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The interior of the Spirit Pagoda had now become a world of gold, but the golden hues permeating the air carried a razor-sharp edge that sent chills down one's spine.
"All things are techniques; all things are laws."
As Bai Xu cast his spell once more, pointing toward the seven Title Douluos in the sky, countless sharp metallic energies solidified into reality. From the ground, the metal structures, and even the air itself, white, gleaming blades began to coalesce, all directed at the seven figures.
"Go!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
For a moment, the Title Douluos were stunned. Fighting Bai Xu within this formation felt like standing against the world itself. Yet, they had no time to dwell on such thoughts—blades rained down upon them from all directions. None of them held back any longer, unleashing their Martial Soul True Bodies and channeling their soul power to defend against the onslaught of his blades.
Bai Xu glanced at the Evil Dragon Douluo and the Poison Spring Douluo. These two had been spared from the attack—intentionally. He still needed to extract their memories later to find out why the Holy Spirit Cult was targeting him.
"Aaaah!!!"
Several Title Douluos quickly moved closer, hoping to combine their strength to withstand the assault. However, two of them, both 91st-rank Title Douluos, were unable to endure. Their bodies were pierced by countless blades, and they fell lifeless to the ground.
Now, only four remained: the Air Douluo Hua Tao and three other Title Douluos.
"No wonder… No wonder the Tower Master wanted him dead… This man has hidden far too deeply, with too many methods at his disposal, yet he has always kept a low profile. He must have ulterior motives against the Spirit Pagoda. Even Tower Master Qiangu had no idea his strength was this terrifying. In this world, aside from a Limit Douluo… very few could stand against him."
Hua Tao's mind raced even as he continued to resist. Then, in the next moment, he shouted toward the Evil Dragon Douluo and the Poison Spring Douluo:
"How about a temporary alliance? Let's kill him first!"
Seeing this, Bai Xu did not respond. Though he had wanted to test the other elemental realms of the Five Elements Technique, today's battle would end here.
When Bai Xu first mastered the Five Elements, his initial understanding was of himself. Then, he extended that comprehension to the humans of the Douluo Continent. Later, using the Spirit Pagoda's Spirit Ascension Platform, he expanded his perception to soul beasts and nature itself—even the air was included.
By understanding the essence of all things within the Five Elements, he could then manipulate them… and ultimately, reverse their order to bring about annihilation.
This technique defied the natural order. At Bai Xu's current level of cultivation, its effects were formidable, yet not yet perfected.
"Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light!"
The five-colored mystical light surrounding Bai Xu suddenly separated from his body, transforming into five blazing suns that hovered in the sky. They were arranged in the order of green, yellow, red, black, and white, their radiance subtly cycling like a great wheel. The light enveloped the entire Spirit Pagoda, and then, everything within the scope of the Five Elements began to dissolve.
The earth vanished. Buildings crumbled. Human bodies melted away.
"Everyone, behind me!" Hua Tao roared, throwing out a defensive soul tool barrier and pouring all of his remaining soul power into it, desperately trying to withstand the divine radiance.
Yet… the lower-ranked Title Douluos lacked the strength to resist. Their bodies slowly dissipated, carried away like dust in the wind.
Bai Xu had controlled the range of the light, deliberately avoiding the soul tool barrier that covered the entire Spirit Pagoda. He had also spared the Evil Dragon Douluo and the Poison Spring Douluo.
When the divine light faded, only Hua Tao remained from the Spirit Pagoda's forces—and even he was at death's door. His soul power was nearly exhausted. He had given everything to protect himself, yet even his desperate efforts had failed to fully resist the annihilation.
For a moment, he stood in silence, as if realizing his life was at its end. His hands, which had been channeling his soul power, slowly dropped. He no longer had the will to struggle.
"What a monster…"
Then—
A spatial slash tore through the air, cutting him in half at the waist. Thus, the lord of the Spirit Pagoda's branch tower met his end.
But it wasn't over yet.
As the upper half of Hua Tao's body fell, Bai Xu flashed forward, placing a hand on his forehead to extract his memories. His fingers curled slightly, and with a sharp tug, he ripped the soul straight from the body. A white light flickered between Bai Xu's brows, and streams of information flooded into his mind.
"So it was Qiangu Dongfeng's order? But he didn't specify a reason…"
Just as Bai Xu was pondering this, the severed body beside him suddenly began to swell. Before Bai Xu could react—
BOOM!
Hua Tao had detonated his own remains in a final attempt to drag Bai Xu down with him.
But he did not succeed.
The smoke and dust scattered in the wind, revealing Bai Xu standing unharmed, his body seemingly phased into the void. However, the five-colored light that usually healed his wounds did not reappear.
"Hm?"
A draconic roar echoed as a massive claw suddenly shot toward Bai Xu's face from behind—the Evil Dragon Douluo had seized the moment of distraction to strike.
Bai Xu's reflexes were sharp. He met the claw with a fist, and in the clash of force, the Evil Dragon Douluo was sent stumbling back.
"Your physical strength is… unbelievable. I have roamed the world for decades with my Evil Dragon Martial Soul, rarely meeting a match. Yet today… I've been defeated by a brat who hasn't even summoned his Martial Soul…" the Evil Dragon Douluo muttered in disbelief.
Bai Xu wasted no words. With a massive cauldron materializing in his right hand, he began smashing it down relentlessly. As the battle dragged on, the Evil Dragon Douluo exhausted nearly all of his soul skills to no avail. The fight had devolved into a contest of raw combat ability—and with Bai Xu's artifacts, he held the absolute advantage.
After several exchanges, the Evil Dragon Douluo was sent crashing into a crater, coughing up blood. His bones were shattered, his spine broken by Bai Xu's strikes. Yet Bai Xu had deliberately left him clinging to life.
"Dying by your hand… isn't a bad end…"
Once more, Bai Xu's palm descended upon the man's skull, and memories were swiftly extracted. The conversations between the Evil Dragon Douluo and the Ghost Emperor quickly became clear.
"The Holy Spirit Cult's Ghost Emperor and Demon Empress personally ordered this? Since when was the Demon Empress so interested in my life? And she even demanded my corpse intact…"
The pieces quickly fell into place.
"The Abyss Holy Emperor must have informed her. They want my body—how ambitious. I could hear their scheming all the way from the Dou Ling Empire."
Bai Xu smirked coldly before turning to the last survivor—the Poison Spring Douluo. The man was already on the verge of collapse, tears and snot streaming down his face as he begged:
"P-please, spare me! I was only stationed here to collaborate with the Spirit Pagoda on drug research—"
Thunk!
A blade of condensed energy pierced through his chest, destroying his heart in an instant.
With that, it was over.
Bai Xu surveyed the surroundings. Half of the area within the soul tool barrier had been wiped clean—no buildings remained, and the earth itself seemed to have sunk by dozens of meters. The once-bustling grounds were now an empty wasteland, devoid of life yet not exuding an aura of death. Instead, it felt as though everything had returned to a state of primordial chaos.
The situation had escalated beyond control. The soul tool barrier remained active only because of the Spirit Pagoda's main tower, where the defensive systems were still running. All three factions had deliberately avoided damaging the millennia-old structure in the heart of Lingbo City, the capital of the Dou Ling Empire. None of them wanted this incident to spread.
Bai Xu strode through the air, musing aloud:
"The evil soul masters want my body, but why did Qiangu Dongfeng act? Hua Tao's actions suggested he wanted to eliminate both me and the evil soul masters—was he trying to sever ties with them?"
As he spoke, his figure flickered, entering the main tower. His body gradually sank into the ground, descending toward the mysterious underground third level.