Tang Feng and Tang Yun's eyes were bloodshot, but they turned without hesitation and sprinted toward the eastern side of the valley. Staying here would only make them burdens.
Earth-shaking booms thundered behind them, and the shock waves from clashing Soul Power sent loose rocks flying.
Tang Feng could feel Tang Zheng and Tang Lan fighting with their lives on the line. Every second they bought for them was paid for with their lives.
Just as Tang Feng and Tang Yun were about to rush out of the valley, a giant bear suddenly emerged from the woods ahead.
It looked very similar to the nine-hundred-plus-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear from earlier, only more than twice as large. It was probably over seven thousand years old and appeared to be the earlier Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear's mother.
The giant bear held a thousand-year-old striped tiger in one enormous claw, clearly food it had caught for its child. It immediately spotted the young bear's corpse in the distance and flew into a rage, tossing aside its food and charging over.
Tang Feng and Tang Yun exchanged a glance. Knowing they could not withstand even one exchange with the giant bear, they immediately split left and right, shooting into the depths of the forest like two arrows loosed from bowstrings.
Trees raced backward through their vision, and branches lashed their faces, leaving bloody marks, but they dared not pause for even a moment.
The giant bear charged straight toward the young bear's corpse, breaking apart Spirit Hall's encirclement. Tang Zheng and Tang Lan seized the opportunity to leap free of the ring and flee in another direction.
The giant bear attacked wildly. Screams rang through the valley, and in the blink of an eye, three or four Spirit Hall members died beneath its claws.
Seeing the giant bear's frenzied attacks, the leader of the Spirit Hall group shouted, "Ignore that giant bear! Scatter immediately and pursue those two children!"
Four of them immediately split into two groups and pursued Tang Feng and Tang Yun in the directions they had fled.
He then said to the other Soul Douluo, "We'll split into two groups and pursue those two Soul Emperors. The Clear Sky Hammer is astonishingly powerful, so everyone must be careful. I've already sent the signal. Once the third group arrives, we'll surround them together."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Spirit Hall members scattered. The giant bear did not pursue them, instead guarding the young bear's corpse and letting out furious roars.
Deep in the dense forest, Tang Feng darted wildly between ancient trees like a streak of black lightning.
The presence of the two Soul Kings behind him clung to him like his shadow, like two venomous snakes locked onto their prey.
Tang Feng could clearly feel the two of them closing the distance at tremendous speed.
"Damn it..." Tang Feng gritted his teeth and sprinted forward for his life. With no time to look back, he could only push his body's potential to its limits, leaping between tree trunks and using them to propel himself onward.
After he had been running for an unknown length of time, an earth-shaking roar suddenly erupted ahead!
"ROOOAR!!!"
The ground shook violently as an enormous creature burst out of the earth, blocking his path.
Tang Feng immediately recognized it as a King of the Earth over four thousand years old. Its entire body was crimson as molten lava, and it stood three meters tall. Its arms were enormous iron pincers, and a flaming scorpion tail trailed behind it.
It had been the overlord of this area, but the commotion of the pursuit had disturbed it, and it instinctively took it as a challenge from intruders.
With his path blocked ahead and pursuers behind, Tang Feng's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.
But at this moment, when his fate hung by a thread, Tang Feng noticed that the King of the Earth's flaming compound eyes were fixed on the two Soul Kings behind him. They had already closed to within ten zhang, and their powerful Soul Power fluctuations made them the greatest threats in the Soul Beast's eyes!
An opening! Tang Feng's thoughts flashed like lightning. Rather than retreating, he advanced, charging straight toward the King of the Earth!
The two Soul Kings were delighted at the sight. "Stupid brat! You're courting death!"
Just as Tang Feng was about to collide with the burning pincers, he twisted at an uncanny angle and rolled along the ground through a gap less than half a foot wide on the King of the Earth's left side.
At that moment, he pushed his technique for borrowing force to its limits. Like a falling leaf, he rode the blast of air raised by the King of the Earth and shot more than ten zhang away in an instant!
"ROAR!!!"
The King of the Earth flew into a rage, thinking it had been toyed with. Its enormous pincer arms swept across, and roaring flames surged outward. Caught off guard, the two Soul Kings were immediately dragged into battle.
"Beast, get out of the way!" one Soul King roared, activating Martial Soul Possession. His Martial Soul was actually a Ghost Face Spider, its eight legs sharp as blades. They collided with the King of the Earth's iron pincers, sending sparks flying.
The other Soul King had a Red Training Snake Martial Soul. His body was supple as a snake as he wove through the flames, searching for an opening in the King of the Earth's defenses.
The three powerful beings instantly became locked in battle. Waves of air churned, and trees fell in rows.
Tang Feng seized the chance to flee far away. The Soul Kings' furious shouts and the King of the Earth's roars reached his ears, but he dared not look back and could only race desperately onward.
Yet Spirit Hall's net was far tighter than he had imagined.
Tang Feng had barely escaped five li and gained a moment to catch his breath when two more figures leaped down from the treetops ahead, blocking his path.
They were two Soul Ancestors, a man and a woman, both dressed in the black robes of Spirit Hall deacons. The man had a sinister face, and after activating Martial Soul Possession, his form became a venomous snake with fearsome fangs;
The woman was lithe and agile, her Martial Soul a spotted leopard with scarlet eyes and blade-like claws.
"Little brat, let's see where you can run now! Surrender quietly, and you can spare yourself some suffering." The venomous snake Soul Ancestor grinned savagely.
Tang Feng said nothing and immediately released his Martial Soul. The Clear Sky Hammer appeared, and a yellow Soul Ring tinged with purple rose. Dark gold terrorclaw power coiled around the hammer as he unleashed his newly acquired second Soul Skill!
"Dark Gold Berserk!" Tang Feng lunged forward, smashing the Clear Sky Hammer toward the venomous snake Soul Ancestor with the force to tear through everything.
The venomous snake Soul Ancestor's expression shifted slightly. Clearly, he had not expected such might from this youth, and he hurriedly raised his arms to block.
Boom!!!
Hammer met arms, and waves of air churned. The venomous snake Soul Ancestor was driven back three steps, the scales on both arms cracking as blood seeped out.
But he also used the opportunity to spit out a mouthful of poisonous mist. Its foul stench assaulted the nose as it enveloped a radius of three zhang.
Tang Feng hurriedly held his breath, but the poisonous mist still grazed his left arm. His skin instantly turned purplish-black, and piercing agony shot through him.
Poison! Tang Feng's heart tightened, and he immediately circulated his Soul Power to suppress the poison.
The spotted leopard Soul Ancestor seized the chance to launch a sneak attack from behind and to the side, her blade-like claws aimed straight at Tang Feng's heart from the back. Tang Feng barely managed to turn sideways. Her sharp claws tore through his robes, leaving three bloody gashes across his back!
"Cough..." Tang Feng coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body swaying on the verge of collapse, but the ferocity in his eyes burned ever brighter. There was no retreat today.
"You want to capture me? Then we'll die together!" Tang Feng threw back his head and howled, actually charging into the thickest part of the poisonous mist!
"Lunatic!" The two Soul Ancestors were shocked and hurriedly retreated.
Yet Tang Feng's target had never been them. Using the poisonous mist to obscure their vision, he turned and sprinted deeper into the forest.
Tang Feng saw a stretch of multicolored poisonous miasma in that direction, where even the sunlight was stained an eerie purple,
At the same time, he swiftly took a bottle of antidote pills he had prepared earlier from his Storage Soul Tool and poured them all into his mouth.
"After him!" the venomous snake Soul Master shouted furiously at the sight.
But it was already too late. Tang Feng exhausted his final wisp of Soul Power and smashed Dark Gold Berserk into the ground. Five claw-mark shock waves swept backward, forcing the two of them to dodge.
Tang Feng himself plunged headfirst like a kite with a snapped string into that poisonous miasma, which even Soul Beasts dared not approach.
Within the poisonous barrier, multicolored miasma churned like a living thing. The instant Tang Feng stepped inside, he felt as though tens of thousands of needles had pierced every inch of his skin at once, and toxins surged madly into his pores.
Tang Feng already had little Soul Power left, and now the deadly poison instantly ate away at it. His vision rapidly blurred.
Furious roars came from behind, but they feared the poisonous miasma and dared not venture deep inside.
Tang Feng staggered forward another few dozen steps before he finally could hold on no longer and dropped to one knee. He felt as though his blood was boiling, and his consciousness sank little by little into darkness.
"Is this... the end..." Tang Feng murmured. His grandfather's kindly face appeared before his eyes, followed by the towering mountain gates of the Clear Sky Sect and scenes of his clansmen training diligently within the sect.
His heart was filled with unwillingness, yet he could do nothing.
Just then, an emerald figure drifted over from the depths of the poisonous miasma.
It was an old man with silver hair and green eyes. His face was sinister, yet his gaze was surprisingly calm. A faint jade phosphorous poisonous mist wreathed his body, and wherever he passed, even the multicolored poisonous miasma retreated well out of his way.
The old man glanced at the two people outside, then looked at Tang Feng on the ground and gave a soft "Oh?" He seemed surprised that this youth had managed to hold on until now.
"Spirit Hall members outside... a Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul... interesting, truly interesting," the old man murmured to himself.
He extended a finger, and a strand of emerald Soul Power drifted out, winding around Tang Feng's wrist to examine his condition.
"Soul Power exhausted, poison throughout his body, and he even inhaled my poisonous miasma..." The old man shook his head. "Anyone else would have been thoroughly dead long ago."
Tang Feng used his last shred of strength to open his unfocused eyes. He saw only an emerald figure swaying before him before sinking completely into darkness.
Before he lost consciousness, Tang Feng seemed to hear the old man mutter, "A brat from the Clear Sky Sect... oh, very well. Since you managed to withstand my poisonous miasma, I'll save your life. Whether you survive will depend on your own fortune."
With that, the old man swept his sleeve, and jade phosphorous poisonous mist wrapped around Tang Feng. His figure flickered, and he vanished into the depths of the poisonous miasma as though he had never appeared.