Chapter 614: Yuanfu Grows Strong, Bloodbath at Ren Hall
Two-Star Dou Saint!
Feeling the strength emanating from Mo Yu, Uncle Snake was taken aback. He hadn't expected Mo Yu, who had only been away for about half a year, to make such rapid progress in his strength.
However, he quickly composed himself, stroking his beard with a smile. But as his gaze shifted to the person beside Mo Yu—Zi Yan—his expression grew serious.
Now that he had also reached the Dou Saint level, Uncle Snake could clearly sense the terrifying aura from Zi Yan.
"And this is…?" Uncle Snake stood up respectfully, cupping his fists politely toward Zi Yan.
"Uncle Snake, this is Zi Yan. You've met her before," Mo Yu said with a smile, pointing at Zi Yan. "But now, she is the Dragon Emperor of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, here to help Yuanfu deal with the Hall of Souls."
"The Dragon Emperor of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan?"
Hearing this, the senior members of Yuanfu were stunned. Their hearts skipped a beat, and they looked at Mo Yu with disbelief. They couldn't fathom how he had managed to bring such a powerful figure to Yuanfu.
"Haha, I didn't realize that Miss Zi Yan had such an impressive identity. I must have been blind before," Uncle Snake said, recovering from his surprise. He cupped his fists again, this time more formally.
Zi Yan, however, responded with humility, knowing the close relationship between Mo Yu and Uncle Snake. She wasn't about to put on airs as a Dragon Emperor in front of him.
"There's no need for such formality, Uncle Snake. Treat her like the little girl she used to be," Mo Yu said with a smile. Then, turning serious, he asked, "Uncle Snake, since you mentioned earlier that we should strike back, have you already chosen which branch hall of the Hall of Souls to target?"
Uncle Snake nodded, his face becoming more serious. "Over the past months, we've been investigating the Hall of Souls and gathered a lot of intelligence. The Hall of Souls has many branch halls in Central Plains. Twenty-four of these are particularly important, and they refer to them as the Disha Halls. One of these halls was the one that imprisoned me, and the ones we've destroyed so far were mostly of this level."
"Disha Halls?" Mo Yu nodded thoughtfully.
"But above the Disha Halls, there are the Tiangang Halls, which are even more crucial to the Hall of Souls," Uncle Snake continued. "The Tiangang Halls are divided into the Heaven, Earth, and Human Halls. The Heaven Hall is their headquarters, though we still don't know where it's located. Our target this time is the Human Hall, one of the Tiangang Halls."
"The Earth Hall is under the command of the Vice Hall Masters of the Hall of Souls, while the Human Hall is overseen by the Great Heavenly Lord and the Second Heavenly Lord."
"Oh, the Great Heavenly Lord and the Second Heavenly Lord, huh? Looks like we meet again. Alright then, I'll take care of destroying the Human Hall. Uncle Snake, you'll hold down the fort here at Yuanfu," Mo Yu said.
After a brief moment of thought, Uncle Snake nodded.
"Since that's settled, take two days to rest. We'll set off for the Human Hall then," Mo Yu declared.
"Teacher!"
At that moment, Huangtu and his two fellow disciples approached, bowing respectfully to Mo Yu.
Seeing his three disciples, whom he had given a lot of freedom to, Mo Yu smiled in satisfaction. Though he hadn't been the most attentive teacher, these three had turned out to be exceptionally talented and hadn't disappointed either him or Yuanfu.
"Haha, these three have excellent talent. In just three or four years, they've broken through to Dou Zun, and their strength has become a cornerstone of Yuanfu. During the recent conflict with the Hall of Souls, they were a huge help, putting out fires and minimizing losses. In a few more years, they'll be able to take on even more responsibilities," Uncle Snake said with a smile.
"Dou Zuns…" Mo Yu looked at Huangtu and the others and couldn't help but chuckle. He recalled how much hardship he had endured to reach the Dou Zun level. Now, these three, still in their twenties, had become the youngest Dou Zuns on the continent. It made him a bit envious.
Then again, their achievements also reflected well on his teaching, didn't they?
"You've all done well. You haven't let me down," Mo Yu said, patting each of his disciples on the shoulder with a proud smile.
"Thank you, Teacher!" The three disciples beamed with excitement. Even though they were renowned young Dou Zuns in the outside world, in front of Mo Yu, they were just students eager for their teacher's approval.
Zi Yan, watching this scene, blinked in surprise and curiosity. She remembered when she first met Mo Yu back at Jia Nan Academy, when he was just a new student. Now, not only had he become a teacher, but he had also trained such remarkable disciples.
Over the next few days, Mo Yu stayed at Yuanfu, spending time with Xiao Yu, his main wife. When he wasn't with her, he trained his three disciples, teaching them several Dou Techniques.
Though the disciples didn't make significant breakthroughs in power, their combat abilities improved by leaps and bounds under Mo Yu's guidance.
After five days, Mo Yu felt the satisfaction of being a teacher. He could already imagine his three disciples becoming prominent figures on the continent in the next decade, and he would be proud to call himself their teacher.
During this time, Zihuo and Yao Ming returned to Yuanfu, each bringing a group of elite warriors to strengthen the two newly-formed halls.
Although the Absolute Fierce Lion Clan had been in decline for a long time, it was once a powerful family in the Beast Realm. With Zihuo's breakthrough to Dou Saint, the clan had begun to rise again, and many strong warriors filled the ranks of the Fierce Lion Hall. It quickly grew in strength, nearly regaining its former status as Yuanfu's top hall.
The newly-formed Dark Serpent Hall, led by Yao Ming, the leader of the Nine Nether Earth Python Clan and a powerful Dou Saint with the potential to reach Three-Star Dou Saint, was equally formidable.
Not only did Yao Ming himself add to the strength of the Dark Serpent Hall, but he also brought along ten Half-Saint-level experts from the Nine Nether Earth Python Clan. This nearly emptied out the clan's strongest warriors.
Mo Yu wasn't sure how Yao Ming had convinced the elders of the Nine Nether Earth Python Clan to join Yuanfu, but after the formation of the Dark Serpent Hall, Yuanfu's strength nearly doubled.
Previously, Yuanfu had relied on only a few individuals like Mo Yu and Uncle Snake to support it, lacking in top-tier combat power—a weakness of a relatively new faction. However, with the addition of the Nine Nether Earth Python Clan, one of the top three magical beast families, that weakness was greatly reduced.
Although the Nine Nether Earth Python Clan didn't have as pure a bloodline as the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan or the Sky Demon Phoenix Clan, they made up for it with sheer numbers. While they had fewer Dou Saint-level experts, they had plenty of Half-Saints and Dou Zuns, which perfectly complemented Yuanfu's previous lack of high-level combatants.
With the reinforcement of the Dark Serpent Hall and the Fierce Lion Hall, Yuanfu now had enough forces to protect its subsidiary cities and prevent the Hall of Souls from launching further attacks.
With their defenses bolstered, Mo Yu and his group quietly left Yuancheng. Only a few high-ranking members knew that Yuanfu's first counterattack against the Hall of Souls had begun.
The Burial Corpse Mountain Range, located at the southwestern edge of Central Plains, was a desolate and eerie place. Due to the terrain, the area was filled with dense yin energy, mixed with a strong stench of decay, as countless people had been buried in the mountains for miles around.
Whoosh!
In the stillness of the Burial Corpse Mountains, the sound of rushing wind suddenly broke the silence. Several figures appeared on a mountaintop deep in the range, their gazes fixed on the hidden space behind tall, gray trees. The space seemed to ripple faintly.
"The Human Hall of the Tiangang Halls is located deep within the Burial Corpse Mountains. However, there's a spatial barrier surrounding it, and anyone who enters will be immediately detected," said an elder from Yuanfu's intelligence division, pointing toward the depths.
Mo Yu nodded slightly and glanced at Zi Yan. She smiled and waved her sleeve, causing the space around them to ripple. A massive spatial barrier quickly formed, enveloping the entire area, including the hidden space.
At the center of this region stood a massive black hall, silent and foreboding, like an ancient beast crouched on the ground. A chilling, sinister aura spread from it, filling the enclosed space.
The area around the hall, stretching for miles, was eerily quiet. A strange atmosphere made the place feel unsettling.
Whoosh!
The silence had lasted for who knew how long when suddenly, several black clouds of mist rose from the chains surrounding the hall. The mist condensed into figures, cold and emotionless. These figures exchanged glances before gathering together.
"Let's go. It's time for our mission. Hopefully, we'll gather enough souls this time," one of the figures, seemingly the leader, said in a raspy voice.
"Heh, not long ago, Old Monster Liu's team attacked several of Yuanfu's cities. They brought back plenty of souls and were richly rewarded by the Heavenly Lord. This time, let's go and wipe out a few more of Yuanfu's cities," another figure said with a sinister smile.
"Yes, and remember, leave no survivors," the leader added with a cruel grin. With a wave of his hand, the group of black figures turned into black mist and shot toward the edge of the space.
Boom!
However, just as the black mist was about to break through the spatial barrier, the space around them suddenly solidified and collapsed inward. The dozen or so figures were crushed into nothingness before they could even scream.
Rip!
As the black figures were annihilated, a large opening appeared in the spatial barrier, and several figures slowly stepped through, their feet landing on the dark ground.
Woo!
The moment Mo Yu and his group stepped into the barrier, a mournful wail echoed from the giant black hall. The black mist surrounding the chains suddenly stirred, and countless eerie gazes locked onto the intruders.
"How dare you trespass in the Hall of Souls! Prepare to die!"
A chorus of chilling voices shattered the silence, and dozens of figures leaped from the chains. Without waiting for orders, they transformed into dark streaks of light, surging toward Mo Yu and his group like a storm.
"Hmph, a bunch of cannon fodder, rushing to their deaths!"
Mo Yu chuckled and waved his hand. A violent sea of lightning erupted around him, and any black figure that approached within ten feet was instantly vaporized. Some of the weaker ones didn't even have time to scream before they were annihilated.
The sea of lightning spread, and the remaining black figures froze in terror, realizing too late that this group of people hadn't come to die—they were here with a purpose!
"You fools dare to cause trouble in the Hall of Souls? You must be tired of living! All Heavenly Lords, capture them!"
As the lightning engulfed the sky, an enraged voice echoed from the depths of the black hall. In an instant, more than a dozen figures shot out from the hall, hovering in the sky, their sinister eyes fixed on Mo Yu and his group.
"Haha, mere Dou Zuns dare to stand against me? You're all dead!"
Mo Yu laughed, his voice booming like thunder as he stepped across the sea of lightning, appearing in the sky. With a casual gesture, he clenched his fist, causing the space around the group of Hall of Souls Heavenly Lords to freeze. Then, with a crushing motion of his hand, the space collapsed.
Boom!
In an instant, the dozen or so Heavenly Lords exploded into bloody mist, their souls crushed by the overwhelming force of space. At Mo Yu's current level of power, these Dou Zun-level warriors were no match for him.
With a casual wave, Mo Yu had wiped out the group of Heavenly Lords. He then looked around the giant black hall and sneered. "Great Heavenly Lord, are you still going to hide? If you wait any longer, I'll turn this entire branch hall into a bloodbath."
"Hmph, such arrogance! Do not think that just because you've reached the Dou Saint level, you can do whatever you please. It would take only a flick of our fingers for the Soul Clan to destroy you!"
As Mo Yu's voice faded, a cold sneer echoed from deep within the black hall. Dense black mist surged out, and within it, two skeletal figures exuding an eerie, terrifying aura slowly emerged.
They were none other than the Great Heavenly Lord and the Second Heavenly Lord! (End of Chapter)
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