Chapter 324: Chapter 324: Easy Slaughter
Before coming here, he had imagined countless scenarios, all of them ending with him torturing and killing Ye Xuan. He had never once considered that a mere Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist could pose any threat to him.
However...
At this moment, Elder Gale finally understood.
He finally understood why Ye Xuan was so fearless and had wasted time talking with him. It wasn’t because he was an idiot, but because he truly had the confidence to back it up.
He had seen Ye Xuan as prey he could easily capture, single-mindedly focused on plundering his treasures. He never imagined that Ye Xuan also saw him as prey, ready to be hunted at any moment.
But he didn’t understand. How on earth did Ye Xuan have a Demon King following him? And how could that Demon King be willing to intervene for him at a critical moment?
After all, the vast majority of Profound Beasts were extremely hostile toward humans. It was impossible for them to coexist peacefully, let alone follow one around.
’Could it be that Ye Xuan is this Profound Beast Demon King’s puppet? Has he already been controlled by the Demon King?’
Elder Gale instantly considered this possibility and couldn’t help but nod to himself. Only this could explain how Ye Xuan was able to refine the Celestial Fire. So there was a Demon King helping him from behind the scenes.
As Elder Gale speculated, his theory was instantly shattered in the very next moment.
After appearing, the golden Demon King didn’t attack him again. Instead, it approached Ye Xuan and said respectfully, "Your Highness, how do you wish for me to dispose of this fellow?"
Your Highness?
Elder Gale was utterly dumbfounded. He couldn’t comprehend any of this. ’What’s going on? Wasn’t Ye Xuan enslaved by this Demon King? Judging by its attitude, it seems like the Demon King is Ye Xuan’s subordinate, the one being enslaved!’
And "Your Highness"?
That was a title Profound Beasts only used for the noblest existences within their own kind. Why would the golden Demon King address Ye Xuan that way?
At this moment, a horrifying thought surfaced in Elder Gale’s mind. ’Could it be that Ye Xuan... is also a Profound Beast Demon King?’
No wonder he was so fearless. No wonder he could subdue the Celestial Fire.
In that instant, Elder Gale’s heart turned to ash, a bitter taste filling his mouth. He knew he was finished.
Although he was a Tier Six Second Layer Martial Artist, he was nothing before a Tier Seven Profound Beast Demon King.
Although Tier Six and Tier Seven were only one tier apart, they represented two completely different levels of existence—one was in the heavens, the other on the earth.
Right now, he had only one thought: survival!
"Ye Xuan... no, Your Highness, I..." Elder Gale was desperate to say something, but Ye Xuan didn’t even glance at him. He waved a hand at Jin Lin. "Kill him."
Jin Lin chuckled darkly, his massive body diving toward Elder Gale.
Though Elder Gale was a Tier Six expert, he was completely unable to resist under the pressure of Jin Lin’s Demon King Soul Thought. His body was pinned, unable to move an inch.
"Sir, we can talk about this! I am an elder of the Profound Mystery Sect! If you kill me, the Profound Mystery Sect will not let you go! Everything is negotiable... I..."
Elder Gale frantically tried to circulate the Profound Power within him, but it felt as if it had solidified, refusing to budge. He hastily released his Martial Soul.
Five rings of starlight pulsed up and down as the powerful energy of his Martial Soul erupted. His body was finally able to move slightly, but it was too late to mount any resistance.
Jin Lin’s hoofed claw was instantly before him, growing larger and larger.
Seeing Elder Gale’s terrified and helpless expression, Ye Xuan couldn’t help but sneer. Even now, Gale still thought he could threaten him.
The next moment, with a SQUELCH, Jin Lin’s massive hoof stomped viciously into Elder Gale’s chest, instantly tearing a huge hole through it.
Spitting a mouthful of blood, Elder Gale fell heavily to the ground. He stared at Ye Xuan with hateful eyes, a Jade Pendant he had been holding in his hand suddenly crushed to dust with a SNAP.
"Kill... me, and you... won’t live either!"
Elder Gale forced out the words, a savage grin spreading across his face. Then his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.
The moment his words fell, an invisible force descended, enveloping Ye Xuan and instantly permeating his body.
Ye Xuan felt as if he was being watched by some unseen entity, an unsettling sensation creeping over him.
"What is this?" Ye Xuan frowned. He discovered a strange aura had suddenly appeared in his body. It wasn’t dangerous, but it seemed to constantly expose his position to the outside world.
Ye Xuan didn’t pay it much mind. He took Elder Gale’s Storage Ring and then activated the power of his Devouring Martial Soul, instantly absorbing Elder Gale’s Martial Soul.
After absorbing Elder Gale’s Fifth Grade Martial Soul, Ye Xuan clearly felt his Three-Stars Devouring Martial Soul expand once again.
POP!
An invisible red ring of starlight appeared above Ye Xuan’s head before gradually fading away.
The Devouring Martial Soul had broken through to Four-Stars!
’This wasn’t easy.’ Ye Xuan was overjoyed. Although his Devouring Martial Soul had only recently broken through to Three-Stars, he had absorbed the Martial Souls of countless Martial Artists and the Soul Thoughts of Profound Beasts along the way. Only now, after absorbing Elder Gale’s Fifth Grade Martial Soul, had it finally broken through again.
After the breakthrough to Four-Stars, Ye Xuan could clearly feel that his Devouring Martial Soul had undergone a transformation; it was different from before.
He gazed at the Devouring Martial Soul in his Dantian. The Martial Soul, which was originally like a black hole vortex, had actually transformed into a black, humanoid figure.
The humanoid Martial Soul’s features and silhouette were vaguely discernible, and its eyes gleamed with a sharp light.
With a thought from Ye Xuan, the black Devouring Martial Soul instantly rose from his head. A terrifying pressure emanated from it, and the scene within a hundred-mile radius appeared clearly in his perception.
’So powerful,’ Ye Xuan thought, secretly alarmed. His Fifth Grade Martial Soul could currently only perceive a distance of a few dozen miles. He never expected the Four-Stars Devouring Martial Soul to cover a hundred miles. Generally, only a Tier Seven Martial King’s Profound Sense could perceive that far.
What shocked Ye Xuan even more was that his humanoid Devouring Martial Soul was actually able to leave his body.
WHOOSH!
Under Ye Xuan’s control, the black humanoid Devouring Martial Soul soared hundreds of meters into the air, like a majestic black War God looking down upon the world.
’Is this still a Martial Soul?’
Ye Xuan had never heard of a Martial Soul that could exist outside the body. No matter the type, all Martial Souls in this world had to be attached to a Martial Artist’s body. Only the Soul Thought of a Profound Beast could leave the body.
Moreover, even among Profound Beasts, only the Soul Thought of a Demon King Level Profound Beast could take form and leave the body. This Devouring Martial Soul was far too strange.
While Ye Xuan was shocked, Jin Lin, standing beside him, was equally astonished.
Under the pressure of Ye Xuan’s Devouring Martial Soul, Jin Lin felt its own Soul Thought trembling.
’Is this His Highness’s Soul Thought? It’s so terrifying. His Highness truly lives up to his title.’
Jin Lin had originally planned to ask Ye Xuan to remove some of its Restrictions this time, but now it didn’t dare bring it up.
’If His Highness wanted to remove the Restrictions, he’d do it without me asking. Since he hasn’t mentioned it, it must be because I haven’t done well enough yet.’
’Thinking about it, I haven’t really done much for His Highness on this journey, just killed a few people for him. But those human Martial Artists were so weak, His Highness must have let me handle them because he couldn’t be bothered.’
’If I try to claim credit now and His Highness gets angry and kicks me out, it would be a huge loss. I wouldn’t even get to eat any more of those delicious candies.’
At this thought, Jin Lin secretly made a resolution. ’Yes, I’ll wait until I’ve performed some great service for His Highness. It won’t be too late to bring it up then.’
Just as it was thinking this, Ye Xuan suddenly handed Jin Lin a bottle of pills. "Take these Pills and eat them."
Jin Lin was instantly moved to tears.
’His Highness is so kind! I just killed someone for him, and he gave me so many delicious candies.’ Jin Lin’s eyes narrowed into a line of pure bliss.
Jin Lin didn’t know that while the Pills Ye Xuan gave it were precious, they were nothing compared to the Spirit Medicines and treasures inside Elder Gale’s Storage Ring.
After discovering the new characteristic of his Devouring Martial Soul, Ye Xuan didn’t experiment further. He cleaned up the battlefield and quickly flew toward the location of the Liuyun Kingdom’s group.
From what his Devouring Martial Soul had just perceived, Dongfang Yanyu and the others were not in a good situation.
At this moment, in a dense forest dozens of miles from Ye Xuan’s location, over a hundred expert Soul Refiners from the Liuyun Kingdom were trapped in a small area. In contrast, four experts from the Profound Mystery Sect stood leisurely on the outskirts.
Hazy rays of light rose up, forming an invisible killing Array that trapped Dongfang Yanyu and all the others inside.
"Kuchen, how is it? Can you break this Array?" Inside the killing Array, Dongfang Yanyu and the others anxiously looked at Kuchen.
"I can’t. The tier of this Array is too high. I can only understand ten to twenty percent of it. The difficulty of breaking it is just too great." Kuchen was drenched in sweat, his eyes fixed on the Array, his heart filled with anxiety.
"Don’t waste your energy. Although the one we’ve set up is the crudest, simplified version of the Six-Blade Illusionary Killing Array, and can’t compare to the real thing, it has still crossed the threshold of a Tier Six Array. With your strength, trying to break it is just wishful thinking."
Outside the Array, one of the Profound Mystery Sect experts responsible for setting it up sneered.
"These guys are real idiots. They had every chance to avoid getting trapped, but too bad for them. To save the disciples from their kingdom, they actually walked into the Array on purpose. They saved the rest, but now they’re completely trapped. How foolish," sneered a burly man among them.
When they first arrived, they had launched into a major battle without a word.
They had originally imagined that a few experts from a mere kingdom would be captured in moments under the assault of their three powerhouses.
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