protector known as Protector Wu—closely tied to Yun Shan of the Yun Lan Sect.
In fact, Yun Shan had only been able to break through to the Dou Zong level because of the Protector Wu's assistance.
Likewise, other major powers such as the Chu Yun Empire or the Mu Lan Empire also had their own Protectors embedded within.
This was the Hall of Souls's standard mode of operation. They preferred staying in the shadows, pulling strings from behind the curtain—rarely stepping into the light themselves.
After all, the Dou Qi Continent was vast, and even the Hall of Souls's manpower had its limits. They couldn't afford to handle everything personally.
Instead, they typically struck secret deals with major forces, offering incentives and benefits in exchange for cooperation. This way, both sides profited.
It was, in essence, outsourcing—delegating the dirty work to local agents.
Take for instance a Protector with a soul quota to fulfill. If he hadn't collected enough souls—what then?
Did he need to go out and start a massacre himself?
Not at all.
He would simply instruct his cooperating faction to initiate a war—perhaps with a neighboring kingdom or a long-time rival.
Once the war broke out, how many lives would be lost? Rivers of blood. Corpses piling like mountains.
And the Hall of Souls? They merely stayed hidden, collecting the vast ocean of souls spilled on the battlefield at their leisure.
That is the Hall of Souls.
Sound familiar?
Doesn't it remind you of a certain "beautiful nation's" style?
Of course, that's how they operated under normal circumstances.
But—if you ever caught their eye, or they developed a particular interest in you...
Then the rules changed completely.
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