Chapter 316: Chapter 315: Sneak Attack
"Very well," nodded Xiao Ming with a slight inclination of his head.
He wasn't overly concerned about the situation, as he knew that if Venerable Tian Huo felt uncertain about his safety, he would have already taken him to retreat tactically instead of remaining in the same place.
'However,' Xiao Ming thought to himself, 'these four Dou Venerates must be the Honorable Elders of the Hall of Souls. They could easily obliterate any forces at the level of the Four Pavilions in the Central Plains. They really do think highly of me.'
It should be noted that Venerable Tian Huo had not revealed himself to be by Xiao Ming's side, meaning that the Hall of Souls didn't know about his presence as a Dou Venerate powerhouse. Despite this, the Hall of Souls had dispatched four Honorable Elders, which was extremely rare.
Xiao Ming had always thought that the Hall of Souls preferred to send out minions to gain experience level by level. When had they changed their approach?
"Shall we leave immediately?" asked Venerable Tian Huo.
Venerable Tian Huo was not as pensive as Xiao Ming. His gaze was fixed on the Honorable Elders of the Hall of Souls, and his Dou Qi began to flow faster within his body.
Xiao Ming had not yet answered when the four Honorable Elders finally made a move. One of the red-robed old men took two steps forward and then arched his hand towards Yao Tian Huo, smiling.
"Hehe, this friend looks unfamiliar. May I know your name?"
Giving the red-robed old man a slight glance, Yao Tian Huo replied calmly, and his body became even more tense.
"Tian Huo."
"It turns out to be Venerable Tian Huo. I am Lie Yan, an Honorable Elder of the Hall of Souls," said the old man with a friendly smile. Then his eyes shifted and he continued, "This friend, today the Hall of Souls is looking for Xiao Ming for an important matter. If I ask you not to intervene, would you agree?"
Yao Tian Huo smiled but did not speak, simply shaking his head slowly.
Upon seeing this, the smile on Lie Yan's face remained unchanged. He grinned and said, "What a pity. Let's attack!"
The other three had already been secretly accumulating their power, and with Lie Yan's call, they lightly stepped into the void and the space in front of them quickly twisted.
Lie Yan didn't waste any time either. His vast Dou Qi surged within him, and he condensed it into his palm. A hissing sound rang out as three thin pillars of flame shot out from his palm, their scorching heat causing the surrounding space to distort.
Faced with the four's attack, Venerable Tian Huo did not dare to be negligent. He quickly formed a series of strange seals with his hands, and as they changed, the temperature around him suddenly rose!
"Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique!"
In a split second, Venerable Tian Huo solidified the seals in his hands and clenched his fist, causing a faint green flame to slowly rise from his palm.
Known as the Vine Wood Flame, it was a powerful beast flame that Xiao Ming had discovered while wandering around. The flame was extracted from the body of a seventh-rank magical beast, the Sea Demon Beast, and its strength was quite remarkable. Initially, Xiao Ming had wanted to obtain an eighth-rank beast flame, but they were quite rare, so he had to settle for a seventh-rank one.
Upon awakening, Venerable Tian Huo received the Vine Wood Flame from him to enhance his combat power.
After summoning the Vine Wood Flame, Venerable Tian Huo also summoned four other beast flames.
The five flames quickly expanded and wriggled strangely before transforming into thirty-three-meter fire spirits.
As the five fire spirits appeared, the world around them began to violently fluctuate, causing the previously calm energy of heaven and earth to become extremely turbulent as if it was being pulled by some kind of force.
"Formation!"
The five fire spirits flew out with a whoosh, forming a pentagonal shape and enveloping a hundred-meter diameter of space.
A deep roar emanated from the five fire spirits' mouths, and then five different-colored fire pillars shot out and penetrated the bodies of the other, forming a perfect pentagon of light.
Sizzling!
As the fire pillars entered the others' bodies, the surface of the five fire spirits' bodies erupted into dazzling light, and beams of light shot out from within their bodies, intersecting and forming a series of mysterious patterns that traced out a complex and intricate light array in the sky.
As soon as the array had taken shape, a brilliant flame curtain came crashing down, blocking the attack of the four Honorable Elders.
Boom!
A loud explosion shook the mountains, drowning out the sound of lightning that had been gathering in the sky. The peak where Xiao Ming and the others were located shook violently, with boulders rolling down the mountain.
'Hmm? It was blocked!'
Seeing that their surprise attack had been blocked, Lie Yan was stunned for a moment, but then a contemptuous smile appeared on his face, and his output of Dou Qi increased.
'Our attacks were not so easily blocked! Let's see how long he can hold out!'
The attacks of the four Dou Venerates were indeed difficult to withstand, and the flame curtain released by Venerable Tian Huo's Formation was rapidly fading.
It was easy to imagine that once the curtain completely disappeared, Xiao Ming and Yao Tian Huo would be completely exposed to the four's attacks.
Xiao Ming didn't feel panicked at all; instead, he glanced at the two Sky Demon Puppets who were bathed in lightning.
'Were they ignored due to being bathed in lightning, or because they were considered to be half-finished products without combat power?'
After the thought flashed through his mind, Xiao Ming immediately gave the Sky Demon Puppets the order to attack. Their target was the weakest Honorable Elder, the one-star Dou Venerate!
...
Qing Hai wore a lazy smile as he released his Dou Qi and twisted the space to attack his opponent.
Although the mission was somewhat complicated, he was confident it would be completed soon. He couldn't help but wonder what kind of reward he would receive, given Xiao Ming's high value to the upper echelons.
As Qing Hai was pondering, a cold wind suddenly surged up from behind him, aiming directly at the back of his neck!
His lazy smile vanished in an instant, and he quickly withdrew his hand, his body trembling as he retreated, escaping from the twisted space.
"Who dares to interfere with the affairs of my Hall of Souls!" Qing Hai shouted in anger as he retreated.
Boom!
A muffled sound interrupted him, and a pale golden puppet suddenly appeared where he had been standing. Qing Hai could see that the sound was from the puppet's fist landing where he had been moments ago.
A cold sweat broke out on Qing Hai's face as he realized that he would have been severely injured or even killed if he had taken that punch head-on. Fortunately, he had retreated quickly!
Before he could even finish his thought, another breaking sound came from behind him.
'This attack is closer than before, I can't dodge it!' Qing Hai thought to himself, his eyes widening in fear.
He quickly turned around, only to see a dazzling golden light rushing towards him. He didn't have time to identify what it was and could only try his best to face it head-on. At that moment, a sharp pain shot through Qing Hai's body. He couldn't help but let out a moan of agony, and a trace of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth. His body trembled as he stumbled back, attempting to distance himself from the golden puppet.
The golden puppet chased after him, its body crackling with golden light. It stomped on the ground, causing space to ripple, and suddenly appeared in front of Qing Hai. Its fist glowed with golden light as it struck him once again. The impact was brutal, and Qing Hai felt as if his insides were being crushed.
"Spurt!" He coughed up blood and stumbled backwards, his vision blurred.
From the moment Qing Hai was ambushed to the moment he spat out blood, it took only a few breaths.
Upon seeing this, Lie Yan and the others rushed towards the faint golden puppet, managing to block it.
However, during this time, Qing Hai was hit by several punches, causing his body to be slightly sunken in the places where he was hit, indicating that he had some broken bones.
"Good boy, I didn't expect you to have such means!" With a murderous look in his eyes, Lie Yan stood in front of Qing Hai and stared at Xiao Ming inside the formation.
"Just a small trick, nothing worth mentioning." Xiao Ming let the Sky Demon Puppet return first, then smiled slightly, looking very humble.
In fact, Xiao Ming was a bit regretful in his heart. He had failed to directly kill the blue-haired old man just now, which was somewhat of a pity. It was indeed difficult to kill a Dou Venerate.
Xiao Ming's behavior made Qing Hai, who had caught his breath, somewhat furious.
"You little brat, I'm going to kill you!"
"I'm afraid you can't do it with your current strength!" Xiao Ming shook his head and said honestly.
Although the sneak attack just now didn't directly kill the opponent, Qing Hai didn't have much combat power left.
Qing Hai naturally knew that what Xiao Ming said was true, which made his face extremely gloomy, and a trace of ferocity flashed in his eyes.
"You sharp-tongued brat, you'd better pray not to fall into my hands!"
"Sacrificial Life Soul Lock!"
Upon hearing Qing Hai's shout, Lie Yan and the other two immediately looked at each other, their expressions freezing.
"Is it necessary to use the Life Soul Lock?" Lie Yan asked with hesitation.
The Life Soul Lock was the final move of the Hall of Soul's Honorable Elders. It was connected to their souls, and if damaged, they would face severe damage to their souls. Therefore, they would not use the Life Soul Lock unless they had no other choice. Despite its power, the risk was too great, and the lightning around them would also consume their Life Soul Lock.
"That Golden Puppet is equivalent to a two-star Dou Venerate, and the pale golden puppet should be no weaker. What are you hesitating for? Do you want to go back and face punishment after failing?!"
The other three were taken aback by Qing Hai's words, glancing at Venerable Tian Huo and Xiao Ming. They gritted their teeth and quickly changed their hand seals, intending to summon their Life Soul Lock.
However, Venerable Tian Huo and Xiao Ming weren't going to sit and watch. With a command, they rushed towards the four of them along with the two Sky Demon Puppets.
"Life Soul Lock, appear!"
Rumble!
Their stern cries had just sounded when, with a lighting-like speed, the four began to summon the Life Soul Lock. Suddenly, four thirty-meter-long black fogs erupted from the top of the four people's heads, and then four gigantic black chains, as large as pythons, appeared in the sky.
The black chains looked magnificent, covered in eerie runes, and with countless faces of misery frozen on their surface. As soon as the chains appeared, the terrifying sound of miserable screams continued to ring out, making Xiao Ming frown slightly.
"Form the Life Soul Lock formation!" With the Life Soul Locks summoned, Qing Hai's eyes glinted with ferocity as he shouted.
"Want to form a formation? Dream on!" Venerable Tian Huo said, already approaching them. With a wave of his hand, a tsunami-like wave of fiery flames rushed towards them, directly isolating the two three-star Dou Venerates.
The two Sky Demon Puppets followed closely behind and held down the other uninjured Dou Venerate, leaving only Qing Hai still standing in place.
The battle of multiple Dou Venerates could be described as earth-shattering, with violent energy ripples spreading outwards, causing the surrounding mountain peaks to tremble violently within a dozen miles.
As the giant stones fell, they kicked up a cloud of dust that seemed to disperse many of the thunderclouds in the sky.
Controlling the battlefield of the Sky Demon Puppets nearby, Xiao Ming slowly flew to face Venerable Qing Hai.
"You wanted to kill me, right? I'll give you a chance," Xiao Ming said with a smile.
Venerable Qing Hai was frowning because the four had been separated, and upon hearing Xiao Ming's words, he became enraged, and his breathing became a little short.
He was a genuine Dou Venerate, while the other party was only a mere five-star Dou Ancestor. He could easily crush him with a slap. How dare Xiao Ming be so arrogant!
"You arrogant little brat, die for me!"
Sizzle!
As the angry shout fell, a colossal black chain materialized, emitting a deafening screech as it sliced through the air and appeared mere meters in front of Xiao Ming in an instant.
Xiao Ming's aura rose steadily, and he was about to use his technique when a beautiful woman's figure suddenly appeared in front of him.
She was dressed in a light blue palace dress made of silk, with her black hair elegantly tied up with a jade hairpin adorned with small white plum blossoms and delicate silver threads with beaded tassels hanging down.
As soon as the woman appeared, she lifted her white palm lightly and struck the Life Soul Lock, sending it flying back.
"Spurt!"
Qing Hai, who was already injured, spat out another mouthful of blood, and his figure became unstable.
"Who are you? How dare you interfere with my Hall of Souls' affairs! Are you tired of living?" Qing Hai shouted angrily.
After stabilizing his body, Qing Hai looked at the stranger, who was a completely unfamiliar figure to him.
"Hall of Souls?" The woman seemed to have some fear of the Hall of Souls, and after a moment of silence, her crimson lips parted slightly.
"If you leave now, I won't interfere..."
"You...!" Qing Hai was about to curse but suddenly heard the shout of his fellow elder.
"Be careful!"
Qing Hai was suddenly horrified but only had time to turn his head before a golden figure appeared behind him. A powerful blow hammered his Life Soul Lock on his head.
Crack!
The Life Soul Lock on Qing Hai's head broke, causing him to scream before being sent flying like a cannonball. As he flew, there was a continuous sound of air explosions, finally crashing heavily into a mountain and leaving a deep pit over sixty meters in size.
The sudden change stunned the woman in the palace attire, who turned to look at Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming felt uneasy being stared at, not knowing where this woman came from. She suddenly appeared in front of him, almost ruining his plan to ambush Qing Hai. Fortunately, everything worked out in the end, and his sneak attack was successful.
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