266: Chapter 264 Contra

Elder Hei Yan stared fixedly at the rift.

This was a brand-new power, completely transcending the Canglan Domain Cultivation World system and distinct from the martial path system of Dou Emperor Cang Luan and the others.

The man wore a form-fitting, sharp ice-blue martial outfit; the tailoring was precise, the inner sheen restrained, and without any flashy decorations, yet it carried an aura of nobility that looked down upon the heavens.

His ice-blue hair, reaching his waist, swayed gently in the wind. The tips of every strand were wreathed in tiny, glistening white specks of Soul Power that drifted with the wind, falling into the Void Realm and freezing into scattered, delicate frost flowers.

Around him, there was none of the Spiritual Qi tide familiar to Canglan Domain Cultivators, nor the surging, thick, and heavy blood vitality of the Xuan Continent Martial Artists; the Soul Power surrounding him was extremely refined and pure.

This was a completely independent cultivation system that formed its own Dao.

"Someone from another realm arrived first; this is rather interesting."

The blue-haired man's thin lips parted slightly. His voice was cold and clear, carrying a sense of superiority carved into his very bones. With every word that fell, the temperature of the surrounding air plummeted, and all the dust floating in the sky froze.

"Two groups of ants killing each other and wasting their Foundation—it certainly adds a ridiculous farce to this dead, low-level world."

This lighthearted remark dismissed both cultivation systems present as worthless, instantly piercing the stalemate on the battlefield and causing the killing intent across the entire sky to stagnate.

Before the martial path rift below, Dou Emperor Cang Luan, who was at the Peak and guarding his position tightly, furrowed his brows deeply. The veins on his forehead bulged slightly, and a look of extreme gravity and anger flashed in his eyes.

As a top-tier expert of the martial path, he had expanded territories across realms and fought in the heavens for decades. Having traveled through countless lower planes, he had always been the one looking down on all living beings and crushing the natives; never had he been so despised and slighted.

"Where do you come from?" The blood-colored mountain phantom around Dou Emperor Cang Luan trembled violently. His bulging muscles were filled with monstrous brute force, and the martial path Protective Aura around him exploded, causing the surrounding space to hum and vibrate. "I arrived first. This is the territory of my Wuchen Martial Path expansion. The battlefield is set; bystanders, leave at once! Otherwise, you will be treated as an enemy, and the four of us will not hesitate to exhaust our Origin to suppress and kill you!"

Dou Emperor Cang Luan's warning was resonant and powerful, carrying the supreme majesty of a Peak Dou Emperor, but to the blue-haired man, it only earned a cold sneer.

The blue-haired man cast a side glance, his icy pupils sweeping indifferently over the four guarding the area below. A mocking, cold arc curled at the corner of his mouth: "Martial path? It is nothing more than a shallow, heterodox cultivation. Abandoning the Divine Soul Dao, clinging to the flesh and skin, piling up brute force, and sticking to rigid rules—it may seem unparalleled in offense and defense, but in reality, it has long since reached a dead end in cultivation. Before the Divine Soul rule power of my Soul Domain, your Physical Body barriers, blood vitality Protective Aura, and mountain suppression stance are all vulnerable."

Dou Emperor Cang Luan's blood-colored vitality surged instantly several times over, and the originally stable blood-colored mountain phantom glowed layer by layer.

The next second, he thought better of it. Their mission was never to fight head-on, but to stabilize the rift and lock the passageway. Once the four of them left their posts, the Formation loosened, and the suppression aura collapsed, this martial path rift, which had cost countless Origin to stabilize, would instantly shrink and close. The loss would be far greater than a momentary war of words.

Despite his immense resentment, he could only suppress it deep within his heart. Dou Emperor Cang Luan quelled the urge to fight, keeping his cold gaze fixed high above, ready for battle, while silently stabilizing the compass and reinforcing the rift, allowing his subordinates to continue infiltrating and spreading out.

Compared to Dou Emperor Cang Luan's forbearance and restraint, Elder Hei Yan at the center of the battlefield had his mind completely focused and tense to the extreme.

"Damn it, there's a cultivation system I've never seen before."

"All these years have been in vain."

The man in blue did not waste any more words; as he spoke, he had already launched an attack on Elder Hei Yan.

"You seek death!"

Elder Hei Yan shouted in a deep voice. The majestic Dragon Qi-infused might pierced through the wind and resounded in every corner of the battlefield. His tone was decisive and resolute, "Kill him first!"

He was meticulous and decisive in killing, instantly seeing through the essence of the battle.

The four Dou Emperor experts below were certainly troublesome, but they were temporarily guarding the rift and could not take the initiative to attack.

And the blue-haired man who had suddenly appeared in the sky, well... he was only one person.

The Dragon Clan elites moved upon hearing the command, coordinating tacitly and without hesitation.

The Twelve Dragon Demon-Suppressing Formation that had been suppressing the martial path rift instantly released its power. The crisscrossing Black Dragon binding chains melted away inch by inch, returning to formlessness, and the raging Red Dragon Wildfire (Prairie Fire) rain that was crushing the surroundings slowly retracted its aura and sank into the Void Realm.

The surging, vast Dragon Qi receded layer by layer, retracting all killing intent. The twelve Dragon Clan experts quickly gathered, with Elder Hei Yan as the absolute core, forming a circular battle Formation capable of both offense and defense.

"Bang." A cyan-green vine suddenly appeared from the Void Realm and was blocked by Elder Hei Yan's hand.

Having lost the terrifying pressure of the Formation's suppression and the Dragon fire's scorching, the four Dou Emperor experts before the rift felt their pressure suddenly decrease, and their tense figures relaxed slightly.

Dou Emperor Cang Luan looked down coldly at the sudden change in the high-altitude battle, a flash of extremely shrewd calculation appearing in his eyes.

He immediately abandoned the provocation and confrontation, fully concentrating his Origin blood vitality to drive the bronze compass in his hand, accelerating the stabilization of the rift barrier, while secretly sending messages to all the extraterrestrial Martial Artists who had crossed the border to continue sneaking and hiding at full speed.

In an instant, the entire battlefield's landscape was rewritten, changing from the original Dragon-Martial confrontation into a dangerous situation of three-party checks and balances, with two powerful forces fighting.

High above, the blue-haired man took in all the movements of those below. Seeing the entire Dragon Clan turn their focus and lock onto him, he felt no fear at all; instead, his smile grew, and the biting killing intent in his eyes became even sharper.

"You at least know how to assess the situation and understand who is strong and who is weak." He lifted his hand gently, his movements lazy and casual, yet he carried an absolute confidence of controlling the whole situation, "Come, let me see the strength of this world."

"Hum—!"

An ethereal, vast, and rule-dense, strange energy suddenly erupted completely from within the blue-haired man.

This Soul Power was dense and refined, woven into the Dao, locking souls and binding spirits. It was completely different from the explosive collision of Spiritual Qi or the heavy, barbaric nature of blood vitality; it permeated silently, imprisoned rules, and suppressed Divine Souls.

Following that, eight dazzling and orderly Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath his feet, circling his body, alternating between light and shadow, pulsating layer by layer.

Yellow, purple, and black Soul Rings were arranged in sequence, one ring pressing over the other, each more exquisite than the last, with every ring carrying distinct Divine Soul rules and exclusive Soul Skills.

A faint Soul might swept down, covering the sky, instantly suppressing the entire sky until the Spiritual Qi stagnated, the wind and clouds solidified, and space was locked.

"Eight rings? What kind of cultivation phenomenon is this?" A Black Dragon Clan elite whispered in shock, his eyes filled with extreme confusion and awe. "Not Spiritual, not Qi, not Dao, not Spell; rings around the body, nurturing rules—never heard of it, never seen it!"

Elder Hei Yan's gaze locked tightly onto those eight Soul Rings flowing with strange colors; he had never heard of them either.

"It is normal for natives not to recognize the Soul Ring Dao." The blue-haired man spoke indifferently, the high-position apathy in his tone growing even thicker. "You Canglan Domain Cultivators borrow Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to nourish your bodies, relying on the gifts of the plane. The martial path refines flesh, bones, and muscles to pile up brute force, clinging to the skin and flesh, unable to glimpse the Dao, trapped in the shackles of the Physical Body for life. But my Soul Domain cultivation takes the Divine Soul as the root, the Soul Ring as the base, and rules as the blade. It does not borrow from Heaven and Earth, nor does it rely on external objects. The self is the Dao, the self is the rule; it is simply not within your dimension of cultivation."

These words exposed the vast difference between the two realms of cultivation, making Elder Hei Yan's heart even heavier.

"Sounds pretty badass."

But heavy as his heart was, Elder Hei Yan had no intention of retreating.

Even if the opponent's system was weird and transcendent, the upper limit of the Cultivation World was there. The opponent couldn't possibly be a freak like Yuan Chen, right?

As long as he isn't, then he can be fought!

"I don't care what kind of weird Soul Dao method you have!" Elder Hei Yan's Battle Intent boiled over completely. Pitch-black Dragon patterns rose into the sky around him, and half of his ferocious Dragon body was instantly revealed. The chilling Dragon scales gleamed with a cold light, and the monstrous Dragon might swept across the four directions. "Dare to cross the border and invade, trampling on this territory? My Dragon Clan will suppress and kill you all without exception!"

As the words fell, Elder Hei Yan did not hesitate any longer, taking the lead to activate his Peak combat power and striking fiercely!

The pitch-black Dragon Qi drifting in the sky gathered frantically into his palm, layering and compressing, finally transforming into a ten-thousand-foot-long, dark, and silent Dragon Spear.

The spear body flowed with dense, silent Dao patterns. The patterns were profound, with hidden killing intent. The spear tip was unparalleled in sharpness, piercing through the Void Realm. It flew silently, completely annihilating all airflow and energy along its path, carrying a terrifying might that pierced all things, crushed rules, and annihilated everything, stabbing straight at the blue-haired man's heart!

Wherever the silent Dragon Spear passed, space collapsed layer by layer, forming pitch-black Void Realm gullies. The originally chaotic Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was completely drained, and the domineering annihilation power locked all of the blue-haired man's evasion space.

The blue-haired man raised his brows slightly, a trace of subtle surprise flashing in his eyes, then he chuckled: "The brute force is acceptable, but the Dao method is shallow and clumsy. It at least has a bit more method than the brute force of those martial path ruffians."

Before he finished speaking, the purple thousand-year Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly glowed fiercely. Dazzling purple light soared into the sky, and gentle yet tough Soul Power spread out instantly, condensing into a crystal-clear ice-blue Soul Shield before him. The shield surface flowed with dense, orderly Soul patterns, layered and heavily fortified. Every pattern was a Divine Soul shackle, firmly stabilizing the shield's defense.

"Clang—!"

A heaven-shaking, crisp sound reverberated through the sky for a thousand miles. The ear-piercing sound of metal clashing exploded into layers of sound waves, sweeping across the entire battlefield.

The silent Dragon Spear slammed hard into the center of the ice-blue Soul Shield. The domineering, boundless silent Dragon power exploded frantically, crushing layer by layer. The pitch-black annihilation Dao patterns constantly washed over and gnawed at the shield surface, causing the Soul Shield to tremble violently, the purple light flickering and flowing, and the entire shield body to cave in layer by layer, nearing destruction.

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of blood sprayed out, and the man in blue stumbled back a few steps.

"Hmm?"

A flash of surprise appeared in Elder Hei Yan's eyes, and then his mind relaxed, a sudden surge of wild joy rising in his heart.

"Damn it, scared the hell out of me. I thought he was so powerful!"

Previously, when fighting Dou Emperor Cang Luan and the others, their Physical Body defense was almost unsolvable. The twelve Dragon Clan experts had joined forces to attack, exhausted their Spiritual Qi, and activated the Formation, but after a long stalemate, they still couldn't break their defense, remaining in a passive state of attrition the whole time.

But the defense of this Soul Ring expert before him, while exquisite and tough, had a clear upper limit of endurance!

"Everyone, listen to my command, keep attacking him!"

Elder Hei Yan shouted loudly, his Battle Intent completely ignited. The hand seals in his hands changed rapidly, and the Dragon Qi around him erupted fully, "Black Dragon Silent Prison, activate!"

"Boom!"

The pitch-black Dragon Qi in the sky suddenly descended, gathered, and condensed, sealing the high altitude in all directions with absolute, domineering power, instantly constructing a boundless dark prison.

The prison walls were thick and severe, covered in silent Dragon patterns, completely locking all space for evasion, retreat, or breakout in all directions, trapping the blue-haired man tightly in the core of the prison Formation, making it impossible for him to escape.

The next second, countless dark, sharp Dragon blades flew out from the prison walls, dense, covering the sky, and blocking out the sun. Every Dragon blade was condensed with extreme silent power, specifically designed to restrain Divine Soul barriers, strange technique shields, and rule barriers, breaking Spells, piercing defenses, and killing with precision.

Meanwhile, the Dragon Clan members simultaneously activated their Origin Dragon power, pouring it into the prison Formation, reinforcing the confinement, and layering spatial locks to eliminate any possibility of teleporting away.

The dark Dragon blades locked Divine Souls, sealed space, and broke barriers; the crimson Dragon fire burned Physical Bodies, scorched Spiritual Qi, and incinerated blood vitality. With ice and fire intertwined, light and darkness clashing, and offense and defense complementing each other, it instantly formed an unsolvable, fatal encirclement, completely shrouding the blue-haired man!

High above, the dark prison locked the sky, Dragon blades danced wildly, and flames burned the heavens. The killing intent shot straight into the clouds, and the world trembled ceaselessly.

A flash of panic crossed the blue-haired man's face.

"Damn it, I'm being countered."

He nodded slightly, then a cold light flashed in his eyes. His aura turned cold instantly, and the black ten-thousand-year Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly erupted with monstrous black light. The extremely cold Divine Soul Soul Power swept across the entire field!

"Sixth Soul Skill—Myriad Wood Annihilation!"

This was not an ordinary wood-type Spell, but a nether cold power that stained Divine Souls and froze the Dao, specifically sealing Spiritual Qi, locking Dao Foundations, and freezing Divine Souls.

Wherever the vines passed, the dark Dragon blades flying in mid-air instantly shattered layer by layer, turning into black dust and dissipating without a trace.

"Second Soul Skill—Thousand Kills!"

The purple Soul Ring glowed fiercely again, and glowing blue Soul Power condensed out of thin air. Thousands of slender, sharp wooden spikes formed instantly, filling the entire Void Realm. Every wooden spike was crystal clear and unparalleled in sharpness, carrying the extreme precision of Divine Soul locking power. It didn't aim for a large area or a grand display, but targeted the weak points of the Protective Aura, precise, tricky, ruthless, and unsolvable.

The wooden spikes shot silently through the air, blasting toward the Dragon Clan experts, covering everyone!

"You all step back, I'll take him on alone!"

Elder Hei Yan didn't feel much power from it and hurriedly shouted.

The twelve Dragon Clan experts instantly retracted their offensive and turned to slaughter the fleeing Martial Artists.

"Ding-ding-dang-dang—!"

The wooden spikes slammed hard against the Dragon Armor Protective Aura, the crisp sound of shattering echoing continuously and incessantly.

The glowing blue Soul Power constantly washed over, eroded, and broke through the Dragon Clan's Dragon power defense. Every time a wooden spike shattered, tiny bits of nether cold power seeped into the Protective Aura, invading the Meridians along the gaps in the scales, freezing the circulating Spiritual Qi, obstructing blood flow, and numbing the Physical Body's senses.

After several intense exchanges, Elder Hei Yan's arms, shoulders, back, and scale gaps were all covered in a thin layer of dark blue poison. His Spiritual Qi circulation became slightly sluggish, his movement speed slowed down quietly, and waves of bone-chilling coldness came from his Meridians, his combat power significantly suppressed.

"Break!"

Elder Hei Yan shouted coldly, his blood vitality filling his body, and he returned to normal in an instant.

Looking at the man opposite, Elder Hei Yan examined the battle with cold eyes, his heart becoming more and more certain.

This Soul Ring expert before him, even if his Cultivation Technique was weird, had a fatal shortcoming—his Soul Power consumption was huge, and his sustained combat ability was far inferior to his own.

"Far worse than Dou Emperor Cang Luan and the others."

"I was really scared by his arrogant tone just now."