136: Tracing the Soul Palace, Thunder Slaying the Venerable

The romantic atmosphere within the Immortal Cave was instantly replaced by a murderous aura.

Li Ao's Mental Energy spread out like an invisible spiderweb, precisely capturing several powerful auras rapidly approaching from outside the valley.

There were four individuals in total, all clad in the distinctive black robes of the Hall of Souls.

The aura of the leader was obscure, having reached the level of a Five-Star Dou Zun, while the other three were all One-Star to Two-Star Dou Zuns.

They were clearly searching in the nearby area and had coincidentally sensed a subtle energy fluctuation here, hence their investigation.

"It's a Soul Searching squad from the Hall of Souls," Li Ao's voice was cold, his eyes glinting with a frigid light.

He hadn't expected the Hall of Souls to act so quickly, their search net already extending to such a remote place.

Medusa stood up, her purple eyes filled with killing intent, the fury from being ambushed and gravely wounded now finding an outlet.

"They came at just the right time, saves this Queen the trouble of finding them!"

Xiao Yi Xian's expression also grew solemn, her poisonous Dou Qi quietly circulating within her.

Although facing a Dou Zun powerhouse was quite challenging for her, she would never back down.

"Leave that Five-Star Dou Zun to me," Li Ao's tone was calm, yet carried absolute confidence.

"As for the other three, you two finish them quickly, don't make too much noise."

With his current Soul Power at the Spirit Realm Mid Stage and his initial control over the Nirvana Origin, a Five-Star Dou Zun was no longer a threat in his eyes.

"Be careful," Medusa glanced at him, not arguing, knowing that Li Ao's strength was no longer what it used to be.

"Mm," Xiao Yi Xian also nodded.

The next moment, the three figures simultaneously vanished from the Immortal Cave.

Outside the valley, the four Soul Hall Elders had just landed and were about to investigate thoroughly when the space in front of them rippled, and three figures already stood in their way.

"It's them! Li Ao! Queen Medusa! And that Calamity Poison Body!" The leading Five-Star Dou Zun, named Protector Wu (using an early character, can be seen as a namesake or a promotion), his eyes instantly erupted with wild joy and greed upon recognizing the arrivals.

"Hahaha! I've searched high and low for you! Capture them, and the Hall Master will surely reward us handsomely!"

He completely disregarded Li Ao, a Seven-Star Dou Zong (he had only perceived Li Ao's previous superficial strength).

Even with some strange methods, it would be futile in the face of an absolute disparity in strength.

He directly extended his large hand, and the Nether Ghost Claw tore through space, grabbing towards Li Ao, intending to subdue him instantly.

The other three Dou Zuns also sneered, pouncing on Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian respectively.

Facing the Nether Ghost Claw, which was powerful enough to crush mountains, Li Ao's gaze was indifferent.

He neither dodged nor evaded, merely slowly raised his right hand.

There was no dazzling Dou Qi radiance, no earth-shattering momentum, just a wisp of gray Qi swirling around his fingertip, which he lightly tapped against the massive ghost claw.

"Annihilate."

It was as if his words commanded the Dao.

The Nether Ghost Claw, condensed with Protector Wu's vast Dou Qi, upon contact with the gray Qi, was like a painting thrown into nothingness.

Starting from its fingertips, its color faded, its structure collapsed, its energy dissipated, silently turning into the most basic particles, utterly annihilated!

And that annihilating trend, following the energy connection, rapidly spread towards Protector Wu's main body!

"What?!" The wild joy on Protector Wu's face instantly turned into extreme horror.

He felt his Dou Qi, and even his connection to that part of the world, being forcibly erased!

He let out a strange cry, and without hesitation, he fiercely severed the energy connection to the Nether Ghost Claw, his figure retreating rapidly, his eyes filled with unbelievable fear.

"You... what kind of demonic art is this?!" Protector Wu's voice trembled, devoid of his previous arrogance.

Just one strike made him feel the threat of death!

"The dead don't need to know too much," Li Ao's tone was calm, his figure moving like a ghost, appearing before Protector Wu.

It was still a simple, single finger, pointing towards his glabella.

Protector Wu was scared out of his wits, his Dou Qi erupting frantically, and chains of nether energy coiled around Li Ao like venomous snakes, while he desperately tried to dodge with his movement technique.

However, in the face of absolute power and rule suppression, all of this was futile.

Those nether chains, capable of trapping and killing low-level Dou Zuns, were quietly disintegrated by the invisible Annihilation Domain when they approached within three feet of Li Ao.

Li Ao's finger seemed to break through the limitations of space, ignoring all of his defenses and evasions, precisely landing on his glabella.

Protector Wu's body suddenly stiffened, his pupils instantly dilated, filled with despair and unwillingness.

He felt an irresistible force of termination surge into his Sea of Consciousness, and his Soul, like a candle in the wind, was instantly extinguished.

A Five-Star Dou Zun had fallen, without even being able to put up a decent resistance.

On the other side, Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian's battles were also nearing their end.

Although Medusa had not fully recovered, she still held the absolute upper hand against two One-Star and Two-Star Dou Zuns.

Her Seven-Colored Dou Qi transformed into a giant python, tearing through space, tightly coiling around a One-Star Dou Zun.

With a violent contraction, a bone-chilling crunch was heard, and that Dou Zun collapsed limply to the ground, his aura completely gone.

Another Two-Star Dou Zun was struck by a streak of her seven-colored energy, spitting blood as he flew backward, crashing into the mountain wall, his life unknown.

Xiao Yi Xian, on the other hand, used her movement technique and potent poisons to skirmish.

She didn't directly clash with the Two-Star Dou Zun but continuously released various colorless and odorless mixed toxins, eroding his Dou Qi and body.

The Dou Zun initially paid no mind, but soon found his Dou Qi circulation sluggish, his vision blurry, and his body beginning to numb.

By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

Xiao Yi Xian seized the opportunity, imprinting a palm strike condensed with Calamity Poison Qi onto his chest.

The poison Qi instantly erupted, turning him into a pool of pus and blood.

The battle, from start to finish, lasted only a mere ten-odd breaths.

Four Soul Hall Elders, three dead, one severely wounded!

Li Ao didn't even glance at the severely wounded and unconscious Dou Zun; a wisp of gray Qi shot from his fingertip, completely turning him into nothingness, destroying all traces.

The valley once again returned to calm, with only the lingering energy fluctuations in the air and a faint scent of blood proving everything that had just occurred.

Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian came to Li Ao's side, their gazes towards him filled with a hint of awe.

Especially Medusa, she could most deeply feel the terror contained in Li Ao's single finger just now; it was a power of rules that transcended the level of ordinary Dou Qi.

"Your strength..." Medusa's purple eyes flickered.

"A slight improvement," Li Ao smiled faintly, not saying much.

He looked in the direction from which the Hall of Souls members had come, his brow slightly furrowed.

"This place is no longer safe; the Hall of Souls will soon notice the disappearance of this squad.

We must leave immediately."

No sooner had he spoken than his expression drastically changed, and he suddenly looked up towards the distant horizon!

A terrifying aura, infinitely more powerful than Protector Wu's, carrying chilling death and monstrous rage, was tearing through space at an inconceivable speed, rapidly approaching their location!

That aura, he was not unfamiliar with!

Hun Qianmo! That Hun Clan Dou Sheng!

He actually came in pursuit himself?! And so quickly!

"Not good! It's Hun Qianmo!" Li Ao's voice was extremely solemn.

Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian's faces also instantly turned pale.

They had already experienced the might of a Dou Sheng; it was simply not something they could contend with in their current state!

"Go!"

Li Ao didn't hesitate; he wrapped one arm around Medusa's slender waist, pulled Xiao Yi Xian with the other, and his internal Dou Qi and Nirvana Origin simultaneously erupted, transforming into a gray stream of light.

He fled desperately in the opposite direction of that aura's source, which was deeper into the Beast Region!

However, how fast was a Dou Sheng's speed!

Even with Li Ao exerting his full power, the distance between them was still shrinking at a desperate rate!

A terrifying pressure, like a ten-thousand-foot mountain, had already descended from afar, subtly sealing off the space where the three of them were!

"Ants, where will you run this time!"

Hun Qianmo's cold and indifferent voice, like a death god's judgment, clearly reached the ears of the three through layers of space.

Desperation, once again, descended!