Zhongli Wu and the other seven stood atop a steep mountain peak, all clad in black robes.
This place was no longer far from Dragon City and was likewise located in the northern part of the Heavenly Soul Empire. The biting cold wind howled fiercely, and the entire mountain peak was blanketed in a thick layer of snow.
The black-robed figure standing beside Zhongli Wu appeared somewhat petite compared to the others. The wide robe completely concealed her body, and her gender could only be discerned from the curves of her figure.
This was an extremely rare female evil soul master. A hood covered her head, and her face was hidden behind a black veil, revealing only a pair of very unusual blue-gray eyes that quietly gazed ahead.
Among the Holy Spirit Cult, the only one qualified to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhongli Wu was the cult's vice-leader, the Evil Phoenix Douluo, Feng Ling.
Her martial soul was the Evil Phoenix, a powerful martial soul infinitely close to the ultimate attribute of extreme evil. Her soul power cultivation had also reached rank 97.
The remaining five were, without exception, all Titled Douluo-level powerhouses. A total of seven Titled Douluo-level evil soul masters had gathered here. If Xu Zihuang had not used the innate ability of his Golden Eyed martial soul to detect the situation here in advance, Du Busi and the people from the Body Sect would have suffered a major loss. Although the four people Du Busi brought were also titled Douluo, and two of them were Super Douluo.
Under Zhongli Wu and Feng Ling, the two leaders, the Holy Spirit Cult had eight great elders, all of whom were at the Titled Douluo level. These eight great elders were also the direct lineage of the Holy Spirit Cult.
In addition to the eight great elders, the Holy Spirit Cult also had an Enshrinement Hall. In truth, the evil soul masters of the Enshrinement Hall possessed the strongest power. The Hall Master of the Enshrinement Hall was the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.
Excluding the chief enshrinee of the Enshrinement Hall, Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, there were eleven other enshrinees, all of whom possessed cultivation at or above the Titled Douluo level. Among them, five were Super Douluo.
The Enshrinement Hall held a transcendent status within the Holy Spirit Cult and only obeyed the orders of the chief enshrinee Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao and the Supreme Leader, Death God Douluo Ye Xishui.
Among the Titled Douluo evil soul masters Zhongli Wu had brought this time, only one came from the Enshrinement Hall. This alone was sufficient to verify that fact.
This enshrinee of the Holy Spirit Cult was also a familiar face: none other than the Scorpion Tiger Douluo, Zhang Peng.
The remaining four were all elders of the Holy Spirit Cult.
They were respectively the Second Elder Heavenly Centipede Douluo Nangong Wan, the Third Elder Dark Lightning Douluo, the Fourth Elder Netherworld Douluo, and the Seventh Elder Masquerade Douluo.
Although among them, the one with the highest soul power cultivation, Heavenly Centipede Douluo Nangong Wan, was only at rank 93, evil soul masters could never be judged by common sense.
Zhongli Wu had mobilized such a group of powerhouses to assemble here, which showed just how determined they were to severely wound the Heavenly Soul Empire and the reinforcements from the Body Sect.
On the snow-white mountain peak, the seven people in black robes should have been extremely conspicuous by all rights. The reason they dared to stand here without being exposed was entirely due to the Masquerade Douluo's ability.
Dense illusory light shadows filled the surroundings of the seven people. Those were clearly countless pale white maggots. These maggots seemed to have formed an array, and each one emitted a bizarre, eerie spiritual fluctuation that distorted the surrounding light while concealing all auras, including soul power and spiritual power.
The Masquerade Douluo's title "Masquerade" had no direct connection to his martial soul. His martial soul was called Demonic Maggot, a strange martial soul that required devouring human souls to evolve. In a certain sense, he could also be considered half a spiritual-attribute soul master.
However, his Demonic Maggot martial soul had a wide array of abilities, not only possessing intense poison but also many other malevolent powers. Thus, his abilities were of a mixed type.
It was unknown whether Du Busi had anticipated in advance that the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult would set an ambush, but the Spiritual Brain Douluo Lang Ya he brought along happened to counter the Masquerade Douluo's ability quite effectively.
Within a certain range, Lang Ya, with his top-tier spiritual-attribute body martial soul, the Brain, would definitely be able to sense any abnormality in advance. However, doing so would inevitably allow the Holy Spirit Cult to seize the initiative, putting the Body Sect in a relatively passive position.
Now, thanks to Xu Zihuang's presence, the situation had instantly reversed.
Heavenly Centipede Douluo, Dark Lightning Douluo, Netherworld Douluo, and Masquerade Douluo had cultivated together in the Holy Spirit Cult since childhood and were very familiar with Masquerade Douluo's abilities, so they felt nothing unusual.
But Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng made no effort to hide the disgust in his eyes. After all, even among evil soul masters, there existed a hierarchy of contempt.
At that moment, the corner of Zhongli Wu's eye twitched without warning. The sudden change in aura caused Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, Heavenly Centipede Douluo Nangong Wan, and the others to immediately turn solemn.
Even Feng Ling turned her head in puzzlement toward Zhongli Wu, her icy voice sounding.
"Cult Leader, what is it?"
Zhongli Wu focused his mind to probe the surroundings, his eyes filled with confusion.
With his level of cultivation, he had already begun attempting to merge himself with this world. Although he could not sense the exact source of any threat to himself, the way a true Limit Douluo could, his premonitions were still quite accurate.
Suddenly, a brilliant, enormous golden eye pupil phantom silently bloomed among the seven people. The noble golden radiance seemed to contain divine power transcending the laws of this world, causing the pale white Demonic Maggot light shadows released by the Masquerade Douluo to vanish into thin air in an instant.
A tall, upright young man stepped out from the golden pupil phantom. His long black hair fluttered, and coldness filled his deep purple eyes.
Xu Zihuang faced Zhongli Wu, the corners of his mouth curving into a subtle arc.
"It's been a while, Cult Leader Zhong Li."
As he spoke, Xu Zihuang slowly raised his right hand. A deep, abyss-like yet tangibly real black sphere hovered in his palm. Inside the black sphere, unknown derivative changes seemed to be continuously occurring, and the surrounding space began to show unhealable cracks, through which starlight could be seen.
The appearance of this black sphere clearly destabilized the surrounding space, creating cracks that spread outward. Although it was only the size of a human head, all seven members of the Holy Spirit Cult felt their scalps go numb, sensing an intense palpitation from it. It was the true feeling of life being threatened.
Terrifying aura surged. Various soul rings rose from beneath their feet. Driven by the instinctual will to survive, Zhongli Wu and the other seven instinctively released their martial souls at the same moment. While using various means to defend, they rapidly retreated.
Zhongli Wu reacted first, his face contorted as he roared furiously.
"Scatter! Don't take it head-on!"
"After a year apart, this is my gift to celebrate our reunion here."
Xu Zihuang looked at Zhongli Wu with mockery in his eyes. The black sphere slowly rose from his right palm into the high sky, then erupted with blinding white incandescent light.
"Boom, boom, boom—"
Deafening explosions resounded through the heavens. The terrifying shockwave shattered the space for several kilometers around and spread across dozens of kilometers.
The incandescent white light instantly engulfed the several-thousand-meter-high mountain peak and continued expanding outward, even beginning to melt the entire mountain range starting from the peak.
It took more than ten breaths of time before the enormous incandescent light orb gradually dimmed. Dust and smoke lingered, thick and undispersed.
Like the sun falling to earth, the center of the mountain range had been completely leveled. The melted snow revealed the original gray-brown rock and ground. After the world returned to calm, pristine white snowflakes continued drifting down from the sky.
Bathed in the fine falling snow, Xu Zihuang stood proudly. His luxurious purple-gold robe remained spotlessly clean and neat, swaying gently in the wind.
Then, as if sensing something, he looked up toward the high sky.
As though responding to his gaze, a long howl filled with icy killing intent suddenly erupted from high above.
The source of the sound was a black humanoid figure about ten meters tall, shrouded in darkness so that its features could not be seen clearly. Yet nine soul rings unmistakably orbited around it.
Six black and three red, the same soul ring configuration as Ye Xishui.
This was Zhongli Wu's martial soul, the Death God Demon Puppet. Ye Xishui's Blood Soul Demon Puppet was already an extremely powerful evil martial soul, but Zhongli Wu's Death God Demon Puppet surpassed even hers.
Because the Death God Demon Puppet was the ultimate evolved form of the Blood Soul Demon Puppet.
Clearly, Zhongli Wu had been forced by Xu Zihuang to use his martial soul true body. Gripping a massive black scythe, he emanated an indescribable, terrifying pressure. That invisible force seemed to make even one's soul tremble.
Thanks to the amplification of his martial soul true body, Zhongli Wu had managed to protect Feng Ling and the others in time. Although they had been shaken and scattered, their conditions were not too severely affected.
The power of Xu Zihuang's soul skill was indeed tremendous, but Zhongli Wu was not as brainless as Ye Xishui and had not been forced to take it head-on.
The instant the Dark Demonic Evil Thunder exploded, Zhongli Wu had already moved away from the core of the blast and shielded the others from part of the energy impact.
However, Xu Zihuang's goal from the very beginning had only been to separate this group of evil soul masters.
Hovering high in the air, Zhongli Wu looked down at Xu Zihuang. His figure swayed slightly, and the Death God Scythe in his hand seemed like the black netherworld itself. Under the surge of powerful black airflow, his momentum soared higher and higher.
"Very good. I never expected that a little thing like you would still dare appear before this Cult Leader. Do you think that just because you have extraordinary talent, you can disregard everything with arrogance? Today, this Cult Leader will make you pay the price for your ignorance."
As he spoke, the Death God Demon Puppet incarnation of Zhongli Wu flickered and, swinging the Death God Scythe, appeared before Xu Zihuang in an instant.
But in that split second, a completely ink-green giant appeared out of thin air and punched Zhongli Wu, flying backward.
"Hahahahaha! Zhong Li, you little brat, you truly are worthy of being that madwoman Ye Xishui's bastard child born from who-knows-who. Truly shameless to the extreme. Getting humiliated and furious in front of a junior, and you can still say it so righteously?! Hahahahaha! Didn't your wild father, Long Xiaoyao, teach you anything? If Long Xiaoyao can't do it, then let this old man be your second wild father!"
Extremely crude words exploded in the air. The newcomer was none other than that Body Douluo, Du Busi.
To better confront Zhongli Wu, Du Busi had deliberately adjusted his martial soul true body to the same size as Zhongli Wu's. His ink-green skin bulged, forming enormous muscles like granite.
Compared to Zhongli Wu's martial soul true body, the ink-green giant that Du Busi had transformed into was in no way inferior in presence.
"Du Busi, are you looking to die?!" Zhongli Wu steadied himself, his voice gloomy. Seeing Du Busi protecting Xu Zihuang in front of him, he knew the Body Sect had come prepared and had even turned the tables on them.
"Last time you were lucky enough to escape from this Cult Leader's hands. Do you really think you'll have such good luck this time?! Today, this Cult Leader will completely sever your Body Sect's ten-thousand-year inheritance!"
The first to respond to Zhongli Wu was a sharp phoenix cry.
Three purple, five black, one red! Nine soul rings revolved around Feng Ling. A pair of dark purple wings spread behind her back, and a powerful aura erupted, surging like a tidal wave.
After laughing heartily and unrestrainedly, Du Busi saw Feng Ling rushing toward Zhongli Wu's side and showed no trace of fear on his face.
"Zhong Li, you little brat, do you really think this old man is afraid of you? Without the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineer legion to assist you, what the hell are you?!"
"Body Sect, all of you, get up here!" Du Busi let out a strange cry and strode through the void, charging fiercely toward Zhongli Wu.
Du Busi had always been arrogant and unbridled by nature. The frustration he felt when facing the Sun Moon Empire's powerful soul tools now seemed to be completely unleashed here. From the very beginning, he went all out, clearly fighting with the posture of risking his life.
The ink-green light behind Du Busi dyed the entire space the same color, forming a clear demarcation with the black sky on Zhongli Wu's side.
Evil Phoenix Douluo Feng Ling's support for Zhongli Wu was destined to be unable to arrive in time, because she was intercepted by the Golden Body Douluo, Jin Peng.
Golden Body Douluo Jin Peng was the second strongest expert in the Body Sect after Du Busi. Not long ago, his soul power had just broken through to rank 97. His martial soul was the torso. Although slightly inferior to Du Busi's martial soul, the torso was likewise among the absolute top tier of body martial souls.
Four purple, four black, one red soul ring configuration, compared to Evil Phoenix Douluo Feng Ling, the only difference was one millennium soul ring versus one ten-thousand-year soul ring. At their level of cultivation, such a small difference in soul ring configuration had very little impact.
What mattered more was each side's comprehension of their realm and their own martial soul.
Golden Body Douluo's entire body shimmered with dark golden light, his aura as deep as an abyss.
"You won't get past me to the Sect Leader's side." The solemn-faced Golden Body Douluo spoke as though stating a fact. His calm tone carried a domineering force that moved the heart.
Seeing Golden Body Douluo blocking her, Feng Ling let out a cold snort.
"You're looking to die?!"
Feng Ling moved like lightning, leaving behind a string of strange afterimages. Those afterimages resembled a purple phoenix. Her right hand instantly enlarged, transforming into a massive purple bird claw that grabbed toward the left side of Golden Body Douluo's chest.
Golden Body Douluo showed no fear. The dark golden light on his body suddenly became solid. Without dodging or evading, he directly charged his body toward Feng Ling.
His nine soul rings flashed in succession, especially the blood-red ninth soul ring, from which an invisible, ferocious aura seemed to spill outward.
Their bodies crossed paths, and a series of terrifying, explosive soul power detonations erupted from the point of collision.
Golden Body Douluo remained motionless in midair, while cracks appeared on Feng Ling's purple bird claw. It then shattered with a boom.
Feng Ling's pupils contracted slightly as she looked at Golden Body Douluo in surprise and uncertainty.
She had actually used her right arm soul bone skill just now. Even if Golden Body Douluo's martial soul was the torso, it should have been impossible for him to neutralize her soul skill relying solely on his flesh body and soul power. He must have fused with an extremely high-quality torso soul bone.
Only with the stacking of martial soul and soul bone could he achieve such power.
Combining this with the ferocious aura she had sensed from Golden Body Douluo's ninth soul ring earlier, Feng Ling vaguely guessed.
A ten-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul ring and soul bone?!
On the other side, the one who went after Scorpion Tiger Douluo was the Body Sect's Silver Bone Douluo, the tall old man who stood over three meters.
Silver Bone Douluo and Scorpion Tiger Douluo had the same soul power rank of 96. His martial soul was precisely bone, not bone from any single part, but the entire skeletal structure. It could be said to be both offensive and defensive, with no weaknesses whatsoever.
Silver bones covered Silver Bone Douluo's entire body, resembling armor pieced together from an exoskeleton, gleaming with radiant light. He actually suppressed Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, forcing him to retreat step by step.
The profound foundation of the Body Sect was fully displayed. At the same level, the Body Sect's Titled Douluo truly did not fear those evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult.
The remaining members of the Body Sect, Lang Ya and that handsome young man, were both control-type soul masters. The handsome young man's martial soul was blood, with the title Blood Condensation. A martial soul of blood had endless wondrous uses. His soul skills were even stranger than those of evil soul masters.
It was precisely because of the special nature of his martial soul that his appearance had always remained as it was in his youth.
Spiritual Brain Douluo Lang Ya and Blood Condensation Douluo, the two control-type Titled Douluo, worked together to hold back the Holy Spirit Cult's Heavenly Centipede Douluo, Dark Lightning Douluo, and Netherworld Douluo.
Finally, the remaining Masquerade Douluo let out a sinister, cackling laugh as he targeted Xu Zihuang. A gray-blue light shadow expanded behind him.
This blue-black light shadow looked extraordinarily horrifying. At first, it resembled a skull, but once it truly enlarged, one could see clearly that it was a pallid human face.
The face had no discernible gender, and countless blue-black maggots wriggled across its surface.
"Hehehehehehehehe! Little thing, though I don't know how you unleashed a soul skill of such power earlier, with your mere rank 80-something soul power, using it once is probably already your limit. Now no one can protect you anymore."
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are chapters available on Patreon."
"From Douluo to Godhood by Defy 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo: Far North Invincibledo 30 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Peerless: Living as an Evil Soul Master 40 Advance chapters."
"Douluo Dalu 2:Peerless Tang Sect Dawn of Sun and Moon 40 Advance chapters."
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