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The Bibi Dong puppet moved fast toward Zi Ji. The power of her Death Spider Emperor hit the Hell Demon Dragon King power in the air.
At the same time, Yue Guan and Gui Mei kept attacking Bi Ji. They tried to stop her from using her healing powers.
The three power type puppets, Dai Mubai, Zhao Wuji, and Tai Long, ran at Xiong Jun again.
The Ma Hongjun puppet and Qin Ming puppet faced Chi Wang. The green Nether Phoenix fire and gray wolf fire fought hard against Chi Wang's red hellfire.
High in the sky, the Flender puppet flew around. His Four-Eyed Owl Spirit watched the Ten Thousand Demon King. He used dark power to cut the growing vines.
The Liu Erlong puppet turned into a Death Flame Demon Dragon. She roared and jumped into the fight, spreading purple flames across the dark trees.
The big battle started everywhere.
Xiong Jun roared again and again. Every time he hit with his big claws, he tore off half a puppet's body. But the puppets did not stop. Their bodies fixed themselves and they jumped back into the fight to hold him down.
Chi Wang's three heads spit fire together. He pushed back the Ma Hongjun puppet's green flames. But the Qin Ming puppet was very fast. He kept attacking Chi Wang from behind.
The Ten Thousand Demon King moved many long vines to break Tang San's trap formation. But the dark trap had too much bad power from all the dead Spirit Beasts. Every time a vine broke one part of the trap, new dark power filled the spot right away.
Up in the air, Zi Ji fought hard against the Bibi Dong puppet. Big dragon wings hit spider leg blades, creating loud purple blasts.
Bi Ji was in the most danger. She had to guard against Yue Guan and Gui Mei while trying to heal Xiong Jun and the other beasts.
Tang San stood far away and watched everything. His eyes were full of greed. The stronger these beasts were, the happier he felt. Every hit and every drop of beast energy meant his dark armor would become complete.
Tang San slowly raised his dark scythe. His body slipped into the dark mist. A second later, he appeared right behind Bi Ji.
Bi Ji felt him and her face turned pale. But she had used too much energy saving Xiong Jun. She had nothing left to block him.
Tang San smiled coldly. "I will start with you. Life Theft!"
The green scythe blade fell down quietly toward Bi Ji's life power. Bi Ji felt a freezing cold across her body. She knew death was close.
This was not a simple attack. The moment the scythe touched her, her inner life force shook. It felt like an invisible hand was pulling her soul out of her body.
"Bi Ji!" Xiong Jun shouted.
He tried to run over to help her, but Dai Mubai, Zhao Wuji, and Tai Long blocked his path. Even though Dai Mubai had half his body torn off, he used his arms to lock Xiong Jun's big claw. Zhao Wuji's chest was crushed, but he used his bear spirit to press down on Xiong Jun's shoulder. Tai Long lost one arm, but he hit Xiong Jun's knee with his remaining fist.
They did not care about fighting smart. They just used their cold bodies to hold Xiong Jun in place.
Xiong Jun got angry and swung his golden claw. The Dai Mubai puppet was cut in half at the waist. Zhao Wuji lost an arm, and Tai Long was smashed into the ground with a broken chest.
However, black mist rolled over them again. The broken bodies attached together like nothing happened. They felt no pain, had no fear, and never gave up. They stood up and rushed forward again.
Xiong Jun felt a chill. These puppets were truly annoying. They could be broken, but they could not be killed. As long as Tang San lived and kept using his dark power, these puppets would keep rising like ghosts.
On the other side, Chi Wang was also having a hard time. His three heads spit strong red fire to fight the Ma Hongjun puppet's green flames. Chi Wang was much stronger, but the Ma Hongjun puppet did not care about being burned. Half of its body turned to ash, yet it still flew through the fire and slammed into Chi Wang's chest.
The Qin Ming puppet turned into a gray wolf and moved around Chi Wang's back. It bit Chi Wang's wounds with dark power. Soon, the cuts on Chi Wang's body began to turn black and rot.
Chi Wang roared angrily. He slammed the Qin Ming puppet to the dirt with one foot and burned the Ma Hongjun puppet with a stream of fire. But a few seconds later, the Ma Hongjun puppet stood up from the ash. Dark power fixed its burnt skin, and green flames lit up again. It looked at Chi Wang with empty, dead eyes.
Chi Wang felt fear in his heart. These puppets were not real living things. You could not win against them by normal means. Unless you destroyed their dark core in one hit, they would keep getting up forever.
The Ten Thousand Demon King brought huge vines out from the ground to crush Tang San's trap formation. Thick green vines tore through the dirt to wrap around the dark patterns. But the dark energy was too strong. The moment the vines touched the pattern, they turned black and withered.
"This dark trap has absorbed too many dead beast souls," the Ten Thousand Demon King said coldly. "We cannot break it with normal life energy."
He hid his body inside the deep vines and pushed his full power out. Green poison mist spread across the ground. It fought against the dark energy and cleared a small part of the trap.
Before he could do more, the Flender puppet dived down from the sky. His sharp claw shadows cut through the thick vines. Right behind him, the Liu Erlong puppet sprayed purple flames along the rest of the roots. The Ten Thousand Demon King had to stop and fight them off.
The entire edge of the forest was now a mess. Flames, spider silk, poison mist, and black energy mixed together. Giant old trees fell down, and the ground cracked open. Many young Spirit Beasts ran deeper into the forest with absolute terror in their eyes. This was no longer a simple hunt; it was a war.
Back near Bi Ji, Tang San's scythe was falling fast.
Suddenly, a loud dragon roar shook the air. Zi Ji was fighting the Bibi Dong puppet when she saw Bi Ji in danger. She ignored the spider legs cutting into her shoulder and forced her dragon energy out.
"Get away from her!" Zi Ji yelled.
Her heavy dragon tail hit the Bibi Dong puppet, pushing it back. Then she opened her mouth and spit a wave of purple dragon fire at Tang San's back.
Tang San turned around and swung his scythe behind him. "Soul Severing!"
The green scythe light hit the dragon fire mid-air. A huge explosion shook the ground.
Bi Ji used this chance to flap her wings and fly away, escaping the deadly hit. But as she moved, the Ghost Douluo puppet came out from her shadow. A black hand grabbed her wing hard. Bi Ji gasped in pain as dark energy spread across her feathers.
The Chrysanthemum Douluo puppet sent sharp flower petals cutting through her green shield. The Bibi Dong puppet jumped forward again, using her spider legs to crush Bi Ji's defense.
Tang San watched Bi Ji struggle and smiled. "You can't save anyone, Bi Ji. You can't even save yourself."
Bi Ji did not say a word. She bit her lip and used her light to wash away the dark power on her wing, then sent healing energy back to Xiong Jun and the others.
Tang San felt annoyed. He hated her healing power because it reminded him of Tang Chen, and it made him angry.
"Since you love saving others so much, I will keep killing until there is no one left for you to heal," Tang San said coldly.
He raised his scythe high, expanding his dark domain. Black mist turned into hundreds of scythe shadows that flew everywhere. The running beasts were caught by the blades one by one. Sad cries filled the forest as their souls were pulled out and swallowed by Tang San.
Bi Ji's face went white. "Stop it!"
"Are you asking me to stop?" Tang San sneered. "Then get down on your knees!"
Xiong Jun went completely wild with anger. "Tang San!"
His eyes turned red, and golden light burst out from his body. He broke the dark chains wrapping his legs through pure force. He raised both claws high, making fine cracks appear in the air itself.
Xiong Jun hit with full power. The puppets of Dai Mubai, Zhao Wuji, and Tai Long were torn into tiny pieces at once. Their broken bones blew away in the wind. Without stopping, Xiong Jun's giant body charged straight at Tang San.
"Die!" Xiong Jun yelled.
Tang San's eyes narrowed. He felt real danger from this attack. He raised his scythe, letting divine light rush out. "God Devouring Blade!"
A green crescent light shot out to meet the golden claws.
The two forces hit each other with a deafening boom. A blast wave blew away all the trees within a thousand feet. The ground rolled up like water.
Xiong Jun was pushed back three big steps, cracking the earth under his feet. Tang San was knocked back tens of feet, his arm feeling numb from the hit.
Tang San looked annoyed. Xiong Jun's power was stronger than he thought. If he did not have his divine weapon, that hit would have hurt him badly.
But then Tang San smiled again. "Good. The stronger your power is, the better my divine armor will be."
Xiong Jun looked down at his right claw. A tiny crack had appeared on his hard golden claw from the scythe.
A divine weapon possessed the power to hurt a beast's true core. Xiong Jun realized how dangerous the situation was. Tang San was strong, his weapon was deadly, and his puppets could keep fixing themselves forever. The beasts were starting to lose the fight.
The battle went on. Xiong Jun broke the puppets again and again. Chi Wang burned the Ma Hongjun puppet over and over. Zi Ji's claws pierced the Bibi Dong puppet's chest, and the Ten Thousand Demon King shredded Flender into bits.
Yet, the black mist always brought them back. The puppets felt no pain and kept rising up. But the living beasts were getting tired, bleeding, and weak. Bi Ji's healing was great, but she was trapped by Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Bibi Dong.
The scale of victory was sliding toward Tang San. He stood on a high rock, looking down like a cold hunter waiting for his prey to get tired.
"Xiong Jun, Chi Wang, Zi Ji, Ten Thousand Demon King, Bi Ji," Tang San named them one by one, his eyes full of greed. "You will all become power for my godhood. Once I get my dark armor, no one on this land can stop me!"
Right as he finished speaking, the deep forest went totally quiet. The wind stopped blowing, and the sounds of fighting died down. A heavy, ancient pressure covered the entire battlefield.
Xiong Jun, Bi Ji, and the other beasts looked up, a small ray of hope appearing in their eyes.
Tang San's smile froze. He felt an old, heavy power that felt like it came from an ancient dragon.
Then, a deep voice came from the darkest part of the forest.
"Human, you have crossed the line."
The whole forest seemed to bow down to that voice. The black mist split open under the dragon pressure. Dark clouds gathered in the sky. A giant black dragon shadow slowly rose into the air. Its wings were so large they covered half the night sky. Bright golden dragon eyes opened in the dark, looking cold and ancient.
It was Di Tian, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, the true ruler of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Tang San looked up at the dragon shadow. He felt no fear at all. Instead, his greed grew even stronger.
"Di Tian, you finally showed yourself," Tang San said in a deep voice. "I was planning to eat Xiong Jun and the others before going to find you. I didn't expect you to come to me first."