Douluo: Steal Tang San's luck and become stronger!

"Understood! I will immediately arrange for the most reliable brothers to cooperate with the Tang Clan experts!"

Chen Jue clasped his hands in a fist salute and turned to make arrangements.

"Wait a minute."

Tang Lan called out to him and added.

"After the installation is completed, immediately set up clear markers around the relevant area to inform our follow-up troops to detour or be careful. This object cannot distinguish between friend and foe, so please be extremely cautious."

Furthermore, the area occupied by the West Gate must immediately construct simple defensive fortifications in preparation for a counterattack. The Imperial Soul Master Corps must cooperate with the Tang Sect Soul Masters to firmly control the occupied sections of the city wall and provide fire support.

"Yes, Prime Minister!"

Chen Jue accepted the order and hurried off.

Tang Lan's gaze once again fell upon Dongyang City, where the sounds of battle shook the heavens and flames and soul lights intertwined. To the east, an army of 100,000 was still fiercely feigning an attack, attracting the most attention and troops in the entire city.

On the west side, the city gate has been breached, daggers have been thrust in, and more poisonous spikes are being laid. Pressure is also being applied to the south and north gates.

The clamor and chaos of the entire battlefield seemed to provide the best cover. Tang Lan withdrew his gaze and nodded slightly to the people around him. The next moment, he, Tang Ya, Wang Qiu'er, Ma Xiaotao, Yan Shaozhe, and Xian Lin'er...

Along with two other Soul Douluo-level instructors from Shrek Academy, skilled in stealth and assassination, a total of eight people, their figures flickered simultaneously, like flowing water merging into the shadows, silently leaving the observation mound.

They had already changed into specially made dark black night-clothes, the smooth fabric effectively absorbing light and weakening soul power fluctuations. Eight figures moved swiftly through the billowing smoke, the shadows of collapsed buildings, and the edges of the chaotic battlefield.

Like a ghost, they avoided the main battle area between the two armies, took a large detour, and easily climbed over a relatively weak edge of the western city wall due to previous artillery fire and fighting, officially entering Dongyang City.

Their target was clear—the tallest and most conspicuous building in the city center, the Dongyang City Lord's Mansion! It was also the Holy Spirit Cult's command center in Dongyang City, and the most likely place to hide the Ten Thousand Souls Douluo and that evil artifact!
Meanwhile, deep within the Dongyang City Lord's Mansion, in a luxurious bedroom filled with an atmosphere of debauchery and bloodshed.

The door was suddenly pulled open, and an old man with a dark purple robe, a sinister face, sunken eyes, and a faint, mournful soul power swirling around him walked out with a gloomy expression.

He was none other than the Holy Spirit Cult elder in charge of the energy collection and transfer of the "Bloody Bird" this time, a level 91 Title Douluo - Ten Thousand Souls Douluo!
Behind him, from inside the bedroom, came the faint sounds of a woman's suppressed sobs and the rustling of clothes. Soon, a woman appeared, disheveled, with messy hair, a beautiful face but a pale complexion, and fear in her eyes.

Clutching her clothes, head down, she hurriedly ran out of the room, not daring to look at Wan Hun Douluo, and quickly disappeared around the corner of the corridor.

The Soul Douluo didn't care at all, as if he had just casually tossed away a toy.

He had just straightened his somewhat disheveled robes when his brows suddenly furrowed as he sensed a rapid and familiar fluctuation of soul power approaching quickly.

Soon, a dark figure darted forward like a raven, kneeling on one knee. The newcomer was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, with bird-feather-like markings on his face. His aura was cold, and his soul power fluctuations had clearly reached the level of a Title Douluo, though they appeared somewhat weak, indicating that he had only recently broken through.

He was the nominal city lord of Dongyang City, but in reality, the person in charge of the Holy Spirit Cult in this area—Black Crow Douluo.

"What's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

Wan Hun Douluo's tone was displeased; he had just been in the middle of his "cultivation" when he was interrupted, and he was quite annoyed.

"Black Crow, didn't I tell you not to bother me unless it's something extremely important?"

Black Crow Douluo raised his head, his face full of anxiety and solemnity, his voice dry.

"Elder Wanhun, something terrible has happened! The Tang Clan... and the army of the Douling Empire have suddenly launched a full-scale attack ahead of schedule! Now the four city gates—east, south, west, and north—are under attack simultaneously, especially the east and west gates, where the offensive is extremely fierce!"

"what?!"

The sinister expression on Wan Hun Douluo's face suddenly changed, and his pupils contracted slightly.

"Tang Sect and Douling Empire? How could they be so fast? Their army hasn't even fully assembled yet!"

Black Crow Douluo said bitterly.

"The specifics are still unclear, but the other party is clearly not playing by the rules."

At least 100,000 troops are fiercely attacking the east gate, while the west gate... the west gate was even breached by a terrifying, never-before-seen soul-guided cannon! The enemy has now entered the west city and is engaged in fierce street fighting with our forces! The south and north gates are also under considerable pressure!

"Tang Clan... Tang Lan..."

The Soul Douluo murmured the name, his gloomy expression quickly replaced by a look of surprise and uncertainty, and his previous arrogance vanished in an instant.

He was not completely unaware of the outside world; on the contrary, as a high-ranking member of the Holy Spirit Cult, he paid particular attention to the recent movements of the Tang Clan and the achievements of that mysterious sect leader.

The Nether Thunder Douluo was forced to self-destruct in the southwest, leaving no trace of his body! The Netherworld Douluo also failed in the southwest, and was said to have been captured and imprisoned by the Tang Sect, his fate unknown! These two were both elders whose strength was comparable to his!

Especially the Nether Thunder Douluo, whose attacks are even slightly more ferocious and cunning than his own! Even they fell into the hands of the Tang Sect, so how much of a chance does the Ten Thousand Souls Douluo have against the unfathomable Tang Lan?
The thought of possibly facing the legendary Tang Sect Master, known for his terrifying strength and ruthless methods, sent a chill down Wan Hun Douluo's spine.

His strengths lie in manipulating souls, collecting negative energy for cultivation, and casting evil spells; direct combat is not his forte.

Moreover, rumors have been circulating on the mainland recently that after the destruction of the Tianque Sect, some of its elites were incorporated into the Tang Sect, and more than one reclusive sect and lone titled Douluo have chosen to join the Tang Sect.

It is said that the number of Title Douluos under the Tang Sect has now exceeded ten! What a terrifying number! It is almost half the number of known elders of the Holy Spirit Cult!

With this shift in power, the arrogant attitude of Wan Hun Douluo, who had been somewhat inflated by successfully collecting blood sacrifice energy from several cities, was instantly brought back to reality, and he even became somewhat uneasy.

"Where are the reinforcements from within the church?"

Wanhun Douluo hurriedly pressed for answers, as if grasping at a lifeline.

"When will Elder Ye and Elder Long arrive? And what about the other elders and experts? Weren't we already notified to come to Dongyang City to meet them?"

The bitterness on Black Crow Douluo's face deepened, and he shook his head.

"Reporting to the Elder, how could we possibly know the whereabouts of the two Supreme Elders? The latest news from within the sect is that the main reinforcement force has not yet fully arrived."

However, the three elders, Abomination Douluo, Masked Douluo, and Nightmare Douluo, quietly entered the city last night and are currently overseeing the defenses at the east, south, and north gates. Hearing that only three elders had arrived, Ten Thousand Souls Douluo's heart sank. Abomination, Masked Douluo, and Nightmare Douluo were all formidable, especially Abomination Douluo, whose attacks were ferocious and whose defense was astonishing; he was a renowned warrior within the sect.

However... facing more than ten Tang Sect Title Douluos, the mysterious Tang Lan, and the Douling Empire's army and Soul Master Corps... this level of high-end combat power still seems insufficient.

Black Crow Douluo continued, his tone tinged with a hint of relief.

"Originally, with the strength of Dongyang City's walls and the defensive fortifications we had laid out beforehand, plus the more than 200,000 garrison troops and thousands of Soul Masters inside the city, we were able to secure the city's defenses."

We anticipate we can hold out for at least half a month, awaiting the arrival of more reinforcements from within the sect. If the two Supreme Elders can personally lead the main force to arrive, this crisis will naturally be resolved, and we might even be able to turn the tide and severely damage the Tang Sect and the Douling Empire…”

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Wan Hun Douluo interrupted him irritably.

"Just how bad is the situation? How many enemy troops are there in total? Where is Tang Lan now?"

Black Crow Douluo choked for a moment, then quickly said.

"Based on reports from various sources, the total number of enemy troops outside the city... is probably no less than 500,000! As for Tang Lan's exact location... it has not yet been determined, but he is very likely commanding from within the attacking army. The fact that the West Gate was breached so strangely and quickly is very likely his doing!"

An army of 500,000! Tang Lan himself has arrived!

These two pieces of news struck Wan Hun Douluo like two thunderbolts, turning his face deathly pale and extinguishing his last shred of hope.

He completely panicked!
The enemy's forces far outnumber ours, and they may even have the upper hand in high-end combat. With a ruthless figure like Tang Lan in command, how long can Dongyang City hold out? One day? Two days? Once the city walls are completely breached and the army pours into street fighting, he, the elder responsible for guarding the most important "sacrifice," will inevitably become the primary target!
No! We absolutely cannot sit idly by and wait to die!
A look of madness and ruthlessness flashed in Wan Hun Douluo's eyes as he suddenly looked at Hei Ya Douluo.

"Black Crow! Go now and mobilize all the remaining garrison troops and Soul Masters in the city. Hold them off at all costs! Especially in the West City, you must drive the enemy troops that have broken in out, or at least keep them bogged down in street fighting! Every minute counts!"

Black Crow Douluo swallowed hard and said with difficulty.

"Elder, the city's garrison is already mobilizing to resist according to the plan, but the enemy's offensive is too fierce, especially their rapid-fire soul-energy crossbow bolts, which are causing too much damage to our defending soldiers and low-level soul masters... and there's a breach in the west gate..."

"I do not care!"

"Wanhun Douluo roared."

"You are the city lord! This is your city! You figure something out! I have more important things to do!"

Black Crow Douluo dared not say anything more and could only clasp his hands in a fist salute.

"Yes, Your Majesty! I obey!"

After saying that, his figure turned into a wisp of black smoke and hurriedly left, heading towards the chaotic front line.

After dismissing Black Crow Douluo, Ten Thousand Souls Douluo paced back and forth a few steps, his sinister face shifting with an unpredictable expression before finally settling into a desperate, ferocious look.

He turned abruptly and strode quickly toward his private chamber deep within the city lord's mansion.

After passing through several heavily guarded corridors and opening several heavy stone doors that required specific soul power imprints and incantations to open, Wan Hun Douluo entered a cold, spacious secret chamber with walls covered in eerie blood-red runes.

In the center of the secret chamber, there was a stone platform raised above the ground. On the platform, something was quietly placed.

It was a furnace cauldron no bigger than the palm of your hand. The cauldron had an ancient and strange shape, and was neither gold nor jade. Its material was difficult to identify, and its entire body had a dark color that was a mixture of blood and black.

The furnace body is decorated with bas-reliefs of distorted mountains and rivers, interspersed with many ferocious, clawing beasts that seem to be struggling and roaring. The furnace lid is tightly closed, fitting perfectly.

Just by looking at this cauldron, one can feel an intense, irrepressible evil aura and resentment emanating from it, and faintly, one can almost hear the desperate cries and curses of countless living beings before their deaths.

If someone with a weak will or low soul power looks at it for too long, they may even feel their mind waver and see many phantoms before their eyes, giving them the illusion that their soul is about to be sucked into them!
This is precisely the most important mission objective of the Ten Thousand Souls Douluo's journey, and also one of the core containers of the Holy Spirit Cult's "Bloody Bird" plan—the Soul Refining Furnace! Inside the furnace, he was sealed and compressed from Black Iron City, Gray Rock City, Iron Forest Fortress, and other places.

The massive amounts of flesh and blood essence and soul energy collected through bloody sacrifices! The sheer size and malevolence of this energy are enough to drive any evil soul master mad, and it is also a key "fuel" for a major plot by the Holy Spirit Cult.

Wanhun Douluo walked to the stone platform, extended his slightly trembling hand, and carefully picked up the Soul Refining Furnace. The furnace was icy cold to the touch, and the evil and resentful energy directly drilled into his body through his palm, making him shiver involuntarily, but his eyes revealed greed and madness.

"Tang Lan... Douling Empire... do you think victory is assured?"

The Soul Douluo stared at the Soul Refining Furnace in his hand, his voice hoarse and venomous.

"You want to take over Dongyang City? You want to steal my Soul Refining Furnace? Dream on!"

A hysterical look appeared on his face.

"Since your army has besieged the city, you've come at the perfect time! Originally, this energy was intended for another purpose... but now, I can't worry about that anymore! I will use the 'sacrifices' stored in this Soul Refining Furnace as a catalyst, with Dongyang City as the base, and the lives of your hundreds of thousands of soldiers and soul masters as the new sacrifices..."

"Launch 'Bloodthirsty Birds' again! Even if we can't sacrifice you all, we'll inflict heavy casualties and severely weaken you! This will buy time for our Holy Church's reinforcements to arrive! Perhaps... we can even severely injure or kill Tang Lan!"

A crazy and vicious plan quickly took shape in his mind.

He wanted to use the existing energy in the Soul Refining Furnace as a "seed" to attempt to sacrifice the attacking enemy troops during the city's collapse! This was undoubtedly extremely risky.

The requirements for controlling the Soul Refining Furnace and the formation are extremely high, and it would waste a more important purpose originally planned. But at this moment, facing a desperate situation, the Myriad Souls Douluo can no longer care about such things.

Meanwhile, in the shadows of a quiet alleyway near the back gate of the city lord's mansion, piled with miscellaneous items, several dark figures quietly emerged—Tang Lan and his group of eight.

They had already changed out of their conspicuous night clothes and replaced them with ordinary clothes that they had taken from several low-ranking servants and guards of the city lord's mansion who had been knocked unconscious. Although they did not fit well, they were enough to blend in with the chaotic crowd in the mansion.

The eight people split up, pretending to be in a hurry and panic, and followed some servants and housekeepers who also looked terrified and didn't know where to go, and sneaked into the city lord's mansion through an inconspicuous side door.

The interior of the mansion was far more vast and intricate than it appeared from the outside, with pavilions and towers interspersed with eerie and sinister architecture, revealing the owner's refined yet dark taste. (End of Chapter)