Tang Hao had turned and sprinted less than a hundred meters toward Sunset Forest when Jiang Mo's mocking voice rang out behind him:
"Trying to run? Spirit Hall's Soul Tools won't give you that chance!"
Before his words had faded, Jiang Mo took a metal device half a person's height out of his Storage Soul Tool:
The entire device gleamed pale gold. Intricate runes covered its base like tracks laid for the flow of energy; atop it sat an unfolded, fan-shaped Light Formation emitter, its edges wreathed in a faint, sacred halo. This was the Level 9 Defensive Soul Tool he had forged himself, the "Holy Spirit Guardian Light Array."
As one of the continent's foremost Level 9 Soul Engineers, recognized by Qian Daoliu himself, Jiang Mo had long since honed his mastery of Soul Tools to perfection.
The instant soul power flowed from his fingertips, the runes on the emitter's base flared to life, shifting as though they were living things. Pale golden energy spread along them and converged atop the emitter into a dazzling pillar of light.
"Brother, give me a hand!" Jiang Mo called to Qian Jun.
A sharp gleam flashed through Qian Jun's eyes. He immediately stepped forward to stand beside Jiang Mo and poured his soul power into the emitter in an unbroken stream.
Their soul power shared the same origin, and they worked together as seamlessly as a single person. A pale golden dome abruptly unfolded around the emitter like an enormous hemispherical barrier, instantly enclosing a two-kilometer area. Qian Daoliu and the others from Spirit Hall, along with Tang Hao, who had yet to escape far, were all trapped inside.
The dome's surface shone with a gentle yet unyielding luster. Even the air seemed frozen by its energy, forming an invisible blockade.
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