"The commotion is too loud!"
"We can't waste any more time; we need to end this quickly!"
The Elders of the Pill Tower exchanged glances and swiftly formed a complex formation by manipulating their hand seals. As the formation took shape, a massive black longsword materialized in mid-air.
With a single tremor of its blade, it sliced through the air, fiercely striking the black chains that hung in the half-empty space of the grand hall.
Crack, crack, crack!
As the chains broke one after another, all the trapped soul bodies regained their freedom.
A wave of ecstatic soul fluctuations reverberated across the entire square. They had been imprisoned here for so many years; sometimes even death seemed like an extravagant hope. Now, they were finally free!
"We're finally free! Let's go!"
"Hahaha! Fate was not yet ready to claim my life! Damned Hall of Souls, just wait and see how I'll avenge myself once I'm out of here!"
"..."
Having been treated like pigs and imprisoned in the Hall of Souls for so long, the soul bodies couldn't contain their joy after finally breaking free.
Some of them, in their excitement, headed in the direction the Pill Tower's Elders had come from, eager to escape this place devoid of sunlight.
However, they were soon halted by the sound of footsteps.
"What's going on? Could it be that there are still people in the Hall of Souls?"
The soul bodies showed fear on their faces, realizing that they were in no condition to confront anyone. The Pill Tower's Elders exchanged puzzled glances and prepared to deal with the approaching figure.
Clack, clack, clack!
The footsteps grew closer, and after a short while, an extraordinary, refined young man appeared before them.
The Pill Tower's Elders paused momentarily, their faces showing excitement, and stepped forward to greet him.
"Elder Xiao Ming, you're here! How is the situation outside?"
Seeing the joy on the faces of the Pill Tower's Elders, the soul bodies realized that the newcomer was one of their own. The fear on their faces dissipated.
Some of those who had recently been captured and recognized Xiao Ming couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
'I heard that Xiao Ming is unparalleled among the younger generation in alchemy, but I never expected his cultivation level to be this impressive. Now that we have received his great favor, we must repay him generously!'
'After returning to the clan, we must align ourselves with the Pill Tower!'
'It's a pity that my cultivation is too low, and my physical body has been destroyed. Otherwise, I could have become his follower!'
"..."
Xiao Ming was unaware of the thoughts of these soul bodies. He smiled casually and said, "The external situation has been resolved. There isn't a single living soul left in the Hall of Souls. You take these soul bodies and leave. I will take care of the aftermath."
By "taking care of the aftermath," he naturally meant destroying this part of the palace and finding the soul essences.
"Yes," nodded the Elders, and they led the group of soul bodies away one by one.
In a short while, the square became empty, with only Xiao Ming remaining.
Standing in place, Xiao Ming swept his gaze around, but his focus eventually settled on the central area of the massive hall. In that deep location, he faintly sensed some strange fluctuations.
Understanding that it must be what he was looking for, Xiao Ming instantly appeared next to it. With a wave of his sleeve, a formidable gust of wind sent the towering stone pillars, hundreds of meters in height, flying away.
Under Xiao Ming's rapid excavation, the ruins split open in the blink of an eye, revealing a gigantic pit. Suspended within the depths of the pit was a translucent sphere measuring about one and a half meters in size. Numerous dark chains connected the outer edges of the sphere, linking it to the soul bodies that had just escaped. Evidently, this sphere was what had been extracted from those soul bodies.
"Soul Essences!" Xiao Ming's lips curled into a faint smile as he gazed at the sphere. From within it, he sensed an extremely terrifying soul fluctuation, which was remarkably pure and devoid of any impurities.
"So many Soul Essences, at least thirty thousand souls condensed..."
The Hall of Souls had resorted to all means necessary to achieve their goals, performing heinous acts that were hardly different from harvesting blood and flesh from living beings. And yet, their methods were even more ruthless.
"Thirty thousand people... However, now it's a bargain for me!"
With that in mind, Xiao Ming waved his palm to sever all the chains, and then he gently caressed the surface of the soul sphere. The sphere was then absorbed into his storage ring.
Glancing around once more, Xiao Ming realized that this branch hall of the Hall of Souls was devoid of any survivors. It was time to leave!
With a wave of his sleeve, a grand storm of flames suddenly erupted, accompanied by a vast force surging from within the storm.
Boom!
A deafening sound reverberated through the heavens and earth. In an instant, a destructive power akin to annihilation swept out from the storm-like flames in the sky.
The entire mountain range trembled as if experiencing an earthquake, and massive cracks spread in all directions from the Hall of Souls at its center. Under this shaking, the enormous Hall of Souls' branch hall became unstable and began to crumble. Witnessing this scene, many powerful Pill Tower experts couldn't help but step back.
The fiery storm raged, and the waves of destruction spread like ripples. Underneath the mountain's base, the colossal black hall, which was extraordinarily sturdy, finally collapsed.
The wave of destruction extended for nearly a kilometer, reducing everything within that range to bare ground. The dense forest, in an instant, turned to nothingness...
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the flames and landed in front of the crowd.
"Elder Xiao Ming!"
"Our objective for this operation has been achieved. To avoid facing more reinforcements from the Hall of Souls, we have to leave immediately!"
"Yes!"
...
About half an hour after Xiao Ming and the others had left the area, a slight spatial distortion appeared in the sky above a nearby mountain peak.
A dark figure dashed out and rushed into the ruins of the grand hall. After a careful search yielded nothing, an expression of darkness and anger filled the figure's face.
"All the souls we painstakingly collected over a hundred years in this branch hall have been taken away. If news of this spreads, nobody will escape the consequences. I might even face severe punishment!" The figure felt incredibly unlucky for receiving this assignment.
Today, the Hall of Souls headquarters received distress calls from three branch halls. This Disha Hall had the strongest reinforcements, including the Eighth Tianzun. How did it come to this?
In truth, if only the branch hall was destroyed and a few lives were lost, the figure wouldn't be so frustrated. The crucial point was the Soul Essences.
The last time a branch hall was destroyed by the Pill Tower, the Soul Essences were still preserved by the Hall of Souls. However, it was different this time - the Soul Essences had vanished!
"This branch hall doesn't have a single living soul. Is it the Pill Tower... Hmph! They won't be able to hide for long if they let those soul bodies go. Just wait for me, the Hall of Souls will exact revenge without fail!"
The figure's presence dissipated into heaven and earth, but the eerie and malicious murmurs continued to linger, swirling slowly and persistently, for a long time.
"The commotion is too loud!"
"We can't waste any more time; we need to end this quickly!"
The Elders of the Pill Tower exchanged glances and swiftly formed a complex formation by manipulating their hand seals. As the formation took shape, a massive black longsword materialized in mid-air.
With a single tremor of its blade, it sliced through the air, fiercely striking the black chains that hung in the half-empty space of the grand hall.
Crack, crack, crack!
As the chains broke one after another, all the trapped soul bodies regained their freedom.
A wave of ecstatic soul fluctuations reverberated across the entire square. They had been imprisoned here for so many years; sometimes even death seemed like an extravagant hope. Now, they were finally free!
"We're finally free! Let's go!"
"Hahaha! Fate was not yet ready to claim my life! Damned Hall of Souls, just wait and see how I'll avenge myself once I'm out of here!"
"..."
Having been treated like pigs and imprisoned in the Hall of Souls for so long, the soul bodies couldn't contain their joy after finally breaking free.
Some of them, in their excitement, headed in the direction the Pill Tower's Elders had come from, eager to escape this place devoid of sunlight.
However, they were soon halted by the sound of footsteps.
"What's going on? Could it be that there are still people in the Hall of Souls?"
The soul bodies showed fear on their faces, realizing that they were in no condition to confront anyone. The Pill Tower's Elders exchanged puzzled glances and prepared to deal with the approaching figure.
Clack, clack, clack!
The footsteps grew closer, and after a short while, an extraordinary, refined young man appeared before them.
The Pill Tower's Elders paused momentarily, their faces showing excitement, and stepped forward to greet him.
"Elder Xiao Ming, you're here! How is the situation outside?"
Seeing the joy on the faces of the Pill Tower's Elders, the soul bodies realized that the newcomer was one of their own. The fear on their faces dissipated.
Some of those who had recently been captured and recognized Xiao Ming couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
'I heard that Xiao Ming is unparalleled among the younger generation in alchemy, but I never expected his cultivation level to be this impressive. Now that we have received his great favor, we must repay him generously!'
'After returning to the clan, we must align ourselves with the Pill Tower!'
'It's a pity that my cultivation is too low, and my physical body has been destroyed. Otherwise, I could have become his follower!'
"..."
Xiao Ming was unaware of the thoughts of these soul bodies. He smiled casually and said, "The external situation has been resolved. There isn't a single living soul left in the Hall of Souls. You take these soul bodies and leave. I will take care of the aftermath."
By "taking care of the aftermath," he naturally meant destroying this part of the palace and finding the soul essences.
"Yes," nodded the Elders, and they led the group of soul bodies away one by one.
In a short while, the square became empty, with only Xiao Ming remaining.
Standing in place, Xiao Ming swept his gaze around, but his focus eventually settled on the central area of the massive hall. In that deep location, he faintly sensed some strange fluctuations.
Understanding that it must be what he was looking for, Xiao Ming instantly appeared next to it. With a wave of his sleeve, a formidable gust of wind sent the towering stone pillars, hundreds of meters in height, flying away.
Under Xiao Ming's rapid excavation, the ruins split open in the blink of an eye, revealing a gigantic pit. Suspended within the depths of the pit was a translucent sphere measuring about one and a half meters in size. Numerous dark chains connected the outer edges of the sphere, linking it to the soul bodies that had just escaped. Evidently, this sphere was what had been extracted from those soul bodies.
"Soul Essences!" Xiao Ming's lips curled into a faint smile as he gazed at the sphere. From within it, he sensed an extremely terrifying soul fluctuation, which was remarkably pure and devoid of any impurities.
"So many Soul Essences, at least thirty thousand souls condensed..."
The Hall of Souls had resorted to all means necessary to achieve their goals, performing heinous acts that were hardly different from harvesting blood and flesh from living beings. And yet, their methods were even more ruthless.
"Thirty thousand people... However, now it's a bargain for me!"
With that in mind, Xiao Ming waved his palm to sever all the chains, and then he gently caressed the surface of the soul sphere. The sphere was then absorbed into his storage ring.
Glancing around once more, Xiao Ming realized that this branch hall of the Hall of Souls was devoid of any survivors. It was time to leave!
With a wave of his sleeve, a grand storm of flames suddenly erupted, accompanied by a vast force surging from within the storm.
Boom!
A deafening sound reverberated through the heavens and earth. In an instant, a destructive power akin to annihilation swept out from the storm-like flames in the sky.
The entire mountain range trembled as if experiencing an earthquake, and massive cracks spread in all directions from the Hall of Souls at its center. Under this shaking, the enormous Hall of Souls' branch hall became unstable and began to crumble. Witnessing this scene, many powerful Pill Tower experts couldn't help but step back.
The fiery storm raged, and the waves of destruction spread like ripples. Underneath the mountain's base, the colossal black hall, which was extraordinarily sturdy, finally collapsed.
The wave of destruction extended for nearly a kilometer, reducing everything within that range to bare ground. The dense forest, in an instant, turned to nothingness...
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the flames and landed in front of the crowd.
"Elder Xiao Ming!"
"Our objective for this operation has been achieved. To avoid facing more reinforcements from the Hall of Souls, we have to leave immediately!"
"Yes!"
...
About half an hour after Xiao Ming and the others had left the area, a slight spatial distortion appeared in the sky above a nearby mountain peak.
A dark figure dashed out and rushed into the ruins of the grand hall. After a careful search yielded nothing, an expression of darkness and anger filled the figure's face.
"All the souls we painstakingly collected over a hundred years in this branch hall have been taken away. If news of this spreads, nobody will escape the consequences. I might even face severe punishment!" The figure felt incredibly unlucky for receiving this assignment.
Today, the Hall of Souls headquarters received distress calls from three branch halls. This Disha Hall had the strongest reinforcements, including the Eighth Tianzun. How did it come to this?
In truth, if only the branch hall was destroyed and a few lives were lost, the figure wouldn't be so frustrated. The crucial point was the Soul Essences.
The last time a branch hall was destroyed by the Pill Tower, the Soul Essences were still preserved by the Hall of Souls. However, it was different this time - the Soul Essences had vanished!
"This branch hall doesn't have a single living soul. Is it the Pill Tower... Hmph! They won't be able to hide for long if they let those soul bodies go. Just wait for me, the Hall of Souls will exact revenge without fail!"
The figure's presence dissipated into heaven and earth, but the eerie and malicious murmurs continued to linger, swirling slowly and persistently, for a long time.
