Soul Hall's Fangs, Bloodstained Basin

While Lin Ming ordered Xiong Zhan to mobilize all the Magical Beasts in the Pill Realm to launch an unprecedented plunder of medicinal herbs, in another relatively remote depression in the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range, a bloody disaster that no one could have predicted was quietly unfolding and quickly turning into a battlefield.

Hidden among the dense canopy of trees, observing the situation in the basin through the gaps in the branches and leaves, Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet up his spine.

His gaze, like lightning, suddenly shot towards the very center of the sunken basin. There, amidst the chaotic crowd, he clearly saw a motionless black figure.

The figure was shrouded in a wide black robe, obscuring its face, but a cold, deathly aura, seemingly devoid of any living presence, was slowly spreading from its center.

"This guy... what a vicious heart! Does he intend to wipe everyone here out in one fell swoop?" Xiao Yan's heart pounded, and a look of horror and shock appeared in his eyes.

"Song Qing and Cao Ying are both outstanding young talents in the Pill Tower, and strong contenders for the Pill Gathering Champion... If we kill them both..."

Xiao Yan's mind raced, and his back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. The black-clad man's methods were ruthless to the point of being appalling! This was no longer a simple competition, but a naked massacre! His purpose was probably to eliminate powerful competitors in advance!

Within the basin, nearly a hundred figures were now surrounding the black figure in the center, filled with shock and anger. Leading them were Song Qing and Cao Ying from the Pill Tower.

Song Qing's face was ashen, his chest heaving slightly, his eyes filled with shock, anger, and lingering fear. He stared intently at the man in black and shouted in a deep voice, "Sir! What exactly do you mean? Do you intend to poison everyone here?!"

Not long ago, when most of their temporary Alliance gathered here to discuss how to attack the core of the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range, this usually taciturn man in black suddenly launched an attack without warning!

Their methods were bizarre and ruthless, and their speed was as fast as a ghost. In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Alchemist were a little slower to react were decapitated and fell into pools of blood before they could even scream! If Song Qing had not had a keen Soul Perception and had not subconsciously dodged to the side before the danger struck, he would probably be a corpse on the ground by now!

Beside Song Qing, Cao Ying's usually languid and alluring face had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solemnity.

Her long, narrow eyes were fixed on the man in black. With her superhuman Spirit Realm Soul perception, she could clearly sense that the seemingly calm man in black possessed a terrifying, abyss-like power! The chilling, deathly aura emanating from him sent alarm bells through her very soul!

"The two young geniuses of Pill Tower, hehe, their reputations are quite well-known outside..."

Surrounded by nearly a hundred people, the man in black still wore a strange and indifferent smile on his face, his voice flat and without any ripples, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"However, to ensure that the championship title remains untouched, I have no choice but to resort to this measure and eliminate some potential troubles in advance..."

"Clean up trouble? You have quite the nerve!"

Cao Ying's beautiful eyes were icy cold as she stared intently at the man in black. Suddenly, she spoke tentatively.

"May I ask which reclusive senior you are? You wantonly slaughter the Alchemist selected by my Pill Tower here. Aren't you afraid that the Pill Tower will investigate thoroughly and leave you nowhere to hide?"

"Heh, the Pill Tower's pursuit?"

Upon hearing this, the man in black chuckled softly, a laugh tinged with a mocking cruelty, like a cat toying with a mouse.

"Little girl, you're thinking too simply. As long as everyone here... is dead, without a single one left, who will know who did it? And who can the Pill Tower trace it back to?"

"They're all dead?!"

Upon hearing this, the already tense Alchemist around them were instantly enraged, and at the same time felt a chill run down their spines! This person actually intended to wipe them all out!

"Arrogant! You're far too presumptuous! There are so many of us here, and with our combined strength, do you think we're afraid of just one person?!" Song Qing suppressed his fear and shouted angrily, trying to boost morale.

However, before he could finish speaking, the eerie smile on the black-clad man's face suddenly spread out, becoming even more sinister.

"Ah--!"

"Watch out! Someone's attacking!!"

Almost at the same instant the black-clad man's smile spread, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly erupted from within the group of Alchemist surrounding him!

Blood light splattered everywhere!

A dozen or so heads, their faces filled with terror and bewilderment, shot into the sky, accompanied by gushing streams of crimson blood! The warm blood splattered like rain onto the bodies and faces of those around them.

This sudden change happened in the blink of an eye, so fast that no one could react at all!

Not to mention Song Qing, Cao Ying, and the others in the basin, even Xiao Yan, who had been observing from the shadows, was greatly surprised, his pupils shrinking sharply!

Looking quickly, they saw that a dozen figures dressed in the same black robes had appeared out of nowhere in the chaotic crowd!

These figures appeared like ghosts, wielding sharp blades and exuding an incomparably fierce Killing intent and an exceptionally powerful and chilling aura. Each of them possessed the Peak Dou Ancestor, or even the level of Quasi-Dou Venerate!

Their attacks were ruthless and decisive, their teamwork impeccable. They specifically targeted the most panicked and vulnerable spots in the crowd, like tigers among sheep!

"These guys... they were actually hiding in the crowd the whole time?!" From the bushes, Xiao Yan watched the carnage unfold in an instant, his expression completely changing.

From the very beginning, he hadn't even noticed their presence! Their concealment was terrifyingly sophisticated! And judging from the situation, they were clearly in cahoots with the man in black in the middle! This was a meticulously planned trap!

"Just who are these people? How dare they use such ruthless methods against the Pill Tower Organization's selection process..."

Xiao Yan's heart was filled with shock and disbelief. He vaguely sensed that a huge web of conspiracy seemed to be shrouding this Pill Gathering.

In less than a minute, the once peaceful basin had been transformed into a bloody slaughterhouse! The pungent smell of blood filled the air, staining this lush land crimson. The nearly one hundred Alchemist had been full of energy and discussing how to obtain medicinal herbs were now mostly dead!

Limbs and severed arms were scattered everywhere, and pairs of wide-open eyes were filled with the shock, fear, and resentment of those dying. They didn't even fully see who their killer was.

"Bang! Bang!"

The sounds of intense energy collisions rang out continuously.

Cao Ying, Song Qing, and several other slightly stronger individuals, such as the two Profound Nether Sect elders carrying Chen Xian, were also greatly shocked by this sudden bloody turn of events.

They reacted extremely quickly, their inner Dou Qi surging forth instantly to form a solid defense around them, barely managing to withstand the attacks of those fierce black-robed figures charging towards them and temporarily stabilizing their position.

But their faces were extremely grim. The hellish scene around them, and the dozen or so black-robed figures exuding intense Killing intent, made them feel an unprecedented threat of death.

In the basin, facing the frenzied slaughter of the dozen or so powerful black-robed figures, one person's mental defenses finally collapsed. No longer caring about the mission or the competition, he hurriedly took out the life-saving Spatial Stone from his Storage Ring, intending to crush it and escape this nightmare.

The Spatial Fluctuations have just begun to distort--

"I told you... no one can leave here."

The man in black, who had been standing with his hands behind his back as if observing from the sidelines, finally spoke again in a calm voice. He casually flicked his sleeve.

An invisible yet vast and boundless Spatial Fluctuations spread out like mercury spilling onto the ground, instantly enveloping the Alchemist who were trying to escape.

A horrifying scene unfolded! The space that had just begun to distort was abruptly solidified and smoothed out by an incomparably tyrannical force! The Alchemist who had crushed the Spatial Stone stood frozen in place, their faces still bearing the relief of surviving a catastrophe and the fear of the unknown.

Then, the man in black gently clenched his fist towards the air.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

As if an invisible hand had clenched tightly, the Alchemist, who were frozen by the Space Power, were crushed into a blurry mass of flesh and blood before they could even scream. Bone fragments and internal organs mixed with blood splattered everywhere, creating a scene of extreme gore and horror!

"Distorting space, easily suppressing the power of the Spatial Stone with a mere gesture... This guy is indeed Dou Zun expert?!"

Hidden in the shadows, Xiao Yan witnessed this scene firsthand, his pupils shrinking slightly as his heart sank. Dou Zun expert —this was far beyond what they could possibly contend with! Moreover, the opponent had over a dozen powerful allies!

In the arena, the Alchemist, having lost their last means of survival, finally fell into utter despair. Driven by the instinct for survival, they began to fight back desperately, unleashing all their trump cards in Dou Technique, elixirs, and soul manipulations. In an instant, energy shone brightly, and explosions were deafening.

However, the gap in strength cannot be bridged by fighting desperately. The weakest of those dozen or so black-robed figures was at the Peak Dou Ancestor level, and some of them even had an aura that had reached the Quasi-Dou Venerate level. Moreover, they cooperated perfectly and used ruthless methods, clearly being rigorously trained killing machines.

Apart from a few individuals, including Cao Ying, Song Qing, and the two elders of the Profound Nether Sect, who were able to hold their own for a while thanks to their strength and Trump Card, most of the other Alchemist died tragically under the fierce onslaught, unable to mount any effective resistance.

The killing lasted for nearly ten minutes.

When the last piercing scream abruptly ceased, of the nearly one hundred Alchemist in the basin, less than one-tenth remained. Only fewer than ten were still standing.

These ten people were centered around Cao Ying and Song Qing, plus the two Profound Nether Sect elders, and three or four other Alchemist whose strength barely reached the Peak Dou Ancestor, or who were lucky or had special life-saving methods.

They stood back to back in a small circle, their faces pale, their breathing disordered, and they all bore injuries to varying degrees. Their eyes were filled with fear and despair as they stared intently at the dozen or so black-robed figures on the outer perimeter, figures that seemed like deadly grim reapers.

"A futile struggle..."

The remaining few were all quite strong. They huddled together, their defenses tenacious. The dozen or so black-robed figures couldn't break through them quickly and could only surround them like a pack of wolves hunting, constantly wearing down their Dou Qi and will.

But it was clear to everyone that breaking through Cao Ying's defenses was only a matter of time.

Song Qing's face was extremely pale, sweat mixed with someone's blood trickling down his forehead. He sensed an aura of death emanating from the black-robed men around him, an aura born purely for slaughter, which chilled him to the bone.

Cao Ying's usually alluring smile was now ashen, her pearly teeth biting her red lips.

She was of noble birth and exceptionally talented, always the center of attention since childhood. How could she have ever experienced such a bloody and cruel scene, facing death head-on? The thick stench of blood around her and the sight of her companions falling one after another made her stomach churn, but more than that, she felt a cold anger and... a trace of fear that even she herself was unwilling to admit.

"Senior... do you really intend to exterminate us completely, leaving us no chance whatsoever?"

Cao Ying took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the trembling in her heart, and asked the black-clad man who had not yet made a move, her voice trembling slightly.

She hoped to find a glimmer of hope, even if it was just a moment's hesitation from the other party.

The man in black slowly raised his head. In the shadows beneath his hood, two indifferent gazes seemed to sweep over Cao Ying's still captivating face, and the eerie smile on his lips seemed to widen slightly.

At that very moment, Lin Ming, who was far away in the Stone Hall the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range, was putting the last batch of top-grade medicinal herbs offered by Xiong Zhan into his Storage Ring. Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly as his powerful Soul Perception detected a very faint but desperate and bloody fragment of Soul Fluctuation coming from a great distance.

"Hmm? That direction... such a strong stench of blood and Death Qi... and Spatial Fluctuations at the Dou Venerate level?" Lin Ming's gaze suddenly sharpened as he looked in the direction of the basin.