The moment Ye Guyi's sacred light enveloped Black Fiend, the pair of compound eyes at the corners of Xu Tianhao's Sun Moon Divine Pupils opened once again.
The sinister, crimson Evil Gods Eye erupted with a brilliant red glow.
"Evil Gods Eye external Spirit Bone skill: Evil Gods Curse!"
This curse had no dazzling light and appeared unremarkable, as if Xu Tianhao had merely cast a casual glance.
Yet Black Fiend, not far away, had his face twist violently in an instant.
This once-notorious Evil Soul Emperor's surrounding blood-fiend aura instantly became as turbulent as boiling water, and his entire being seemed pinned to the spot by an invisible malevolent force.
Black Fiend's body twisted and twitched uncontrollably in the shadows; though his mind was clearly still conscious, he could not control so much as a single finger.
It was as if he had been struck by the most venomous sorcery, or as if countless invisible resentful spirits had entangled his limbs and bones.
Like Soul Deprivation, the Evil Gods Curse was a bizarre ability that acted directly on the level of the soul.
It ignored physical defense and spirit power barriers, striking directly at a Spirit Master's most fundamental and fragile spirit and soul.
The strength of the curse depended entirely on the intensity of the mental force Xu Tianhao consumed.
Even at its lowest level of release, it was enough to cause the opponent to feel unbearable discomfort, making their entire body stiff and numb, and completely destroying their coordination.
Furthermore, it caused mental lethargy, hollow and vacant eyes, constant horrifying hallucinations, and whispers from the abyss echoing in their ears.
At this moment, facing this Evil Soul Emperor Black Fiend, Xu Tianhao naturally would not hold back.
He poured out nearly half of his current mental force, and the Evil Gods Curse, like a maggot on a bone, frantically eroded Black Fiend's soul.
Black Fiend's mental force was already slightly inferior to Xu Tianhao's, and under such a targeted soul curse, he was even more powerless to resist.
He felt as if his soul had been thrown into a cold, viscous mire, constantly sinking and suffocating, with every inch of his soul being gnawed by a frigid force.
His physical body began to stiffen uncontrollably; his joints felt like rusted iron, and even the slightest movement brought a piercing sense of sluggishness.
His blood flowed backward, and his spirit power surged wildly through his meridians; far from being deployable, it constantly backfired upon him.
The World before his eyes completely twisted and shattered; the souls of those who had died by his hand, the Spirit Masters he had slaughtered, the living beings he had devoured...
...all transformed into the most terrifying demons, baring their fangs and claws before him, roaring for his life.
A sense of weakness spread from the depths of his soul to his entire body like a tide; the strength that once could split mountains and shatter rocks now made even lifting an arm incredibly difficult.
Black Fiend wanted to roar, wanted to activate a Spirit Ability to strike back, but his throat could only produce strange, guttural sounds.
His consciousness gradually blurred under the erosion of the curse, hovering on the brink of madness.
Although the Evil Gods Curse didn't kill him instantly, it caused Black Fiend's condition to plummet in the most overbearing way, leaving him with less than a tenth of his strength.
Now, let alone escaping, even remaining standing was a luxury for Black Fiend; he had completely lost any chance of getting away.
After rendering Black Fiend powerless, Xu Tianhao stopped his attack.
He looked up slightly at the others, who were already poised to strike.
The Hongchen Siblings, Xu Tianzhen, Long Aotian, and Nana all had sharp gazes, their fighting spirit boiling.
Seeing that Black Fiend was now like a fish on a chopping block, they didn't hesitate for a moment, charging forward together like arrows released from a bow.
Facing this heavily injured Evil Soul Emperor who was now plagued by the Evil Gods Curse and rendered essentially crippled, they felt no fear at all as they joined forces.
The spirit rings around Long Aotian suddenly brightened, and his first three enhancement Spirit Abilities were instantly fully activated; dark-gold armor covered his body, his muscles tensed, and his aura surged.
With a backhand grip, a pitch-black Level 5 Soul Tool battle axe with sinister patterns appeared in his hand.
Cold light flowed over the battle axe, its edge sharp and imposing, carrying an overbearing aura of unstoppable momentum.
Xu Tianzhen stood to one side, her spirit rings shining as extremely pure True Fire of the Sun surged frantically, transforming into beams of scorching, dazzling golden fire that shot toward Black Fiend.
The True Fire of the Sun naturally countered the sinister energy of Evil Soul Masters, and everywhere it passed, the air was scorched into distortion.
Xiao Hongchen's figure flickered, his spirit rings rising as he directly transformed into a Soul Tool battery with fierce firepower; countless Soul Tool rays rained down densely, bombarding Black Fiend like an overwhelming deluge.
Meng Hongchen held an ice-blue longsword that exuded a bone-chilling cold; the blade was shrouded in frost, freezing the surrounding air into white mist.
Her movements were as nimble as a butterfly as she closed in with exquisite steps, her sword shadows fluttering, every strike aimed at vital points.
Nana's figure flickered, transforming directly into a silent shadow that vanished into the air.
Her speed was extreme, leaving only a faint afterimage as she arrived before Black Fiend in an instant.
The cold light of the Soul Tool longsword in Nana's hand flashed, striking directly at Black Fiend's vital points.
The attacks of the several individuals coordinated seamlessly and tightly, completely enveloping Black Fiend within their range.
Even though Black Fiend was unwilling and tried desperately to mobilize his remaining spirit power to resist, his reaction was more than a beat slow under the torment of the Evil Gods Curse.
At this moment, Black Fiend's limbs were stiff and his spirit power was in chaos; all his resistance appeared pale and weak, nothing more than the struggle of a trapped beast.
He could only watch helplessly as attack after attack landed on him; his physical body suffered heavy damage repeatedly, and his soul gradually approached collapse under the dual torment of the curse and the attacks.
Finally, amidst endless resentment and unwillingness, a sudden chill struck Black Fiend's neck.
Ye Guyi held her longsword, surrounded by the sacred Angel Sacred Light; with a strike as fast as lightning, she cleanly and decisively sliced through Black Fiend's neck.
Black Fiend's head instantly rolled to the ground, completely losing all signs of life as his body crashed down.
Ye Guyi's gaze was calm, without a ripple of emotion, as her body radiated even more brilliant Angel Sacred Light.
The sacred, pure light that specifically countered all evil descended, and Black Fiend's corpse, along with the dissipating sinister aura, rapidly dissolved and was purified within the sacred light.
In just a breath's time, not a single trace remained, as if he had never existed in this World.
After dealing with Black Fiend, Ye Guyi didn't stop; she turned and walked toward the already unconscious, vegetative Furious Fiend.
Furious Fiend was now just a powerless shell, like a person in a vegetative state.
Ye Guyi lightly swung her longsword, and the Angel Sacred Light descended once again; the pure power of purification swept through his body, and in the blink of an eye, Furious Fiend was also purified into nothingness.
Having successively killed and purified two Evil Soul Emperors whose strength far exceeded her own while only being at the Three-Ring Soul Elder stage, the Angel Sacred Light on Ye Guyi's body seemed to receive the most perfect nourishment.
She felt a warm sensation throughout her body, and the flow of spirit power within her meridians became increasingly smooth.
Even her mental force received significant tempering; her face instantly became rosy and lustrous, and her spirits soared.
Before this, Ye Guyi's spirit power had already reached the peak of Rank 38, only one step away from Rank 39.
After purifying the two Evil Soul Emperors and absorbing the pure energy converted from the sinister aura, that thin bottleneck was easily broken.
Her spirit power surged like a river breaching a dam, reaching Rank 39, bringing her a large step closer to Rank 40.
Feeling the surging spirit power and the increasingly pure Angel Sacred Light within her, Ye Guyi's gaze became even more determined.
Taking the lead, she flapped her Angel Wings and charged into the depths of the valley.
From the encounter with Furious Fiend and Black Fiend to the moment both were killed and purified, less than a minute had passed in total.
The group of Evil Soul Masters inside the valley had not yet had time to escape from the valley entrance.
With an indifferent gaze, Xu Tianhao led Xu Tianzhen, Long Aotian, The Hongchen Siblings, and Nana, following closely behind Ye Guyi as they all charged into the valley.
Without the strongest leader, Blood River, presiding over the rear, and without the two Evil Soul Emperors, Black Fiend and Furious Fiend...
The remaining Evil Soul Masters in the valley were merely a few leaders at the Spirit King level, leading a dozen or so low-level Evil Soul Masters at the Spirit Ancestor and Spirit Elder levels.
For Xu Tianhao's squad of geniuses, for whom fighting across ranks was as common as a home-cooked meal, such opponents were no longer a threat.