Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu supported the nearly exhausted Yu Yuanchen, fleeing for their lives along the bloody path carved out by the Clear Sky Hammer. Behind them, the beast tide had fallen into brief chaos due to the heavy damage dealt by the Hellfire Kite, but that frenzied torrent did not cease, continuing to pursue them like maggots on bone.
Fortunately, before the sky turned completely dark, the three discovered an excellent refuge—a deep, narrow canyon crevice. The entrance to the crevice was only wide enough for two or three people to pass through side-by-side, and it wound and twisted deep inside. The steep, near-vertical rock walls on both sides soared into the clouds, effectively restricting the entry of large soul beasts.
The three of them squeezed inside without hesitation, not stopping until they were nearly a hundred meters deep into the canyon, finding a relatively spacious corner where they could lean against the rock wall. Tang Chen immediately turned around, his Clear Sky Hammer lying across the narrow passage like a gatekeeper, blocking the only entrance. Qian Daoliu quickly checked Yu Yuanchen's condition, and only after confirming that he was merely suffering from an overdraft of soul power and spiritual power, with no serious hidden injuries, did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.
As expected, the pursuing beast tide crowded and roared at the canyon entrance, but they struggled to surge in on a large scale. Only some smaller soul beasts that were adept at climbing or possessed extreme speed, such as Phantom Cats and Bone-Eroding Rats, attempted to sneak in to harass them, but they were easily dealt with by Tang Chen, who smashed them one by one with his hammer at the entrance.
The crisis was temporarily averted, and the three men's taut nerves could finally relax a little. A heavy sense of exhaustion surged over them like a tide, and they immediately began to take turns regulating their breath to recover.
The light inside the canyon was dim, with only a sliver of daylight filtering in from the entrance and the fierce glint of soul beast eyes. The air was filled with the scent of blood, dust, and the distinct, pungent odor of soul beasts.
On the first day, the three spent almost all their time in deep meditation, striving to recover their nearly depleted soul power and heal their injuries. The bruise on Tang Chen's shoulder was spreading, requiring him to constantly circulate his power to force out the remaining toxins; the damage to Qian Daoliu's wings and his spiritual exhaustion required time to nurture; Yu Yuanchen felt a dull ache in his meridians, a sequela of over-exerting his Thunder God Power and Thunder Dragon Shatters Void.
During this time, a few waves of foolish small soul beasts occasionally snuck in, but they were easily dispatched by whoever was on duty. For the three who were recovering, this level of harassment served as a distraction to keep them alert.
On the second day, the condition of the three improved significantly. While circulating his soul power, Yu Yuanchen clearly felt that his level 53 bottleneck had loosened. The continuous high-intensity combat, the hovering on the edge of life and death, and that final all-out strike seemed to have squeezed out the potential of both his body and spirit. Without hesitation, he guided his mostly recovered soul power and launched an assault against that barrier.
"Hum—"
A faint roar seemed to echo within his body as his soul power surged toward a wider channel like a flood breaking through a dam. Level 54! In such a perilous environment, his cultivation level had actually increased by another level! His aura became more refined, and both his total soul power and recovery speed had increased. The purple gold scale also seemed to brighten slightly, with the feedback of dragon blood warmth becoming even more distinct.
He opened his eyes to meet the gazes of Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu. Both men's eyes held a trace of surprise and realization; to be able to break through in such an environment, this young man's talent and resilience were truly astonishing.
"Congratulations." Qian Daoliu nodded slightly.
"Heh, you've gotten stronger again, that's a good thing!" Tang Chen grinned, though his smile carried a trace of imperceptible envy. He had been stuck at level 62 for quite some time and knew well that the further one progressed, the harder it was to break through.
On the third day, the condition of the three had basically recovered to seventy or eighty percent. The beast tide outside showed no signs of dispersing; on the contrary, as time passed, it seemed that even more soul beasts had gathered, packing the canyon entrance so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through, while various irritable roars echoed incessantly.
"This cannot go on." Qian Daoliu looked at the shadowy figures of the beasts outside the entrance, his elegant brows slightly furrowed. "They seem determined to trap us here until we die. Our supplies won't last much longer."
Tang Chen, shouldering his Clear Sky Hammer, said in a muffled voice, "Then let's kill our way out! We've recovered enough; let's have another go at them!"
Yu Yuanchen pondered for a moment before speaking, "A head-on fight is not the best strategy. There are too many soul beasts outside; even if we were in peak condition, it would be dangerous to fall into a heavy encirclement again. Perhaps... we could try a different approach."
"Oh? Does Brother Yuanchen have a brilliant plan?" Qian Daoliu looked at him with interest.
Yu Yuanchen's gaze swept over the narrow passage at the canyon entrance, and he said slowly, "This place is easy to defend and hard to attack, so why don't we take advantage of that? If there were a way to weaken, deter, or even kill the soul beasts at the entrance on a large scale, creating enough chaos and gaps, our chances of breaking through would be much higher."
Tang Chen's eyes lit up, "Area-of-effect attacks? My Clear Sky Hammer has decent area damage, but the consumption is high, and it's easy to collapse the entrance and bury ourselves."
Hearing this, a strange light flashed in Qian Daoliu's golden eyes. He looked at Yu Yuanchen, the corner of his mouth curling into a thoughtful smile, "Large-scale weakening and deterrence... Brother Yu, could you be referring to... a domain?"
As soon as the word "domain" was uttered, Tang Chen's eyes widened sharply. He looked at Qian Daoliu, then abruptly at Yu Yuanchen, his face filled with disbelief. "A domain?! You have a domain? The Angel Domain!"
Qian Daoliu smiled without answering, but a holy halo of light began to circulate around him. An invisible force field, carrying an aura of purification and majesty, quietly spread out with him at the center. Although the range was small, it made the air in the canyon feel a bit fresher, and the restless roaring of the soul beasts outside seemed to be blocked out by a layer.
Tang Chen felt that unique and powerful force field, his mouth hanging open. It finally turned into a sigh of deep envy. "Damn! It really is a domain!" He looked at Qian Daoliu with a complex expression—there was shock, but even more, a sense of "as expected" relief. With a god-tier martial soul, it didn't seem strange for him to possess a domain.
Immediately, he saw Yu Yuanchen, who was giving him an inexplicable smile, and realized something, asking suspiciously, "Brother Yuanchen, you... don't tell me you have one too?!"
Watching Tang Chen's devastated yet eager-to-verify expression, Yu Yuanchen couldn't help but chuckle. He nodded and admitted frankly, "I was lucky enough to obtain a domain-type soul skill."
As he spoke, his thoughts stirred, and a completely different force field permeated the area. A deep purple lightning glow outlined a small circular area at his feet. Within the area, electric arcs flickered, and the air was filled with active and violent lightning elements, carrying an aura that combined destruction and control. It was his fifth soul skill—Purple Lightning Domain! Although he only expanded it to a tiny range to conserve soul power, the unique domain fluctuations could not be faked.
Tang Chen looked at the flickering purple lightning area at Yu Yuanchen's feet, then at the holy light surrounding Qian Daoliu, and he froze completely. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. Finally, his face turned red with frustration, and he slammed his fist against the nearby rock wall, grumbling, "You two... are really... monsters! I've been training so hard, and I haven't even touched the edge of a domain, yet you two—one relies on his martial soul, the other on his soul ring—and you both have them?! Is there no justice left?!"
Seeing his indignant yet helpless appearance, the amusement in Qian Daoliu's eyes deepened, though his tone remained gentle, albeit with a hint of mischief. "Brother Tang, it seems that among the three of us, you are the only one without a domain..." Qian Daoliu, who had intended to tease Tang Chen, saw the envy and a trace of loneliness in Tang Chen's eyes as soon as he finished speaking. The words at the tip of his tongue changed naturally. "However, Brother Tang, why belittle yourself? The Clear Sky Hammer is also a top-tier weapon soul; if you can comprehend a domain, it will surely be earth-shattering. Brother Yu and I are just a bit luckier."
Yu Yuanchen also smiled, "Brother Tang's courage and strength are something Brother Qian and I both admire. While domains are good, they consume a massive amount of power. At critical moments, we still need to rely on Brother Tang's indestructible Clear Sky Hammer to lead the way."
"Comforted" by the two, Tang Chen felt slightly better, but the sense of envy still lingered. He muttered, "When I get a domain in the future, I'll make sure you two see what it's like..."
Jokes aside, there was still work to be done. With the trump cards of two major domains, the three felt much more secure and quickly formulated a breakout plan.
Resting until the evening of the third day, the condition of the three had all recovered to over ninety percent.
"Are you ready?" Qian Daoliu looked at Yu Yuanchen.
Yu Yuanchen nodded, his eyes sharp, "Let's begin!"
The next moment, both of them moved simultaneously!
Qian Daoliu spread the six wings behind his back, and a holy aura soared into the sky! With him as the center, a golden domain with a diameter of over thirty meters suddenly expanded—the Angel Domain! Within the domain, faint hymns played, and holy light shone down, filled with purification and majesty! The soul beasts charging at the front were struck by this holy light and immediately let out terrified roars; their movements became sluggish, the madness in their eyes replaced by fear, and their strength was significantly weakened!
Almost the moment the Angel Domain expanded, Yu Yuanchen's Purple Lightning Domain followed, overlapping and covering the area further ahead at the entrance! A purple lightning domain with a diameter of about twenty meters formed instantly, with electric snakes dancing wildly and thunder roaring within! The Furious Lightning Power bombarded all the soul beasts in the range indiscriminately, bringing continuous paralysis, burning, and damage! More importantly, under Yu Yuanchen's deliberate control, the energy within the lightning domain became extremely chaotic, severely interfering with the soul beasts' perception and the circulation of their soul power!
With the two major domains—one purifying and weakening, the other violently damaging and interfering—the canyon entrance seemed to have turned into a forbidden zone where holiness and destruction intertwined!
Those soul beasts crowding the entrance immediately fell into great chaos and agony. The weaker thousand-year soul beasts couldn't last more than a few breaths before falling to the ground in convulsions; even the ten-thousand-year soul beasts found it difficult to move, their strength severely weakened, and they let out terrified and painful roars!
"Now! Brother Tang, clear the way!" Yu Yuanchen shouted.
"Hahaha! Watch me!" Tang Chen had already been accumulating power. Seeing this, he laughed wildly, his fifth soul ring lit up, and the Clear Sky Hammer, carrying the power of Earthquake Mountain, charged into the beast herd—which had been cleared and weakened by the domains—like a tiger released from its cage!
This time, there were no obstacles under his hammer! The soul beasts, severely affected by the dual domains, could not organize any effective resistance and were blasted away or smashed to pieces by Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer like grass being mowed!
Yu Yuanchen and Qian Daoliu followed closely behind, maintaining their domains while clearing out sporadic resistance on both sides, advancing rapidly.
The arrow formation composed of the three men became incredibly sharp under the powerful reinforcement of the dual domains! Wherever they passed, the soul beasts scattered and fled, unable to form an encirclement again.
In just the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the three had carved a bloody path through the dense beast tide, rushed out of the canyon entrance, and left the chaotic roars and howls behind them!
Looking back, they saw the canyon entrance still shrouded in the light of the two major domains, with countless soul beasts struggling and howling within, unable to pursue them in the short term.
"Go!" Qian Daoliu made a prompt decision. The three did not linger, chose a direction, pushed their speed to the limit, and soon disappeared into the vast twilight of the Savage Beast Hills.
A long time later, at the edge of the Savage Beast Hills, the three panting men looked at each other's disheveled appearances and burst into laughter.
After this battle, all three needed time to digest the gains from this training, and they were physically and mentally exhausted from the continuous high-intensity combat and flight. They decided to temporarily leave the Savage Beast Hills and find a safe place to rest and recover properly.
And after fighting side-by-side and even revealing their respective trump cards, the relationship between the three had undoubtedly taken a step forward. The Hidden Dragon, the Clear Sky, and the Angel—these three forces that would stir the winds and clouds of the continent in the future had completed their first true, deep intertwining in this wild land.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: GodKun-Chan