The five landed on the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. The mountain range stretched for ten thousand li, connecting all the way to the Star Dou Great Forest, and many Soul Beasts less than ten thousand years old lived deep within it.
The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains were shrouded in mist year-round, making them an excellent hiding place for Evil Soul Masters.
"This nest of Evil Soul Masters is hidden in Poison Gas Valley in the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains. It took me ages to find them. I never expected them to be so well hidden."
City Lord Liu gritted his teeth. He had expended considerable effort searching for the Evil Soul Masters' base, never initially imagining that they would hide in Poison Gas Valley.
Illusory Poison Flowers grew in Poison Gas Valley. Ordinary Soul Masters who entered were certain to die, so no one generally dared venture inside.
But the most dangerous place was precisely the safest, which was why the Evil Soul Masters had chosen it as their base.
"These Evil Soul Masters really are despicable. Still, they must have some purpose for suddenly appearing near Liuchun City!"
"Let's go!"
At Xu Jiujiu's command, City Lord Liu led the four behind him along the path toward the eastern part of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
"Master! Are all Soul Masters with evil Martial Souls Evil Soul Masters?"
"Mom used to tell me that Evil Soul Masters hurt ordinary people by any means necessary to raise their cultivation!"
Holding Huo Tian's hand, Huo Yutong gave it a little shake. She raised her head and met his gaze with bewildered eyes, hoping to get an answer from him.
Huo Tian was a little stunned by Huo Yutong's question. But remembering that her outlook on life was essentially a blank sheet of paper, he decided to teach her properly.
"Little Yutong! Soul Masters with evil Martial Souls aren't necessarily Evil Soul Masters, but most Evil Soul Masters do have evil Martial Souls!"
"Any Soul Master who cultivates by killing people and drinking their blood can be defined as an Evil Soul Master!"
"Also, little Yutong, don't pity your opponents. If you kill them, finish them off completely, so they don't cause you trouble in the future."
Huo Tian gently stroked Huo Yutong's long blue hair. She nodded with only a hazy understanding; she was kind to her very bones.
"One more thing! Little Yutong, don't let hatred blind your eyes!"
"Master... are you telling me to let go of my hatred?"
Hearing those words from Huo Tian, Huo Yutong felt as though her entire sky had collapsed. Her eyes immediately reddened. She certainly would not let go of her hatred.
Seeing her like this, Huo Tian immediately understood that his words had misled her and gently patted her back.
"I'm not telling you to let go of your hatred, but not to let it weigh you down until you're exhausted!"
"You can take revenge, but don't hurt the innocent!"
"Repay vengeance with vengeance, and kindness with kindness!"
"Mm-hmm, Master. I understand."
Huo Yutong immediately took out a blue handkerchief and wiped away her tears. She nodded obediently, pressing her little face into Huo Tian's palm and nuzzling it.
Before long, the five reached a cliff above Poison Gas Valley, nearly a hundred meters away from it.
Although poisonous substances surrounded Poison Gas Valley, their view was relatively open, and they could still see a small part of the scenery within.
With the advantage of his Martial Soul, Huo Tian could see everything inside the valley clearly. Only upon looking did he grasp the extent of the Evil Soul Masters' cruelty.
Mist filled the valley's outermost perimeter, while a stockade stood within. Stark white bones littered the stockade, though it was impossible to tell whether they belonged to humans or Soul Beasts.
Most disgusting of all was a blood pool at the stockade's center. Several bloated, rotting corpses floated in it, and a tower of human heads stood at its very center.
"Just how many civilians have these Evil Soul Masters killed?"
Xu Jiujiu held a Soul Tool telescope in one hand to observe the stockade, her other hand clenched into a fist. Her whole body trembled.
These civilians were all residents of the Star Luo Empire. As the empire's princess, Xu Jiujiu had always cared deeply for the common people. How could she not hate this?
"It seems that Soul Emperor Evil Soul Master killed so many civilians because he wants to use their blood as a catalyst to break through to Soul Saint!"
Uncle Wang released his spiritual power and observed an Evil Soul Master floating above the blood pool, dressed in black robes with his entire body rotting. He was absorbing all the energy in the pool into his body.
[Ding! The system has issued a mission.] [Side mission: The host must eradicate the Evil Soul Masters alone and uphold justice in the world.] [Reward: 10,000 points.] [If the host refuses the mission, a certain part of his body will shorten by 10 cm.]
The system panel, which had lain dormant for a long time, popped up before Huo Tian's eyes once more. He stared at it, utterly speechless.
"Master, are you feeling unwell?"
Seeing Huo Tian keep shaking his head slightly, Huo Yutong immediately grew worried and asked in a soft, timid voice.
"I'm fine! Little Yutong, take this!"
Huo Tian took a Class 8 Defensive Soul Tool out of his Soul Tool Ring. Qian Duoduo had custom-made this Class 8 Defensive Soul Tool for him.
Huo Tian no longer needed it now, so he pressed it into Huo Yutong's hands. After all, he could not let his precious disciple suffer even the slightest harm.
"Okay~"
Huo Yutong accepted the defensive core from Huo Tian. It was a folding Defensive Soul Tool, and Soul Masters below Titled Douluo would find it difficult to break through its defenses.
"Princess Xu, all of you wait here. I'll personally wipe out the Evil Soul Masters!"
Just as Uncle Wang was about to set out to attack the Evil Soul Masters, Huo Tian's words left the group stunned.
After all, a rank-69 Evil Soul Master could defeat an ordinary Soul Saint through all sorts of bizarre methods. Even Uncle Wang, a Soul Douluo, might not be able to take him down quickly.
Huo Tian possessed himself with his Vermilion Bird Martial Soul. Evil fire erupted from his entire body, and seven Soul Rings-purple, purple, black, black, black, red, red-radiated terrifying pressure.
"A h-hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring! Two of them, no less!"
Beside them, City Lord Liu jumped up and down in excitement. This was arguably the most spectacular Soul Ring configuration he had ever seen in his life. The young man before him was monstrously talented.
"I never expected this! Since Young Hero Huo is confident he can take down those Evil Soul Masters, this old man won't interfere."
Uncle Wang immediately retreated to Xu Jiujiu's side. Seeing Huo Tian's heaven-defying Soul Ring configuration once again, Xu Jiujiu covered her mouth with both hands.
"Master, come back soon!"
Huo Yutong tugged hard on the sleeve of Huo Tian's red robe. He nodded, then beat his Vermilion Bird flame wings and flew toward the valley below.
"Old Dog! Go kill another twenty people and bring them back tonight. There isn't much of heaven and earth's vital energy left in the blood pool."
"Yes, boss."
Beside the blood pool, a skeletal middle-aged man with lifeless eyes answered weakly.
The black-robed man in the blood pool sneered. His Martial Soul was a blood maggot. He had cultivated using human blood all these years, finally reaching rank-69 Soul Emperor, just one final step away from becoming a Soul Saint.
"Enemy attack!!!"
A Fivefold Flame-Gathering Lotus, containing endless evil fire, descended from the sky and smashed into the center of the blood pool. The evil fire it released instantly annihilated more than a dozen Evil Soul Masters.
Before they could even feel pain, they were reduced to dust, turning into blood mist that fled away.
The evil fire filling the sky rained down into the valley, setting the entire valley ablaze.
"Sixth Soul Skill, Blood Maggot Demon Body!"
The black-robed man only escaped with his life by covering himself in blood maggots, but he was still gravely injured, the skin all over his body burned open and his flesh torn.
"Who are you? You can't kill me! I'm the son of the Holy Spirit Cult's Masked Douluo! If you kill me, you won't fare well either!"
The black-robed man crawled backward in terror. Huo Tian hovered in midair, evil fire rising from his entire body, looking at him as though he were an ant.
"First Soul Skill, Nether Flame Feather!"
"Aah!"
Huo Tian fired black-and-red flame feathers into the black-robed man's body. The man's meridians and internal organs burned, and before long, he turned to ash.
In less than a quarter of an hour, Huo Tian's evil fire had burned this nest of Evil Soul Masters to nothing, allowing the dead within the valley to rest in peace.