Ancient Forbidden Art! Spirit Snatching Art!

The night was deep. The wind howled across the wilderness, ripping apart the heavy clouds overhead.

A cold moon hung high in the sky.

Several dark figures swept through the mountain forest, landing without a sound, like ghosts come to claim lives.

The man at their head wore a pure black cloak, concealing his signature golden hair completely.

Qian Daoliu.

His eyes swept coldly across the wilderness, like a predator's in the dead of night.

Behind him, Pei Yuan followed close at his heels with three of the Worship Hall's most loyal core members.

The group avoided every hidden sentry around Spirit City and headed straight for a secluded ruin a hundred li away.

Sixteen years ago, Su Chen had been brought back to Spirit Hall from this very place.

After the time it took to burn one incense stick, they stopped deep in a silent valley.

The weeds reached their waists, and collapsed pillars and shattered bricks littered the area. Under the cold moonlight, the crumbling ruins exuded the desolation of long years.

Qian Daoliu swept back his cloak, his golden eyes glittering sharply.

"Search."

His voice was icy, devoid of any unnecessary emotion. "Use the formation. Dig three feet down if you have to. Turn over every trace left behind by that Trash Martial Soul."

"Yes!"

Pei Yuan and the three loyalists immediately spread out, each taking a corner of the ruins. Their hands flew as they rapidly formed seals.

Blue Soul Power forced its way through the cracks between the bricks.

One inch, two inches...

Half a tea break later, sweat beaded on Pei Yuan's forehead, but he had found nothing.

He gritted his teeth, pulled a bronze compass etched with countless runes from his Storage Soul Tool, and slammed his palm against the ground.

"Rise!"

Soul Power surged forcefully into the earth.

Just as the compass needle was about to point toward a certain spot deep in the ruins, a faint yet incomparably ancient force of repulsion erupted from underground!

"Hum!"

The repulsive force raced back along the Soul Power and struck the compass hard.

"Crack!"

Cracks burst across the bronze compass. It shattered on the spot, scattering fragments everywhere.

Pei Yuan went pale and staggered backward. Staring at the fragments, he spoke with disbelieving frustration. "Great Worship, there's something sinister about this place! Not only is that kid's past a complete blank, even the ley-line aura from sixteen years ago seems to have been erased by some high-level law! This makes no sense!"

"Useless."

Qian Daoliu gave a cold snort, not even bothering to look at him.

His golden robe swished as he stepped forward.

"Boom!"

The spiritual power of a Ninety-ninth Level Limit Douluo burst from him without restraint.

Brilliant golden divine might instantly enveloped the entire valley.

The wind stopped, and the air grew as heavy as iron.

Pei Yuan and the three loyalists felt as if a sledgehammer had struck their chests. Their breathing stopped, their faces turned deathly pale, and they stared in horror at the godlike figure at the center.

Qian Daoliu paid no attention to his subordinates' shock. He closed his eyes. His immense spiritual power became countless invisible golden needles, brutally piercing through the rock strata and plunging deep underground.

As he probed the ley lines, his thoughts abruptly turned to Bibi Dong.

That woman had astonishing talent.

The Worship Hall had spent thirty years pouring resources into her, training and controlling her by the harshest methods, trying to forge her into Spirit Hall's most perfect weapon.

On Qian Daoliu's chessboard, the pope could have power and be ruthless. The one thing she could not have was love.

And Su Chen—a variable with no cultivation, yet one who could make Bibi Dong completely let down her guard—had already crossed the Worship Hall's deepest taboo.

"He must be crushed completely."

Killing intent boiled in Qian Daoliu's heart, and his probing spiritual power grew even more violent.

Three hundred zhang underground.

His spiritual power had been cutting through everything in its path when it suddenly halted.

Qian Daoliu's divine sense had touched something tightly wrapped in layers of rock.

It was a faint green glimmer, on the verge of going out.

This was a trace of the Martial Soul Origin that had spilled out when Su Chen awakened sixteen years ago. Though eroded by the passage of time, it had endured.

The moment Qian Daoliu's spiritual power drew near, he tried to pry it loose.

In an instant,

an intricate, ancient formation pattern lit up across the surface of the green glimmer. A sacred force of repulsion, far surpassing the purity of the Angel Martial Soul, erupted!

"Hum!"

The force surged back along his spiritual power and slammed into him.

"Bang!"

Qian Daoliu's mind rang like a struck bell.

He grunted, and his feet slid backward half a step, against his will. Two deep furrows were gouged into the ground.

The air instantly froze.

Pei Yuan and the others nearly goggled their eyes out of their heads.

One of the three Limit Douluo alive today, the strongest person in Spirit Hall, had actually been forced back half a step by the lingering aura of a ruin?!

Qian Daoliu ignored his subordinates' astonishment. He steadied himself and laughed instead of getting angry. His dry lips slowly pulled apart, revealing a feverishly delighted grin.

"Just as I thought..."

Qian Daoliu stared at the ruins beneath his feet, the greed in his eyes eclipsing all reason. "The ancient texts were right. This absolute repulsion, capable of driving back the divine might of the Angel God... This is the origin of the Tree of Creation!"

Su Chen was no Trash Martial Soul at all.

He was a living treasury concealing supreme divine power! If Qian Daoliu could take control of him, breaking through the shackles of a Limit Douluo and touching that elusive divine realm would be within reach!

"Now that I've found the source, don't blame me for being ruthless."

Qian Daoliu's gaze turned utterly cold. He flipped his right hand and produced an ancient scroll of sheepskin that exuded a decaying black aura.

The moment it appeared, the already-chill air plunged to freezing.

Qian Daoliu bit his fingertip and used the blood of a Limit Douluo as a catalyst, rapidly tracing twisted blood-red runes across the scroll.

An ancient forbidden art—"Spirit Snatching Art."

This sinister technique had been sealed away at the very bottom of the Worship Hall's vault of treasures. It had been created specifically to forcibly extract another person's Martial Soul Origin and seize divine treasures.

It was his strongest hidden trump card, one he had secretly studied for years to reclaim control.

The sheepskin scroll exploded.

The sound of chains scraping together rang through the void, making one's heart quail. Countless black chains woven from pure malice and Limit-level Soul Power shot out like venomous snakes and plunged into the ground!

Soil flew and rock strata shattered.

The black chains wrapped around the green glimmer with brutal force and dragged it away!

"Hiss—"

A grating sound that made one's teeth ache rang out.

The green glimmer, no bigger than a fingernail, was dragged to the surface. Even bound tight by the black chains, it radiated a vast divinity that made the soul tremble.

Qian Daoliu reacted with lightning speed and took out a specially made crystal vial.

The black chains whipped around and slammed the green glimmer into the vial. Qian Daoliu corked it and pressed down hard on a golden seal.

Inside the crystal vial, the green glimmer crashed about wildly, ringing out with clear, tinkling sounds.

Outside the vial, the forbidden art's lingering black aura continued to roil.

The sacred origin and the sinister forbidden art formed an utterly bizarre contrast in Qian Daoliu's hands. The sight shattered Pei Yuan and the others' composure.

Thump.

Thump.

Pei Yuan led the four Worshipers to their knees. Cold sweat poured from their bodies, and none dared raise his head.

Qian Daoliu clutched the crystal vial tightly, feeling its violent trembling and warmth in his palm. His withered cheeks twitched wildly, stretching into a chillingly sinister grin.

"Hahahaha!"

His laughter echoed above the desolate ruins.

Kneeling on the ground, Pei Yuan listened to that wild laughter. The terror in his eyes gradually gave way to feverish excitement. He led the others in bowing their heads to the ground, his voice brimming with delight. "Congratulations, Great Worship, on securing this trump card of certain victory! Once you strip that useless brat of his divine treasure, Spirit Hall will rule the world under your leadership!"

The other three loyalists bowed frantically along with him.

The Great Worship had already mastered a forbidden art capable of extracting Su Chen's origin. Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue's desperate efforts to protect him would end up being nothing but a complete joke.

Qian Daoliu's laughter died away. He tucked the crystal vial close to his body, then turned and gazed toward Spirit City, hundreds of li away.

The cold wind made his black cloak billow.

A cruel smile tugged at Qian Daoliu's lips.

Spirit Hall's absolute control, and this supreme power that stood above the mortal world—

He would take it all back.