Ling Xiu's Powerlessness and Grief

"Not good! Retreat, now!!!"

As the Giant Dragon pounced, the two severely wounded Dou Venerates actually stepped forward and began to self-destruct.

"Protect Young Master and go!!!"

The shrill blasts of self-destruction made everyone's ears ring, leaving them stunned.

The power of two Five-Star Dou Venerates self-destructing was imaginable. It actually halted the black Giant Dragon's advance.

"Go! You all protect Young Master and leave! I'll hold him back!" Elder Ling glared savagely at the mysterious man in black, the Dou Qi around him surging wildly.

"We have never provoked anyone from the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan. Since you insist on driving us to our deaths today, don't blame us for showing no mercy!"

The Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan?

The mysterious man in black froze for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

It seemed that because he had used dragon-related techniques, they had assumed he was a member of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan.

Watching Elder Ling charge at him without fear of death, he felt a little regretful.

"Your courage is commendable, but for the sake of my grand plan, you can only be sacrificed."

With a wave of the mysterious man's hand, the Giant Dragon, like Mount Tai bearing down overhead, once again dived from the sky.

"Heavenly Stage Low-Level, Twin Phoenix Crippled Dragon Soar!" Elder Ling unleashed his full strength. Vast amounts of wind-attributed Dou Qi gathered in his hands, forming two dragon shapes even more powerful than the ones Ling Xiu had used, and they charged straight toward the Giant Dragon in the sky!

Boom!

The collision of the three dragons caused a massive explosion. The ground could barely withstand the aftermath, cracking into spiderweb-like fissures.

The violently churning energy even formed a mushroom cloud in the air, astonishing everyone in this Ancient Forest.

"What battle is happening over there? It looks way too intense..."

"Who knows, but there must be something good over there. Should we go take a look?"

"Let's go! Maybe some treasure is what made those people fight so fiercely."

No sooner said than done. Countless people rushed toward the source of the commotion.

Elder Ling's all-out strike left the mysterious man in black struggling to endure it.

Fortunately for him, Elder Ling had already perished under the force of that attack.

But his target was Ling Xiu!

"You've delayed me for so long." The mysterious man in black took a deep breath, moved his feet, and unleashed the Soul Dragon Soaring Cloud Steps again. Transforming into a streak of black lightning, he instantly caught up with Ling Xiu's group.

"How did he catch up so quickly?" The five Dou Venerates' expressions changed drastically.

"If he caught up, Elder Ling may already be dead..." The five Dou Venerates exchanged a thought and, with perfect mutual understanding, stopped in their tracks. They said to Ling Xiu, "Young Master, hurry and leave! We'll do everything we can to stop him!"

"You..." Ling Xiu's eyes reddened. "Elder Ling is already dead. Are you going to throw away your lives too? You're no match for him at all!"

"Our mission is to protect Young Master. Now that danger has come, naturally we must fulfill that mission." One Dou Venerate smiled with quiet relief. "Young Master, if you wish to avenge us, then return to the clan at once and grow stronger with everything you have. Only then can you avenge us."

"Go, Young Master!" Seeing the mysterious man in black drawing near, another Dou Venerate slapped Ling Xiu, sending him rapidly away from the area.

The mysterious man in black arrived at incredible speed. Seeing Ling Xiu being sent flying with a slap, the handsome face beneath his hood suddenly twisted viciously.

"If this avatar of mine didn't possess less than half of my true body's strength... this wouldn't have dragged on for so long. Damn it! Why is the transfer of power so slow?"

Just as he spoke, an incomparably immense cultivation base flooded into the mysterious man in black.

"My true body's power, finally... I now possess my full strength!"

Without hesitation, the mysterious man in black struck out with his palm, hitting Ling Xiu, who was moving at high speed, at a velocity beyond everyone's imagination!

Ling Xiu instantly spat blood and was sent flying hundreds of meters away, his fate unknown.

"Young Master!!!" The five Dou Venerates' eyes widened to their limits as they stared at the mysterious man in black as though he were their mortal enemy.

"We'll fight you to the death!"

"The plan has finally succeeded." The mysterious man in black sighed in relief. As long as he touched him once, it was already a success.

As for these jumping little insects...

Seeing the five Dou Venerates' desperate strike arrive before him, the mysterious man in black gave a heavy snort, and a Giant Dragon with a body ten thousand zhang long appeared.

Seeing that he had used the same move again, the five Dou Venerates' faces filled with despair.

They... did not know whether Ling Xiu was dead or alive.

"For Young Master!" One Dou Venerate roared as his body began to swell. He was going to self-destruct again!

Bang!

The explosion of his self-destruction heavily wounded the ten-thousand-zhang Giant Dragon.

"Brother!" Another Dou Venerate could not hold back his tears and began to self-destruct as well.

"Wait for us, brothers. We're coming too." Immediately afterward, the last three Dou Venerates followed suit and self-destructed.

Since the five of us together still can't defeat you, then we'll self-destruct together and severely wound you!

"A bunch of lunatics." The mysterious man in black cursed under his breath. He did not dare take the force of those explosions head-on.

Those were all self-destructions by Five-Star Dou Venerates. Even a Nine Revolutions Dou Venerate would have to turn tail and run.

"Soul Dragon Obscuring the Sun!"

A black Giant Dragon blotted out the sky, slowing the four Dou Venerates' self-destruction.

"How is that possible? What kind of bizarre Dou Technique is this?"

With a wave of his hand, the mysterious man in black summoned another Giant Dragon, which charged fiercely toward them.

"Soul Dragon... Heaven-Slaying!"

The Giant Dragon, its aura as deep and vast as an abyssal sea, swallowed the four Dou Venerates in one bite. Their cultivation, all their Dou Qi, luck, and souls were rendered uselessly into feedback for the mysterious man in black.

The Soul Dragon itself was akin to a purifier. The Dou Qi, souls, and Luck Force it devoured could all be transformed into the purest form, and all the mysterious man in black had to do was absorb them and make them his own.

"It's been a long time since I was reduced to such a sorry state." The mysterious man in black removed his hood, revealing a handsome yet sinister face.

Hun Tianchen.

He had followed the Ling Clan here, originally intending to conveniently take the Soul Infant Fruit as well, but the Ling Clan's people had proven far too troublesome.

"They've drawn everyone here." Hun Tianchen glanced at the small lake behind him and sighed.

"Forget it. I'll return to Queen Medusa first, then come back with my true body and snatch it directly."

After his figure faded away, Ling Xiu lay on the ground in another open clearing, blood spilling from his mouth.

He slowly opened his eyes. Watching the Giant Dragon above him dissipate, tears gradually welled up in his eyes.

Struggling to his feet with immense difficulty, Ling Xiu's gaze brimmed with hatred.

"I don't care who you are. Once my cultivation reaches great success someday... I will definitely avenge Elder Ling and the others!"

He gritted his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, his fists clenched with cracking sounds as he staggered back step by step.

He had to... return to the Ling Clan, then cultivate seriously and work hard to grow stronger.

Unbeknownst to Ling Xiu, a strange, pitch-black aura slowly flowed through the depths of his tear-filled eyes...