1181: Chapter 1181 Baili Ziyuan VS Hei Yan

Marshal Hei Yan had campaigned across the Star Sea and witnessed countless powerhouses, but an existence like the one before him—who had cultivated the Soul Dao to such a concrete manifestation, carrying such a dense aura of death and eeriness—was extremely rare. At the very least, there were no such powerhouses in the nearby Star Domains!

What shocked him even more was that this person could silently appear at such a close distance the moment he had fully locked onto Dragon Xuanyuan and was about to launch a killing blow, even... failing to be fully detected by his prior perception?!

Had the other party not actively revealed a trace of their aura, he might have even been kept in the dark!

Such concealment and Soul Dao attainment...

"What a formidable Soul Dao powerhouse."

Marshal Hei Yan's voice returned to its coldness, but the trace of shock within it could not be entirely hidden. His gaze was sharp as a blade as he stared at the scythe-bearer with white hair and gray eyes.

"To actually evade my perception... who are you? And what is your relationship with this Dragon Xuanyuan?"

No matter which it was, it meant the opponent's methods were even more eerie and troublesome than he had anticipated!

Coupled with this suddenly appearing Soul Dao powerhouse with an eerie aura...

The situation seemed to have encountered an unexpected variable once again!

The white-haired youth holding the massive death scythe looked calmly at Marshal Hei Yan with his grayish-white eyes. There was no anger or killing intent in his gaze, only a dead silence and indifference that felt like an ancient frozen pond.

He didn't even answer Marshal Hei Yan's question, only slightly turning his head to look at Dragon Xuanyuan beside him.

"Great Xia's Dragon Lord—Baili Ziyuan—greets the Alliance Leader."

The white-haired youth's voice was like his person, carrying a peculiar emptiness and ethereality. It was as if it didn't come from his throat but directly resonated at the Soul level, making it extremely uncomfortable to hear.

"It's good that you're back."

Dragon Xuanyuan's voice carried weariness, yet it remained steady. "However, you shouldn't have returned now."

A hint of helplessness appeared on his face. Marshal Hei Yan's strength was too great; even by using the power of the Star Core, he couldn't defeat him!

The gap between them was still too large!

Ziyuan?

Baili Ziyuan?!

Below, some Human Race powerhouses who knew of the Great Xia Nine Sovereigns were momentarily stunned upon hearing this name, but then an unbelievable light of pleasant surprise erupted in their eyes!

Great Xia's Dragon Lord, Baili Ziyuan!

That mysterious, peerless powerhouse who was constantly elusive and rumored to be capable of being an army of one and exploring the Star Sea alone!

He had actually rushed back at this most critical moment!

Marshal Hei Yan also instantly understood the newcomer's identity from Dragon Xuanyuan's form of address.

"Baili Ziyuan? The Dragon Lord of Great Xia?"

A glint flickered in Marshal Hei Yan's eyes as his killing intent rose once more. "So you're a native too! It seems you are this planet's final trump card? A Rank Five who specializes in the Soul Dao?"

He sensed Baili Ziyuan's aura. Although it was eerie and obscure, making it hard to judge accurately, it was roughly at the Rank Five level. Moreover, it seemed... not to be at the Early Stage of Rank Five?

This allowed his heart to settle slightly.

As long as it wasn't another monster capable of calling upon the planet's power, a Rank Five Soul Cultivator, while troublesome, wasn't enough to make him feel unable to cope.

"I wouldn't call myself a trump card."

Baili Ziyuan finally turned his gaze back to Marshal Hei Yan. His grayish-white pupils seemed capable of seeing through all Soul disguises and fluctuations. "It's just that someone here happens to owe me something, and I've come to collect the debt along the way."

His words were nonsensical, yet Marshal Hei Yan inexplicably felt a chill.

Owning a debt? Collecting a debt? Pointing at whom? Dragon Xuanyuan? Or... him, Marshal Hei Yan?

Without waiting for Marshal Hei Yan to think further, Baili Ziyuan slowly raised the massive death scythe in his hand.

The dim gray light on the scythe's edge suddenly brightened, as if countless tiny, pained Soul phantoms were struggling and wailing within it.

"No need to think about it," Baili Ziyuan's voice remained hollow. "Leaving your lives behind will be the repayment."

The moment his voice fell, the two pairs of illusory energy wings behind him saw the two distorted ghost faces snap their "mouths" open, letting out a silent shriek that struck directly at the Soul!

An invisible Soul shockwave, cold to the extreme, spread out like ripples. It wasn't aimed at the physical body but acted directly on the Soul level of all living beings!

Marshal Hei Yan, bearing the brunt of it, felt as if his Divine Soul had been thrown into a ten-thousand-year ice cellar. A cold, sluggish power with a strong sense of erosion and stripping attempted to freeze his thoughts, shake his will, and even... stir the hidden fears and negative emotions deep within his heart!

"Soul Dao methods? Mere child's play!"

Marshal Hei Yan snorted coldly. A point of dim light bloomed at the center of his brows as powerful Divine Soul fluctuations rippled out. Although he didn't specialize in Soul Dao, his Divine Soul power was still remarkable, instantly blocking the Soul shock.

But at the very moment he was distracted by resisting the Soul shock, Baili Ziyuan moved.

The death scythe instantly appeared behind Marshal Hei Yan as Baili Ziyuan struck!

Marshal Hei Yan's pupils suddenly contracted in that instant.

He had campaigned across the Star Sea for a thousand years and experienced countless life-and-death battles; his combat instincts were already etched into his marrow.

When that pitch-black scythe silently appeared behind him, he didn't even turn his head—his figure drifted a hundred meters to the side like smoke scattered by a gale.

However, a cold tearing sensation still came from the back of his neck.

A few strands of dark hair slowly drifted in the Void Realm before being swallowed by the gray light on the scythe's edge, vanishing without a trace.

Marshal Hei Yan raised his hand to touch the back of his neck, his fingertips feeling a slight but real wound—it wasn't deep, merely breaking the skin, but what came from the wound was a Soul-targeting burning sensation that even his thousand-times-tempered body found uncomfortable.

He looked down at the smear of faint black blood on his fingertips, a trace of disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"This spee—"

Baili Ziyuan didn't pursue. Holding the pitch-black death scythe that was half a person taller than himself, he slowly turned around in the Void Realm. His movements were unhurried, even carrying a strange composure.

The two pairs of grayish-white energy wings behind him fanned gently. The two distorted ghost faces within the wing patterns constantly changed expressions, sometimes in pain, sometimes ferocious, as if silently roaring.

"I presume Your Excellency, having campaigned for a millennium, wouldn't be unaware of a certain truth."

Baili Ziyuan's grayish-white pupils looked calmly at Marshal Hei Yan. His voice remained hollow and ethereal, as if coming from the depths of the Nine Serenities.

"On the battlefield, speed is never the most important thing."

He raised the scythe, its blade pointing at Marshal Hei Yan. The dim gray light on the edge was like the eyes of a death god, coldly watching its prey.

"The most important thing is—when you will stop."

Just as his voice fell, Baili Ziyuan's figure vanished from the spot once again.

This time, Marshal Hei Yan did not retreat.

The dim light deep within his pupils intensified. His Divine Soul power surged out like a tide, covering the Void Realm for thousands of meters around.

He wanted to capture this Soul Cultivator's tracks, even if it was just a trace of Soul fluctuation—

"Found you!"