185: The power of the blade's silence caused the wild eagle to retreat in defeat.

The moment Li Ao's voice fell, the atmosphere across the entire ice plain seemed to solidify. The wind and snow even paused, leaving only the invisible sharp Qi clashing fiercely with the cold and deathly stillness emanating from the Hall of Souls members.

"Arrogant!" Wild Eagle's hoarse voice carried fury. As a Celestial Venerable of the Hall of Souls, how could he have ever been so belittled, especially by someone who appeared so young. "Since you seek death, this Venerable shall grant it to you! Form the Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Spirit Array!"

At his command, the eight Soul Hall Protectors immediately flickered, taking their positions in eight directions. Their hand seals changed, and increasingly thick black chains, entwined with the wailing phantoms of the dead, surged out from their bodies. They wove together in the air, instantly forming a giant black net that covered half the sky! Above the giant net, countless twisted, suffering Soul faces emerged, emitting ear-piercing shrieks. A terrifying pulling and corrosive force, targeting the Soul, descended!

The caravan guards trembled under this power, their Souls feeling as if they were about to leave their bodies. Even Steward Wu, a Dou Wang-level expert, turned pale, barely managing to hold on.

"Mere parlor tricks, daring to show off before a master."

Medusa snorted coldly, gently tapping her jade foot on the carriage roof. Dazzling seven-colored light shot into the sky, not directly confronting the Soul giant net, but rather forming a massive seven-colored shield that firmly protected the entire caravan. The chilling Soul shrieks and suction, upon contact with the seven-colored shield, were like mud oxen entering the sea, completely resisted and dissolved by the energy containing a trace of ancient Bloodline pressure.

She, by herself, protected the entire caravan from Soul attacks!

At the same time, Li Ao moved.

Facing the descending Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Spirit Array, he chose not to evade, but instead stepped forward, directly into the wailing ghosts and howling wolves that filled the sky!

"Om!"

The space behind him subtly twisted. The black saber "silent ruin," entirely black and entwined with grey Qi currents, revealed its ferocious form for the first time on this ice plain! The moment the saber appeared, the surrounding space emitted faint, overburdened hums.

Li Ao gripped the saber with one hand, his gaze calm and unwavering. With a simple, upward flick, he slashed at the sky-obscuring black Soul net above his head!

There was no earth-shattering energy explosion, only an extremely condensed, translucent, grey-gold fine line that extended from the "silent ruin" blade, silently cutting towards the Soul net.

Silent Void Slash!

This saber strike contained Li Ao's initial Fusion of Saber Intent and Nirvana Power. Its core Profound Truth was—severance and annihilation!

The Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Spirit Array, composed of countless Soul chains and resentful spirits, was like a hot knife cutting through butter the instant it touched the grey-gold fine line!

"Chi—la—!"

A teeth-grinding tearing sound erupted! The seemingly indestructible black giant net, capable of devouring Souls, was effortlessly split in two by this fine line! Wherever the saber mark passed, all entwined black chains and wailing Soul phantoms instantly melted and annihilated, like ice and snow thrown into raging fire, turning into the most fundamental nothingness!

One saber strike, breaking the array!

"What?!" Wild Eagle's pupils constricted, his face drained of color in shock. His Ten Thousand Souls Devouring Spirit Array, capable of trapping and killing ordinary low-star Dou Zong, was actually broken so casually by the opponent with a single saber strike?!

The eight Protectors forming the array were as if struck by a heavy blow, all spitting out a mouthful of black blood. Their Qi instantly withered, and their gazes towards Li Ao were filled with terror.

"This child is strange! Attack together, kill him!" Wild Eagle was both shocked and enraged, knowing he could no longer hold back. Black mist surged around him, and his withered hand emerged from his black robe. His five fingers formed a claw, and his nails instantly became dark and elongated, carrying a sharp power that could pierce space and a sinister toxicity that corroded the Soul. He directly clawed at Li Ao's face! At the same time, the eight Protectors also forcefully raised their Dou Qi, once again swinging their chains from different angles to attack Li Ao, attempting to restrain him.

Facing an expert who had touched the threshold of Dou Zun and the encirclement of eight Peak Dou Huang, Li Ao's expression remained calm.

He flicked his wrist, and "silent ruin" emitted a joyful hum. On the saber's body, the grey Nirvana Qi flowed like a living thing.

"Stream Severance."

He softly uttered two words, his figure flickering like a ghost, and the black saber in his hand traced profound and unpredictable trajectories.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The sound of metal clashing and chains breaking occurred almost simultaneously!

The eight incoming black chains, upon contact with "silent ruin," were easily severed like fragile hemp ropes! The Nirvana Power attached to the blade's edge spread along the chains, instantly invading the bodies of the eight Protectors.

"Ah!!!"

The piercing screams abruptly ceased. The bodies of the eight Soul Hall Protectors visibly withered and shriveled at a rapid pace, ultimately turning into dust and dispersing into the wind and snow. Their Soul Origin, along with the resentful spirits in the chains, were completely annihilated by the domineering Nirvana Power!

And at the same time, Li Ao's "silent ruin" met Wild Eagle's terrifyingly powerful claws head-on, without deviation!

"Clang!!!"

A deafening roar erupted! The energy shockwave spread in a ring, tearing up layers of ice and snow below, revealing the black permafrost!

Wild Eagle felt an indescribable immense force coming from the blade. This force not only contained a sharpness that could sever everything, but also a deathly Nirvana intent that made his Soul tremble! His proud claws, tempered by the secret arts of the Hall of Souls, actually emitted a crunching sound of being overburdened the moment they collided with the black blade, his finger bones almost shattering!

Even more terrifying, a grey Qi current invaded along the blade, frantically annihilating his protective black mist and Dou Qi!

"Impossible! What kind of power is this?!" Wild Eagle was utterly horrified, retreating frantically, looking at the "silent ruin" in Li Ao's hand and Li Ao himself as if looking at a monster. He felt that the opponent's power level was far beyond the surface Five-Star Dou Zun!

Li Ao, gaining the upper hand, did not relent. His figure was like a shadow, taking another step, shrinking the ground into an inch, instantly closing in on Wild Eagle.

"Burying Star."

The second form, unleashed!

"silent ruin" was raised high, and the grey Qi currents on the saber's body suddenly boiled, as if condensing the intent of a star's Nirvana, carrying a heavy and deathly stillness that could bury all things, slashing down directly at Wild Eagle!

This saber strike sealed off all of Wild Eagle's escape routes, forcing him to meet it head-on!

"Soul Evil Qi Protection!" Wild Eagle shrieked, and a dense, corporeal black-red Evil Qi erupted from his body, condensing into a giant shield covered with tormented ghost faces in front of him.

"Boom—!!!"

Saber and shield met!

The black-red giant shield only held for an instant before, under Wild Eagle's despairing gaze, it was split in half like tofu by the saber light containing the Origin of the nirvana star core!

The residual power of the saber light fiercely struck Wild Eagle's crossed, blocking arms.

"Pfft!"

Blood splattered! Wild Eagle's arms were almost severed at the elbow. He let out a desperate scream, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string, scattering large amounts of black-red blood along the way. His Qi instantly plummeted; he was already severely wounded!

Using the momentum of his backward flight, he unhesitatingly burned his vital essence, transforming into a black streak, and frantically fled towards the distant horizon, not even having time to leave a threat.

Li Ao did not pursue, slowly sheathing his saber and standing. The grey Qi currents on the "silent ruin" blade gradually calmed, returning to a deep black. He looked in the direction Wild Eagle disappeared, his eyes cold.

"You're lucky you ran fast."

He knew that the Hall of Souls would never let this go. Next time, it would likely be true Dou Zun powerhouses.

The wind and snow continued, but the coldness and killing intent in the air had dissipated. The caravan members looked at the black figure standing with the saber, their eyes filled with endless reverence.

Steward Wu took a deep breath of the cold air, suppressing the shock in his heart, and respectfully stepped forward: "Lord Li, we..."

"Continue forward." Li Ao interrupted him, his tone returning to calm, "Follow the original planned route."

After this battle, the road ahead might be temporarily peaceful. But a greater storm was surely still behind them.