Following the direction of the chicken's crow, Xuan Zi swiftly and ghost-like approached. His ninety-eighth level soul power was directly used to steal chickens.
He really loved eating drumsticks!
On the entire Douluo Continent, he was probably the only Titled Douluo who would even use his soul power just to catch a few chickens, right?
But it had to be said, the effect was excellent. Even when he reached the branch above the Void Kun Chickens, the chickens below him hadn't noticed his arrival.
"Not bad, not bad! It's even a nest! Not only are there two Void Kun Chickens, one male and one female, but I also just happened to stumble upon their eggs, which they only lay once every two and a half years!" Xuan Zi swallowed, his eyes gleaming as he looked at the two Void Kun Chickens below him.
Void Kun Chickens, one male and one female, did not have crests like normal chickens. Instead, they had two tufts of feathers that were symmetrically parted in the middle and fell on either side of their heads. Also, the male and female Void Kun Chickens had different feather colors.
The male Void Kun Chicken had light yellow feathers on its head, orange-red feathers on its body, and blue claws without feathers.
The female Void Kun Chicken had gray feathers, black body feathers, and gray claws. Compared to the vibrant male, the female appeared somewhat unremarkable.
Xuan Zi grinned, instantly appearing in front of the two Void Kun Chickens. He grabbed one chicken by a claw in each hand, lifting both chickens.
The startled Void Kun Chickens immediately let out piercing screeches.
"Chicken, you're too beautiful!!!"
"What are you doing~~~ Haha, ouch~"
Xuan Zi frowned and snapped the necks of both Void Kun Chickens, finally quieting them.
"Sigh, although the meat of these Void Kun Chickens is indeed delicious and their numbers are extremely rare, their calls are too strange, aren't they?" Xuan Zi muttered with a pout, then threw the two chickens into his soul tool and also took all the eggs, which were only laid once every two and a half years.
The old man, laden with spoils, instantly vanished, with only an almost imperceptible whisper carried away by the wind.
"Hehehe, a great harvest, a great harvest! Time to find a place to drink and eat chicken!"
"Hehehehe~"
On the other side, the Shrek一行人 (group) finally arrived outside the cave where the Death God's Emissary was hiding.
Due to the Death God's Emissary's abilities, he naturally wouldn't discard corpses, which were excellent detonators, so apart from a strong smell of blood, there were no corpses or dismembered body parts at the cave entrance.
But merely smelling the blood made the Shrek group vigilant.
Ning Tian and Wu Feng exchanged a secret glance, then reached for their waists. A brilliant golden gem subtly glimmered, and faint core magic array lines could vaguely be seen on its surface.
This was the Invincible Barrier, one of a soul engineer's signature life-saving abilities.
Even if it was only a five-level Invincible Barrier, it could protect them for at least three seconds against any attack below the Titled Douluo level, unless the continuous attack completely depleted the soul power they used to maintain the barrier.
Three seconds was already enough, not to mention each of them had five Invincible Barriers.
'Ning Tian, remember, the Invincible Barrier must be hidden well, never expose it.'
'Why, Brother Yun? Since the Invincible Barrier can save lives, wouldn't it be better to give some to our seniors? They don't cost much anyway, and it could make them look favorably upon my Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.'
'Heh, you don't understand this. Most Shrek academy students, whether from the inner or outer court, look down on soul tools. Moreover, they are all inner court disciples who have performed countless missions. If you suddenly give them Invincible Barriers, it would be more like looking down on them and humiliating them. They won't remember your favor!'
'I see... I understand, Brother Yun!'
'Mm, it's good that you understand. If they blame you afterwards for not taking out the Invincible Barrier earlier, just say you didn't prepare them in advance and that only you and Wu Feng each brought one for yourselves to save your lives at critical moments!'
'...'
Recalling the conversation she had with Lin Yun that night, Ning Tian's pearly teeth gently bit her lower lip.
She didn't understand why Lin Yun did this, and she vaguely felt that Lin Yun seemed to hold great hostility towards Shrek, as if secretly plotting something.
Ning Tian wasn't foolish; she could see it.
After all, she was the young mistress of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The upbringing she received since childhood was incomparable to someone of servant origin like Huo Yuhao. Although in Lin Yun's eyes, her vision was still not high or broad enough, she had her own judgment on many matters.
'If Brother Yun and I weren't friends, perhaps he wouldn't even remind me of these things, would he?' Watching everyone enter the cave one by one, the dark and deep cave was like a gaping maw, seemingly wanting to devour everyone.
Without realizing it, Ning Tian shivered slightly, her smooth arms breaking out in goosebumps, and her eyes looking at the cave became somewhat fearful.
Why...
Why do I feel this fear?
Is it because of Brother Yun's earlier warning that I instinctively feel danger? But isn't Elder Xuan watching from the shadows? No matter how great the danger, could it really surpass a Titled Douluo?
Ning Tian was full of doubts, and even a slight cold sweat ran down her back.
"Xiao Feng, protect yourself!" Ning Tian unconsciously whispered.
Wu Feng turned to look at Ning Tian, her pretty face, pale and slightly fearful, entering Wu Feng's sight.
"I will definitely protect you." Wu Feng said gently.
Even if I die, I will never let you get hurt!
Revive, my...
Sorry, wrong channel.
"I'm fine, let's go, keep up with them!" Much of the fear in Ning Tian's eyes faded, and a graceful smile bloomed on her pretty face. After nodding slightly to Wu Feng, she stepped forward and followed those in front.
However, Ning Tian wasn't thinking about Wu Feng's previous words at this time. Instead, she gently stroked the Invincible Barrier at her waist with her small hand. Looking at that dazzling golden light, Ning Tian felt as if that reassuring, towering figure was also by her side.
'You'll protect me, right?'
As for what was ahead of Ning Tian.
Ma Xiaotao and the others had completely entered the cave. Looking at the bloody scene in the passage, Ma Xiaotao and the others' expressions were grim.
Jiang Nannan and Huo Yuhao of the reserve team were even paler, and Wang Dong covered his stomach and ran to a corner to vomit rainbows.
Too cruel!
The dismembered body parts that were not outside the cave were almost everywhere inside. The surface of the sand and stones was stained with a rich crimson color, and many chunks of flesh still dripping with fresh blood were fixed to the ceiling and surrounding cave walls with sharp swords and daggers.
Huo Yuhao even saw a complete piece of skin and flesh, and judging by its appearance, it was probably peeled from a young child.
"Bastard...!" Dai Yueheng roared in a low voice, his tiger eyes bloodshot, his voice carrying an unsuppressed rage.
This was within the Star Luo Empire's territory, and all the people who died here were citizens of the Star Luo Empire!
If Dai Yueheng saw those low-status commoners on the street, he wouldn't even bother to give them a second glance, but seeing so many corpses here, he felt a surge of fury in his heart.
Damn evil soul masters, how dare you kill so many of my Star Luo Empire's fully automatic cotton pickers!
He already knew the path to his own demise!
The other inner court disciples were also full of rage, their teeth grinding.
Even though they were all under twenty years old, they were inner court disciples of Shrek and had performed many supervisory missions, but such a bloody scene was a first even for them.
"Charge in and kill them!" The most hot-tempered Ma Xiaotao launched the first attack. Her massive fiery phoenix wings instantly spread out, and six soul rings immediately circled around her.
Boom!
Scorching flames suddenly erupted. Ma Xiaotao, carrying terrifying high temperatures, flapped her phoenix wings and flew rapidly through the cave, moving as if no one was there.
The bandits who heard the commotion were casually struck by Ma Xiaotao with a burst of soul power, piercing their hearts and burning all their internal organs.
The others were not to be outdone.
Chen Zifeng's Soul Chasing Sword exuded a strong killing aura. His body transformed into a sword light, shuttling everywhere, leaving behind trails of blood wherever he went. With every sword strike, a villainous bandit had his throat slit.
Dai Yueheng was even simpler and more brutal. After activating his White Tiger Body Barrier and White Tiger Vajra Transformation, he directly used his tiger-clawed hands to tear open the bodies of the bandits one by one.
Xixi's presence was greatly reduced. Holding two sharp daggers, she attacked from tricky angles, slitting the throats of bandits or piercing their hearts from behind.
Every move was fatal.
In this kind of battle, Ling Luochen, a control-type soul master, couldn't really intervene much. She merely condensed her ice staff, freezing the bandits who ran out of the intricate tunnels in blocks of ice.
Yao Haoxuan and Gongyang Mo followed behind the first few, using their soul skills to assist them.
By the time the reserve team entered the interior of the cave, the bandits had almost been completely wiped out by Ma Xiaotao and the others. The first thing Ning Tian and the others saw was Dai Yueheng tearing a Soul King level bandit in half with his tiger claws, blood and internal organs splattering everywhere.
This method of killing was somewhat reminiscent of tearing Japanese devils by hand.
Ning Tian and the others, who had already endured the journey, seeing the even bloodier scene inside the cave, all retreated into the passage, leaning against the walls and vomiting violently.
Even Teacher Wang Yan's face was very pale, his delicate face frightened white. If not for maintaining his image as a teacher, his reaction probably wouldn't have been much better than that of these young reserve team members.
Just as the reserve team members were vomiting violently and the nearly one hundred-strong Death Hand Bandit group was almost completely annihilated, a sharp, gloomy voice rang out.
"How audacious! How dare you oppose the great Death God's Emissary? You shall all die! I will transform all of you into my corpse slaves!"
Upon hearing this voice, the remaining bandit forces, who had already begun to fear, instantly seemed to be injected with adrenaline. Their faces flushed red as they roared loudly, completely disregarding their lives as they charged towards Ma Xiaotao and the others.
At the same time, whether it was the corpses that had already died in the cave, or the bandit members killed by Ma Xiaotao and the others, their skin rapidly turned red at a visible speed, and their bodies quickly expanded.
Huo Yuhao, who was vomiting violently, was scared out of his wits when he saw this scene with his spiritual detection.
To ensure safety, no matter how bloody or cruel the situation inside, Huo Yuhao always maintained his spiritual detection, just without sharing it with others.
In his perception, those corpses were gathering energy at a terrifying speed, even making his spirit tremble with fear.
"Watch out!!!"
Huo Yuhao had just spoken when the corpses' expansion reached its limit, and then...
Instant explosion!
Boom!!!
Boom!!!
Explosions followed one after another. Each corpse seemed to have turned into a powerful fixed-load soul tool cannonball. Ma Xiaotao and the seven others were the first to be affected by the power of the explosions!
Before the Death God's Emissary appeared, he shouted an interactive voice unique to NPCs. Ma Xiaotao and the others instinctively wanted to click the interaction panel with the NPC, so they didn't retreat at all; instead, they advanced quite a bit.
But how could they have imagined that this was not an NPC at all, but the strongest Soul King on the leaderboard, who played dirty and launched a sneak attack!
A pure scoundrel!
The terrifying explosion instantly swept through the entire cave. Upon hearing Huo Yuhao shout "watch out," Ning Tian and Wu Feng decisively slapped their waists, and two golden shields instantly enveloped them.
Although Jiang Nannan was a step slower, when she was blown away by the explosion, she spat a mouthful of blood in mid-air and timely activated her Invincible Golden Body, then violently slammed into the cave wall.
However, with the protection of the Invincible Golden Body, she did not suffer secondary damage, only some internal injuries from the shock of the first wave of explosions.
Huo Yuhao was also fine. Although the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm loved to sleep, it was very attentive to Huo Yuhao, its host who would help it achieve godhood. The moment it sensed danger, it released a part of its origin, forming a transparent shield that enveloped Huo Yuhao.
And Wang Dong...
It was incredibly absurd. He happened to be standing behind Huo Yuhao. When he instinctively raised his hands and closed his eyes, waiting for the explosion, he found that he was unharmed.
When he opened his eyes, he saw Huo Yuhao standing in front of him. What he had previously thought was a clumsy back now had a sense of broadness and security.
Then he looked at the inner court members.
Ma Xiaotao, having already transformed into the Ultimate Fire, only burned through the hearts of distant enemies, preserving their corpses. Close-range enemies were directly burned to ashes, with only a few dismembered body parts remaining at her feet. The moment the explosion occurred, she activated her two major soul skills: Phoenix of Fire Bath and Phoenix Wing Sky Flight.
Her ultimate fire soul power also instantly formed a shield on her body, so although she was blown away, she only suffered impact. Her injuries were similar to Jiang Nannan's; it wasn't a big problem.
But Dai Yueheng was miserable.
Not to mention his combat style, which resulted in corpses all over the ground around him, just the Soul King he tore in half unleashed almost the strongest attack.
Even though Dai Yueheng timely activated White Tiger Demon God Transformation, the iconic powerful soul skill of the White Tiger martial soul, his legs were still instantly blown off!
Flesh and bones were almost instantly pulverized. Dai Yueheng screamed as he flew backward, hitting the cave wall on the other side.
Not only were his legs blown off, but Dai Yueheng, lying on the ground, was almost cut in half at the waist. His internal organs spilled out through the wound, and his lower body disappeared without a trace.
Chen Zifeng was the most tragic of all. His attacking ability was purely cutting, basically only able to cut and kill enemies. The completeness of the corpses around him was even higher than those near Dai Yueheng.
In addition, he himself was a tool spirit master, and the Soul Chasing Sword provided almost no physical enhancement to him.
The moment the explosion occurred, Chen Zifeng was swallowed by the terrifying shockwave, torn into pieces in the flames formed by the explosion.
Only a few fragments were scattered everywhere.
Perhaps due to the unique nature of his martial soul, combined with Chen Zifeng's fear and negative emotions before his death, his martial soul did not disappear with his death. Instead, like a true sword, it was tightly held in his broken right hand.
Gongyang Mo, who was flying in the air, was relatively far from the explosion, but he was inherently weak. His back was blown bloody and mangled. He fell to the ground, his life unknown, and the wound on his back was corroded by corpse poison, emitting white smoke.
Xixi's tragic state was not much worse than Dai Yueheng's. She was very fast, but the cave's range was limited. The stones splashed by the explosion tore her left leg and right arm, and the severed ends were bloody and mangled.
Yao Haoxuan...
Uh, this guy didn't die!
Yes, he actually didn't die!
Looking at the reason, oh, it turned out that Ling Luochen, not far behind him, timely put an ice prison on him, and he also timely released his martial soul, minimizing the explosion's force area. Although he was blown unconscious.
But it can be confirmed that Yao Haoxuan was at most severely injured, with no risk of death.
Ling Luochen's injuries were similar to Ma Xiaotao's, but slightly more severe.
Although she was on the outermost edge, this girl had a bit of bad luck. Dai Yueheng happened to throw a few corpses near her. Although they weren't strong, they were still difficult for a mage to deal with.
At this moment, she had also knelt weakly on the ground, the white silk on her beautiful legs torn to shreds, and the little cat ornament on her head displayed an (X皿X) expression.
Heavy losses!
Ma Xiaotao, Ling Luochen severely injured, Yao Haoxuan severely injured, Dai Yueheng severely crippled and directly useless, Xixi lost her left leg and right arm and was also crippled, Gongyang Mo almost died from corpse poison entering his body, Chen Zifeng died on the spot.
Indeed, immortals do not deceive me. Explosion is art, and the Supreme Elder is still performing steadily, not having appeared even now!
This wave of explosions almost completely wiped out the Shrek competition team, once again maintaining the last glory of the vulnerable Soul King group.
Death God's Emissary?
No, I'd call him the true Death God!
After all, even if the true Death God came, he would probably have to offer the Death God's Emissary a cup of tea and respectfully call him Big Brother!
"Hehehehehehehehe!!!"
The victorious MVP made a grand entrance. The Death God's Emissary let out a wild laugh as he looked at the dead and wounded members of the Shrek group.
"How dare you challenge the great Death God's Emissary? This is your fate! I will refine you into my corpse slaves, and you shall forever bask in the glory of the Death God!"
"Hehehehe~"
Not far from the cave, Xuan Zi, who was eating Orleans Void Kun Chicken and drinking heavily, was startled by the sudden explosion and spat out the wine in his mouth.
'Damn it, I got carried away drinking again!'
(End of Chapter)
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