Confrontation

Zhu Shen took a deep breath, leaped down from the tree, and landed on the edge of the altar.

"Yo, quite the lively gathering."

His voice was not loud, but it cut through the chanting of the Evil Soul Masters with startling clarity.

The chanting came to an abrupt halt.

Every Evil Soul Master turned their heads to stare at this uninvited guest who had suddenly appeared.

Blood Shadow slowly lowered the bead, a low chuckle emanating from the shadows beneath his hood: "Yu Xiaogang, you really dared to come."

"Since you invited me, how could I not?" Zhu Shen brushed the dust off his clothes, his gaze sweeping over the children on the altar. "Besides, for such a lively party, it would be quite rude not to invite me."

Su Nuo's expression shifted: "Grandmaster, you..."

"Shut up." Blood Shadow cut him off and looked at Zhu Shen. "I am curious, how did you find this place?"

"Take a guess?" Zhu Shen smiled. "Though I do have a question for you—what exactly is the purpose of this Evil God Temple? Isn't it exhausting, performing sacrifices and bloodletting all day long?"

Blood Shadow remained silent for a moment.

"You don't need to know." He waved his hand. "Kill him."

The Evil Soul Masters surrounding the altar sprang into action.

Over twenty Evil Soul Masters released their martial souls simultaneously, and colorful spirit rings lit up the night. Their strength varied, ranging from two-ring Great Spirit Masters to four-ring Spirit Ancestors, but without exception, they all exuded a heavy, malevolent aura.

Zhu Shen sighed.

"Must we fight?"

With a thought, he released his Dragon God martial soul.

A golden dragon phantom emerged behind him, and four spirit rings—two purple and two black—circled his body. The Dragon Might spread out like a physical force; the leading Evil Soul Masters stumbled, their faces instantly turning deathly pale.

Beast-type martial souls had the lowest resistance to Dragon Might. The martial souls of those Evil Soul Masters—wolves, tigers, snakes, and the like—began to tremble instinctively under the pressure of the Dragon God.

"Dragon Might Intimidation!"

Zhu Shen's third spirit ring flared with brilliant purple light.

An invisible pressure surged in all directions like a tidal wave. Those beast-type Evil Soul Masters shrieked as their martial souls retracted directly into their bodies, leaving them collapsing limply to the ground.

However, the remaining Evil Soul Masters continued to charge.

A four-ring Spirit Ancestor-level Evil Soul Master released his martial soul—a pitch-black scorpion. A ghostly blue venomous light flickered on the scorpion's tail as it struck toward Zhu Shen.

Zhu Shen sidestepped, his dragon claw lashing out to seize the scorpion's tail.

"Snap."

The tail broke off instantly.

The Evil Soul Master let out a miserable cry, but before he could react, Zhu Shen was already before him.

The dragon claw descended.

"Bang!"

The Evil Soul Master was sent flying, crashing into the altar before vomiting blood and losing consciousness.

Zhu Shen turned to face the other charging Evil Soul Masters.

Most of these individuals were around the level of three-ring Spirit Elders, which was nothing in his eyes. He swept his dragon claw horizontally, and wherever the golden light passed, the Evil Soul Masters fell like wheat before a scythe.

In less than ten breaths, more than half of the twenty-plus Evil Soul Masters had been downed.

The remaining few turned pale, not daring to advance further.

Blood Shadow had not moved the entire time, watching quietly. Only after Zhu Shen had finished off the small fry did he speak slowly: "Not bad, even stronger than I imagined."

"You flatter me." Zhu Shen shook the blood from his hand. "Your turn."

Blood Shadow smiled.

He took a step forward, his cloak fluttering without a breeze. Dark red spirit power surged from his body, forming a tangible mist that swirled around him.

Seven spirit rings rose from beneath his feet.

Two yellow, two purple, three black.

It was a standard Spirit Saint configuration, but the malevolent aura it emitted was enough to make one's blood run cold.

"Yu Xiaogang, do you know why I chose to hold the sacrifice on the night of the full moon?" Blood Shadow's voice carried a strange, eerie delight. "Because on the night of the full moon, my martial soul can unleash twelve-tenths of its power."

As he finished speaking, his seventh spirit ring suddenly flared.

"Seventh Spirit Skill: Blood Wolf True Form!"

Dark red light exploded outward, and Blood Shadow's body began to swell and distort. His cloak tore apart, revealing the hideous true form beneath.

It was a blood-colored giant wolf over three meters tall. The wolf's body was covered in twisted black patterns, and its eyes were a pure, dark red, flashing with madness. The wolf's jaws opened to reveal ivory fangs, and saliva dripped onto the ground, corroding it into small pits.

"ROAR—!"

The Blood Wolf let out a howl toward the sky, the sound waves turning into a physical shockwave that made the surrounding trees tremble violently.

The children on the altar were too terrified to even cry, each of them curling into a ball.

Zhu Shen's expression turned grave.

A Soul Saint-level Avatar of the Martial Soul was already beyond the scope of what he could handle.

But the arrow was on the string; he had no choice but to fire.

He took a deep breath, pushing his soul power to its limit. The golden light of his Dragon God Martial Soul grew increasingly brilliant, and the dragon wings behind his back unfurled, the golden scales reflecting a dazzling radiance under the moonlight.

"Third Soul Skill, Dragon Might Intimidation!"

"First Soul Skill, Dragon Scale Possession!"

"Second Soul Skill, Dragon Claw Rending!"

Launching all three soul skills simultaneously, Zhu Shen's momentum climbed to its peak. He kicked off the ground, transforming into a streak of golden light as he charged toward the Blood Wolf.

A look of contempt flashed in the Blood Wolf's eyes. It raised a front paw and swiped down.

"BOOM!"

The golden and dark red lights collided, erupting with a deafening roar.

Zhu Shen was sent flying backward, carving a trench over ten meters long into the ground. He steadied himself, a sweet taste rising in his throat as a mouthful of blood surged up.

A single head-on clash, and the disparity was clear.

The gap between a Soul Ancestor and a Soul Saint could not be bridged by a few soul ring configurations.

The Blood Wolf walked over slowly, Zhu Shen's figure reflected in its dark red pupils. "Kneel now and join the Holy Temple, and I may spare your life."

"Join you?" Zhu Shen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "With your penchant for rituals and bloodletting, you have the nerve to call yourselves a Holy Temple?"

"Ignorant." The Blood Wolf's voice was low and hoarse. "This world requires a new order. Soul Masters stand high above, ordinary people are like ants, and soul beasts are reduced to soul rings and soul bones... All of this is wrong."

"So that's why you kill children?"

"Sacrifice is necessary." The Blood Wolf raised its front paw, the claws glinting with a cold light. "When the Holy Temple descends, the world will usher in true equality. No Soul Masters, no ordinary people; everyone will attain eternal life."

Zhu Shen understood.

These lunatics wanted to summon some evil god and use its power to reshape the world.

"Keep dreaming."

He gritted his teeth and charged forward once more.

This time, he did not clash head-on, instead utilizing the speed advantage of his dragon wings to circle the Blood Wolf. His dragon claws descended repeatedly, leaving a trail of wounds across the beast's body.

But those wounds were quickly repaired by the dark red mist.

The Blood Wolf's regenerative ability was too strong.

"It's useless." The Blood Wolf swiped a claw, forcing Zhu Shen back. "On the night of the full moon, my recovery rate is ten times higher than usual. You cannot hurt me."

Zhu Shen panted heavily, his mind racing.

Head-on combat was a failure, hit-and-run tactics weren't draining it enough, and his soul skills lacked the necessary power...

Wait.

He looked toward the black box on the altar.

The box remained in the center of the altar, and the dark red bead was already embedded in the groove at the top. The light from the bead grew brighter, the surrounding air began to distort, and a vague, blurry shadow could be seen taking shape.

That was what they were summoning.

If he could destroy the bead, the ritual would be interrupted. Once the Blood Wolf lost the enhancement of the full moon, its strength should decline.

But how could he get there?

The Blood Wolf was guarding the altar; there was no way past it.

Zhu Shen gritted his teeth. He would risk it all.

He turned and ran.

He didn't run outward, but deeper into the forest.

The Blood Wolf paused for a moment, then sneered, "Trying to escape?"

It pushed off with all four limbs and gave chase.

Man and wolf raced through the forest, trees collapsing and dust flying in their wake. Zhu Shen pushed his dragon wings to their limit, reaching his maximum speed, yet the Blood Wolf was slowly closing the distance.

The speed of a Soul Saint was not something he could match.

Seeing the Blood Wolf about to catch up, Zhu Shen suddenly made a sharp turn and flew in another direction.

That direction led to the core area of the Soul Hunting Forest.

The Blood Wolf's pupils constricted. "You're insane!"

Ten-thousand-year soul beasts haunted the core area of the Soul Hunting Forest; even a Soul Saint would not dare to venture deep inside lightly.

But Zhu Shen ignored it all and dove straight in.

The Blood Wolf hesitated for a split second before chasing after him.

It could not let Zhu Shen escape. This man's Dragon God Martial Soul had a purifying effect on evil energy; if he were allowed to leave alive, he would cause great trouble for the Holy Temple's plans in the future.

Deep in the forest, the trees grew even denser.

Zhu Shen lowered his altitude, weaving between the trunks. He pushed his perception to the limit, searching for a specific aura.

Found it.

Not far ahead, a powerful ripple of soul power emanated from the area. It was a ten-thousand-year soul beast, resting in its lair.

Zhu Shen grinned and charged toward the aura.

The Blood Wolf sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late.

Zhu Shen burst into a clearing where a massive black bear lay sprawled in the center. The giant bear was fast asleep, its snoring sounding like thunder.

A ten-thousand-year soul beast, the Shadow Demon Bear.