Facing the gaunt figure slowly emerging from the Black Mist, exuding a chilling aura of death, Lin Ming showed no fear whatsoever; instead, the mocking smile on his lips grew even more pronounced.
At this moment, Lin Ming met the Great Heavenly Venerate's cold gaze, which flickered with Ghost Fire, and smiled contemptuously, his voice clearly echoing in the oppressive air.
"So you are the legendary Great Heavenly Venerate of the Soul Hall!"
With a sigh, Lin Ming said quite seriously, "What you just said did remind me. It's true, if your Hun Clan were truly willing to send a high-level Dou Sheng, such as Five Stars or Six Stars, there's a good chance they could keep us here. However, putting aside the Ancient Races' established rules that prohibit experts above Five-Star Dou Saint from taking action, even if your Hun Clan dared to break the rules and disregard the consequences... do you currently have the extra energy, time, and manpower to deal with this remote Human Hall?"
As soon as Lin Ming said this, the old figure floating above the Black Mist slowly raised his withered, skull-like head.
Under the light, his almost fleshless face appeared even more terrifying. However, the two eerie, flickering Ghost Fire deep in his eye sockets visibly trembled violently, revealing that his inner state was far from calm, but rather filled with a turbulent shock!
"How could he know?!" A wave of shock washed over the Great Heavenly Venerate Venerable.
The Hun Clan is indeed at a critical juncture. Most of its top experts, including the Nihility Devouring Flame Lord who devours heaven and earth, have all left to carry out a top-secret and crucial mission—to annihilate the Ling Clan, another of the Ancient Eight Clans!
This matter is Top Secret within the Hun Clan, and very few people know about it; each of them is a core member of the clan.
But why does this seemingly marginal Five Elements Sect youth appear so certain that they can't summon reinforcements? Is he just guessing, or... does he truly possess some kind of information channel that even the Hun Clan hasn't detected?
Countless conflicting speculations churned in the Great Heavenly Venerate Venerable's mind, causing him to instantly retract his contempt for Lin Ming, replacing it with an indescribable sense of apprehension.
Driven by this shock, the Great Heavenly Venerate remained silent for several breaths before his hoarse, chilling voice finally broke through like sandpaper being rubbed.
"Lin Ming, I didn't expect you to not only offer yourself up so readily, but also seem to know something you shouldn't. But it doesn't matter, once I capture you myself, I have a thousand ways to pry all the secrets you know from your soul!"
"Is that so? Then let's see if you have the ability to run into me!" Lin Ming smiled easily upon hearing this, his face even carrying a hint of mockery, as if to say, "Go ahead and try."
As Lin Ming finished speaking, the seven figures behind him, who had been standing quietly like rocks with their auras concealed, no longer hid themselves and stepped forward in unison!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Adding to the earlier attack by the Ancient Dragon Clan member at the Early-Stage One-Star Dou Saint, eight terrifying auras, like a dormant volcano suddenly erupting, instantly soared into the sky! The immense pressure, like a tangible tsunami, swept outwards, colliding fiercely with the sinister aura emanating from the Soul Hall trio, even dispersing much of the pervasive Black Mist.
These eight auras were all genuine Dou Sheng Expert! What's even more chilling is that five of them possessed an aura of power that had reached the level of Two-Star Dou Saint!
Apart from Second Elder Qing Mu of the former East Dragon Island, whose aura was stable at the Early-stage Two-star Dou Saint Sheng, the auras of the other four people, such as Great Elder Qing Shan of the former East Dragon Island, Great Elder Zhu Mu of the former West Dragon Island, and the two senior elders of the former South Dragon Island and North Dragon Island, were all as powerful as the Great Heavenly Venerate of the Soul Hall, who was at the Mid-stage Two-star Dou Saint!
Eight Saints descended from the sky, five of whom Two-Star Dou Saint! Such a lineup would be enough to attract the utmost attention, not to mention the Human Hall, which is only the last of the three main halls of the Soul Hall, but even the main hall of the Heaven Hall Soul Hall!
Upon seeing this, the three members of the Soul Hall instantly turned extremely ugly, as if they had swallowed a fly.
Of the three, only the Great Heavenly Venerate is Two-Star Dou Saint, while the Second Heavenly Venerate Gu You, and the Third Heavenly Venerate Venerable are only Half Sage. They seem to be only a hair's breadth apart, but in reality, they are worlds apart.
But now they are facing a total of eight Dou Sheng, five of whom are even comparable to the Great Heavenly Venerate Venerable!
As for the High-Grade Dou Venerate still remaining in the Human Hall, they didn't even have the qualifications to intervene in a battle of this level. If they rushed up, they would only end up as cannon fodder shattered by the aftershocks.
The atmosphere among the Soul Hall members fell silent. In the past, they were the ones with the strength to slaughter others, but today the situation was reversed!
After a long while, the Great Heavenly Venerate calmed himself down and, realizing that a direct confrontation was futile, changed his strategy. He attempted to intimidate the Hun Clan by invoking their formidable reputation, asking in a somber voice, "I presume you are all members of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan! Have you truly thought this through? Do you intend to accompany this arrogant human brat and become utter enemies of my Hun Clan?"
Upon being questioned, the Great Heavenly Venerate spoke with great pride, "My Hun Clan Leader is Nine-Star Dou Saint Peak, standing at the pinnacle of the continent! Our clan boasts numerous high-ranking Dou Sheng! Although your Ancient Dragon Clan is also a supreme being in the Magical Beast World, if my clan truly sets its mind to something, annihilating you is not impossible!"
Having said that, the Great Heavenly Venerate Venerable, with an expression that suggested he was willing to let the Ancient Dragon Clan off the hook, continued, "As long as you leave immediately, I can pretend that today's events never happened, and the Hun Clan and the Ancient Void Dragon Clan will continue to live in peace! Otherwise... hmph, the consequences will be far beyond what you can bear!"
These words carried a clear threat, attempting to leverage the Hun Clan's accumulated power to force the Ancient Void Dragon Clan to withdraw from this conflict.
However, he was met with mocking laughter from several elders of the Ancient Dragon Clan.
Zhu Mu, the former Great Elder of West Dragon Island, chuckled and said in a booming voice, "Is that so? Nine-Star Dou Saint Peak? That does sound intimidating. Then why don't you summon them here now!"
Zhu Mu, with an air of waiting for you to summon them, continued, "As long as your Hun Clan's experts arrive, we'll turn around and leave without a word, without lingering! But... if you can't summon them, hehe, then don't blame us for being impolite! Mr. Lin Ming said that today, this place will be washed clean!"
Lin Ming stepped forward at the opportune moment, his voice cold and resolute, like a final pronouncement. "That's right! Great Heavenly Venerate, enough nonsense! If you can immediately summon the Hun Clan's experts, we'll turn around and leave. If not... then don't blame us for being ruthless! Kill them all!"
The word "kill" was uttered like a thunderclap, instantly igniting the flames of war!
The three members of the Soul Hall were ashen-faced, their last shred of hope shattered.
Behind Lin Ming, the Ancient Dragon Clan's Dou Sheng could no longer contain their fighting spirit. Their eyes blazed with golden light, their Dragon Might was overwhelming, and they were rubbing their fists together, their boundless Dou Qi gathering around them like a storm, ready to unleash a thunderous attack!
"You bastard!"
The Great Heavenly Venerate cursed inwardly. Although he knew that his clan was attacking the Ling Clan and that the hope of reinforcements was slim, his survival instinct still made him secretly crush the Spatial Communication Jade Slip used for emergency contact with the Hun Clan's main clan.
However, the moment the Jade Slip shattered, the faint Spatial Fluctuations emanating from it vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
'The Space Barrier! It has indeed been completely sealed off!' The Great Heavenly Venerate's heart sank to the bottom, and his face turned extremely ugly.
He fully understood that there was no possibility of any outside help today, and only by fighting to the death could there be a glimmer of hope!
Since there's no way to retreat, let's strike first!
A ferocious glint flashed across the Great Heavenly Venerate's withered face, and his hand, hidden within his sleeve, suddenly formed a strange hand seal with a speed imperceptible to the naked eye.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle--!"
As soon as the hand seals were completed, the space where everyone was located began to ripple violently, as if a huge rock had been thrown into a calm body of water.
Immediately, a sickeningly loud sound of bones grinding together rang out, and without warning, countless sharp white bones shot out from the surrounding Void Space!
These white bones, chilling and sharp, moved with lightning speed, like deathly bone flowers blooming in an instant, stabbing towards Lin Ming, who was in the lead, from all directions. Their attacks were cunning and vicious, clearly aiming to capture the leader first!
"A mere trick like this, yet you dare to show off your meager skills before an expert?"
However, faced with this sudden attack by bone spikes, an Ancient Dragon Clan elder standing beside Lin Ming snorted coldly and didn't even move his feet, simply waving his sleeve casually.
A scorching and domineering golden light, like the first rays of the rising sun, suddenly spread out from its center.
"Laugh..."
Where the golden light passed, the densely packed, sharp white bones, imbued with Yin Cold Dou Qi, melted and vaporized at a visible speed, like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun, leaving not a trace behind, instantly Purified completely!
"Bone Emperor Sky-Splitting!"
Just as the bone spike attack was neutralized, the Great Heavenly Venerate's unusually cold and venomous roar suddenly rang out!
Xuanji saw the space above Lin Ming's head rapidly distort and collapse. A huge Bone Blade, tens of feet in size, pale in color, and covered with strange runes and dense Death Qi, suddenly tore through the void, like a judgment blade from the Netherworld!
A sinister aura swirled around the Bone Blade, dimming the surrounding light. It locked onto Lin Ming from afar, and with a terrifying power that seemed to tear the sky apart, it slashed down fiercely!
Before the blade even arrived, the incredibly sharp wind had already torn a deep trench in the hard black stone ground below!
This strike contained the wrath of the Great Heavenly Venerate as Two-Star Dou Saint, and its power was far greater than the previous probing bone spike!
Clearly, he intended to use swift and decisive measures to severely injure or kill Lin Ming, the most threatening opponent, in order to disrupt his formation!