As Xuan Zi and Zhang Lexuan quietly disappeared into the towering mountains, the faint sense of security in the air vanished. In its place came the eerie oppression unique to the Mingdou Mountain Range.
"Everyone, stay alert and hold formation!" Ma Xiaotao called in a low voice. Her red clothes fluttered as she took the lead.
"Spiritual Detection Sharing, activate!"
Bzz—
An invisible wave of spiritual power surged outward from Huo Yuhao, spreading in all directions like quicksilver.
One thousand meters, five thousand, ten thousand... until it reached twenty thousand. A detailed three-dimensional map instantly appeared in everyone's minds.
Within a radius of twenty kilometers, even an ant scurrying or a leaf falling was clearly revealed to their senses.
"Hiss—"
Everyone drew in a sharp breath.
They had experienced Huo Yuhao's support during special training, but back then, it had been limited to the Soul Fighting Arena.
Now, with it fully deployed across this complex terrain, how could this be just a support Soul Skill?
It was practically a divine war skill that gave them a god's-eye view!
Guided by this "Heavenly Eye," the team advanced at incredible speed.
"Stop."
Huo Yuhao's voice suddenly sounded through the spiritual network. "Three thousand meters ahead. I've found a large patch of Wenlan Trees."
The view zoomed in. In a shadowy woodland stood a number of strange trees, their trunks black from top to bottom.
"Wenlan Trees thrive in cold, shady places, and their cores are of a yin-cold attribute. But look—the cores of these trees have all been hollowed out, and the cuts are fresh," Huo Yuhao analyzed calmly. "There must be Soul Masters nearby who practice sinister yin-cold techniques."
At his words, killing intent flashed in Ma Xiaotao's eyes. "We've found them! Follow the traces!"
Under the guidance of Spiritual Detection Sharing, even deeply hidden footprints, broken branches, and dried blood on blades of grass became beacons leading the way.
The group hurried onward, eventually locating a dark cave concealed in a fissure in the mountainside.
"Charge in!"
At Ma Xiaotao's command, Phoenix Flame shot into the sky.
Several bandits guarding the entrance didn't even have time to react before they were reduced to ash.
The group filed inside, but the moment they entered, a thick stench of blood washed over them.
A dozen corpses lay scattered at the far end of the entrance, their deaths gruesome. Some had been disemboweled, while others had been shriveled to the bone, clearly drained of their life essence.
"Monsters!" Chen Zifeng cursed. His Soul Chasing Sword flashed like a streak of light, instantly piercing the throats of several bandits charging toward them.
The battle erupted.
The bandits guarding the outer area were vicious, and some of their leaders were even Spirit Kings. But before the elites of Shrek Inner Court, they were no more than a rabble.
Huo Yuhao joined the fight as well. He moved like a phantom, nine wafer-thin throwing knives floating behind him. Guided by his Psychic Power, they darted through the crowd like nine silver bolts of lightning, reaping lives.
Each flash brought a spray of blood.
Beside him, Jin Nier wielded the Golden Dragon Spear. It struck like a dragon, and even the slightest cut swiftly drained her enemies' life force.
"Something's wrong!"
Spiritual Detection Sharing suddenly blared a warning. The corpses inside the cave began to swell, and their Soul Power fluctuations grew violently unstable.
"Corpse Explosion Technique! Get out of the way!"
Almost instinctively, everyone dove toward the rock walls on either side or behind cover.
"Boom! Boom! Boom—!"
The explosions roared deafeningly. Flesh flew, and foul, poisonous blood sprayed everywhere.
Everyone reacted quickly, but the blast radius was too wide. Several members of the main team were still thrown off their feet by the shockwaves, left covered in dust.
Without Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, at least half of them would have been injured or killed!
Before the dust had settled, a chilling, cackling laugh came from the depths of the cave.
"Shrek Academy? Heh heh heh, what a feast delivered right to our doorstep!"
Seven figures slowly emerged from the darkness, their overwhelming bloodlust and evil aura filling the entire space.
The moment Ma Xiaotao saw their lineup, her face turned deathly pale.
The intelligence had been wrong—horribly wrong!
The Evil Soul Master leader wasn't a Spirit King at all. There were seven powerful enemies!
At their head stood a gaunt old man holding a White Bone Staff. Seven Soul Rings shone around him—he was a Spirit Saint!
Beside him was a hulking, broad-shouldered man who was also a Seven-Ring Soul Sage!
In addition, there were three Spirit Emperors and two Spirit Kings!
This wasn't a bandit raid. It was a suicide mission!
"Reserve Team, fall back! Nier, get them out of here!" Huo Yuhao shouted, making his decision at once.
At this level, Wang Dong and the others would only be cannon fodder if they stayed.
"I'm not leaving!" Jin Nier's Golden Dragon Spear trembled in her hands. Her golden hair streamed behind her as she stood resolutely beside Huo Yuhao. "If we die, we die together!"
Huo Yuhao looked a little surprised, then smiled faintly. "Don't worry. I won't let you die."
Wang Dong then led Xiao Xiao and the others in retreat, while Huo Yuhao and Jin Nier stayed behind to fight alongside the main team.
"Trying to run? You're all staying to become my corpse puppets!" The gaunt Spirit Saint gave a sinister smile and waved his White Bone Staff. Countless Wraiths howled as they rushed forth.
"Your opponent is me!" Ma Xiaotao cried. Phoenix Flame became a sea of fire as she forced herself to withstand the attacks of two Spirit Saints.
But fighting two at once—and against Evil Soul Masters with such bizarre abilities—she soon fell behind and was in grave danger.
The three Spirit Emperors and two Spirit Kings left over pounced on the main team like ravenous wolves.
The main team was already injured and had spent much of their Soul Power. Now, facing Evil Soul Masters who were at full strength and fought without restraint, they were overwhelmed in an instant.
"Ah!"
Gongyang Mo screamed as an Evil Soul Master's Blood Claw tore open his chest, leaving him drenched in blood.
The situation was critical!
"Spiritual Shock!"
Golden light blazed in Huo Yuhao's eyes. A purple-gold ray stabbed into the mind of a Spirit King lunging at Gongyang Mo.
The Spirit King didn't even have time to scream before his head burst like a watermelon.
A one-hit kill!
On the other side, Ling Luochеn had been driven into a corner by a Spirit Emperor. Her ice wall shattered, and she was on the verge of death.
"Ice Heaven Snow Empress—bless her!"
Huo Yuhao appeared behind Ling Luochеn in an instant and slammed both hands against her back.
The aura of Ultimate Ice poured into her in a torrent.
Ling Luochеn felt her Martial Soul undergo an instant transformation. The ordinary Ice Element within her became Ultimate Ice, so cold that even her soul trembled.
"Freeze!" She instinctively swung her staff, and a terrifying chill instantly froze the Spirit Emperor into an ice statue.
After saving Ling Luochеn, Huo Yuhao didn't pause for a moment. His gaze fixed on the gaunt Spirit Saint attacking Ma Xiaotao.
"Xiaotao, I'm coming to help!"
Huo Yuhao sprang forward, his whole body enveloped in emerald-green light.
Ice Emperor's Bodyguard!
"You're just a Soul Ancestor. You're asking to die!" The gaunt Spirit Saint contemptuously flung out a streak of blood-red light.
But Huo Yuhao neither dodged nor retreated. He struck out with his right palm.
"Great Cold No Snow!"
Ultimate Ice collided with the streak of blood-red light, freezing and shattering it by force!
The gaunt Spirit Saint's pupils contracted. "Ultimate Ice!"
Huo Yuhao seized the opportunity and closed in, bringing down Emperor Sword: Ice Extreme Peerless with a savage slash.
The cultivation gap was enormous, but Ultimate Attribute could let one fight across ranks. And Huo Yuhao himself was no ordinary fighter. He forced his way into the fight against the three Spirit Saints, taking one of them off Ma Xiaotao's hands.
But that was already his limit.
Huo Yuhao was powerful, but his strength lay in his reserves. The Soul Rings and Soul Bones of the Ice and Snow Emperors, along with the spiritual power of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, were all just a foundation. They hadn't been fully converted into actual strength.
So he could kill Spirit Kings and fight Spirit Emperors, but against a Spirit Saint—especially an Evil Soul Master Spirit Saint—the thirty-level gap in Soul Power was an insurmountable chasm.
Each time they clashed, Huo Yuhao was injured. But he made sure his enemy paid dearly, too.
"Heh heh, boy, you've got a fine Martial Soul. I'm going to dig it out!"
The gaunt Spirit Saint grinned viciously as countless bone claws burst from the ground, trapping Huo Yuhao tightly.
Ma Xiaotao's eyes blazed with fury, and Jin Nier was beside herself with rage.
But just then, a chill erupted, as if it could freeze time itself.
"Snow Empress Three Absolutes: Emperor's Chill, Snow Dance Shining Sun!"
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