Xu Shengqun's information allowed Xu Yuan to confirm one thing: the Holy Spirit Sect was aware of the existence of the Plane Master.
And they had known about it for over fifty years.
No, they only began implementing measures against the Plane Master fifty years ago. The actual discovery of its existence might have occurred even earlier.
After all, devising a strategy to deal with a Plane Master would require time for consideration.
Of course, the method itself might have been conceived quickly; what truly consumed time was the verification process.
For the inhibitor plan to be feasible, there needed to be a degree of certainty. Currently, the Plane Master was in a dormant phase—a fact that required an extensive period to verify.
"The Demon Emperor has lived for so long and resides in the sea, naturally making her perfectly qualified to test this."
But why hadn't she informed the Abyssal Sage King about the Plane Master's existence?
Was she planning to keep this information as a trump card, giving her leverage in negotiations with the Abyss?
As Xu Yuan pondered this, Xu Shengqun's voice came through the communicator again.
"Xiao Yuan, stay vigilant over the next couple of days."
"Uncle, what's going on?"
At his uncle's warning, Xu Yuan was utterly confused.
What was special about these few days?
"Do you remember what your father said? He mentioned he was investigating evil soul masters but might have touched upon Qiangu Dongfeng's taboo."
"It's true that Father wrote that in his letter. He also said he might survive in another form."
Xu Yuan still remembered those words.
But whether it succeeded or not, Xu Yuan had no idea.
At least fifteen years had passed, and Xu Zhi hadn't contacted them.
Moreover, the information left in Xu Zhi's letter was minimal. He hadn't even explained how to decipher that pattern.
Back when Xu Yuan, Xu Shengqun, and Mu Ye worked together to hunt down the Dark Blood Demon, the Federation found a file in the Spirit Pagoda's database. It was signed under Xu Yuan's name, but even then, Xu Yuan hadn't managed to decipher the pattern.
Xu Zhi's letter explicitly stated that he'd left behind his research results, signed under Xu Yuan's name. That file was undoubtedly his work.
Yet, he hadn't provided a way to decode it.
"In fact, since Qiangu Dongfeng stepped down, it's become easier to investigate certain things. I previously looked into your father's whereabouts. In the end, besides investigating evil soul masters, he also accessed data related to the Abyss."
Xu Yuan's heart stirred.
Was this what his father had stumbled upon?
Qiangu Dongfeng might have known about it too. It was even possible that he leaked information allowing the Holy Spirit Sect to contact the Abyss. Even if he didn't think it would cause harm, the accusation alone was enormous. He surely understood the consequences, which is why he wouldn't allow such information to spread.
"So I suspect that the Holy Spirit Sect may have ties with the Abyss. Right now, the Blood God Legion is requesting support from the Federation and other major powers, and the Holy Spirit Sect might take action."
"If they dare to come, all the better. We won't need to search for them."
Take them all out in one fell swoop.
However, Xu Shengqun's tone didn't sound optimistic.
"Over the past two days, more than twenty cities within the Federation have been attacked by evil soul masters, suffering heavy losses. Among them were over ten spirit-rank evil soul masters. Wherever they appeared, casualties often exceeded half the population."
The Holy Spirit Sect's operation this time was terrifying. Spirit-rank evil soul masters didn't target large cities like Tiandou City but instead struck medium-sized ones, where the strongest individuals were at most soul emperors.
And each spirit-rank evil soul master was accompanied by at least six lower-level evil soul masters.
"This coordinated attack by the Holy Spirit Sect has had a massive impact on the Federation, and news of it spread rapidly. It's likely that the Holy Spirit Sect orchestrated the entire event themselves. Online discussions are already rife with talk of terrorist attacks across various regions. The Federation must address this situation fully, and nearby forces will also be mobilized."
In other words, even if the Blood God Legion's request for reinforcements was approved and drew attention, no support would arrive anytime soon.
"And most importantly, none of the Holy Spirit Sect's top-tier experts we know of have made a move yet."
Neither Ghost Emperor nor Underworld Emperor, nor the two heavenly kings, nor the seven ninety-sixth-rank evil soul masters had acted.
"Uncle, are you saying the Holy Spirit Sect might use their lower-tier evil soul masters to draw the Federation's attention, preventing reinforcements from reaching the Blood God Legion while their true elite forces launch an assault?"
"Precisely. And there's a good chance they'll have support from the Abyss." Xu Shengqun replied.
Xu Yuan took a deep breath.
So that was it?
Xu Shengqun's reasoning made sense. At this moment, only the lower-tier evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Sect were active, while their top-tier members remained hidden, likely waiting for the right opportunity.
Considering the information they had gathered before, it was reasonable to speculate that the Holy Spirit Sect might launch an attack on the Blood God Legion at this time.
Of course, they could also be planning something else entirely, which was plausible.
Regardless, Xu Yuan's side needed to prepare thoroughly. If caught off guard by the evil soul masters, the losses could be catastrophic, putting them at a disadvantage in the upcoming contest for the cosmic phenomenon.
---
**Command Center**
Xu Yuan sought out Zhang Huanyun.
"Could the Holy Spirit Sect have colluded with the Abyss?"
Zhang Huanyun furrowed his brow, looking at Xu Yuan with flickering eyes.
This was the first time he'd heard such a claim.
After all, dealing with evil soul masters dated back to before he joined the Blood God Legion.
Now, Xu Yuan was suggesting that the evil soul masters knew of their location and had already communicated with the Abyss!
How did they manage to communicate?
Though Zhang Huanyun couldn't figure it out, he still heeded Xu Yuan's advice and began reorganizing the legion's structure to prevent being caught off guard by a surprise attack.
---
**The Next Day**
Above the Endless Mountains, the weather was unusually pleasant.
The sky was clear, stretching endlessly.
Perhaps because Xu Yuan's forging had consumed so much lightning energy, the icy environment deep within the Endless Mountains had changed. There were fewer clouds, and sunny days were becoming more frequent.
Long Yuxue lay prone outside the camp in the snow, gazing up at the sky as usual.
In her line of sight, several black dots appeared.
Long Yuxue immediately tensed.
She had abandoned exploration of the cosmic phenomenon in recent days, instead focusing on guarding the area per the commander's orders.
Although the black dots in the sky were still small, they immediately caught her attention.
"Command Center, Command Center, redirect the surveillance equipment toward my direction. Unknown life forms are approaching, likely soul masters."
Long Yuxue's voice echoed in the command center. Personnel managing the camp's surveillance equipment swiftly redirected the cameras to the direction she indicated.
Soon, several black dots appeared on the monitors. As the cameras adjusted, the dots expanded rapidly, revealing humanoid silhouettes.
Soul masters!
Soul masters were rapidly approaching the depths of the Endless Mountains, and their intentions seemed far from friendly.
"Notify the commander!"
Zhang Huanyun quickly arrived at the monitoring area, his gaze instantly focusing on the increasingly clear figures on the screen.
"Evil soul masters invading!"
He swiftly mobilized the legion.
Fortunately, they had prepared beforehand. He immediately issued orders, clearing an open space outside the camp.
BANG!
A barrage of soul-guided artillery shells launched.
"Hmph, the Blood God Legion lives up to its reputation. Their vigilance is impressive."
Ghost Emperor watched as the incoming soul-guided missiles exploded like celestial flowers. Around him, ghostly flames emerged, transforming into nine vengeful spirits that intercepted the missiles in the blink of an eye.
"Ghost Emperor!"
Cao Dezhi's voice rang out.
Above the Blood God Legion, a figure appeared, holding the Sword of Ruthlessness. Nine soul rings surrounded him, arranged in order.
Five black, three red, one orange.
"Cao Dezhi, I knew you'd be here," Ghost Emperor sneered.
As Cao Dezhi engaged Ghost Emperor in battle, Zhang Huanyun flew out of the command center, donning his four-word battle armor, and blocked the path of the other evil soul masters.
"Is Ghost Emperor alone?" Zhang Huanyun scanned the remaining evil soul masters, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
The Underworld Emperor hadn't come, and that was the best news.
Accompanying Ghost Emperor were numerous evil soul masters—thirty-two in total. Besides Ghost Emperor, there were the remaining two heavenly kings—Dark Hummingbird and Dark Bell—three ninety-sixth-rank super douluo, ten ninety-fourth-rank titled douluo, and the rest were soul emperor-level fighters.
This lineup was already quite exaggerated.
The entire Blood God Legion combined could barely hold their ground against it.
After all, the power of evil soul masters was far too sinister. They often unleashed strength far beyond their current level at the cost of reckless abandon.
Fortunately, Xu Yuan and Mu Ye had joined, and Zhang Huanyun himself had recently broken through his limits. Otherwise, this time around, they would have been completely outmatched by the Holy Spirit Sect in terms of top-tier combat strength.
Five figures shot out from the Blood God Camp: Blood Three, Blood Five, Blood Seven, Blood Eight, and Blood Nine.
Blood Two, Blood Four, and Blood Six were currently guarding the Abyssal passageway, including Mu Ye, who was also inside the Abyssal passage, ready to respond to any potential Abyssal attacks.
Xu Yuan burst out from the cultivation room area. Sections of his body glowed with a spiritual light. As he soared into the sky, he had already completed the fusion of his battle armor. His full set of battle armor was a vivid crimson red.
On the crimson-red battle armor, various patterns were etched—patterns of the five elements, as well as starry motifs. These patterns subtly converged, forming the shape of a spear.
Blood essence surged from his right hand, quickly coalescing into a long spear.
Ring after ring of red soul rings rose beneath his feet.
Seven red!
The extravagant configuration of soul rings even caught Ghost Emperor's attention, causing him to glance at Xu Yuan during the battle.
Though he had known about this beforehand, he was still drawn in.
Seven soul rings, all blood-red—a configuration so rare in the world of soul masters that it was almost unheard of.
Even the Ghost Emperor, using the secret techniques of the Holy Spirit Sect, had only managed to elevate his soul rings to four black, four red, and one orange level.
It should be noted that this advancement had been achieved through boundless slaughter. Yet, even with his hundred-thousand-year soul rings, he still couldn't match Xu Yuan. Even with an orange-gold soul ring, it merely compensated for the lack of three hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
After all, there was no substantial difference between orange-gold soul rings and hundred-thousand-year soul rings—they both granted two soul skills.
The only distinction was that an orange-gold soul ring signified that the spirit beast had been struck by heavenly lightning before its death.
That was all.
Of course, beasts that survived heavenly lightning naturally possessed soul skills more potent than ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul rings. But were Xu Yuan's hundred-thousand-year soul rings ordinary?
"Hmph, losing focus during battle isn't a good habit," Cao Dezhi said. The ruthless sword in his hand emitted a striking red glow as a sword beam pierced the heavens.
Multiple soul rings around his body flickered.
The Ghost Emperor was struck by this sword. A ghostly flame resembling a vengeful spirit merged into his body, rapidly dispelling the sword's effects.
Feeling the pressure from being targeted by the Ghost Emperor, Xu Yuan sensed a wave of unease.
When the Ghost Emperor had glanced over earlier, even Xu Yuan's burning blood essence struggled to block the chilling aura.
Was this the power of a quasi-god?
Xu Yuan didn't seek to clash head-on with the Ghost Emperor. He was barely considered peak-level combat strength now, capable of handling only quasi-demigod—essentially a newly minted Limit Douluo who had broken through by sheer luck.
Fortunately, this attack from the Holy Spirit Sect included only one quasi-god, Ghost Emperor. The remaining strongest members were Na Nali, the 98th-rank Dark Bell, and Dark Hummingbird.
Zhang Huanyun and Xu Yuan each selected an opponent.
Zhang Huanyun faced off against Dark Hummingbird. As a powerful offensive-type soul master with some control abilities, he had a certain advantage over the agile-attack-oriented Dark Hummingbird.
Xu Yuan took on Dark Bell. Dark Bell was a control-type soul master whose martial soul leaned toward mental attributes, which happened to be something Xu Yuan could handle conveniently.
"Are you Xu Yuan?"
Na Nali appeared to be only in her teens, with big, innocent eyes and twin buns atop her head, adding to her youthful vitality. She wore short sleeves and a skirt, exposing her fair arms and legs.
Her large eyes shimmered with an emerald-green glow as she looked at Xu Yuan with curiosity, seemingly unconcerned about the impending battle.
Xu Yuan's face remained cold. His Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear erupted with blood essence, which burned like flames.
The blood flames first adhered to the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear, then gradually spread, enveloping Xu Yuan entirely.
He didn't speak; his spear conveyed his answer.
BANG!
The seventh soul ring flickered.
"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul True Body!"
For weapon-type martial souls, the True Body skill further amplified the martial soul's abilities.
For body-type martial souls, the True Body skill enhanced the corresponding parts of the soul master's body.
Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear was both a weapon-type and a body-type martial soul.
Under the activation of his True Body, boundless blood essence swiftly enveloped the surroundings.
Blood Essence Domain!
The True Body of Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear manifested as a domain, covering a section of space and transforming into a Blood Essence Domain.
Within the Blood Essence Domain, Xu Yuan could continuously convert ambient energy into his own Blood essence for explosive use, minimizing his Blood essence consumption while allowing his Blood essence to fuel any type of power, enabling him to unleash soul skills.
Of course, for Xu Yuan, this effect alone was minimal.
The key aspect of the Blood Essence Domain lay in the fact that the domain itself was the martial soul, and the martial soul was the domain.
At this moment, his Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear was fully integrated with the domain.
All the power of the domain's bursts would be channeled through the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
This could be considered a simpler version of the Forbidden Seven Techniques, though it held little significance for Xu Yuan.
However, the power of the Blood Essence Domain was equivalent to the power of the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear. If the Dream Realm descended, it too would fall under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
With the descent of the Dream Realm, it inherently possessed both tangible and intangible properties, eliminating the need for Xu Yuan to develop spear techniques that incorporated these qualities separately.
In essence, the existence of this Blood Essence Domain greatly enhanced Xu Yuan's strength, indirectly making his spear techniques commandeer all forms of power.
If he resolved the issue of simultaneously using two martial souls, he could also activate the True Body of his Brain Martial Soul, and the Galaxy万象 (Multifaceted Cosmos) would similarly fall under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear.
As the Blood Essence Domain expanded, Xu Yuan didn't stop.
Instantly, another layer of the domain unfolded.
He couldn't yet utilize the seventh soul skill of his Brain Martial Soul, but he had other domains.
A halo emerged from Xu Yuan's chest, rapidly expanding. Its light instantly enveloped the surrounding area.
At this moment, the Blood Essence Domain underwent a radical transformation. The entire domain seemed to transform into a ferocious beast. From the outside, it appeared as though the domain itself had become an abyss, devouring all forces.
Devouring Domain!
This was Xu Yuan's Battle Armor Domain.
Upon the formation of three-word battle armor, the characteristics of soul-forged metals were perfectly activated and combined with the soul master's abilities, creating a unique Battle Armor Domain exclusive to the wearer.
While the pure Blood Essence Domain controlled the ambient energy within its range, the addition of the Devouring Domain allowed it to consume forces outside the domain as well.
Given enough time, if Xu Yuan could devour sufficient energy within the domain, his potential explosive power would be terrifying.
But that was purely theoretical—it required far too much preparation time.
The Blood Essence Domain overlapped with the Battle Armor Domain.
And this wasn't all Xu Yuan had to offer.
Within the Blood Essence Domain, a galaxy-like vision began to emerge.
Although he couldn't activate the True Body of his Brain Martial Soul, he could harness his spiritual power. His sea of consciousness, aided by the Dream Realm, descended upon this domain.
Na Nali observed Xu Yuan layering his domains and sensed something amiss.
The rumors of Xu Yuan possessing the strength of a Limit Douluo were starting to resonate with her now.
She immediately fused with her battle armor.
Her battle armor was an emerald green. Upon completing the fusion, her Battle Armor Domain expanded, contracting to a radius of about ten meters around her body—a result of being suppressed by Xu Yuan's multi-layered domains.
An emerald-green bell appeared behind Na Nali.
Rings of soul rings materialized.
Six black, three red.
The emerald-green bell swayed, and the fourth soul ring flickered.
Emerald-green mist began to form around Na Nali's body, and the bell emitted a crisp ringing sound.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Malevolent Spirit Thorn!"
No sooner had she activated her soul skill than Na Nali was astonished.
She felt that her soul skill hadn't harmed Xu Yuan's sea of consciousness. Instead, as the skill was unleashed, emerald-green thorns began to appear within the blood-red domain.
Countless emerald-green thorns emerged, piercing toward Xu Yuan's direction.
What was going on with this domain? How could an attack meant to directly appear in the spiritual realm manifest within this domain?
Na Nali didn't understand.
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