Nine Nether

The old man had just dodged the first wave of leaf attacks when he was surrounded once more by the withered branches and dead leaves.

"Burn!" Mu Qian swung his arm, and the fire attribute in the air instantly set them ablaze.

Roaring flames burst into bloom, like a magnificent flower.

Even after doing all that, Mu Qian didn't stop. He knew that although his attacks seemed to have the old man pinned down, it was only a matter of time before a Spirit Saint broke free.

"Ice!"

Invisible ice elements began to gather, forming sharp icicles in the air.

"Zhuqing, get back!"

Mu Qian called out a warning. His Dragon Wings beat fiercely behind him as he charged toward the blazing inferno, trailing countless icicles.

"Be gone!"

The old man's furious roar came from within the flames. A terrifying surge of Soul Power exploded outward, snuffing out the blazing fire in an instant.

The old man wasn't injured, but he was in a sorry state. His eyes brimmed with murderous intent. He had never been brought to this point by a mere child before.

By then, Mu Qian's next attack had already arrived.

Crystals of ice, radiating a bone-chilling cold, covered his fist as he swung it down with unstoppable force.

A cruel smile appeared on the old man's lips. His swollen right hand met Mu Qian's.

"Bang!"

The forceful surge of Soul Power instantly snapped the trees around them. Mu Qian was sent flying, his Dragon Wings beating frantically behind him as he struggled to halt his momentum.

The old man, too, was in a bad way. Despite the gap of more than thirty levels in Soul Power between them, he was also sent flying.

He quickly managed to steady himself, but only after being knocked back several meters. Even so, the sight was astonishing.

"What incredible physical strength. Could this Little Monster be a dragon Spirit Beast in human form?"

The old man stared in alarm at his trembling right hand. The tremendous force unleashed at the moment of impact had left his arm numb, and even his bones ached faintly. He could clearly feel tiny cracks in them.

In the distance, Mu Qian dove down again as if he didn't know the meaning of exhaustion.

Their last collision seemed not to have affected him in the slightest...

Can this really be a Soul Elder in his thirties? A sharp doubt rose in the old man's mind.

But he had no time to think it over. Mu Qian's second strike was already upon him, and this time the old man was ready. He narrowly dodged the heavy punch.

When his attack missed, Mu Qian turned with the momentum and swept his left leg toward the old man's head, leaving a faint afterimage.

"Kid, I'm done playing with you. This ends now. Fifth Soul Skill, Heart Devour!"

The old man raised a hand to block the sweeping kick, and his fifth Spirit Ring quietly lit up.

Mu Qian's lips curled slightly. This was exactly the moment he'd been waiting for.

"Ah, what..." The old man froze, his Fifth Soul Skill interrupted the instant he began to use it.

He stared at the boy before him in horror. The moment the other's Soul Skill took effect, he could no longer move.

It wasn't so much that his body had been restrained as that he had lost control over it.

It felt as if his soul were being manipulated.

"Third Soul Skill... Oblivion River!" Mu Qian's brows and eyes were filled with icy killing intent.

This was his first time using the Third Soul Skill, and it seemed to be working rather well.

According to legend, the Oblivion River was a river in the Underworld, lying between the Yellow Springs Road and the Netherworld. Its waters were yellow with blood, and within them... dwelled lonely ghosts who were denied reincarnation.

Insects and snakes swarmed everywhere, and a foul wind stung the senses.

When the souls of the dead crossed the Oblivion River, they could return to the mortal world and enter the cycle of reincarnation—but first, they had to forget all the joys, sorrows, loves, and hatreds of their past lives.

Through the inherited memories of the Yinglong Origin, Mu Qian knew that the complete version of the Oblivion River Soul Skill could even control reincarnation, wielding the terrifying power to decide in an instant whether a soul lived or perished.

But the effect he could produce now leaned more toward Spiritual Power.

Against someone of equal cultivation, he could easily take complete control of their soul and make them act according to his will.

The old man before him was a Spirit Saint, so Mu Qian couldn't control him to that extent. But as long as he could hold him for a single instant, that was enough.

"Gather!" Mu Qian roared. Countless ripples of soul energy appeared across the forest floor.

The soul energy surged upward, converging until it formed ancient Remnant Souls.

Some took the forms of Spirit Beasts of all shapes and sizes; others were humans with vacant eyes.

In a place like the Star Forest, where slaughter was commonplace, souls were never in short supply.

"Feel the wrath of the dead..."

By then, Mu Qian's eyes had turned completely gray. Not even a trace of white remained.

Countless ghostly souls, carrying an enormous burden of negative emotions, rushed toward the old man. Like soldiers obeying their king's command, they fought to enter his mind.

"Ah!" The old man's mouth hadn't even opened, yet a piercing scream rang out. Thin gray "smoke" seeped into his body through his nostrils, mouth, eyes, and every other exposed opening.

His scream was filled with unimaginable panic and terror, as if he were suffering the agony of having his soul torn apart.

"Ahh! I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"

The old man clutched his head with both hands. The moment the Remnant Souls invaded, he had relied on his vastly superior cultivation to break free of the spiritual restraint.

Unfortunately, it was already too late.

"Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't be a match for you. Too bad you let your guard down." Mu Qian shook his head.

His Dragon Wings slowly faded away, replaced by a mass of purple-black energy in his hand.

Endless darkness swept across the entire sky in an instant, swallowing the old man's figure.

At the same time, a blood-red Spirit Ring appeared silently beneath Mu Qian's feet, its terrifying might shaking heaven and earth.

"First Soul Skill: Nine Nether."

"I'll use this old dog to test out my newly acquired Soul Skill."

This was one of the two Soul Skills the Amethyst Imperial Epiphyllum had granted his Second Martial Soul.

Like the Martial Soul itself, it was called Nine Nether.

It was also the Innate Domain granted by his Second Martial Soul.

That was right—a domain.

Within this Innate Domain, all of an opponent's attributes would be heavily suppressed: attack, defense, speed, Soul Power...

Even their soul.

"A... a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!?"

The old man exclaimed in terror as his movements instantly slowed. His struggling became sluggish, as if someone had pressed the slow-motion button. It seemed even time itself had been affected.

"It's over. From the moment you forced me to reveal my true strength, your fate was sealed."

He had never tested the second of the Amethyst Imperial Epiphyllum's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone Skills.

Down in the forest, Zhu Zhuqing anxiously watched the sky, her heart filled with worry.

The battle overhead had ended in the blink of an eye. She hadn't seen what had happened at all, let alone the blood-red Spirit Ring that marked a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

"Mu Qian, please be all right..." Zhu Zhuqing hated herself.

She hated being powerless, and she hated that she had brought Mu Qian into such a life-or-death crisis.

Their cultivation levels differed by more than thirty levels of Soul Power!