Somewhere in the Great Star Dou Forest, surrounded by mountains and lush greenery, in a deep valley within the mountains, a majestic waterfall connecting the sky and the earth roared deafeningly.
Beneath the waterfall lay a pool of water as clear as sapphire.
Liu Erlong and her group were tightly bound to a large tree by the pool's edge with circles of vines.
Everyone hung their heads and closed their eyes. Judging by the scars on their bodies, they had fiercely fought others before being captured.
Among them, Flender was the most seriously injured.
His left arm was broken, and one of his legs was twisted beyond recognition. Bright red blood continued to drip from his body. In no time, the ground beneath him was dyed dark red.
Everyone's faces were tainted with a strange black hue, clearly showing they had been poisoned.
Behind the waterfall was a hidden portal — the place where Yu Luomian unearthed Ah Yin.
Tang Hao stared sorrowfully at a small hole in the ground.
That was where he planted the seed of Ah Yin.
Tang San held Ah Yin's flowerpot in his hands, silently standing beside him.
After a long time, Tang Hao stood up, took Ah Yin from Tang San, and said with a cold glare:
"Xiao San, has that little beast arrived yet?"
"Not yet."
After hesitating for a moment, Tang San asked, "Father, do you think that little beast doesn't dare to come?"
Tang Hao shook his head and snorted coldly.
"That little beast is the most loyal and righteous. His younger sister, brother-in-law, and his nephew's fiancée are all in our hands. There's no way he wouldn't come."
At the mention of his fiancée, Tang San's face immediately surged with anger.
"Those Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sects are truly like pig-dog families. Not only did they seize Xiao Wu, but they also stole my mother's soul bone. If I don't kill Yu Xiaowei today, it will be hard to dispel the hatred in my heart."
Tang Hao sneered and said darkly:
"Now that his protectors are either injured or missing, this is the perfect chance to skin him alive."
"Isn't he the most outstanding talent of both families?"
"After today, I'll make sure there are no successors left in either of their lines."
Ning Rongrong had been captured, and Chen Xin was extremely anxious. He wanted to rush to Tang Hao and rescue Ning Rongrong and the others.
Unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and the healing potion could only heal surface wounds. Luckily, his internal injuries weren't worsening.
If he forced himself to use his soul power, he might die before accomplishing anything.
This was the price for overexerting himself after being seriously wounded.
Yu Yuanzhen and Ning Fengzhi were still missing.
So now, Yu Xiaowei was their only hope.
Seeing Yu Xiaowei's determined gaze, Chen Xin's face was full of worry.
He had witnessed Tang Hao's combat prowess. The renowned Haotian Douluo had the power to kill a Titled Douluo even after a brutal fight with Ghost Ju, despite being severely injured.
Although he was now crippled, the attack power of the Clear Sky Hammer remained. Chen Xin feared Yu Xiaowei might not return.
"Don't worry, Grandpa Jian. Even if I can't beat Tang Hao, at the very least, I can run."
"My 100,000-year soul bone skill is flight—not as fast as your sword, but Tang Hao will never be able to catch me."
As he spoke, Yu Xiaowei's body floated into the air.
Seeing this, Chen Xin felt relieved. Being able to fly gave a soul master an advantage over those who couldn't.
After calming Chen Xin, Yu Xiaowei took out the map drawn earlier by Yu Luomian, confirmed the direction, and flew directly toward Tang Hao's location.
Along the way, a thought bothered him.
Tang Hao dared to attack the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile clan's main bloodlines, which meant one thing — he already knew that Ah Yin's soul bone had been stolen by him.
That made no sense!
The only ones who knew about this were a few Titled Douluo elders in the clan, Yu Luomian's subordinates, and Yue Guan, who might have guessed something.
But none of them would ever betray him!
Moreover, Tang Hao clearly knew that Yu Yuanzhen and Chen Xin were severely injured, and that no one was protecting him now, so he confidently took action and captured everyone from Lanba Academy.
Where did he get this information?
Looking at the marked location on the map in his hand, Ah Yin's grave was clearly within the Heaven Dou Empire's territory, more than a thousand miles away from his current position.
After roughly estimating the distance, Yu Xiaowei frowned.
Could Tang Hao really travel that fast?
Even Yu Xiaowei himself had to fly at full speed for over half a day to reach it.
But judging from the blood stains in the cave, Tang Hao had left less than half a day ago. He clearly believed he could capture so many people and return to Ah Yin's grave before Yu Xiaowei got there.
Could it be that Tang Hao had help?
This suspicion shocked Yu Xiaowei.
He felt confident he could deal with Tang Hao, whose strength was now only at the Soul Saint level.
But what if Tang Hao had an accomplice?
Could Tang Xiao have come with him?
Thinking of this, he quickly dismissed the idea. It couldn't be Tang Xiao. If it were him, with his strength, the others would've been wiped out in one encounter. How could there be so many signs of resistance?
So, it must have been Tang Hao alone.
Then who helped him move everyone?
Yu Xiaowei's fast-flying body suddenly stopped. He suddenly realized that his suspicions were all based on the assumption that Tang Hao had help.
Was it possible that Tang Hao didn't actually capture anyone, and was just tricking him?
However, after thinking about it for a moment, Yu Xiaowei kept flying forward. In such matters, it was better to believe than not.
...
After flying until nightfall—
Yu Xiaowei estimated he was close, so he stopped flying and landed.
After resting in the forest for a while, once his soul power recovered, he continued rushing toward Tang Hao's location.
As for the pitch-black night, it posed no problem for him at all.
Perhaps because Godzilla originally lived in the dark ocean depths, Yu Xiaowei had night vision ever since his martial soul awakened.
With this ability, the night became a cloak that could hide him.
However, as he ran, he constantly felt like he was being watched.
The feeling hadn't come suddenly, but had been vaguely present since he landed. It was similar to when he was followed by the red-gold tiger in the Great Star Dou Forest.
"Why must you cause trouble now?"
He murmured, and Yu Xiaowei's figure trembled and suddenly turned into a shadowy afterimage. He had no time or energy to engage a soul beast now.
But just as he accelerated, something strange happened.
Large pieces of vines suddenly shot out from the forest. Each vine was straight like a spear, stabbing toward Yu Xiaowei's body with lightning speed, like a storm, covering the sky and earth.
Shocked and furious, Yu Xiaowei instantly transformed into a dragon, using his arms to shield his untransformed dragon head.
After a series of sharp "clang clang clang" sounds, countless white spots appeared on his scales in an instant. The pain across his whole body stunned him.
You have to understand — with his current physical strength, even a normal Soul Saint wouldn't be able to inflict such damage, let alone a plant-type soul beast known for weak attacks.
Yu Xiaowei instantly thought of the terrifying plant-type soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest.
"Could it be the Blue Silver Emperor?"
As soon as the words fell, the vines quickly gathered together, and in the center, a human face formed.
An extremely powerful aura burst out from this face without reservation, and at the same time, a strong mental fluctuation radiated out.
The vine-formed human face showed an extremely angry expression and spoke in human language:
"That's the breath of the king!!!"
"Little human, how dare you harm the great Blue Silver Emperor!!!"