"Elder Longling, I hope you will keep your promise!"
"Help me obtain the Twin Sacred God Sect's exclusive second martial soul!"
The old man in black burlap was trembling with excitement and nodded repeatedly.
"Of course! Holy Maiden, with such ambition, this old servant will go all out to awaken your Dragon Vein Martial Soul!"
"You won't get the chance!"
A deep, resonant voice came from the distance. Bone Douluo Gu Rong stood calmly, exhaling a long breath.
No wonder Ning Fengzhi had shown up earlier without a single Title Douluo by his side—
Bone Douluo had been secretly tracking the evil aura all along.
His Bone Dragon was itself a type of skeletal martial soul and was naturally attuned to such dark energy.
What surprised him most was that this old man in black burlap gave off a strangely familiar aura—something Bone Douluo felt connected to.
"You kidnapped the young mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Tell me… how would you prefer to die?"
The old man scoffed at Bone Douluo's words.
"Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Trash."
"A martial soul that can't even reach Rank 90 dares to call itself the continent's number-one auxiliary system? Utter garbage!"
Bone Douluo's nine spirit rings emerged, hovering around him in a majestic display. A dense, black soul power coalesced in his hand, swirling like a miniature black hole.
Yes, he had lost to Qian Renfeng—
But that only proved how powerful Qian Renfeng was. It didn't mean he, Bone Douluo, was weak!
A Title Douluo at Rank 95 could never be called weak!
"Eighth Soul Skill: Heaven-Piercing Bone Spike!"
As the eighth black spirit ring lit up, a giant bone spike shot toward the black-robed elder.
Although immensely powerful, Bone Douluo intentionally held back, suppressing most of its force.
After all, Ning Rongrong was standing right there.
If he hurt her, that would be a disaster beyond repair.
But to his surprise, the old man stepped away from Ning Rongrong on his own and walked directly into the path of the bone spike!
"Bone Douluo? Hah."
"If not for that mad dog Qian Daoliu from the Divine Angel Clan relentlessly hunting our God Sect, your so-called Upper Three Sects would be nothing but a joke!"
As he spoke, nine spirit rings also lit up on the old man, and a terrifying pressure swept the area—even Bone Douluo felt it.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Red, Red.
The colors of the old man's rings were unusual. Aside from the two red 100,000-year rings, the rest all had a strange blood-tinged hue, as though tainted by soul power.
Even more disturbing was the color of his soul power—a murky, dripping blood-red tone.
Bone Douluo, experienced as he was, clenched his teeth.
"The God Sect?! What a load of crap!"
"You dare refine your power using human blood?!"
"That second martial soul of yours is nothing but death energy forcibly stripped from countless victims—some Frankenstein creation!"
But the old man remained unfazed and responded with a straight face:
"Human blood? Hah!"
"That is our Holy Blood—bestowed by the Twin Sacred God Sect!"
"Besides, those pathetic worms were too weak to begin with. If they can help us true cultivators grow stronger, what's wrong with that?"
"If not for that one individual, we'd have already created a being with all 100,000-year rings. That would've been a miracle on this continent!"
Bone Douluo could take no more.
"Stop deluding yourself!"
"Those aren't real 100,000-year spirit rings! You can't even absorb them properly!"
"You just use forbidden rituals to dye your spirit rings red! A true 100,000-year ring allows for two soul skills!"
"Do you have that?!"
"If you could manufacture them so easily, why is Spirit Hall still hunting your kind down like dogs?!"
"You're nothing but filthy rats scurrying in the gutter!"
The black-robed old man was momentarily speechless from the scolding. Though he didn't respond, his eyes glinted with killing intent.
If not for the risk of exposure, he would have fought Bone Douluo right then and there!
"Hmph! Ignorant mortals. How dare you insult the greatness of the Twin Sacred God Sect!"
As he finished speaking, a thick cloud of blood mist surrounded him. The mist expanded quickly, and within moments, both Ning Rongrong and the old man vanished.
Bone Douluo's face changed. He closed his eyes, trying to trace the lingering aura of evil.
But after a few seconds…
All he could sense were wails and screams, filled with endless agony and murder—the cries of infants, the shrieks of women…
They were gone.
Truly gone!
A living person disappeared right under the nose of a Title Douluo…
This was outrageous!
A moment later.
A streak of cyan light flashed across the sky. Riding atop a massive bird was a tall, graceful figure, with flowing long hair and a noble presence.
Bone Douluo looked up, squinting at the silhouette.
"…Qingluan?"
The bird soared toward him, and Qingluan Douluo leapt off. She gently sniffed the air twice, then glanced at Bone Douluo.
"He got away again?"
"…Yeah."
Bone Douluo nodded slightly.
He knew Qingluan Douluo from before. Among the various Title Douluo of Spirit Hall, Qingluan was essentially the acting steward of the Worship Hall.
She had been selected because of her high intelligence, political tact, and social grace. She wasn't bothered by worldly distractions and thus became the most reliable handler among the elders.
Still, she mostly handled logistics, not combat.
"You were chasing him?" Bone Douluo asked carefully.
In terms of both strength and status, Qingluan outclassed him by far. And he was the one asking for help now—he had to be cautious.
Qingluan gave him a side glance.
"You're capable—but against him? Probably not."
"Though he's only Rank 92, you've seen the nature of his spirit rings. His ninth soul skill seems like a self-detonation ability."
"Golden Crocodile Douluo killed one of his allies, a Rank 95, but the explosion still heavily injured him."
"If you ran into him alone… it would be a mutual kill at best."
"Besides, while you're out here, who's guarding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Her words stunned Bone Douluo.
She was right.
If he continued chasing them down, it could put the entire sect at risk!
"…In that case, I'll trouble you to keep pursuing him."
"If you get any word about Rongrong, please inform us. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would be eternally grateful."
Qingluan Douluo stepped back onto her massive bird without turning her head.
"Hunting evil is my duty. If your sect's people are still salvageable, I'll let you know."
"But if she falls completely into darkness—don't blame me… if I eliminate her."