Just as Xiao Cheng was about to nod in agreement with Qiangu Dongfeng, his expression changed.
"Watch out!"
The words had barely left Xiao Cheng's mouth when an icy, evil aura swept out of the depths of the forest like a tide!
The temperature plunged by at least ten degrees, and even the sunlight seemed to dim. Leaves rustled without a breath of wind, whispering an ominous warning. Fallen twigs and leaves rose from the ground, caught in an unseen force and spinning through the air.
"It's here!" Leng Yaozhu's face tightened. Heavenly Phoenix True Fire surged from her hand, crimson flames dancing in her palm and bathing her small face in red.
The next instant—
A massive, dark-purple figure shot from the shadows like an apparition! It moved so fast that only a blurred afterimage remained, a shrill rush of air trailing behind it as it lunged straight at Xiao Cheng, who stood at the front of the five.
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger!
It was nearly five meters long and over two meters tall at the shoulder. Strange dark-gold patterns glimmered across its dark-purple carapace like the markings of an ancient curse. Its scorpion tail arched high like a steel whip, a dense knot of dark energy gathering at its hooked tip and giving off a terrifying pulse. Its eyes were like twin abysses. As they fixed on Xiao Cheng, they held undisguised killing intent—and mockery.
"Scatter!"
Xiao Cheng barked the order and launched into Dragon Roaming Steps. Slippery as an eel, he narrowly slipped past the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's head-on pounce. Its huge claw skimmed his clothes, and the wind it raised stung his cheek.
At the same time, Leng Yaozhu and Leng Yulai unleashed their second Soul Skill—Phoenix Wings Soaring!
Blazing golden fire and shadowy black fire rose together. Two magnificent pairs of flaming wings spread behind the sisters, every feather vivid and radiating heat. They soared upward, claiming the advantage of height as they surveyed the battlefield below.
Qiangu Qingfeng and Qiangu Dongfeng dodged to either side, opening some distance. Qingfeng's face was stern as he held the Purgatory Halberd across his body, murderous energy rolling off him. Dongfeng was young, but he moved quickly too, spinning the Coiling Dragon Staff once before planting his feet.
Boom!
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's claw struck empty ground, blasting out a crater several meters wide. Stone fragments flew and dust billowed. Everyone drew a sharp breath at the sheer destructive force.
"So fast! And so strong!" Qiangu Dongfeng's expression shifted, but he soon steadied himself. Excitement flashed in his eyes instead. "Still, that's all it's got. Everyone, attack together! Let it see what the Spirit Pagoda's new generation can do!"
He shouted and sent golden light blazing from his Coiling Dragon Staff. His first Soul Skill—Coiling Dragon Strike!
Golden light flashed as Dongfeng lunged forward. The staff whistled heavily through the air, smashing three times in succession against the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's armored back! Each blow carried tremendous force, the staff shrieking as it tore through the air.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Three metallic crashes rang out. The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger stumbled back two steps. Three shallow white marks remained on its back armor, sparks scattering from them.
It worked. Maybe it isn't that strong after all. Qiangu Dongfeng's spirits soared. "Everyone, keep at it! We can wear it down!"
Qiangu Qingfeng moved as well. He swept the Purgatory Halberd across his body, sending a purple-black blade of light through the air—his first Soul Skill, Nether Slash! Its razor edge struck the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger squarely on the neck, leaving a blackened mark and the acrid smell of scorched flesh.
"Roar!"
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger let out a low growl, as though the two attacks had enraged it. It whipped around, its scorpion tail stabbing at Qiangu Qingfeng like a venomous snake. The dark energy gathered on its hook became a black beam!
"Look out!" Qiangu Dongfeng cried.
Qiangu Qingfeng showed no emotion as he raised the Purgatory Halberd to block. The tremendous force drove him backward, his feet plowing two long furrows through the ground. The skin between his thumb and forefinger split, and blood seeped out.
"Now!" Leng Yaozhu seized the opening from above. She swept her hands forward again and again, sending several streams of Heavenly Phoenix Flowing Fire down like meteors. They struck the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's back with deadly accuracy! Crimson fire burst across its armor, making it sizzle.
Leng Yulai found her courage and followed with Dark Phoenix Flowing Fire. Black flames burst over the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger, intertwining with the Heavenly Phoenix True Fire. The two fires crackled together, reinforcing each other far more than expected.
"Beautiful!" Xiao Cheng called. Azure Sky Divine Spear in hand, he poured the Power of Empty Green into it until a brilliant, icy point gathered at the tip. With Dragon Roaming Steps, he flashed forward and drove Flood Dragon Exits the Sea straight at the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's softer underbelly!
Pfft!
The spearhead pierced flesh, spraying dark-red blood! The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger roared in pain, its massive body jerking violently.
"Yes!" Qiangu Dongfeng exclaimed. "Just like that! It won't last much longer!"
For a time, the five attacked in a coordinated tide. Xiao Cheng pressed it from the front, the Azure Sky Divine Spear striking again and again like a snake. Qiangu Qingfeng and Qiangu Dongfeng supported him from either flank, taking turns battering it with the Purgatory Halberd and Coiling Dragon Staff. Above them, the Leng sisters provided fire support, their golden and black phoenix flames weaving a net that trapped the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger in the middle.
Under their assault, the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger struggled to defend itself. It retreated again and again, wounds multiplying across its body. Black blood spread over the ground, giving off a thick, foul stench.
"So this Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger isn't much after all!" Qiangu Dongfeng declared, swinging his Coiling Dragon Staff with renewed vigor. "With the five of us working together, bringing it down is only a matter of time! Once we kill it, all our Soul Spirits will gain plenty of years!"
Leng Yaozhu relaxed a little, but unease lingered in her heart. This Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's performance did not match the oppressive aura they had sensed earlier. When she and Xiao Cheng had encountered it last time, its presence had nearly suffocated them. Yet now, even under a five-person assault, why did it seem so... easy to hurt?
Something was wrong.
Just then—
Everything changed!
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger, which had been retreating and seemed close to collapse, suddenly stopped. It raised its head. A distinctly human glint of scorn and mockery crossed its abyssal eyes.
Its gaze seemed to say, You fools finally took the bait.
"ROAR!"
An earthshaking roar erupted from its jaws!
Crushing pressure rolled outward, almost tangible. Trees shuddered, leaves rained down, and several thinner trunks snapped in half! The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's aura multiplied severalfold in an instant. The wounds the five had inflicted began to heal before their eyes, black flesh writhing as the gashes closed!
"Careful!" Xiao Cheng shouted at once. "It lured us in! Defend yourselves! It was acting all along!"
But it was too late.
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger moved.
Its true target had been Xiao Cheng from the very beginning!
It spun, moving so fast it left an afterimage, and lunged straight at Xiao Cheng! Its razor-sharp claw came down toward his head with immense force, shrieking as it tore through the air!
The attack was too sudden, too fast!
"Xiao Cheng, watch out!" Leng Yaozhu cried.
The Qiangu Brothers' faces changed. They wanted to help, but there was no time.
Yet just as the claw was about to strike Xiao Cheng—
"Voiding."
Xiao Cheng activated his second Soul Skill in time.
His body turned faintly transparent, as though covered by an invisible film.
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's claw passed straight through him!
It did not tear through his flesh. It passed through as though through empty air, without the slightest resistance! From outside, its claw seemed to overlap his body, yet neither affected the other.
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's pupils contracted.
It had put everything into that sure-kill blow, only to strike empty air! The sickening sensation of its force finding nothing almost made it cough blood.
But the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger did not give up.
It shook its paw, rage blazing in its dark eyes. Xiao Cheng's Voiding Soul Skill was too strange. Killing him outright would be difficult.
So it changed tactics.
Its gaze shifted to the Qiangu Brothers.
This time, it moved almost too fast for the eye to follow! A faint black afterimage lingered in the air, and it was already in front of Qiangu Qingfeng!
"Brother!" Qiangu Dongfeng cried, horrified. There was no time to reach him.
Qiangu Qingfeng's face remained stern, though alarm flashed in his eyes. He knew he could not dodge. He could only take the blow head-on! He braced the Purgatory Halberd across his chest and unleashed his second Soul Skill—Purgatory Wrath! A faint blood-red glow covered him as he tried to withstand the attack.
But—
Bang!
A heavy impact rang out.
Qiangu Qingfeng flew backward like a kite with its string cut, blood pouring from his mouth and tracing a grim arc through the air. The Purgatory Halberd flew from his hands, spun several times, and plunged into the earth in the distance.
He crashed into a large tree. With a crack, fractures spread across its trunk, and the whole tree shook violently. Qingfeng slid limply to the ground, his chest caved in. He could no longer fight. Only his faint breathing showed he was alive. With his last strength, he pressed the button.
At the same time, Qiangu Dongfeng roared and raised his Coiling Dragon Staff. His second Soul Skill—Dragon Soul Barrier!
A golden defensive screen formed before him. The image of a small white dragon appeared across it, circling and giving off a solid, protective aura. This was his strongest defensive Soul Skill, enough to withstand a full-force attack from a Soul Master of his level.
But the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's tail struck like lightning. The dark energy on its hook became a spiraling black shockwave and slammed into the Dragon Soul Barrier!
Crack!
The barrier shattered! Golden fragments flew everywhere like broken glass.
The terrible impact hurled Qiangu Dongfeng backward. He struck the ground hard and spat blood, his face white as paper. Struggling to lift his head, he used the last of his strength to press the rescue button on the back of his hand.
Click!
Light flashed. Teleportation light engulfed the Qiangu Brothers, and they vanished, forcibly transported out of the Spirit Ascension Platform.
All of it happened in a few breaths!
From the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's sudden attack to both Qiangu Brothers being eliminated, less than five seconds had passed!
"Damn it!" Leng Yaozhu's face was deathly pale, and the hand holding her flames trembled. She finally understood: the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger had been acting from the start! It had feigned weakness to lower their guard, then taken out the two strongest fighters in one stroke. Such cunning and patience were hardly those of a Soul Beast. It was more like a seasoned hunter!
"Yu Lai! Xiao Cheng! We're leaving too!" Leng Yaozhu shouted, urgent but not panicked.
But when she turned to her sister, she found Leng Yulai hanging motionless in the air. Terror filled her small face, and tears brimmed in her wine-red eyes. The sudden reversal had left her frozen!
"Yu Lai!" Leng Yaozhu's heart clenched.
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger noticed too. Its cold, slit-pupiled eyes fixed on Leng Yulai above, and a cruel light flashed in them.
Xiao Cheng had been its target from the start. It could sense something about him that drew it powerfully. But his accursed spatial Soul Skill was too troublesome. If even this ambush failed, the same trick would be harder to use again.
Then it would attack someone he had to save!
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger pushed off with all four legs. Its massive body shot upward like a black meteor, hurtling straight for Leng Yulai! Its fanged jaws opened wide, releasing a sickening, bloody stench!
"Not a chance!" Leng Yaozhu abandoned any thought of pressing her button. Driving Phoenix Wings Soaring to its limit, she became a streak of fire and flew faster than she ever had before!
She arrived in the nick of time and grabbed the still-stunned Leng Yulai!
"Sister?!" Leng Yulai finally came to her senses. She screamed in terror, tears spilling down her cheeks.
"Go!" Leng Yaozhu shoved Leng Yulai away with all her strength! At the same time, she reached for the button on the back of her sister's hand!
Click!
The button depressed, and teleportation light instantly wrapped around Leng Yulai. She cried out for her sister, but her voice soon vanished into the light.
That shove, however, cost Leng Yaozhu her best chance to press her own button!
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger was already upon her!
Its vast, fang-filled jaws descended toward Leng Yaozhu's head on a nauseating gust. She could see its knife-sharp teeth clearly and smell the thick reek of blood!
I can't dodge... Leng Yaozhu closed her eyes. Images of her parents flashed through her mind, then her sister's face.
At least... Yu Lai is safe.
Just then—
A cyan figure appeared before her as if by Teleportation!
"Teleportation!"
Xiao Cheng's low voice sounded beside her.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. He swept the Azure Sky Divine Spear across with Sweep Across the Army, pouring the terrifying three-thousand-jin strength he had gained after his first Blood Exchange into a blow aimed at the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's head!
BANG!
The impact was deafening!
The strike knocked the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger off course. Its massive body lost balance in midair and tumbled to the ground, smashing out a crater. It shook its head, anger flashing in its eyes. It had not expected this seemingly weakest prey to possess such bizarre abilities and strength!
Xiao Cheng fared little better. Though he had blocked the attack, the recoil sent both him and Leng Yaozhu flying backward.
His insides churned. Blood rose in his throat, and he forced it back down. The skin between his thumb and forefinger had split, blood running down the spear shaft, and his arms trembled.
"Yao Zhu! Press the button!" Xiao Cheng shouted hoarsely, pressing his own at the same time.
The impact had injured Leng Yaozhu and made her cough blood. Most of her power lay in her flames, and her young body was not strong. Even so, she spent the last of her strength pressing the button on the back of her hand. Warm teleportation light began to surround her, and she lost consciousness.
But at that critical moment—
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger threw back its head and roared. Dense dark energy erupted from its body, spreading in an instant like a volcanic blast!
Dark Sky Curtain!
The sky abruptly darkened, as if a vast black cloth had covered it and swallowed even the sunlight. Darkness so deep they could not see their hands fell around them. Only the teleportation light around Leng Yaozhu and Xiao Cheng glimmered faintly within it.
But the dense darkness suppressed that light, slowing the teleportation drastically! What should have taken two or three seconds would now take at least ten!
"What?!" Xiao Cheng, still conscious, went pale.
A vicious grin flashed in the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's eyes. It drove forward on all four limbs, charging at Xiao Cheng and Leng Yaozhu as fast as it could! It would tear them apart before the teleportation finished. Darkness streamed behind it like the long afterimage of a demon crawling out of hell!
As Xiao Cheng watched the shadow of death draw closer, helplessness rose within him. His Soul Power was almost gone, and he could not use Voiding again. He planted the Azure Sky Divine Spear in the ground to support his unsteady body. Dying in the Spirit Ascension Platform would not kill them in reality, but it would still deal a severe shock to their minds. Judging by the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger's expression, it would hardly give them a quick end.
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger closed in, its hideous face growing larger in his vision. He could almost smell death.
Just then—
Hum!
A purple-gold mark suddenly appeared on Xiao Cheng's forehead!
Ancient and mysterious, the mark gave off an indescribable aura. It was as though some supreme law had descended, or something long asleep in the depths of his soul had awakened. This power seemed to come from a higher dimension, beyond the world itself!
The purple within the Purple-Gold Mark suddenly overwhelmed the gold, becoming immeasurably deep and dark! It resembled the first darkness of the universe—or the void waiting at the end of all things!
Xiao Cheng's consciousness sank completely into darkness.
But his body did not fall.
A dark-purple vortex appeared silently before him.
No larger than a human head, it exerted a pull that chilled the heart. It turned slowly, as though opening onto an unknown Abyss. The surrounding dark energy began flowing into it beyond its own control, like rivers pouring into the sea!
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger was charging too fast to stop. Its forepaw plunged straight into the dark-purple vortex!
"ROAR!"
The Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger let out a roar of utter terror and despair. It fought to pull its paw free, but an irresistible force came from the vortex. As if seized by an invisible giant hand, its massive body was dragged in inch by inch!
Its struggles were useless against the dark-purple vortex. Its claws raked empty space, finding nothing to grip. Inch by inch, its body was swallowed—first the forepaw, then the head, then the torso...
At last, with a wretched howl, the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger disappeared entirely into the dark-purple vortex, as though it had never existed.
Once the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger had vanished, the vortex slowly shrank to a point of light and sank into Xiao Cheng's forehead. The Purple-Gold Mark flashed twice, then quietly faded away.
With its source of energy gone, the Dark Sky Curtain rapidly dispersed.
Sunlight fell once more, illuminating the ravaged battlefield. Huge craters, broken trees, and scattered stones lay everywhere, bearing witness to the harrowing fight.
At that moment, teleportation light completely enveloped Xiao Cheng and Leng Yaozhu.
The light flashed.
The two vanished.
Silence returned to the Spirit Ascension Platform.
It was as if nothing had happened.
Only the great craters in the ground, the trees broken by the Dark Demon Scorpion Tiger, and the faint smell of blood lingering in the air proved the battle had been real.
Before you continue