Chapter 141: The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's Grudge! I Want Him Dead
On the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, the Eye of Destiny resting upon the Emperor Auspicious Beast's forehead radiated a deep, faint purple-gold light.
It stood quietly on the ruined earth, a landscape scarred and dilapidated by the violent fall of the Spatial Beast. Under the soothing shroud of its auspicious aura, the chaotic ambient energies left behind by the battle gradually settled, returning to an orderly calm.
It maintained this silent vigil for a long time before its partially closed eyes slowly opened.
The confusion that had previously clouded its gaze was entirely gone. In its place was a chilling, absolute clarity that seemed to pierce through the very essence of all things.
The Emperor Auspicious Beast tilted its majestic head slightly, speaking to Xiong Jun, who was still seething with feral rage and preparing to tear after Elder Xuan's group once more.
"Xiong Jun, halt. The Shrek humans were not the ones who killed the Spatial Beast."
Xiong Jun's massive, mountain-like bulk stiffened abruptly. He lowered his enormous head, his crimson eyes swirling with heavy doubt and violent unwillingness. His rough voice grated like grinding boulders.
"Not them? But within a hundred miles of this territory, aside from those humans reeking of blood, where else is there a shadow of a living soul? My own eyes saw them skulking around the corpse. How could that be a fake?"
The Emperor Auspicious Beast shook its head. Its golden fur rippled, catching the dappled forest sunlight and reflecting a sacred, pristine luster.
It turned to gaze toward the distant horizon—the exact direction Liu Yuan and Du Busi had vanished into—and explained in a low, measured tone.
"The ones who slew the Spatial Beast possessed two entirely different auras. Although they deliberately suppressed their presence and fled with extreme speed, the lines of karma they left behind remain clearly visible within my Eye of Destiny."
"Those are two exceptionally domineering, destructive powers. One is saturated with the absolute contradiction of life and death, while the other is pure, unadulterated physical destruction. This is fundamentally different from the upright, orthodox soul power of those Shrek Soul Masters."
Xiong Jun listened, only half-comprehending the esoteric concepts, but his trust in the Emperor Auspicious Beast was absolute and blind.
He exhaled a heavy, scalding breath, blasting the scorched earth and sending black ash swirling into the sky. He ground his massive fangs together.
"Then who was it? Which arrogant human dared to hunt a Spatial Beast on our turf?"
The purple-gold light in the Emperor Auspicious Beast's eyes flickered, but ultimately, it shook its head in quiet resignation.
"I do not know their specific identities yet. They retreated with absolute decisiveness; it is obvious this was a premeditated hunt, and they possess immense strength."
"However, I have already used the Eye of Destiny to carve their spiritual imprints into my mind. In the future, should our paths cross again, I will recognize them at a single glance, even if they alter their appearances and mask their auras."
Speaking of this, a trace of icy, piercing killing intent—an emotion exceedingly rare for the Emperor Auspicious Beast—surfaced in its normally tranquil eyes.
As the sovereign symbol of luck for the Star Dou Great Forest, it seldom harbored such violent desires. But this time was different.
"The Spatial Beast was my dear friend. We knew each other for many years. Now that it is dead, I must avenge it! No matter where the murderer flees, I will hunt him down."
Seeing this, Xiong Jun slammed a massive paw against his chest, emitting a roar that shook the heavens like rolling thunder. He nodded heavily.
"Good! Since you have spoken, this old bear will carve it into his bones."
"In the future, the moment you point out the culprit, I will help you tear him limb from limb! Whoever he is, daring to slaughter and pillage in the core zone means he must pay the ultimate price!"
Meanwhile, high above the Heavenly Soul Empire.
After breaking away from the Star Dou Great Forest, Du Busi had grabbed Liu Yuan, launching them into a high-speed flight.
Two streaks of brilliant light tore across the vast expanse of the sky, leaving a trail of deafening sonic booms in their wake.
Liu Yuan's mind was entirely focused inward, burning with a quiet urgency.
He continuously cycled the explosive soul power surging through his meridians—the obvious might of his newly stabilized Level 55 Soul King cultivation. Alongside it thrummed the newly awakened Domain ability housed within his Double Pupils.
The sheer, intoxicating sensation of manipulating spatial forces made his fingers twitch. He craved a target. He needed a sufficiently powerful opponent to field-test the absolute limits of his current combat prowess.
However, just as they soared over a remote, jagged mountain range within the Heavenly Soul Empire, a grim sight below forced both of them to halt abruptly in mid-air.
It was a secluded village nestled at the mouth of a deep valley.
Normally, at this hour, the settlement should have been bustling, with wisps of warm cooking smoke drifting into the sky. Instead, the village below was a portrait of absolute hell.
More than half the wooden structures were engulfed in a roaring sea of flames. Black smoke billowed upward, choking the sky.
But the most horrifying sight lay in the open dirt square at the village entrance. Mutilated corpses were strewn haphazardly across the ground, and the wind carried up a thick, nauseating stench of copper and burnt flesh.
Du Busi's emerald-green eyes contracted into dangerous slits. His weathered face darkened instantly, a terrifying pressure beginning to leak from his form.
"What is the meaning of this? Such a concentrated stench of blood... A massacre of this scale is absolutely not the work of common bandits."
Liu Yuan hovered silently, his expression hardening.
Within his eye sockets, his Double Pupils spontaneously began to rotate, splitting into dual irises that pierced effortlessly through the thick, choking smoke and raging flames. As a genius possessing extraordinarily potent spiritual power, he was hyper-sensitive to the vile, negative energy clinging to the ruins.
"That is... an Evil Soul Master."
Liu Yuan's voice was cold, laced with a heavy, cutting disgust.
Du Busi nodded grimly.
Both master and disciple possessed monstrous spiritual power. Du Busi relied on the terrifying foundation of his Level 98 cultivation, his divine sense vast and deep as the ocean.
Liu Yuan, on the other hand, relied on the natural origin of his Double Pupils and the lingering influence of Electrolux's teachings, making his perception of energy flows razor-sharp.
Because of this, long before the perpetrators even sensed their presence in the sky, Liu Yuan and Du Busi had already locked onto two shadowy figures lurking deep within the burning village.
Liu Yuan's purple-gold eyes flickered as he rapidly dissected their strength.
"Two Evil Soul Masters. Looking at the fluctuations of their soul power, their foundations are somewhat shallow—likely only Level 65 or 66. But that cold, twisted, and bloodthirsty aura confirms they are genuine Soul Emperors."
Naked killing intent flared in Du Busi's eyes. A dense, virulent green light erupted around his body, warping the air itself. He was genuinely enraged.
Across the entire continent, Evil Soul Masters were universally despised, treated as vermin to be exterminated on sight. Their depraved methods of slaughtering innocent civilians and devouring human blood essence to fuel their cultivation were unforgivable sins in the eyes of any true powerhouse.
"These damned maggots. They truly infest every corner of this world," Du Busi snarled. He raised his right hand, the emerald light coalescing into a terrifying mass of energy. He was fully prepared to strike from a distance, intending to casually erase the two Evil Soul Masters from existence as easily as crushing a pair of ants.
But a split second before Du Busi unleashed his power, Liu Yuan reached out, firmly grasping his master's forearm. He turned his head, his gaze unwavering.
"Master, leave them to me!"
Du Busi paused, slightly stunned. His immediate instinct was to refuse.
In his eyes, Liu Yuan had only just achieved a breakthrough and had not even had the time to properly familiarize himself with his new soul skills.
But as he looked into Liu Yuan's steady, mountain-like gaze, reality caught up with him. The young man standing beside him possessed Level 55 soul power, a ten-thousand-year fifth soul ring, and a precious cranial soul bone.
He was no longer a child who needed constant sheltering; he was stepping into the world of true powerhouses.
Even so, Du Busi's thick brows furrowed in hesitation.
"But Liu Yuan, these are two Evil Soul Masters at the Soul Emperor level. Their methods are inherently vile, bizarre, and entirely unpredictable. If you are even slightly careless, you could fall into a fatal ambush. How about this—I will exterminate one, and you can use the remaining one as a whetstone to practice your skills?"
Du Busi was not looking down on his disciple; he was simply operating on the habitual caution of a protective elder.
also, Du Busi knew exactly where Liu Yuan's combat strength lay.
Before setting out to participate in the Soul Master Tournament, Liu Yuan's strength had been slightly superior to Long Aotian's. But Long Aotian, even as the shining star of the Body Sect with a Silver-level Secondary Awakening, only hovered around the peak Soul King level in terms of raw combat power, relying heavily on his absurd physical resilience.
During the tournament, Liu Yuan's strength had skyrocketed. Du Busi estimated his complete combat prowess had firmly crossed into the Soul Emperor threshold, easily capable of suppressing a standard assault-system Soul Emperor like Dai Yueheng.
However, Du Busi still believed Liu Yuan would struggle against a top-tier, absolute powerhouse Soul Emperor like Ma Xiaotao.
These two Evil Soul Masters below might not have soul power as dense as Ma Xiaotao's, but the true terror of an Evil Soul Master lay in the sinister, cruel nature of their martial souls.
Liu Yuan had grown stronger, yes, but he was outnumbered. Who knew what grotesque, self-mutilating secret techniques these lunatics possessed? Du Busi was genuinely worried that if things went south, he might not be able to intervene in time to save his precious disciple.
Yet, facing Du Busi's heavy concern, Liu Yuan remained exceptionally calm. He looked down at the two shadowy figures, who were currently crouched over the civilian corpses, greedily extracting their blood essence.
"Master, do not worry. I know my limits," Liu Yuan said, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous register.
"I just acquired the 'Forbidden Domain'and the'Dominator' skill. I need exactly this caliber of opponent to test their true quality in a life-or-death scenario."
", I will not be careless."
Du Busi stared into Liu Yuan's sharp, fiercely confident Double Pupils. Slowly, the tension left his shoulders, and he unclenched his raised fist.
He had to admit, Liu Yuan's pragmatic nature—his absolute calm and his drive to grow stronger by crushing powerful foes—put his mind at ease.
"Alright. I will leave them to you," Du Busi conceded, taking a step backward. His body began to blur, smoothly fading into the Void.
"However, you must remain vigilant. I will be right here watching over you. The instant the situation turns against you, I will strike without hesitation. Remember, do not give those Evil Soul Masters a single breath to unleash their bizarre tricks."
"Understood."
Liu Yuan nodded. He turned his attention back to the burning village below, his gaze instantly sharpening into a pair of cold, merciless blades.
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