Three days later.
"Brother Zhentian, how are the preparations for the clan's relocation coming along?"
"Temple Master, most of the people have finished packing. We've sold off everything in the clan that needed to be sold, leaving only the ancestral hall. We'll leave behind a few elderly people who don't want to go."
Xie An nodded. "You and I will lead the way for this relocation."
"My men will escort the rest of the clan along another route."
"Temple Master, why is that?"
Yuanen Zhentian asked, puzzled.
"Though we didn't make a big announcement about my breakthrough, it still caught the attention of certain people."
"When we head back this time, the two of us will scout the way."
"That should also help us avoid unnecessary casualties."
"Do you know who's going to attack us?"
"The Holy Spirit Cult. Evil Soul Masters."
"..."
Xie An and Yuanen Zhentian flew unhurriedly toward the War God Temple's headquarters.
If anyone had been watching them from high above, they would have seen the two of them circling around the same place.
"Why haven't they come yet?"
"Could it be that the Underworld Emperor didn't pass the information on to the Ghost Emperor?"
"That shouldn't be possible. The Underworld Emperor, Ha Luosa, was desperate to become a god, and the Ghost Emperor was terrifyingly efficient."
Just as Xie An began to wonder if he should simply fly back to the War God Temple, a presence suddenly came from far away.
Even though its owner thought he had concealed it well, it was impossible to hide from Xie An's spiritual power after his breakthrough.
"They're here," Xie An sent to Yuanen Zhentian.
Yuanen Zhentian received the message and tensed. He adjusted his aura, preparing for battle.
A cackling voice, laden with boundless resentment, suddenly rang out in the distance.
"Cackle, cackle, cackle. War God Temple Master, you've got some nerve."
Seven figures appeared before Xie An.
Two led the group, with five others behind them.
Two Limit Douluos and five Titled Douluos.
The newcomer wore a tattered black-and-green robe, and his sickly green eyes flickered incessantly.
The other was completely bloodred, as if he had just climbed out of a Blood Pool.
A bloodred robe hung over his back.
"Ghost Emperor, I didn't expect you to still be alive."
"And you, Blood Demon—you're so old your whole body's falling apart, yet you still take on assassination missions?"
"Still, you're underestimating me. Why did you only bring two people?"
Xie An completely ignored the five behind them.
"Why isn't the Underworld Emperor here?"
Xie An asked provocatively.
The Ghost Emperor glanced at the man beside Xie An in surprise.
"May I ask who you are? You look unfamiliar."
"The Holy Spirit Cult has business to attend to. I advise you not to meddle."
The Ghost Emperor was also rather annoyed. He had spent more than a day tracking down the other Limit Douluos, confirming that no one else was accompanying Xie An before ambushing him with the Blood Demon. That was why the assassination had taken so long to arrange.
The Ghost Emperor's plan had been sound. He would face Xie An head-on, while the Blood Demon cast curses from afar to restrain him.
The other five would harass him from the sidelines.
But one couldn't account for everything. He hadn't expected a second Limit Douluo to appear out of nowhere.
"Yuanen Zhentian."
Yuanen Zhentian stepped forward, unleashing the terrifying might of a Limit Douluo.
The phantom of a Titan Giant Ape appeared behind him.
"I'll soon be joining the War God Temple."
The Ghost Emperor had been about to say something, but after hearing that, he knew a fight was inevitable.
"Blood Demon, deal with the Limit Douluo. I'll handle Xie An."
The Ghost Emperor let out a shrill howl. His black clothes abruptly shattered, transforming into a gigantic ghostly skull.
Nine Soul Rings rose around the skull: black, black, black, red, red, red, red, and orange.
A terrifying aura spread out.
The skull's eyes glowed with a soul-stealing green light as it charged straight at Xie An.
"Xie An, don't think that breaking into the Quasi-God realm means you can do whatever you want. Today, I'll show you that even among Quasi-Gods, there are differences."
"I've spent years immersed in the Quasi-God realm. Today, I'll teach you to respect your elders."
A curtain of darkness surged forth with the giant skull. A sound that sent shivers of dread through anyone who heard it rang out from the skull, like wailing evil spirits, filling the air with boundless terror.
The giant skull flickered. Six thread-thin strands of energy, emanating an intensely poisonous aura, appeared and coiled around Xie An like maggots clinging to bone.
On the other side, Yuanen Zhentian also unleashed his Martial Soul Avatar. A colossal Titan Giant Ape manifested and merged with his body.
He drove a mighty Titan God Fist straight into the Dark Blood Demon.
The Blood Demon could hardly complain. His body was already terribly weakened from constantly devouring souls and suffering the effects of all kinds of strange curses.
Now he was up against someone with a top-tier Beast Martial Soul and a body nearly as strong as a human's could get. He was completely countered.
He occasionally unleashed a few Blood Demon Curse Kills, but they couldn't penetrate his protective aura.
The one saving grace was that his opponent seemed to have just emerged from some remote wilderness and hadn't even brought out his Battle Armor.
With his excellent Three-Word Battle Armor and the five Titled Douluos taking hits for him, the Blood Demon could barely hold on.
On the other side, Xie An looked at the terrifying aura surrounding him, utterly unimpressed.
"Come on, old ghost. Is that all you've got?"
"Got anything stronger? Hurry up and use it, or you won't get the chance."
"Hmph. You're trapped in my formation, with death staring you in the face, and you still dare to talk big."
"Xie An, Xie An. Should I praise your courage, or are you really not afraid to die?"
The Ghost Emperor found Xie An's words amusing.
Yet Xie An's gaze remained perfectly calm. There wasn't a trace of panic in it.
A flicker of unease suddenly stirred in the Ghost Emperor.
Could Xie An really defy the heavens?
No. Impossible. At the end of the day, he was only a Quasi-God.
The Ghost Emperor kept reassuring himself.
"Enough. You probably can't use any stronger moves anyway. This farce ends now."
A presence far beyond the Quasi-God realm erupted from Xie An, shattering the six strands of energy.
"No, that's impossible! We're so far from the Golden Ancient Tree. How did you do it?"
The Ghost Emperor had once sensed Yun Ming's aura when he was empowered by the Golden Ancient Tree. He could only say that it was beyond anything he could hope to match.
And now, from what he could sense, Xie An's strength seemed to rival Yun Ming's when the Golden Ancient Tree empowered him.
"Why should anything be impossible?"
With a sweep of his spear, Xie An made the five Evil Soul Masters in front of the Blood Demon vanish without a trace.
Feeling the aura closing in on him, the Ghost Emperor desperately tore open space again and again, fleeing into the distance.
Meanwhile, the Dark Blood Demon saw that the Evil Soul Masters in front of him had vanished completely. Without a moment's hesitation, he fled as well.
Xie An looked at the two of them, then pointed his spear at the Dark Blood Demon.
After all, you went for the weakest target first. If he could kill one, he would.
Just as the World-Breaking Spear was about to strike the Dark Blood Demon, a Bone Sword suddenly emerged from the ground below, trying to block it.
But Xie An's strength had changed completely. He knocked the Bone Sword aside, and the spearhead plunged straight into the Blood Demon's body.
The Blood Demon screamed as his body plummeted straight down.
But Xie An wasn't happy. With his powerful spiritual power, he could tell the Blood Demon had used something like Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell.
Still, he had undeniably grievously wounded him.
A pale-faced man emerged stiffly from the earth and flew to face Xie An.
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