Facing the hysterical shouts of Mo Tianxing, the masked man showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, his eyes gleamed with determination, clearly indicating a willingness to die together with his opponent. This was understandable; facing a true Dou Zong expert, any hesitation would surely lead to his demise.
But just as the masked man was about to fight to the death, Mo Tianxing, whose aura suddenly surged, abruptly shot off into the distance. His figure… he was running away!
"?!"
The masked man's pupils constricted slightly at this sight, his face filled with disbelief.
Not only him, but the onlookers nearby were also in an uproar, shocked by the scene before them. Mo Tianxing, a Dou Zong, had been forced to flee by someone who wasn't even a Dou Zong. If this got out, Mo Tianxing would likely become the laughingstock of the entire Black Corner Region.
However, there were also intelligent people among those present, such as Su Qian, the Grand Elder of the Inner Court of Canaan Academy. Seeing Mo Tianxing flee, he felt no contempt whatsoever; instead, he was somewhat amazed by the man's shrewdness. He had chosen the wisest course of action when the situation turned against him. As for face, survival was paramount; what did face matter?
Moreover, Mo Tianxing had already forced the masked man to reveal all his trump cards. How could the surrounding Dou Huang experts suppress their desires?
Those were the Huangji Pill and the Pozong Pill, which could directly enhance their strength!
Consuming them would undoubtedly save them countless years of arduous cultivation, and even increase their talent. Once they became Dou Zong experts, becoming Dou Zun in the future would no longer be a distant dream.
Human nature is inherently greedy, and desires are never truly satisfied…
At this moment, the masked man, who had just realized what was happening, also sensed the strange atmosphere. He glanced at the onlookers, including the Dou Huang experts, and without hesitation, transformed into a streak of light and fled in the opposite direction. As for chasing Mo Tianxing… how could a mere half-step Dou Zong stop a true Dou Zong expert who wanted to escape?
Besides, if he could escape this time, given some time to consume the Breakthrough Pill, he would definitely be able to break through to Dou Zong. Seeking revenge afterward would be far more secure!
Seeing the masked man fleeing, the onlookers, including the Dou Huang experts, quickly became restless. Even the Golden and Silver Elders hesitated for a moment before choosing to follow.
"Elder, shouldn't we follow?"
The Third Elder of the Outer Courtyard couldn't help but ask upon seeing this.
Su Qian frowned, glanced at the location of Black Seal City, and said in a deep voice, "The situation is complicated right now. It's best if we don't get involved. Don't forget the rules of Canaan Academy. We've always remained neutral in the struggles of the Black Corner Region!"
Participating in the auction is fine, and if they win the pills, they can even take them back openly. But if they get involved in the later stages of the bidding, it would be tantamount to breaking the tacit agreement between Canaan Academy and the Black Corner Region.
"The Grand Elder is right. Although it's a pity, we've already missed the best opportunity. Who could have imagined that Mo Tianxing of the Black Emperor Sect would suddenly intervene, and that person even brought out the demonic beast corpse... We don't have that kind of capital." Hu Qian gave a bitter smile, as if he had resigned himself to his fate.
He also desperately wanted the Breakthrough Pill, but Hu Qian was not one of those desperate criminals from the Black Corner Region. He had his own bottom line and restraint.
Not everyone in the world pursues strength; some things are more important than that.
"Let's go, we've been out for too long, it's time to go back. Don't forget, this year's admissions have already started, you outer academy students are going to be very busy~" Su Qian said jokingly, trying to ease the atmosphere.
Hu Qian smiled and nodded, then he and the Third Elder unfurled their battle qi wings, transforming into two streaks of light and heading towards Canaan Academy.
Not long after they left,
Yao Yan and Cai Lin appeared. Looking at the spot where Su Qian and the others had left, his dark eyes were extremely calm, and he said softly, "They really are people from Canaan Academy~"
"In this Black Corner Region, only Canaan Academy follows the rules. Kid, when do you plan to infiltrate Canaan Academy? The day Canaan Academy recruits students is not far away." Yao Lao's soul floated out of the Bone Flame Ring, his hands behind his back, his eyes curiously sizing up Yao Yan, eager to see how much of a shock this kid would bring after entering Canaan Academy.
"A student? I have no interest in being anyone's student~"
Yao Yan smiled, his tone confident and composed.
His demeanor naturally attracted the attention of Yao Lao and Cai Lin, both staring at him with suspicion. He smiled and said jokingly, "I'm a teacher, I enjoy imparting knowledge and teaching~"
Yao Lao: ...
Cai Lin: ...
Both were speechless at Yao Yan's words, staring at his excessively youthful face.
Cai Lin, too lazy to listen to Yao Yan's nonsense, placed her hands on her alluring waist, her cold, beautiful eyes fixed on the direction the masked man had left. Her brows furrowed slightly as she asked, "What do you plan to do over there?"
"Follow them. If they're seriously injured and willing to surrender, give them a healing pill. If they refuse, just kill them... This Black Corner Region has no shortage of Dou Huang powerhouses~" Yao Yan said softly with a kind smile.
Since he wanted to build a force, he couldn't take the usual path, especially not in a place like the Black Corner Region!
His initial purpose in throwing out the pills was to reshuffle the deck of the Black Corner Region.
Unfortunately, he failed to lure Han Feng out, and perhaps he'd have to go himself.
Thinking of this, Yao Yan couldn't help but glance at Elder Yao. The old man hadn't mentioned this matter, clearly unsure how to face the child he'd raised since childhood, even after the child's betrayal and collusion with outsiders to bring him to this state.
Not everyone in this world is cold-hearted; some value family above all else.
Elder Yao was naturally one of those people.
Since the other hadn't brought it up, Yao Yan naturally wouldn't reopen old wounds. Anyway, he was still some distance from becoming a Dou Huang; he could wait until he broke through to a nine-star Dou Wang before seeking Han Feng for the Sea Heart Flame, after which he could begin devouring the Fallen Heart Flame!
The Fallen Heart Flame, already condensed with the spirit of a different fire, was Yao Yan's true feast.
"
...
Cough cough, a bunch of lunatics, is it really necessary? It's just two broken pills!" A gaunt man leaned against the rock wall, clutching his sunken chest with one hand, coughing up blood, his face contorted in a grimace as he cursed resentfully.
Having spent over a decade navigating the Black Corner Region alone, he considered himself quite capable, but he hadn't seen anything like this in a long time.
And then there was the survivor from the Earth Demon Sect, a ruthless individual who had chosen to throw out the pills directly, making the ensuing battle increasingly bloody. Almost anyone who got a pill became the target of a mob attack. While there was some semblance of rationality at the beginning, as the fighting progressed, almost everyone lost their temper.
"Indeed~ Two pills are enough to drive you all this mad, I really can't understand it. Compared to pills, I think your souls are far more delicious, hehehe~"
Accompanied by a strange laugh, an extremely cold energy instantly enveloped the Dou Huang powerhouse. At the same time, a pitch-black hand suddenly shot out from the stone wall, piercing directly through the man's chest. A large amount of black mist continuously surged from the arm, slowly enveloping the man's body.
"You?!" The gaunt Dou Huang powerhouse's pupils widened in horror as he stared at the black hand that shot out from his chest. His entire body felt as if it were in an ice cellar. The Dou Qi that had been flowing freely now seemed to freeze, out of control.
"Whoosh~"
The pitch-black arm emitted an unparalleled devouring power, as if treating every soul as food, greedily devouring the soul of this body. One could even hear the painful screams of the soul in his ears.
If the opponent were at their peak, he naturally wouldn't dare to act so recklessly, but the opponent was now at their last gasp, which undoubtedly gave him the opportunity to strike.
They were like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, either striking silently or delivering a fatal blow.
Soon, the life force of this Dou Huang was slowly consumed, turning him into a cold corpse that fell to the ground. Simultaneously, a soul was extracted by the black hand, most of its essence devoured, leaving only a portion of its most primal spirit. This was the task of the Soul Envoys of the Soul Hall, and also the purpose of the Soul Hall's creation.
Every soul possesses a portion of its purest essence, and this essence, if extracted through special means, can strengthen the soul essence of others.
Of course, this final process is not easy. Not everyone can recklessly devour this essence. Like these Soul Envoys and Protectors, most of them possess secret techniques for devouring the spirits of others, but these techniques often have severe side effects. Being influenced by the memories of others is secondary; the greatest danger is that their own souls become impure.
However, a low-level Soul Envoy is clearly not qualified to perform such purification...
"The third one... How delicious~" The Soul Envoy from the Soul Palace chuckled, kneading the soul essence of this Dou Huang into a ball and stuffing it into the pocket of his belt. This pocket was specially treated to store soul bodies, and the soul body inside would fall into a deep coma, so there was no need to worry about the other party resisting.
"Whoosh~"
Just then, a pitch-black soul body emerged from the ground. It bowed very respectfully to the Soul Envoy and said, "My lord, we've found the target!"
"Very good, this body is yours now. You should know how to deliver messages. Make the situation even more chaotic. This commotion can't stop so quickly~" The Soul Envoy sneered, casually tossing the corpse to the other party and indifferently gave the order.
"...This humble servant understands." The other party's soul trembled slightly, then quickly transformed into a wisp of black mist and entered the corpse of this Dou Huang expert. A moment later, it controlled the still-warm body, reopening its eyes, though its skin had become deathly pale and lifeless.
The
chaos caused by the Huangji Pill and the Breaking Sect Pill escalated, and with the Soul Palace's entry, the scope of the impact widened, dragging many forces into the fray. For example, if someone spread the word that the Breaking Sect Pill had fallen into the hands of another force, those bloodthirsty peak Dou Huang experts would directly storm in and destroy that sect.
Perhaps some still retained some rationality, but faced with this 'zero-cost purchase' event, once the sweetness was tasted, who could restrain their greed? Eventually, the whereabouts of the pills became unimportant; what mattered was who the next target would be!
When Yao Yan learned of this news, he was somewhat bewildered. He hadn't expected things to turn out this way; the Black Corner Region had descended into chaos almost without his intervention.
"What a group of talented people..."
After listening to Yuan Yi's words, Yao Yan was lost in thought for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh. He inexplicably thought of a beautiful country from his previous life, a place that seemed to have similar customs. But then again, places like the Black Corner Region were known for their ruthless exploitation, though in the past, no one had gathered a group of people together, nor had they had a target for them to act together.
Now, the Imperial Extreme Pill and the Breaking Sect Pill had given them a reason to act together, and they found that the more they robbed, the more enjoyable it became—wasn't that the thrill?
"It seems someone is stirring things up behind the scenes; the number of Dou Huangs who have died recently is quite high."
Cai Lin, upon hearing this, became concerned about another matter. She had been keeping Yao Yan's words in mind, preparing to select some people to serve as her future subordinates, but unfortunately, this group was becoming increasingly frenzied in their killing. The people she had chosen were killed before she even made contact with them, which was absurd, as if someone was deliberately hunting down these Dou Huangs.
"Could there be others who share their thoughts?!"
"Once most people are dead, they'll calm down... But this method seems familiar; it seems those guys couldn't resist making a move." The old man stroked his beard, floating beside Yao Yan, and spoke slowly, his tone somewhat grave.
The Soul Hall... Yao Yan muttered to himself. Only the Soul Hall could operate with such scale across most of the Black Corner Region.
In the original story, the Soul Hall's influence extended to almost every 'villain,' targeting almost anyone with potential and turning them into their lackeys... The Soul Hall seemed to possess a special secret technique that could greatly increase a person's strength, but the side effect was a drastic change in personality, almost losing their original self, and leaving them with hidden traps, becoming lambs to the slaughter at any time. In
this respect, the Soul Hall's method was almost identical to that of the Void Devouring Flame.
Yuan Yi, however, didn't know who the old man was referring to. He kept his head down; a wise person wouldn't ask about things they shouldn't know.
"Since things have escalated to this point, let's get involved. I plan to target Demon Flame Valley. Yuan Yi, send someone to spread the word that the Breakthrough Pill and the Imperial Pill have fallen into Demon Flame Valley's hands... Also, contact the Golden and Silver Elders and ask if they'd be willing to become my subordinates. As payment, I can give each of them a Breakthrough Pill."
Yao Yan pondered for a moment, his gaze turning slightly cold as he looked at Yuan Yi and spoke calmly.
(End of Chapter)