"Dammit!"
Elder Xuan's eyes turned crimson. In the next instant, bright yellow soul power surged violently, his muscles swelled, and strange, blood-red patterns surfaced across his body!
"Lexuan! Take care of the injured! I'm going to bring Tang San and Dai Yueheng back!"
Elder Xuan let out a roar, and his figure streaked into the sky like a soul tool cannonball, vanishing from sight.
Zhang Lexuan frowned slightly. She couldn't help but recall the previous incident, and the look of disappointment in her eyes deepened. Withdrawing her gaze, she continued to suppress the corpse poison in the victims, striving to seal it off completely.
...
On the other side, two ghost-like figures were fleeing frantically, each carrying a captive.
"Damn it! Boss, how could there be two Titled Douluo?! That woman killed Third Brother instantly! If we hadn't triggered the Corpse Explosion in time, we'd probably be staying there too!"
The man carrying Tang San spoke with lingering fear, but even more so with the excitement of a survivor.
Fortunately, that second Titled Douluo was a fool and didn't rush over immediately; otherwise, all three brothers would have perished there!
"Heh... we brothers escaped from the 'Soul-Hooking Envoys'! A mere Titled Douluo is nothing! As for Third Brother, it was his fate!" The leader carrying Dai Yueheng laughed arrogantly.
They weren't biological brothers, but they had banded together after discovering they were all Evil Soul Masters. They hoped to evade the continent-wide organization known as the "Soul-Hooking Envoys," which specifically hunted their kind.
They had been living well, pillaging and murdering at will. Who would have thought someone would suddenly try to exterminate them—and with a Titled Douluo in tow!
Still, they had escaped!
The second brother didn't notice that the numerous jagged wounds on Tang San, whom he was carrying, were quietly and slowly knitting themselves back together.
Tang San was, naturally, not unconscious.
The 100,000-Year Soul Ring had granted him two skills: Resurrection and Purification. The former allowed his body to recover from the damage of the explosion, and the latter allowed him to dispel the corpse poison.
However, these two men possessed the ability to seal a portion of a person's soul power. Thus, Tang San chose to endure! Facing two high-level Soul Kings, he had to be cautious and strike for a certain kill!
Time ticked by. The two brothers walked cautiously. Suddenly, they stopped.
Tang San rejoiced inwardly. The Eight Spider Lances were ready to erupt from his body for a lethal strike, but in the next moment, he was violently flung away!
A longspear condensed from black corpse poison flew out, ruthlessly skewering Tang San through the chest!
Tang San's eyes widened. He never expected this turn of events. He saw the leader casually toss Dai Yueheng aside, his gaze cold.
"A Soul King in his teens... a true genius. Pity, Tang San. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for offending the wrong person. Your head is worth a fortune!"
Black mist gathered and pierced Tang San's body again and again. Countless amounts of corpse poison were injected, leaving Tang San no chance at all!
Tang San's eyes were bloodshot, filled with hatred and confusion. He stared deathly at the two men until his breath completely vanished.
"A Shrek genius? Not that hard to kill..." the leader mocked. He looked at the second brother. "Go, take his head. Then we'll go collect the bounty."
"Right away, Boss!" The second brother was excited. His boss's mastery of poison mist was life-and-death artistry, far more useful than his own Corpse Explosion. He truly envied it!
Thinking this, the second brother stepped forward and reached out to sever Tang San's head. But in the next instant, Tang San suddenly erupted!
The two soul skills from the 100,000-Year Soul Ring triggered in sequence. Under the effects of Purification and Resurrection, Tang San's body instantly restored itself!
The Eight Spider Lances burst out, easily skewering the defenseless second brother and then violently tearing him apart!
A rain of foul-smelling blood fell. The sudden reversal left the leader stunned for a split second.
In that heartbeat, Tang San didn't hesitate. He let the spider lances charge briefly and then launched himself forward like a spring!
Tang San was acutely aware of this Evil Soul Master's strength. That pervasive poison mist and the ability to turn his body into mist to dodge damage were too ridiculous! To win, he had to end it fast!
The leader realized something was wrong. With a thought, he controlled the twelve corpse-puppets belonging to the second brother, sending them frantically toward Tang San!
However... it was too slow.
Two spider lances pierced the throat, two pierced the heart, and the remaining four skewered his limbs!
"AAAAAAAH!!!!"
A shrill scream rang out. The leader instinctively tried to use his martial soul talent to turn into mist and escape, but at that moment, he discovered to his horror that his life force and soul power were being devoured!
His eyes were wide with disbelief. After a moment, he began to laugh hysterically and pathologically:
"Hahahaha!!! Evil Soul Master! You... you are also an Evil Soul Master!!! Hahahaha!!! You're one of us!!! Hahahaha!!"
Tang San didn't care. At this moment, his eyes were scarlet. Feeling the Soul King-level life force and soul power flooding into his body, Tang San felt that indescribable pleasure once again!
It was even more intense than the Xiao Wu in his memories!
Power... the power was surging up!
Tang San was like a madman. One moment his body had been riddled with holes, and the next he felt like he was ascending to paradise. This extreme contrast made him feel incredibly "high"!!!
However, just as Tang San was experiencing this ecstasy, a tiger claw pierced through him from behind!
Dai Yueheng!
Six soul rings flickered beside Dai Yueheng. His Soul Emperor aura was completely undiminished—he was in perfect condition!
"You..."
Tang San tried to speak, but Dai Yueheng didn't hesitate. Tangible hatred flickered in his double-pupiled eyes as his other hand slammed directly toward Tang San's lower dantian!
He wants to cripple me!
The thought flashed through Tang San's mind, and his euphoria was instantly replaced by terror.
The spider lances retracted. The leader, whose soul power and life force had been nearly drained, was tossed aside like a rag.
The spider lances reached for Tang San's dantian to block the strike, but... it was too late!
With only two lances arriving in time, it was impossible to fully block Dai Yueheng's full-strength blow. Tang San felt a heavy impact on his lower back!
Using the force of the blow, Tang San broke free from Dai Yueheng's grip, but in the next heartbeat, he felt something was wrong.
His body felt like it was leaking. His cultivation began to plummet, dropping from level 56 to 54 instantly, and it showed no sign of stopping!
His dantian was ruptured!
Note: In Soul Land 1, Tang San went from level 60 to 65 after Xiao Wu's sacrifice. Thus, Tang San going from 50 to 56 here after the sacrifice is barely reasonable.