The Hunt for an Evil Soul Master Begins!

Liu Yuan completed the final tactical deployment in the dense forest. Every person's position and timing of attack had been repeatedly considered.

Under the cover of moonlight, Long Aotian, Chen Lü, Wang Yanfeng, and the others quickly spread out and concealed themselves behind the piles of rubble in that abandoned canyon.

They held their breaths, suppressing their Soul Power fluctuations to the lowest possible level as they silently waited for their prey to take the bait.

Liu Yuan walked alone toward the abandoned manor that reeked of decay and blood.

As he drew closer, the sickly sweet stench in the air grew increasingly thick.

Liu Yuan stepped through the courtyard gate, and the dead branches beneath his feet snapped crisply.

His Double Pupil turned slightly. Even without deliberately activating his Soul Power, those eyes still caught the dangers lurking throughout the manor in the darkness.

The intelligence had indeed been extremely accurate.

In the center of the manor's courtyard and within the side hall behind it stood four enormous stone pools.

They were filled with thick, dark-red blood. Even from a distance, one could sense the violent Soul Power contained within.

Those were clearly the source that sustained and empowered the Evil Soul Master known as the "Blood King."

Liu Yuan did not launch an attack directly. Instead, he began carrying out the plan to lure the enemy.

He concealed the sharp aura around him and deliberately gave off the immature air of a novice soul master.

He looked around near the blood pools, his expression carrying just the right trace of panic and curiosity.

One moment, he stopped to fiddle with shattered pieces of armor on the ground. The next, he suddenly turned his head as though he had discovered something terrifying, his movements seeming somewhat flustered.

Yet within Liu Yuan's Double Pupil vision, a gaunt figure wrapped from head to toe in a blood-red robe was pressed tightly against the beam of the main hall.

Those snake-like eyes were fixed firmly on Liu Yuan's neck.

The Blood King was assessing the intruder's strength.

To completely dispel his opponent's concerns, Liu Yuan deliberately stopped beside the largest blood pool and exposed his entire back, completely defenseless, toward the main hall.

The Blood King, hidden in the shadows, finally could no longer resist the temptation of fresh life.

In his eyes, the youth before him was merely a Three-Ring soul master with extremely unstable Soul Power fluctuations. Prey of this caliber was the finest supplement for him.

"Die!"

A hoarse, grating voice rang through the manor.

The blood in the enormous pool suddenly began to churn violently.

Driven by evil soul power, several liters of blood instantly solidified into dark-red spikes gleaming with a chilling light.

The blood spikes shot through the air at tremendous speed, striking from tricky angles toward Liu Yuan's heart.

Liu Yuan sensed the murderous intent behind him, and his body reacted the instant the blood spikes reached him.

But he did not evade completely. Instead, he twisted his body aside at an incredibly perilous angle.

"Pssh!"

The blood spike did not pierce his heart, but it brutally punched through Liu Yuan's right shoulder.

Scalding blood splattered across the ground as Liu Yuan let out a sharp scream filled with terror.

Clutching his shoulder, he did not even dare look back. He stumbled through the manor gates and fled desperately toward the canyon they had chosen beforehand.

His footsteps appeared unsteady, leaving behind a messy trail of bloody footprints in the snow.

The Blood King drifted down from the beam. He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood lingering on his fingertips, revealing a savage and smug smile.

"Trying to run? Once you've entered my territory, your flesh and blood are mine."

A thick blood mist surged around the Evil Soul Master. A pair of enormous bat wings vaguely emerged behind him, and his entire body transformed into a red afterimage as he closely pursued Liu Yuan.

Meanwhile, a hundred meters away in the air, Elder Chen, who had kept himself hidden all along, watched the scene unfold with an odd smile appearing on his aged face.

He looked at Liu Yuan desperately fleeing ahead, then at the smug-faced Evil Soul Master behind him, and could not help muttering softly.

"Who exactly won't be able to escape? Young people these days sure know how to act convincingly."

Elder Chen remained motionless, his aura as insubstantial as smoke, continuing to trail behind the two of them.

Liu Yuan constantly pushed his stamina to its limits. He did not fully activate Qilin Step, instead maintaining a speed that made the Evil Soul Master feel that he was "about to catch him."

During this time, the Evil Soul Master launched several more blood arrow attacks in an attempt to cut off Liu Yuan's retreat.

Liu Yuan was once again "unfortunately" struck twice. Savage wounds appeared across his back and leg, making him look as though he was already at the end of his strength.

At last, Liu Yuan charged into the canyon strewn with jagged boulders.

The instant he stepped into the center of the canyon, the Blood King, pursuing him from behind, suddenly unleashed his final strike.

A blood spike condensed from essence blood pierced through Liu Yuan's lower back.

Liu Yuan gave a muffled groan and fell face-first onto the icy ground. His body twitched constantly, as though he no longer had the strength even to crawl to his feet.

"Run. Why aren't you running anymore?"

The Blood King landed less than three meters behind Liu Yuan.

He looked down at the blood-soaked youth, his eyes brimming with greed.

He slowly raised his claw-like, withered hand. A cluster of bloody light condensed at his fingertips as he prepared to completely end this "work of art."

However, the instant he approached Liu Yuan, Liu Yuan, who had been lying prone on the ground, suddenly turned his head.

There was no trace of fear or weakness left on Liu Yuan's face.

Within those Double Pupils, the once-hidden crimson radiance erupted wildly at that moment like a volcano.

"Got you."

Liu Yuan's voice was as cold as the ice of the Extreme North.

At such close range, two thick crimson Laser beams shot from his Double Pupils without warning.

"Boom!"

Even a Soul King-level Evil Soul Master could not possibly react to an eruption at point-blank range.

The Blood King's already thin defenses instantly collapsed.

The terrifying high-temperature beams pierced directly through his chest, leaving behind an enormous charred and bloody hole.

"Move!"

Liu Yuan's roar echoed throughout the canyon.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three immensely powerful Soul Power fluctuations erupted almost simultaneously.

Long Aotian, Chen Lü, and Wang Yanfeng, who had been lying in ambush behind the rocks, had long been unable to hold themselves back.

The moment they saw the signal, the three of them held nothing back.

Long Aotian transformed into a dark-gold war god and descended from the sky. His millstone-sized fist carried crushing force as it slammed heavily into the Evil Soul Master's back.

Chen Lü and Wang Yanfeng attacked from the left and right, respectively unleashing the Body Sect's lethal combat techniques.

Fist shadows and palm imprints intertwined, carrying a force powerful enough to topple mountains and overturn seas. In an instant, they completely engulfed the Evil Soul Master, who had already been severely wounded by the Laser Eye.

With a violent explosion, the body of the Five-Ring Evil Soul Master burst apart under the combined assault of the three top Body Sect geniuses, turning into a shower of mangled flesh and blood mist that splattered across the canyon rocks.

Long Aotian landed and caught his breath. Looking at the mess covering the ground, he turned hesitantly toward Liu Yuan. "That's it? That was way too easy, wasn't it?"

Liu Yuan slowly rose from the ground. The wounds on his shoulder and lower back were healing at a horrifying speed.

He stared at the strange blood slowly flowing across the ground. The red glow in his Double Pupil had not faded; instead, it had become increasingly grave.

"No. It's not over yet."