Dark Soul Core, Demon Pagoda Suppresses Hell

Qin Mo's shout of "Come out!" carried a mental shock like an invisible sledgehammer, smashing viciously into the core consciousness of the dark-red flesh tumor at the bottom of the sinkhole.

"Awooo—!!!"

A shrill, twisted roar, utterly inhuman, erupted from the bottom of the pit, shaking loose stones from the edges of the sinkhole. The mass of flesh convulsed and swelled violently. Cracks across its surface opened and closed madly, spewing thick black slime and an even denser aura of resentment and malice.

Clearly, Qin Mo's mental shock had caused it immense pain and made it feel threatened, while also thoroughly enraging the mutated monster.

Gurgle, gurgle... The black mist rolling at the bottom of the pit boiled once more. This time, it did not gather into a single giant claw. Instead, it surged upward as though alive, rapidly forming dozens, even hundreds, of grotesque dark Soul Beast Phantoms in the air! There were roaring giant wolves, serpent-like vines, skeletons swinging bone hammers... Every phantom radiated energy fluctuations no weaker than those of a Soul King, flooding toward Qin Mo and the two girls like a black tide!

This was no longer a simple energy attack. It was a simulation of soul skills containing the lingering thoughts and battle instincts of the many Soul Beasts devoured by the Dark Soul Core! Its power far exceeded that of the earlier cannon fodder.

"Headmaster!" Bing'er cried softly. Two yellow and one purple Soul Rings beneath her feet lit up at once as the aura of Ultimate Ice erupted in full force. "Third Soul Skill, Ice Phoenix Whirling Dance!"

She spun gracefully, and endless icy-blue radiance spread outward from her, forming an enormous crystal storm. Within the storm, the phantom of an Ice Phoenix could vaguely be heard crying out. The movements of the dark phantoms that entered the storm instantly slowed. Frost rapidly formed over their surfaces before violent ice blades shredded them into fragments!

Yan'er was not to be outdone. Fiery-red Soul Power surged into the sky. "Second Soul Skill, Flame Rain Meteor!" She raised both palms, and countless scorching fireballs the size of human heads crashed down upon the dark phantoms like a Meteor Fire Rain. Each fireball exploded upon impact with a violent blast of flames, burning and purifying every phantom within its range.

The two girls' ultimate martial souls joined forces, one ice and one fire, creating a powerful wide-area clearing effect that blocked most of the dark phantoms outside.

Yet the phantoms seemed endless, constantly condensing from the black mist at the bottom of the pit. Among them, even stronger phantoms began to appear, nearing the level of Soul Emperors. They could resist the dual erosion of ice and fire to some extent, breaking through the defensive line and lunging straight at Qin Mo in the center.

Qin Mo remained where he stood, calmly watching the pulsing flesh tumor at the bottom of the pit. Facing the few powerful phantoms rushing before him, he merely waved his hand casually.

An invisible spatial ripple spread outward.

The fierce dark phantoms vanished soundlessly the instant they touched the ripple, like pencil marks erased by an eraser. Not even a trace of energy fluctuation remained. This was a rudimentary application of the Power of Space from the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda, and it was exceptionally effective against these energy constructs.

"A futile struggle." Qin Mo shook his head, seemingly growing tired of the spectacle. "At your core, you are merely a malformed product forcibly fused from chaotic energy devoured from others and fragmented souls. You may appear powerful, but your foundation is hollow, and your flaws are everywhere."

He waited no longer and finally decided to make his move.

"Since you refuse to come out on your own, I'll give you a hand."

With a thought from Qin Mo, he finally formally summoned the phantom of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda. A four-story miniature tower over a foot tall floated before him, its Chaos Glazed Color body radiating an ancient, primordial aura. Light flowed over its surface, especially on the fourth floor. Though its glow was stable, it still carried a hungry craving.

"Suppress!"

Qin Mo spoke the command and lightly slapped the bottom of the demon pagoda.

Buzz!

The Nine-Story Demon Pagoda expanded with the wind, instantly becoming a giant tower phantom thirty meters tall. Boundless glazed radiance bloomed from its base, like the jade seal of a heavenly emperor, carrying the supreme majesty to suppress the universe and cleanse all demonic evil as it slowly descended upon the dark-red flesh tumor at the bottom of the sinkhole!

Before the demon pagoda had even fully descended, its terrifying suppressive force had already made the entire sinkhole tremble! The black mist churning at the bottom hissed as if it had encountered its natural bane, continuously being purified and evaporated. The dark-red flesh tumor let out an incomparably terrified shriek and throbbed madly, trying to resist the force that made even its soul tremble.

It mobilized the enormous dark Soul Power it had accumulated by devouring countless lives, condensing it into a thick dark shield above itself, covered in agonized, twisted faces. At the center of the shield, a vague ghostly figure wearing a broken crown appeared, radiating defensive power close to that of a Soul Douluo!

This was its ultimate trump card, the Hundred Souls Defense Wall, formed by fusing the remnant souls and Soul Power of countless powerful soul masters!

"Overestimating yourself." Qin Mo's gaze was indifferent.

The enormous phantom of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda pressed down upon the Hundred Souls Defense Wall without any flourish.

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a teeth-grating creak, as though space itself were being crushed.

Crack!

The seemingly incomparably sturdy dark shield could not last even a second beneath the demon pagoda's suppression. Cracks spread across it before it shattered with a thunderous crash! The ghostly figure with the broken crown at the shield's center let out a desperate wail and was instantly annihilated.

The demon pagoda phantom was unstoppable. It continued downward and smashed brutally onto the dark-red flesh tumor!

"Pfft—!"

Like a water-filled balloon crushed beneath a boulder, the enormous flesh tumor was instantly flattened and burst apart! Countless streams of foul-smelling black fluid and shattered tissue splattered in every direction, only to be immediately purified into nothingness by the glazed light radiating from the demon pagoda.

Along with the destruction of the flesh tumor, a sharp howl filled with endless resentment and unwillingness rang out from the collapsing core. A concentrated dark-red ball of light radiating intense mental fluctuations and an aura of dark origin fled in panic like a stray dog, trying to slip into the shadows of the pit wall and escape!

This was the origin of the Dark Soul Core! It had discarded the vast majority of its cumbersome, corrupted energy and remnant souls, seeking only to preserve its core consciousness and flee!

"Trying to run?" Qin Mo seemed to have anticipated it long ago. A cold smile curled across his lips. "I've been waiting for you."

His prepared contingency activated—those Mandala Snake Emperor demon vines that had seemingly been destroyed earlier had actually already transformed into countless microscopic, invisible threads of energy, filling the entire space at the bottom of the sinkhole!

Just as the dark-red ball of light was about to touch the pit wall, countless pitch-black demon vines emerged from the void, weaving into an inescapable net that trapped it firmly at the center! The powerful Devouring Power within the demon vines activated, beginning to strip away the chaotic resentment and impurities around its outer layer.

The ball of light lunged left and right, but it could not break through the demon vines' blockade at all. Instead, its own radiance gradually dimmed and became purer beneath the Devouring Power.

Qin Mo beckoned, and the net formed of demon vines wrapped around the struggling dark soul origin before flying back to him.

Looking at the energy core within the net, which was gradually revealing a pure dark color and giving off refined mental and dark fluctuations, Qin Mo nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad quality. It's close to the origin of a top-tier mental-attribute Soul Beast, and it also possesses dark properties. It's perfect for becoming the fourth Soul Ring of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda."

He hesitated no longer. The true body of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda appeared in his palm, and a powerful suction force arose from its base, directly drawing the energy core—now stripped of impurities and left with only its purest origin—into the tower.

The fourth floor of the Nine-Story Demon Pagoda immediately shone brilliantly! The tower trembled faintly as it began refining and absorbing this Origin Power with all its strength, transforming it into the Soul Ring most suited to itself.

Qin Mo could feel that a powerful Soul Ring, one capable of providing at least a ten-thousand-year soul skill, was slowly taking shape.