Bluestone Town, Fallen Soul Master Appears

Heaven Dou Empire, Northern Border, Bluestone Town.

The two stepped into the Martial Soul branch hall at the center of the town.

The hall was desolate; a middle-aged Lord Soul Master was hunched over a desk recording notes, and upon seeing the arrivals, he scrambled to his feet in a panic.

"Ho... Holy Son?"

Qian Anci gave a slight nod. "Report the situation."

"Over the past half-month, children have gone missing from the surrounding villages and towns, totaling seventeen."

The middle-aged Lord Soul Master wiped away his sweat.

"I beg for the Holy Son's forgiveness, but our strength is insufficient. We only know that one person within this group of fallen soul masters uses a plant-type martial soul."

"Location."

Seeing there was no other useful intelligence, Qian Anci did not waste any more words and asked directly for the location.

"Ten miles to the northwest, Black Stone Mountain."

He turned and left, with Ya Yi following close behind.

The wilderness was bleak, with occasional traces of withered vegetation along the path.

"My lord! Are you a Lord Soul Master?"

A youth of about fifteen or sixteen years old came stumbling toward them.

The youth was dressed in rags, his face covered in mud and grime. Upon seeing Qian Anci and his companion, he fell to his knees with a thud.

"I beg you to save my sister! Her name is Xiao Tang. She went out to play with her companions yesterday and hadn't returned by dusk!"

"Do not panic. Stand up and tell me clearly. First, tell me your name and your sister's name."

"My lord, my name is A Shi."

Upon hearing this, A Shi hurriedly and tremblingly fished a silver bell from his pocket and handed it to Qian Anci.

"I found this in the woods. Everyone says my sister has been harmed by fallen soul masters, but I don't believe it."

Qian Anci took the silver bell.

"Strange, isn't it?"

He carefully sensed the bizarre power attached to the silver bell.

"Soul-Devouring Vine."

Ya Yi spoke up upon seeing it.

"A mutated plant-type, capable of parasitizing the human body and draining life force."

Hearing this, A Shi spoke up in a rush.

"My lord, I know this area well! I will lead the way for you, I only ask that you save my sister!"

Qian Anci glanced at him and said nothing more, simply tucking the silver bell into his sleeve and turning to head northwest.

A Shi hurriedly followed.

The three traveled together, searching the vicinity briefly until they reached the entrance of a cave.

Before they had even approached, a thick scent of blood rushed toward them.

Qian Anci stepped into the mine cave, his pupils suddenly constricting.

On the cave walls, over a dozen children hung suspended in mid-air, eyes tightly shut and bound by black vines.

The vines writhed like living creatures, their roots burrowing into the skin to continuously drain away their life force.

"Xiao Tang!"

A Shi was about to rush forward, but was stopped by Ya Yi.

"Don't move." Qian Anci's voice was calm. "The vines are connected to their lives; touch them rashly, and they will die."

A Shi froze in place, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

From the depths of the cave came a low, raspy laugh.

"More guests?"

A middle-aged man exuding an eerie aura stepped out from the shadows.

"Martial Soul Hall, how truly interesting..."

He grinned.

"To think they would send a child."

"Who are you."

The middle-aged man grinned. "To think they would send a child."

Qian Anci did not answer, merely raising his right hand slowly as the Scythe of Death coalesced in his palm, gray-white death energy swirling around it like a thin mist.

The middle-aged man's gaze fell upon the scythe, his pupils constricting: "This aura..."

Before the words had even faded, the figure of Qian Anci vanished from where he stood.

First Soul Skill: [Guidance of the Underworld Path].

The middle-aged man was greatly alarmed, vines weaving together around his body to form a shield.

The thin line touched the vines, piercing through them as if they were rotten wood, striking straight toward his throat!

He dodged to the side, yet a bloody gash was still carved into his shoulder, the grayish-white death energy instantly eroding the wound.

"Damn it!"

He let out a roar, his soul ring lighting up as countless vines surged from his body, sweeping toward Qian Anci like frenzied snakes.

A gray glint flashed in Qian Anci's eyes as he activated his second soul skill, [Dark Scale Breath-Severing Slash].

The pitch-black strike tore through the air, and wherever it passed, the vines withered and snapped in their entirety.

The middle-aged man stumbled backward, his eyes filled with horror.

He turned abruptly and fled toward the depths of the cavern, roaring, "Stop him!"

The black vines coiled around the children suddenly writhed, and the parasitized children opened their eyes, lunging at Qian Anci like marionettes on strings.

Qian Anci's pupils constricted.

He could not harm these children.

"Your Highness!" Ya Yi's voice came from behind. "I will cover the rear; you go after him!"

Qian Anci did not hesitate; his figure flashed as he pursued the middle-aged man's aura deep into the mine.

At the end of the mine lay a more spacious area.

The middle-aged man leaned against the rock wall, the grayish-white death energy at his shoulder wound still spreading; he was forced to suppress it with his soul power, his face turning increasingly pale.

"Damn it... damn it..."

He muttered to himself, pressing his palm against the rock wall as black vines surged from his body, continuously draining the vitality from those children to combat the death energy.

The characteristic of the Soul-Devouring Vine was to sustain itself with the vitality of others.

Qian Anci's figure emerged from the shadows, the Scythe of Death held horizontally before him.

"Your martial soul can devour the life force of others to cultivate."

His voice was calm.

"Those children are the 'seedlings' you raise."

The middle-aged man grinned.

"Smart. The roots of the Soul-Devouring Vine are embedded in their bodies; ninety percent of the life force extracted belongs to me, while ten percent is left to keep them alive. A steady stream is far more profitable than killing them all at once."

His gaze fell upon Qian Anci's scythe.

"Kid, your martial soul is quite special! It's just a pity that you're going to die here today!"

Qian Anci did not answer.

He simply raised his scythe slowly, his third soul ring lighting up with a dim, dark radiance.

[Yellow Springs Ferry]

Qian Anci slashed forward, and boundless water from the Yellow Springs spread out from the void.

The middle-aged man's pupils shrank, and he frantically manipulated the vines to defend himself.

However, it was a pity.

The water of the Underworld's Yellow Springs could erode the vitality of all things.

Seeing his life force being continuously devoured, the middle-aged man grew anxious!

He grew anxious!

"Then let's die together!"

He roared, and the vines embedded in the ground suddenly erupted, sweeping toward Qian Anci like countless venomous snakes.

At the same time, faint sounds of struggling came from the depths of the cave; the parasitized children convulsed in unison as their life force was forcibly extracted, transforming into the middle-aged man's final, desperate strike.

A gray glint flashed in Qian Anci's eyes.

[Dark Scale Breath-Severing Slash]

The pitch-black strike tore through the void, and wherever it passed, the vines withered away.

Yet there were simply too many vines; although the strike carved out a path, several still attacked from the sides, aiming straight for his throat.

Qian Anci turned to the side, the vines grazing his cheek and drawing a trail of blood droplets.

In this split second of an opening, the middle-aged man was already before him.

The vines originally coiled around his body surged instantly, waving through the air like tentacles.

"Go to hell!"

"Heh, the one who should die is you!"

Seeing the attack drawing ever closer, Qian Anci remained unhurried, his five fingers curling into a claw as he thrust them violently forward.

[Dragon Transformation]

His fingers began to transform into sharp talons, and dragon scales emerged across his arms.

Swish—

Squelch—

The sound of dragon claws tearing through vines and piercing flesh rang out.

The sharp talons had run the middle-aged man straight through.