Dragon Emperor

Ye Fan followed Qian Daoliu's gaze and looked over intently. Beneath the clear moonlit night, faint ripples spread across the surface of the calm holy-light barrier. The sacred white radiance trembled slightly, as if some invisible force was quietly probing and ramming against it.

A low, amused chuckle quietly came from the darkness. "Interesting!"

The newcomer clearly had not expected Qian Daoliu's senses to be so sharp, or that such a hidden probe would be seen through in an instant.

Undercurrents surged in the depths of the darkness. Threads of terrifying, domineering dark aura seeped out, clashing violently with the holy angelic light.

Ye Guyi instantly activated her soul power. The soul rings around her body glowed faintly, and her posture tensed in vigilance.

Ye Fan also ended his breathing adjustment, his gaze grave as he stared fixedly at the disturbed barrier, waiting for the person in the shadows to reveal himself.

Behind Qian Daoliu, the wings of the Six-Winged Angel rustled and trembled. Sacred pressure spread out overwhelmingly. His expression was solemn and sharp as he locked firmly onto the trace in the darkness and shouted coldly:

"I'll count to three. If you still don't come out, don't blame me for being impolite."

As he spoke, Qian Daoliu's seventh soul skill was unleashed. "Angel Avatar."

The "Angel Domain" also unfolded immediately afterward.

The Angel Domain enveloped Ye Guyi and Ye Fan within it, guarding against any unexpected change.

"One!"

"Two!"

Before his words had even fallen, the pitch-black night suddenly surged. A figure in black slowly stepped out—it was none other than the black-clothed man who had earlier investigated Ju Zi and the others' traces.

His expression was calm as he cupped his hands unhurriedly and said:

"This old man is Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao. I strayed into this place by mistake. Please do not take offense, Your Majesty."

When Ye Fan heard the familiar name, he immediately frowned and began recalling information about this person. "Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao?"

"It's him! The grand priest of the Holy Spirit Cult, the old flame of Ye Xishui, the supreme cult master of the Holy Spirit Cult."

"His martial soul is the Dark Sacred Dragon, and his cultivation is that of an Ultimate Douluo."

Clearly, the newly revived Qian Daoliu might not necessarily be able to take him down at this moment.

Moreover, Qian Daoliu had himself and his sister with him.

So Ye Fan sent a timely voice transmission to Qian Daoliu: "Grandpa, just persuade him to leave. It isn't suitable to clash with this man for now."

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu glanced at Ye Fan and Ye Guyi behind him, then made his decision and said:

"Since you strayed in by mistake, Dragon Emperor Douluo, please go ahead and leave."

"You are not welcome here."

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu swept his gaze over Ye Fan and Ye Guyi behind him and immediately held nothing back. His six wings spread wide, and pure, blazing angelic holy might poured out in full, layer after layer of white light pressing straight down on Long Xiaoyao.

Long Xiaoyao's expression darkened slightly. Not daring to slack off in the slightest, he abruptly possessed himself with his martial soul, the Dark Sacred Dragon. The vast soul power of a rank ninety-nine Ultimate Douluo swept in every direction. A low dragon roar resounded through the night as his seventh soul skill, Dark Sacred Dragon Avatar, manifested with a boom, pitch-black dragon scales covering his entire body.

The Silent Darkness Domain spread out at the same time. Thick black mist and pure white holy light collided madly, and the currents of air between heaven and earth churned violently. Holy light and darkness were annihilated and reborn again and again, while the domain power of two peak Ultimate Douluo experts locked in a dead struggle, their collision producing waves of deafening booms. For a short while, they remained at a stalemate, with neither able to gain the upper hand.

Seeing this, a hint of wariness toward each other appeared in both Qian Daoliu's and Long Xiaoyao's eyes.

But Qian Daoliu only grew fiercer the longer he fought. Seeing that he had encountered such an opponent, his fighting spirit was instantly ignited. "Ninth soul skill—Breath of the Angel!" He had only just begun the move.

Opposite him, however, Long Xiaoyao's brows furrowed slightly, and his heart could not help but shake. The strength of Qian Daoliu, this Ultimate Douluo, far exceeded his expectations.

When he thought that the Holy Spirit Cult still had an important sacrificial ceremony waiting for him to preside over, he felt it was not wise to keep entangling himself here and needlessly stir up trouble.

He hurriedly faded into the darkness and apologized with a faint smile, his tone easing. "Since Your Majesty is sending off a guest, I will not disturb you all any further."

As soon as his words fell, the black mist around him suddenly surged and wrapped around his body. His figure flickered, turning into a streak of pitch-black light, and in the blink of an eye he melted into the heavy night, leaving not the slightest trace of dark aura behind.

Qian Daoliu's ninth soul skill ultimately stopped in midair. He did not know why Long Xiaoyao had ceased fighting and left just like that.

After Long Xiaoyao left, Qian Daoliu exchanged a glance with Ye Fan and Ye Guyi.

Qian Daoliu was the first to ask the two of them, "Little Fan, Guyi, how high do you think the chance is that this man really strayed into this place by mistake?"

Ye Guyi spoke first. "The chance is almost zero. That man was one hundred percent coming for us."

Qian Daoliu was very satisfied with Ye Guyi's analysis, then turned his gaze to Ye Fan.

"Little Fan, what do you think?"

"I agree with Sister."

"And I suspect he's very likely connected to evil soul masters."

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu immediately asked with a solemn expression, "What? Little Fan, do you have evidence?"

"No, but my intuition tells me this man isn't simple."

Beside them, Ye Guyi could not help bursting into laughter. "Little Fan, isn't that nonsense? He's an Ultimate Douluo like Grandpa. How could he be simple?"

Clearly, Ye Guyi did not take Ye Fan's guess seriously. But Qian Daoliu said to Ye Guyi very solemnly, "Little Fan is right. I could sense the aura of an evil soul master from this man."

"Although he concealed it very well, that evil buried in his bones can't fool anyone."

Now it was Ye Guyi's turn to be shocked. "Ah, Grandpa, since you sensed that this man was an evil soul master, why did you let him leave?"

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu shook his head inwardly and said, "Guyi, it wasn't that I let him leave."

"I wasn't confident I could take him down in a short time."

"He seemed to only be testing me. He didn't want to rashly start a fight with me."

"Second, even if he and I are both Limit Douluos..."

"He was alone just now, while I had all of you with me."

"If I fought him, I couldn't guarantee your safety."

Hearing this, how could Ye Guyi not understand Qian Daoliu's painstaking intentions?

"Grandpa!" As she spoke, Ye Guyi's eyes nearly reddened.

After Qian Daoliu, Ye Fan, and Ye Guyi finished analyzing the current situation, they immediately decided to leave the cave.

They traveled through the night and arrived on the other side of the Evil Demon Forest.

Then they quietly waited for daylight to arrive.

The next morning, dawn broke, dispelling the dark gloom of the Evil Demon Forest's night.

Having finished their rest, Ye Fan, Qian Daoliu, and Ye Guyi set out at once, continuing deeper into the mountains and forest to search for a suitable five-thousand-year soul beast for Ye Fan.

The three of them wove through the dense woods, identifying all kinds of soul beasts one by one. After a long while, they finally found a Dark Magic Pattern Bear with an extremely high compatibility deep in the forest.

This Magic Pattern Bear had a powerful physique, its body wreathed in dark-patterned soul power. Its age had reached five thousand years, and its soul power was rich and domineering, making it extremely suitable as Ye Fan's second soul ring.

Sensing strangers approaching, the Dark Magic Pattern Bear flew into a rage. Its savage beastly might swept out in every direction as it lunged over with ferocious speed.

Qian Daoliu immediately released a thread of sacred pressure, steadily suppressing the soul beast's berserk power and preventing any accidents from happening.

Seeing this, Ye Fan immediately stepped forward to meet it in battle, fully driving his soul power and martial soul as he engaged the Dark Magic Pattern Bear in a fierce struggle.

Relying on the Death Angel's first soul skill, "Angel Summoning," he summoned the original body of his first soul ring—the undead form of the Dark Burst Demon Wolf—and worked with it to surround and attack the huge creature. In the end, under Ye Fan's relentless grinding assault, he successfully defeated the ferocious giant.

As the Magic Pattern Bear collapsed and died, a dazzling, dense purple five-thousand-year soul ring slowly rose into the air. Ye Fan focused his mind and regulated his breathing, sitting down on the spot as he prepared to calmly absorb this precious soul ring.