Lin Chen's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Attack its belly! The scales on its belly are weaker!"
"Fifth Soul Skill, Eyes of Charm!"
"Fourth Soul Skill, Huo Wu Shining Sun!"
"Seven-in-One Fusion Skill, Ice Blade Sword!"
Hu Liena's control Soul Skill activated again, with Huo Wu and the Tianshui Girl Group attacking close behind, all aiming for the giant python's belly.
Boom! Boom! Boom...
The powerful impact lifted the giant python half a meter into the air, but it did not inflict a fatal wound.
At that moment, Lin Chen seized the chance and charged over with his sword in one hand, stabbing at the python's earlier wound. "Martial Soul, Red Firmament!"
Puchi!
Red Firmament pierced a meter into its body. The giant python screamed, its massive body rolling over and over as it tried to crush Lin Chen to death.
"Brother Chen!"
"Brother Lin Chen!"
A trace of worry appeared on Ning Rongrong's exquisite face, and her heart rose into her throat. She had felt so safe when he held her in his arms just now.
But the giant python and Lin Chen were now beyond the range of her support abilities. What could she do...?
Lin Chen swung himself onto the python's back and drove Red Firmament around the circumference of its body along the wound. Its hard scales crumbled beneath the Ice Blade Sword.
"Angh! Angh! Ah..."
The giant python screamed repeatedly, its enormous body thrashing uncontrollably from side to side as it tried to throw Lin Chen off. Its massive tail also struck at him from time to time.
Bang!
Lin Chen took a blow head-on and immediately felt his Qi and blood churn. Red Firmament sank deeper in his hand, almost cutting the python in two at the waist.
"Angh! Angh! Ah..." The giant python let out a hiss. Finding the madman Lin Chen too difficult to deal with, it chose to run, fleeing frantically toward the lake.
"Trying to run? Too late!"
"Fourth Soul Skill, Sword Domain!"
Enormous soul swords shot up from the ground, barring the python's path. Though they still could not stop it, they could slow it down considerably.
"Nana, Bing'er!"
"Brother Chen, we're coming! Fifth Soul Skill, Eyes of Charm!"
"Ice and Snow Drifting!"
The two control-type Soul Skills landed on the giant python again. At the same time, attacks from Lin Chen, Huo Wu, and the other women followed one after another, all striking its wound.
Perhaps because the python was injured, Hu Liena's and Shui Bing'er's group of three's control lasted a full three breaths this time. By then, the wound Lin Chen had carved into the python had spread across its entire body.
"Angh! Angh! Roar..."
The giant python wailed. Lin Chen had cut its body in two!!!
Afterward, the two sides battled for several more exchanges. The giant python struggled on the brink of death, but was finally worn down and killed by the harem squad under Lin Chen's lead. Apart from him, no one in the group was injured or killed.
Thud!
The giant python's enormous head slowly toppled to the ground. Its golden-brown eyes lay motionless, and it breathed its last...
"Cough, cough..." Lin Chen coughed violently several times, a trace of blood running from the corner of his mouth. He had not used his trump card this time because he wanted to see where his limits and shortcomings lay, and also to train the women to work together.
The outcome was good in the end. An eighty-thousand-year-old Soul Beast had died a miserable death at their hands.
"Brother Chen~ Are you all right?"
"Brother Lin Chen~ Are you all right? Don't scare Yue'er~"
Hu Liena, Shui Yue'er, and the other women supported him worriedly.
Lin Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled faintly. "Don't worry. What can a little injury like this do to me? Nana, don't you know what kind of physique I have?"
Hu Liena froze for a moment, then instantly remembered what had happened on Spirit Gathering Mountain. She immediately relaxed. Brother Chen's physique was truly invincible!
If an ordinary Soul King had been struck by the giant python like that, they would have been crippled if not killed. Yet Lin Chen had only shed a few drops of blood, and the injuries inside his body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye thanks to his powerful physique.
Lin Chen thought, At this rate, I might be back to normal in less than half a day. As expected of the Ancient Desolate Sacred Physique!
"Huh? What's that?"
Just then, Huo Wu pointed curiously at a spot on the giant python's corpse that was flashing with blue light.
A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Chen's eyes. He exchanged a glance with Hu Liena, who nodded, picked up a dagger, and headed straight for the corpse.
Crack, crack...
Before long, Hu Liena pulled out a blue Soul Bone, delight on her face. "Brother Chen, it really is a Soul Bone! It's at least eighty thousand years old!"
While the women were celebrating, Lin Chen's expression suddenly darkened. "Get out here!"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Heh heh... As expected of the Emperor Lord. Your perception really is sharp!"
As the voice faded, more than a dozen young men slowly emerged in the distance. Their leader looked to be around thirty. Surprisingly, Yan of the Pope faction's Golden Generation was among them.
Hu Liena's expression changed slightly. She retrieved the Soul Bone and hurried back to Lin Chen's side, explaining in a low voice, "Brother Chen, the one in the lead is Xu Hui, Enshrined Golden Crocodile's eldest disciple and the leader of Spirit Hall's previous Golden Generation. I heard he's already a level sixty-nine peak Soul Emperor."
"Tch..." Lin Chen looked at them with disdain and said expressionlessly, "You have three breaths to get out of my sight."
Xu Hui's smile froze, and his face instantly darkened. Lately, the disciples of their enshriners' faction had been heavily suppressed, leaving them full of hatred for the Pope's faction. Though an enshriner above them had warned them, they had not taken it to heart.
If the younger generation caused trouble, what did it have to do with their elders?
"You're Lin Chen, right? You're pretty arrogant, aren't you?"
Xu Hui sneered and said coolly, "Bring them out. Let's show our Spirit Hall's Emperor Lord!"
Footsteps approached...
Before long, another group emerged, escorting several hostages. They were none other than Xie Yue, Sun Chuantao, and the others!
"Brother?!" Hu Liena cried. "What are you trying to do?! Are you going to violate Spirit Hall's iron laws?!"
"No, no, no!" Xu Hui shook his head. "How would we dare violate the iron laws? But the rules don't say we can't kidnap anyone, do they? And they don't say we can't compete for opportunities, do they?"
"Oh, right, I forgot to tell you. We have Yan to thank for capturing Xie Yue and the others so easily!"
As his words fell, the captured Xie Yue stared hatefully at Yan. If Yan had not exploited his trust, how could they have been captured so easily?
Hu Liena clenched her teeth and said coldly, "Yan, I was wrong about you. And to think my brother treated you as a brother! If you had a grievance, you should have come at me. What kind of man turns on his own brother?!"
"Shut up!" Yan roared. "Have you ever treated me as a friend? Has Xie Yue ever treated me as a friend?! I nearly died on Spirit Gathering Mountain, and I didn't see either of you show me the slightest concern!"
Hu Liena cried out in rebuttal, "That was because you were narrow-minded. You brought it on yourself! Do I, Hu Liena, need your permission to be with someone?!"
Smack!
Lin Chen pulled her behind him and said expressionlessly, "Congratulations. You've succeeded in making me angry. Now, even if you want to leave, you won't be able to!"
"Hmph!" Xu Hui sneered. "What a joke. Stop us? You alone?"
"If you know what's good for you, hand over that Soul Bone and leave this place. Then I might show some mercy and let Xie Yue and the others go!"
"Well?"
He knew perfectly well that the spiritual fruit on the island in the lake was no less valuable than the Soul Bone, and perhaps even more so. That was also an important reason he had shown himself to confront Lin Chen.
Without something to gain, even two sides with a grudge would not readily come to blows!
Lin Chen said lightly, "I think... not!"