The ordinary sword slowly descended, boundless Sword Qi rippling outward. It immediately locked onto the presence of the Deity Slave Seals and slashed down.
Dark Sword Qi tore through space. The surrounding space instantly shattered like a broken mirror, and spatial fragments mingled with spatial turbulence sliced across Xuan Zi's and the Elders' cheeks.
The threads tightened again, blood flying as they sank straight into their bones. There was nowhere left for them to dodge!
The black Sword Qi seemed to cut through time, striking Xuan Zi's Martial Soul Avatar in an instant.
"Mooo!..."
A shrill bellow resounded through heaven and earth. The nearly thirty-meter-long Martial Soul Avatar shattered outright, and space caved inward.
Terrifying power engulfed the Sea God Pavilion Elders.
The threads in Huo Yuhao's hands tightened again, hissing as they swept through the air!
Countless motes of dust filled the air. Huo Yuhao reeled in every thread, his gaze fixed above the dust.
Just now, dozens of Elders had crashed straight into the Sword Qi, which tore them to pieces like dry wood and rotten timber.
Only countless motes of dust remained in the air, slowly disappearing.
But the sole regret was that Xuan Zi had not died.
Above the dust, an elderly figure stood with his back hunched, holding the unconscious Xuan Zi.
"Young friend, it's only been a few days. Why such a fiery temper? You've killed all these Elders of mine."
Mu En narrowed his eyes, a smile on his lips, as though the deaths of dozens of Elders had never happened.
"Sure enough, there's still no fooling you, Dragon God Douluo Mu En!"
The corners of Huo Yuhao's lips lifted. He slowly took off his hood, staring straight at Mu En.
Mu En chuckled and stirred the Soul Power in his hand, channeling it into Xuan Zi's body.
Xuan Zi gave a muffled grunt, his chest heaving violently. After coughing hard, he opened his eyes.
His eyes, which had still held some clarity before, now turned completely cloudy.
"Xuan Zi, stand back. Act when it's your turn."
Mu En raised a hand and shooed him behind him.
Xuan Zi nodded numbly without a word and stood there quietly, as though he had lost his soul. The Deity Slave Seal on his forehead had taken complete control of him.
"Old man, you're quite the exception. To think you aren't a slave of Tang San, who holds the Dual Godhood of Sea God and Asura God, but his envoy instead. That's something I didn't expect."
Huo Yuhao clapped, the corners of his lips raised. With a flick of his wrist, his sword turned, tracing a flourish through the air before he held it behind him.
"Ancestor Tang San connects with us through the ancient tree. He has protected our Shrek for ten thousand years. Serving him is a blessing he has bestowed upon us."
Mu En spoke casually, unable to suppress the smile on his face, as though being controlled by a deity were an immense honor.
Huo Yuhao curled his lips and shook his head, sneering disdainfully. "How pathetic. You've lost your soul's freedom, yet you still think it's a blessing. What misfortune."
"Lord Tang San grants us boundless power, even the ability to live forever. What does it matter if we offer up a sliver of our souls!"
Mu En laughed wildly, fanaticism for the deity filling his eyes.
Then he swept his hand, and the leaves of the Golden Ancient Tree behind him shone with golden light. Its enormous trunk slowly writhed.
Dozens of sections of the Golden Ancient Tree's bark split open, swaying in the air as though they might fall at any moment.
Soul Power gathered and flowed in Mu En's hand before flying into the air and becoming dozens of glowing orbs of Soul Power. Each carried a trace of a deity's presence and plunged straight into the split bark.
As the orbs entered, the bark broke off and fell, twisting and changing in midair. Soon, it became dozens of human figures before everyone's eyes.
Golden Soul Power continually reshaped the bark into human forms. The bark became wooden puppets, their arms and legs slowly emerging. After another bout of twisting, they fully assumed the appearances of the dead Sea God Pavilion Elders.
The golden Soul Power began to recede. Bone and flesh grew over the wooden puppets, covering their entire bodies bit by bit as blood dripped through the air. Finally, patches of skin attached themselves, turning them completely human in appearance.
Purple light flickered in Huo Yuhao's eyes. The bizarre sight had sparked his curiosity.
The souls of the Sea God Pavilion Elders had shattered into fragments scattered through the air, yet invisible vortices were now forming inside those puppets, continually absorbing the soul fragments on the verge of dissipating.
Huo Yuhao gathered Soul Power in his eyes to see past the surface. Vast amounts of spiritual power erupted and penetrated the puppets.
Countless intricate formations were slowly operating within the puppets.
Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted. His spiritual power began frantically copying them, and his mind swiftly began analyzing the formations' structures.
He even woke the soundly sleeping Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, having him help receive and process the information.
"Boss, don't worry. This little task is no problem for me at all."
With that, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm began working hard. His loyalty to Huo Yuhao, his boss, truly knew no bounds.
Huo Yuhao split his attention between receiving the formations and analyzing them. Under his control, his Sea of Consciousness divided into dozens of sections, analyzing each formation's functions like a precision calculating instrument.
Half a minute later, Huo Yuhao abruptly opened his eyes, his spirits lifting. "So that's how it works..."
Huo Yuhao swept his hand. Zhang Lexuan and the other three behind him immediately understood, turning into four streaks of light that charged straight toward the dozens of puppets.
The puppets had now reached a critical stage. Some of their eyes had begun to move, as though they would awaken at any moment.
"Everyone, don't be impatient. I'm demonstrating the method of immortality our divine lord taught us. You would do better to watch carefully."
Mu En laughed, stroking his graying beard with one hand. With a sweep of his other hand, four balls of lightning drifted toward the four women.
The four women swung their swords, their blades striking straight at the balls of lightning.
The crescent moon behind Zhang Lexuan shone, and a lustrous white glow covered her sword. She twisted her wrist sharply, shattering the terrifying ball of lightning.
Then, without any hesitation, she shot three rays of light from her slender fingers. They struck the lightning balls rushing toward the other three and shredded them.
Ma Xiaotao and the other two did not hesitate. They accelerated again, drawing ever closer to the dozens of wooden puppets.
Fifty meters! Thirty meters! Ten meters!...
"Xuan Zi, stop them!"
Mu En's gaze turned stern. Killing intent flashed through his eyes, only to disappear again. Then he burst into hearty laughter.
"I intended to have Xuan Zi become the next envoy, with Lexuan merely a backup... I never expected this. Now I can be certain. Zhang Lexuan, you will be the next Sea God Pavilion Master!"
"Hahahaha!"
Mu En laughed wildly. As he watched Zhang Lexuan's graceful figure, his eyes filled with greed!
Xuan Zi became a streak of dark red light, leaving a string of sonic booms through the air. He actually intercepted the three women within the final ten meters.
"Xiaotao... you must not take another step..."
Xuan Zi's eyes were numb. He swept a fingertip forward, and a dark red line barred the three women's path.
Ma Xiaotao and the other two abruptly halted, coming to a forceful stop five centimeters from the red line.
"Xuan Zi... you've suffered. Today, I'll send you on your way!"
Ultimate Fire spread over Ma Xiaotao's sword in the blink of an eye. Forming a sword gesture with her fingers, she sent the keen blade forward, cutting through the red line and striking toward Xuan Zi's face.
Tang Ya and Jiang Nannan worked in perfect harmony. Countless thick branches of Blue Silver Grass sprang forth, wrapping around Xuan Zi's body with the speed of thunder that left no time to cover one's ears, pinning him in place.
"Third Soul Skill, Teleportation!"
Jiang Nannan cried out, and her figure vanished!
When she reappeared, she was already behind the puppets. Her sword tip thrust sharply, shooting a seed of Ultimate Fire into a puppet.
It turned out that the instant they had stopped, Ma Xiaotao had quietly passed the flame into Jiang Nannan's hand.
With the assistance of the shadow Soul Skill, the three had devised their tactics in an instant, working in perfect harmony to achieve their goal.
Upon meeting combustible material, the flame erupted, engulfing the entire puppet in an instant.
"Aaaaah!!!!..."
The terrifying screams were chilling and piercing, making one's hair stand on end.
Below them, the members of the Shadow Garden covered their ears with both hands, their faces filled with pain.
The cloak behind Huo Yuhao flew out, becoming a curtain that blotted out the sky. It enclosed the Garden's members securely, helping them withstand the invisible sonic attack.
The flames crackled as they burned, finally exploding outright. Countless sparks fell onto every puppet.
The flames that should have gone out found a home once more, spreading across puppet after puppet. Not a single one was spared!