The Iron Protector reappeared, his terrifyingly cold aura—now several times stronger than before—instantly blanketing the entire Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain range.
The already dim sky grew even darker, filled with howling winds.
"Jie jie! Xiao Yan, you may have snatched those Dou Wang and Dou Huang souls, but the most precious Dou Zong soul has fallen into this protector's hands!"
The Iron Protector raised his palm, revealing an eerie green light trapped within a swirling black mist.
No matter how violently the green light struggled, it couldn't break free from the dark fog. Curses and roars echoed from within—unmistakably Wu Ya's voice.
After flaunting his prize, the Iron Protector devoured the soul in one gulp.
Yao Lao, who had been watching the battle, tensed. After consuming countless spirits, this Soul Hall protector had reached the six-star Dou Zong level.
And now, with a Dou Zong soul added to his feast, his power would surge even further—already reaching a level that couldn't be ignored.
"Xiao Yan has always been meticulous. How could he make such a critical oversight? If this protector reaches seven-star Dou Zong, he'll become a real nuisance."
Nurtured by Xiao Yan's abundant Dou Qi for years and further recovering over time, Yao Lao, though not at his peak, could still unleash strength rivaling a Dou Venerate.
The gap between Dou Zong and Dou Venerate was like heaven and earth—utterly incomparable.
Trapped in the poisonous mist, Xie Biyan couldn't see what was happening outside, but sensing the Iron Protector's overwhelming aura, he rejoiced as if parched land finally receiving rain.
The Iron Protector's current strength far surpassed his own. Dealing with Xiao Yan, a mere Dou Wang, shouldn't take long.
After refining Wu Ya's soul, the Iron Protector's black armor—forged from darkness and death—exuded a bone-chilling aura, each plate oozing ghostly energy.
"Jie jie! This protector originally planned to ally with the Poison Sect to wipe out Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain and grant you a great opportunity. Yet you spat on my kindness."
"Now, dying by my hand and merging into my being like these souls—you have no one to blame but yourselves."
The Iron Protector had never been happier. Though his current power was somewhat unstable, he'd retain a significant portion of it afterward—far stronger than before.
Moreover, with the Poison Sect's top experts all dead, the sect was now ripe for the taking.
Using their souls, he could stabilize his strength, advance further, and even meet the Soul Hall's quotas for years to come.
With such bright prospects ahead, the Iron Protector swung his arm, releasing a sinister black mist that corroded space itself, causing it to tremble and crack.
A casual strike from him carried such terrifying force—proof of his overwhelming power.
"Flame Seal, release!"
Xiao Yan's hands clapped together, and the flame mark between his brows suddenly blazed to life. A surge of Dou Qi erupted, its crimson radiance as dazzling as the sun.
But this time, Xiao Yan didn't summon the Flame God or absorb the energy himself. Instead, he channeled it all into the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion beneath him.
As the fiery Dou Qi enveloped the scorpion, its fearsome appearance transformed. Crimson armor replaced its natural carapace, flames licking across its body like a blazing inferno.
In an instant, the scorpion became a beast of pure fire, its massive pincers morphing into two colossal flaming swords capable of splitting mountains and severing rivers.
To others, the swords might have seemed merely oversized. But Yao Lao recognized them instantly—they were the Plough Spirit Sword, the very soul skill he had spent years mastering.
Yet in the hands of its creator, Xiao Yan, the technique had taken on an entirely new form.
With a thought from Xiao Yan, the massive energy sword—dozens of zhang long—trembled violently. The sheer force it carried made space itself ripple.
The Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion's strength surpassed Xiao Yan's own. Combined with the Flame Seal's energy and his control, the gap between them and the Iron Protector narrowed significantly.
Xiao Yan's dark eyes burned with determination as the giant sword surged forward to meet the black mist.
"Jie jie! You think this broken sword can oppose this protector? How laughable!" The Iron Protector sneered, utterly dismissive of the blazing sword.
At his current strength, he ranked among the Soul Hall's elite protectors.
For a mere Dou Wang and a sixth-tier magical beast to combine forces and reach Dou Zong-level power was already impressive.
Yet the moment the giant sword touched the black mist, it acted as if encountering a feast—voraciously devouring the mist's immense energy.
As the sword rapidly absorbed the energy, two crimson lights flickered beneath the Iron Protector's helmet. He watched in disbelief as the last traces of his mist vanished, completely dissolved.
His attack—at the peak of six-star Dou Zong, nearing seven-star—had not only failed to harm a mere Dou Wang and a sixth-tier beast but had been completely neutralized.
What the Iron Protector didn't know was that the sword wielded by the scorpion was the Plough Spirit, the bane of all spirits. Its edge carried the power to sever souls and devour essence.
This was why the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion, amplified by the Flame Seal, could bridge the gap of an entire major realm.
"Damnable insect!"
The Iron Protector's voice darkened. A surge of pitch-black energy erupted from his body, condensing into a massive black palm dozens of zhang wide in the sky. With a furious roar, he slammed it down onto the oncoming sword.
BOOM!
The black palm moved with terrifying speed, colliding with the sword's tip in an instant.
The impact unleashed a deafening explosion, the shockwaves tearing at the fabric of space. Clouds churned violently, and cracks spiderwebbed through the air like fragile gauze.
Under this overwhelming force, the Four-Winged Heavenly Demon Scorpion staggered violently. The giant sword, unable to withstand the pressure, fractured with countless hairline cracks.
But as the palm's energy dispersed, the Plough Spirit Sword began its work—continuously absorbing the soul-rich black mist around it.
The cracks on the sword visibly mended, the blade growing sharper than ever.
"What kind of sorcery is this?!"
The Iron Protector's mind reeled. He couldn't fathom what kind of technique or secret art could forge such an indestructible, unpredictable sword.
People often viewed Soul Hall members as mysterious and terrifying. Now, the Iron Protector finally understood their perspective.
His shock lasted only moments before the ever-growing sword forced him into action. Face grim, he began weaving his hands in an intricate pattern.
The dense black mist around him churned violently, rapidly shrinking until it condensed into a single black sphere the size of a human head.
The sphere hovered before him, its darkness so profound it seemed to suck in the very soul of anyone who gazed upon it.
But after unleashing this technique, the Iron Protector's aura abruptly withered, his strength significantly drained.
"DIE!"
With a venomous snarl, he hurled the black sphere forward like a meteor, aiming straight for Xiao Yan.
The Little Fairy Doctor's poison could corrode souls. If he wasted too much time here, allowing Xie Biyan to be fully saturated by her toxins, that Dou Zong-level soul would be ruined.
Having absorbed the Iron Protector's attack, the radiant giant sword thrust forward. Simultaneously, the second sword—now on the left—lunged toward the weakened protector.
"Coming straight for me?! Even weakened, a peak six-star Dou Zong isn't something a mere beast can challenge!"
The Iron Protector waved his hands, unleashing a barrage of black palm strikes. Each carried terrifying force, capable of shredding anything in their path.
At the same time, the sinister black sphere collided with the giant sword.
Two devastating forces clashed in midair, their point of impact warping space to the extreme. Shockwaves hundreds of zhang wide radiated outward, reducing nearby mountain peaks to rubble—their cleaved surfaces smooth as mirrors.
The resulting gales tore through the sky, dispersing the poisonous mist shrouding Xie Biyan and revealing his battered form.
The once-mighty Xie Biyan was now a pitiful sight—covered in blood, one of his massive pincers completely severed, crimson droplets cascading from the stump.
Beneath his withered skin, something squirmed as if countless worms burrowed within. Veins bulged on his forehead, his face deathly pale.
Only the dispersal of the poison gave him a fleeting chance to breathe.
In stark contrast, the Little Fairy Doctor stood atop her serpent, robes fluttering gracefully, showing no signs of having fought at all.
Yao Lao's gaze shifted to Xie Biyan, and he couldn't help but suck in a cold breath.
"How terrifying is this Calamity Poison Body?! At merely one-star Dou Zong, she's reduced a peak five-star Dou Zong to such a state!"
In his memories, previous Calamity Poison Bodies had never exhibited such monstrous power.
While the Little Fairy Doctor's battle neared its end, Xiao Yan and the Iron Protector reached their climax.
The right pincer's giant sword suddenly dimmed, its brilliance fading like a dying firefly, on the verge of extinguishing.
The black sphere closed in, causing the weakened sword to shatter inch by inch.
A cruel smirk tugged at the Iron Protector's lips. Victory was his. That fool Xie Biyan couldn't even handle a girl—what useless trash!
But before his triumph could fully settle in, the seemingly doomed sword underwent a miraculous transformation.
It twisted, contorted, and shrank at blinding speed, morphing into a massive fiery shield—larger than a city gate—positioned between the scorpion, Xiao Yan, and the incoming sphere.
The change happened so fast it defied comprehension.
Meanwhile, the left pincer's sword continued its unstoppable advance. The Iron Protector's barrage of black palms shattered like glass against its overwhelming force, their soul energy instantly absorbed.
These two transformations, though complex, occurred in the span of a heartbeat—as if time and space itself had bent.
A surge of dread flooded the Iron Protector's heart. He tried to evade the oncoming blade, waiting for his attack to break through the shield.
But the moment he moved, an invisible force yanked at him, dragging him helplessly toward the sword's edge—like iron to a magnet.
He struggled midair, but resistance was futile.
"What kind of devilry is this?!"
Cold sweat dripped down his forehead. Never had he encountered such a bizarre attack. The sword's power far exceeded his expectations.
Only now did he realize how severely he had underestimated these two youths from the Poison Sect.
He fought desperately against the pull but found himself trapped, unable to break free.
The sword transformed into a beam of crimson light, its speed surpassing limits, piercing through the Iron Protector's body like paper.
The energy he had just devoured gushed out uncontrollably, his form dimming visibly.
"If I die, you won't live either!"
With a final, venomous glare at the black sphere about to strike the shield, the Iron Protector unleashed his last act of spite.
A thunderous explosion erupted as a devastating black shockwave swept outward.
The sheer pressure alone caused the surrounding mountain range to collapse entirely, rocks and earth shattering in a cacophony of destruction.
For a moment, the entire Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain descended into chaos.
Xie Biyan, knowing his end was near, fixed his gaze on Xiao Yan behind the shield. If he could witness the architect of his sect's downfall perish with him, it would be worth it.
(End of Chapter)
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