Powerful Overwhelming Crush

"Die! Shadow Devour!"

The Shadow Demon opened its enormous maw, and a pitch-black beam over three meters in diameter shot toward Lan Aotian, carrying terrifying power that could devour all vitality and corrode soul power!

Everywhere the beam passed, the air hissed, and even the light itself was twisted and devoured!

This strike was enough to severely injure or even instantly kill an ordinary Soul Saint!

"Your Excellency Lin Yue, watch out!"

Claude shouted in horror and tried to rush forward to help, but the terrifying pressure weighed him down, making it difficult for him to move.

Tie Shan and the others looked even more ashen as they shut their eyes in despair.

Facing this earth-shattering attack, Lan Aotian finally moved.

He did not retreat or dodge. He did not even release his martial soul.

He merely raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and gently clenched them toward the oncoming pitch-black beam.

"Emperor Domain, Life Deprivation."

There was no earth-shaking burst of soul power, nor any dazzling Soul Rings appearing.

Centered around Lan Aotian, an invisible and intangible power of "domain" silently spread outward, as if it stood above all things.

This was an advanced application of his Blue Silver Emperor Domain. It was not released over a wide area, but instead compressed to an extreme degree and directed at a single target!

That violent, ferocious pitch-black beam came within ten meters of Lan Aotian before suddenly halting, as if it had crashed into an invisible wall!

Then, a scene that everyone would remember for the rest of their lives took place.

The shadow and annihilation energy within the pitch-black beam, powerful enough to corrode soul steel, actually began to... wither and dissipate at a speed visible to the naked eye!

It was as if its vitality—or rather, its energy activity—had been forcibly extracted and deprived by some higher-level power!

The beam quickly dimmed and thinned, then went out with a puff like a guttering candle, completely extinguishing itself one foot in front of Lan Aotian's palm without creating even the slightest ripple.

"What?!"

The Black-robed Soul Douluo cried out in shock, his ghostly green eyes filled with disbelief.

His Martial Soul Avatar's Seventh Soul Skill strike had actually been neutralized so effortlessly by his opponent?

And his opponent had not even used his martial soul?

How was that possible?!

Lan Aotian lowered his hand and dusted off nonexistent specks of dirt. His tone remained calm, but carried a bone-chilling coldness. "Devouring vitality? You're merely showing off your pitiful skills before an expert. I'll show you what true... Life Control is."

He took one step forward.

As that step landed, the disguised aura around him receded like a tide.

The soul power fluctuations of the "Green Wood Vine," originally restrained at the sixty-ninth rank, suddenly changed. Soul power of a deeper blue, even more vast and pure, surged into the sky with the supreme majesty of an emperor!

Although his Soul Power Level still had not broken through the Ninetieth Rank threshold—he had deliberately restrained it—the qualitative pressure caused the Black-robed Soul Douluo's Shadow True Body to shake violently!

"You... who are you, exactly?!"

A trace of uncertainty entered the Black-robed Soul Douluo's voice.

His opponent's aura had changed. He was no longer an ordinary plant-type Soul Emperor, but a nobler, more primordial form of life that he had never sensed before!

Lan Aotian did not answer. He slowly raised both hands, palms facing each other, as a dense azure-blue radiance condensed between them.

"First Soul Skill, Root Source Ring Absorption," he murmured, as if chanting.

Buzz!

No Soul Ring appeared, but an invisible ripple spread outward from him as its center.

The Black-robed Soul Douluo suddenly felt the connection between himself and his Martial Soul Avatar falter slightly. The immense soul power within his body unexpectedly leaked outward against his will. Although the amount was negligible, it still made his heart pound with fear!

"Playing tricks! Die for this old man! Eighth Soul Skill—Myriad Shadows Devour Souls!"

The Black-robed Soul Douluo was furious and shocked. Daring not to hold anything back, he immediately unleashed his strongest Eighth Soul Skill!

The Shadow Demon threw back its head and roared. Its body suddenly exploded, transforming into tens of thousands of tiny black shadow snakes. Each one carried a shrill soul howl as they pounced on Lan Aotian from every direction, leaving no blind spot!

These shadow snakes could not only devour soul power, but also directly attack the soul!

This was his signature technique, one with which he had once severely injured a Soul Douluo of the same rank!

Facing this overwhelming soul attack, Lan Aotian's gaze remained cold.

"Second Soul Skill, Revival Ring Battle Soul."

A faint azure light enveloped his body. All the shadow snakes that drew near seemed to crash into an invisible barrier of the soul. They shrieked, yet found it difficult to advance even an inch, and many were even scattered by the rebound of the azure light.

"Third Soul Skill, Domination Ring Spirits Worship the Emperor."

The azure-blue sphere of light between Lan Aotian's palms suddenly brightened, and an indescribable will of domination spread through the surroundings.

Among the nearby hills, the sparse shrubs, the wild grass stubbornly growing in cracks between the rocks, and even the plant roots buried underground all seemed to come alive at that moment. They radiated faint fluctuations of life and swayed slightly toward Lan Aotian, as if worshiping an emperor!

Although the life energy of these ordinary plants was negligible, once gathered together, it formed a unique force. Combined with Lan Aotian's domain, it faintly suppressed and repelled the countless shadow snakes!

"Fourth Soul Skill, Punishment Ring Power Lash!"

Lan Aotian grabbed at empty space with his right hand, and a long whip completely condensed from azure-blue light, covered in golden patterns, appeared out of thin air!

With a crack of the whip, it seemed to contain an emperor's fury and the will of punishment. It swept out a dazzling blue-gold arc toward the core of the countless shadow snakes—the Black-robed Soul Douluo's true body!

Everywhere the whip's shadow passed, the shadow snakes melted away like snow, emitting sizzling sounds!

"Impossible!"

The Black-robed Soul Douluo finally felt fear.

His opponent's methods were too bizarre. Without any Soul Rings, he had unleashed one Soul Skill after another, each with enormous power, and they completely countered his shadow attribute! The aura radiating from that whip made even his soul tremble!

He frantically circulated his soul power, attempting to withdraw the shadow snakes and condense a defense.

But it was already too late.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Perception Ring Trace."

A flash of blue light passed through Lan Aotian's eyes, and he instantly saw through the trajectory of his opponent's soul power and the weakest point in his defense.

"It's over."

The light of the Blue-Gold Whip surged. Ignoring the obstruction of the remaining shadow snakes, it pierced through the Triple Shadow Shield hastily erected by the Black-robed Soul Douluo at an inconceivable angle and speed, then slammed into his chest!

"Ah—!"

A scream of the utmost agony rang across the hills!

The Black-robed Soul Douluo was sent flying through the air. His black robe tore apart at the chest, revealing a suit of Inner Armor flashing with dark light beneath it.

But the Inner Armor already bore a deep scorch mark, and azure-blue radiance clung to it like a bone-eating parasite.

It surged into his body through the wound, frantically devouring and purifying his shadow soul power and vitality!

"No! My soul power! My vitality! What kind of power is this?!"

The Black-robed Soul Douluo was horrified to discover that the shadow soul power he had painstakingly cultivated for decades was retreating step by step before the azure radiance.

His vitality was draining even faster. His face, originally that of a middle-aged man, rapidly grew old, and his hair turned gray-white!

With a flash, Lan Aotian appeared in midair like Gui Mei, looking down at the falling Black-robed Soul Douluo.

"Remember not to devour random things in your next life."

He raised two fingers like a sword. A point of intensely cold azure light condensed at his fingertip, and he gently pressed it against the Black-robed Soul Douluo's forehead.