Killing the Soul Hall Protector

The Soul Hall protector wielded the Soul-Locking Chain with both hands. The pitch-black chain coiled and danced through the air like a venomous python choosing its prey, each lash leaving behind chilling ripples of soul energy.

But Han Shanshan was a direct heir of the Pill Tower and Xiao Jinghou's last disciple; her cultivation was no weaker than his.

What was more, she had completely refined the Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Whenever the Soul-Locking Chain came within three feet of her, it was forced back by the pale flames and could not advance another inch.

For a time, the battle between the two reached a stalemate.

The Dou Zong from Falling Cloud City swiftly swept his gaze over the battlefield. Lin Yu was far too fierce—even the Scorpion Demon Three Ghosts could not gain the upper hand against him three-on-one. He would fare no better if he joined in.

Han Shanshan's Bone Spirit Cold Flame made his scalp tingle even more. He did not even have the courage to approach her.

So he simply stood to the side, neither fleeing nor joining the battle, waiting to see which side exposed a flaw first before making his move.

Yet the Soul Hall protector was more sinister than anyone else.

As he fought Han Shanshan, he glanced from the corner of his eye at the seven Dou Emperors who had been severely wounded and left listless by the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, hiding to one side as they regulated their breathing and tended to their injuries.

These seven had the lowest cultivation and the gravest wounds. Though they were still circulating their dou qi in an attempt to recover, their auras were as weak as flickering candles in the wind. They struggled even to stand.

A cruel curve formed beneath the Soul Hall protector's black hood.

The souls of seven Dou Emperors might not be of particularly high grade, but there were enough of them. If he collected them all in the Soul Bag, it would count as no small achievement.

As for joining forces against a common enemy? These Dou Emperors had no relation to him. If they died, they died. Becoming part of his accomplishments was their honor.

He pretended to launch a full-force attack against Han Shanshan, whipping the Soul-Locking Chain through the air with fierce momentum and forcing her half a step back. Then, seizing that fleeting opening, he abruptly turned. Black mist surged beneath his feet as he shot toward the seven severely injured Dou Emperors like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The seven Dou Emperors had no time to react. They were in the midst of meditating with their eyes closed, their dou qi only halfway through a circulation cycle. They had not even managed to fully condense their protective dou qi.

The Soul Hall protector shaped his fingers into claws. One claw per victim, every strike pierced a heart. In mere moments, two of them died on the spot.

The Soul-Locking Chain immediately shot out, the black runes on its links lighting up with an eerie glow. Before the souls of the two newly dead Dou Emperors could disperse, the chain forcibly ripped them from their bodies. Along with the other five heavily injured Dou Emperors who were still struggling, their chests were pierced one after another by the chain, and all seven translucent souls were collected into the Soul Bag.

"Bastard!" The Dou Zong from Falling Cloud City trembled with rage at the sight.

Two of the seven Dou Emperors had been guest elders whom Falling Cloud City had painstakingly nurtured for years. He had brought them here to explore the cave dwelling so that they might share in some fortuitous opportunities, yet they had found no opportunity at all and instead lost their lives.

His eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging across his forehead. With an enraged roar, he abandoned Lin Yu and Han Shanshan, whom he had originally intended to deal with. Dou qi surged wildly around him as he threw a punch and charged straight at the Soul Hall protector.

Those two guest elders had not been easy for Falling Cloud City to recruit. Now their souls had been harvested by the people of Soul Hall as though they were pigs and dogs at slaughter. No matter what, he could not swallow this indignation.

Seeing the Falling Cloud City Dou Zong take the initiative to confront the Soul Hall protector, Han Shanshan did not linger. She turned and flew toward the battle on Lin Yu's side.

She could see that although Lin Yu was suppressing the Scorpion Demon Three Ghosts, fighting three opponents alone was still draining him greatly.

She darted into the battle like a swallow, her left hand transforming the Bone Spirit Cold Flame into several pale fire serpents that coiled toward Human Scorpion.

The Scorpion Demon Three Ghosts had already been struggling under Lin Yu's attacks. Han Shanshan's arrival only made matters worse, and their defenses were instantly torn to pieces.

Human Scorpion failed to dodge in time and one fire serpent wrapped around his arm. The flesh along that entire arm immediately sizzled and smoked white, shriveling at a visible rate.

"Run!" Sky Scorpion finally realized that continuing the fight would only lead to their total annihilation.

With a furious shout, dou qi erupted around him like spilled ink, and a cold, sinister aura instantly enveloped the three brothers.

The three of them simultaneously formed a bizarre hand seal. Their three streams of dou qi merged in midair, transforming into the phantom of a massive black venomous scorpion.

The scorpion phantom raised its tail hook and viciously stabbed at Lin Yu. If that strike landed, even the Bone Prison Beast Cold Flame protecting him would not make it easy to endure.

Lin Yu raised his brows slightly. The Spatial Ancestral Talisman beneath his feet flashed, and he retreated half a step through empty space, calmly evading the edge of their combined secret technique.

The scorpion phantom dissipated with a crash after its strike missed. Taking advantage of that brief opening, the Scorpion Demon Three Ghosts did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately turned to flee.

The three black figures fled deeper into the Falling Maple Mountains like beaten dogs, vanishing into the dense forest within a few breaths.

Lin Yu did not pursue them.

The Scorpion Demon Three Ghosts had not obtained that cultivation technique. Even if they escaped, they would not stir up much trouble, and no innocent women would suffer because of that evil art.

There would be plenty of time to settle accounts with them later.

He turned, his gaze falling upon the battlefield between the Falling Cloud City Dou Zong and the Soul Hall protector.

The two were locked in an even fight, dou qi radiance scattering with every clash of fists and palms. But Lin Yu saw at once that the Falling Cloud City Dou Zong had fallen into a disadvantage.

He had already been wounded by the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, and the front of his robe was now soaked through with blood he had coughed up.

His cultivation had been inferior to the Soul Hall protector's from the start. Now that he was injured as well, the latter's strange methods gradually forced him into increasingly perilous situations.

"Senior Sister, let's attack together." Lin Yu met Han Shanshan's eyes, and the two figures shot out at the same time.

The Spatial Ancestral Talisman flashed repeatedly beneath Lin Yu's feet, his body trailing several silver afterimages through the void. In an instant, he appeared behind the Soul Hall protector, and the Bone Prison Beast Cold Flame transformed into a pale fire dragon that roared toward the man's back.

The Soul Hall protector had been about to swing the Soul-Locking Chain around the Falling Cloud City Dou Zong's neck. The deadly threat that suddenly came from behind made his pupils contract sharply, forcing him to withdraw the chain and turn to block the attack.

Yet just as he blocked Lin Yu's Bone Prison Beast Cold Flame, Han Shanshan's Bone Spirit Cold Flame silently struck from the side. The pale fire climbed onto his black robe like gangrene clinging to bone, spreading up his arm toward his head.

The Soul Hall protector let out a shrill scream and frantically tried to extinguish the Bone Spirit Cold Flame. Seizing the chance, the Falling Cloud City Dou Zong smashed apart his protective dou qi with a punch.

Lin Yu immediately followed with a Scarlet Flame Sky-Shattering Palm, striking him squarely on the crown of the head.

The Soul Hall protector's scream came to an abrupt end, and his body crumpled limply to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

The Falling Cloud City Dou Zong panted heavily as he withdrew his fist. He wiped the blood from his face, cupped his hands toward Lin Yu in thanks for saving his life, then turned and left without giving the corpse on the ground another glance.

Lin Yu bent down and removed the Storage Ring and Soul Bag from the Soul Hall protector's body. He weighed the Soul Bag in his hand, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly, then casually tucked it away.

The souls inside this Soul Bag would be just right for feeding the Bone Prison Beast Cold Flame.