Devouring Soul Emperor

"Thunder Light Sword Qi!"

Chu Qingyun let out a low shout. The lightning on his Thundercloud Sword receded, swiftly coalescing into a layer of pale gray Sword Qi.

SWISH!

He swept his sword out.

Two of the fleshy tentacles were severed instantly!

The severed portions fell to the ground, where they twitched and convulsed a few times before dissolving into a cloud of Martial Soul Power. Meanwhile, the remaining stubs retracted at an even greater speed.

Wounded for the first time, the monster’s sickly green eyes became bloodshot. Its chaotic aura grew even more frenzied!

"HUNNGH-ROAR!"

The monster let out a bizarre, furious roar and scrambled forward on its four thick, short hooves, lunging at Chu Qingyun with its maw gaping wide.

The very ground trembled slightly with its every step!

"Bring it on!"

Chu Qingyun’s gaze hardened as he shot into the air. The ten vines of his Ten-Star Vine intertwined, and he unleashed his Thunder Sword Momentum!

The Thunder Sword Momentum, amplified to seven times its normal power, slammed into a single spot on the monster’s body. The impact tore its flesh asunder, leaving a large patch of hide charred black!

The monster roared again, throwing its head back. Its grotesquely fat, bone-white tongue shot out from its mouth, carrying an intolerable stench as it lashed toward the airborne Chu Qingyun.

Chu Qingyun’s expression instantly soured. ’That’s so fucking disgusting!’

"Thunder Light Sword Qi!"

He brought his sword down. Before the power of the Sword Qi, the monster’s tongue—impossibly tough, a defense that not even a Golden Medal Captain Level expert could pierce—was like tofu. His blade sliced it open, cleaving the front section completely in two!

The monster howled in pain. Several more fleshy tentacles shot out from around its nose, snaking toward Chu Qingyun once again.

Chu Qingyun controlled the vines of his Ten-Star Vine to intercept the tentacles.

The tentacles and vines became entangled. As the monster exerted its strength, Chu Qingyun was abruptly dragged down a significant distance.

Suspended in mid-air with no leverage, he was completely at a disadvantage in this contest of strength against the monster.

The monster hissed excitedly, the sharp claws on its fifth appendage glinting coldly, waiting for the tentacles to drag Chu Qingyun down.

"Damn it..."

"Break!"

With his Thundercloud Sword still embedded in the monster’s tongue, Chu Qingyun had no other choice but to sever his own vines to break free. Then, with a savage horizontal slash, he hacked off half of the monster’s tongue!

After breaking free, Chu Qingyun gradually grew accustomed to the monster’s attack patterns.

Its main weapons were the tentacles around its nose and that disgusting tongue.

So, taking advantage of his ability to fly, Chu Qingyun zipped back and forth behind the monster’s head. Whenever an opportunity arose, he would strike with his Thunder Light Sword Qi, carving deep Sword Marks into its body!

But the monster wasn’t just going to take it lying down. All its tentacles and even its tongue contorted unnaturally, stretching behind its own body to attack Chu Qingyun.

Even its fifth appendage retracted into its body, only to burst out from its back to try and grab Chu Qingyun!

Xia He, Tunfeng, and the others could only stare, dumbfounded, at the intense battle.

They looked at Chu Qingyun as if he were the real monster!

’This guy... To think he could hold his own against a monster like that for so long as a mere Level-Nine Martial Artist!’

After five or six minutes of desperate fighting, the monster’s back was a mess of crisscrossing wounds. Chu Qingyun, meanwhile, had been struck several times by the tentacles and claws. Seven or eight of his Tree Demon Guardians had shattered, and if it weren’t for the protection of his Third-Layer Profound Celestial Divine Pattern, he probably would have been overwhelmed by now!

At this point, Chu Qingyun was growing frustrated.

’Besides the Thunder Light Sword Qi and the Ten-Star Vine, I actually have plenty of other tricks up my sleeve.’

’My Iron Wall Martial Soul, Shadow Martial Soul, Black Arrow Martial Soul, Swallowing Mud Worm Soul, and even the Hidden Qi Technique... If I could use them together, this battle would be so much easier.’

’But I can’t possibly use them in front of Xia He and the others!’

"Wind-Soaring Wings!"

After another five minutes of fierce fighting, Xia He, fearing something might go wrong, preemptively cast another Soul Technique on Chu Qingyun.

At that moment, an idea struck Chu Qingyun. He glanced toward Tunfeng and his men and roared, "Xia He! Xiao Feng! Kill Tunfeng and his men! Kill them all!"

Xia He and his two companions were stunned for a moment, then cursed themselves inwardly.

’We were so engrossed in watching Chu Qingyun’s fight with the monster that we completely forgot we hadn’t finished off the Martial Artists from the Martial Soul Hall!’

Only a mere dozen were left. Even with Tunfeng holding a Spirit Level Treasure Saber, Xia He and his two companions were unafraid. After applying their own Soul Techniques, Xiao Feng led the charge, brandishing his Wolf Fang Club.

It was an instant rout!

The dozen or so Level-Nine Martial Artists were no match for them.

Tunfeng’s expression turned hideous. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly dashed toward the monster and took cover beside it.

The monster’s gaze immediately locked onto Tunfeng. The fleshy tentacles around its nose twitched violently, as if it were about to strike and devour him at any moment.

Tunfeng’s knees buckled in fear. He hastily made that strange, whistling sound again.

The sound seemed to have a commanding effect on the monster. It immediately ignored Tunfeng and refocused its attention on its battle with Chu Qingyun.

’Just using the Ten-Star Vine and Thunder Light Sword Qi isn’t enough to kill this thing, even with my flight advantage.’

’Its attacks are powerful, but more importantly, it’s just too damn big!’

’Without overwhelming power, it’s incredibly difficult to kill something you’re only evenly matched with!’

Once Xia He and his companions had killed all the Martial Soul Hall Martial Artists except for Tunfeng, Chu Qingyun flew higher. He got a clear view of the terrain, and an idea began to form.

He used his ten vines to once again unleash his Thunder Sword Momentum. He brought the attack down, but it seemed to go wide, smashing into the ground beside the monster instead of hitting it.

The terrain in this area consisted of a platform that extended out over a bottomless cliff, growing progressively thinner the further it went.

The fierce battle and the violent collisions of Primordial Power had already riddled the relatively thin platform with a dense network of cracks.

The impact from Chu Qingyun’s seven-fold Thunder Sword Momentum seemed to be the final straw, pushing the platform past its breaking point.

The ground in a wide circle around the monster suddenly cracked and gave way. The entire section of the platform began to tremble and tilt, plunging toward the cliff below.

Tunfeng staggered, his eyes filled with sheer terror.

’If it’s just me and this monster falling, there can only be one outcome: I’ll be eaten!’

Without a second thought, Tunfeng let out a sharp, piercing whistle, pointing toward Chu Qingyun and Xia He’s group.

’If I’m going down, I’m taking you all with me!’

On the crumbling, shaking ground, the monster also struggled to keep its footing. It let out a furious roar as every single tentacle around its nose shot out, lashing toward Chu Qingyun and Xia He’s group respectively.

"Break!"

Chu Qingyun roared, and with a single slash of his sword, he severed the tentacles heading for Xia He and the others.

He himself, however, was caught by one of the tentacles. It wrapped around his chest and waist with immense force, crushing the Wind-Soaring Wings on his back into nothing!

However, with the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern protecting his body, Chu Qingyun wasn’t afraid of being bound like this, at least for a short while.