Facing Tang Hao's Clear Sky Avatar, Black March 7th's expression was cold, her swords raised, sword intent tearing space. The cold of Six-Phase Ice spread, freezing space and momentarily halting Tang Hao.
At the same time, Black Lu Jingming, after blasting Sword Douluo with his railgun, conjured his Black Abyss spear.
In his right hand appeared a white lance, six blood-red rings with green divine patterns entwined, radiating life energy.
"Twin Martial Souls!" Everyone gasped, shocked.
Xue Qinghe and Xue Ke looked at Lu Jingming in disbelief.
Lu Jingming's mouth twitched—Black Lu Jingming was acting decisively, about to use martial soul Fusion Skill.
His Black Abyss White Flower had a 100% fusion rate, so this skill's power would be unimaginable.
Just like the Golden Triangle—99% fusion rate, but two Soul Sages plus Yu Xiaogang could rival Titled Douluo.
Now, a Soul Sage–level Black Lu Jingming would use self-fusion; if he unleashed the Holy Spear Reversal, no one could escape.
Black Abyss White Flower's Holy Spear Reversal could precisely lock onto any target at a distance, and its withering power could erase them completely.
This was Lu Jingming's current strongest move—a sure-kill technique!
"Careful, I have self-fusion—if he uses it, no one can block it!" Lu Jingming warned.
He couldn't tell who Black Lu Jingming's target would be; if it was them, he could only protect himself—Xue Qinghe, Xue Ke, and Ning Fengzhi would likely die.
Everyone knew how terrifying fusion skills were.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, Poison Douluo, Clear Sky Douluo—careful, it's a martial soul fusion skill!"
Hearing Lu Jingming's reminder, Ning Fengzhi shouted in alarm.
Everyone froze, turning to Black Lu Jingming, holding black and white holy spears.
It was two different martial souls, each with unique rings—definitely Twin Martial Souls.
Yet no one had heard of Twin Martial Souls using fusion skills.
"I am the devouring black, I am the nurturing white, born before creation, existing after annihilation."
Black Lu Jingming raised the spears; with icy words, the two merged into the complete Black Abyss White Flower.
The chilling incantation made everyone shiver.
Not only did this negative-energy copy speak for the first time, but the withering power exuded was like facing death itself.
"Holy Spear Reversal!"
With those cold words, a devouring black light locked onto the most prominent figure—Tang Hao.
After all, he was using his avatar, brandishing the giant hammer, making him an obvious target.
Locked on, Tang Hao felt a flood of death crisis—there was nowhere to hide.
Even if he abandoned Tang San and tried to run, he couldn't escape the shadow of death.
In such a desperate moment, Tang Hao's face twisted. Unable to dodge, he chose to face it.
"Great Sumeru Hammer, Ring Explosion!"
Tang Hao roared, detonating his first ring. Massive soul power surged, making the hammer even more fearsome, now crackling with thunder.
The devouring black light tore through space, everything in its path vanishing.
It reached Tang Hao in a blink.
Muscles taut, old wounds reopened, blood trickled from his mouth, but he had no time to care—he swung the hammer with all his might.
Boom!
The black light and hammer clashed, freezing time and space for a heartbeat.
But in the next instant, a deafening explosion split the sky, even the clouds divided.
The withering black light kept erasing the hammer's power.
Sensing this, Tang Hao detonated his second, third, and fourth rings in sequence, using Ring Explosion to keep up.
The Great Sumeru Hammer was a godly technique, and Ring Explosion could let the user vastly exceed their normal power for a short time.
Tang Hao had once relied on it to escape from Qian Daoliu.
Now, facing the fusion skill, he had no choice but to use it again.
Though he'd be left extremely weak, if he didn't, he'd die.
If killed by a Soul Sage's fusion skill, his reputation would be ruined.
So he didn't hesitate.
Though wounded, as a level 95 peak Douluo, with Ring Explosion, he finally managed to block Holy Spear Reversal.
"Father, careful!"
Tang Hao had just blocked the attack with five exploded rings when Tang San's terrified cry sounded.
He tried to explode his sixth ring, but a graceful, chilly figure—Black Castorice—appeared before him.
Her fifth ring shone, deathly power gathering in her gorgeous purple scythe.
Fifth skill: "Phantom Butterfly's Caress"—death power condensed in the blade, fatal on contact.
A flash, purple butterflies fluttered, and blood splattered.
Tang Hao barely avoided a fatal blow with Ring Explosion, but his chest was still sliced deeply.
Terrifying death power invaded, impossible to expel.
Boom!
Tang Hao, enraged, swung the hammer, shattering the air and blasting Black Castorice away.
"Go!"
Tang Hao grabbed Tang San and Xiao Wu, fleeing desperately.
The golden dragon grabbed Dai Mubai and others, flying from the valley.
"Time Freeze!" Dugu Bo, seeing the chance, used his eighth skill again, freezing Black Jinhsi and rushing to lead his group away.
Sword Douluo, battered by Black Lu Jingming's railgun, struck at Black Gu Yue and Black Firefly to force them back, letting Bone Douluo warp back to Ning Fengzhi.
"Fengzhi, let's go!"
Bone Douluo, burned all over, waved his hand, warping the group away.
Sword Douluo, after a delaying strike, turned into sword light and retreated at top speed.
Meng Shenji saved Bai Baoshan, fleeing as well.
Black March 7th fired one last arrow, but it was blocked by Zhi Lin's vine dragon.
Most strong fighters managed to escape, leaving only a few unlucky souls behind.
In moments, the contamination point core was deserted except for a dozen corpses.
Most were lower-level Soul Emperors, but some, like Soul Sage Zhao Wuji, were unlucky too.
Once everyone escaped, they fled for dozens of kilometers before stopping.
They were all terrified by the negative-energy monsters at this point.
After resting, they recovered from their panic.
Seeing fewer than a hundred left from over a hundred at the start, all battered, everyone was still in shock.
Their confidence at the start was now a stark contrast to their current state.
If not for the Titled Douluo taking most of the fire, none of them would have survived.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, are you okay?"
Ning Fengzhi looked worriedly at Sword and Bone Douluo.
"We're fine, just minor injuries. We were careless this time!"
They shook their heads, faces ugly.
Though not seriously injured, this experience felt like a dream.
As a level 95 and 97 peak Douluo, with Ning Fengzhi's buffs, being suppressed by a group of Soul Sages was unbelievable!
Lu Jingming shook his head as well.
He knew that without Black Robin's help, Sword and Bone Douluo should have been able to clear this point with ease.
After all, Black Firefly and others, even if strong, were only Soul Emperor level, at best able to fight Titled Douluo.
But with Black Robin's boost, everyone advanced to Soul Sage, and the situation changed.
In the soul master system, Soul Sage was a critical threshold.
Only by breaking through to Soul Sage could one be considered an advanced soul master, and a force needed a Soul Sage to be considered advanced.
So, the strength leap from Soul Emperor to Soul Sage was enormous.
Soul Emperor–level Black Firefly and others could barely fight Titled Douluo.
But as Soul Sages, they could now suppress Titled Douluo, and even several together could suppress a peak Douluo.
So, seeing Black Robin, Lu Jingming knew Sword Douluo and others would suffer.
Events played out exactly as he predicted.
Tang Hao's appearance was also within his expectations. With Black Robin's boost, there were six Titled Douluo–level copies.
His own copy blocked Sword Douluo; Black Jinhsi pinned Dugu Bo; Black Firefly and Black Gu Yue trapped Bone Douluo.
That left Black March 7th and Black Castorice with only the Golden Triangle able to stop them.
So, Tang Hao, hiding to protect Tang San, was inevitably forced out.
That Tang Hao could block Black Abyss White Flower's Holy Spear Reversal surprised Lu Jingming.
The Ring Explosion was indeed mighty—it let Tang San fight Qian Renxue as a god, and Tang Hao used it to block Holy Spear Reversal.
But Tang Hao was hit by Black Castorice's fifth skill; he was doomed, only a matter of time.
Given Tang Hao's state, how long he could last was unknown.
In this world, only Lu Jingming or Castorice, or a god, could save Tang Hao from the death power.
Castorice wasn't in this world, and Lu Jingming felt little for Tang Hao, so he wouldn't save him.
As for gods, they wouldn't intervene.
So Tang Hao was almost certainly doomed—the death power would gradually consume his life until he died.
…
"Father!" Tang San supported Tang Hao, staring at the deadly wound on his chest, deeply worried.
He sent soul power into Tang Hao, shocked to find the death power devouring both life and soul power.
"It's fine, Xiao San, I can hold it back!" Tang Hao knew his own injuries but showed no fear.
For him, death might be relief—a way to join Ah Yin.
His only worry was Tang San and the Clear Sky Sect.
He felt he'd let the sect and his father down, making him unworthy.
He couldn't avenge himself on Spirit Hall; this was his regret.
If not for Tang San, he might have wasted away already.
Now, even if he didn't want to see Ah Yin, he had no choice.
"Dean Flender, what about Teacher Zhao?" Meanwhile, Ning Rongrong and others thought of Zhao Wuji.
"Sigh, it's all my fault." Flender closed his eyes in pain.
If he hadn't brought them here for treasure, Zhao Wuji wouldn't have died—he was deeply remorseful.
Oscar and the others were also heartbroken; the atmosphere was heavy.
…
"Uncle Feng, Uncle Huo, can Aunt be saved?" On another side, Huo Lin and Feng Ying had brought Shui Minger out.
Now, Shui Minger was sealed in ice by Shui Bing'er.
Unlike the negative energy copies, she had a real body.
After leaving the contamination point, the negative energy around her faded, but her body remained.
"I can sense her soul trapped in her body by negative energy, which is good news. But her heart is shattered and her body is dead; once the negative energy fades, her soul will vanish too."
Meng Shenji, as a spiritual Douluo, checked her carefully, surprised by this unusual state, but could do nothing.
"Ye Lingling, come see if you can heal her!" Though he had little hope, Meng Shenji wouldn't ignore someone in need.
He called Ye Lingling over.
"Eh, me?" Ye Lingling hesitated.
She was only a Soul Elder, and this was a tough task.
"It's fine, just try—we're all here!" Dugu Yan comforted her.
If Ye Lingling could save Shui Minger, it'd be a great favor.
Even if she failed, no harm done—this was just a desperate attempt.
"Alright." Ye Lingling nodded, walked to Shui Minger, and sighed.
With her two yellow and one purple rings, she summoned her beautiful pink-white begonia flower.
Her healing light fell on Shui Minger.
Everyone saw her minor wounds heal quickly.
But, sadly, the fatal chest wound remained unchanged.
The Nine-Heart Begonia was powerful, but with only one skill.
Ye Lingling's cultivation was too low to regrow limbs, let alone a heart.
If she were a Titled Douluo, maybe there'd be a hope.
But Shui Minger didn't have that much time, and even a Soul Sage couldn't regrow her heart.
PS: Since Tang San was playing god and messing around in Jingming's timeline, he was now doing the same to Tang San's era. lmao