Devouring Soul Emperor

According to the Celestial Wind Army Master, the most suitable Martial Soul for an Alchemist was still the purest form of Flame Martial Soul.

But that type of Martial Soul was exceedingly rare and difficult to come by.

Since Chu Qingyun had the Devouring Martial Soul, he wasn’t in a hurry to make a decision. He decided to hold onto the two Martial Souls for now and try his luck, hoping to find something better—perhaps even a Flame Martial Soul.

Now that he possessed a trump card like the Devouring Martial Soul, he had to maximize its advantage.

When Chu Qingyun returned to the spot where he had parted ways with Xia He and the others, his expression changed, and his brow furrowed deeply.

There wasn’t a single person in sight. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The ground and the surrounding forest were in complete disarray, and faint fluctuations of various types of Primordial Power lingered in the air.

A major battle had taken place here not long ago!

’Tunfeng and his Level 9 Martial Artists are gone. Could they... have come here?!’

’But that’s impossible. We hadn’t even decided where to land before we arrived. We just picked a random spot to rest. How could he have known?’

Chu Qingyun was shocked.

Although he didn’t understand how Tunfeng and his men had found this place, it seemed to be the only explanation.

After a brief moment of panic, Chu Qingyun calmed himself.

Xia He and the other three were no pushovers. Even with over three hundred Level 9 Martial Artists under his command, it wouldn’t be easy for Tunfeng to wipe them all out.

With their auxiliary Flying Soul Techniques, even if they couldn’t win, escaping should have been a simple matter.

Chu Qingyun composed his Heart and Mind and carefully examined the chaotic footprints on the ground. He followed the direction where the prints were most numerous.

Along the way, Chu Qingyun discovered numerous signs of battle.

It looked as though Xia He’s group was being hunted down, fighting as they fled.

’That’s strange. They can fly, so why would they let Tunfeng chase them like this...?’

Chu Qingyun grew even more confused. A faint sense of foreboding crept into his heart, and he quickened his pace.

After following the footprints and battle traces for over twenty minutes, Chu Qingyun finally caught up to Xia He, Tunfeng, and the others at a dead end by a cliff.

At this moment, Xia He’s group of four had been forced to the cliff’s edge. Tunfeng and his three hundred-plus Level 9 Martial Artists had formed a semicircle, surrounding them.

Between the two groups was a large black iron chest, which trembled from time to time.

Some of the nearby Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists kept their distance from the chest, as if out of fear and disgust.

Chu Qingyun activated his Hidden Qi Technique and hid in a tree behind them, silently contemplating his next move.

He still couldn’t understand why Xia He and the others weren’t using their Flying Soul Techniques. A cliff should have been no obstacle for them. With their Wind-Soaring Wings, they could have glided down to safety with ease, regardless of the terrain.

By the cliff’s edge, the expressions on the faces of Xia He’s group had turned grim.

"Hey, Xia He, should we try again? See if we can fly down the cliff?" Huang Yinghao said, swallowing hard as he hid behind the other three.

After speaking, he cast a terrified glance at the black chest.

Xia He shook his head. "It’s useless. That thing... it’s too terrifying!"

"You four are all elites who possess Tier Three Martial Souls. How about joining my Martial Soul Hall?"

"Especially you, Xia He. With a Tier Four Flying Martial Soul, if you’re willing to join our Martial Soul Hall, you could absolutely become a top figure in our Lianshan County branch!"

Across from them, Tunfeng had actually started trying to recruit Xia He’s group.

In response, all four of them sneered.

"Join the Martial Soul Hall? You mean so you can kill us and take our Martial Souls? In your dreams!" Xia He said coldly, glaring at Tunfeng.

"Don’t get cocky, you punk! Our captain just went to take a piss. When he gets back and finds us, you’re all dead!"

Huang Yinghao suddenly shouted from the back.

At that, Chu Qingyun, who was hiding in the tree, felt his mouth twitch. He was speechless.

But Tunfeng just burst out laughing. "Hahaha, taking a piss? Who are you trying to fool? How do you think we knew your location? I’ll tell you the truth—your own captain sold you out!"

"Impossible!"

"Hmph, what nonsense! We’re the Great Xia Dragon Guards! How could we possibly collude with scum like you from the Martial Soul Hall!"

Seeing that the four of them refused to believe him and were retorting, Tunfeng remained completely unconcerned.

It was a classic tactic to shake their morale.

Whether they believed him or not, the seed of doubt had been planted in their minds. Unless Chu Qingyun appeared immediately to clear things up, it would affect the coming battle to some degree.

"Impossible? Then where do you think your captain went..."

Tunfeng started to speak again, but at that moment, the black iron chest in the middle of the Martial Soul Hall ranks began to shake violently. Muffled roars even echoed from within.

"What’s happening?"

"Get back! Everyone, get back!"

The Martial Soul Hall’s formation instantly fell into chaos, and everyone became highly alert.

Just then, someone noticed a disturbance. "Behind us! There’s something behind us!"

"Something’s coming!"

In the tree, Chu Qingyun’s expression turned ugly.

His original plan was to use the Hidden Qi Technique to conceal his Martial Soul’s aura, allowing the vines of his Ten-star Vine Martial Soul to sneak into the Martial Soul Hall’s ranks. He would then kill Tunfeng with lightning speed, leaving the three hundred-plus Level 9 Martial Artists leaderless!

He never expected that the thing inside the black chest would be so incredibly sharp-witted that it had detected his movements.

Since he had been discovered, Chu Qingyun decided to stop hiding and leaped directly from the tree.

"Thunder Sword Momentum!"

A blinding flash of lightning erupted from the ten vines. With a single horizontal sweep, he annihilated more than forty of the Martial Soul Hall’s Level 9 Martial Artists!

Of course, the vines were immediately chopped to pieces by the Martial Soul Hall’s counterattack.

"It’s you!"

Seeing Chu Qingyun, Tunfeng ground his teeth in fury.

In the previous battle, it was Chu Qingyun who had personally ordered Xiao Feng and Chen Yu to kill him. It was also Chu Qingyun’s vines at the last second that had nearly gotten him killed!

"Your name is Tunfeng, right?" Chu Qingyun said with a faint smile.

Within his Qi Sea, a massive amount of Primordial Power surged out, restoring the shattered Ten-star Vine Martial Soul.

"So you know my name. Is that supposed to be impressive?" Tunfeng sneered disdainfully.

"Knowing your name isn’t impressive. But what about killing all twelve of those Tier Three Martial Soul users you had hidden in that villa? Would you call that impressive?"

Hearing this, the Martial Soul Hall’s Level 9 Martial Artists burst into an uproar.

The twelve lords with Tier Three Martial Souls had all been killed under their protection. Even if they had successfully defended Shilin Town from the Great Xia Dragon Guards, it would be impossible to atone for such a crime!