"Damn it, what kind of formation is this? Why can't we get out?"
At the entrance to the Xiao Realm.
The eighty-odd remaining Dou Sheng Experts of the Hun Clan had charged out so quickly that every last one of them had entered the Spiritual Arrays Xiao Tian Ce had set up.
Watching the Hun Clan experts constantly dodge the Spiritual Arrays' attacks, Xiao Tian Ce's lips curled slightly.
To avoid the proverbial villain's fate of dying from talking too much, he attacked without another word, activating all four Spiritual Arrays at once.
Inside the Spiritual Arrays, Hun Yuanpo watched several low-ranking Dou Sheng get pierced by sharp swords, his heart nearly splitting with terror.
The attacks were so fast that he had no time to save them. What frightened him most was that these attacks not only targeted the body but also inflicted tremendous damage on the soul.
Anyone struck by a sharp sword or another attack just now had been sent straight to their death, without even a chance for their soul to escape.
"Keep dodging! Whatever you do, don't let the attacks hit you! This formation is bizarre. Everyone, be extremely careful!" Hun Yuanpo slapped aside an energy sword hurtling toward him, then urgently shouted to the others.
"Aah!"
"Save me!"
"Elder, save me!"
In just two minutes, under Xiao Tian Ce's control, the four eighth-tier Spiritual Arrays had killed nearly a dozen Hun Clan Dou Sheng.
Watching the Spiritual Arrays rack up their kills, Xiao Tian Ce gave a cold smile. "Heh, you don't even have a single eight-star Dou Sheng, yet you think you can resist my four eighth-tier Spiritual Arrays? What a fool's dream."
He had once activated the same four eighth-tier Spiritual Arrays while sparring with Xiao Xuan. Even Xiao Xuan, universally acknowledged as the strongest expert on the Dou Qi Continent, had found them troublesome, let alone these people, whose strongest members were merely Hun Yuanpo and a few other peak seven-star Dou Saints.
"Damn it, just what kind of formation is this? How can it be so powerful?" Beside Hun Yuanpo, several late-stage seven-star Dou Saints shouted questions at him while swiftly dodging.
"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? Our most pressing task is to break this formation. Otherwise, given enough time, none of us will escape!"
Hun Yuanpo shouted his reply while dodging.
Suddenly, he noticed that every flash of the runes within the Spiritual Arrays produced a corresponding attack. He shouted, "Every formation must have a core! Everyone, attack those flashing runes and find the formation cores!"
"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.
Boom, boom, boom, boom.
A moment later, attack after attack slammed into the Spiritual Arrays' barriers.
Yet after the explosions subsided, the Spiritual Arrays remained unchanged, and their attacks even seemed to have grown considerably stronger.
"Damn it, this formation absorbs our attacks and turns them into stronger attacks against us!" Hun Yuanpo was the first to notice something wrong and immediately shouted to the others.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Before he had finished speaking, several more low-ranking Dou Sheng failed to react in time. Energy swords and energy mountains struck them, killing them instantly!
At the sight, Hun Yuanpo nearly ground his teeth to pieces. Knowing they could not let this continue, he told the survivors, "Everyone, gather around me! Form the Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Soul Formation!"
"Yes!"
The others had no alternatives either, so with Hun Yuanpo directing them, they all followed his instructions.
Within moments, the sixty-odd remaining Hun Clan Dou Sheng Experts channeled the Dou Qi within their bodies, and a Dou Qi barrier rose to protect them all.
Outside the Spiritual Arrays, Xiao Tian Ce's lips curled slightly once again as he watched the Hun Clan Dou Sheng adopt a wholly defensive stance.
"If this were just one Spiritual Array, defending might actually work. But besides the killing arrays, there are weakening arrays too!"
Spiritual Seals appeared in Xiao Tian Ce's hands once more. Then, beyond the four eighth-tier Spiritual Arrays, the runes of two more Spiritual Arrays began flashing rapidly.
A moment later, inside the Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Soul Array, Hun Yuanpo was the first to notice something amiss.
"Damn it, this formation can absorb our Dou Qi too. At this rate, we'll all be drained of Dou Qi and killed within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea at most," Hun Yuanpo said gravely.
"Elder, think of something, quickly! We can't keep sitting here waiting for death. If we remain trapped like this, we're bound to die!"
"That's right, Elder! The Dou Qi inside me is draining faster and faster!"
"Elder, I can't hold on much longer!"
"..."
Hun Yuanpo's face was livid. Hearing one Dou Sheng after another call out to him, he was filled with bitter fury.
However, he also understood that everything they said was true. If they kept defending like this, they would soon lose all their Dou Qi and be wiped out.
After some thought, Hun Yuanpo said loudly, "Everyone, this is a trap. The fact that Xiao Tian Ce dared to appear proves that he is absolutely certain he can finish us all here.
"I've witnessed this man's methods before. He is formidable and never fights a battle he isn't certain of winning.
"Even the clan leader is wary of him. A hundred years ago, the clan leader went so far as to sacrifice his own reputation to ambush him.
"Who would have thought that, a hundred years later, this man would not only still be alive, but become even more formidable?
"At this point, there is no chance of everyone surviving. We can only preserve a few of us. If we're fortunate enough to break through this formation, our speed will surely allow us to bring word back to the clan. The clan leader will certainly avenge us."
"Brother Yuanpo, do you mean to use the secret art?"
At that moment, a peak seven-star Dou Saint beside Hun Yuanpo spoke up after hearing his words.
"There is no other way. Xiao Tian Ce is unlike anyone else. His methods are already beyond anything we can contend with. This is our only option now!"
Hun Yuanpo was utterly resolute. Of everyone present, he understood Xiao Tian Ce best. In his memory, Xiao Tian Ce was a man who planned everything before making his move.
Previously, Xiao Tian Ce had gone to great lengths to have Xiao Xuan help him stage a performance, yet now he had appeared. Although Hun Yuanpo did not know what he was plotting, once word reached the Hun Clan, the clan leader would certainly hunt him down.
Yet now Xiao Tian Ce had not only abandoned that pretense but also set up such powerful formations. Hoping they could all return alive was nothing but a fool's dream. Rather than that, they might as well concentrate all their power into one person or a handful of people. That way, they might still have a sliver of hope.
"All right, Brother Yuanpo. Begin. We all trust you. As long as the clan leader can avenge us, our deaths will have been worthwhile!"
"Elder, please ask the clan leader to avenge us," everyone said in unison.
Seeing the resolve on their faces, Hun Yuanpo solemnly bowed to them, then declared loudly, "One day, Xiao Tian Ce will surely die at our clan's hands. Go on ahead, everyone. Once I bring word back to the clan, I'll come join you!"
As his words fell, great clouds of dense black smoke poured from Hun Yuanpo's body, seemingly filled with thousands upon thousands of souls and evil ghosts struggling incessantly!
In the blink of an eye, the smoke enveloped the entire Ten Thousand Ghosts Devouring Soul Array, and scream after scream rang out.
Outside the Spiritual Arrays, Xiao Tian Ce looked at the area shrouded in black smoke, a mocking expression appearing on his face.
As the Hun Clan's mortal enemies, the members of the Xiao Clan were generally familiar with their methods. Indeed, the Hun Clan's secret art could temporarily increase one's strength by devouring other people's souls.
However, it was most effective below the Dou Sheng realm. Moreover, no matter how Hun Yuanpo and the others devoured, they would never cross the threshold of nine-star Dou Sheng.
Otherwise, the other Primordial Emperor Clans might as well give up. The Hun Clan would only need to send out two secret-art users against each clan, and the other members of the Ancient Seven Clans would all face the risk of annihilation.
"Heh, this has actually saved me quite a bit of trouble!"
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