169: This young man is ridiculously strong!

"Human puppets?"

Ye Chen's brow furrowed, a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes. "Refining puppets from the living souls of people... as expected of a demonic path."

Facing the pounce of the four soul puppets, Ye Chen did not retreat; instead, he advanced.

His body blurred, slipping through the gaps in the four soul puppets' attacks like a swimming fish. At the same time, he pressed his index and middle fingers together on both hands, striking out as fast as lightning!

Poof! Poof! Poof! Poof!

Four soft sounds rang out almost simultaneously.

Ye Chen's fingertips tapped the exact center of the foreheads of the four soul puppets!

There, a tiny black nail was embedded in each... a Soul-Controlling Nail!

The moment his fingertips touched the nails, a surge of scorching true qi penetrated through them!

Sizzle—!

As if a red-hot iron had been pressed onto ice, the four Soul-Controlling Nails instantly turned crimson, then melted and vaporized!

"Ugh, ahhh—!!!"

The four soul puppets let out inhuman screams simultaneously, their bodies trembling violently as wisps of black smoke seeped from their seven orifices.

In the next moment.

The hollow glint in their eyes was completely extinguished. Their bodies, as if all support had been withdrawn, slumped softly to the ground, silent and still.

With the Soul-Controlling Nails destroyed, the living souls imprisoned and tortured within were also allowed to dissipate and find release.

The composure on the Soul Guiding Emissary's face vanished completely, replaced by shock!

These four soul puppets were meticulously refined by him. Each possessed strength close to the Grandmaster Realm, and moreover, they were fearless and felt no pain. An ordinary Yellow Grade expert would be thrown into a panic if surrounded by them.

Yet before Ye Chen, they were like clay chickens and pottery dogs, destroyed with a flick of a finger!

"You... who exactly are you?!" The Soul Guiding Emissary's face was as dark as water.

Having dealt with the soul puppets, Ye Chen did not stop and continued walking toward the Soul Guiding Emissary.

"Who I am is not important."

"What's important is that it's time for you to answer my questions."

A ruthless look flashed in the Soul Guiding Emissary's eyes. He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto his hands, his hand seals changing again!

"With blood as the guide, ten thousand souls obey my command!"

The shadow beneath his feet suddenly twisted and expanded, as if transforming into a bottomless black hole!

Shrill wails of ghosts and howls of wolves echoed from within. Countless painfully twisted illusory faces struggled and roared inside, surging toward Ye Chen with heaven-toppling resentment and chilling cold!

This was the Soul Guiding Emissary's trump card evil technique—Hundred Ghosts Soul Devour!

Using his own essence blood as a guide, it channeled the resentful souls accumulated in the Soul Refining Pool, transforming them into a substantial mental attack specifically designed to devour the souls of living beings!

Even standing behind Ye Chen, Bai Shanshan and Liu Qingluo felt dizzy and lightheaded. Their ears were filled with countless miserable howls, and it felt as if cold claws were scratching at their souls. Their faces instantly turned pale.

Red Three Thousand let out a muffled groan and collapsed directly onto the ground, clutching his head in agony.

They never expected that investigating a missing person case would involve such an evil organization!

Facing this surging torrent of resentful souls, Ye Chen's gaze suddenly turned cold.

"Obstinate, harming living beings, refining resentful souls..."

"You deserve death!"

He no longer held back. He raised his right hand, palm upward, fingers slightly curved.

Within his energy center, the power of the Inheritance surged!

A vast aura of the earth rose from his palm!

Houtu Inheritance—Soul Suppressing Seal!

In the void, the phantom of an ancient and heavy yellowish-brown seal appeared. Carrying the brilliant righteous aura that suppressed all evil, it pressed down lightly toward the surging torrent of resentful souls!

Boom—!!!

An invisible collision erupted!

There was no earth-shattering sound, but the wailing of the hundred ghosts was cut short, as if their throats had been seized!

The moment the faces of the resentful souls touched the yellowish-brown seal phantom, they were like snow meeting a blazing sun, rapidly melting and being purified... finally, they turned into specks of light and dissipated into the air.

And that soul-shuddering, chilling resentment was instantly swept away!

Peace returned to the bar. The temperature rose, and the lights stopped flickering.

Pfft!

The Soul Guiding Emissary spat out a large mouthful of blood and staggered back, crashing into the liquor cabinet behind him.

His signature evil technique was broken, and he suffered a severe backlash!

He looked up, his eyes filled with boundless terror as he stared at Ye Chen. "You... are a Xuan Realm powerhouse?"

Ye Chen walked up to him and said indifferently.

"You don't need to care what kind of powerhouse I am."

"Because a loser has no right to ask questions."

The Soul Guiding Emissary's throat bobbed as he shrieked with false bravado, "If you dare kill me! The Soul Hall will hunt you to the ends of the earth! You and everyone around you will suffer..."

"Noisy."

Ye Chen frowned. Without waiting for him to finish, he raised his right foot and stomped down hard!

Crack!

The sound of bone fracturing set one's teeth on edge.

This foot landed on the Soul Guiding Emissary's shanzhong acupoint. A thick force instantly penetrated through, not only shattering his sternum but also completely dispersing the last of the evil energy in his meridians!

"Ugh, ahhh—!"

The Soul Guiding Emissary let out a scream, his eyes bulging. Black blood mixed with fragments of internal organs gushed from his mouth. He slumped to the ground like a broken sack, his aura rapidly withering away.

However, the moment Ye Chen retracted his foot—

A sudden change occurred!

A thick, ink-like shadow struggled out from the Soul Guiding Emissary's seven orifices, vaguely condensing into the shape of a twisted and painful human face, attempting to flee toward the bar's ceiling!

"Soul body leaving the physical form?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. "Despite his cultivation not having surpassed the Heaven Realm, he can actually preliminarily condense soul power? The evil methods of this Soul Hall... truly have some tricks."

That was right.

For a soul body to condense into a substantial form, one needed to break through to the Heaven Realm.

And this Soul Guiding Emissary was clearly far from that realm!

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, casually raised his right hand, and snatched at the shadow.

In the next second.

The shadow was actually pulled back into Ye Chen's palm just like that!

This scene.

Left Bai Shanshan and the other two dumbfounded and drenched in cold sweat.

Mystical!

Too mystical!

For a moment, they thought they were reading a novel... suddenly!

Ye Chen closed his fingers and gave a light squeeze.

Poof!

The shadow burst apart, turning into a wisp of blue smoke that dissipated into the air, his soul utterly destroyed.

But at the moment he crushed the soul body... Ye Chen's brow twitched slightly.

Some broken images and information fragments flooded into his perception just before the soul body dissipated.

This was a crude application of a minor, obscure technique from the Houtu Inheritance called 'Soul Search and Thought Seizure'.

Although the information was incomplete, it was enough for him to see some key points.

"You... why didn't you leave him alive?"

Only now did Bai Shanshan snap out of it. She stepped forward quickly, sounding anxious.

"There was no need for that."

Ye Chen withdrew his hand and said plainly.

"This guy had too much blood on his hands; his death is not to be regretted."

"Besides, he was just a peripheral, low-level lackey of the Soul Hall, only responsible for receiving orders and handling 'goods'. He knew nothing about the Soul Hall's true headquarters or high-level information."

"Keeping him alive would be a waste of food; we wouldn't get anything valuable out of him."

Bai Shanshan took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart.

If Ye Chen said so, then it was most likely the case.

After all... he had no reason to lie to her!

Bai Shanshan's expression turned solemn as she said seriously, "Alright... today, I really have to thank you. Not only did you save Weiwei and the others, but you also destroyed such a den of evil."

"Don't mention it." Ye Chen waved his hand.

Bai Shanshan couldn't help but whisper, "Just now was like watching a movie... no, even movies aren't this exaggerated."

To the side, Red Three Thousand's body had long been soaked in sweat.

With his cultivation completely lost, his perception of the terrifying energy contained in the clash just now was even clearer.

At this moment, only one thought remained in his mind... in this life!

The next life!

And the life after that!

He must never cross Ye Chen again!

This young man is simply not like a human being in terms of strength!

Hidden Sect?

In front of Ye Chen, it was probably just a slightly harder clod of earth... Ye Chen raised an eyebrow after hearing Bai Shanshan's words. "Do you want to learn?"

Bai Shanshan's eyes instantly lit up. "I... can I?"

She had always thought that these abilities only existed in legends and among a very small number of exceptionally gifted people.

But Ye Chen's meaning seemed to be... she could too???

Ye Chen looked her up and down, his gaze calm.

"Your foundation is okay, and your basics are decent, but whether you're specifically suited for it is hard to say right now."

"If you want to try, we'll see how it goes after I return to Xiamen City."

"You're willing to teach me?" Amidst her surprise and joy, Bai Shanshan also felt a hint of doubt. "Why would someone like you... be willing to teach me?"

She knew very well... someone like Ye Chen, who possessed extraordinary skills and was unfathomable, would never easily pass on his abilities to others.

This wasn't just a skill; it likely involved Inheritance and secrets.

Ye Chen rubbed his nose. "I'll teach you some self-defense to make you a bit stronger. Then you can protect your sister a little. If she has fewer troubles, I won't have to be used like an ox or a horse every day, at her beck and call."

Bai Shanshan: "..."

She opened her mouth, but for a moment, she was speechless.

She actually really wanted to tell Ye Chen... her sister didn't treat him like an ox or a horse!

On the contrary.

There was a faint feeling that she treated him like a future husband... but those words circled the tip of her tongue and ultimately remained unsaid.

Her sister's feelings were her sister's business. As the younger sister, she shouldn't meddle, and she had no place to meddle.

"Alright, I'll leave you to wrap things up here."

Ye Chen checked the time and said no more. "I have official business. I'm leaving now."

Bai Shanshan snapped back to reality and said seriously, "Okay... if you need my help, just give me a call!"

Ye Chen nodded and, without further delay, took Liu Qingluo and the other person with him, heading straight out of the Night Color Bar toward the pier.

Well... he should go get something to eat there first. He was starving!