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**
"Ah~"
In that near-pitch-black vision, a sudden, ear-piercing scream split the silence. Everyone's hearts jolted. That was the voice of Old Mu Gu.
Rumble—
A heaven-shaking explosion erupted, and a violent energy shockwave burst outward in an instant. Right after, a sweeping hurricane of energy roared across the area.
When all the dust finally settled, their eyes still stung so badly that everything looked blurred, yet their spiritual senses were unaffected.
Through those senses they all saw a black figure standing tall at the center of the blast. One of his hands clutched a phantom-like soul body; the other held a tattered corpse.
That phantom soul, its face dark and unfamiliar, was clearly an old man's image. Now, caught in Wei Yang's grip, the soul's aura was feeble, struggling weakly.
Shock spread across every face.
A dignified Hall of Souls Elder—renowned throughout Central Plains—a peak Four-Star Dou Zun, Old Mu Gu, was now reduced to a frail soul body, held like a dead dog in Wei Yang's hand.
Even more terrifying, it seemed Wei Yang had needed only a single move to leave Mu Gu in such a wretched state.
Xiao Yan stepped out from behind the golden puppet, glanced at the Sky Demon Puppet whose surface was scorched slightly black by the earlier black-light blast, and patted its shoulder.
Then his gaze shifted to Wei Yang in the distance, especially to the phantom soul he held. Joy flickered in Xiao Yan's eyes. "Old Mu Gu, finally caught!"
Unable to contain his excitement, Xiao Yan clenched his fists hard. In stark contrast to Xiao Yan's delight, the three other Hall of Souls Elders were anything but pleased.
"Mu Gu! Wei Yang, how dare you!" one of them barked angrily, narrowing eyes that still burned from the black light.
"Oh?" Wei Yang lifted his gaze and gave a faint glance. "Were you talking to me?"
Seeing the icy gleam in Wei Yang's eyes, that Elder instantly froze.
"Wei Yang, Mu Gu is someone our Hall Master greatly values, and he's an Tier 8 Alchemist Grandmaster. If you kill him, the Hall Master will surely be enraged," another Elder said, his tone much more cautious.
"So what, you plan to save him?" Wei Yang's fingers tightened slightly around Mu Gu's soul-body neck, faint black flames licking along his palm.
Sss sss sss—
Immediately the black flames seared Mu Gu's soul, producing a sizzling sound and thin wisps of pale smoke.
"Ah~" Mu Gu's soul let out another heart-rending scream.
"You—" The three Elders exchanged glances but dared not utter a single threat.
Faced with Wei Yang now, all three felt a growing dread. This was a vicious man, acting without scruple and unafraid of Hall of Souls's menace.
"Instead of worrying about that old thing Mu Gu, you three should worry about yourselves—whether you can leave here alive today." Wei Yang snorted softly, then withdrew his gaze, ignoring them.
Looking down at the Mu Gu soul writhing under the tiny black flames, Wei Yang first stored away the tattered corpse in his other hand.
After all, this was still a Dou Zun corpse. Though damaged, it would be a waste to discard it. At the very least, he thought, it would make a good snack for Du Jiao.
Then the black flames in his palm slowly receded, stopping the torture. Wei Yang's lips curved in a faint smile, his eyes cold. "Now, have you learned to behave?"
"I've learned, I've learned! Wei Yang, spare me. Whatever you want me to do, I will cooperate," Mu Gu's soul stammered, trembling.
"Knows the times. Good." Wei Yang nodded with mild satisfaction.
He stretched out his palm and made a pulling motion. A palm-sized clump of mysterious black flame, formless and shapeless, was slowly drawn out.
During the process, Mu Gu's soul remained utterly cooperative, not daring the slightest resistance.
Staring at the wisp of Nihility Devouring Flame sub-flame floating in his palm, Wei Yang's eyes narrowed. "So this is the legendary Nihility Devouring Flame? Interesting."
Then he cast a glance at Mu Gu's soul. After stepping into Dou Zun, the power of Wei Yang's ultimate techniques was more than simply doubled. No, it wasn't that his techniques themselves had changed.
Rather, only after reaching Dou Zun could Wei Yang finally bring out the true might those techniques were meant to possess.
Take the Black Sun Burning Heaven Palm that pairs with his cultivation technique—it was a genuine Heaven Grade Dou Technique.
A Heaven Grade cultivation technique combined with a Heaven Grade Dou Technique, plus the might of a Heavenly Flame, produced results far beyond a mere one-plus-two equation. Back in his Dou Zong stage, he hadn't even been able to release a fraction of that true power.
Until now, only after stepping into the Dou Zun realm could Wei Yang barely bring out the true might of that technique.
Back in the Dou Zong stage, these ultimate moves of his had already been enough to kill a powerhouse like Bing He. Now, using them against Mu Gu was naturally effortless. Heaven Grade Dou Techniques are no joke.
That thought flashed through his mind. Then Wei Yang took out a jade bottle and stored away the wisp of Nihility Devouring Flame sub-flame. Next, he stuffed Mu Gu's soul body into the jade bottle as well, placed a seal on it, and tucked it into his spatial ring.
With those matters handled, Wei Yang ignored the three Hall of Souls Elders and instead turned to look behind him, at the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
"Now, it's your turn."
The gigantic flame dragon's massive body coiled through the void.
At this moment, the black rune-lines densely covering its scales were flashing again and again, like a vast black net binding the dragon tight.
The powerful sealing force made the creature thrash wildly like a giant shark dragged from the sea, desperate and frenzied.
Though the light in its draconic eyes had dimmed a little, the destructive, feral aura it exuded still made one's heart shiver.
"Damn human!"
The Three Thousand Burning Flame gradually ceased its struggle, fixing Wei Yang with a deathly stare as it roared in fury.
Originally, with Old Mu Gu's help, it could have broken free today. But everything had been ruined by Wei Yang.
Having lost this chance, it would have to return once more to that lightless, endless slumber. Who knew how long it would be sealed before another such opportunity arrived?
Thinking of this, the hatred and rage in those draconic eyes slowly drew back instead of flaring further. It locked its gaze on Wei Yang and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice: "Human, if you are willing to help me break free, I will follow you for ten years and serve you."
Unwilling though it was, it lowered its head and made the offer.
"Ten years?" Wei Yang let out a short laugh.
"Ten years is already not a short time, human. Do not be too greedy," the Three Thousand Burning Flame rumbled.
Wei Yang gave it a sideways glance. "Don't say ten years— even for a single year, how could I trust you? Would you let me plant a soul imprint on your core?"
"That is impossible!" the Three Thousand Burning Flame roared at once.
It was no ignorant fire spirit. If Wei Yang planted a soul imprint on its core, which would mean true enslavement, with no chance to ever turn the tables.
"I can swear," it said, "to serve you faithfully for ten years without the slightest betrayal. Your strength is formidable— even if I were unsealed, at most I would be about equal to you. You are a strong one. Serving you for ten years is no humiliation.
"With my help, the two of us together would face almost no opposition across all of Central Plains. And after I regain my freedom, we could still continue to cooperate as allies. How about it?"
"That proposal is tempting— I almost feel moved," Wei Yang said with a grin. "But I'm a suspicious man by nature. I don't believe you would obediently serve me for ten years. To avoid trouble…"
He bared his teeth in a smile. "Rather than hoping for your loyalty, it's better to subdue you once and for all."
"Detestable human, do you really think I fear you?!" At those words, the Three Thousand Burning Flame's anger flared, its dragon eyes turning icy.
It had already suffered too many losses at this human's hands and knew full well that what humans truly wanted was its core flame. Its earlier talk of ten years of service had merely been a ploy to deceive Wei Yang.
Now that Wei Yang refused to be fooled, it dropped all pretense, voice cold: "Cursed human, you have ruined my plans. I will remember you! Right now, I will destroy your soul avatar!"
As it spoke, the Three Thousand Burning Flame closed its eyes.
"Want to destroy my soul avatar? Then give it a try," Wei Yang said with a faint smile, also closing his eyes. A battle of souls once again erupted within the core space of the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
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