Just as Huo Yuhao cleared the Dawn Society members and incorporated their souls into the Underworld King's Domain, the entire base suddenly shook violently, and dust fell from the ceiling. Explosions erupted in the distance, mingled with the sharp alarms of overloaded soul tools.
Boom!
The base's ceiling suddenly collapsed, and countless rubble and metal fragments came crashing down, raising clouds of dust. However, the falling debris halted just before reaching Huo Yuhao, as if frozen in mid-air by an invisible force.
A silver figure descended slowly through the air, her silver hair cascading like a waterfall, her deep purple eyes exuding an aura of elemental fluctuations. As her feet lightly touched the ground, ripples of spatial energy spread out.
—Gu Yuena.
She landed beside Huo Yuhao, her gaze fixed on the dust ahead.
As the dust slowly cleared, a woman's figure emerged. She was tall, clad in a dark red robe that fluttered without wind, holding a menacing giant scythe with black mist coiling around its blade, as if countless souls were wailing within.
Nine soul rings, purple, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black, and red, circled around her, and black battle armor clung to her body.
She was unmistakably a Super Douluo!
"It seems I'm late," the woman said, raising an eyebrow as her eyes swept over Huo Yuhao and the remaining souls of the Dawn Society members.
"Lord Demon Scythe, save me!" Luo Fei's soul cried out in delight upon seeing her, as if he had seen a glimmer of hope.
"Save you?" The Demon Scythe Douluo's crimson lips curled into a cruel smile as her slender fingers gently caressed the scythe's blade. "Of course," she suddenly gasped, her voice filled with a bone-chilling delight.
Huo Yuhao frowned slightly, and the souls within the Underworld King's Domain began to tremble violently. The scythe in the woman's hand emitted an eerie black light, and the soul entwined around the blade let out piercing wails.
With a flick of her wrist, the scythe traced a perfect arc, and a black blade of energy sliced through the air, striking Luo Fei's soul. He let out a heart-wrenching scream, as if his soul was being forcibly ripped from Huo Yuhao's Underworld King's Domain.
Huo Yuhao's eyes suddenly flashed with a fierce gray light, and the air within the Underworld King's Domain instantly solidified.
His right hand clenched, and a gray chain shot out from the domain, accurately wrapping around Luo Fei's soul just as it was about to be pulled away. Black mist surged, silently devouring the black energy and the souls of Luo Fei and the others, like snow melting under the scorching sun.
The woman's pupils constricted, and her fingers, which had been caressing the scythe, froze.
Had he really surpassed her Soul-Devouring Scythe in the domain of soul harvesting? And with such a disparity in cultivation?
Step!
Huo Yuhao took a step forward, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Impressive, truly worthy of being someone that esteemed individual has taken an interest in," the Demon Scythe Douluo said, eyeing Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena with a smile. "Unfortunately, the gap in our cultivation is like heaven and earth!"
Before her words could fade, the blood-red scythe in her hand suddenly erupted with a blinding red light, and her eighth soul ring lit up. The entire space seemed to be dyed in blood, and the wails of countless souls echoed in the air.
The scythe split into countless black chains, coiling toward Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena like venomous snakes. Each chain was adorned with twisted human faces, emitting ear-piercing screeches.
"Since we've met today, why don't the two of you come to me!"
In the Demon Scythe Douluo's eyes, it was already impressive that Huo Yuhao had blocked her casual attack earlier. Now that she was going all out, there was no way he could withstand it.
After all, unlike the red-level mecha pilots Huo Yuhao had faced before, she was a 96th-ranked Super Douluo, far above those who could only rival Super Douluos with the help of red-level mechas.
With the support of her three-word battle armor, her strength was comparable to a 98th-ranked Super Douluo, just one step away from the pinnacle of the continent. Even if Huo Yuhao had a three-word battle armor puppet, she didn't take it seriously.
In her eyes, Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena were still too inexperienced.
However,
A golden-red light pillar suddenly erupted from Huo Yuhao's body, and blazing crimson-gold flames burned fiercely around him.
Huo Yuhao let out a cold snort, and the Crimson Gold Profound Flames transformed into countless fire dragons, colliding head-on with the incoming black chains. To the Demon Scythe Douluo's shock, the chains, entwined with vengeful spirits, began to rapidly dissolve upon contact with the flames, turning into the most primal elemental energy.
'What kind of flame is this? Such terrifying power.'
The Demon Scythe Douluo was inwardly surprised, but her hands didn't stop moving.
She had long been curious about these two Spirit Pagoda Federation Soul Masters who had caught the attention of the higher-ups. Now that she had the chance to test them personally, or even capture them and bring them back to the Holy Spirit Cult, she wasn't about to let it slip.
And in this exchange, the Demon Scythe Douluo truly felt the extraordinary nature of the two.
Faring surpassing their peers in soul power, beyond common sense in spiritual power, multiple elemental cores, an endless array of techniques, and powerful self-created combat skills...
Every advantage that could set a Soul Master apart was abundant in these two.
The Demon Scythe Douluo wiped the wound on her face, her relaxed expression long gone, replaced by a grave look as she stared at the two, momentarily at a loss.
She couldn't defeat them quickly, but leaving now felt too unsatisfying...
Just then, a hoarse voice suddenly transmitted into her mind.
"Demon Scythe, stop fighting. Now is not the time to bring back the Holy Son. Retreat!"
Hearing the transmission, the Demon Scythe Doulro let out a sigh of relief, not at all surprised.
This base was guarded by three Soul Douluos and was a highly valued location within the Dawn Society, containing important data and resources. To ensure safety, she wasn't the only one sent to support it.
"Bone Dragon, what are you talking about? Now that the Passion Douluo and the Soul Suppression Douluo aren't with them, this is the perfect opportunity. If you and I join forces..."
"Don't forget our plan. Taking them now will only undo all our previous efforts and draw the full attention of the Spirit Pagoda Federation onto us."
The Demon Scythe Douluo's eyes flashed with unwillingness, but she ultimately let out a cold snort.
With a swing of her scythe, a thick black mist suddenly erupted, engulfing the entire space.
"We'll end it here for today," her voice echoed eerily from within the mist. "But the next time we meet, it won't be so simple."
Boom!
As soon as her words fell, a dark spatial rift suddenly tore open beside the Demon Scythe Douluo, and a pale hand reached out, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her in.
Gu Yuena sensed the spatial fluctuation and raised her hand slightly, sending out a silver spatial blade.
Sss—
The spatial blade accurately sliced into the closing rift, but it was like throwing mud into the sea, not causing even a ripple.
Gu Yuena narrowed her eyes at the scene, not at all surprised.
"Yuhao, it seems they're prioritizing their plans against Shrek Academy."
The evil Soul Masters who came to support weren't alone, and both she and Huo Yuhao had sensed this earlier. That was also why they hadn't gone all out to keep the Demon Scythe Douluo here.
And with two Super Douluos present, yet they hadn't attacked, it was clear that the Holy Spirit Cult had other plans.
"Right. If their target was just us, Xu Chengzhi could have acted at any time. There was no need to wait until now."
Huo Yuhao changed at the spot where the evil Soul Masters had disappeared, then turned to leave. "The trouble awaiting us is at the Dawn Society headquarters."
The Holy Spirit Cult's attack on them was conditional, it couldn't interfere with their plans regarding Shrek Academy.
After all, if they were to be harmed here, or if important Federation members were harmed here, the Federation would undoubtedly declare war to seek justice.
So, for the sake of their plans, these people had to return to the Douluo Continent in one piece, at least on the surface.
Yes, on the surface.