Lan An spoke, giving them no chance to react, unleashing a Star-Burst Fist.
"Princes, flee!" The White Dog General roared sternly, riding his White Dog, standing valiantly before Lan An.
"Brave, but in your next life, choose a better master!" Lan An sneered, his Star-Burst Fist unrelenting, charging forward.
WOOF!
The White Dog barked fiercely, attempting a sonic attack to disrupt Lan An's spirit. But against a Soul Cultivator, its sonic wave was pitifully weak, utterly ineffective.
"Earth Form Fist!" The White Dog General shouted, his fist condensing a sandstorm, its might surging to meet Lan An head-on.
Crack!
Before the Star-Burst Fist, wreathed in Thunder-Flame, the White Dog General's arm shattered horribly, his face contorting in pain.
"Too strong! We're no match!" Bai Yang and Bai Lie paled, splitting in two directions, tearing through space to escape.
They leveraged their Void Refinement cultivation to evade Lan An's pursuit.
"Fools!" Lan An grinned coldly. A Fire Phoenix appeared proudly behind him, the Purple Heart Void-Burning Flame blazing, incinerating the surrounding space.
CAW!
Its flaming wings surged, charging the White Dog General, preventing him from blocking its master.
Lan An drew the Immovable Bell, ringing it toward the space Bai Lie and Bai Yang had entered.
DING DING DING DING!
The Immovable Bell never failed. Its terrifying sonic waves rippled space like an apocalypse.
"AAAAH, NO!"
Two anguished screams echoed. Bai Yang and Bai Lie reappeared, blood streaming from their ears, minds dazed, clutching their heads in agony.
BOOM!
An explosion rang out. The White Dog General ordered his White Dog to self-detonate with the Fire Phoenix, then charged Lan An like a madman, roaring,
"Princes, run! I'll fight him to the death!"
"Oh? Such loyalty…" Lan An was surprised, finding the general rare. For a moment, he hesitated to kill him.
"Earth Dog Palm!" The White Dog General clapped his hands, a massive earthen dog phantom forming behind him, baring sharp fangs.
His palms struck, the giant dog lunging at Lan An, aiming to tear him to shreds.
Lan An said nothing, ringing the Immovable Bell forward.
DING DING DING DING!
Before the White Dog General's unwilling gaze, the Earth Dog Palm disintegrated, and he spat blood, reeling from the sonic impact.
"Speed Shift!"
Lan An appeared before him, looking down coldly, saying calmly,
"Look into my eyes!"
Instinctively, the White Dog General met Lan An's eerie white eyes, a crescent moon floating within.
"Emperor Soul Twelve Arts – Soul Capture!"
Lan An's eyes flashed, a massive soul force surging through his gaze into the White Dog General's soul.
His body trembled, his eyes growing vacant, unfocused.
"Your name? Your age?" Lan An asked, his eyes still gleaming.
"I'm Ding Er Gou, nearly 1000 years old…" The White Dog General replied unconsciously, without resistance.
"Good, Ding Er Gou. Surrender your Origin Soul. From now on, you're my subordinate!" Lan An said calmly, his voice laced with an otherworldly charm.
Ding Er Gou's eyes flickered with struggle, his soul resisting fiercely at such a critical decision.
"Hmph…" Lan An snorted, unleashing his full Soul Force. The Soul Lotus spun rapidly, Soul Capture pushed to its limit.
"Yes, I surrender my Origin Soul. I'm Lan An's subordinate!" Ding Er Gou finally relented, offering his Origin Soul.
Lan An claimed it, binding it, then released Soul Capture.
"What… what did you do to me?" Ding Er Gou snapped awake, shouting, baffled by his sudden obedience and allegiance.
"You don't need to know. I'm your master now. Step aside!" Lan An said dismissively.
To onlookers, it seemed Lan An had threatened Ding Er Gou's life to subdue him, none suspecting Soul Cultivation or a powerful Soul Art.
Soul Capture was insidious, executed through the eyes, nearly undetectable even to other Soul Cultivators without close scrutiny.
"With my current strength, I can Soul Capture a Late Void Refinement cultivator at full power. Any higher, and they'd resist fiercely, possibly breaking free," Lan An mused.
Soul Capture, one of the Emperor Soul Twelve Arts, was risky. He'd only dared try it when Ding Er Gou was dazed by the Immovable Bell, minimizing exposure.
Ding Er Gou gritted his teeth, knowing his Origin Soul was surrendered. Even death required Lan An's permission. Sighing dejectedly, he stepped aside.
Lan An turned his gaze to Bai Yang and Bai Lie. He spared Ding Er Gou for his loyalty and to test Soul Capture, but the princes had no such reprieve.
Charming Shadow Carefree Steps activated, his form blurring into countless afterimages.
"We'll fight you to the death!"
Knowing escape was impossible, Bai Yang and Bai Lie roared venomously, their eyes bloodshot, unleashing the White Earth Prison Art.
Countless Earth Spiritual Energies surged, the brothers shouting in unison,
"Earth Prison!"
A sturdy cage formed, descending from the sky toward Lan An.
"This move again? Too bad, your opponent isn't Wen Lang anymore…"
Lan An sneered, the Dragon King Spear appearing in his hand, his eyes fierce as he shouted,
"Heavenly Army Spear Art, Second Form – Spear Shaking Nine Heavens!"
ROAR!
Thunder-Flame roared, infusing the spear, a faint dragon's bellow echoing. Lan An struck the Earth Prison, shattering it to dust with one blow, shaking the heavens.
Pressing forward, Lan An appeared beside them, sweeping his spear, infused with Body Cultivation power,
"Sweeping Heavenly Army!"
"Earth King Twin Swords!" Bai Lie and Bai Yang drew two massive swords from their storage rings to counter.
As princes of a Ninth-Grade power, these were High Heaven-Grade treasures.
CLANG!
The Dragon King Spear struck, jarring the swords. Bai Lie and Bai Yang staggered back, their organs in disarray.
"Earth King Single Sword!"
Gritting their teeth, suppressing their churning blood, the brothers cooperated seamlessly for the first time, raising their swords to slash Lan An.
Swish!
Sword qi tore through space, unstoppable, charging at Lan An.
"Harmonious Palm…"
Wasting no time, Lan An retracted his spear, a domineering orb spinning between his palms.
Anomalous Water, two Anomalous Flames, and two Thunders converged.
"Die!"
Lan An thrust forward with force.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The Harmonious Palm roared like a missile, shattering space into black voids wherever it passed.
The brothers' formidable sword qi was brutally crushed.
"No, Earth Shield!"
Their eyes nearly split, instinctively forming shields before them.
BOOM!
But the Harmonious Palm was a ferocious beast, shredding anything in its path. The shields, like thin paper, were pierced instantly.
"Lan An… we'll haunt you as ghosts!" Bai Lie and Bai Yang screamed as the Harmonious Palm pierced their souls and bodies.
Dead beyond death.
"You won't get the chance!" Lan An retorted, looking up to survey the battlefield.
"AAAAH, little beast, I'll grind you to dust!" The White Sand Emperor wailed, his voice like a cornered beast.
Watching his sons die, his reason was consumed by rage and hatred.
"Worried about yourself?" Hua Qing Zhu said calmly, her endless Polar Ice blasting one of his arms to pieces, merciless.
Elsewhere, the Fifth Elder, battered by Yan Yue Qi and Qin Meng Ying, bore countless wounds, a glimmer of despair in his eyes.
"I'm not ashamed to fall to two disciples of a Transcending Tribulation expert…" Muttering, he fought with desperate ferocity, determined to die gloriously.
"Sister, go aid the others. He's spent. I can finish him alone," Yan Yue Qi said to Qin Meng Ying.
Qin Meng Ying nodded, flashing to Ji Bing's trio's battlefield, her jade arm striking the Fourth Elder's back.
"Thunder Hell Seal!"
"Ambush?" The Fourth Elder roared furiously, his Earth King Seal clashing head-on.
As he blocked her strike, a purple sword shadow flashed.
Mu Zi Yin seized the moment, her lips parting,
"Illusory Wood Scripture – Four Shadow Kill!"
Her body split into four indistinguishable shadows, four Purple Wood Swords slashing the Fourth Elder from all sides.
"Lingering Wave Heavenly Hand – Shatter Mountains and Rivers!" Ji Ya struck coldly, a Lingering Wave Empress phantom pressing down.
"Water-Ice Exquisite Scripture – Water-Ice Chain Palm!" Ji Bing gazed indifferently, one hand wielding water, the other ice, unleashing relentless palms.
"You've forced me!" Facing overwhelming attacks, the Fourth Elder knew his end was near, roaring skyward.
His body swelled rapidly. To the women's horror, he self-detonated.
BOOM!
Like a nuclear bomb, no one expected an Integration Realm expert to detonate so decisively, shattering the surrounding space.
Splurt!
Ji Ya and Ji Bing, at a safer distance, only spat blood from the shockwave.
But Qin Meng Ying and Mu Zi Yin, near the blast, were flung like broken kites.
"No!"
Lan An roared, heart-wrenching. The Fourth Elder's detonation was too swift for them to use their tokens to return to the Palace Tree.
He frantically used Speed Shift, the Eight Desolate Heavenly Flame blazing behind him, rushing to catch their limp forms in his arms.
Biting his lips until they bled, he fed two high-grade Healing Pills into their pale mouths, desperately sustaining them.
"I'm fine… just need time to recover," Qin Meng Ying murmured weakly. She'd shifted her Thunder Hell Seal to defense, mitigating most of the blast, suffering only severe internal injuries.
Lan An kissed her forehead tenderly, then paled, looking at Mu Zi Yin writhing in pain.
Gasping, tears in her eyes, she wore the tattered Wood Brocade Robe he'd given her, her body bloodied. Her full lips lacked color, stabbing Lan An's heart.
"Zi Yin, my precious wife… talk to your husband… how are you? We'll dual cultivate to heal you…" Lan An held his wives tightly, wanting to enter the Spirit Realm Pearl to treat them.
"I'm… fine. It sacrificed itself for me… but the gift you gave me is ruined…" Mu Zi Yin's tears rolled, her trembling finger pointing to the Purple Wood Sword's tiny fragments.
In the horrific explosion, the Purple Wood Sword unleashed its full power to shield her, a Peak Heaven-Grade treasure shattered to save her life.
To protect its master, it sacrificed itself.
"It's okay… it lives on in our hearts. The Purple Wood Sword fulfilled its role perfectly. As long as you're safe, everything's worth it…" Lan An, overjoyed, tears streaming, comforted her gently.
"Don't… let us down. Help Sister Qing Zhu win this fight…" Mu Zi Yin caressed his cheek, urging.
"Right, the Harem's first battle… we can't lose face…" Qin Meng Ying gasped.
"Mm!" Lan An nodded firmly, kissing their pale lips warmly, saying softly,
"Go inside. Qing Xuan will care for you."
The two smiled weakly, closing their eyes in exhaustion.
Lan An sent them into the Spirit Realm Pearl. Before the battle, he'd arranged for Xiao Qing Xuan, Dan Meng Ji, Ling Long, and Wu Qiong to handle logistics, ready to heal the women at any moment.
"Husband!" Ji Ya and Ji Bing, wiping blood from their lips, descended.
"My darlings, go heal!" Lan An hugged them tightly, pained.
"No need. We're fine and can still support our sisters…" Ji Ya and Ji Bing exchanged glances, shaking their heads.
Knowing he couldn't force them, Lan An gently fed them Healing Pills.
His gaze dropped to the ground, where the Ancient Ferocious Prison Earth roared, then up to the sky, where the Supreme Emperor battled Bai Suo Mai and Hua Jue evenly.
Taking a deep breath, Lan An looked at Hua Yu Feng, saying seriously,
"Feng'er, come with your husband!"