Heaven Dou Empire, Northern Border, Bluestone Town.
The two entered the Spirit Hall Branch in the center of town.
The hall was quiet. A middle-aged Soul Master was bent over his desk, making records. When he saw them, he hurriedly stood up.
"Ho... His Highness the Holy Son?"
Qian Anci gave a slight nod. "Tell me what happened."
"For nearly half a month, children have been disappearing from the surrounding villages and towns. Seventeen in all."
The middle-aged Soul Master wiped the sweat from his brow.
"Please forgive us, Your Highness the Holy Son. We lack the strength to deal with this. All we know is that one member of the Fallen Soul Master group has a Plant-type Martial Soul."
"Where?"
Seeing that there was no useful information to be had, Qian Anci didn't waste any more time. He asked directly for the location.
"Black Stone Mountain, ten li to the northwest."
He turned and left at once. Ya Yi followed.
The wilderness was desolate, and here and there, the plants along the way showed signs of withering.
"My lord! Are you Soul Masters?"
A boy of about fifteen or sixteen came stumbling toward them.
His clothes were ragged, and his face was caked with mud. The moment he saw Qian Anci and Ya Yi, he dropped to his knees.
"Please, save my little sister! Her name is Xiao Tang. She went out to play with her friends yesterday, but she still hadn't come home by dusk!"
"Don't panic. Get up and tell me properly. First, tell me your name and your sister's."
"My lord, I'm A Shi."
At his words, A Shi hurriedly fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a silver bell, which he handed to Qian Anci.
"I found it in the woods. Everyone says my sister was killed by Fallen Soul Masters, but I don't believe them."
Qian Anci took the silver bell.
"Strange?"
He examined the strange power clinging to the bell.
"Soul-Devouring Vine."
Ya Yi spoke up when he saw it.
"A mutated Plant-type Martial Soul. It can parasitize people and drain their life force."
At this, A Shi hurriedly spoke.
"My lord, I know this area well! I'll lead you there. I only ask that you save my sister!"
Qian Anci glanced at him and said nothing more. He simply tucked the silver bell into his sleeve and headed northwest.
A Shi hurried after them.
The three traveled together, searching the nearby area until they reached a cave.
Before they had even drawn close, a thick stench of blood washed over them.
Qian Anci stepped into the mine tunnel, his pupils contracting sharply.
On the cave walls, more than ten children hung in midair, their eyes closed and their bodies bound in black vines.
The vines writhed like living things, their roots burrowing into the children's skin and steadily draining away their life force.
"Xiao Tang!"
A Shi started to rush forward, but Ya Yi stopped him.
"Don't move." Qian Anci's voice was calm. "The vines are connected to their lives. Touch them recklessly, and they'll die."
A Shi froze where he stood, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
A low laugh came from deep within the cave.
"More guests?"
A middle-aged man radiating a strange aura emerged from the shadows.
"The Spirit Hall. How interesting..."
He grinned.
"They actually sent a child."
"Who are you?"
The middle-aged man grinned. "They actually sent a child."
Qian Anci didn't answer. He slowly raised his right hand, and the Scythe of Death coalesced in his palm, gray-white Death Qi curling around it like mist.
The middle-aged man's gaze fell on the scythe, and his pupils shrank. "This aura..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qian Anci vanished from the spot.
First Soul Skill, [Guidance of the Underworld Path].
The middle-aged man was alarmed. Vines intertwined around him to form a shield.
The fine line touched the vines and pierced through them like a blade through rotten wood, slashing straight for his throat!
He dodged to the side, but a gash still opened across his shoulder. Gray-white Death Qi immediately ate into the wound.
"Damn it!"
He let out a roar, and his Soul Ring lit up. Countless vines surged from his body, sweeping toward Qian Anci like crazed snakes.
A flash of gray glinted in Qian Anci's eyes. His second Soul Skill, [Dark Scale Breath-Severing Slash], erupted.
A black slash tore through the air. Wherever it passed, the vines withered and snapped.
The middle-aged man staggered backward, his eyes filled with horror.
He abruptly turned and fled deeper into the cave, roaring as he ran, "Stop him!"
The black vines binding the children writhed violently. The possessed children opened their eyes and pounced on Qian Anci like marionettes.
Qian Anci's pupils narrowed.
He couldn't hurt the children.
"Your Highness!" Ya Yi called from behind him. "I'll hold them off. Go after him!"
Qian Anci didn't hesitate. He darted forward, pursuing the middle-aged man's aura deeper into the mine tunnel.
At the end of the tunnel lay a much more spacious chamber.
The middle-aged man stood with his back against the rock wall. Gray-white Death Qi continued to spread from the wound in his shoulder, forcing him to suppress it with Soul Power. His face grew increasingly pale.
"Damn it... damn it..."
He muttered to himself, pressing his palm against the rock wall. Black vines poured from his body, continuously drawing vitality from the children to fight the Death Qi.
The Soul-Devouring Vine's nature was to nourish itself with life force.
Qian Anci emerged from the shadows, the Scythe of Death held across his body.
"Your Martial Soul lets you cultivate by devouring other people's life force."
His voice was calm.
"Those children are the seedlings you've been raising."
The middle-aged man grinned.
"Clever. The roots of the Soul-Devouring Vine burrow into their bodies. Nine-tenths of the life force they drain comes to me, and I leave just enough to keep them alive. It's a steady trickle—far more worthwhile than killing them all at once."
His gaze settled on Qian Anci's scythe.
"Boy, your Martial Soul is quite special! Too bad you're going to die here today!"
Qian Anci didn't answer.
He simply raised his scythe, and the third Soul Ring glowed with a dim light.
[Yellow Springs Ferry]
Qian Anci swung forward. Boundless water from the Yellow Springs spread out of thin air.
The middle-aged man's pupils contracted. He hurriedly controlled the vines to defend himself.
But it was no use.
The water of the Underworld's Yellow Springs could erode the life force of all things.
Seeing his life force constantly being devoured, the middle-aged man panicked!
He panicked!
"Then we'll die together!"
He roared, and the vines embedded in the ground suddenly burst up like countless poisonous snakes, sweeping toward Qian Anci.
At the same time, faint sounds of struggle came from deep within the cave. The possessed children convulsed in unison as their life force was forcibly drained, turning into the middle-aged man's final desperate strike.
A flash of gray glinted in Qian Anci's eyes.
[Dark Scale Breath-Severing Slash]
A black slash ripped through the air, and every vine in its path withered.
But there were simply too many vines. Though the slash carved a path through them, several still attacked from the side, aimed straight at his throat.
Qian Anci turned aside. The vines grazed his cheek, raising a thin line of blood.
In that brief opening, the middle-aged man had already reached him.
The vines wrapped around his body suddenly swelled, whipping through the air like tentacles.
"Die!"
"Heh. You're the one who's going to die!"
As the attack drew closer, Qian Anci remained unruffled. He curled his five fingers into a claw and thrust them forward.
[Dragon Transformation]
His fingers gradually transformed into sharp claws, while dragon scales surfaced along his arm.
Swish—
A wet, squelching sound rang out as the Dragon Claw broke through the vines and pierced flesh.
His claws ran straight through the middle-aged man.
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