83: Iron Guardian, Blood Debts Must Be Amortized

Outside the cave, Killing Intent was palpable!

Dozens of Black Emperor Sect elite Disciples spread out in a fan shape, their blood-colored Dou Qi forming a suffocating aura of Evil Qi, subtly sealing off the surrounding space. Ge Ye, the Elder leading them, had a sinister expression, his Eight-Star Dou Huang aura fully unleashed, locking onto Li Ao who had just emerged from cultivation.

However, what Li Ao cared about more was the black-robed old man beside Ge Ye.

This person was completely shrouded in a wide black robe, his face blurry, with only a pair of eyes exposed. His pupils were a strange greyish-white, devoid of any human emotion, only a detached and cold indifference as if looking at ants. There were no powerful energy fluctuations emanating from his body, yet he seemed to merge with the surrounding shadows, giving off an unassailable yet extremely dangerous feeling. His aura had, surprisingly, reached the Dou Zong Realm! Although he was only a One-Star Dou Zong, the unique, Soul-eroding, cold and deathly stillness characteristic of the Hall of Souls was far purer and more condensed than Yun Shan's!

Hall of Souls, Iron Protector!

"Kid, to die at the hands of Protector Iron is your 'blessing' cultivated over several lifetimes!" Ge Ye sneered, his tone carrying a morbid fanaticism. In his view, to be able to invite a Soul Hall Protector to personally take action meant this mysterious young man was certainly going to die.

Li Ao's gaze calmly swept across the scene, finally landing on the Iron Protector, his voice cold and unwavering: "Hall of Souls scum, I haven't even come looking for you yet, and you've delivered yourselves to my doorstep."

The Iron Protector's greyish-white pupils shifted slightly, his indifferent voice like two rusty iron plates grating against each other: "Hehehe... an interesting young fellow. It's not unjust that Yun Shan, that useless person, fell into your hands. You... have a scent that interests me. Hand over what you obtained in Thunder Prison Valley, and then... become this Protector's Soul slave."

Before he finished speaking, his withered finger lightly pointed at Li Ao.

"Netherworld Finger!"

A highly condensed grey-black finger glow silently Transmigrated through space, instantly appearing before Li Ao's glabella! Within the finger glow, there was a Netherworld power far purer and more sinister than Yun Shan's, enough to easily pierce through any Dou Huang's defenses and annihilate their Soul!

This one finger was fast, accurate, and ruthless! An ordinary Dou Huang would not have had time to react!

However, Li Ao merely tilted his head slightly.

"Whoosh!"

The grey-black finger glow brushed past his temple and shot into the mountain behind him. There was no explosion, no sound, but the hard mountain rock was erased as if by an eraser, leaving a bottomless, smooth-edged circular hole!

"What?!" Ge Ye's sinister smile instantly froze on his face, his eyes filled with disbelief! Protector Iron's Netherworld Finger was actually... dodged so casually?!

The Iron Protector's greyish-white pupils also constricted slightly, showing a hint of seriousness for the first time: "Oh? It seems Yun Shan's death was not unjust. Your Soul perception is very strong."

Li Ao slowly raised his hand, dusting off non-existent dust from his temple, his eyes still cold: "Is this all you've got? Hall of Souls Protector, nothing more than this."

"Arrogant!" The Iron Protector's voice turned cold, his black robe fluttering without wind, and an even more terrifyingly cold aura permeated the air, as if to turn this entire world into a land of the dead! "Since you insist on seeking death, this Protector will grant your wish!"

He formed hand seals, and a dense grey-black mist surged from his body, coalescing behind him into a giant, blurry, hideous ghost shadow! The ghost shadow let out a silent roar, the surrounding light instantly dimmed, the temperature plummeted, and even the plants began to wither rapidly!

"Myriad Souls Worship!"

With a sharp cry from the Iron Protector, the giant ghost shadow spread its arms, and countless twisted, suffering Soul phantoms were forcibly extracted from the Void Realm in all directions like a tide, emitting mournful, desperate wails, and merging into the ghost shadow, making it even more solid and terrifying! The ghost shadow's aura surged, instantly reaching the Peak of a One-Star Dou Zong!

This was a wicked art of the Hall of Souls, using the collected and refined Souls of living beings as a source of power!

"Kill!" The Iron Protector pointed his finger, and the terrifying ghost shadow, condensed from countless Souls and carrying monstrous resentment and the power of Netherworld deathly stillness, charged towards Li Ao like a descending demon god! Wherever it passed, space froze, and all things withered!

Facing an attack that would make even an ordinary One-Star Dou Zong's scalp tingle, Li Ao's eyes showed no fear; instead, a blazing Battle Intent ignited within them!

He just needed a whetstone to test the strength he gained after this Breakthrough!

"Good timing!"

Li Ao let out a long cry, not retreating but advancing! The power of the Black Iron Hegemon Body, at its second stage Peak, erupted, dark golden Qi and blood soaring into the sky like a wolf smoke, making him appear like a revived ancient war god! He did not draw his blade, but simply threw out a punch!

On the fist's edge, the dark golden Qi and blood perfectly merged with that transformed wisp of Annihilation Rule, which contained the Concept of "end"!

"Hegemon Punch—Return to Stillness!"

With one punch, heaven and earth fell silent!

No wind, no thunder!

Only an absolute stillness, as if even time, space, and existence itself were to be utterly erased, spread out from the center of the fist towards the charging Myriad Souls Ghost Shadow!

The ghost shadow, condensed from countless Souls and filled with monstrous resentment, was like a natural nemesis upon contact with this "Return to Stillness" Fist Intent! Its core Netherworld power and Soul structure seemed to be thrown into an ultimate Void Realm furnace, emitting a silent wail, and then rapidly disintegrated and annihilated at an unprecedented speed!

Countless Soul phantoms, as if being transcended, had the pain and malice on their faces dissipate, turning into pure specks of Soul light that vanished into the world.

The massive ghost shadow only lasted for less than three breaths before it began to crumble inch by inch from the point of contact with the fist, eventually turning completely into the Void Realm!

One punch! Annihilating the Myriad Souls Ghost Shadow!

"Impossible!!!" The Iron Protector let out a cry of alarm for the first time, his greyish-white pupils violently contracting! His "Myriad Souls Worship" was actually so brutally and forcibly erased by the opponent with the most fundamental Rule power?! This had completely exceeded his understanding of the Dou Huang Realm!

"Your power..." He stared intently at the grey-black airflow that had not completely dissipated from Li Ao's fist, his voice trembling slightly, "Is it the Annihilation Rule?! And... so pure?! Who exactly are you?!"

Li Ao stood with his fist retracted, his aura vast and boundless, his eyes coldly looking down at the Iron Protector: "The one who will kill you."

Before his words finished, he took a step forward!

Thunder Sound Steps exploded! His speed was more than several times faster than before his severe injury! Only a slowly dissipating dark golden afterimage remained in place, his true body having appeared before the Iron Protector as if by instantaneous movement!

"So fast!" The Iron Protector was greatly alarmed, hastily condensing Netherworld power and setting up layers of grey-black Soul barriers in front of him!

"Shatter."

Li Ao's fingers were like a blade, with the extremely restrained Return to Stillness Qi circulating at his fingertips. He gently slashed at the layers of barriers.

"Whoosh—!"

Like a hot knife cutting through grease.

The Soul barriers, capable of withstanding the full attack of a Dou Zong of the same level, were like paper in front of the Return to Stillness finger-blade, easily split open! The finger-blade's momentum did not decrease, heading straight for the Iron Protector's throat!

The Iron Protector was scared to the point of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, letting out a strange cry, and a dense black mist erupted from his body. His figure retreated rapidly like a ghost, while simultaneously flinging out several dark Soul chains to entangle Li Ao, attempting to block him!

However, it was useless!

The finger-blade swept past, and the Soul chains silently broke and annihilated!

The sharp edge of the finger-blade still pursued relentlessly!

"Pfft!"

Despite the Iron Protector's desperate efforts to dodge, the finger-blade still left a deep, bone-visible wound on his gaunt chest, with edges as smooth as a mirror! There was no blood at the wound, only a strange greyish-white color rapidly spreading, fiercely eroding his vitality and Soul!

"Ah! Annihilation erosion!!" The Iron Protector let out a shrill scream, feeling the destructive Rule, even more overbearing and fundamental than Netherworld power, raging within his body. Fear finally appeared in his eyes! This child was invincible!

Escape! He must escape!

He no longer had any Battle Intent, and he suddenly crushed a dark jade talisman. A powerful spatial fluctuation instantly enveloped him!

"Trying to leave? Leave something behind!"

Li Ao's eyes turned cold, his finger-blade gesture unchanged. He slashed through the air at the Iron Protector, who was about to be teleported away by the spatial fluctuation!

"Nirvana Slash!"

A subtle, silver-grey thread, as if capable of severing Karma, arrived first, instantly sweeping across the Iron Protector's etherealizing body!

"Ah—!"

A more shrill scream, filled with endless pain and malice, came from within the disappearing spatial fluctuation! Immediately, everything returned to stillness.

The Iron Protector... escaped.

But in his place, he left behind a withered, greyish-white arm, as if it had weathered tens of thousands of years—an arm!

It was the Iron Protector's left arm!

Li Ao's remote Nirvana Slash, though it failed to keep him, had forcibly severed one of his arms!

The entire scene was dead silent!

All the Black Emperor Sect Disciples, including Elder Ge Ye, were as if struck by a paralysis spell, staring dumbfounded at the severed arm of the Hall of Souls Protector on the ground, and at the young man who slowly retracted his finger, his green robe still unblemished and spotless.

Fear, like a cold viper, instantly clutched their hearts!

Even the Hall of Souls Protector... was defeated?! And had an arm severed?!

Li Ao's indifferent gaze turned towards Ge Ye and the others, whose faces were ashen.

"Now, it's time to settle our scores."

He made no extra movements, simply slowly raised his palm and, facing the direction of the Black Emperor Sect members, clenched his hand in the Void Realm.

"Return to the Ruins."

In an instant, with Ge Ye and the others at the center, the space within a ten-zhang radius seemed to be tightly squeezed and collapsed by an invisible giant hand! Light, sound, and even the dozens of Black Emperor Sect Disciples within, along with Ge Ye, an Eight-Star Dou Huang, were unable to even let out a scream before they were thrown into an invisible mouth of the Return to the Ruins, their bodies distorting and fading, eventually turning completely into the Void Realm, leaving no trace!

Only that particularly dead silent area, where even the dust seemed still, proved that they had once existed.

With a wave of his hand, dozens of Black Emperor Sect elites, including an Eight-Star Dou Huang, were annihilated!

Li Ao slowly lowered his hand, feeling the power still surging within him, his eyes showing no fluctuation.

He glanced in the direction where the Iron Protector's severed arm had disappeared, then looked towards the sky above the central region of the Central Plains.

"Hall of Souls... this is just the beginning."

He no longer lingered, his figure transforming into a dark golden stream of light, instantly disappearing into the sky, rushing towards his next target—the core of the Central Plains, where he could heal Medusa and obtain more resources and information!

Blood debts must be paid with blood! And the Hall of Souls would be the first on his list!