Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus, Received!

It let out one final shriek.

Soul-Devouring Shriek.

Jiang Lin sensed danger the instant it happened.

The sound wave was too fast, so fast that it left no time for evasion.

It ignored the Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd, the black shield, and the energy storm generated by their collision, passing straight into Jiang Lin's brow like a phantom piercing through the material world.

In that moment, Jiang Lin heard his own soul emit a crisp crack.

It was as if something had split open.

What followed was a pain so intense it defied description.

It was not physical pain; it was a thousand times worse than broken bones, flayed flesh, or burning fire.

The agony struck directly at the root of his consciousness, as if someone were sawing at his soul with a rusted, dull blade. Every stroke made his body convulse, his vision blacken, and his mind go blank.

Damn it! It's a mental attack!

At his current stage, this was truly his weakness.

Jiang Lin's soul power began to surge wildly through his meridians. Like a herd of wild horses breaking free, the uncontrolled energy rampaged through his body, rupturing several meridians and causing blood-seeping lumps to bulge beneath his skin.

His consciousness began to blur. The scene before him overlapped, twisted, and shattered, as if torn into countless fragments and stitched back together, each piece carrying enough pain to drive a man mad.

"Hah—"

Jiang Lin bit down until his molars cracked, a beast-like growl forcing its way out of his throat as he instinctively retreated to his original position.

He used every ounce of his willpower to force himself not to pass out; otherwise, the consequences...

Hmm... with Elder Chen here, I suppose the consequences aren't that dire.

That attack wasn't enough to take his life.

Jiang Lin lifted his head.

His vision was blurred, as if everything were veiled in a red gauze.

But he still saw it—

Under the continuous assault of the Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd, the black shield finally gave way.

The final layers of runes on the shield's surface shattered simultaneously, dissolving into nothingness.

The halberd blade pierced through the shield, through the mouth that hadn't managed to close in time, and through the pistil of the Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus, a blood-colored tip protruding from its back.

All the thunderous power accumulated within the Blood Fiend Divine Thunder Halberd erupted at that moment.

Blood-red lightning engulfed the entire Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus from within.

That mouth let out one final, shrill howl—not a mental attack, but a genuine, dying wail.

The petals twitched violently, falling from the lotus base one by one, turning to dust in the lightning before they even hit the ground.

The vines thrashed wildly for a few final moments before turning rigid and withered, like dead branches drained of all moisture. The bony scales shattered and peeled away, revealing the charred, necrotic core within.

The aura of the Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus plummeted rapidly.

It was not dead yet.

But it was not far from it.

Jiang Lin did not hesitate; enduring the discomfort, he reached out and plucked it.

He had expected a spirit ring to manifest, but none appeared.

It was a strange phenomenon, somewhat beyond his expectations.

But Jiang Lin was in no mood to dwell on it.

"System, recycle it."

Ding, damaged, 10,000-year Immortal Grade Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus, value 15,000 points, recycled.

The sound of the system's recycling notification made Jiang Lin's stinging mind feel slightly better.

The surrounding pool water had completely dried up, and the runes on the stone walls had shattered, turning into ordinary rock.

The suffocating power of corruption in the air had vanished without a trace, replaced by a hollow, deathly silence.

The cavern fell quiet.

Only Jiang Lin's heavy, ragged breathing could be heard.

Withdrawing his martial soul, Jiang Lin couldn't help but feel a lingering fear. "Almost... bit the dust."

Removing his mask, Jiang Lin wiped the blood from his face, his voice sounding as if it had been dragged across sandpaper.

He pulled his lips into an ugly grin, his teeth coated in blood foam. "But only almost."

Yet, immediately after, he became even more ravenous for treasures that could strengthen the soul.

Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew—he had to obtain it.

And whenever the system updated its methods for strengthening mental power, he would have to purchase those as well.

A moment later, Jiang Lin tried to stand, but his knees gave way the instant they left the ground, and he collapsed back down.

The aftereffects of his soul being heavily damaged were more severe than he had imagined; his consciousness was still reeling, and the scene before his eyes flickered with double images from time to time.

Jiang Lin simply sat where he was, adjusting his breathing to suppress his injuries and guiding his rampaging soul power back into the proper channels of his meridians bit by bit.

He glanced at Hu Liena, who lay unconscious in the corner—she was unharmed, her breathing steady, and her wounds had not worsened, though her face seemed to have darkened a shade further...

He then looked outside—the sounds of battle continued, but they were clearly not as intense as before; it was evident that the berserk state of the Wolf Bandit pack was fading.

Of course, it was also possible that they were being slaughtered one-sidedly.

Outside.

After Elder Chen's second soul skill reduced the head of that crazed Wolf Bandit leader to ash, the battlefield suddenly fell silent.

The Wolf Bandits seemed to sense the death of their boss and instinctively broke free from the control of the Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus.

However, due to the pressure the Soul-Devouring Evil Bone Lotus was facing, it did not expend any more mental energy to strengthen or control the Wolf Bandits.

Consequently, everyone's gaze focused on the old man wearing the ghost mask.

Upon noticing the nine soul rings beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—the soul masters of the Martial Soul Hall instantly gasped in unison.

"A... a Title Douluo?!"

It was unclear who let out the exclamation, but it woke Riels, as well as the Wolf Bandit standing before the soul master who had cried out.

The Wolf Bandit let out a howl and immediately attempted a sneak attack.

But it was struck by a beam of fire and sent to join its boss on the spot.

This small interlude instantly reignited the battlefield that had just quieted down.

Under the watchful gaze of Elder Chen, the three Soul Douluos were also forced to resume fighting, hoping to finish off the Wolf Bandits quickly so they could check on Hu Liena's condition.

"Many thanks to the senior for saving our lives. I am Riels; may I ask who the senior is..."

Riels spoke in a weak tone, his face filled with the relief of having survived a disaster, as well as gratitude toward the Title Douluo, Elder Chen, hovering above.

"Is this... an elder of our Martial Soul Hall?"

Yan and Xie Yue exchanged a glance, asking each other the same question before falling into silence.

"Such powerful flames. If I could take him as my master..."

"Ahem."

Xie Yue coughed lightly, interrupting Yan.

After all, the stance of this senior was still unclear.

Elder Chen did not care what they were saying; at the end of the day, the two of them were merely Soul Elders, not worthy of his special attention.

Elder Chen simply stood above, watching the entire battlefield.

Whenever he spotted a Wolf Bandit attempting to flee, he would send it to meet the Grim Reaper with a single beam of fire.

Inside the cave, however, the scene was quite different...