Chapter 63: Soul Hall!
Somewhere in the Black-Corner Region.
A stretch of polluted black land. On the surface of the land, occasional patches of pale white were exposed — clearly the bones of some creatures. The surroundings exuded a strange, cold, and sinister atmosphere.
A white-robed figure with an otherworldly bearing slowly appeared at the edge of the land, looking utterly out of place with the surrounding environment.
Yun Yi raised his head and looked into the distance. On the dark horizon, the outline of a mountain range could be seen. But beyond those mountains, everything was shrouded in a layer of icy cold fog.
Feeling the fluctuations from the Soul Token in his hand, Yun Yi knew he was approaching his destination.
As the sun set, the cold fog permeating the forest gradually thickened. Visibility in this environment was extremely low. Even using soul perception, he could only detect about a hundred meters around him before he could not extend further.
Swish, swish.
Amidst the white fog forest, where low, deep beast roars occasionally sounded, faint sounds of rushing wind suddenly rang out, making the place seem even more sinister and terrifying.
But Yun Yi remained calm as he walked step by step into the depths. No one knew how long passed.
The surrounding fog began to thin. On a distant hillside, a colossal black palace stood like a crouching primordial beast.
Lurking in the shadows, looking at the dark palace, a sinister, terrifying aura slowly emanated — an icy, heart-chilling presence.
"The Soul Hall certainly chose a good place. Truly the largest organization on the Dou Qi Continent. Compared to them, the other Emperor Clans are nothing but parasites. No wonder Hun Tiandi looks down on them so much."
Surveying the colossal palace before him, Yun Yi murmured softly. When speaking of the Emperor Clans, a trace of disdain appeared in his eyes.
Compared to the ambitious Hun Tiandi, in Yun Yi's eyes, the others did not deserve to win at all.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Yun Yi looked at the spatial barrier before him. He stepped forward. A speck of black light coiled around his finger. Then, he lightly traced a door about ten feet wide in the distorted space.
Yun Yi did not rush to enter. Instead, he raised his hand again. Spirit seals rapidly flew from his hand, falling onto the spatial nodes around him. Only after the space was completely sealed did he step inside with satisfaction.
He slowly walked toward the dark palace. After a few moments of walking, he finally spotted several people dressed in black robes.
"Let us go. This time, I must collect enough souls. I am about to reach Dou Wang. It is time to prepare a King-Breaking Pill." Among them, a figure who appeared to be the leader spoke.
"Sigh —, ever since the Jia Nan Academy made its move, the chaos in the Black-Corner Region has decreased quite a bit. It has made collecting souls more and more difficult for us." Another person said.
A third person, with a sinister tone, spoke. "Why not go all the way? Let us target the students of the Jia Nan Academy, especially those in the Alchemy Department. They are weak in strength but strong in soul power. That way, we could certainly gather enough soul bodies to exchange for pills."
Hearing this, the leader scolded him. "Are you tired of living? You dare to touch even the Jia Nan Academy's people?"
"Grand Elder Su Qian will have to thank me again. I have helped him eliminate another rat eyeing his academy. The next time I see him, I will have a good chat with him."
Just then, Yun Yi's calm voice rang out, startling the three.
They looked up. A white-robed figure stood quietly not far from them. He was very tall. Standing there calmly, he gave off a feeling of suppressing heaven and earth.
It made the three tremble.
Yun Yi gazed calmly at the three. But at this moment, they felt a sensation as if their souls were being torn apart. Their very souls seemed to flee in terror.
"Enemy attack —"
A shrill cry rang out. The next moment, a large hand suddenly struck out. In an instant, space twisted. Heaven and earth collapsed.
Boom —
Only a huge, bottomless pit remained in place. The three figures were gone.
Jiang Yun calmly took out a black bag and collected the three souls within. This was also one of Guardian Xuan's pieces of equipment, specially used by the Soul Hall to absorb soul bodies.
The shrill cries outside, along with the enormous commotion, immediately drew the attention of those inside the Soul Hall. Angry roars rang out.
"Who dares to cause trouble at our Soul Hall —"
Five figures, brimming with murderous intent, rushed out from the giant palace. Their gazes swept around and finally settled on Yun Yi.
Yun Yi's gaze fell calmly upon the five. He spoke indifferently. "All present. Three Dou Huangs, two Dou Wangs. Your Soul Hall certainly has deep pockets."
"A mere Dou Wang dares to cause trouble at the Soul Hall? This old man will extract your soul and make you suffer the pain of ten thousand souls devouring your body." A black-robed figure laughed sinisterly.
Boom —
Before the black-robed figure had even finished speaking, Yun Yi, a man of few words and many actions, manifested a war halberd burning with jet-black flame. It was very thick and very cold, as if it could cleave heaven and earth itself.
"Ah —"
The Soul Hall group shouted. At this moment, the surrounding space seemed to have been imprisoned. They could not move. They could only watch helplessly as the halberd fell.
Even before it drew near, the aura from the halberd blade made their hearts palpitate. Their souls trembled.
Facing the threat of death, the five erupted with all their strength. A sky-covering black fog frenziedly danced, transforming into a giant black serpent that howled across the sky toward Yun Yi.
"A mayfly trying to topple a tree."
Yun Yi snorted coldly. With a shake of his large hand, the war halberd burning with jet-black flame easily cleaved through the black serpent, cutting the five in half.
"Ah —"
The five, now in two pieces each, did not die immediately. A cluster of jet-black flame appeared on their bodies. Their souls began to burn with the flames, issuing shrill cries.
Before long, the five in place had completely lost all signs of life. Their souls were extinguished.
Having killed five, not a ripple passed through Yun Yi's eyes. It was as if he had merely crushed a few ants on the roadside, an afterthought.
The dark palace was right before him. In the middle of the palace, the characters 'Soul Hall' were carved with soul power. These characters faintly emitted mournful wails.
In Yun Yi's soul perception, there were still several Dou Lings and Dou Wangs hiding in the surroundings. A jet-black flame flashed in Yun Yi's eyes. Then, several miserable cries sounded. After a moment, several figures slowly appeared before Yun Yi.
"Greetings, Master."
They all knelt before Yun Yi. At this moment, their bodies were wreathed in jet-black flame. Their gazes were fervent as they looked at Yun Yi before them. But deep in their eyes, there was no fluctuation. Clearly, they had been refined by Yun Yi into emotionless flame slaves.
Yun Yi expressionlessly opened the Soul Hall's doors and walked straight inside without hesitation.
The interior of the hall was very spacious. Countless black chains spread out like a spiderweb. At the ends of these chains floated countless balls of light. Inside the light clusters were illusory soul bodies.
Miserable cries filled the air. But none of this could shake Yun Yi's heart.
He came to a huge black stone pillar deep within the hall. There was a small recess on it. According to the intelligence Yun Yi had extracted, this pillar was both the object used by the Soul Hall to trap soul bodies and a communication device.
It could be used to report to superiors. But Guardian Xuan's rank was not high enough — he was only a Human-level guardian. He could only send messages one way and wait for a response from the honored elder responsible for him.
Now, Yun Yi had good news. He believed it would attract the attention of the Soul Hall's higher-ups and bring an honored elder. When that time came...
Having made his decision, he inserted Guardian Xuan's token into the recess without any hesitation. At the same time, a message was transmitted through his soul power.
"The continent's number one alchemist, Yao Chen, has appeared."
After sending the message, Yun Yi sat down cross-legged and waited quietly.
"I hope an interesting fellow comes."
This was a colossal dark palace. Before this palace, Yun Yi's hall seemed rather small and insignificant.
The giant palace was terrifyingly large, black-gray in color, giving off an extremely oppressive feeling.
Inside the palace, there were over a dozen ninety-foot-tall black stone pillars. The pillars were covered with many strange runes, faintly flickering with a slight light. Twinkling on and off, they looked like countless eyes — sinister and cold.
Each pillar was wrapped in pitch-black chains. At the ends of the chains were countless balls of light. Inside those light clusters were clearly soul bodies with their eyes closed.
If the number of soul bodies in Yun Yi's hall was several thousand, then here, densely packed, there were no fewer than a million.
Just then, an aged, indifferent voice slowly resounded through the hall.
"Yao Chen?"
As this aged voice sounded, a vast pressure suddenly descended. A purple-robed elder was eerily materializing.
"Yao Chen? Where is Yao Chen?"
With the appearance of the purple-robed figure, the void trembled slightly. Then, a figure completely wrapped in black robes slowly materialized from the distorted space.
He looked at the purple-robed figure with some uncertainty.
Seeing the newcomer, the purple-robed figure — Qin Tian, the Honored Elder — spoke with some meaning. "A Human-level guardian from the Black-Corner Region just sent word that he had found traces of Yao Chen. After all, Yao Chen is someone the Hall Master personally named. We cannot overlook even a single clue."
Watching the black-robed figure's expression grow increasingly gloomy, Qin Tian spoke quietly. "I have a batch of souls to receive in the northern part of the Central Plains and cannot get away for now. Would Brother Mu Gu be willing to make a trip to the Northwestern Continent?"
The black-robed figure — Mu Gu the Elder, Yao Chen's junior disciple and an eighth-grade alchemist of the Soul Hall — heard Qin Tian's words. A flash of cold killing intent passed through Mu Gu's eyes. He cupped his hands toward Qin Tian. "Then I thank Brother Qin Tian."
With that, Mu Gu Elder reached out and took out a jade bottle. A flash of reluctance passed through his eyes. Looking at Qin Tian, Mu Gu clenched his teeth. "This eighth-grade Pure Heart Pill will serve as thanks. After I capture Yao Chen, there will be further rewards."
Taking the jade bottle Mu Gu handed over without missing a beat, the corners of Qin Tian's mouth curled into a smile. "You are too kind. We are both members of the Soul Hall. We should help each other. Besides, Yao Chen is personally wanted by the Hall Master. It is a pity that he is cunning and skilled in soul power. He escaped once. With Brother Mu Gu, an eighth-grade alchemist grandmaster, taking action this time, he will certainly be caught."
Noticing the killing intent in Mu Gu's eyes, Qin Tian reminded him without missing a beat. Yao Chen was someone the Hall Master personally named. You must not kill him.
Although the relationship between Yao Chen and Mu Gu was quite secret, they had still heard rumors about it. Now, doing a favor for an eighth-grade alchemist had many benefits.
As long as the final outcome was not wrong.
As for helping Mu Gu conceal information about Yao Chen — Qin Tian would not dare, even if given ten times the courage. He feared Hun Mie Sheng, the Soul Hall Master, from the bottom of his heart.
Hearing Qin Tian's words, Mu Gu's eyes flickered. He spoke in a deep voice. "Of course. Yao Chen was lucky to escape last time. His soul must have been damaged. He will not be able to escape."
Qin Tian's words reminded him. Yao Chen could not die — at least not before seeing Hun Mie Sheng. Fortunately, he only wanted the Burning Art and Yao Chen's Bone Chilling Flame.
Rip —
Mu Gu's sleeve moved slightly. A withered hand, like skin and bones, slowly emerged from his sleeve. With a light tear, a dark spatial passage appeared. Mu Gu stepped into it without any hesitation.
"Yao Chen, let us see where you can run this time."
Qin Tian watched Mu Gu leave, then laughed gleefully again. With a flick of his sleeve, space rippled with distortion, and his figure slowly and eerily vanished into the distorted space.
With the departure of the two, this colossal, pitch-black palace once again fell into deathly silence.
Caw —
A sharp cry rang out. In the desolate sky, the sound of howling wind suddenly came from afar.
A small black dot appeared at the edge of the sky. After a moment, the black dot came with the wind, transforming into a massive, fierce-looking magical beast. With low growls, it flapped its wide, fleshy wings, bringing gusts of wind as it quickly flew across the sky.
If anyone were here, they would surely recognize this as the famous Tiger Eagle Beast. Normally, it was known for its ferocity. But at this moment, it looked remarkably docile. It even obediently raised a Dou Qi barrier to shield the two 'bosses' on its head from the howling wind.
There was no choice. This Tiger Eagle Beast, forced into labor, did not dare to offend the two bosses above, especially Zi Yan, a Taixu Ancient Dragon. The bloodline pressure emanating from her at all times was simply too terrifying.
On the Tiger Eagle Beast's large head, a black-robed youth sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating with his eyes closed. A purple figure lounged lazily against his leg, casually popping pills emitting an enticing fragrance into her mouth.
Gulp —
Swallowing another pill and shaking the now-empty jade bottle, Zi Yan curled her lips and put the bottle away. She lifted her eyes to look at Jiang Yun. "Xiao Yun, where are we now?"
Hearing Zi Yan's question, Jiang Yun's eyelids flickered slightly before slowly opening. He swept his gaze over the tiny ground below, then lowered his head and spoke to Zi Yan. "A place called the Saint Light Kingdom. We are not far from our destination, the Jia Ma Empire. At our current speed, we should arrive in about seven days."
"Seven more days." A disappointed voice came from Zi Yan's lips. Since leaving the Jia Nan Academy, from the initial excitement and anticipation to now boredom and impatience, only half a month had passed.
Filled with indignation, Zi Yan angrily patted the Tiger Eagle Beast beneath her. "It is all your fault for being so fat. You fly too slowly."
With a terrified shriek, the Tiger Eagle Beast did not dare to delay. It increased its speed even further.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun raised his head and looked at the faintly visible mountain range in the distance. He spoke. "It is only a fourth-rank beast. It cannot go much faster. Up ahead is the Magical Beast Mountain Range. It borders several countries, including the Jia Ma Empire. How about we go there for a visit? We can also replenish our medicinal ingredients."
Hearing Jiang Yun's suggestion, Zi Yan's eyes immediately lit up. She sat up straight and said, "Let us go. I love treasure hunting the most."