Devouring Soul Emperor

Within a minute, Chu Qingyun had already fled far away.

Hearing Lord Ming’s furious roar, Chu Qingyun sneered and slipped back into the darkness.

He faintly heard voices nearby.

Sure enough, he found another Level 6 Martial Spirit from the Martial Soul Hall, easily killed him, and devoured his Primordial Power.

Two minutes after Chu Qingyun left, Lord Ming arrived again. This time, all he saw was another exploded mass of Martial Soul Power.

In total, there were seven Level 6 Martial Spirits who had followed Lord Ming into the forest to hunt down Chu Qingyun.

The seven had scattered throughout the area, searching everywhere for traces of Lord Ming and Chu Qingyun.

Meanwhile, Chu Qingyun used his Shadow Martial Soul and Hidden Qi Technique to find them one by one, kill them all, and devour their Martial Soul Power.

And every time Lord Ming rushed toward the sound of a scream, he was a step too late, only to find a lingering mass of Martial Soul Power.

With the Shadow Splitting Clone Skill at his disposal, Chu Qingyun was completely fearless. Even if he ran into Lord Ming, he could just escape again.

After killing all seven Level 6 Martial Spirits, the sky had begun to brighten.

After dawn, Chu Qingyun’s Shadow Martial Soul—both its ability to conceal his presence and the Soul Technique, Shadow Splitting Clone Skill—would be greatly weakened.

So, Chu Qingyun decided it was time to stop. He took a wide berth, left the area, and headed for Black Blood City.

After daybreak, Lord Ming walked out of the forest and returned to the Martial Soul Hall’s camp, his expression incomparably grim.

"Lord Ming, did you capture that brat?" a Level 6 Martial Spirit asked, walking up to him.

Hearing this, Lord Ming was so enraged that he abruptly raised his hand. With a single slap, the Level 6 Martial Spirit exploded with a SPLAT, turning into a mass of Martial Soul Power.

The power of that single palm strike was even greater than the full force of Chu Qingyun’s Thunder Light Sword Qi!

The surrounding Earth Spirit Realm members from the Martial Soul Hall were all trembling with fear. They clamped their mouths shut, not even daring to glance at Lord Ming.

Lord Ming’s eyes glinted coldly as he swept his gaze across the few remaining Level 6 Martial Spirits. "The brat escaped," he said, "but I’ve memorized his aura. I’m leaving things here to you. I’m going to the Blood-soaked Land to hunt him down!"

Lord Ming’s real name was Shen Ziming.

He was a rather special figure within the Martial Soul Hall. Despite being only at the Level 6 Martial Spirit Realm, his status was even higher than that of an ordinary Celestial Spirit Realm expert.

On this mission to hunt Chu Qingyun, not only had he been outsmarted, but all seven of the Level 6 Martial Spirits he had brought with him had been killed by Chu Qingyun.

In his eyes, this was a blatant provocation—an unforgivable offense!

"My lord, but..." a Level 6 Martial Spirit hesitated, about to say something.

However, Lord Ming immediately shot him a cold, angry glare. "But what?"

"N-nothing..."

Faced with a gaze filled with rage and killing intent, the man flinched and didn’t dare to utter another word.

Lord Ming snorted coldly, returned to his quarters, packed a few things, and set off in the direction of Black Blood City.

Nine times out of ten, people entering the Blood-soaked Land from this region would go to Black Blood City. Therefore, Lord Ming also planned to enter the city first to find Chu Qingyun and get his revenge.

The forest on the edge of the Blood-soaked Land wasn’t particularly large.

After bypassing the Martial Soul Hall’s camp, Chu Qingyun walked for a short while before exiting the forest.

He continued forward for about an hour more and began to see other people. The closer he got to Black Blood City, the more people he encountered.

Along the way, many of the people he met stared at him relentlessly.

There were even six or seven people following him from a short distance away.

Chu Qingyun could, of course, see the malice in their eyes.

After all, he was no longer some naive greenhorn. Though he was young, he had likely experienced more than some of the Examiners from the various family clans.

’Hmph, so this is the Blood-soaked Land? A little interesting...’

Chu Qingyun sneered inwardly but felt no concern.

With his current strength, he had what it took to fight even a Level 6 Martial Spirit. Dealing with these thugs who only dared to loiter outside the city would be more than easy.

The sects had issued a "Forbidden King Order" for the Blood-soaked Land.

On the surface, this strict decree prohibited the appearance of King Realm experts. In reality, however, it also placed a major restriction on the Celestial Spirit Realm masters of the major powers within the Blood-soaked Land.

This was because the major powers in the Blood-soaked Land all had important locations and assets that required powerful experts to guard them.

If King Realm experts weren’t allowed to show themselves, then those important places naturally needed to be guarded by peak Spirit Realm experts, like Level 9 or Level 8 Martial Spirits.

As a result, the number of powerful experts who could roam freely throughout the Blood-soaked Land had been greatly reduced.

Of course, that didn’t mean there were none. Some lone Celestial Spirit Realm cultivators were not bound by any power and were not covered by the Forbidden King Order.

Just as Chu Qingyun reached a spot where he could see the distant silhouette of Black Blood City, someone finally couldn’t resist making a move.

It was a withered, scrawny old man with sparse hair and a hunched back.

He walked toward Chu Qingyun with his head lowered, then suddenly bumped into him. At the same time, a dagger swiftly slid from his sleeve into his hand, and he stabbed directly at Chu Qingyun’s abdomen—at his Qi Sea.

However, just as the dagger was about to pierce Chu Qingyun’s clothes, he struck like lightning, grabbing the man’s wrist.

Chu Qingyun instantly activated the Fifth Layer of the Profound Celestial Divine Pattern. A faint, cold aura emanated from his entire body, and his hand clamped down on the man’s wrist like an iron pincer, gripping it tightly.

This man was only a Level 4 Martial Spirit; in Chu Qingyun’s grasp, he was completely powerless to resist.

"Hehe, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding..."

The man looked up and said to Chu Qingyun with a dry laugh.

This man was the type with little real skill, someone who didn’t dare enter Black Blood City and could only get by loitering outside.

And their favorite pastime was robbing people who had just entered the Blood-soaked Land, especially the recently arrived Examiners from the Hundred Dynasties.

This was because those people knew nothing about the Blood-soaked Land. Even if a sneak attack failed, the consequence was usually just getting taught a lesson.

"A misunderstanding?"

Chu Qingyun gave a meaningful smile and suddenly released his grip.

A vicious glint flashed in the man’s eyes, and he was about to launch another sneak attack.

But before he could move, Chu Qingyun struck even faster. With a THUD, a heavy punch landed squarely on the man’s head.