Gu You's expression froze. The endless surge of escaping souls before him represented the Human Hall's accumulated harvest over decades — and now, all of it was gone.
Decades of work, destroyed in a single day!
"Ahhh! Xiao Yan, you damned thief! I'll tear you to pieces to vent my hatred!"
Gu You roared furiously, his face twisted with rage. The higher-ups' demands for Soul Essence were strict beyond measure — and for this disaster to occur under his watch, even as a Half Saint, he would not escape punishment.
Half Saints were not rare among the Hun Clan; most were simply hidden away to avoid alarming the other ancient clans. Yet that made failure all the more unforgivable.
In the midst of battle, Xiao Yan looked dazed as he fought the Hall of Souls' Dou Zuns. To save time, he had done nothing other than rescue Yao Chen — he hadn't even touched the captured souls. So why were they all breaking free now, and in such overwhelming numbers?
Could it be… once one of the Soul Locks was broken, the rest followed in a chain reaction?
The thought flashed through his mind, but he could already feel the weight of a massive black pot crashing onto his head — dark, shiny, and impossible to remove.
And it wasn't just Gu You. Every Hall of Souls Dou Zun nearby turned pale as they witnessed the sea of escaping souls. They were weaker and held lower ranks than Gu You — if blame fell, they'd be the first to die.
"Xiao Yan, you bastard! Do you know what you've done? Not even Heaven or Earth can save you now!"
"Xiao Yan, you deserve to die!"
"Damn brat! You'll suffer the agony of a thousand souls devouring your heart!"
One after another, the enraged Dou Zuns lost control, screaming curses at him.
Xiao Yan could only sigh silently.
He hadn't done anything — not this time — but no one would believe it. Still, since he already had a life-and-death feud with the Hall of Souls, what was one more crime on the pile? Seeing the panic and rage twisting even Gu You's face, he actually felt a wave of grim satisfaction.
'There's never been anyone who could play me for a fool. If someone truly dared to set me up this time… I'll make sure they wish they were dead.'
That would have to wait. Right now, the Hall of Souls' Dou Zuns were hysterical, desperate to redeem themselves with a single victory. And the perfect target was standing right before them.
Chains clattered madly as they encircled Xiao Yan and Venerable Feng, their crazed eyes gleaming like drowning men clutching at straws.
Above them, Gu You suddenly turned toward Xuan Kongzi, his eyes gleaming with a chilling, twisted light. "Heh… the soul of a Pill Tower giant should at least make up for part of the loss. Jie jie jie, hand it over!"
In an instant, Gu You's figure blurred like a phantom. One moment he was in the air; the next, he was right before Xuan Kongzi. Before, he could unleash eight parts of his power — now, fueled by madness, he had gone beyond his limits, striking with twelve.
In Xuan Kongzi's shocked gaze, Gu You's skeletal hand reached for his neck, his face curling into a grotesque grin — not the look of a man, but of a predator.
Xuan Kongzi didn't submit. His palm flared with flame as he tried to parry, but he underestimated Gu You's ferocity. The instant their hands met, pain exploded through his arm — bones shattered, blood spraying wildly.
Gu You's claw only shifted slightly off course. It didn't matter. He changed the grasp to a palm strike and slammed it straight into Xuan Kongzi's chest.
Pfft!
Xuan Kongzi's eyes bulged, his face drained of color, and blood spurted from his mouth. His body was flung backward like a cannonball, bones and meridians breaking one after another.
The void itself trembled beneath the force of Gu You's wrath. It wasn't a battle — it was a storm of destruction unleashed by one maddened Half Saint.
Gu You grinned viciously and lunged again. If he could kill Xuan Kongzi, capture Xiao Yan, and reclaim Yao Chen, perhaps some of his crime could be offset.
He shattered space, vanishing into a blur, reappearing behind the still-falling Xuan Kongzi — and then—
Bang!
Gu You's world spun. Agonizing pain tore through his body as though every bone had been crushed to dust.
'Wha— was that… a slap?'
That was his last coherent thought before darkness swallowed him. His limp body flew across the sky and crashed into the distant ruins.
The one who struck him down was none other than a Dou Saint from the Gu Clan, who had rushed over the moment the outburst of freed souls erupted. The sight had stunned even the powerhouses fighting high above.
The Dou Saint in white robes looked slightly battered, his sleeve torn, but his expression remained cold and steady. Across from him, the Hall of Souls' First Tianzun was in similar shape — his black robe shredded, the ghostly flames in his eyes dimming.
As both turned to witness the countless souls spilling from the giant black hall, their reactions diverged. The white-robed elder's expression twisted oddly. Though he loathed the Hun Clan and their Hall of Souls, he knew this chaos would bring catastrophic retaliation.
"I'd better report this to the Clan Leader at once," he muttered. "My task was only to ensure Xiao Yan survives — and that, I've done."
He waved his sleeve, catching the unconscious, heavily wounded Xuan Kongzi in one hand, then tore through space to appear beside Xiao Yan. With another casual motion, several Hall of Souls Dou Zuns were reduced to ash.
Just as he was about to depart, the First Tianzun's furious bellow shook the heavens — a voice like the wrath of the underworld itself.
"Xiao Yan! You will die a thousand deaths! Gu Clan dog! If you don't hand him over, our Hall of Souls and your Gu Clan will fight to the bitter end!"
The white-robed Dou Saint didn't even flinch. His sleeve swept through the air, opening a spatial tunnel as he replied calmly, "You'd better worry about your own mess first."
Then, taking Xiao Yan, Xuan Kongzi, and Venerable Feng, he stepped through the portal and vanished.
"Ahhhh! Gu Clan! Xiao Yan!"
The First Tianzun's roar shattered the air. The Hall's elders lay dead or dying; Gu You's fate was unknown; the Protectors who couldn't join the main battle were being torn apart by the rampaging souls.
The Hall of Souls' techniques were made to dominate souls — but numbers mattered. Faced with a flood of maddened, vengeful souls burning their very essence just to wound their captors, even tigers could be devoured by ants.
The Human Hall's Tianzun, elders, and protectors — all had perished, whether at Xiao Yan's hand or beneath the claws of their own escaped victims.
The mighty Tianhang Human Hall had been utterly annihilated.
(End of Chapter)
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