Heaven Dou City descended into utter chaos.
The crowds in the streets fled frantically outward.
Cries.
Screams.
The sounds of shoving.
All merged into one.
"Don't panic!"
"All Soul Masters, maintain order in your assigned sectors!"
"Evacuate the civilians first!"
Qian Renxue stood on high ground, swiftly issuing orders.
The Soul Masters from the crown prince's estate and Spirit Hall immediately dispersed.
Yet her gaze remained fixed on the colossal creature within the city.
The Ebon Deer of Abundance.
That presence-
Made her instinctively uneasy.
The main battlefield.
Yao Kurong stood atop the Ebon Deer's head.
Nine Soul Rings circled his body.
As he gazed at Guang Ling and the others hovering around him, he no longer concealed the madness on his face.
"Spirit Hall!"
"You've gone too far!"
Guang Ling coldly drew his bowstring.
"Enough talk."
Yao Kurong abruptly spread his arms.
"Sacred Deer!"
"Crush them!"
"Yooo-!"
The deer's cry resounded throughout Heaven Dou.
The Ebon Deer of Abundance suddenly raised its forehooves.
The next instant.
It stamped down hard!
Boom!!!
The earth burst apart.
Terrifying tremors instantly swept through all of Heaven Dou City.
Houses swayed.
Roof tiles fell.
Countless people lost their footing.
Immediately afterward.
Crack!
Crack!
Cracks spread wildly outward from beneath the Ebon Deer's feet.
Then-
Branches burst from the earth!
Not one.
Not ten.
But an entire expanse!
Cyan-blue, golden yellow, pitch-black.
Enormous branches of every shape grew wildly from the streets, rooftops, and gaps between paving stones.
Some shot several zhang straight upward.
Some resembled enormous, crooked hands.
Some flowered.
Some bore fruit.
In the blink of an eye.
Half the city seemed to have become a bizarre forest.
More terrifying still-
A sickeningly dense presence of life began spreading in every direction.
Abundance!
Lin Yuan's expression changed drastically.
"Everyone!"
"Stay away from those trees!"
But it was already too late.
On the street.
A fleeing nobleman suddenly stopped.
He lowered his head to look at his arm.
Beneath his skin.
Something was writhing.
The next moment.
Pfft!
A tender branch burst out of his body.
"Aah!!!"
A wretched scream instantly rang out.
Then came a second branch.
A third.
Within a few breaths.
His shoulders, back, and arms were covered in branches.
And this was only the beginning.
Those who had long taken pills from the Hall of Relief-
Lost control completely.
Some people's bodies rapidly swelled.
Golden-green patterns appeared beneath some people's skin.
Some even began sprouting leaves and roots.
"Help me!"
"Help me!!"
A middle-aged man fell to the ground and rolled about frantically.
He seized the branch growing from his chest and yanked hard.
The branch came out.
But took a chunk of flesh with it.
Blood instantly gushed out.
Yet the next second.
The wound began writhing again.
Fresh buds sprouted once more.
"No!"
"Please, no!"
And although those who had taken only a small quantity of pills did not immediately lose control.
They, too, began to mutate.
The backs of their hands.
Their necks.
Their cheeks.
Tiny buds slowly pushed through their skin.
Throughout Heaven Dou City.
Agonized screams rose on all sides.
High in the sky.
Every trace of playfulness vanished from Guang Ling's face.
Qian Jun tightened his grip on the Coiling Dragon Staff.
Jiang Mo stared fixedly below.
Snake Lance and Pufferfish looked equally grave.
They finally understood.
Why Lin Yuan had always taken the Medicine King Holy Church so seriously.
These were no ordinary Evil Soul Masters.
This was a disaster.
And atop the Ebon Deer's head.
Yao Kurong gazed at the mutating crowds throughout the city.
There was no fear.
No pity.
Instead, he spread his arms.
The expression on his face grew increasingly fanatical.
"The Medicine King's compassion-"
"The Sacred Tree bestows life!"
His voice echoed throughout Heaven Dou City.
"Death is merely the fear of mortals!"
"Flesh and blood are the shackles of life!"
"Today!"
"The Sacred Deer descends!"
"The Medicine King bestows his blessing!"
"You shall all attain-"
"Immortality!"
Guang Ling's gaze was icy.
"Lunatic."
Qian Jun slowly raised the Coiling Dragon Staff.
"We can't let this thing keep going."
Jiang Mo said gravely:
"Let it stamp a few more times."
"And all of Heaven Dou City will become a forest."
Meanwhile, below.
Lin Yuan stared fixedly at the Ebon Deer of Abundance.
The Imperial Bow had already appeared in his hand.
Four disguised Soul Rings slowly rose.
Yet his gaze was colder than ever.
What others saw was a Sacred Deer.
Life.
A miracle.
But he saw only one word.
Prey.
"Teacher!"
Lin Yuan abruptly raised his head, his voice cutting straight through the surrounding rumble.
"The source of every mutation is that Ebon Deer of Abundance!"
Guang Ling's gaze sharpened.
Lin Yuan tightened his grip on the Imperial Bow, staring fixedly at the enormous deer standing amid the ruins.
"As long as it's alive, these things won't stop."
"To bring Heaven Dou City under control-"
"Kill the deer first!"
The words had barely fallen.
The sky suddenly lit up.
A streak of sword light tore through the clouds.
It was so fast that only a straight white line remained.
The next instant.
Boom!
Sword Qi swept across the sky, forcibly severing dozens of golden-green vines spreading toward the streets.
The severed vines fell from midair.
A white-robed figure arrived atop a flying sword.
The Seven Kill Sword hovered at his side.
Sword intent shot straight into the clouds.
Chen Xin had arrived.
Almost immediately, he spotted Guang Ling, Qian Jun, Jiang Mo, Snake Lance, and Pufferfish standing in midair.
Five Titled Douluos.
All from Spirit Hall.
Chen Xin's brows instantly furrowed.
"Spirit Hall?"
His gaze swept over the plants growing wildly throughout the city, then settled on the enormous Ebon Deer of Abundance.
"What is going on?"
"Senior Sword Douluo!"
Lin Yuan gave him no chance to question them further.
"Now isn't the time for that!"
He raised the Imperial Bow, pointing its edge straight at the Ebon Deer of Abundance.
"Deal with that deer first!"
"It's the source of everything!"
Chen Xin did not answer immediately.
He looked down.
Streets split apart.
Houses collapsed.
Vines covered the walls.
Commoners lay on the ground, grotesque green roots bulging beneath their skin.
Farther away.
Screams continued to ring out.
The doubt in Chen Xin's eyes faded bit by bit.
What replaced it.
Was coldness.
He raised the Seven Kill Sword.
Its tip pointed straight at the Ebon Deer.
"Fine."
Just one word.
His sword intent abruptly surged.
But the next moment.
Chen Xin turned his head, looking coldly at Guang Ling and the others.
"But once this is over."
"Your Spirit Hall-"
"Had better give this old man a proper explanation."
"Of exactly what is going on."
Chen Xin had barely finished speaking.
A clear shout suddenly rang out in the distance.
"All members of Spirit Hall!"
Qian Renxue stood atop a tall building, her golden hair whipping in the fierce wind.
She looked down over all of Heaven Dou City.
The streets had already descended into chaos.
The vines were still spreading.
More and more people were falling.
Her gaze turned utterly cold.
"Fight to the death! Do not retreat!"
Amplified by Soul Power, her voice instantly carried across several streets.
The Spirit Hall Soul Masters evacuating the crowds all stopped in their tracks.
The next moment.
They turned in unison.
"Yes!"
Qian Renxue continued issuing orders.
"Send word to every Spirit Hall Branch around Heaven Dou City!"
"All Soul Ancestors and above are to enter the city immediately!"
"Everyone else, seal off the city gates and evacuate the civilians!"
"Isolate anyone invaded by the vines!"
"Without my orders-"
"No one is permitted to retreat!"
Order after order rang out.
The previously disorganized Spirit Hall Soul Masters quickly split into several teams.
Rescuing people.
Blocking roads.
Sending messages.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Meanwhile, on the main battlefield.
Guang Ling had already raised his head.
"Did you hear that?"
A cold smile tugged at his lips.
"The young master has ordered us to fight to the death without retreating."
"Then stop holding back."
Boom!
Terrifying Soul Power suddenly erupted.
Ice-blue light shot into the sky.
The phantom of an enormous divine ice bow unfurled behind Guang Ling.
"Seventh Soul Skill-"
"Martial Soul Avatar!"
Humm-!
Between heaven and earth, a bowstring thrummed.
Bone-piercing cold instantly swept across the sky.
Immediately afterward.
"Martial Soul Avatar!"
Qian Jun stepped forward.
The Coiling Dragon Staff swelled in the wind.
A golden dragon coiled around the staff, its roar shaking the heavens.
Jiang Mo unleashed his Soul Power almost simultaneously.
Another Coiling Dragon Staff stretched across the sky.
Twin dragons roared!
Behind Snake Lance Douluo, an enormous serpent phantom coiled upward.
The Snake Lance transformed into a chilling, massive blade dozens of meters long.
Porcupinefish Douluo's body rapidly expanded.
Countless spikes burst from the surface of his body.
Purple-black poisonous mist billowed out.
In an instant.
Five Titled Douluos.
Their Martial Soul Avatars-
Were all unleashed!
Rumble-!
Five waves of Titled Douluo-level pressure bore down on the earth simultaneously.
Even the air seemed to freeze.