Everyone Lost Their Buffs, but Tang San Held On

Xiao Ran was trapped.

But he was in no hurry to break free.

Xie Yue glanced back at him, and Xiao Ran gave a slight shake of his head. Xie Yue frowned but asked no questions, turning to meet Dai Mubai.

Hu Liena's fox tail swayed gently as she unleashed her second soul skill, Fox Charm. Invisible mental ripples spread outward, making Dai Mubai falter for an instant. Yan flanked them from the other side, a firestorm gathering in his palm as he cut off Tang San's retreat.

Spirit Hall's other three Soul Ancestors moved swiftly as well, intercepting Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing. Ning Rongrong and Oscar provided support from the rear, but the Spirit Hall Soul Ancestors attacked so fiercely that Shrek's other five members could not break away.

Xie Yue and Dai Mubai traded several rounds of blows, Moon Blades clashing against tiger claws in a rain of metallic clangs. Xie Yue's Moon Blades struck from treacherous angles, every slash aimed straight at Dai Mubai's joints and vital points;

Dai Mubai's tiger claws were fierce and unyielding, each strike carrying the distinctive, domineering force of his White Tiger martial soul. Neither could gain the upper hand, but Xie Yue had been waiting for an opening.

Dai Mubai swiped at empty air. Xie Yue retreated half a step and swept his gaze across the battlefield. Tang San was tied up fighting Yan, Blue Silver Grass and flames weaving together; Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing were being held back by the three Soul Ancestors; Ning Rongrong and Oscar had already exhausted more than half their soul power.

The moment had come.

"Nana," Xie Yue called in a low voice.

Hu Liena's foxlike eyes lit up. Abandoning her charm interference against Dai Mubai, she darted backward and stood back-to-back with Xie Yue. The siblings exchanged a glance. Years of understanding left them no need for words.

Martial Soul Fusion Skill, Demon Charm.

Xie Yue's Moon Blade martial soul and Hu Liena's Demon Fox martial soul blazed with red-black light at the same time. Their soul power merged like surging tides, Xie Yue's relentless offense and Hu Liena's control aligning perfectly at that moment. Masses of red-black energy intertwined and swelled at the center of the arena.

Tang San's pupils contracted sharply. He drove his Purple Demon Eye to its limit, but he was too late.

Red mist erupted from the spot where Xie Yue and Hu Liena had fused, spreading in every direction as though alive. The mist was so dense it was almost viscous, churning with the power of Xie Yue's Moon Blades and Hu Liena's charm. Those two forces intertwined into an impenetrable domain.

Wherever the red mist passed, the arena floor, the air, the light—everything took on an eerie, dark-red hue.

Xie Yue and Hu Liena's figures merged within the red mist, long hair flowing loose, their form neither clearly male nor female. The silvery gleam of the Moon Blades intertwined with the Demon Fox's pink charm light around them.

With their combined soul power level rising above fifty, Demon Charm stood at the center of the red mist like the ruler of that domain.

The red mist engulfed the entire arena in an instant.

Tang San immediately wove Blue Silver Grass into a barrier to block the mist, but the grass began withering the moment it touched it. His Purple Demon Eye pierced the red haze, yet all he could see was a blurred outline of energy.

Demon Charm's mental power had climbed to the level of a Titled Douluo, leaving the Purple Demon Eye unable to lock onto his true form.

Dai Mubai roared, unleashing White Tiger Fierce Light Wave from his mouth. The white beam shot into the red mist and vanished without a trace or response. His senses were diminished by half, his soul power suppressed by half, and his movement speed slowed by half.

Maintaining White Tiger Vajra Transformation became agonizingly difficult within the red mist, and his steps began to stagger.

Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing were also caught in the red mist. Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Flame was suppressed, its power and range reduced by almost half.

Xiao Wu's grappling techniques demanded precise timing and judgment of distance, but with her senses diminished by half, she could barely locate her opponent. The mist's slowing effect canceled out most of Zhu Zhuqing's speed advantage, and the power of her Netherworld Slash plummeted.

Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda dimmed within the red mist, its boosting effects severely weakened. Oscar could still produce Recovery Sausages, but the suppression of his soul power made the process painfully slow.

Within the red mist, only Xie Yue and Hu Liena could see normally.

"Boss Dai, fall back!" Tang San shouted.

But Dai Mubai could barely hear him anymore. The red mist distorted his senses, making the voice reaching his ears sound faint and distant. He could only fight on instinct, lashing out wildly with his tiger claws without even knowing where Xie Yue was.

Demon Charm moved.

Within the red mist, a Moon Blade slashed silently. Dai Mubai felt a chill beneath his ribs. When he looked down, blood was already pouring from the wound. He had not even glimpsed Xie Yue's shadow.

The second slash came from behind. Dai Mubai barely managed to turn and block, but he was far too slow. The Moon Blade opened another deep gash across his shoulder.

"Boss Dai!" Tang San desperately urged his Blue Silver Grass forward, trying to pull Dai Mubai out of the red mist. But the grass withered rapidly within it, and his soul power was draining just as fast.

Tang San gritted his teeth. He knew conventional tactics could not defeat Demon Charm. Xie Yue and Hu Liena were both Soul Kings above level fifty, and their Martial Soul Fusion Skill was far more powerful than any individual Soul Master.

But his Purple Demon Eye had one advantage—the red mist could weaken the senses, but it could not completely block mental power.

Tang San closed his eyes.

He forced the Purple Demon Eye's third-stage ability, Illusion Break, into action. His mental power pierced the red mist like countless fine needles, searching inch by inch for Demon Charm's true form.

The energy within the mist was far too dense. Every fraction of progress consumed a tremendous amount of mental power, and blood began seeping from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Found you.

Tang San's eyes snapped open, purple-gold light bursting within his pupils. He had locked onto Demon Charm's true form, just to the right of the mist's center. Xie Yue controlled the fused body, while Hu Liena's fox tail coiled around his waist, supplying mental support.

Their soul power converged within the fused body like two rivers, and that junction was the fusion skill's weakest point.

Tang San flicked both hands. Sixteen broken fragments of the Eight Spider Lances sprang from his palms, spinning rapidly at his fingertips.

Bat Wing Reincarnation.

But he did not throw them immediately. Tang San took a deep breath, then launched the Eight Spider Lances fragments one by one, each following a meticulously calculated trajectory.

Sixteen fragments traced sixteen arcs through the red mist, all aimed at a single target—the junction of soul power within the fused body.

Demon Charm sensed the danger. Xie Yue swung his Moon Blades to block, but the trajectories of Bat Wing Reincarnation were too unpredictable, the fragments closing in from every direction. Hu Liena's fox tail split into seven, barely managing to stop eleven of them.

Five remained.

All five fragments pierced the fused body's soul power junction at once. The Blue Silver toxin coating them and the piercing force of the Eight Spider Lances erupted together, instantly throwing the fused body's soul power circulation into chaos.

Xie Yue grunted, and the fused body began trembling violently. Hu Liena tried to stabilize the fusion with her mental power, but Tang San's mental power followed close behind the fragments, driving into her Sea of Consciousness like a sharp knife.

Demon Charm broke apart.