Fallen One

Lan Hong naturally knew nothing about Huo Wu wanting to find him for another fight. He had even forgotten all about her.

Lan Hong was cultivating now. A closer look revealed red and blue light swirling around him.

Suddenly, Lan Hong opened his eyes, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Lan Hong, congratulations on succeeding!"

"It was all thanks to Brother Cat's planning and your guidance, Hong Mao! Only then was I able to complete Yin-Yang Convergence and cultivate both the Changhong Heart Method and the Ice Soul Heart Method at the same time.

"I'm already level 25 now, and my Soul Power is growing even faster than before.

"Perhaps I can reach level 30 before arriving at Heaven Dou City!"

"Lan Hong, there is no need to rush. You must build a solid foundation!"

"I will! I won't be impatient for quick success. I'll simply let nature take its course!"

After that, Lan Hong spent less than half each day traveling. The rest of his time went toward practicing swordsmanship and cultivating Soul Power. Though dull, it was immensely fulfilling.

Another two months passed like this. Lan Hong had nearly crossed the entire Vixlock Plains and was no longer far from Silvis City.

One day, as Lan Hong approached a village, he suddenly frowned.

"The smell of blood! There's such a strong smell of blood! What happened in the village ahead?"

Lan Hong quickened his pace and rushed closer. Yet the sight that greeted him after entering the village nearly made him vomit.

Corpses lay everywhere. Not even women and children had been spared. They had died horribly, and many of their bodies were not even intact.

The reason Lan Hong could smell such an overpowering stench of blood was that there was a nearly dried-up pool of blood in the center of the village.

Soul Power fluctuations surrounded the blood pool, and intricate, incomprehensible patterns had been carved around it. This was clearly an evil blood sacrifice.

"Evil Soul Masters! No, at this time, they should be called Fallen Ones—the targets Spirit Hall has always pursued! I never expected to witness Fallen Ones slaughtering an entire village!"

"Lan Hong!"

"I understand. The Seven Swords cannot ignore something like this, and neither can I! The blood pool hasn't dried yet, which means those Fallen Ones have not been gone for long. I should be able to catch them!

"But before that, I need to deal with the bodies here!"

Lan Hong gathered the bodies from the village and cremated them together. He had wondered whether there might be survivors, but there were none.

Things from stories did not happen every time in real life. After burning the bodies and scattering a stack of yellow funeral paper, Lan Hong followed the Soul Power fluctuations left behind by the Fallen Ones.

Any Fallen Ones bold enough to massacre a village could not be weak. At the very least, they would be Soul Ancestors. There might even be Spirit Kings. If they were Soul Emperors, he might have to flee.

Lan Hong tracked them for an entire day before finally finding them. Both figures were covered from head to toe in black cloaks.

There was another village not far ahead. These two probably intended to slaughter that village as well.

"Lan Hong, we absolutely cannot let them massacre another village!"

"I know! We have to wait for nightfall. They're waiting for nightfall too. I have to kill one of them in a sneak attack! Otherwise, it'll be difficult to win!"

As darkness fell, Lan Hong activated the Breath Concealment Art, suppressing his aura as much as possible and using the cover of night to approach the two Fallen Ones.

Once he reached the right distance, Lan Hong struck decisively. Changhong Pierces the Sun flew forth at the absolute limit of his speed.

The Fallen One noticed someone was attacking him and was just about to react, but it was already too late.

The Changhong Sword pierced through his body, and scorching sword qi erupted inside him. Yet to Lan Hong's surprise, the man did not die.

The other man's attack arrived in an instant. Lan Hong hurriedly used Lingbo Weibu to evade it.

Only then did he notice that the uninjured man was a five-ring Spirit King. His Spirit Rings were white, yellow, purple, purple, and purple!

His Martial Soul was the Man Faced Demon Spider, a creature hated even by soul beasts. The other man, whom Lan Hong had severely injured, had survived because his Martial Soul was Skeleton.

That bizarre Martial Soul had saved his life, but Lan Hong had already achieved his goal.

Now, he only needed to focus on dealing with this five-ring Spirit King Fallen One.

"Damn it! You dare hurt my brother? I'll devour you!"

After his Martial Soul Possession, the Spirit King became especially hideous and terrifying. As expected, Fallen Ones could no longer be judged as ordinary people.

He was incredibly fast. Even with Lan Hong pushing his speed to the limit, he could only ensure that he would not be caught.

"Brat! Where do you think you're running? First Spirit Skill, Spider Web Restraint!"

In an instant, a massive web coated in venom descended upon Lan Hong.

"I hate spiders!"

Thinking this, Lan Hong swung the Changhong Sword and unleashed Sky Full of Fire Clouds, slicing through the spider web before fleeing. He did not stop until he reached the water's edge.

"Kid, why aren't you running anymore? Can't run any farther? Then die! Second Spirit Skill, Spider Stinger Assault!"

A spider leg coated in venom stabbed toward Lan Hong. In an instant, Lan Hong swept up water and formed it into an ice wall to block the attack.

After the ice wall shattered, Lan Hong vanished from the Spirit King's sight.

"Hide! Let's see where you can hide! Third Spirit Skill, Spider Sense!"

The bristles on the Man Faced Demon Spider Martial Soul trembled as it sensed the surrounding area through vibrations.

"Found you! You actually hid underwater!"

The Man Faced Demon Spider Martial Soul opened its mouth and fired a stream of sickly green venom into the water.

At that moment, Lan Hong burst out from beneath the water. He now held two swords in his hands: the Changhong Sword and the Ice Soul Sword.

The scorching true qi on the Changhong Sword instantly turned the turbulent water around him into even hotter steam.

Then, with the Hundred Phoenixes Return to Nest sword technique, he drove all the scorching steam around him, carrying Changhong True Qi, toward the Spirit King Fallen One.

"Fourth Spirit Skill, Spider Armor Shield!"

As expected of a Spirit King's Fourth Spirit Skill, it easily blocked the attack. However, the scalding steam exploded outward.

"Ah! So hot! So hot!"

It was not over yet. Lan Hong activated the Ice Soul Heart Method again and unleashed Ice Sky Snow Land, letting him experience exactly what it meant to suffer through both ice and fire.

"Whew! Is it over?"

Crack! Crack! Bang! The ice sculpture exploded. The Spirit King Fallen One's skin had festered and peeled away from the instantaneous alternation between extreme heat and cold, making him look even more hideous and terrifying.

"I'll kill you!"

His furious roar could be heard for miles around.

"Fifth Spirit Skill, Demon Transformation!"

This move allowed him to completely transform into a Man Faced Demon Spider for a short time, losing all reason and retaining only the instinct and desire to kill.

As everyone knew, at the same rank, most soul beasts were stronger than Soul Masters, not to mention an evil Man Faced Demon Spider like this.

Seeing the Fallen One completely turn into a Man Faced Demon Spider, Lan Hong's first reaction was to run.

This Spirit Skill had to carry a tremendous cost and a time limit. As long as he stalled it out, he could win, so there was no need to fight it head-on.

However, the Man Faced Demon Spider's speed far exceeded Lan Hong's expectations.