"Send a message to him, tell him I'm back!" Jiang Liu then looked at the unfamiliar faces and asked, "Who are these gentlemen?"
"This is Granny Hua, the former sect leader of the Flower Sect, who has now joined the Hidden Dragon Temple. This is Elder Qi You of the Ancient Dragon Clan of the Void..."
The main forces in the Central Plains of "Battle Through the Heavens" are "One Palace, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Directions Pavilion." Before Jiang Liu left, the Four Directions Pavilion was already defunct in name only, while the Flower Sect was one of the two sects. The Flower Sect only accepts female disciples and is in opposition to the Heavenly Darkness Sect, one of the two sects.
Now that the sect leader of the Flower Sect has joined the Hidden Dragon Temple, it seems that the Hidden Dragon Temple has developed to a powerful enough level in the past three years. However, before leaving, Jiang Liu underestimated the strength of the eight ancient clans hidden beneath the surface of the water, especially the ambition of the Soul Clan's Soul Emperor, the ultimate boss in "Battle Through the Heavens".
Jiang Liu didn't think much of the Soul Palace; with the protection of the Yangtze River Dragon King, he could handle it. But the Soul Clan had too many powerful members, including the Soul Heaven Emperor, who had one foot in the Dou Di realm.
"Where is the Dragon King now?" The Yangtze River Dragon King possessed the body of the Fire Cloud Ancestor of Burning Flame Valley. Although he was only a two-star Dou Sheng, with the Yangtze River Dragon King's cultivation and knowledge, he was enough to recover to his previous life's strength within three years. As for fighting the Soul Emperor, Jiang Liu believed that the odds were against him.
"Three months ago, he fought a mysterious expert from the Soul Clan and disappeared without a trace! But he did not perish, and the Dragon King's temple is still receiving offerings..." Elder Qi You of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan said in a deep voice.
Chapter 398: The Master of the Soul Palace
Behind the Soul Palace lies the Soul Clan, one of the eight ancient clans, which possesses a small world with its own space, known as the Soul Realm.
In Jiang Liu's memory, the Soul Palace was arrogant and domineering, searching the entire continent for all kinds of soul entities. It was also composed of ghost cultivators who were soul entities, making it the most powerful force on the Dou Qi Continent in the open. Even if it was its hidden strength, among the eight ancient clans and the three magical beast clans, the Soul Clan should be the strongest.
The final boss is also the patriarch of the Soul Clan, Soul Emperor.
Jiang Liu searched the soul memories of the Great Celestial Venerable and the Vice Hall Master of the Soul Palace, but found no clues about the Dragon King. In Jiang Liu's view, the mysterious person who fought against the Yangtze River Dragon King should be the Soul Emperor, but it was also possible that it was the second-ranked Different Flame, the Void Devouring Flame.
"Since we don't know the location of the Soul Realm, then let's completely eradicate the Soul Palace. I want to see if the Soul Clan can tolerate this!"
The world of Doupo is so vast that even Jiang Liu, having reached the level of a Celestial Immortal, would find it difficult to explore. This world is not a small world like Liaozhai, where one can travel the entire world on their own.
"Master, where are we going?"
Although Queen Medusa and Yun Yun had already reached the Dou Zun level, and Green Robe's strength was probably just entering the Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation stage due to her cultivation method, they still felt awe towards Jiang Liu's strength.
Their strength had already increased rapidly enough, but Jiang Liu's strength had increased even more terrifyingly.
Jiang Liu rode the clouds like an immortal. Even though they were already able to fly, the feeling of standing in the clouds was still very different.
"The Soul Palace's Human Palace. The Soul Palace destroyed the Hidden Dragon Temple! An eye for an eye, so we destroyed the Soul Palace and then wiped out the Soul Clan!" Jiang Liu was always vengeful. Since there was no news from the Yangtze River Dragon King, Jiang Liu destroyed the Soul Palace, forced out the Soul Clan, and forced out the location of the Soul Realm.
"We have already located the Soul Hall and the Earthly Fiend Hall, but the Heavenly Gang Hall... is too well hidden; we haven't been able to find it!"
"The Human Palace is one of the three major palaces of the Soul Palace and the Heavenly Gang Palace. It is under the jurisdiction of the nine Heavenly Venerables of the Soul Palace and is located deep in the Burial Corpse Mountain Range. Alright, we have arrived!" Jiang Liu pointed to the ground, and the clouds parted to reveal the eerie mountain range.
"We've arrived?" The three women were all surprised. It was tens of thousands of miles from the northern part of Zhongzhou to the Corpse Burial Mountain Range in the southwestern region of Zhongzhou. How long had it been? They had already arrived.
More importantly, they did not feel the sensation of flying.
"The Abbot's strength is indeed beyond our reach!" The three women exchanged glances, all showing reverence on their faces. Jiang Liu, who had previously seemed like a towering mountain to them, grew even more imposing.
The Corpse Burial Mountain Range is located at the junction of the southwestern region of Zhongzhou. Due to its terrain, the area is extremely yin in nature, and within that yin energy, there is a thick aura of corpses. This is because most families within a radius of thousands of miles have buried their people here. Therefore, the Corpse Burial Mountain Range is a strange mountain range composed of graves. Under normal circumstances, it is almost impossible to find a person here, as no one would want to stay in such a ghostly place.
"call out!"
Suddenly, the silent sky above the Corpse Burial Mountain Range was broken by the sound of wind breaking. A flash of light appeared, and several figures emerged from a mountain peak deep within the mountain range. Their gazes were all fixed on the space hidden behind tall gray trees at the deepest part of the mountain range, where a slight distortion was faintly visible.
"A spatial barrier!" The three women also noticed the anomaly.
Jiang Liu pointed to the hidden space and said to the woman in green, "You have completely controlled the Calamity Poison Body through your cultivation. You can try to absorb the Soul Yin Poison. You should also have noticed that the poison of those poisonous insects no longer has much effect on improving your poison body, right? If you can fuse with this Soul Yin Poison, your strength will definitely increase greatly."
The woman in green nodded, her face full of confusion, and asked, "I've tried insect poisons, plant toxins, and mineral poisons, but they're almost all ineffective. How am I supposed to refine this soul poison? I'm completely baffled!"
"You have already cultivated to the Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation realm, and are able to absorb soul poison. I have refined this space for you, extracting soul poison and corpse poison..."
As he spoke, Jiang Liu lightly waved his sleeve, and the space of this world began to ripple, eventually transforming into an even larger spatial barrier that completely enveloped that region.
The divine technique Jiang Liu unleashed was no simple feat; it was the Origin Heaven Technique of the "Covering the Sky" Origin Master, capable of fixing dragon veins, locking divine sources, and altering the course of mountains and rivers. This was neither combat power nor a mountain-moving supernatural ability, but it was far more useful than any supernatural power.
With a soft shout, he opened his mouth and unleashed a divine light that swept across the ten directions like a tidal wave. This was the "Fighting" Secret of the Nine Secrets, capable of evolving into various offensive and killing divine techniques, ever-changing and truly an unparalleled sacred art. Jiang Liu opened his mouth and spat out a divine light like an inverted celestial river, its power unmatched. The innate primordial energy was as vast as the sea, and combined with the Origin Heaven Technique, it completely annihilated this extremely yin place.
Countless divine runes appeared in the void, transforming into enormous chains that sealed off the entire space.
In the eyes of the three women, a vast expanse of black land appeared in the slightly distorted space. On the surface of the land, occasionally a few patches of pale white were exposed, which were actually some broken bones, exuding a strange and cold aura.
At the heart of this vast region, a colossal black palace stood silently, like an ancient beast crouching on the ground. A sinister and terrifying aura slowly permeated the sealed space.
Just as Jiang Liu was preparing to refine this extremely Yin land using the Origin Heaven Technique, countless extremely thick black chains extended out from the black giant palace and plunged deep into the ground. On each of these chains, a wisp of black mist swirled, vaguely coalescing into a human shape. The chains would occasionally flash with light before disappearing into the black mist, making the mist even more solid.
The entire area was unusually quiet, with an eerie atmosphere that sent chills down one's spine.
"Who dares to invade my Soul Palace! You're courting death..."
A sinister voice emerged from the humanoid black mist.
Jiang Liu didn't even glance at him; he was merely a Dou Zun, how could he possibly be taken seriously?
The mind is constantly evolving!
This was also the first time Jiang Liu had used the Origin Heaven Technique to seal mountains and rivers and refine a region.
"Ah! What kind of power is this!"
The massive black palace collapsed under Jiang Liu's divine technique, the space solidified, and then it collapsed violently downwards. The dozen or so figures within the palace didn't even have time to scream before being compressed into nothingness by the terrifying spatial force.
The black earth gradually lost its chill and turned to yellow soil. The bones turned to ashes, and everything was drawn away by the river—life force, yin energy, and corpse energy. The area shrank, the blackness became more concentrated, and the extreme yin energy of the entire land was drawn away and gathered together.
Ultimately, the Soul Hall and the Human Hall, along with the entire Burial Corpse Mountain Range, were refined by Jiang Liu into a sphere the size of a human head.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Jiang Liu realized that the Origin Heaven Technique's sealing and refining techniques were far more difficult than pure destruction. Of course, with effort comes reward; the extreme Yin energy and soul essence of the Burial Corpse Mountain Range and the Human Palace all gathered in Jiang Liu's hands.
After sealing it up, Jiang Liu handed it over to Green Robe. He didn't care about this bit of extreme Yin energy. Unless it was a dangerous place like the Primordial Ancient Mine in "Covering the Sky", such as Dragon Bloodshed, Crimson Moon Cave, or Fallen Sun Ridge, then sealing and refining it would be a true peerless weapon of destruction, which even celestial immortals would find difficult to resist.
Queen Medusa looked at the woman in green with a hint of envy. Jiang Liu had personally refined this land; if the woman in green were to absorb this extremely yin energy, her strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.
The abbot himself took action, and the immense power he possessed captivated her.
"Medusa, your path does not lie here. You are a demon, but I possess a Heavenly Demon God-Slaying Technique that should completely subdue the Seven-Colored Devouring Python within you. It's only a matter of time before you transform into a Nine-Colored Devouring Python, and even dragon transformation is possible!"
Jiang Liu took out a small piece of jade, inside which was the demon ape "Ba's" understanding and cultivation method of the Heavenly Demon God-Slaying Technique.
Medusa twisted the snake demon, respectfully accepted the inheritance jade, and then familiarly pressed it to her brow.
The Heavenly Demon Slaughtering God Technique sounds high-end and classy just from its name!
As for Yun Yun, Jiang Liu passed on his understanding of swordsmanship to her.
He still rode the clouds and winds to reach the outside of the Soul Palace's Heavenly Hall. Jiang Liu used the Origin Heaven Technique again, preparing to refine this extremely yin land. The Soul Clan members, like ghost cultivators, chose yin and evil places as their foundations.
Just as Jiang Liu made his move to seal it, a figure shot out.
"Queen Medusa, Yunyun, Green Robe, how dare you come to my Heavenly Palace! Don't think that just because you can injure me with your formation, you can..."
"Soul Destroyer, you killed hundreds of people from my Hidden Dragon Temple. Today is your death day!" Yun Yun snorted coldly, then pointed a finger, and a sword was formed in the air with her battle qi. It was very clear. The sword was divided into two sides. One side had mountains and rivers on it, and the other side had bird-shaped characters. The hilt was a beast head that was neither a dragon nor a qilin. The intent on the sword was concentrated, like a sacred sword forged by ancient sages.
The Soul Palace Master retreated rapidly, and dark battle qi exploded from his body in an instant. In the eyes of the others, it transformed into countless soul phantoms. These phantoms formed a strange array, surrounding him and kneeling down with devout expressions. At the same time, they also emitted ear-piercing soul sound waves from their mouths.
"All souls pay homage!"
Countless soul sound waves condensed in front of the Soul Palace Master, then transformed into a sonic arrow that shot out and collided fiercely with Yun Yun's finger sword energy.
The sword and the sound waves collided several times in the air before finally vanishing into nothingness.
Yun Yun had just grasped a trace of Jiang Liu's swordsmanship, and with a slight move, she greatly alarmed Hun Miesheng, the Soul Hall Master of the Five-Star Dou Sheng.
"Vice Hall Master, the Great Celestial Venerable is besieging you all, how did you end up here?" After a brief moment of surprise, Hun Miesheng figured out the problem, then looked at Jiang Liu, who was surrounded by three women, and frowned deeply.
"It's already turned to ashes. The little Soul Palace is nothing but an ant egg in the hands of the Abbot, easily destroyed with a flick of the wrist!" The woman in green glared at Soul Destroyer. In the battle when the Hidden Dragon Temple was captured, Soul Destroyer was injured by her, but he also completely destroyed the Heavenly Blazing Fire Formation. Now, the woman in green held a pitch-black sphere in her hand, slowly absorbing the evil power within, her eyes cold as she looked at Soul Destroyer.
"Master? You are the Master of Qianlong Temple! You have finally appeared!" The Hall Master of the Soul Palace said solemnly. He stared at Jiang Liu, and a faint black flame suddenly flashed in the depths of his eyes, making him look extremely strange.
"Don't embarrass yourself with a mere Void Flame Devouring Sub-Flame. Tell me where the Dragon King is, and then show me the way to the Soul Realm!"
"Great words do not grow gradually."
"hehe……"
Just as Jiang Liu was about to make a move, Queen Medusa suddenly stepped forward and said, "Master, let me try out my new ability!"
At the same time, a thick, dark cloud of mist, like a fountain, gushed out from between Queen Medusa's eyebrows.
This black mist wasn't abundant, but it was extremely dense and viscous. As it flowed, its heavy, oppressive aura was ten or even a hundred times heavier than that of mercury.
This is the innate divine power of the demon ape "Ba," who gathers demonic energy from the heavenly demon.
The black energy twisted instantly, transforming into a giant python that lunged at Hun Miesheng.
A black shadow flickered on Hun Miesheng's body, and just as the giant python was devouring him, an extremely strange suction force suddenly swept out, actually pulling the Heavenly Demon Gathering Qi directly into his body.
Yun Yun looked surprised and said, "He actually absorbed the Heavenly Demon Gathering Qi into his body? Is he courting death?"
"Even if you don't die, you'll be skinned alive!" the man in green laughed.
"I want to see just how powerful this Void Devouring Flame is at devouring!"
"What is this?" The Hall Master of the Soul Palace frowned, and black flames with a strange devouring power seeped out from his eyes, trying to devour the black energy of the Heavenly Demon Gathering Demon Qi, but he could not do so and could only stand still.
But neither of them could do anything about the other.
"Isn't it incredible?" Medusa smiled gently, but did not launch another attack. The amount of demonic energy she had gathered was limited. Just like Yun Yun did after unleashing a sword strike, she stopped attacking. This was because the two of them had only just begun their cultivation, and this was already at its limit.
"Even the Void Devouring Flame can't do anything about it?" The Soul Palace Master slowly extended his palm, exerting all his strength. A strange black flame suddenly emerged, rolling and swirling, vaguely gathering into a human face. Streams of devouring power surged from the mouth of the human face, attempting to completely suppress the Heavenly Demon Gathering Qi.
Moreover, it truly devoured, confirming that the power of the Void Devouring Flame was still above the Heavenly Demon Gathering Qi. Of course, this was also related to Medusa's strength.
"It's a pity it's just a minor flame!" Jiang Liu was also pondering, estimating the strength of the Void Devouring Flame True Body.
The Void Devouring Flame, ranked second on the list of strange flames, is born from nothingness. It has no form to be found and no shape to be grasped. From a certain perspective, the Void Devouring Flame can be considered a rather peculiar existence.
Known as something that devours the heavens and the earth, it possesses the ability to devour all things. In the entire world, only a very few things can resist that devouring power.
Chapter 399 Void Devouring Flame
Faced with Jiang Liu's overwhelming attack, Hun Miesheng was ultimately suppressed, and the entire headquarters of the Soul Palace, the Heavenly Palace, was also destroyed, turning into barren ruins under the Origin Heaven Technique.
The Soul Palace, the most powerful force on the surface of the Dou Qi Continent, has been completely eradicated.
Even after the Soul Palace was destroyed, the Soul Clan behind it still wielded immense power. To the Soul Clan, the Soul Palace was nothing more than a tool for collecting souls.
Jiang Liu searched through Hun Miesheng's memories and obtained a lot of information. More importantly, he discovered the whereabouts of the Yangtze River Dragon King.
...
At this very moment, news of Jiang Liu's appearance had already reached the ancient clans and ancient realms among the eight ancient clans.