Devouring Soul Emperor

"Go!"

After withstanding the terrifying attack head-on, Chu Qingyun commanded the last vine, which had been lying in wait, to shoot out. In the blink of an eye, it bound Ning Xue’s arms and legs, pulling her in front of him.

Chu Qingyun lunged forward, tackling Ning Xue to the ground and wrapping a hand around her fair, slender neck.

With the immense power of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern’s Third Layer, all Chu Qingyun had to do was apply the slightest pressure to snap her neck and end this crisis for good.

But as he gazed at the stunningly beautiful face so close to his, he found himself unable to do it.

Ning Xue smiled faintly, then suddenly raised her head and kissed Chu Qingyun on the lips.

Feeling the cool, soft sensation on his lips, Chu Qingyun’s mind went blank again. ’What is she up to now?’

"Haha, an hour of spring night is worth a thousand gold. You’d better seize the opportunity, Chu!"

"Chu Qingyun, we’ll leave you two alone..."

Sun Daxiong and Xia He, who had somehow freed themselves, both laughed as they spoke to Chu Qingyun. A few steps later, they disappeared deep into the mountain path.

The space around him twisted, and Chu Qingyun’s vision blurred.

When his vision cleared, he found himself sitting on a bed, dressed in a bright red wedding robe.

Across from him sat Ning Xue, also in a wedding robe.

Ning Xue’s face was flush with shyness. She reached out to smooth the front of Chu Qingyun’s robe, then began to undo the buttons. "Husband... allow me to help you undress..."

The sudden change of scene was surreal, like he was seeing a ghost.

But Chu Qingyun knew this was all a trick of the Illusion Realm.

The first time he’d chosen the wrong path, the Illusion Realm had used incredibly realistic feelings of familial love to hold him back. This second time, after the attempt to kill him failed, it had resorted to a naked, blatant seduction!

’How despicable!’

However, compared to the first trial, Chu Qingyun would rather face this second one.

The first was a straightforward trap; anyone with a heart would find it difficult to stand by and watch their own flesh and blood die.

This time, the psychological burden was much lighter. All he had to do was endure the initial onslaught and then resist the temptation of her beauty.

Chu Qingyun bit his lip hard, forcing himself to calm down. Then he stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out.

Closing his eyes to sense his surroundings carefully, he realized he was closer to the golden medal’s location. The correct path was just outside the courtyard!

"Husband, don’t you want Xue’er anymore?"

Just as Chu Qingyun was striding forward, Ning Xue, still in her wedding robe, ran out after him, her voice filled with sorrow as she called from behind.

Chu Qingyun stopped but didn’t turn around. "Ning Xue, the real you is in the Central State. I still remember our five-year pact. Don’t worry, I will definitely go to Piaomiao Peak to find you!"

With that, he lingered no longer. Amidst the woman’s sorrowful pleas from behind him, he kicked open the courtyard gate and walked out.

The moment he stepped out, everything behind him vanished.

Just like before, the dark and gloomy path reappeared.

This time, however, the depths of the path were filled with the shadows of wolves. A quick glance revealed a rough estimate of over a hundred Cyan Wind Wolves prowling within.

And besides the Cyan Wind Wolves, there were also at least a hundred enlarged Elemental Ore Rats!

Each calf-sized Elemental Ore Rat seemed to have a very weak aura, not even comparable to the lowest-level Martial Artist.

However, with their scarlet, bell-sized eyes and their dagger-like teeth glinting with a cold light, no one would think they were easy to deal with.

In the Illusion Realm’s Chu Family Village, lingering a little longer in the wrong place would cause a few more Cyan Wind Wolves to appear on the gloomy path.

But choosing the wrong path again not only caused the number of Cyan Wind Wolves to skyrocket, but it also added another type of Demon Beast he had seen before!

Clearly, within this Illusion Realm trial, the difficulty of obtaining the golden medal and achieving his goal was steadily increasing.

An ordinary Great Xia Dragon Guard Captain who made it this far would probably be finished, facing such a large number of Demon Beasts or other obstacles from their memories.

But Chu Qingyun was different. With his formidable strength, he still had a fighting chance to brave this gloomy path.

However, just as he was about to step onto it, another path appeared beside it.

At its entrance, a young woman covered in grievous injuries and dripping with blood was kneeling on the ground, staring blankly at Chu Qingyun.

Seeing this, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but sigh with a wry smile. "You Yun... I knew it would be you..."

He had already figured that if it happened again, You Yun would be the one to appear.

"Chu Qingyun, the Martial Soul Hall is hunting me down! You... you have to run!" You Yun said, sounding very weak.

After speaking, she couldn’t even maintain her kneeling posture and collapsed to the ground. Two trails of blood flowed out from under her.

Hearing this, Chu Qingyun’s smile became even more bitter.

’With my personality, how could words like that ever make me run away...?’

Chu Qingyun gave another bitter smile and sighed lightly. He turned and stepped onto the path where You Yun lay. "Fine. Since the difficulty has already reached this level, let’s see just how hard the hardest path can be!"

The moment he stepped onto that path, the space around him twisted once more.

Everything, including You Yun, disappeared.

When his vision returned, Chu Qingyun found himself on the edge of a massive plaza.

In the very center of the plaza was a high platform. Above it, a medal glowing with golden light floated silently in mid-air.

The entire plaza was roughly divided into four sections.

One section was empty, with only Chu Qingyun standing on its outermost edge.

The section to Chu Qingyun’s left was packed with snarling, powerfully built Cyan Wind Wolves, every single one of them staring fixedly at him with their ghastly green eyes.

The section to his right was crowded with calf-sized Elemental Ore Rats, their mass of scarlet eyes filled with endless fury and cruelty.

The section opposite him was filled with Ice Demon Apes. Each one was over two meters tall, its body covered in chunks of solid ice. They snarled, revealing long, sharp fangs.

Seeing all this, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but swallow hard, a sense of dread creeping into his heart.

When surrounded and attacked by dozens of Blood Wolf Gang members, he could remain perfectly calm and deal with them easily.

But now, the number of Demon Beasts in these three sections combined probably exceeded a thousand!

Furthermore, based on his previous experience, Chu Qingyun estimated that the strength of these Demon Beasts must have been greatly enhanced by the Illusion Realm.

If nothing else, just take the Elemental Ore Rats—Chu Qingyun had never seen any that big before!