Sixty li outside Shuangquan City's west gate lay Strange Stone Valley, over ten li wide and nearly a hundred li long.
Legend had it that ten thousand years ago, the Asura God's "Extermination," the move that killed the Rakshasa God, had pierced through the Rakshasa God before its residual force flew hundreds of li and finally struck the ground, creating this hundred-li scar. The raging power of the Asura Demon Sword had only stopped after devouring hundreds of thousands of living beings.
Since then, no one had dared approach Strange Stone Valley, and it had become a forbidden zone for humans. Yet today, dozens of people had suddenly appeared in the valley. Their presences were strange and evil-they were all Evil Soul Masters.
At the valley's highest point, a man in black coldly watched a group of similarly black-clad Evil Soul Masters moving through the valley, unable to keep impatience from rising in his heart.
Just then, someone beside him said, "Bishop Tang, rest assured. Ye Qingshan has an injured woman and a child with him. We've already pinned them down to this area of Strange Stone Valley. They can't escape."
"Mm. Don't get careless," Bishop Tang said quietly.
"Yes!" The surrounding men in black immediately scattered, joining the search for Ye Qingshan's entire family.
Standing on the mountaintop, Bishop Tang smiled faintly. "The Holy Angel Martial Soul, our Holy Spirit Cult's mortal enemy. Before long, I'll take the heads of these Angel Martial Soul Masters back to headquarters to claim credit. Haha!"
Meanwhile, deep inside a limestone cave in Strange Stone Valley were a badly injured man, a dying woman, and a little girl around eight years old.
These three were none other than the family of Ye Qingshan, the Angel Martial Soul Master whom Bishop Tang and his men outside were searching so hard to find. They had been hiding here for almost half a month to evade the Holy Spirit Cult's pursuit. Ye Qingshan struggled to take a medicine bottle from inside his clothes and gently hefted it. His brows furrowed. The healing medicine inside was almost gone, with only one last pill remaining.
He gently tipped the pill into his hand and prepared to feed it to his wife. "Qing Ya, here, open your mouth. Take the medicine."
His wife shook her head to stop him. "Qingshan, don't. One healing pill can't save me anymore. You take it. Qingshan, promise me you'll take Guyi and live... live... live..."
Before Ye Qingshan's wife could finish speaking, she passed away under the combined torment of hunger and her injuries.
"Mom, don't go! Don't leave Guyi behind!" His daughter, Ye Guyi, flung herself onto her mother's body, tears streaming down without stopping.
"Shh, Guyi, quiet. Outside, it's all Evil Soul Masters from the Holy Spirit Cult. They'll find us if you cry out like that," Ye Qingshan immediately exclaimed.
Ye Guyi forcibly endured the grief of losing her mother and stifled her sobs. Only her tears continued to flow, falling onto her mother drop by drop.
After a day of searching, Qian Chen finally made his way to the outskirts of Strange Stone Valley. The moment he approached, he sensed something wrong. There were actually dozens of Evil Soul Masters here-the very group that had ambushed the Ye Clan before. The surviving Evil Soul Masters were no longer weaklings who would turn into puddles of black water at a touch of holy light. At the very least, they could withstand holy light head-on without losing their ability to fight.
What Qian Chen found even trickier was the question of where exactly the remaining members of the Ye Clan were.
He completely concealed the presence of his Angel Martial Soul, released the Seven Kill Sword, and silently slipped into Strange Stone Valley, preparing to pick off the Evil Soul Masters one by one.
Soon, a black-clad Evil Soul Master entered his attack range. Qian Chen suppressed his presence as much as possible. The black fifth Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed rapidly. His fifth Soul Skill, Killing Sword Qi, slashed out! It was incredibly fast. The Soul Ancestor Evil Soul Master searching for the Ye father and daughter was beheaded on the spot, unable even to scream.
Qian Chen hurried forward, stripped off the man's outfit, and put it on himself. Wearing this skin, he marveled at how much easier it had suddenly become to conceal himself. It was just that this Soul Ancestor Evil Soul Master apparently disliked keeping clean, and the sour stench of the black clothes made him want to vomit.
Then came one, two, three... The Holy Spirit Cult had never imagined that a "traitor" had slipped into their midst. One Evil Soul Master after another was killed by Qian Chen's covert ambushes.
Only when Qian Chen killed his nineteenth target did Bishop Tang, standing on the high ground, finally notice something wrong. Why were there suddenly fewer and fewer people searching for the Ye Clan?
He circulated his Soul Power and shouted, "Attention, everyone! Gather immediately! Someone is picking us off one by one! Check your nearby companions at once and verify with each other whether you belong to our Holy Spirit Cult!"
"Yes!" The Holy Spirit Cult members still searching the valley immediately answered. Qian Chen's heart sank. Damn it. At this rate, I'll be discovered soon.
Qian Chen's mind worked quickly. Since he could no longer hide, he would pick a big one to slaughter before running, create some chaos, and then work something out. He had no choice. He had already sensed that the strongest Evil Soul Master here had reached the Soul Douluo realm. Although he could suppress that opponent with his Holy Angel Martial Soul, he could not handle so many people.
Just then, an Evil Soul Master approached him of his own accord. Qian Chen sensed his strength-only a Soul King. Exposing himself just to kill a Soul King would be far too poor a trade. He instantly released his spiritual power and swept the area. As it happened, a Soul Saint Evil Soul Master was not far away. Qian Chen ignored the Soul King entirely and walked straight toward that Soul Saint.
Seeing that Qian Chen had found another companion for mutual verification, the Soul King turned away to find someone else to verify his identity with.
Qian Chen slowly approached the Soul Saint. This Soul Saint was no simple character either. From a distance, he had already activated his perception to check whether the other man had an evil presence and met the most basic requirement of being an Evil Soul Master. Unfortunately, he did not. When Qian Chen was still ten meters away, the Soul Saint suddenly shouted, "Stop! Don't come any closer! Why can't I sense any evil presence from you? Remove your helmet and give me your name so I can check!"
The Soul Saint's shout immediately alerted every Evil Soul Master present, and they all turned their gazes toward them at once. Qian Chen smiled. "As expected of a Soul Saint-level expert. So cautious."
Then the Soul Saint circulated his Soul Power, and a pitch-black cleaver appeared in his hand.
Qian Chen did not immediately charge forward to finish him off. He was already surrounded. As he surveyed his surroundings and planned a route to break out, he began talking to the Soul Saint Evil Soul Master before him.
"From what I can see, that black saber of yours isn't a truly irredeemable Evil Martial Soul, is it? Why did you join the Holy Spirit Cult and become an Evil Soul Master who harms the continent?" Qian Chen asked.
"Heh, whether we're evil isn't for us to decide. It takes the local city lords and nobles, it takes the Shrek Inspection Corps saying you aren't an Evil Soul Master for it to count. Hmph, they forced all of this on me! Now I've joined the Holy Cult. The Holy Cult is what's right. Long live the Holy Cult! Long live the Cult Leader!" The Soul Saint shouted slogans frantically, as though he wanted to vent every grievance he had suffered in the world of normal people.
The surrounding Holy Spirit Cult disciples who heard his cries also seemed as though they had been injected with chicken blood, shouting along, "Long live the Holy Spirit Cult! Long live the Cult Leader!"
Qian Chen frowned and cursed inwardly. Tang San, you really deserve to die! How could things have been like this back when Spirit Hall was around? Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, and Ghost Leopard Douluo-weren't those dark-attribute Soul Masters able to grow normally and become Titled Douluo? They never harmed the Douluo Continent either. Without being driven into a corner, how would they have become Evil Soul Masters? Yet the world now, seemingly peaceful, was actually grotesquely warped.
Soon, he had planned an escape route.
Qian Chen said, "When you put it that way, I have nothing to say in response. Still, since you've chosen to fall completely, die."
With that, Qian Chen circulated his Soul Power, shattering the sour-smelling black clothes and revealing his original handsome appearance and attire. Then the Seven Kill Sword appeared, and he slashed it at the Soul Saint Evil Soul Master.