Freezing Interrogation, Striking Straight at the Evil Soul Master Branch
The Mingdou Mountain Range are located on the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. The continuous mountain ranges are extremely steep and the valleys are crisscrossed.
After Dai Huabin and his group of six ventured deep into the mountains, the scenery they encountered along the way was completely different from that of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The trees here have withered and twisted branches, and their leaves are a sickly dark red. The ground is covered with rotten fallen leaves, and occasionally you can see the white bones of Soul Beast half-buried in the soil.
Bi Ji frowned, her emerald green wings slightly folded.
"The life force in this mountain range is extremely chaotic, with death energy and resentment Entanglement. If this continues, the Soul Beast here will become violent and frenzied."
Ice Empress kicked aside a dead branch at their feet and clicked their tongue.
"I've seen far too much of the filth those Evil Soul Masters have done. They spend their days slaughtering living beings and refining evil magic, turning this once beautiful place into this wretched state."
Di Lingxi walked in the middle of the group, holding a large bag of dried meat that Dai Huabin had given her, and chewing it in small bites.
She turned her head to look at the surrounding gray, dense forest and muttered:
"This place is gloomy and smelly, not as good as the ruins of Jialing Pass, at least that place is open and spacious."
Zhu Lu stayed close to Dai Huabin, her footsteps light and silent.
She suddenly stopped, her dark gray pupils slightly contracting.
"There's movement about 300 meters ahead. Four human Soul Master, their Soul Power fluctuations are between level 40 and 50, and they're approaching this way."
Dai Huabin raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.
He scanned the surrounding terrain and pointed to a patch of low bushes on his left.
"Let's hide over there first and find out what these people are all about."
The group quickly disappeared into the bushes, and Bi Ji casually released a faint Life Barrier to completely conceal their presence.
Less than half a minute later, four figures emerged from the dense forest ahead.
The four men were dressed in gray-black robes and wore hoods; they exuded a menacing aura as they walked.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a sinister face and a wicked smile on his lips.
Behind him followed three young Soul Master, all of them pale-faced with unnaturally bloodshot eyes.
"Lord Blood Soul, we've been guarding this place for almost half a month, and we haven't even encountered a decent prey."
One of the Soul Master complained.
The leader of the Blood Soul sneered.
"What's the rush? The Heavenly Soul Empire's Inspection Group has been making frequent moves lately. Let's play it safe for a while and wait until things calm down before taking action."
"Besides, the stronghold just sent over a batch of fresh blood slaves these past few days, enough for you to cultivate for a while."
The group walked forward, chatting and laughing, their footsteps drawing ever closer.
Ice Empress spoke in a very low voice from the bushes.
"We've stumbled upon this perfect opportunity, saving us the trouble of searching everywhere."
Dai Huabin didn't rush to make a move, but instead gave Zhu Lu a wink.
Zhu Lu understood, and her figure transformed into a black shadow, instantly circling behind the four people.
Just as Blood Soul and the others had passed through the bushes, Zhu Lu suddenly attacked from behind.
The fourth Soul Skill, Ice Shadow Instant Kill, was unleashed, and several afterimages rushed towards the four of them simultaneously.
"Who goes there!"
Blood Soul reacted extremely quickly, five Soul Ring— two yellow, two purple, and one black—appeared on his body. He suddenly turned around and released a cloud of gray-black blood mist.
However, Zhu Lu's speed was simply too fast.
Her true form swooped down from the sky, her ten sharp claws gleaming with a cold, eerie blue light, aiming straight for the back of Blood Soul's neck.
Blood Soul had just raised his hand to retaliate when the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.
Ice Empress emerged from the bushes, not even bothering to unleash his Martial Soul.
She raised one hand, Domain of Eternal Freeze instantly unfolded, covering an area of 100 meters in radius.
Blood Soul and his three subordinates froze on the spot, a thick layer of ice forming beneath their feet.
Zhu Lu's claws stopped an inch in front of Blood Soul's neck, the sharp claws almost piercing through the flesh.
Dai Huabin emerged from behind the bushes, his hands tucked into his sleeves.
He sized up the four people in front of him, his tone indifferent.
"I'll ask, you answer. Be honest, and you might save your life."
Blood Soul's face was deathly pale, and his whole body was shivering from the cold.
He could clearly sense that the Soul Power fluctuations of the people in front of him far exceeded his own.
Especially the silver-haired girl with a short ponytail, whose domain pressure released with one hand was even more terrifying than most of the Soul Emperor he had ever seen.
"What... what do you want to ask?"
Blood Soul spoke in a trembling voice, no longer daring to show the slightest arrogance.
Dai Huabin asked calmly:
"Where are the strongholds of the Evil Soul Master in the Mingdou Mountain Range?"
Blood Soul's pupils suddenly contracted.
He opened his mouth, about to say something in his defense, but saw Dai Huabin raise his hand and wave it lightly.
The Ice Empress's Domain of Eternal Freeze tightened instantly, and the three subordinates behind Blood Soul didn't even have time to scream before they were frozen into three ice sculptures.
Dai Huabin looked down at Blood Soul, his voice remaining calm.
I'll give you one more chance.
Blood Soul trembled violently and nodded repeatedly.
"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! The stronghold is located in the Riftrock Valley, thirty miles northwest of the mountains. There's an underground cave there, which is a branch of the Blood Fiend Hall!"
"The hall master is a level 76 Soul Sage, and he has more than 20 Soul Master under his command, all of whom are Evil Soul Master!"
Dai Huabin nodded and turned to look at Snow Empress.
"Let's take care of it."
The Snow Empress raised her hand and waved it, and a cold front swept across the land.
Blood Soul didn't even have a chance to resist before his entire body instantly turned into an ice sculpture and exploded into ice shards with a bang.
Di Lingxi peeked out from behind Dai Huabin and clapped her hands.
"Finally, we've run into a few Evil Soul Master who can speak human language, saving us from wandering aimlessly all over the mountains."
Zhu Lu retracted her claws and returned to Dai Huabin's side.
She took out a damp towel from her storage ring and gently wiped away the remaining bloodstains from her fingertips.
"The Riftrock Valley isn't far from here. Should we go around it or just charge straight through?"
Dai Huabin pondered for a moment, then looked up towards the northwest.
"Let's go straight there. These Evil Soul Master dare to operate on the border; they must be feeling very secure."
"It's a good opportunity to practice with them and see the actual combat effect of combining Ultimate Ice with Soul Bone."
Ice Empress crossed his arms, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Consider those bastards as free experience points for you. I'm ashamed to even look at them."
The six people changed direction and sped off in the northwest.
The Riftrock Valley is located deep within the Mingdou Mountain Range, in a highly secluded location.
The mountain walls on both sides are steep and smooth, and the valley floor is littered with rubble and skeletons.
Dai Huabin and his group stood at the mouth of the valley, looking down.
At the deepest part of the valley, there is a dark cave entrance, from which a faint, chilling aura emanates.
Bi Ji frowned, her voice filled with obvious disgust.
"The cave entrance emanated an extremely heavy aura of death and resentment; at least a hundred lives had been transformed into evil beings."
Zhu Lu released her Martial Soul Possession, and a pale purple icy mist appeared around her.
Her two black cat ears twitched slightly, sensing the slightest movement around her.
"There are two guards at the cave entrance, both Soul Ancestor of level forty-something, hiding behind the rock wall smoking."
Dai Huabin glanced at the sky.
It was nearing dusk, and the setting sun was obscured by thick clouds, making the light dim.