Soul-Burial Ravine

Dou Zun?!

After hearing the guardian's report, a sharp glint flashed through the Soul Hall Elder's eyes. He said in a deep voice, "This is rather interesting. Where did Hunting Guardian's life plaque shatter?"

"Reporting to the Elder, judging by the direction where Hunting Guardian's life plaque shattered, it was in the Heavenshade Mountains, six thousand li from here."

Upon hearing the Soul Hall Elder's question, the guardian standing below hurriedly answered.

"The Heavenshade Mountains?"

"Did Hunting Guardian mention this Dou Zun's name before he died?"

The Soul Hall Elder slowly spoke with narrowed eyes.

The Soul Hall guardian lowered his head. "This... the life plaque shattered too quickly. We only caught the two words 'Devouring Owl.'"

Devouring Owl?

Hearing those two words, the Soul Hall Elder paused slightly and pondered, "There are only a few old immortals among the reclusive Dou Zuns of the Northwestern Continent."

"Yet none of them bears the title 'Devouring Owl.' He must have only recently advanced to Dou Zun."

The Soul Hall's influence spread throughout the entire Battle Qi Continent!

If there were a Dou Zun expert in the Northwest Region, it was impossible for him, the master of a Soul Hall branch in the Northwest Region, to know nothing of it!

After considering it, the Soul Hall Elder said coldly, "No matter who this person is, anyone who dares kill a member of the Soul Hall must pay a price, even if he is a Dou Zun!"

With a sweep of his right hand, the space before the Soul Hall Elder suddenly twisted, and dozens of black shadows appeared out of thin air.

The black shadows were densely packed, and every one of them radiated at least the aura of a Dou Wang.

"Immediately lead several guardians and these Soul Envoys to the Heavenshade Mountains to investigate. If you find that person, notify me at once."

The Soul Hall Elder gave the order in a deep voice.

"Yes, Elder."

After bowing to accept the order, the guardian swiftly departed.

Meanwhile, the Soul Hall Elder continued his seclusion, waiting for good news from the group of guardians.

Elsewhere.

Following Hunting Guardian's directions, Xie Tianxiao had arrived early at the forest known as Soul-Burial Ravine, yet he found no trace of the Soul Hall.

Xie Tianxiao frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes. "Strange. Six thousand li south should be here. Why is there no sign of the Soul Branch Hall?"

"Did I come to the wrong place? Is this not Soul-Burial Ravine?"

Soul-Burial Ravine.

As its name suggested, it was a place where souls were buried. It had originally been an enormous forest.

The forest was filled with countless magical beasts and underground rivers. The rivers were bottomless, and once someone fell in, they would likely become a wandering soul!

Because it was far too dangerous, few people from the surrounding small nations dared enter it. No one could determine what was hidden in its depths.

Thus, few were willing to linger near the forest, and over time, the entire forest came to be known as Soul-Burial Ravine.

"Hmm? Someone is fighting!"

Suddenly, Xie Tianxiao sensed several auras locked in battle at the other end of the forest.

Xie Tianxiao's figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot. In the blink of an eye, he appeared above the battlefield, concealing himself as he watched the man in green below.

The man was fighting a pack of magical beasts, led by several fifth-tier beasts.

All of these beasts had sharp claws, fangs, and teeth. Their bodies were covered in black scales, making them look exceptionally vicious and terrifying.

"A Dou Emperor? Why would he appear here?"

Xie Tianxiao looked at the man below in puzzlement, surprise flickering in his eyes.

After all, Soul-Burial Ravine was a notorious deathtrap in the surrounding nations. Even Dou Emperors did not dare trespass here casually, yet this man had actually entered. It was truly rare.

"Roar!!!"

The man below swung the broadsword in his hand. A dense blade radiance immediately burst from its edge, engulfing the large group of magical beasts surrounding him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

When the blade radiance struck the magical beasts, deafening booms rang out. The third- and fourth-tier magical beasts at the front exploded into clouds of blood mist and vanished without a trace.

"With the strength of a newly advanced Dou Emperor, instantly killing so many fourth-tier magical beasts is not bad."

Watching the scene before him, Xie Tianxiao revealed a hint of approval.

When the several fifth-tier magical beasts at the rear saw their underlings instantly slain, they all roared in fury and charged at the man in green.

A trace of gravity flashed through the green-clad man's eyes. He stomped his foot and rapidly retreated, swinging his broadsword repeatedly. Vast amounts of blade radiance howled forth, severing one magical beast after another as they pounced at him.

"Rumble!"

Wave after wave of attacks crashed down. Great trees were reduced to splinters, towering trunks collapsed with thunderous crashes, and deep ravines were plowed across the ground.

"Time to leave."

Just as Xie Tianxiao was about to depart, he suddenly sensed waves of sinister, evil auras rapidly approaching.

"This aura..."

Xie Tianxiao narrowed his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing within them. "It is indeed the Soul Hall, and there are quite a few of them."

"Looks like I did not come to the wrong place. The Soul Hall is nearby!"

Xie Tianxiao's lips curled upward. He had thought he would need to search for some time, but the Soul Hall's people had delivered themselves to him instead, saving him the trouble of looking for them!

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."

"Swish! Swish! Swish..."

A series of piercing sounds rang through the forest as dozens of Soul Hall Soul Envoys descended from the sky, surrounding the green-clad man fighting the magical beasts below.

Seeing the dozens of black-robed figures that had suddenly appeared before him, the green-clad man's pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with horror.

"Y-you... who are you people?"

The man in green swallowed hard and asked in a guarded tone.

His wife had been harmed by villains at home and did not have long to live.

He had heard from an alchemist that the Soul-Burial Ravine forest contained medicinal ingredients capable of treating his wife, so he had hurried here to gather medicine. Yet just as he had finally found the herb, a pack of magical beasts had emerged and tangled him in battle.

Fortunately, he was fairly strong, or he would have perished long ago.

And now, these people had appeared here without warning. Their auras were extremely powerful; the weakest among them were Dou Wangs, while several formidable Dou Emperor auras were mixed in as well!

"Heh heh."

Immediately afterward, three figures appeared in the air, letting out sinister laughter.

"Who would have thought that even Soul-Burial Ravine would have a little rat scurrying in?"

The old man leading the three figures had a face covered in vicious scars, and a bloodthirsty smile hung from his lips.

The three guardians had originally received the Soul Hall Elder's order to lead the Soul Envoys to the Heavenshade Mountains to investigate. Yet as soon as they came out, they had been drawn here by the aura of battle.

Looking at the three Soul Hall guardians standing on empty air above him, the green-clad man's face turned pale, his eyes filled with terror. "D-Dou Zongs."

"Heh heh. You ant, you dared enter Soul Hall territory? You are simply courting death!"

Seeing the green-clad man's expression, one of them snorted coldly. His figure flashed, and he appeared beside the man, reaching for his throat.

"!!"

The green-clad man's pupils dilated sharply, his eyes filled with terror, but there was nothing he could do!

"Boom!"

An illusory giant hand emerged from the void and seized the guardian by the throat, rendering him completely unable to move!

"Urgh?!!"

Seeing this sudden turn of events, the guardian's expression changed drastically. His eyes were full of horror, and his heart pounded wildly.

"Crack!"

The guardian's throat bones were crushed alive, and blood sprayed out.

The Earth-rank Guardian died on the spot!

"Who dares kill a Soul Hall guardian?!"

Seeing one guardian die miserably, the remaining two Soul Hall guardians' expressions changed abruptly. They looked around with uncertainty and alarm.

"With so many Soul Envoys here, you needed a guardian to kill a single Dou Emperor? How laughable!"

A cold voice rang out. Xie Tianxiao appeared in everyone's sight with his hands clasped behind his back.

A small revision: regarding soul realms, the original work only mentioned them in Chapter 1103. It also never said that breaking through would directly raise one's soul realm. I looked it up online as well but could not find anything. Those who are unsure can check for themselves.

Also, in the original work, only the high-ranking alchemist elders of the Pill Tower, along with peak Dou Saints such as Gu Yuan and Hun Tiandi, were mentioned as having Heaven Realm souls. However, I could not find whether soul power directly rose upon breaking through to Dou Zun or Dou Saint.

Perhaps the author never clarified it or forgot. After all, if breaking through to Dou Zun or Dou Saint automatically brought one to the Spirit Realm or Heaven Realm, then knowledge of soul realms would not be so scarce in the original work. Even some seventh- and eighth-tier alchemists of the Pill Tower did not know about them, and no one knew the cultivation method. So I handled it according to the transmigrator's own circumstances.