203: The soul of the Azure Emperor appears

Not long after,

The five of them traveled all the way and finally arrived at one of the locations where the emperor spirit qi might appear. However, when they arrived, they discovered that Geniuses from other Profound Realms had already arrived first, and there were as many as a hundred people. These people were all sharp-eyed and watchful; after all, in this competition for a major Opportunity, everyone was a rival. It was easy to imagine that if the emperor spirit qi appeared here in the end, a fierce battle would be unavoidable.

The entrance here was cleverly hidden at the foot of the mountain. Inside was a magnificent palace. A young man who looked quite steady stepped forward and said, "Everyone! It's not yet certain whether the emperor spirit qi will appear here. Let's wait for it to show up, then we can discuss how to distribute it. How about that?"

Hearing this, others also felt he made sense. It would be a loss to fight to the death now for something whose existence here wasn't even confirmed yet. Thus, they nodded in agreement, deciding to find the emperor spirit qi first.

Several Fourth Stage Venerable Realm Geniuses joined forces to break open the Magic Array at the entrance and were preparing to enter. But just then, a troublemaker stepped out.

A young man stepped forward haughtily, pointed at Jiang Ye and the others, and shouted, "This Magic Array was opened with great effort by those of us from the Profound Realm. You lot aren't from the Profound Realm; you have no right to enter!"

Hearing this, Zhu Donghai was instantly furious. "Time is tight, you son of a bitch! Do you have to cause trouble at this critical moment?"

"You can enter, but they definitely cannot!" the young man insisted with a firm attitude.

Boom!! Jiang Ye suddenly emitted a chilling Evil Qi from his entire body, and his startling Killing Intent spread out like something tangible, shocking everyone present!

"Besides him, who else thinks we can't go in? Step forward!" Jiang Ye roared, his voice like a great bell.

At this moment, others didn't want to cause more trouble at such a critical time; after all, finding the emperor spirit qi was the top priority. Furthermore, the Evil Qi Jiang Ye emitted was truly terrifying; even Fourth Stage Venerable Realm experts couldn't guarantee a steady victory over him.

Seeing this, the young man still said unwillingly, "You think you few can stand against so many of us?"

Jiang Ye's voice became extremely cold. "I'll say it one more time: whoever thinks like him that we can't go in, step forward right now. Don't waste any more of my time!"

Another Fourth Stage Venerable Realm young Genius frowned and said, "If you want to waste time on such boring matters, then go ahead. We're leaving!" After saying that, he led over a dozen people inside without hesitation.

At this time, not a single person stood up to help the troublemaker against Jiang Ye. The powerful Aura he emitted made them realize that tangling with him would surely lead to a difficult and fierce battle.

The troublemaking youth never expected that no one would be willing to help him. Seeing Jiang Ye walking toward him step by step, he suddenly panicked and stammered, "You... what do you want to do? If you dare touch me..."

"Die!" Jiang Ye shouted, like a bolt from the blue.

Thud! The youth fell to the ground, his eyes still wide with terror, his time seemingly frozen at that moment. The remaining people who hadn't entered yet all turned back to look at Jiang Ye in unison, their hearts filled with confusion, completely unaware of what mysterious method he had used to kill someone instantly.

Another Fourth Stage Venerable Realm person was suddenly shocked, his expression changing slightly. He recognized that what Jiang Ye had just used was an extremely rare Soul Skill! After a moment's thought, he walked quickly toward Jiang Ye.

"Friend, we are Disciples of the Xuan Lei Sect. My name is Lei Yan. Shall we be friends?"

Jiang Ye cupped his hands in return to the goodwill shown, nodding, "Jiang Ye. Let's go!"

Zhu Donghai was also somewhat surprised. Lei Yan of the Xuan Lei Sect would actually take the initiative to show kindness? One must know that the overall strength of his Profound Tower couldn't compare to the Xuan Lei Sect. Moreover, that group from the Xuan Lei Sect all had extraordinary combat power; few forces in the Profound Realm were willing to offend them easily.

Now that they had these few from the Xuan Lei Sect as allies—one Fourth Stage and three Third Stage Venerable Realms—no one else dared to say anything. Even the companions of the man who had just been killed could only stand aside obediently, not daring to make a sound.

After everyone entered and walked for a while, they found themselves at a fork in the road, with three different tunnel entrances appearing before them.

Everyone stood at the fork, starting to feel hesitant, completely unsure which entrance to take. Lei Yan knew Jiang Ye possessed Soul Skills, and from this, he deduced that his Soul Power must be extraordinary.

Thus, Lei Yan asked Jiang Ye, "Brother Jiang, what are your thoughts on this?"

The moment Jiang Ye saw the three tunnel entrances, he had already used his Soul Power to investigate them thoroughly, yet he failed to find any obvious clues.

"I can't see any difference. We can only pick one at random and see our luck," Jiang Ye said helplessly.

"Well, since Brother Jiang says so, we can only rely on our luck," Lei Yan nodded slightly.

The Fourth Stage Venerable Realm youth who had entered first earlier spoke up, "Lei Yan, now that we're here, being so timid doesn't seem like your usual style!"

His tone clearly carried a hint of disdain for Jiang Ye. After all, they had left first and hadn't seen the shocking method Jiang Ye used to kill with a Soul Skill.

Lei Yan replied, "Then you go first. It's all about luck anyway; who knows who will ultimately find the emperor spirit qi."

"Hehe, then we'll pick an entrance first. Let's go!" After saying that, he led his people toward one of the entrances.

However, the moment they stepped inside, it was as if they had triggered some mysterious Magic Array. Jiang Ye immediately probed again with his Soul Power, and what he found startled him!

He immediately shouted, "Don't go in yet! There's an extremely intense Killing Intent hidden deep inside."

"What?" Everyone was startled by the sudden warning. Lei Yan hurriedly asked, "Brother Jiang, what should we do now? Should we just leave?"

Everyone was filled with reluctance at the thought of leaving, Jiang Ye included.

"How about we wait a bit and see what happens to those who went in," Jiang Ye said after a moment of thought.

Lei Yan knew Jiang Ye wouldn't be wrong; he must have sensed a danger they couldn't perceive. However, the others could no longer sit still. Ignoring Jiang Ye's words, they hurried into the other entrances.

After a while, Jiang Ye still felt uneasy, but he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's risk it! We'll just pick an entrance and go in."

Jiang Ye's group also entered an entrance. After walking for a while, they arrived at a place resembling an Armory, filled with various sabers, swords, staves, and clubs. Jiang Ye's group glanced around and found that none of the weapons seemed as powerful as the ones Jiang Ye had obtained at the Underworld Tower, so they didn't pay much attention.

Others began to enthusiastically pick weapons that suited them. Wu Linglong carefully selected a longsword. Since Jiang Ye didn't care much for these weapons, he casually took a long saber. Finally, after the others had finished picking, they divided the remaining weapons among themselves.

Next, they entered several more secret chambers, but unfortunately, those who had entered earlier had already beaten them to it and taken everything. After Jiang Ye, Lei Yan, and the others had walked for half an hour, a Magic Array appeared ahead.

One of the Third Stage Venerable Realm Geniuses from the Xuan Lei Sect, who was quite knowledgeable about Magic Arrays, hurried forward to examine it carefully.

"This is a Teleportation Array, but there's no telling where it leads."

Lei Yan and the others also stepped forward to look, but none dared to enter directly. "What does everyone think? Should we go in together and see what's on the other side of the Teleportation Array?"

Jiang Ye said, "Let's go together! Everyone, prepare your life-saving methods. For some reason, I've had a bad feeling all along."

"Alright! Junior Brothers, be ready to protect yourselves with Thunder Power at any time."

"Let's go!" Without hesitation, everyone jumped into the Teleportation Array.

When they emerged from the Teleportation Array, everyone was dumbfounded by the sight before them. Not only were the people who had come from the same place as them present, but people from several other locations had also been teleported here.

Jiang Ye instantly sensed a very powerful Soul entity slowly approaching. His first reaction was that they were doomed—they were about to be wiped out in one go.

"Brother Lei! Let's huddle together quickly and release your Power of Thunder for protection." Jiang Ye's tone was extremely anxious.

Lei Yan also realized the gravity of the situation instantly and shouted, "Junior Brothers, quickly release the Power of Thunder for protection!"

Then Jiang Ye's group of five immediately gathered with the four from the Xuan Lei Sect. The four of them stood at each corner, forming a Square Formation, and the Power of Thunder they released wrapped everyone tightly inside.

Others were also surprised by their actions. Some who reacted quickly also began to release their own protective powers.

Jiang Ye shouted loudly, "If you don't want to die, quickly use whatever means you have to protect your Souls!"

"What!" Everyone else was shocked. Someone asked, "Could this brother explain more clearly?"

"No need to say anything, it's too late!" A Soul entity suddenly appeared before them all. The Soul entity's eyes were like torches, staring straight at Jiang Ye, and said, "I didn't expect your Soul Power to be so strong. I was hidden so exquisitely, yet you still noticed me. However, except for you few kids who can use the Power of Thunder, no matter how the rest of them resist, it will be in vain."

Boom! With a loud bang, "Argh..." Except for Jiang Ye and the few protected by the Power of Thunder, everyone else was instantly suppressed by a powerful force, screaming in pain.

Lei Yan shouted to the Soul entity, "Who exactly are you?"

"Hmm?" The Azure Emperor was taken aback. He hadn't expected Jiang Ye to agree so readily. Somewhat helplessly, he said, "Then pick three of them!"

Others saw this and knew they had no chance. Besides Jiang Ye himself, there were exactly three people on his side.

Jiang Ye looked at Shi Bao, Shi Feng, and Wu Linglong and said, "Come out!"

They stepped forward without hesitation. Wu Linglong said worriedly, "Young Master, what about you?"

"I probably won't be able to absorb the emperor spirit qi. You all should Breakthrough to the Ninth Stage Xuan Venerable Realm together!"

The Azure Emperor said, "You're letting these two Earth Profound Realms Breakthrough to the Ninth Stage Xuan Venerable Realm? Aren't you afraid they'll kill you once they get out?"

"No, I have a curse on them. If I die, they die with me!"

Shi Bao and Shi Feng were instantly speechless and rolled their eyes at him. Shi Feng said, "Do you think we're still the kids from back then, or do you think you're still a kid?"