Chapter 46 This is the Way of Heaven

Chapter 46: This Is the Way of Heaven

The man in black stared intently at Zhong Yan, his soul power circulating within his body, yet he made no further move, seemingly waiting for Zhong Yan to continue.

However, Zhong Yan no longer looked at him. Instead, his gaze shifted to the formation emitting an eerie red glow, and he slowly began to pace around it.

"This formation of yours—well, I have an impression of it. At first, I didn't recognize it."

"Such an antique from how many years ago, and it still requires your own blood to activate. Its purpose is to use blood as a medium to exchange the blood of the caster and the victim, thereby obtaining a portion of the victim's soul power and vitality. Am I right?"

The man in black did not show any panic or similar emotions; he simply said calmly, "You are interested?"

"No, no, no, I already told you this is an antique. Here, I"—Zhong Yan lowered his voice, as if whispering a secret—"have something better."

Seeing that the man in black remained unmoved, Zhong Yan was not in a hurry. If the man lacked even this much composure, he could not possibly have survived until now.

"An improved version. It can increase the efficiency of the blood exchange and raise the acquired soul power and vitality by twenty percent, you know."

Hearing the words "twenty percent," the man in black was clearly tempted. Twenty percent was by no means a small amount.

"So, what do you want?"

Zhong Yan gave a faint smile and said lightly, "Your life, of course."

Just as those words fell, the man in black unleashed a technique he had been quietly charging for a long time. A dark red, shadow-like entity shot from the ground toward Zhong Yan.

As if anticipating this, Zhong Yan tapped his toes lightly and dodged the attack.

Yet that dark red spike morphed like a tidal wave and lashed out toward Zhong Yan.

Zhong Yan strolled leisurely, evading its attacks time and time again.

"Oh my, evil soul masters are always the same. Using blood as a means of attack remains as cliché as ever. Judging by your appearance, you don't look like an organized evil soul master; you probably picked up a manual detailing an evil soul master's cultivation methods somewhere."

"This set of formations was phased out among evil soul masters more than fifty years ago." Zhong Yan's movements grew increasingly casual, but his tone grew progressively colder. "Carving a formation like this requires the blood of twenty people. An evil soul master hunted by the Spirit Hall simply doesn't have enough breathing room to track down twenty people."

"But you are different. You are a native of this town, and this place is an excellent hub for travelers. That is why you have been able to hide here for so many years without being discovered. Am I right—shopkeeper?"

The man in black was clearly growing anxious. Seven soul rings—one white, one yellow, three purple, and two black—lit up around his body.

"Blood Tide!"

Vast, churning pools of blood materialized beneath the shopkeeper's feet, nearly filling the entire secret chamber.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Earth Rift!"

A massive fissure split the floor of the secret chamber, resembling a deep, gaping maw of the earth that continuously swallowed the blood.

"What?!"

Given the shopkeeper's years of hiding experience, he would naturally not be shocked merely by a fissure, but rather by Zhong Yan's heaven-defying soul ring configuration.

After the shock, the shopkeeper let out a sky-ward laugh. "Such a genius! If I can devour you... Hahaha! Spirit Hall!"

"Does the shopkeeper really think you've got me in the bag?"

"No matter how much of a genius you are, you are still nothing more than a mere Soul Ancestor. Once I consume you, I will flee to the paradise of evil soul masters—the Slaughter City. By then, no matter how high your status in the Spirit Hall is, or how powerful the people sent to hunt me down may be, they will be powerless against me."

With that, the shopkeeper did not hesitate for a second. He instantly released his strongest soul skill: the Avatar of the True Spirit!

It could also be said that this was the ultimate soul skill of every Soul Saint. The Avatar of the True Spirit maximized the power of a soul master's original martial soul, amplifying the effects of all other soul skills by one hundred percent.

The shopkeeper released his martial soul avatar. In an instant, the clothes on his back were torn apart, emitting a dazzling red light as a massive skeletal upper body condensed out of a vast amount of blood behind him.

Observing the changes in the shopkeeper opposite him, even Zhong Yan was extremely surprised.

"A body-type martial soul! And it's blood! What a waste to have such a powerful martial soul ruined in your hands."

Ceasing his banter, Zhong Yan took a step forward, his right hand gripping the Primordial Jade Spear. His brilliant golden dragon eyes took on a ruthless and cold expression, his sharp gaze staring straight ahead.

When dealing with evil soul masters, no humanity was required.

One could despise the enemy strategically, but tactically, one must never underestimate them.

Rock Shower!

In that instant, Zhong Yan's figure vanished from where he stood.

The golden shadow streaked straight toward the shopkeeper amidst the towering sea of blood. He had not yet mastered the ability to transform his body into blood, so giving up on wrestling with the blood and directly attacking his physical body was the most effective method.

Seeing Zhong Yan charge at him, the shopkeeper did not panic. Instead, he laughed hideously, controlling the towering sea of blood to wrap around the incoming Zhong Yan.

Yet, no matter how much blood slammed against Zhong Yan's [Shield], it proved entirely useless. This unexpected turn of events made the shopkeeper somewhat flustered, but he quickly changed tactics, engulfing Zhong Yan in the sea of blood in an attempt to use the fluid's properties to slow him down.

However, the sharpness of the Primordial Jade Spear far exceeded his expectations. The golden spear tip effortlessly sliced through the giant waves composed of blood.

Just as Zhong Yan was about to strike him, the sixth soul ring on his body flared. He vanished instantly, reappearing on the other side of the sea of blood.

"A spatial soul skill? You truly have good luck. Even if you can only move within the range of the sea of blood you created yourself, it's still a pretty decent life-saving divine skill. But soul skills like this consume a huge amount of soul power, don't they?"

Zhong Yan slowly turned around and released his grip, letting the Primordial Jade Spear float in mid-air. He extended his right hand forward in a grasping gesture.

"I can play with you slowly. If you weren't an evil soul master, I might not even have had the mood."

With that, he suddenly clenched his right hand into a fist, and his first soul ring emitted a dazzling light.

The entire secret chamber began to vibrate violently, lasting for about a minute or two.

The shopkeeper steadied his footing and asked, "What did you do?"

Zhong Yan smiled faintly and replied playfully, "Guess."

Pulling the perspective outward, the small town was dead silent, with only a few people keeping watch. Several mountains away, under the moonlight, a massive stone boulder appeared on the ground, and a gigantic celestial star carrying an aura of destruction hurtled down toward the boulder.

Inside the stone boulder, the shopkeeper's heart tightened. He felt a deep sense of unease, and the premonition of danger reached its absolute peak.

He roared at Zhong Yan, "What did you do?! What did you do?!"

He looked up, only to find a pair of brilliant golden eyes devoid of a single trace of warmth piercing straight into his soul.

"This is the Way of Heaven!"