Triplets

For this instantaneous, lethal strike, the blood-colored soul power surging around Chen Zifeng dimmed and withered visibly, his complexion turning several shades paler.

He had expended a massive amount of energy; he would be unable to execute such a sharp, instantaneous kill again in the short term.

"Third Brother!"

The other Evil Soul Master leader was struck with horror, but the reflexes honed through life-and-death combat were faster than thought.

Seeing Chen Zifeng's momentum plummet, a fierce glint exploded in his eyes. A dark red dagger emerged from his palm, and he moved like a ghost, stabbing directly at Chen Zifeng's heart.

This strike was vicious and cunning, the timing captured with absolute precision.

Just an instant before the blood-red dagger could pierce Chen Zifeng, a ghostly shadow arrived first despite starting later, moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

A cold, sharp aura mixed with faint lightning flashed through the air and vanished in a blink.

The ambushing Evil Soul Master leader sensed a powerful killing intent, his head snapping back almost instinctively.

"Sshhh--!"

The cold light grazed his throat.

However, this desperate evasion ultimately failed to fully dodge the even more cunning and vicious follow-up strike.

His right arm, which held the dagger, was severed clean from the shoulder blade.

The severed arm was flung high by the force, trailing a spray of filthy blood rain in the air.

Only after a momentary delay did the thick, blackened blood gush out from the smooth cross-section like a floodgate opening.

"Puff! Puff! Puff!"

Almost at the same moment, three condensed blood-colored sword beams pierced the Evil Soul Master's body.

It was Chen Zifeng's Soul-Chasing Sword.

"Ughhh--!!!"

A scream, shrill to the point of distortion, erupted suddenly.

With his face a mix of extreme agony and twisted terror, the Evil Soul Master stumbled backward.

The shadow that had landed the strike did not linger, vanishing back into the darkness of the cave as if it had never appeared.

Lin Feng caught a trace of her aura.

It was Xixi, whose presence had been remarkably low until now.

At this moment, she finally revealed the true face of a night assassin.

Her eyes had transformed into cold, ruthless vertical pupils, her skin covered in a layer of dark, power-laden luster, with electric arcs coiling around her body.

Her short hair stood on end without a breeze, each strand seemingly wreathed in fine sparks of electricity.

This was her martial soul—the Lightning Leopard.

A combination of extreme speed and explosive power, lurking in the shadows to seize the perfect opportunity, pursuing a one-hit kill.

Just as the Evil Soul Master leader was screaming and retreating, chaotic footsteps echoed from the depths of the cave.

The seven Evil Soul Master Soul Grand Masters left to guard the warehouse area had finally been alerted by the intense fighting and were rushing over.

"Raise the formation!"

The Evil Soul Master leader roared, stumbling back to the stone altar in the center of the cave, which was carved with eerie runes.

Following the order, the seven Soul Grand Masters immediately spread out with practiced discipline, surrounding the altar.

They channeled their soul power simultaneously, their soul rings lighting up one after another, though the glow was not a standard color, but a filthy, dull, scarlet blood light.

"Hum--!"

As their soul power was poured in frantically, the soul guidance devices embedded in the rock crevices along the cave walls suddenly lit up with dense, scarlet points of light.

Countless blood-colored rays, thin as hair, emerged from the ground, the cave walls, and even the air, weaving into a scarlet web that enveloped the five members of the Soul Hunting Squad.

More eerily, countless tiny blood-colored threads dripped from the web, moving as if they had a life of their own, silently coiling around the ankles and arms of Chen Zifeng, Xixi, and the others, even attempting to burrow into their skin.

The moment the threads made contact, everyone immediately felt their internal soul power beginning to drain uncontrollably.

"Watch out for those blood threads! They're devouring our soul power!" Chen Zifeng's expression shifted as he shouted a warning. His Soul-Chasing Sword flashed with blood light as he tried to sever the threads coiling toward him, yet for every thread he cut, new ones immediately took their place.

Xixi attempted to force her way to the altar several times, but her attacks only stirred ripples against the dark red protective barrier surrounding it.

The situation reversed in an instant, leaving them on the defensive.

The Soul Hunting Squad's soul power was being continuously drained, while the enemy held their ground behind the formation, the balance of power shifting against them.

Just then, Lin Feng moved.

He did not attempt to sever the annoying blood threads, instead locking his gaze firmly onto the altar.

Bright Phoenix Fire erupted from his body, radiating a sacred majesty that purified all things and purged evil; the blood threads that dared to approach were instantly vaporized as if meeting their natural nemesis.

In this narrow cave, he dared not use his Fire Lotus soul skill, which possessed immense power and a wide area of effect, for fear of harming his companions.

Lin Feng stepped forward like thunder, slamming a fist into the protective barrier.

"Break for me!"

The Flaming Fist punched a hole straight through.

The moment the opening appeared, Lin Feng did not retract his momentum; the Bright Phoenix Fire bloomed, pouring through the breach into the interior of the protective barrier.

"Arghhh--!"

Inside the barrier, a shrill scream had barely begun before it was abruptly cut short.

The protective barrier, once as solid as a fortress, had now become a furnace and cage that trapped them to their deaths.

"Well done!" Chen Zifeng, seeing the light of the barrier dim rapidly as the blood-lines receded and his pressure greatly diminished, praised him.

A few breaths later, the protective barrier finally collapsed completely.

Around the altar, the seven Soul Grand Masters had been reduced to nothingness.

Only the dying Soul Elder leader remained, leaning against the edge of the altar, half his body charred black, yet his eyes burned with madness and resentment.

"Big... brother..." His voice trembled, and on his blood-stained face, he pulled a twisted smile. "Avenge... me and the third brother!"

With those words finished, he used his last ounce of strength to plunge a dagger deep into his own heart.

The scalding essence blood from his heart sprayed into the strange, grooved patterns of the altar, spreading rapidly and instantly dyeing the entire structure a glaring crimson.

A wave of soul power, far more violent than all the previous Evil Soul Masters combined, erupted with a boom.

"Who-- killed my brother!!!"

A roar filled with endless sorrow, rage, and insane killing intent seemed to come from the Nine Nether Hells.

Before the sound had even faded, a figure wrapped in thick, foul-smelling blood-light soared into the sky from beneath the altar.

It was a man whose face was nine parts similar to the dead Soul Elder on the ground, though he appeared older and more sinister.

His eyes were red as blood; ignoring Lin Feng and the others, he spread his arms wide.

Within the cavern, the residual soul power, flesh essence, and even the souls that had not yet fully dissipated from the nine dead Evil Soul Masters transformed into streams of filthy, blood-colored mist, surging madly toward the figure in the blood-light, who greedily inhaled them through his nose and mouth.

His aura, originally at the Soul Ancestor level, began to skyrocket wildly.

Peak Soul Ancestor... Soul King... Peak Soul King...

"They are using blood sacrifice to absorb the souls and cultivation of their own twin brothers to forcibly condense a Soul Ring and break through!" Chen Zifeng, who was well-informed, realized the truth instantly, his expression changing drastically. "Stop him! Don't let him finish!"

Before his words had even finished, the blood-light on his Soul-Chasing Sword reappeared, transforming into several sharp sword beams that slashed directly at the blood-shadow.

Xixi's figure also turned into lightning once more, attacking the opponent's vitals from a tricky angle.

Lin Feng and Wang Dong also launched swift and fierce attacks.

However, the Evil Soul Master leader did not dodge or evade the incoming attacks; he merely intensified the blood-light surrounding his body.

All the attacks sank into the blood-light like mud into the sea, causing the blood-flames around him to churn violently, but failing to truly interrupt the terrifying consumption process.

"Boom--!"

A pressure far more vast and immense than that of a Soul King, accompanied by the phantom of a deep black Soul Ring marked with eerie blood veins, rose violently from beneath the feet of the Evil Soul Master leader.

The Soul Ring fluctuated violently before finally solidifying completely.

Soul Emperor!

By consuming everything from his two Soul Elder brothers and using the souls of the seven Soul Grand Masters as a sacrifice, this Evil Soul Master leader had forcibly broken through to the Soul Emperor level.

He slowly turned his head, his crimson pupils locking onto the few people in the cavern; the resentment and killing intent in his gaze had almost materialized.