Evil Soul Master

"What exactly are you connected to?"

After Xu Mingzhi left, Gu You immediately began studying the ancient map.

The illusion in his mind just now had been far too real, as if he had personally been there. The ultimate aura when that nine-colored blade of light came slashing down had made even his martial soul tremble.

"Did you notice anything different?"

Bai Haoze walked up to Gu You and asked.

She had noticed the subtle change in Gu You's expression after he saw the map, so she figured he must have spotted something.

"No."

Gu You shook his head. He wasn't an archaeologist, so how could he possibly recognize the patterns and writing on it?

Once he returned to the Spirit Transmission Pagoda, he would find a way to get an expert in this field to decipher it.

Since this map had been auctioned off to him, it seemed fated. He had to uncover the secret of this map.

After settling the bill, Xu Mingzhi quickly returned to the VIP room and respectfully handed the black card back to Bai Haoze. "The transaction is complete."

At this point, he paused, his gaze falling on the map in Gu You's hand. "Were you able to see anything unusual about this map?"

Gu You raised his head and asked in return, "Where was this map obtained?"

"This..." Xu Mingzhi hemmed and hawed, unable to give an answer.

"We have already been very patient."

Bai Haoze had no patience for haggling with Xu Mingzhi and spoke coldly.

"Tell us. I must know the origin of this map. Don't worry, I only care about the map's secret, not what you've done. Even if I know, I've already bought this map, so that makes us grasshoppers tied to the same rope."

Gu You sighed and continued.

"Sigh, honored guests, I'll speak plainly. We acquired this map from the west, over by Ming City. From what I heard of its origin, it was excavated from an imperial mausoleum of a Sun Moon Empire Emperor. We only acquired it, and did nothing else."

Xu Mingzhi looked somewhat uncomfortable, but he still said it.

Like hell I believe you!

Gu You no longer looked at Xu Mingzhi. Any normal person could hear that this map had not been acquired at all, but dug out of an imperial mausoleum.

To put it bluntly, it was tomb robbing...

What Tiandou Auction House had done was truly unscrupulous. But since it was a map unearthed from a Sun Moon imperial mausoleum, it was definitely extraordinary.

It might involve the Xu Family of the Sun Moon. The nine-colored blade of light in the vision was, he guessed, judgment descended from the Dragon God. If it was related to the Xu Family, then it could only be a matter involving the Purple Imperial Heaven-Extinguishing Dragon.

"Thank you for telling me. Senior, let's go."

Gu You put the map away without a change in expression, said this to Bai Haoze, then turned to leave.

Seeing Gu You about to go, Xu Mingzhi suddenly spoke. "By the way, if you truly can decipher the map's secret, the auction house is willing to buy back any related information at twice the price."

Gu You smiled when he heard this. "If I discover anything, I'll consider it. But that will have to wait until I go back and study it."

Tiandou City was excessively quiet late at night.

After leaving Tiandou Auction House, the two headed to their exclusive parking spot, preparing to activate the soul-guided sports car and return to Tiandou Hotel.

But just as they were about to reach the parking lot, a figure blocked their path.

A gray cloak, a hunched back, and a withered hand extending from beneath the cloak, its fingertips pinching a string of dark-red prayer beads. The gray cloak covered most of his face, revealing only a gaunt chin.

The old man stood beneath a streetlamp, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

It's you!

The moment Gu You saw the newcomer, he knew this would not be simple to deal with. From the first time he had noticed the old man, judging from his appearance, he had known the old man was not that friendly.

Bai Haoze reacted very quickly. She stepped in front of Gu You, raised her right arm across him, and soul power thundered through her body. The road beneath her feet gave off a series of fine cracking sounds as fractures spread outward with her at the center.

"Stand behind me and don't move."

Her voice was low. In her perception, the old man's aura was evenly matched with hers. He had not come with good intentions.

The gray-cloaked old man did not move. He looked at Gu You and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Little child, hand over the map."

Gu You looked at him, his Golden Pupils burning in the night.

"And if I don't?"

The gray-cloaked old man fell silent for a moment, the prayer beads between his fingers turning slowly.

"Then this old man will have no choice but to come take it himself."

"This is Tiandou City. You're blocking the road to rob us. Once a fight breaks out, whatever gets caught in the aftermath won't be something you can control just because you say so. Are you really not afraid of the Tiandou City Guard?"

Gu You questioned him. He couldn't understand whether this old man had a brain or not. Tiandou Auction House was right nearby. It was impossible that there were no experts stationed inside.

On top of that, they were in Tiandou City's inner city, where security was strict at night. This was an old capital with deep history. No one knew how many hidden sects there were, and the strength of its experts could not be ignored either.

Daring to make a move here—wasn't that just courting death?

"I'm already a fugitive. If I don't obtain the divine gift, my life will run out. What is there to fear?!"

The old man gave a savage grin. The dark-red prayer beads in his hand pulled taut, and a grating series of bone-friction sounds came from within his body.

His figure swelled at a speed visible to the naked eye. His cloak split apart inch by inch, revealing dark vertical pupils, and his entire body was covered in dark-red scales.

Seven soul rings rose immediately after. Black flames spread outward, and wherever they reached, the earth rotted.

Two yellow, three purple, two black—seven rings, a Soul Sage!

Gu You inwardly cried that this was bad. In his eyes, the old man could no longer be called human. He had fully transformed into a dragon.

"Evil soul master!"

Sensing the aura on the old man, Bai Haoze's pupils abruptly constricted, his tone filled with undisguised disgust.

Seven soul rings likewise rose beneath his feet: four purple, three black. His configuration completely crushed the old man's.

After his martial soul possessed him, a golden horn condensed at the center of his forehead. Liquid-like light patterns flowed across the horn's surface, and with every rotation, they stirred up rings of golden ripples in the air.

Seeing Bai Haoze's martial soul, a trace of surprise flashed through the old man's dark vertical pupils.

"Radiant Unicorn..." His tone was full of loathing. "A light-attribute martial soul truly does restrain this old man. But at the same cultivation level, an evil soul master is stronger than an ordinary soul master. Attribute restraint? It merely lets both sides stand on the same starting line."

"I'm already a dying man, and the information on the divine gift is right before my eyes. If I fail, dragging half of Tiandou Auction House down with me before I die would not be so bad!"

Laughing loudly, the dark-red prayer beads in the old man's hand shattered. Piece after piece of red fragments surged out and attached themselves to the old man's body, forming a suit of armor.

Battle armor!

The first thing Gu You thought of was battle armor, and he could not help looking toward Bai Haoze. Even the weakest one-word battle armor provided an amplification that spanned two major realms.

Once a Soul Sage evil soul master had the support of battle armor, his destructive power would be no weaker than that of an ordinary Titled Douluo. Moreover, as a desperate outlaw, his life no longer mattered. It would be best if he could obtain what he wanted; if he could not, then it was merely death.

People like this were the most disgusting. Even on the verge of death, they still played the self-destruction card—and by sheer coincidence, they had run into one.

The Golden Pupils flickered uncertainly. Gu You knew he could not just sit and wait for death, but... what could he do?

"Gu You, catch!"

"Sky Crystal Barrier, activate!"