Encountering Tang Chen Again

Huo Yuhao's voice had barely faded.

A sturdy man was the first to step out from the spatial gate.

At the same time, he didn't forget to call back into the gate, "Yuhao, aren't you being a bit too cautious?"

"We've done this so many times already! If they were going to discover us, they would have done it long ago!"

The one speaking was none other than Xu Sanshi from Shrek Academy.

At this moment, he was dodging the "physical abuse" from Jiang Nannan while waving to the rest of the Shrek Soul Engineer Legion.

"Brothers, hurry up and come out!"

The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, the Soul Hall Soul Engineer Legion, and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps all detected the abnormal spatial fluctuations in East District 3.

Finally, the spatial gate in East District 3 closed completely.

Kong Deming's cold, sharp command suddenly rang out across the battlefield, followed immediately by the earth-shattering roar of soul weapons!

"All fixed-station soul artillery shells, fire!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

The three major soul engineer legions had been prepared for a long time. Dense swarms of seventh-rank or higher fixed-station soul artillery shells erupted from their barrels, pouring toward East District 3 like a torrential meteor shower, as if they cost nothing at all.

Huo Yuhao's mind stalled for a split second, unable to react to the sudden turn of events. Within his spiritual sea, Tianmeng Iceworm, the Snow Empress, and the Ice Empress were instantly alerted, their urgent warnings ringing out sharply:

"Yuhao, no! You've been ambushed!"

But the warning came too late. The overwhelming barrage of high-rank soul artillery shells had already locked onto their targets, and destructive fire instantly engulfed the entire area.

The roar shattered the clouds as countless high-rank fixed-station soul artillery shells slammed into the ground. The violent explosions stacked upon one another, flames instantly swallowing the entirety of East District 3. Fire surged into the sky, forming a boundless sea of flames as rubble and scorching shockwaves rampaged in every direction.

Layer after layer of spiritual barriers were forcibly torn apart by the bombardment. The spiritual camouflage Huo Yuhao had painstakingly set up crumbled inch by inch, no longer able to conceal the group's presence.

Huo Yuhao let out a pained roar: "No!"

Beibei, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Wang Dong'er, and Wang Qiu'er still had their Invincible Barriers active; the pale golden light membranes held firm against the violent impact, keeping them safe for the moment.

However, the other Shrek members accompanying them lacked the protection of Invincible Barriers. They could not withstand the destructive fire, their bodies dissolving instantly under the impact of the flames. They didn't even have time to let out a cry before they were reduced to fine dust, swept away by the scorching wind and vanishing without a trace.

Just like that, after a single volley, everyone except the younger generation of Shrek had been wiped out.

While Huo Yuhao and the others were still stunned, Beibei was the first to suggest to Huo Yuhao: "Yuhao, quickly open your Undead Demiplane! Let everyone hide inside again!"

Huo Yuhao was just about to do exactly that.

But the several fierce beasts, led by Tianmeng Iceworm, said coldly to Huo Yuhao: "Yuhao, the properties of your Undead Demiplane have clearly been seen through by the enemy!"

"There is little point in you continuing to summon it now!"

"Then what should we do now!"

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao questioned the fierce beasts coldly.

The fierce beasts fell silent, and finally, Tianmeng Iceworm said chillingly: "Run!"

"Run as far as you can!"

Just as Huo Yuhao was still contemplating his next move—

On the Sun Moon Empire side, Kong Deming had already ordered the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, the Soul Hall Soul Engineer Legion, and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps to surround East District 3, preparing to claim their kills.

This naturally included Kong Deming himself.

He was seen leading Ye Guyi, Qian Gu Zhenyue, Qian Gu Zhenxie, Jin Lin, Guang Yao, Luan Feng, and others to tightly surround Huo Yuhao and his group.

"Huo Yuhao, you cannot escape!"

"Surrender obediently, and this old man will be kind enough to leave your corpse intact!"

But what awaited Kong Deming was—

Icy cold air surged wildly from Huo Yuhao's body. The Snow Empress forcibly took control of his form, her ice-blue hair dancing in the air. Without a single word of nonsense, she unleashed three killing moves in an instant.

"Emperor Palm!"

"Emperor Sword!"

"Emperor Cold Heaven!"

The pure white Emperor Palm slammed down, the ice-crystal Emperor Sword slashed through the air, and the extreme cold domain, Emperor Cold Heaven, spread out instantly. A bone-chilling current locked down the entire perimeter in an instant.

Ye Guyi and her group were caught off guard, appearing as though they were about to be firmly trapped by the freezing domain.

As Huo Yuhao saw his offensive lock onto the opponents, a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart. However, a brilliant, gilded light suddenly exploded from around Kong Deming, and an astonishing aura of soul weapons erupted from within him.

This soul weapon flowed with heavy, rule-based halos, capable of forcibly tearing through the extreme cold domain and freezing the flow of energy. The space for several miles around was completely imprisoned by the golden light. The Snow Empress's freezing offensive slowed and decayed layer by layer. The unique law-based suppression of a tenth-rank soul weapon bore down on them, and the high-rank soul skills were forcibly blocked just a few feet in front of Kong Deming.

The moment Kong Deming made his move, Huo Yuhao, currently possessed by the Snow Empress, said to the others in shock: "His strength has reached the level of a Limit Douluo!"

Floating around Kong Deming and flowing with light was none other than his tenth-rank life-bound soul weapon, the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield. A layer of translucent silver radiance condensed into a round shield, enveloping him completely. Dense, circular soul-weapon patterns coiled around his body, with moonlight-like halos rippling constantly.

It could not only isolate the erosion of domains and stagnate the flow of external soul-skill energy, directly suppressing the Snow Empress's Emperor Cold Heaven, but it could also dissipate the destructive power of the Emperor Palm and Emperor Sword, possessing its own law-level defense.

The moon-patterned engravings on the Silver Moon Divine Light Shield flared with sudden intensity, channeling the power of ultimate laws to instantly reflect all three of the Snow Empress's extreme cold techniques: Emperor Palm, Emperor Sword, and Emperor Cold Heaven.

The biting, frozen onslaught reversed direction, carrying terrifying primordial power as it descended to shroud the Shrek team.

Huo Yuhao, still trapped in a state of paralysis, bore the brunt of the attack, followed closely by the front-line positions of Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Beibei.

In this moment of crisis, two graceful figures darted forward. Wang Dong'er and Wang Qiu'er stood side-by-side in front of Huo Yuhao; Wang Qiu'er chose to sacrifice herself, using Invincible Space to shield him, while Wang Dong'er attempted to summon a certain existence at the cost of her own safety.

Jiang Nannan instantly activated her Invincible Close-Quarters state to withstand the residual shockwave, Xu Sanshi unleashed his life-bound ultimate technique to stabilize the formation, and golden light erupted from Beibei, who transformed into the towering Radiant Sacred Dragon to tank the damage.

Only Xiao Xiao and He Caitou were unable to deploy complete defenses in time, forced to face the rebounding trio of imperial-level techniques head-on.

With their soul power foundations too weak to contend with the Snow Empress's primordial cold, their bodies were instantly consumed by the piercing frost and violent energy, and they perished completely in an instant.

"Qiu'er, no!"

Due to Wang Qiu'er's sacrifice, Huo Yuhao was enveloped by a force of law, and the space three inches in front of him seemed to freeze in time.

Even Wang Dong'er was repelled by this power, leaving her to face the Snow Empress's three ultimate techniques alone.

"Dong'er!"

At this moment, Huo Yuhao noticed Wang Dong'er's peril, but just as he was overcome with grief and helplessness, a blue-gold figure erupted from Wang Dong'er's spiritual sea.

The blue-gold figure expanded its spiritual power, instantly noting the encroaching techniques of the Snow Empress.

The blue-gold figure frowned slightly, seemingly confused, yet it forcibly took control of Wang Dong'er's body, mobilized her soul power, condensed the Sea God Trident, and unleashed a soul skill—Boundless Sea Tide.

Thus, Kong Deming, Ye Guyi, and the others could only watch helplessly as the blue-gold figure saved Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and the others, unable to move despite their desire to intervene.

Just as Kong Deming stood there in terror, the blue-gold figure prepared to unleash further soul skills, intent on putting Kong Deming and his subordinates to death.

At the critical moment, two terrifying auras—one green and one purple—descended from the distant sky.

Two voices spoke in unison: "Asura! You have overstepped!"

Then, two massive hands, one purple and one green, reached toward the blue-gold figure. The figure attempted to dodge, but unable to contend with these two forces, it could only shout loudly to Huo Yuhao during a brief struggle: "Huo Yuhao, go to the Clear Sky Sect! There is—!"

"No!" Before the blue-gold figure could finish, it was completely annihilated by the green and purple hands.

Kong Deming and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief, but a second later, their expressions turned to fury.

They saw that Huo Yuhao had already finished accepting Wang Qiu'er's sacrifice. He immediately scooped up the falling Wang Dong'er and fled into the distance with Beibei, Jiang Nannan, Xu Sanshi, and the others.

As he left, he did not forget to look back and snarl at Kong Deming and the others: "Sun Moon Empire! One day, I will make you regret this!"

At this moment, Kong Deming and his group remained under the control of Boundless Sea Tide, forced to watch as Huo Yuhao and the others vanished into the horizon.

A few seconds later, Kong Deming, Ye Guyi, and the others finally broke free from the control of Boundless Sea Tide.

Kong Deming's expression was grim, yet he had already regained his composure. He calmly issued his orders: "The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion is to pursue Huo Yuhao and the others throughout the empire!"

"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps is to return to defend Ming Capital!"

"The Soul Hall Soul Engineer Legion is to follow the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps back to Ming Capital to regroup!"

Kong Deming knew that this mission had been a success, as they had effectively wiped out the combat strength of the Shrek Soul Engineer Legion. The Shrek Seven Devils had suffered three deaths and three injuries. The only regret was that Huo Yuhao had managed to escape.

After issuing his orders, Kong Deming departed with the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps and the Soul Hall Soul Engineer Legion. The Fire Phoenix Douluo led the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion to begin the pursuit of Huo Yuhao and his group. All of this had happened five days ago.

Five days later, as Qian Daoliu was planning to abandon the Sunset Forest and head toward the Far North or the Ice Sea, Bo Saixi teased him: "Qian Daoliu, you are about to become a father!"

"Why are you still so restless?"

"How about this: we shall search for another half-month. If we still have no results, I will accompany you to the Ice Sea or the Far North to take a look!"

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu's old face flushed red.

"Xixi, you're still the best!"

Just as Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi were being affectionate, Qian Daoliu's god-level spiritual power suddenly detected a familiar aura approaching.

Soon, Bo Saixi also sensed this familiar presence.

"Tang Chen?"

Bo Saixi and Qian Daoliu exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in the other's eyes.

Because Bo Saixi had been using the soul skill Breath of Life to conceal their auras, Tang Chen did not immediately notice Qian Daoliu and the others.

Beyond just discovering Tang Chen, Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi also noticed that he was accompanied by several young people.

Among them were Huo Yuhao, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, and the others from Shrek, whom Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi had seen before.

Seeing Tang Chen together with Huo Yuhao and the others, Qian Daoliu immediately wanted to step out and demand an explanation from Tang Chen.

Bo Saixi reached out to stop him, saying, "Qian Daoliu, don't be impatient!"

"Let's watch and see!"

"I see that Tang Chen and his group look anxious!"

"We might as well observe them from the shadows!"

"If they are truly up to no good, it won't be too late to intervene then!"

Seeing that Bo Saixi was not showing favoritism toward Tang Chen just because she saw him, Qian Daoliu felt relieved.

Following her advice, he began to silently trail behind Tang Chen and the others.

Qian Daoliu heard Tang Chen say to Huo Yuhao in the group, "Huo Yuhao, you had better pray that the immortal herbs within this Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well can save my precious great-granddaughter!"

"Otherwise, this old man will make sure you know the weight of the towering Clear Sky Sect and the peerless War Soul Hammer!"

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao, who was in the group, couldn't stop his body from trembling.

Not long ago, he had followed the Blue-Gold Figure's suggestion to head to the Clear Sky Sect, only to be met with a storm of beatings from the sect's three Limit Douluos.

It was only after Huo Yuhao brought up the deeds of the Blue-Gold Figure that the three of them slightly calmed their anger.

At the same time, they instructed him to head to the Sunset Forest to find the legendary Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and retrieve immortal herbs to treat the injured Wang Dong'er!

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu couldn't help but curiously mutter to Bo Saixi, "Xixi, what do you think this immortal herb Tang Chen mentioned is?"

"To think it could make a guy like Tang Chen so preoccupied!"

Bo Saixi replied, "I don't know, but since it can save Tang Chen's great-granddaughter, it must be some kind of miraculous medicinal herb!"

Bo Saixi speculated to Qian Daoliu with uncertainty.

"Qian Daoliu, there's no need for us to guess here!"

"We just need to follow Tang Chen and the others!"

Qian Daoliu smiled knowingly at this: "Agreed!"

Afterward, Qian Daoliu continued to tail Tang Chen and his party.

Tang Chen led Huo Yuhao's group deep into the mountain forest, where the atmosphere was eerie and dangerous.

Layers of dense, poisonous mist swirled in the air, and two currents of cold and heat intertwined, causing the mist to fluctuate between freezing and scorching, making one's skin numb at the touch.

The surrounding vegetation was a mix of withered and lush, with spiritual energy permeated by strange, toxic vapors.

Qian Daoliu, trailing in the shadows, felt the place was exceptionally dangerous and had no idea this was the periphery of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

"Senior Tang, according to what the Grand Sect Master said, it should be here!"

With that, Huo Yuhao took the lead and stepped into the poisonous mist.

Tang Chen did not doubt him and followed closely behind.

Qian Daoliu, watching from the shadows, had his eyes flicker with astonishment. He sighed in a low voice, never expecting that deep within the seemingly ordinary Sunset Forest, such a strange, mist-shrouded, yin-yang-intertwined secret realm would be hidden. It was truly an eye-opener.

After waiting a moment, Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi followed them in one after the other.

Stepping into the heart of the secret realm, the sight before them instantly shocked Qian Daoliu.

Two extreme currents, one cold and one hot, were clearly delineated. Half of the pool was frozen with thick ice mist, the cold biting to the bone, while the other half was a hot spring churning with rolling heat waves, steaming with curling clouds.

Immortal herbs grew in abundance around the spiritual spring, bathed in colorful light and overflowing with rich spiritual energy. The balance between the forces of ice and fire created a peerless wonder that left him filled with awe.

Qian Daoliu couldn't help but exclaim, "What dense heaven and earth energy!"

"Cultivating here, I could actually improve ten times faster!"

At the same time, Qian Daoliu quickly noticed that the vegetation here was exceptionally vigorous.

Before long, he discovered some terrifying plant-type soul beasts and couldn't help but gasp to Bo Saixi, "Xixi, those are all plant-type soul beasts over a hundred thousand years old!"