Death Realm

"Those so-called righteous ones will probably suffer devastating losses this time."

An Evil Soul Master toying with a skull sneered.

"Definitely. It's not like the Cult hasn't sent people in before. Basically none came out alive. Those people probably won't survive either. Even if they do, with the Grand Elder leading us, they're nothing but a rabble. We can kill them with ease."

Another Evil Soul Master wreathed in black mist took the opportunity to flatter Long Xiaoyao.

"I just wonder what's inside. Could it be related to the Holy Emperor?"

Someone lowered his voice.

"That has nothing to do with us anyway. I only want to get my hands on a few Titled Douluo bodies and souls, and raise my soul rings while I'm at it."

Someone said indifferently. Some among them had come seeking opportunities, while others had been named for the team and only wanted to coast along.

"No matter what, the Holy Spirit Cult will prevail. Hehehehe..."

These Evil Soul Masters, who looked like bad people and indeed were bad people, let out their sinister laughter.

Long Xiaoyao heard the conversation behind him but said nothing. He had become a Grand Elder purely for Xi Shui's sake. As for those who had died at the hands of Evil Soul Masters, all he could offer was an apology.

"Is it you?"

A completely emotionless voice rang out, instantly silencing the chatting Evil Soul Masters. They nervously looked around, ready to flee at any moment.

Long Xiaoyao frowned slightly at the spatial rift that had silently opened before him. He had not sensed the other party's arrival at all.

A middle-aged man in black robes stepped out of the spatial rift. Sensing the resentment and death aura surrounding their bodies, he swept his expressionless gaze across the group before finally settling it on Long Xiaoyao, their leader.

"If you have something to say, say it directly. Could it be that you intend to go to war with this old man?"

Feeling the other party's gaze land on him, Long Xiaoyao met it without fear.

"War it is. You slaughtered my Soul Beast kin. You deserve the punishment of death."

Di Tian spread his arms, and dense death aura poured from his body, rolling outward and rapidly spreading.

"Damn it, another one who uses death."

The Evil Soul Masters behind Long Xiaoyao cursed under their breaths. Aside from their rapid cultivation speed, another reason Evil Soul Masters were feared was that their attributes generally involved death and souls, allowing them to fight above their rank.

They knew that apart from spatial Soul Masters, only Limit Douluo could wield the power of space with such proficiency. A Limit Douluo with a death attribute was another figure on the level of a Grand Elder.

Long Xiaoyao immediately activated Martial Soul Possession and unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar. Vast dark energy enveloped him before transforming him into a Dark Sacred Dragon hundreds of meters long.

Broad, powerful wings spread and beat through the sky. Heavy dragon scales tightly covered that massive body, while thick black mist churned around the Dark Sacred Dragon, blotting out the sky.

Two yellow, two purple, three black, and two red—nine soul rings floated above and below between those enormous dragon horns. A dragon roar sounded as pale golden eyes fixed intently on that tiny figure.

Long Xiaoyao did not dare be careless in the slightest, opening with his Martial Soul Avatar.

Darkness surged continuously toward the sky behind Di Tian, and a domain of darkness shrouded the land.

Feeling that familiar power of darkness, Di Tian's face revealed a faint smile. He had once been the Black Dragon Clan's patriarch, the last dark True Dragon in the world. Everything this human did was merely something he had long since outgrown.

Darkness had no future. Death was the final destination of all things.

Di Tian returned to his true form and expanded his domain of death. The domain of darkness that had occupied more than half the sky vanished without a trace. Even darkness itself had died.

"How is that possible?!"

Long Xiaoyao could not believe it. He was a Limit Douluo. Apart from the Beast God in the core region, whom he did not dare claim he could certainly defeat, his domain of darkness should at least have been able to cancel out any other Limit Douluo's power. Yet now it had been completely overridden.

"You're Di Tian! Aren't you a Black Dragon?"

Long Xiaoyao was utterly confused. Ever since Di Tian had first been recorded on the continent, every description of him had called him the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King, a wielder of ultimate darkness. And now he was saying death was what he was truly best at?

"What race I belong to requires no explanation to you humans!"

Di Tian's emotionless voice rang out. Death power gathered in his mouth, and he unleashed a breath attack toward Long Xiaoyao.

Long Xiaoyao lightly drew apart his claws, and a black curtain of light rapidly unfolded before him, blocking the breath attack.

The breath imbued with dense death power did not pause in the slightest. It effortlessly pierced through the black curtain and, in an instant, crashed directly into the Dark Sacred Dragon's body.

Long Xiaoyao ignored it and instantly appeared beneath Di Tian, swinging his claws to attack Di Tian's abdomen.

He had just used his soul bone skill, Invincible Golden Body, to block the breath attack. Then he had teleported beneath Di Tian, intending to use Dark Gold Terror Claw to tear open his abdomen.

"Damn it, why can't I block it?"

Long Xiaoyao's right claw trembled, suddenly unable to exert any strength. He instinctively turned to look and found that the entire right half of his body had turned grayish white, wreathed in death aura. Invincible Golden Body had actually failed to block the attack! Long Xiaoyao did not hesitate and tried to teleport away, only to discover that the surrounding space was incomparably stable. He could not teleport at all.

Di Tian grabbed Long Xiaoyao with his claw. The Dark Sacred Dragon, hundreds of meters long, was like an insect beneath Di Tian's true form, writhing within his dragon claw.

The next second, Long Xiaoyao felt agonizing pain throughout his body. Enormous force continuously crushed him, and he felt as though his bones had already been ground to pieces.

"Roar—"

Long Xiaoyao let out an earthshaking roar, no longer able to endure the pain wracking his body.

Di Tian had just noticed Evil Soul Masters attempting to escape his domain. Instinctively, he tugged at Long Xiaoyao with his dragon claw, and Long Xiaoyao felt as if he were being torn in half.

Naturally, the Evil Soul Masters below had no intention of going up to help. Simply struggling against the death energy constantly invading their bodies was already difficult enough. As for Long Xiaoyao, good people were blessed by heaven. They believed the Grand Elder would surely escape alive.

One after another, they employed their secret techniques, attempting to flee the domain.

One combined eighty-one ten-thousand-year Soul Beast skulls into one, while another used the Myriad Souls Banner to summon countless vengeful spirits to resist desperately.

But in Di Tian's eyes, it was all useless. Instead, it stirred the fury in his heart.

At some point, these Evil Soul Masters had secretly slaughtered a great number of ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts for cultivation. They had not even spared their souls, obtaining vast resentment through relentless torture.

"Death Realm!"

Di Tian's furious voice resounded throughout the domain.

Death power erupted. The illusory souls that had originally been howling chaotically took on physical forms, and the confusion in their minds vanished. Dim blue light appeared in their eyes. They bent at the waist to show respect to their Beast God, purple-black flames blazing fiercely around them.

"My people, death is not the loss of life. It is stepping beyond time. This is the realm of the dead, and also the paradise of the dead."

"Now, in the name of Beast God Di Tian, I command you: take your revenge. Charge forth and bring death to your enemies."

"Death is not the loss of life, but stepping beyond time." — Yu Hua, To Live