Rumble—!!!
The giant hammer finally struck the ground. The earth itself wailed, and countless rocks shot in every direction.
The dust settled.
Although Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) and the other three had managed to block the blow together, the hostages they had originally taken to use as leverage had all been rescued and returned to the Clear Sky Sect's side.
"Hahaha! Bibi Dong! Your scheme has fallen apart!"
Supporting Bai He, Tang Xiao stared at the now-empty clearing and let out a triumphant laugh. "Now, let's see what cards you have left!"
"Cards?"
Nan Feng dusted himself off. Rather than looking angry, he wore an even more unsettling smile.
"Sect Master Tang, do you really think... this is all I prepared?"
"What do you mean?" Tang Xiao's heart gave a sudden jump.
"Take a look at the people in your hands."
Nan Feng pointed toward the Speed Clan members who had just been rescued. They were still wearing expressions of relief at having survived.
"Ah—!!"
Suddenly, a piercing scream rang out.
A woman who had been perfectly fine moments ago suddenly turned purple. Her whole body convulsed as she foamed at the mouth. Then her skin began to rot, giving off a nauseating stench!
"This... is this poison?!"
"I feel awful too... Ah!!"
"It hurts! It hurts so much!!"
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen of the elderly, women, and children who had just been rescued collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. The sight was like something straight out of hell!
Only Bai He, a Soul Douluo, managed to suppress the poison with his profound Soul Power. His face had turned purplish-blue, but the toxins had yet to take effect.
"Bibi Dong! You poisoned them?!"
Watching this unfold, Tang Xiao's eyes blazed with fury.
"All's fair in war."
Nan Feng spread his hands, smiling as if he were basking in a spring breeze. "This is my exclusive recipe: the Death Spider Emperor's deadly poison. Apart from me, there should be no one in this world who can cure it."
"If you'd all just behaved, I would have given you the antidote. What a pity..."
Nan Feng shook his head. "You had to try to take them by force."
"Well, look at that. You got them back, but whether they'll keep their lives... that's another question."
"You—despicable!!" Tang Xiao roared.
"Despicable?"
Nan Feng sneered and sprang to his feet. The languid air around him vanished in an instant, replaced by a murderous aura that surged to the heavens!
"Since you insist on refusing the wine of respect only to drink the cup of punishment, since you insist on choosing this path to your deaths..."
"Then I'll grant your wish!"
"Everyone, attack—!!!"
"Kill!!"
Boom—!!!
At his command, Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) charged at the forefront. Her Divine Slaughter's Domain and Death Domain layered together, turning her into a streak of purple-red light as she lunged straight at Tang Xiao!
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo followed close behind, unleashing their Soul Skills as they engaged the Clear Sky Sect's elders.
The battle erupted in an instant!
Yet just as the two sides were about to collide, Tang Xiao's expression suddenly changed.
"Bzzz..."
As Bibi Dong drew near, the purple-black Death Domain spread like a plague.
Everywhere it passed, plants withered and rocks crumbled. The air filled with a suffocating, corrosive poison!
For Titled Douluo and Soul Douluo with profound Soul Power, this poison was no great threat.
But once it spread through the army, it would spell utter ruin for disciples at the Soul King and Soul Ancestor levels!
"Not good! It's poison!"
"Fall back! Don't let her get close!"
Tang Xiao acted decisively. He swung the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, whipping up a gale in an attempt to scatter the poisonous mist.
"Elders! Form up! Drive it back!!"
"Understood!"
The other six elders immediately responded. The seven of them took their positions, their Soul Power linking together through some mysterious method.
"Clear Sky Formation—Seven Stars Linked!!"
Boom—!!!
All seven Clear Sky Hammers struck at once, unleashing a force that could topple mountains and overturn seas. It sent Bibi Dong, who had been charging toward them, flying hundreds of meters back.
"Ugh!"
Bibi Dong tumbled through the air several times before steadying herself. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, but the excitement in her eyes only grew.
"Now that's interesting."
"The Clear Sky Battle Formation? Too bad... you're only Soul Douluo."
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei! Stop holding back! Get in there!"
"Yes!"
Though Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had yet to recover from their injuries, they knew they couldn't retreat now. They gritted their teeth and charged forward, one on either side, pinning down the two elders flanking Tang Xiao.
On the other side of the battlefield,
Demon Bear Douluo, who had originally planned to take it easy, was now facing a pack of hulking musclemen, his expression miserable.
"Demon Bear! Prepare to die!"
Tai Tan roared as he led three Soul Saints from the Strength Clan and five Soul Saints from the Clear Sky Sect who had rushed over. Like rabid dogs, they clamped down on Demon Bear Douluo and refused to let go.
"Damn it all!"
Demon Bear Douluo struggled to fend them off, cursing inwardly.
So much for taking it easy. So much for surrounding them without attacking.
How did this turn into me taking on a whole pack of brutes by myself?!
Tai Tan had long since gone berserk. With his Martial Soul Avatar fully unleashed, every punch carried the weight of a thousand jun. He was fighting as if he were willing to trade his life for his opponent's.
With several Clear Sky Sect Soul Saints wielding Clear Sky Hammers harassing him from the sidelines, Demon Bear Douluo was a Titled Douluo, yet he was being pounded into the dirt by a Soul Douluo and a pack of Soul Saints. He was utterly humiliated!
"Boom!!"
Another Clear Sky Hammer came crashing down with tremendous force. Controlling Bibi Dong's body, Nan Feng barely managed to block it with a Spider Spear, but the impact sent him skidding back dozens of meters, his feet gouging two deep furrows into the ground.
"Ugh—"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out, staining the purple-gold armor.
This was so damn humiliating!
So damn humiliating!
Tang Xiao and five elders at the peak of the Soul Douluo level had formed a Clear Sky Battle Formation that was like a tortoiseshell wrapped in porcupine quills: both offense and defense, with absurdly powerful blows to boot.
Every collision felt like being hit by a mountain.
On the other side, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were also being kept firmly in check by the Clear Sky Sect's Great Elder and Second Elder.
Those two old men might have been advanced in years, but they were extremely experienced fighters. Having conserved their strength, they targeted the Soul Power nodes of Chrysanthemum and Ghost, giving the pair no chance to get close to Bibi Dong and perform their Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
Damn it! These hammer-wielders really have no shame!
In the Sea of Consciousness, Nan Feng cursed furiously. "Six against one? And the other two keep sneaking over to take a swing at us! Have you no shame?!"
"Ganging up on the few with the many, are you?!"
"Nan Feng, stop cursing!" Bibi Dong's anxious voice rang out. "At this rate, we really are going to lose! Fighting six at once is draining my Soul Power too quickly, and Chrysanthemum and Ghost are pinned down. They can't get over here!"
"If I'm defeated, the entire Spirit Hall army will collapse in an instant!"
The situation was indeed dire.
Tang Xiao's side was pressing their advantage without giving Bibi Dong a moment to catch her breath.
"I know that!"
A ruthless glint flashed in Nan Feng's eyes. He gritted his teeth. "I was planning to save this move as a trump card, for when that old bastard Qian Daoliu eventually turns against us."
"But now..."
"This is all because of you, you stubborn woman! You insisted on playing by some ridiculous code and refused to use Qian Renxue as a card!"
"Well, look at us now! I have no choice but to reveal it early!"
"That move? Which move?" Bibi Dong was stunned, completely unable to follow Nan Feng's train of thought.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Nan Feng didn't explain. Instead, he drew a deep breath, and the Soul Power fluctuations around him suddenly changed.
Soul-Eater Spider Emperor! Activate!
"First Soul Skill—Half Moon!!"
The six Spider Spears on Bibi Dong's back, along with her arms transformed into Spider Spears, instantly converged before her. The tips of all eight spears touched the ground, and dark green light erupted like a volcanic blast!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!!!
In an instant, six enormous, half-moon-shaped blades of dark green light tore through the air with shrill whistling cries. Like six scythes of death, they slashed toward the six Clear Sky Sect powerhouses surrounding her!
The attack was not only incredibly fast, but also deviously precise. Each blade of light twisted through the air along an eerie trajectory, aiming straight for its target's vitals!
"Look out!!"
Tang Xiao was horrified. He hurriedly swung his Clear Sky Hammer to block, while the other five elders hastily abandoned their attacks and raised their defenses.
Boom, boom, boom—!!!
Explosions shook the battlefield. Though the attack failed to injure them, it broke through their encirclement and bought Bibi Dong a precious moment to catch her breath.
Nan Feng used the momentum to leap backward, putting a hundred meters between them.
"Bibi Dong, are you ready?"
"Ready for what?"
"The Martial Soul Fusion Skill!"
"Wh... what?!" Bibi Dong was completely dumbfounded. "A Martial Soul Fusion Skill? With whom?"
"With me!"
Nan Feng pointed at his own spiritual body, then at Bibi Dong's Martial Soul.
"Your Death Spider Emperor and Soul-Eater Spider Emperor are both top-tier Spider Emperor Martial Souls. Normally, these two completely different types of Soul Power can't fuse. That's why you have Twin Martial Souls."
"But!"
"Things are different now."
"Our souls have already fused, and I've completely invaded and taken control of your Death Spider Emperor."
"So..."
"As long as you focus entirely on controlling the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor, while I take full control of the Death Spider Emperor..."
"Using the point where our souls have intertwined as a foundation, we can join the two conflicting Spider Emperor powers across the bridge of our souls."
"We can create a Self-Martial Soul Fusion Skill unlike anything else in this world!!"
"And I have you to thank for it. You've fought me for control of this body time and time again. When those two streams of Soul Power clashed inside us, I was able to figure out the rhythm they needed to fuse."
"I haven't been sitting around doing nothing all this time."
Listening to Nan Feng's wild theory, Bibi Dong felt her scalp prickle.
Two souls, each controlling a different Martial Soul inside one body, fusing them together?
A Self-Martial Soul Fusion Skill?!
If this failed, even without Tang Xiao lifting a finger, the collision of those two terrifying energies would make this body explode!
"Stop spacing out!"
Seeing Tang Xiao and the others charging toward them again, Nan Feng shouted sharply. "Do you want to win? Do you want to stomp those hammer-wielders underfoot?"
"If you do, then push the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor to its limit!!"
"Fine!"
Bibi Dong was decisive too. Since they were already cornered, she might as well take a gamble!
That cowardly Old Spider would never joke around with his own life!