The moment Jiang Yang finished speaking, the voice of the Emperor Armor rang out in his sea of consciousness, the two voices perfectly overlapping.
A vast, primordial force surged through his veins like a torrent, gathering in an instant in his raised left hand.
Bzzz—
An indescribably terrifying fluctuation descended without warning.
No Soul Rings flashed, no Soul Power erupted, yet the entire world seemed to fall into absolute silence.
Centered on Jiang Yang's left palm, space twisted violently. A darkness so profound and pure it seemed capable of devouring all light and hope surged forth like floodwaters bursting through a dam.
This darkness was nothing like the filthy blackness exuded by the Evil Soul Masters. It came from the very source of the world, the force opposite to light.
As the saying went, yin could not thrive alone, and yang could not exist alone.
Though Jiang Yang had released only the ultimate darkness Martial Soul in his left hand, the power involved drew not only on the Emperor Armor incarnation in his spiritual world, but also on the ultimate light power hidden in his right hand.
Yin and yang had always been mutually generative and mutually restraining, two sides of the same coin.
Where there was a front, there was naturally a reverse.
If anything in the world had only a front and no reverse, there would surely be something wrong with it. Take money, for example: if it only had a front, it would definitely be counterfeit.
"Senior Sister! What's Jiang Yang doing?!"
"Something's wrong!"
"Why do I sense such a strong aura of darkness? It's even more outrageous than the Evil Soul Masters'!"
Under the shocked gazes of Ma Xiaotao, Zhang Lexuan, and Ling Luochеn,
a banner slowly took shape in the twisted darkness beneath Jiang Yang's palm.
Its shaft was neither metal nor wood, but black as ink, inscribed with countless ancient, inscrutable runes.
The banner itself was even darker, as though connected to a bottomless abyss. It bore no designs, yet seemed to contain billions of stars dying out and countless worlds wailing as they sank into ruin.
The instant it appeared, all light around them vanished. Moonlight and starlight alike—and even the faint glow from the Soul Rings—were ruthlessly devoured.
A fear rooted in the very instincts of life seized the heart of every living being present!
"Th-that thing... What is it?!"
"Such a terrifying aura! My Soul Power... My Soul Power is trembling!"
"H-how does he seem even more like an Evil Soul Master than we are?!"
"..."
The Evil Soul Masters were utterly dumbfounded.
Even the Soul Saint elder had lost the mocking cruelty on his face. All that remained was boundless terror and shock.
This was the first time since reaching Rank 70 that he had felt such boundless fear of a three-ring Soul Elder.
Back when he himself had been a three-ring Soul Elder, he'd relied on the methods of an Evil Soul Master and never feared even a four-ring Soul Ancestor, much less a mere three-ring Soul Elder.
And yet now,
Jiang Yang's presence made his heart tremble uncontrollably.
"Kill him!"
"Quick! Attack together!"
"Kill him!!! Destroy that banner!"
A Soul Saint was still a Soul Saint. Bishop Li forced down the fear buried deep in his soul and let out a hysterical roar.
"Seventh Soul Skill—"
"Blood Soul True Body!"
Bishop Li shrieked. His body suddenly swelled, transforming in an instant into a terrifying blood demon several meters tall. Filthy blood gushed from his body as a rancid, murderous stench swept toward them. His appearance was savage and horrifying.
"Sixth Soul Skill—"
"Blood Fiend Palm!"
"Sixth Soul Skill—"
"Soul Devouring Ghost Claw!"
"Fifth Soul Skill—"
"Ten Thousand Souls Bone Erosion!"
"..."
The other Evil Soul Masters were also terrified out of their wits, and unleashed their strongest attacks.
In an instant, all kinds of sinister blood-red light, ghostly shadows, and corrosive energy surged like floodwaters bursting through a breached dike, crashing toward Jiang Yang and the strange black banner in his hand.
The onslaught was terrifying.
"Not good! Jiang Yang's in danger!"
Zhang Lexuan cried out.
As she spoke, she stamped her foot, and eight Soul Rings instantly appeared around her.
"Let's help him!"
At the same time, Ling Luochеn reacted as well, and the temperature around them dropped considerably.
But as the two women were just beginning to move, Ma Xiaotao had already activated her second Soul Skill, Bathing Fire Phoenix, boosting all her attributes.
Then,
she flew into the air.
"Sixth Soul Skill—"
"Phoenix..."
Before Ma Xiaotao could even say the name of her Soul Skill, Jiang Yang, not far away, had already smiled faintly.
Facing a concentrated barrage that would have thrown an ordinary Soul Douluo into disarray, his gaze remained as still as a placid well.
He simply gave the black shaft in his left hand a light shake.
Bzzz—
The Human Emperor Banner unfurled without a breeze.
The various evil Soul Skills hurtling toward him didn't even brush Jiang Yang's clothes.
The instant they touched the invisible darkness surrounding the Human Emperor Banner, they vanished soundlessly, like mud sinking into the sea.
More precisely, they were devoured.
"Phoenix Meteor... Huh?"
"This..."
Ma Xiaotao froze, still about to unleash her sixth Soul Skill.
She hovered in the air, utterly dumbfounded.
And she wasn't alone.
Even Zhang Lexuan and Ling Luochеn, who had been ready to jump into the fight, were stunned.
Who was surrounding whom here?
"No—!!!"
The next moment,
the blood demon that had been the Soul Saint elder let out a shrill, despairing roar, and everyone's gaze snapped back to Jiang Yang.
His eyes had gone cold. He had already sharply turned his wrist around the banner's shaft.
"Devour!"
The single icy word left Jiang Yang's lips, seeming to carry the terrifying force of a command made reality.
The Human Emperor Banner unfurled with a sudden snap.
Boom—
Bang—
A more vast and pure force of ultimate darkness erupted like a volcano dormant for countless ages.
Rather than spreading outward, the darkness became countless solid black chains. They ignored the distance between them and pierced every Evil Soul Master in an instant.
Even the enormous Blood Soul True Body.
"Ughh—!"
"No! My power..."
"Ah! Please... spare me..."
Their shrill screams cut off abruptly.
The Evil Soul Masters pierced by the chains had no blood or wounds, yet their bodies withered before everyone's eyes.
Their life force, Soul Power, and even the very source of their souls were all ruthlessly devoured by the Human Emperor Banner.
In just a few breaths,
the Evil Soul Masters who had been so arrogant moments earlier had all become scattered bones and desiccated corpses on the ground.
Their evil Soul Power and life essence had also become nourishment for the Human Emperor Banner.
The banner seemed darker than before. A faint streak of dark red flowed across it, too subtle to notice, then vanished into the boundless blackness.
The terrifying pressure that had weighed upon heaven and earth receded with it.
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