92: The domineering golden soul

The blood-red pillar of light receded like a tide, and Lin Yuan's figure slowly appeared in a vast, grey world. He opened his eyes, and what came into view was a scene completely different from the first level—there was no scorching desert, no blood moon hanging in the sky, only an endless grey plain extending to the end of the horizon. The sky seemed to be pressed extremely low by thick leaden clouds, and the air was filled with Soul Power so dense it was almost tangible; with every breath, one could feel pure energy surging into the body.

"The concentration of Soul Power here..." Lin Yuan took a deep breath, feeling the vibration of his Chaos Dharma Body within, "is at least a hundred times that of the outside world!" He could clearly perceive that these Soul Powers contained certain special Law fragments, which were being greedily devoured and refined by his Chaos Dharma Body. If ordinary Soul Spirits were to Cultivate here year-round, their evolution speed would likely increase by dozens of times or more.

His gaze quickly locked onto the shivering group of Purple Soul Spirits nearby. These more than one million Soul Spirits that had been teleported from the first level were currently huddled together, trembling, their Soul Fires flickering unsteadily as they vigilantly looked around. They dared not approach Lin Yuan, this "Purple Killing God," nor did they dare to leave the group on their own, so they could only huddle together like a frightened flock of sheep.

Further away, rays of dazzling golden light dotted the grey plain like stars—those were the second-tier Gold Soul Spirits who had already been Cultivating here for five days! Each of them exuded a powerful aura, their golden soul armor standing out prominently in the dim environment. Holding various soul weapons, they were scrutinizing the newly arrived Purple Soul Spirits.

"Hmm?" A Gold Soul Spirit clad in golden armor and holding a war halberd frowned as he looked at the suddenly appearing group of Purple Soul Spirits. "What's going on? The slaughter on the first level only took five days?"

"In previous years, it took at least ten days; why so fast this time?" another Gold Soul Spirit said coldly, a flash of displeasure in his eyes. They had originally been absorbing the dense Soul Power on the second level, their strength progressing rapidly, and they could have Cultivated here for 10 days, but they hadn't expected the trial on the first level to end early, causing a large number of Purple Soul Spirits to flood in!

"You!" The three-eyed Gold Soul Spirit suddenly stepped through the air, looking down at the group of Purple Soul Spirits from a high vantage point, his war halberd pointing directly downward. "What happened on the first level? Why did it end early?" His voice boomed like thunder, shaking the Soul Fires of many Purple Soul Spirits.

The Purple Soul Spirits looked at each other, none daring to answer. They dared not offend Lin Yuan, nor did they dare disobey the Gold Soul Spirit, so they could only stand in place, shivering.

"Trash!" The three-eyed Soul Spirit roared, suddenly raising his hand to grab. A Purple Soul Spirit flew into his palm uncontrollably. "Since you won't talk, then all of you go die!" With a muffled "pop," the Purple Soul Spirit's head exploded like a watermelon, and its soul core was crushed directly.

"Boom!" Golden Soul Power erupted like a tidal wave, instantly sweeping through dozens of Purple Soul Spirits, grinding them into powder. This scene completely terrified the group of Purple Soul Spirits, and finally, one Soul Spirit spoke up tremblingly: "It... it's a Purple Killing God, it killed at least hundreds of thousands of Soul Spirits..."

But soon, the Purple Soul Spirits realized that no matter how they explained it, more Gold Soul Spirits surrounded them, their eyes flashing with greed—although killing Purple Soul Spirits couldn't make them evolve and grow, if the quantity was large enough, it could still greatly increase their strength!

"Kill them all!" "The weak are not worthy to enter the second level!" The Gold Soul Spirits grinned hideously and began a large-scale slaughter of the Purple Soul Spirits. They either brandished their soul weapons or directly tore and devoured, each attack taking the lives of dozens of Purple Soul Spirits. The grey plain was immediately filled with rising and falling screams.

Lin Yuan stood in the crowd of Purple Soul Spirits, watching all of this with cold eyes. "Gold Soul Spirits... are indeed much stronger than Purple Soul Spirits." He felt the auras of those Gold Soul Spirits; their combat power was generally above twenty thousand Yu, with some even approaching fifty thousand Yu, almost about to evolve into Red Soul Spirits. "However... this is perfect." The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, and a strand of Chaos Sword Qi quietly condensed at his fingertips. "Since you delivered yourselves to my door..." "Then don't blame me."

On the grey plain, the slaughter continued. The Gold Soul Spirits were like wolves entering a flock of sheep, wantonly harvesting the lives of the Purple Soul Spirits. They disdained to know what had happened on the first level; in their eyes, the weak had no qualification to survive, let alone compete with them for the Opportunity of the heavenly soul pagoda.

"Puchi—" A Gold Soul Spirit pierced through the chest of a Purple Soul Spirit with one hand, grinned, and crushed its soul core, then tossed the condensed Law Power crystal into his mouth, swallowing it like chewing a candy bean. "Too weak." He licked the corners of his mouth, "The Law crystals of Purple Soul Spirits aren't even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth." "Stop complaining." Another Gold Soul Spirit sneered, "As long as the quantity is enough, kill them all, and then we'll go to the third level!"

The Purple Soul Spirits retreated in despair, but soon, they realized—there was nowhere left to retreat! Because the entire space of the second level was shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye! "Rumble—" The ground trembled, and the edges of the grey plain began to collapse. Countless Purple Soul Spirits were pushed by an invisible force, gathering toward the center. Meanwhile, the Gold Soul Spirits stood on high ground with hideous grins, like beasts overlooking their prey, waiting for the final harvest.

"You can't escape." A Gold Soul Spirit grinned, "The rules of the heavenly soul pagoda are to let the weak become nourishment for the strong!" "They only have over ten thousand! We have a million, are we just going to let them slaughter us like livestock?!" A burly Purple Soul Spirit suddenly raised his arm and shouted, his Soul Fire burning fiercely, "The combat power of the Gold Soul Spirits is only twice ours; even if ten of us trade for one, we can kill them all!"

This roar sounded like a thunderclap, instantly igniting the will of the Purple Soul Spirits to resist. Hundreds of battle groups spontaneously formed defensive formations, Soul Power circulating and resonating among the group, forming layers of purple light screens. Although the combat power of a single Purple Soul Spirit was limited, the combined defense temporarily blocked the attacks of the Gold Soul Spirits. "Interesting." Lin Yuan stood at the edge of the crowd, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes. He concealed his aura and quietly observed this impending rebellion. He saw hundreds of Purple Soul Spirits burning their soul cores simultaneously, erupting with combat power far exceeding their usual levels, and thousands of purple soul skills poured out like a rainstorm.

"Do ants dare to resist?" King Jinhuang sneered, his dual blades crossing and slashing out, a hundred-meter-long golden light blade sweeping across. The defensive formation composed of more than thirty Purple Soul Spirits shattered upon impact, and their soul bodies exploded into spots of light filling the sky. But unexpectedly, this attack only incited even stronger resistance. Hundreds of Purple Soul Spirits suddenly burned their soul cores simultaneously, erupting with combat power far exceeding their usual levels. "For survival! Kill!" Thousands of purple soul skills poured out like a rainstorm, and although the individual power was limited, the concentrated attack actually blasted three Gold Soul Spirits backward repeatedly. One of them was even hit in a vital spot by the dense Soul Fire, and its golden soul armor cracked.