226: Chapter 226 The Third Elder of the Soul Hall, Soul Fierce!

The withered forest.

Every tree here was a hundred zhang tall, pitch black like iron, with twisted and hideous branches that looked like vicious ghosts frozen in a moment of painful struggle.

Thick Evil Qi formed a grey-white mist that flowed slowly through the woods, making visibility extremely low.

Xu Chen led the two women into this silent forest, seemingly without any defenses.

"Rustle..."

Their footsteps on the thick, rotting leaves made a hair-raising sound.

"Young Lord, something is wrong."

Mo Han suddenly stopped, her body tense. She slightly reversed the Imperial Weapon dagger in her hand and lowered her voice: "It's too quiet. Even though this is a dead zone, there should at least be some movement from low-level Vicious Beasts. But right now, there isn't even the sound of wind."

As the world's number one assassin, her perception of Killing Intent was carved into her bones.

At this moment, the faint, pervasive sense of slaughter filling the forest made the hair on the back of her neck stand up, as if countless eyes were watching them from the shadows.

"Isn't it good that it's quiet?"

Xu Chen remained nonchalant, even reaching out to snap off a dead branch to fiddle with, a smile hanging on the corner of his mouth: "It makes it easier for us to find people."

The moment his words fell.

"Buzz—!!!"

Dozens of huge black iron trees around them suddenly trembled violently, and the originally withered patterns on their trunks instantly lit up with scarlet blood-colored light.

Pillars of blood-colored light shot into the sky, weaving into a massive blood net in the air that completely enveloped a radius of a thousand meters. Space was sealed, and the already obscure Qi was completely solidified, so much so that not even a trace could be mobilized.

"Absolute Heaven Locking Earth Formation! Rise!"

A sharp shout came from the depths of the mist.

Immediately after, a dozen figures in black robes with cold auras emerged from the tree trunks like ghosts, instantly surrounding the three of them.

The leader was a hunchbacked old man leaning on a bone staff, with sinister green light flickering in his eyes. Although his aura was suppressed to Quasi-Saint Peak, the cold fluctuation of his Divine Soul was extremely astonishing.

Xu Chen scanned the attire of these people and finally fixed his gaze on the old man, frowning slightly, his tone carrying a hint of disdain: "Wearing this black skin, no need to ask, you must be rats from the Soul Hall."

"However..." Xu Chen looked the old man up and down, clicking his tongue: "Is the Soul Hall out of people? Why send an old vegetable like you, whose teeth are about to fall out, to die?"

"Presumptuous!"

The old man instantly lost his composure, his withered, bark-like face twisted with anger. He was a notorious figure in the Central Plains; when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

"Ignorant child! This old man is the Soul Hall Third Elder, Hun Li! If not for the suppression of the world's rules here, with my cultivation as a Saint King Middle Stage, I could crush you with a single finger!"

Hun Li brought his bone staff down heavily; although his cultivation was suppressed, his Saint King-level Divine Soul pressure was still chilling: "However, it's not too late now."

Hearing the opponent announce his identity, the smile on Xu Chen's face grew even wider: "Oh... so it's the Third Elder. My apologies, my apologies."

"But, why not just be a proper Elder instead of running to this godforsaken place to play the grandson? You Soul Hall members really have unique hobbies."

"Sharp-tongued!"

Hun Li laughed in anger, looking at Xu Chen with a sinister expression, his face revealing the pleasure of a cat playing with a mouse: "Xu Chen, I know you have achieved sainthood with your Physical Body. But do you think luring you into this Absolute Heaven Locking Earth Formation is to compete with you in physical strength?"

"You underestimate the means of our Soul Hall!"

Hun Li took a sudden step forward, his voice rising sharply: "This Formation completely seals off Qi! Without the protection of Qi, your Sea of Consciousness is an undefended empty city! Even if your Physical Body is tough, once your Divine Soul is destroyed, you will be nothing but a walking corpse!"

"Do it! Myriad Soul Spirit-Devouring Formation, rise! Devour his Divine Soul for me!"

"Woooo—ooo—"

Following his order, the surrounding air instantly became chillingly cold. Countless shrill wails of ghosts and wolves sounded, and inside the blood-colored Formation, thousands of hideous vengeful spirits condensed.

These vengeful spirits ignored physical space, turning into a black torrent, and with scalp-numbing mental shrieks, crazily surged toward the space between Xu Chen's eyebrows.

"Young Lord, be careful! This is an attack targeting the Soul!"

Hua Jieyu's face turned pale. This kind of direct attack on the Divine Soul was the most sinister; once hit, one would at best become an idiot, and at worst, their Soul would fly away and spirit scatter. She wanted to use her charm techniques to interfere, but found that her Qi was exhausted and she couldn't use it at all.

But Xu Chen didn't move.

He just stood there quietly, not even blinking, letting those vengeful spirits rush into his Sea of Consciousness.

"Hehehe! You don't know what's good for you! My Spirit-Devouring Formation can't even be withstood by a real Saint King, and you, a mere brute relying on your Physical Body..."

Before Hun Li's wild laughter could finish, it was cut short like a duck whose neck had been grabbed.

"Boom!"

The moment the ten thousand ghosts entered his body, a brilliant golden light suddenly erupted from between Xu Chen's eyebrows.

That wasn't Qi, but a pure, ultimate Sword Intent!

Supreme Sword Heart!

Deep within Xu Chen's Sea of Consciousness, the phantom of a golden sword, reaching from heaven to earth, trembled slightly. That was the Sword Heart he condensed after his Dao of the sword reached Perfection—invulnerable to all evil, causing all demons to retreat!

Those vengeful spirits that rushed in were like moths flying into a blazing sun; they couldn't even scream before they instantly turned to ash under that terrifying Sword Intent.

"Pfft—!!!"

Due to the Formation backlash, Hun Li and those dozen Soul Hall assassins vomited blood simultaneously, their expressions filled with extreme terror.

"Impossible! Your Divine Soul... why is there Sword Intent guarding it?! Aren't you a Body Cultivator?!"

Hun Li's eyes were about to pop out. The intelligence clearly stated that Xu Chen achieved sainthood through his Physical Body; why was his Soul defense more terrifying than those old monsters who specialized in Divine Souls?

"Body Cultivator?"

Xu Chen patted away the non-existent dust, looking at the bewildered Hun Li, a cruel arc curling on his lips: "Who told you that I only know how to fight with my body?"

"Want to attack my Divine Soul? It's a pity, but my body is hard, and my life is even harder."

Xu Chen took a step forward, his voice as cold as a knife: "Since your magical attacks are ineffective, it's my turn to teach you a lesson with physics."

"Boom!"

As he took this step, a vast, ocean-like golden Qi and blood erupted from his body.

Hongmeng Creation Origin Body, Qi and blood like a Dragon!

Under the scouring of this terrifying Qi and blood, the sticky Evil Qi around him was instantly shattered.

The next moment, Xu Chen's figure disappeared.

Fast!

So fast that even afterimages couldn't be seen!

"Bang!"

The assassin in the lead, who hadn't recovered from the backlash, had his head explode like a ripe watermelon. Red and white splattered everywhere, and even his screams were forcibly choked back into his stomach.

"The first one."

Xu Chen's voice was like the whisper of the Grim Reaper.

Immediately after, his figure flashed again.

"Crack!"

Before an assassin could react, his chest was pierced by a large golden hand.

Xu Chen threw the body aside like a broken rag doll; it knocked over three black iron trees before stopping, turning into a pile of mush.

"The second one."

"The third one."

In this Ancient Battlefield suppressed by Law, everyone else was moving with difficulty, their actions sluggish. Only Xu Chen seemed like an ancient Vicious Beast that had broken free from its shackles.

"This... this isn't a battle! This is a massacre!"

Standing on the periphery, Hun Li watched his subordinates fall like grass, his whole body trembling violently.

He finally understood what a stupid mistake he had made. They had tried to lock a tiger in a cage to kill it, forgetting that even if this tiger didn't use its teeth, it could tear them apart with just its claws!

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

Hun Li screamed and turned to flee into the depths of the mist.

"Since you're already here, why the rush to leave?"

A cold voice suddenly rang in his ear.

Hun Li froze, and before he could turn around, a powerful hand had gripped his neck, lifting him up like a little chick.

"Is this the big meal you Soul Hall prepared for me?"

Xu Chen looked at the trembling Hun Li in his hand, his eyes playful: "Except for that Formation which was decent, the rest... is all trash."

"You... you can't kill me!"

Hun Li struggled in terror, kicking his legs, his voice distorted by suffocation: "I am the Soul Hall Third Elder! If you kill me, the Hall Master will never let you go! And... and there are even more terrifying existences waiting for you ahead!"

"More terrifying existences?"

Xu Chen raised an eyebrow, loosening his grip slightly: "Tell me about it. If what you say interests me, I might consider letting you go."

"It's... it's that person from the Heavenly Court!"

To save his life, Hun Li spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube: "Not an ordinary assassin! It's the Old Ancestor of the Heavenly Court who has been missing for thirty thousand years! The old monster known as 'Ghost Hand'! He... he is lying in ambush at the Sword Emperor's Sword Tomb ahead! And he brought the Heavenly Court's supreme treasure, the 'Soul Locking Nail', specifically designed to restrain those who have achieved sainthood with their Physical Body!"

"Oh?"

A glimmer of interest finally appeared in Xu Chen's eyes.

Ghost Hand? An old monster missing for thirty thousand years?

Sounds like he might be a bit stronger than these small fry.

And that "Soul Locking Nail," the name also sounds like it targets the Soul or locks the Qi and blood of the Physical Body.

Interesting.

"Alright, good information."

Xu Chen nodded, "Since that's the case, you have no value left."

"You... you don't keep your word! You said you would let..." Hun Li's eyes widened.

Xu Chen applied a little force with his fingers.

"Crack."

Hun Li's neck was instantly snapped, his eyes remaining filled with intense unwillingness and fear.

Casually throwing the corpse aside, Xu Chen clapped his hands and looked at the two women not far away.

At this point, the battle had completely ended.

Of the dozen Soul Hall assassins, besides the majority killed by Xu Chen, the remaining few who had slipped through the net had long since become Souls under Mo Han's dagger.

This usually silent girl was standing quietly beside a corpse, wiping the blood off her dagger with the opponent's clothes.

Her movements were elegant, cold, and professional.

"Young Lord."

Mo Han put away her dagger and walked up to Xu Chen. Although she still had that expressionless face, a rare ripple flashed in those cold eyes: "Ghost Hand... I have heard this name."

"He was an original member from the founding of the Heavenly Court, a legendary master of assassination arts. Thousands of years ago, he assassinated three Saints in one night, then disappeared. I didn't expect him to still be alive."

"Oh? How is he compared to you?" Xu Chen asked with a smile.

Mo Han thought seriously for a moment and shook her head: "If it's a direct confrontation, I'd say it's a fifty-fifty chance for me now. But in terms of assassination arts, he is the Ancestral Master."

"However..."

Mo Han raised her head, looked at Xu Chen, and her tone became firm: "I will kill him."

"Good."

Xu Chen smiled and ruffled her hair, "Then I'll leave that old monster for you to practice on. As for that so-called Soul Locking Nail..."

Xu Chen looked toward the deeper part of the mist, a playful arc curling on his lips: "I'd like to see if his nails are harder, or if my bones are harder."