"I flew over openly and honorably, okay? It's just that your strength is too weak, so you didn't sense it," Xiao Jietian said with an innocent shrug. "Also, remember to wash your feet when you go back; they smell of sweat."
Tang Huo'er's pretty face turned crimson with anger at his words. Especially that scoundrel remark hinting at her "foot odor," which made her so ashamed and furious that she even forgot the pain in her calves.
She pointed at Xiao Jietian, her chest heaving, too angry to speak for a moment.
She, who had always been so strong, was actually called weak. Moreover, she was a cultivator—and a fire-attributed one at that—so there was no such thing as foot odor; her feet were always fragrant.
Tang Huo'er now wished she could step on his face and let him properly smell whether they were fragrant or stinky…
"The halo has disappeared. We are safe."
"Mom, I want to go home. This place is too scary."
After the halo disappeared, many people's strained nerves finally relaxed. But this sudden shift caused some individuals with poor coping abilities to suffer complete mental breakdowns.
The main hall had vanished, leaving only a massive, hundreds-of-zhang-wide deep pit that still emanated terrifying fluctuations.
Everyone's gaze searched the deep pit, but no Dou Sheng skeleton was found.
Hei and Bai Tianzun's expressions instantly turned as ugly as if they had eaten excrement. This mission had failed again, and they dared not imagine what punishment they would face upon returning.
Especially Hei Tianzun's face, which was as black as his clothes. Not only had the mission failed, but he had also lost half of his right hand, impacting his combat power by at least twenty percent.
Looking at the still dense crowd in the square, and with two major powers missing while individual forces also suffered various damages, their combat strength had been reduced by at least fifty percent.
Due to several instances of Hall of Souls Heavenly Venerate missions failing, this mission was ostensibly led by Hei and Bai Tianzun, but secretly, the Four Heavenly Venerables—Blood River—had been dispatched with several Elder Zuns to provide support at any time.
As soon as he thought of this, Hei Tianzun's confidence instantly surged. He exchanged a glance with Bai Tianzun, a tacit understanding of soul greed common among Hall of Souls members.
"Jie jie jie…" Hei Tianzun was the first to let out a spine-chilling, strange laugh. His voice was hoarse and grating. "Since the matter here is concluded, this Venerate would like to invite all of your soul bodies to be guests at my Hall of Souls!"
Bai Tianzun and the two Elder Zuns beside him also erupted with powerful Qi, pressing down on the crowd.
"Your souls, having experienced such fear and despair, are surely more suitable for collection. Jie jie jie."
"Just the four of you, and one of you is even disabled, yet you still want to devour us?" Among the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, a young white-haired man looked at the Hall of Souls members with disdain.
Upon hearing the other party's words, Hei Tianzun's face turned as black as if he had just crawled out of a coal pit.
"Jie jie jie, of course the four of us alone aren't enough, but there aren't just four of us." Bai Tianzun took out a blood-colored jade slip, then crushed it fiercely under everyone's gaze.
Subsequently, nearly ten Dou Zun-level auras approached from other parts of the ruins, instantly encircling the entire square with their powerful Qi.
"Now, do you still think that way?" Hei Tianzun's expression instantly changed from cloudy to clear, his face filled with exhilaration.
In the square, apart from Xiao Jietian and the two girls, and Xiao Yan's trio who roughly knew Xiao Jietian's strength, everyone else's expressions turned uncertain, clearly intimidated by this sudden Qi.
The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan members were also like this. In the square at this moment, there were only three Five-star Dou Zuns. Although there were many low-level Dou Zuns, the Hall of Souls had two Six-star Dou Zuns and two Four-star Dou Zuns, with the rest being Two-star and Three-star Dou Zuns.
Although the numbers seemed similar, the gap between each star of Dou Zun was enormous.
"Hall of Souls, are you declaring war on my Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan?" The white-haired youth from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan stepped forward, his voice filled with menace.
Bai Tianzun let out a piercing, cackling laugh, his eyes glinting with cruelty. "Declare war? Ridiculous!" His voice was hoarse and full of mockery. "When all of you become cold corpses, who will know what happened here? Dead men tell no tales, you fools of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan."
Before his words finished, Bai Tianzun shook the Soul banner in his hand, and a bone-chilling black Qi surged out from within, transforming into an incomparably solid black beam, as thick as a finger, which shot directly at the white-haired youth of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan with a mournful shriek!
"Be careful!" Huang Xuan, beside the white-haired youth, his face drastically changed. He hadn't expected Bai Tianzun to act so decisively. He couldn't help but let out a sharp cry, taking a sudden step forward. His majestic Qi erupted without reservation, intending to block this attack from a Six-star Dou Zun.
Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred!
The already incredibly swift black Soul sword's speed surged again in an instant, directly piercing through space. When it reappeared, it was already in front of the white-haired youth.
"What?!"
The threat and shock on the white-haired youth's face instantly froze. He didn't even have time to react as the fatal black light in his pupils rapidly magnified.
"Damn it!!" Huang Xuan roared.
"Pfft!"
The beam accurately pierced through the youth's glabella, bringing out a mixture of red and white from the back of his head.
His frozen expression, with lingering disbelief and horror in his eyes, showed that he hadn't expected that with his Dou Zun strength, he wouldn't even have time to react.
After piercing through the youth's head, the beam did not stop but crashed directly into the ground.
Boom—!!!
A terrifying black energy ripple spread out from the impact point like a destructive storm!
The ground was instantly blasted into a huge deep pit, and the aftershocks of the explosion sent the unsuspecting Huang Xuan, Feng Qing'er, and other members of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan flying.
The nearest Dou Zongs of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan were torn to pieces before they could even let out a grunt.
Just one strike! Of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's expedition team, the leading youth died on the spot. All the Dou Zongs, except for Feng Qing'er who was protected by armor, were dead. The two Dou Zun Elders and Huang Xuan sustained minor injuries.
The scene fell into a deathly silence for a moment. Even Bai Tianzun of the Hall of Souls himself was slightly startled. He looked at the Soul banner in his hand, then at the huge crater caused by the explosion and the injured Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.
A hint of doubt flashed in his eyes; this strike from his Soul banner… seemed a bit more powerful than usual? Its speed was also ridiculously fast.
Forget it, never mind. Perhaps they were too weak.
"Hall of Souls, you are going too far!" Huang Xuan roared with a face full of fury. His Five-star Dou Zun's vast and majestic Qi erupted as he charged toward Bai Tianzun. In the process, he didn't forget to shout at the crowd, "If you don't act now, you'll be next."
Bai Tianzun, also holding his Soul banner, engaged Huang Xuan in battle, causing the heavens and earth to change color.