Death God Messenger

The group followed the trail, quickly venturing deep into the forest.

After marching for about an hour, the dense woods ahead gradually thinned, revealing a cave that exuded an aura of blood and rot.

Through the three-dimensional imagery provided by Spiritual Detection Sharing, a scene resembling a living hell assaulted everyone's senses.

On the stone walls at the cave entrance hung over a dozen human skins that had been peeled off in their entirety; some were small enough to clearly belong to children.

Mutilated skeletons were scattered across the ground, and even more horrifying, several dried infant corpses were discarded carelessly in the corners.

The further they delved into the cave, the more mangled corpses they encountered, and the scene became increasingly unbearable to witness.

"Ah--!"

Jiang Nannan and Xiao Xiao had never seen such a terrifying sight; they let out screams of horror on the spot, their faces turning as pale as paper.

Just then, a chaotic sound of footsteps and cursing erupted from within the cave, and dozens of bandits, wielding blades and reeking of malice, charged out from the shadows.

"Steady your minds!"

Ma Xiaotao shouted sternly, "These scumbags deserve to die! They are the ones who killed those innocent people! Kill them!"

Fury completely ignited the fighting spirit of the Shrek members.

Without needing orders, the members of the main team charged into the bandit ranks like tigers descending a mountain.

Ji Jing's figure flickered like a ghost, and wherever he passed, bandits fell dead.

These rabble were no match for the geniuses of Shrek.

In the blink of an eye, the battle was over.

Dozens of bandit corpses lay piled in a heap at the cave entrance, their blood staining the ground red.

However, before anyone could catch their breath, a sinister, piercing shriek erupted from the depths of the cave:

"Who goes there?! How dare you oppose the great Death God Messenger! You shall all die! You shall all become my most loyal Corpse Slave!"

Before the voice had even faded, Huo Yuhao, through the perspective of Spiritual Detection Sharing, witnessed a truly horrific sight—

All the corpses were rapidly swelling and turning red at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Careful! It's a trap!"

Huo Yuhao shouted in alarm.

Alarm bells rang in everyone's hearts.

Everyone wearing metal bracelets immediately activated their Soul Tool!

Layers of Level 6 soul-guided shields instantly expanded, forming solid energy barriers that protected them firmly within.

The next second, "Boom--Boom boom boom--!"

A deafening roar exploded violently within the narrow cave!

Every single corpse transformed into a terrifying flesh-and-blood bomb at the exact same moment!

Violent shockwaves, mixed with foul-smelling chunks of flesh and lethal corpse poison, swept madly over everyone!

The moment Dai Yueheng activated his shield, he instinctively lunged toward Chen Zifeng, who was beside him, attempting to protect him.

But the explosion was too fast and too wide; although Dai Yueheng remained unscathed behind his shield, the edge of the shockwave still slammed heavily into Chen Zifeng.

Chen Zifeng let out a miserable cry, blown away like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into Dai Yueheng and falling unconscious from severe injuries on the spot.

Fortunately, he was not blown to pieces as he had been in the original timeline; it was the greatest stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.

However, Yao Haoxuan was not so lucky.

The violent explosion instantly tore through the soul power defense he had hastily gathered, blowing half his body into a bloody mess and killing him on the spot!

As for Ma Xiaotao, Xixi, and Ling Luochen, although they managed to survive the explosion thanks to their formidable strength and soul skills, they were left battered and suffering from varying degrees of injury.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, a figure dropped from the cave ceiling; it was Xuan Zi, who had sensed the anomaly and rushed over at top speed.

When he saw the tragic scene before him, his usually sleepy eyes instantly erupted with monstrous fury and killing intent.

As the aftermath of the explosion gradually dissipated, the survivors stared at everything in shock, looking at the mangled corpse of Yao Haoxuan and the severely wounded, unconscious Chen Zifeng, all of them frozen in place, unable to speak.

Only Ji Jing, behind his sturdy soul-guided shield, remained expressionless.

He looked calmly toward the depths of the cave.

From the moment they refused to wear the Soul Tool, he had already foreseen that casualties would occur.

He did not care.

As the leader, he had fulfilled his duty and given them the choice.

Since they refused out of pride, they had to bear the consequences of their own decisions.

Just as everyone was reeling in shock, a gaunt figure draped in a voluminous black robe lunged out from the depths of the cavern.

His soul rings flickered with light—three yellow and two purple—revealing him to be a five-ringed Soul King!

This person was none other than the so-called Death God Messenger.

"You bastard, daring to harm Shrek students? You're courting death!"

Xuan Zi roared, instantly completing his Martial Soul Possession.

A terrifying, extreme pressure instantly enveloped the entire cavern.

He reached out through the air, and a massive palm condensed from soul power manifested out of thin air, crashing down toward the Death God Messenger!

The moment Xuan Zi appeared, the Death God Messenger had been terrified out of his wits; facing this world-shattering strike, he was scared out of his mind.

At this life-or-death moment, a flash of ferocity crossed his eyes as he once again channeled his evil arts, attempting to detonate the mangled corpse of Yao Haoxuan nearby!

"Still daring to act recklessly!"

Xuan Zi's eyes narrowed as he diverted a stream of soul power, instantly enveloping Yao Haoxuan's body and severing it from the evil arts.

It was this momentary delay that the Death God Messenger seized, his body slipping away like a slick loach, narrowly escaping the control of the Taotie Giant Palm.

He knew full well he was no match for Xuan Zi; his only path to survival was to seize a hostage!

His gaze instantly locked onto the members of the reserve team, who appeared relatively weaker.

With a flash of his black robe, the Death God Messenger transformed into a dark shadow, lunging toward the reserve team amidst a pungent, fishy stench, his withered, claw-like hand reaching straight for the seemingly most fragile Xiao Xiao!

Xiao Xiao's face turned deathly pale; she wanted to dodge, but found her body stiffened by fear, and it seemed she was about to fall into the devil's clutches!

However, just as that hand was about to touch Xiao Xiao's shoulder, the Death God Messenger's body suddenly stiffened, as if struck by a binding spell, coming to a bizarre halt in mid-air.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Ji Jing had already appeared silently behind him.

One of his hands had already firmly gripped the Death God Messenger's head.

The Death God Messenger was terrified to the point of madness, but before he could channel his soul power to resist, it was already too late.

A pure, warm aura erupted suddenly from Ji Jing's palm.

That was the power of extreme Goodness!

This force surged into the Death God Messenger's body like a bursting flood, violently clashing with his evil, dark, and highly toxic soul power cultivated over many years!

"Urgh... ah..."

The Death God Messenger couldn't even let out a complete scream; his body convulsed violently, his eyes bulged, and black blood bled from his seven orifices.

In just a single breath, his life force was completely destroyed, his head lolled to the side, and he died on the spot.