Ghost Douluo

The Death Scythe Mantis was nicknamed the Hell Envoy.

This soul beast possessed terrifying speed and immense attack power. Although its defenses were lacking, its speed more than made up for that weakness.

Against its speed, it was extremely difficult to land an attack on it.

At the same time, because of its speed, few prey targeted by it could escape alive, earning it the title of Hell Envoy.

Encountering it was no different from encountering death!

"This target is indeed not bad. In terms of bloodline strength, it is no weaker than the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear or the Ancient Demon Tree," Bibi Dong said with a nod.

"However, this soul beast is unique to Sunset Forest and extremely rare. Finding one will likely require a trip to Sunset Forest, and Sunset Forest is not close."

Bibi Dong frowned.

Liu Xinghan had chosen the Death Scythe Mantis partly because it was indeed suitable as his third soul ring. The other important reason was that it came from Sunset Forest.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was located in Sunset Forest. If he wanted the Immortal Herbs there, he had to make a trip.

That way, he would have a perfectly legitimate excuse to go to Sunset Forest.

Liu Xinghan said, "Teacher, it is a little far, but suitable soul beasts are not easy to find."

Bibi Dong nodded. "Fine. However, Yue Guan and Gui Mei are on a mission and cannot accompany you. I'll send another Elder with you instead."

"An Elder?"

Liu Xinghan raised a brow.

The Elders of Spirit Hall were all titled Douluo powerhouses. He wondered which Elder would be accompanying him on this trip.

"This journey is a long one. Be careful on the road," Bibi Dong reminded him.

Liu Xinghan could feel the concern in Bibi Dong's words.

To be fair, she truly treated him well. Whenever he needed to obtain a soul ring, she arranged for a titled Douluo powerhouse to accompany him. Not everyone received such treatment, and it was enough to show how highly Bibi Dong valued him.

Moved, Liu Xinghan said, "Rest assured, Teacher. I'll be careful."

The next day, after bidding farewell to Bibi Dong and Hu Liena, Liu Xinghan left Soul Fighting City with the Ninth Elder of Spirit Hall, riding toward Sunset Forest.

Douluo World was unlike a cultivation world, where a single flight or spatial crossing could cover hundreds of thousands or even millions of li. Here, only titled Douluo possessed the ability to fly, and because of Soul Power limitations, they could not remain airborne for long.

Thus, even powerhouses on Douluo Continent usually traveled by horseback.

The Elder traveling with him this time was the Ninth Elder of the Elder Hall.

Within Spirit Hall, only titled Douluo were qualified to enter the Elder Hall.

Whether Yue Guan and Gui Mei of the Papal Palace or the Seven Great Enshriners of the Worship Hall, all of them were members of the Elder Hall!

The Ninth Elder was named Hun Yue. She was a woman dressed in a black robe and a purple veil, with cold, clear eyes. Her title was Ghost, and the outside world called her the Ghost Douluo.

Liu Xinghan vaguely remembered that this titled Douluo did not seem to have appeared in the original work.

Perhaps she had been the unnamed titled Douluo who perished together with Yu Yuanzhen, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's sect master, during Spirit Hall's soul hunting campaign in the original work.

Evening came.

"Elder, there's a village ahead. Let's rest there for the night!" Liu Xinghan suggested wearily from horseback.

After traveling for an entire day and covering fifteen hundred li, even with his physique, he could barely endure the jolting ride any longer. If he did not rest soon, he felt as though he would fall from his horse.

"Mm!"

Hun Yue nodded lightly.

Sunset Forest was near Heaven Dou City, ten thousand li away from Spirit Hall. There was no need to rush the journey; they should rest when it was time to rest.

The two headed toward the village.

Halfway there, Hun Yue suddenly reined in her Sky Dragon Horse and said gravely, "Stop. There's something wrong with the village ahead. The air reeks of blood, and the sky is filled with wandering souls. There's likely a problem in that village."

Liu Xinghan froze upon hearing that.

"Elder, you can see ghosts?" Liu Xinghan asked in surprise.

Although Douluo Continent was a fantasy world, he had never heard of anyone possessing such an ability.

Hun Yue explained, "My title is Ghost. Because of the unique nature of my martial soul, I've been able to see ghosts that ordinary people cannot see since I was young."

Liu Xinghan nodded.

It seemed there truly was something wrong with the village ahead.

He then asked, "Elder, what do we do next?"

Although he was the Pope's Disciple, this was clearly no simple matter and might even be dangerous. Naturally, he had to heed Hun Yue's opinion.

"Dismount. Let's first see what happened," Hun Yue said vigilantly.

The two approached the village.

As they drew closer, Liu Xinghan also sensed that something was wrong. He could smell the thick stench of blood in the air.

A kilometer ahead, the village was already within sight.

At a single glance, Liu Xinghan nearly vomited.

Corpses lay everywhere throughout the village. Some lay on the ground, some had been nailed to walls, and some hung from pillars in midair, reduced to nothing but skin with all their flesh and blood gone. Other bodies had been torn into pieces and scattered across the ground, their blood dyeing the village streets red.

Looking at the miserable scene before him, like hell on earth, Liu Xinghan's expression darkened. Who could be so vicious as to massacre ordinary villagers with such cruel methods? It was utterly inhuman.

"Let's go in and take a look!"

Hun Yue's voice also carried barely restrained fury.

Liu Xinghan stayed close beside Hun Yue. Though he was furious, he knew that unknown dangers might still be hidden in the village. Staying by Hun Yue's side was safest.

The two entered the village.

From closer up, Liu Xinghan could see even more clearly how horrific the deaths had been. Some skulls had been split open, their brains missing. Some abdomens had been cut open, their organs spilling all over the ground. Other corpses were even stranger, their skin deathly pale and shriveled, as though all their blood had been sucked dry.

"They were likely Evil Spirit Masters," Hun Yue said coldly.

"Evil Spirit Masters?"

Liu Xinghan was taken aback.

As the name implied, Evil Spirit Masters were soul masters who used extremely evil methods to aid their cultivation.

Drinking human blood and eating human organs—there was no depraved act they were incapable of. In short, they were a group of deranged, utterly inhuman soul masters, like demons.

The original work's first part did not describe Evil Spirit Masters in much detail.

However, they received a grand introduction in the second part.

The Holy Spirit Cult, which originated from Sun Moon Continent, was an organization composed of Evil Spirit Masters. It was extremely powerful, with quite a number of titled Douluo within its ranks.

Of course, that did not mean these Evil Spirit Masters came from Sun Moon Continent.

As the disciple of Spirit Hall's Pope, Liu Xinghan had also learned about Spirit Hall's history.

In fact, Evil Spirit Masters had already existed on Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago. Their numbers were not small, nor was their strength weak. Their cultivation methods were exceedingly cruel, and to increase their cultivation, they would not hesitate to slaughter countless lives.

Until one day, a soul master appeared—the ancestor of the Qian Family.

He founded Spirit Hall and led many like-minded soul masters into a brutal war against the Evil Spirit Masters, finally succeeding in wiping them out.

From then on, Evil Spirit Masters on Douluo Continent never recovered. Most were exterminated, leaving only a scattered few hiding everywhere, who were also hunted down by Spirit Hall!

For ten thousand years, whenever Spirit Hall discovered Evil Spirit Masters, it spared no effort in sending people to hunt them down. It could be called the mortal enemy of Evil Spirit Masters across Douluo Continent.

As a result, traces of Evil Spirit Masters had become rare on the continent.

Yet today, they had actually encountered them.