After the Yin Demon entered the Blood Shadow's body, the Blood Shadow's body trembled even more violently. Then, silver light shone brightly on the Blood Shadow's body, actually covering its scarlet blood light. As the silver light on the Blood Shadow's body intensified, wisps of dark red gas seeped out from the Blood Shadow's body and then disappeared into the world.
At this moment, Hun Changqing was refining this Blood Shadow in reverse. These souls had been ravaged beyond recognition by the Dragon Venerable's crude refining methods and various chaotic energies. Hun Changqing had to force out the messy things in this Blood Shadow, leaving only the pure soul energy, and then use the Yin Demon to assimilate it, making this Blood Shadow the first main soul of his Yin Soul Banner.
As time passed, the dark red gas gradually seeped out, and the originally incomparably crimson blood shadow had completely turned silvery-white. Its original humanoid form had shrunk to the size of a head, with silver light flowing across its surface, appearing dazzling and radiant. A terrifying, chilling aura of yin energy was also brewing within it.
"Hoo..."
Looking at the head-sized, shimmering silver Yin Demon in his palm, a knowing smile appeared on his face. He pointed a finger, and a wisp of Taiyin essence enveloped the Yin Demon, which he intended to use as his main soul, nurturing it before storing it in a container.
The Yin Demon was only in its initial stages; it still needed to be nurtured with his essence for a period of time to be considered fully refined. Of course, only the main soul required this more effort; the rest of the Yin Demon didn't need such tedious processing.
After Hun Changqing put away the Yin Demon, he looked at the Dragon Venerable floating in the air, his throat hollowed out. He reached out and tore off the Dragon Venerable's black robe, revealing the Dragon Venerable's bloodless, aged face.
After examining the Dragon Venerable's corpse, Hun Changqing nodded in satisfaction. The Dragon Venerable's cultivation progress was slow, so he usually paid attention to refining his physical body. As the former branch hall master of this place, he had access to a considerable amount of precious materials, though not as much as those in Zhongzhou. The Dragon Venerable used these materials to refine his body to a very good level. If the blood shadow hadn't been entirely formed of soul energy, rendering the Dragon Venerable's physical strength useless, the blood shadow wouldn't have been able to chase the Dragon Venerable like a dog. Hun Changqing was very satisfied with the Dragon Venerable's physical body at this moment.
After all, the crafting of the Soul Changqing Heavenly Demon Puppet requires a rather selective physical body. The Dragon Venerable's body is perfectly suited for crafting a Heavenly Demon Puppet. Of course, if the Palace Master of this branch hall, the Star Venerable, could also be killed, his body could be used directly for the crafting.
Thinking this, Soul Changqing's gaze slowly shifted to the black hall ahead, his eyes flashing with an intensely burning light, his greed undisguised. He couldn't help but lick his lips; at this moment, he felt a strong covetousness for the Palace Master within this giant hall and the vast number of souls yet to be handed over.
"Hehehe..."
Accompanied by a chilling, eerie laugh, Soul Changqing's figure gradually transformed into a strange wisp of black smoke, then swept towards the location within the pitch-black hall emanating a massive soul fluctuation.
...
At this moment, on the pitch-black plaza where four bizarrely enormous stone pillars stood, wisps of eerie black mist suddenly appeared. These wisps blended seamlessly with the surrounding darkness, appearing almost inconspicuous. Then, from within the mist, a figure clad in black robes gradually emerged.
This figure was none other than Hun Changqing, who had sensed the immense soul fluctuations and entered the depths of the giant hall.
Hun Changqing gazed at the enormous plaza before him, at the massive container at its center, where countless black chains interlocked, holding countless souls. His eyes burned with barely suppressed fervor. With these souls, he could forge the Yin Soul Banner, whose power even moved Hun Changqing. How could he not be excited?
But even with such an astonishing number of souls before him, Hun Changqing was not blinded by the immense profit and lost his reason. Amidst his excitement, he remained secretly vigilant. He hadn't forgotten that within this branch hall, there was a hall master whose strength was unclear.
"I didn't expect that trash like Dragon Venerable couldn't even defeat an ant like you. It seems that sparing his life was a mistake. Fine, I'll give you, an ant-like figure, a little honor and let you die by my hand."
Just as Hun Changqing was sensing the situation in the plaza, an ethereal voice, carrying a hint of majesty, came from the black mist within the four strange stone pillars. Hun Changqing narrowed his eyes upon hearing this and looked in that direction. He saw a figure in wide black robes gradually emerge from the black mist.
"Are you the Palace Master here? Star Venerable?"
Hun Changqing looked at the person who spoke, a cold glint flashing in his narrowed eyes. After sensing the person, Hun Changqing confirmed that the person's strength was almost as he had expected, but for some reason, the aura emanating from this person gave him a peculiar feeling.
"Hehehe... Not bad, I am Xingxiu!"
As Xingxiu Venerable's strange laughter subsided, he suddenly attacked, flicking his sleeve at Hun Changqing. A powerful stream of battle qi tore through space with a "whoosh," hurtling towards Hun Changqing.
Hun Changqing raised an eyebrow slightly and also unleashed a burst of Taiyin True Qi, instantly colliding with the battle qi. In an instant, a terrifying energy wave spread out from the center of the collision, causing the surrounding chains to creak and rattle.
"Eh! I didn't expect your strength to be so pathetic. No wonder that piece of trash, Dragon Venerable, fell into your hands. It's not unjust."
Xingxiu Venerable said with some surprise. Although his battle qi attack was just a casual strike, it was still a strike from the fifth-level Dou Zun realm, yet Hun Changqing had blocked it so easily, demonstrating Hun Changqing's extraordinary abilities.
Hun Changqing ignored Xingxiu Venerable at this moment, instead scanning the nearby container filled with countless souls with the corner of his eye. Hun Changqing hadn't forgotten that his main purpose for coming here was this container. If he were to fight Xingxiu Venerable here and accidentally damage the container, all his efforts would be in vain.
"Heh heh, you're nothing special as a palace master. I've already had my say, so I'll take my leave now,"
Hun Changqing chuckled eerily, then his figure became ethereal and vanished into the darkness. Upon hearing Hun Changqing's contemptuous laughter, Venerable Xingxiu was about to retaliate when he saw Hun Changqing vanish as if into thin air, leaving not a trace of his aura. This bizarre scene caused Venerable Xingxiu to frown deeply. He nimbly moved to the spot where Hun Changqing had just been standing, carefully examining it but finding nothing.
"He concealed his aura? But how could a mere one-star Dou Zun conceal it so thoroughly in front of me? Could he really have retreated using some strange method?"
Just as Venerable Xingxiu was filled with doubt and suspicion, he suddenly felt a strong sense of crisis arise within him. Instantly, he felt a jolt throughout his body, and with a swift turn, he unleashed his Dou Qi.
"Hmph, a boring tactic,"
Venerable Xingxiu sneered, watching as his Dou Qi dispersed the attack that had suddenly appeared behind him.
However, Venerable Xingxiu harbored a slight doubt. This sudden attack wasn't particularly powerful, almost identical to the attack Hun Changqing had used to test him earlier. It was instantly dispersed by his battle qi. How could an attack intended for a sneak
attack be so weak? Little did Venerable Xingxiu know, Hun Changqing's attack was merely a smokescreen, designed to distract him. While Venerable Xingxiu was
pondering this, Hun Changqing had already concealed himself and arrived before the enormous container. Venerable Xingxiu, realizing what was amiss, looked around and, as if guessing something, suddenly focused his gaze on the massive container. With his perception maximized, he finally discovered something amiss. Venerable Xingxiu understood Hun Changqing's purpose, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes, followed by a mocking laugh.
"Hehehe... So your goal was the souls of my Soul Palace. You almost fooled me. But you underestimate the Soul Palace. Those formations outside the souls—if you don't know how to activate them, even I, let alone a one-star Dou Zun, couldn't break them..."
Star Venerable's words were cut short. He stared wide-eyed at the dark container not far ahead, his mouth slightly agape, his face filled with disbelief.
Hun Changqing, who had already revealed himself, formed an incredibly strange hand seal on the formation outside the container. Then, he pointed at the formation repeatedly, and suddenly pulled out two of the countless black chains, crushing them to pieces with a squeeze of his hands.
As fragments of the black chains scattered, the great formation outside the container was suddenly opened with a booming sound. A small opening slowly appeared in the formation, and the instant it appeared, Hun Changqing transformed into a streak of black light and shot into it.
"Insolence! How dare you! Stop right there!"
Seeing Hun Changqing rush into the formation, Venerable Xingxiu's previously mocking expression froze instantly. His anger flared, and he roared, then charged towards the direction Hun Changqing had entered the formation. Although he didn't know how Hun Changqing knew how to activate this formation, this soul container absolutely could not be lost! Otherwise, even someone of his status would have difficulty explaining himself.
However, by the time Venerable Xingxiu arrived, it was already too late. The place where the container had been was now completely empty.
The black chains that had connected the container were now scattered across the open space. Only a dark figure stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Venerable Xingxiu, who had arrived in a fit of rage, with a mocking gaze, and letting out a chilling, eerie laugh.
"Hehehe... Now that there are no more worries, I can have some fun with you, Venerable Xingxiu? Your five-star Dou Zun body and soul are also excellent materials, and I am quite interested in them... Hehehe."
At this moment, Venerable Xingxiu, who was already furious at the disappearance of the container, was even more enraged when he heard that Hun Changqing dared to set his sights on his body and soul. His face turned ashen, especially after hearing about the body. Venerable Xingxiu's face was so black that it was almost dripping water.
His fist, hidden within his black sleeve, clenched tightly as he stared intently at Hun Changqing, his eyes practically spitting fire. He gritted his teeth and said,
"Fine, you're very good, you ant. You're the first person in years to have enraged me. Today, I will make you experience what it means to wish you were dead!"
As soon as the Star Venerable finished speaking, a vast and powerful aura rose around him. Faintly, the battle qi energy manifested behind him as countless dazzling stars, forming a brilliant galaxy that instantly illuminated the entire dark plaza. The dazzling starlight flowed across the plaza.
Then, countless stars erupted with blinding beams of light, brilliant yet containing destructive power, shooting towards Hun Changqing.
Seeing this, Hun Changqing raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected the Star Venerable's attack method to be so unique. Moreover, he felt that the Star Venerable was completely different from the other members of the Soul Palace. His attacks lacked a chilling aura and instead possessed a vast and powerful force.
"Hmph!"
Hun Changqing didn't pay much attention to the Star Venerable's strangeness. There were many strange people in this world. Although the Star Venerable was somewhat different, Hun Changqing had no intention of investigating him. Subduing him and studying him would naturally satisfy Hun Changqing's curiosity. Hun Changqing snorted coldly, and his true energy surged forth, causing countless water droplets to appear and condense into a vast ocean radiating strange light.
The ocean surged forth, radiating strange light, scattering some of the starlight in the sky. The waves surged and instantly submerged the entire huge plaza. The four strange, enormous stone pillars were also instantly washed away by the ocean. Since Hun Changqing had already collected all the souls, he naturally had no more concerns. He directly activated his divine water, intending to subdue the Star Venerable in one fell swoop.
Then, the countless beams of light, radiating dazzling starlight, collided with the surging waves, producing a deafening roar.