In just the time it took an incense stick to burn, more than ten people had already died at Shen Luo's hands!
He was a magical beast in human form; only a High-Rank Dou Zong could stop him!
Some of the Dou Emperors and Dou Wangs had already fled at full speed. No matter how Mo Tianxing shouted, they would not turn back even if it killed them!
Before the thousand-zhang giant's fist intent had fully dispersed, the sky over the Black-Corner Region suddenly darkened.
A cold, decaying aura swept in from the horizon, and ribbons of Dou Qi blanketed the sky, instantly slamming into the giant.
"Earth Demon Old Ghost!"
Watching Shen Luo get knocked away by a single palm strike, Su Qian's pupils contracted sharply. For the first time, fear entered his voice.
The newcomer wore black robes. His face was withered like tree bark, his eyes deeply sunken, yet two points of ghostly green fire shone within them. He hovered in the air, his figure small and shriveled, but his aura pressed down on everyone present until they could barely breathe.
Peak Seven-Star Dou Zong!
The true strongest expert in the Black-Corner Region, an existence more terrifying than Mo Tianxing and Elder Yinshan combined.
It was said that he had dared contend with Mang Tianchi back then and belonged to a much older generation.
Su Qian immediately crushed a Communication Jade Slip, calling for the Qianbai Elders, but even after a long wait, those two old men still did not appear!
Damn it all, you two old bastards! Once this is over, I'll shut down Jia Nan Academy and let you stay in seclusion until you die! Su Qian cursed inwardly!
Earth Demon Old Ghost slightly raised his drooping eyelids, glanced over the devastated battlefield, then looked at the thousand-zhang giant. His cracked lips spread into an ugly smile.
"A fine body. Just right for me to refine into a puppet!"
His voice rasped like sandpaper scraping bone. "Mang Tianchi hasn't shown himself for decades. He's most likely already died in the Central Plains. Today, I'll slaughter Jia Nan Academy and count it as a burial offering for him!"
Shen Luo had already returned to his normal size. He had taken that blow head-on, and his chest had caved in slightly. He violently spat out a mouthful of purple blood!
A Peak Seven-Star Dou Zong could already injure him!
The crowd began dividing into two groups, confronting each other from afar in the sky.
Without the Qianbai Elders taking action, Jia Nan Academy had no chance whatsoever of challenging the entire Black-Corner Region.
"Su Qian, where are the Qianbai Elders?"
Looking at Hu Gan's anxious face, Su Qian furrowed his brows even deeper.
"Those two old fellows apparently won't bear to come out until the very last moment, when life and death hang in the balance."
Hu Gan froze. "What does that mean? They have to wait until we're missing arms and legs before coming out to save the day?"
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The battle between Xiao Yan and Han Feng was nearing its end.
Han Feng knelt on one knee in the sky, his chest heaving violently and his whole body covered in scorch marks.
He had originally held a firm upper hand throughout, but Xiao Yan had suddenly condensed two kinds of heavenly flames into a palm-sized Fire Lotus. Even though he had fought with all his strength to resist it, he had still been gravely wounded.
Han Feng wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly shouted into the air, "My lords, I've confirmed it! Yao Chen is on this man. You absolutely mustn't let him escape again!"
"Heh heh, Yao Chen, the Hall Master has missed you terribly. Let's see where you can run today!"
Space suddenly rippled, and a mass of black mist that blotted out the sky swept swiftly over from the horizon, arriving before Han Feng in just a few breaths.
Six figures slowly emerged from the black mist. Each was shrouded in black robes, their faces pale as corpses, their bodies radiating a heart-shaking aura of death.
Su Qian's expression changed drastically.
What the hell was this now?
He turned to look at Shen Luo.
Shen Luo spread his hands. "Elder Su, they aren't from the Black-Corner Region. They have nothing to do with me."
No sooner had Shen Luo finished speaking than he saw Xiao Yan push his speed to the limit and instantly fly toward the Inner Academy, with six eerie figures following close behind.
"First Elder, save me!" Xiao Yan roared as he fled desperately.
The elders of Jia Nan Academy stood where they were, ignoring Xiao Yan's cries.
How could they save him?
What could they save him with?
Those were six Dou Zongs, and several of them had auras no weaker than Earth Demon Old Ghost's.
They were already struggling to handle the experts of the Black-Corner Region. Now, their faces were filled with despair.
Xiao Yan fled all the way to the Inner Academy, until he finally had nowhere left to run.
The six Soul Hall Dou Zongs struck together. Black chains poured out of the void, blanketing the sky and coiling toward Xiao Yan like venomous snakes flicking their tongues.
Xiao Yan mustered all his strength to unleash the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, but the Fire Lotus was shattered by the chains before it could even take shape.
A chain pierced his shoulder blade and suspended him in midair.
"Teacher!"
Yao Chen's soul forcibly burst out of Xiao Yan's Storage Ring, attempting to rescue him, only to be suppressed by the combined efforts of two Six-Star Dou Zongs from the Soul Hall.
His soul had already been weak, and now he had no power to fight back at all. Black chains bound him layer upon layer.
Both of them were captured in an instant!
A Three-Star Dou Zong swiftly removed Xiao Yan's and Yao Chen's rings and examined them carefully.
"This is..." the Soul Hall Protector conducting the search suddenly said hoarsely.
The others from the Soul Hall turned to look, and an ancient-looking jade fragment bearing strange patterns appeared before their eyes.
"Why does this look exactly like the thing the Hall Master is searching for?"
"Brat, what's your name?" a Soul Hall Protector demanded harshly, gripping Xiao Yan by the throat.
Xiao Zhan had long since fallen into the Soul Hall's hands and been brutally interrogated. Naturally, they knew the Xiao Clan's circumstances extremely well.
"What is Xiao Zhan to you?"
At those words, Xiao Yan's pupils contracted, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood. "You were the ones who captured my father! You bastards!"
The air seemed to freeze!
Everyone from the Soul Hall looked dumbfounded as they quickly digested Xiao Yan's words.
Yao Chen's soul had actually been hiding on a member of the Xiao Clan, and this brat was not only Xiao Zhan's son but also carried the Xiao Clan Ancient Jade with him!
The Nine-Star Dou Zong Heavenly Protector's face filled with wild delight. "Heh heh, we wore through iron shoes searching without a trace, only to find it without the slightest effort! Not only have we captured Yao Chen today, we've even obtained the Xiao Clan Ancient Jade!"
Capturing Yao Chen was already a great achievement. If they also presented the Ancient Jade, the Hall Master and the Heavenly Venerables would probably grin so broadly they could not close their mouths. When the time came, it might even be possible for them to become Dou Zuns.
"If you want that Ancient Jade, take it! Just let my father and teacher go!" Xiao Yan said as he struggled.
He did not understand what was worth fighting over about a lousy piece of jade!
If it could buy back their lives, giving it away would be worth it.
"Let's go!" The Soul Hall Protector paid him no heed and turned to escape into the void with the two captives.
They had no interest whatsoever in the conflict between Jia Nan Academy and the Black-Corner Region.
Just then, an aged, resonant voice rang out from deep within Jia Nan Academy's Inner Academy.
"The Soul Hall comes to my academy to seize people. Aren't you reaching a little too far?"
The Qianbai Elders finally appeared in the air.
The two gaunt old men stood shoulder to shoulder, their auras as deep as an abyss and vast as the sea. Had the Soul Hall Dou Zongs not stormed into the Inner Academy, they probably still would not have appeared.
"Elder Qian, Elder Bai!" Hope flared in Su Qian's eyes. He seemed to realize now that these people were after Xiao Yan and that soul, and were not allied with the Black-Corner Region's people.
The Qianbai Elders exchanged a glance, a trace of bitterness appearing on their faces.
They naturally knew the Soul Hall's origins, but even the Gu Clan's people had to give them a greeting when they came to take Gu Xun'er back to the clan. How could they tolerate the Soul Hall directly seizing people in their Inner Academy?
They struck immediately. Two immense torrents of Dou Qi swept across heaven and earth, transforming into two enormous hands that blotted out the sky and grabbed at the six Soul Hall Protectors.
The two Heavenly Protectors leading the Soul Hall group sneered and stepped forward. Two massive chains met those enormous hands.
Boom!
Clusters of black vortices immediately exploded across the void.
Although the Qianbai Elders possessed profound cultivation, those two Heavenly Protectors-one a Nine-Star Dou Zong and the other an Eight-Star Dou Zong-were not much weaker than they were.
"Listen well, people of Jia Nan Academy! Don't forget your own weight just because you have some backing from the Lei Clan! Even if Mang Tianchi came today, he couldn't keep the people we're taking away!"
Before you continue