Chapter 180: Absorbing the Inferno

Chapter 180: Absorbing the Purgatory

Mo Xingyuan said nothing.

Meanwhile, Ye Junhe and the other two had a glint of interest flickering in their eyes.

Finally, after Li Xiang and Hua Lin held on for about half a cup of tea's time, their protective spiritual energy was completely shattered.

Their bodies were suddenly gripped tightly by an invisible hand, their limbs twisting into unnatural angles.

They struggled desperately, but could not break free from Shen Lian's restraint.

All they could do was scream and bear the agony.

At this moment, they were no different from the villagers they had bullied earlier.

Yan Fengyi's gaze, however, was quite indifferent. He looked at Mo Xingyuan and said with a smile, "Senior brother, aren't you going to bring up that we were once fellow disciples? I remember Li Xiang used to call you senior brother too, right?"

Mo Xingyuan took a deep breath and looked at Shen Lian. "Lian Song, that's enough of a lesson."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lian released his grip and tossed Li Xiang and Hua Lin to the ground. He didn't even glance at the two men lying there like dead dogs.

He strode quickly toward the village center.

Nothing mattered more than Yan Huaixuan.

But unexpectedly, Li Xiang lifted his head from the ground, his gaze vicious. Clutching his chest, he struggled to his feet and stared at Shen Lian's back.

Then, the spiritual energy around him suddenly erupted violently. Li Xiang raised his hand and hurled something bell-like into the air—except the bell was entirely blood-red, radiating a disturbing aura.

"Something's not right about this. It feels like an evil artifact!"

Yan Fengyi's playful demeanor vanished. He frowned. "Li Xiang! What are you doing!"

Everyone knew that demonic and heretical arts were universally reviled in the Great Wilderness Spirit Realm.

But now Li Xiang had produced such an item—if this got out, the Shuihua Sect's reputation would be destroyed!

Li Xiang, however, acted as if he hadn't heard them. He slashed both his palms without hesitation, and in an instant, blood gushed from his hands, and the bell hovering in midair absorbed it.

After the bell had drunk its fill of blood, its sinister aura grew even denser.

In contrast, Li Xiang's hair began to turn completely white, and his face shriveled like a dried husk.

But his eyes blazed with boundless malice.

Li Xiang gave the bell a gentle shake.

His face had aged, but his voice remained young.

"First ring, soul chaos."

All of this occurred in the blink of an eye.

Zhao Yin saw this and shouted urgently, "Lian Song! Watch your back!"

But it was too late.

Shen Lian had sensed it, but at that moment, his entire focus was on locating Yan Huaixuan's aura. By the time he sensed the danger—

A piercing bell rang in his ears.

Shen Lian's brow furrowed sharply.

He shut off his hearing, but the bell kept ringing without pause, even piercing his protective spiritual energy and drilling straight into his soul.

Chen Xue's face changed. "This is an evil artifact? Doesn't the Great Wilderness Spirit Realm despise demonic heretics? They sealed away all demons and evil cultivators thousands of years ago."

"How does Li Xiang have something like this?"

She looked at Shen Lian anxiously, only to see his body frozen in place, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Master!"

Xiaoman also desperately wanted to leave the Mustard Seed Space, but Shen Lian stopped her.

"Stay inside!"

Although Mo Xingyuan and the other two felt a subtle discomfort about Lian Song deceiving them, they absolutely couldn't stand by and watch Shen Lian suffer like this.

Mo Xingyuan scoffed at Yan Fengyi. "This is someone from your sect. If word gets out that someone in your sect practices evil arts, your Shuihua Sect will be condemned by thousands!"

Yan Fengyi's face darkened.

His eyes flickered. A moment later, he charged forward to stop Li Xiang.

But unexpectedly, as they approached, Li Xiang raised his hand and drained the spiritual energy from Hua Lin beside him.

Hua Lin hadn't expected Li Xiang to possess such a thing either. While he was still stunned, Li Xiang's hand came down on the top of his head.

"Li Xiang, you bastard!"

Hua Lin felt all the spiritual energy in his body being sucked dry.

After absorbing his energy, Li Xiang blocked the group that charged at him.

Then, he shook the bell for a second time.

"Second ring, soul capture!"

As the sound faded, Shen Lian felt his soul being gripped by a hand and yanked outward. At the same time, all kinds of piercing screams rang in his ears.

Seeing Shen Lian's soul destabilize, Chen Xue's pupils contracted. "Master!"

In an instant, countless images flashed before Shen Lian's eyes.

It was an indescribable purgatory, filled with wailing souls—twisted and screaming.

Upon seeing Shen Lian, they all surged forward, one after another, trying to drag him in too.

"Come here."

Under the influence of those voices, blood welled up in Shen Lian's throat, and his soul had already been half pulled out.

Seeing this, the wailing souls became even more excited.

"Come here."

Chen Xue watched blood flow from all five of Shen Lian's orifices, pacing back and forth in a panic.

But unexpectedly, in the next moment, Shen Lian suddenly opened his eyes, and the soul that had been pulled out returned to his body.

Shen Lian's eyes were filled with bloodshot red.

He wanted him to die? Impossible.

He'd worked so hard, barely scraping by to start his path in immortality cultivation.

He'd finally built all of this, and he would never die.

What's more—

A cold and aloof figure flashed across Shen Lian's mind.

Until he found Yan Huaixuan, no one was going to make him die.

Shen Lian looked at the abyssal purgatory before him.

His lips twitched, then he let out a cold sneer. Around him, a ghostly blue flame suddenly flared up.

The flame burned fiercely, engulfing Shen Lian's entire body.

The others also noticed something strange about Shen Lian.

"What is that flame?"

"We've never seen a flame like that."

Shen Lian's eyes gradually turned pitch black, filled with ferocity and malevolence.

In an instant, even the abyssal purgatory seemed to recoil, as if trying to retreat into the bell.

However, Shen Lian sneered, "Did I say you could leave?"

With that, he raised his hand and seized the purgatory outright.

The ferocious souls inside, seeing this, their eyes went wide in disbelief.

They tried to retreat, but the entire purgatory kept being pulled toward Shen Lian.

Moreover, they discovered that the purgatory was crumbling violently.

It was being absorbed by the young man before them!

The others couldn't see this scene; only Li Xiang, who controlled the bell, could witness it.

When he realized Shen Lian hadn't been dragged into the purgatory but had instead absorbed the bell by force, his eyes narrowed.

Could this man be a demonic cultivator?!

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and frantically shook the bell for the third time.

"Third Bell, Soul-Shatter!"

But just as he finished speaking, the whole purgatory was devoured by the ghostly blue flame.