Douluo Continent: Twin Souls of the Underworld, Holding the Power of Life and Death

Qian Anci slowly withdrew the dragon claw.

The middle-aged man's body froze on the spot, blood gushing from the hole, disintegrating before it even hit the ground.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only made a "ho ho" sound.

The vitality in my eyes vanished rapidly, eventually turning into a desolate grayness.

Qian Anci withdrew his dragon form, and the scales on his arm slowly disappeared.

He looked down at his palms, his fingertips still feeling warm.

This was his first murder.

There was no discomfort as I had imagined, only a strange emptiness.

It was as if something was quietly loosening from the depths of his soul.

"Goodbye."

Xia Die's voice resonated deep within her soul, carrying a gentle sigh.

"You did a great job."

Qian Anci did not answer.

He turned to look at the children entangled in vines, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Without the middle-aged man's soul power to sustain them, the black vines are frantically draining the children's last bit of life force.

More than ten small bodies twitched in the air, their faces turning ashen at a visible speed.

"No……"

Qian Anci flashed forward, wielding the Grim Reaper's Scythe to sever the vines.

The children fell like puppets with broken strings.

He caught the nearest one, a girl of about seven or eight years old, with a small silver bell tied to her wrist.

It was Ashi's younger sister, Xiaotang.

The girl's eyes were half-open, and her pupils were already dilated.

She looked at Qian Anci, her lips moving slightly as if she wanted to say something, but ultimately she couldn't utter a sound.

The little hand fell limply to its side, and the silver bell rang softly.

Qian Anci remained frozen in place.

He could feel the warmth in his palms rapidly dissipating.

The children he saved.

The breath was gradually fading away.

The Soul-Devouring Vine's parasitism was too thorough; once the middle-aged man died, the vine went berserk, draining all their life force.

"Your Highness..."

Ya Yi's voice came from behind, carrying a hint of heaviness.

"They're... beyond saving."

Qian Anci looked down at Xiao Tang's ashen face.

Those eyes were still half-open, as if looking at something he couldn't reach.

Ah Shi stumbled in and, upon seeing this scene, was struck dumb.

"Xiaotang..."

He knelt down, trembling as he received his sister's body, tears streaming down his face.

"Xiao Tang... Brother is late... Brother is late..."

Qian Anci slowly stood up.

He looked at the dozen or so small bodies lying in the cave, at Ashi's broken cries, and at Ya Yi's silent back.

Something cold welled up from the bottom of my heart.

"The Butterfly of Distant Lands"

He whispered in his heart, his voice hoarse.

"Can I...save them?"

A brief silence.

Xia Die's voice rang out, carrying a hint of solemnity, yet also a trace of emotion he couldn't understand.

"An Ci, their physical bodies are dead, but their souls have not completely dissipated."

"The authority of the underworld can guide the souls of the dead."

"But you need to think this through—"

"To guide the souls of the dead means you will become their ferryman. Their souls will return to your underworld, not to the cycle of reincarnation in this world."

A gray glint flashed in Qian Anci's eyes.

"Then...can they be reincarnated?"

"Yes," Xia Die's voice was gentle, "but you will sleep in the underworld until you are strong enough to take over the cycle of reincarnation in this world."

"or……"

She paused for a moment: "You can let them exist in another form. Ferrymen of the underworld, guardians of the dead."

"An Ci, clear your mind and lend me your body."

Qian Anci slowly raised his right hand.

The Grim Reaper's Scythe condensed in his palm, and a grayish-white aura of death swirled around it like a thin mist.

Three spirit rings rose from beneath his feet: purple, black, and black.

The third spirit ring glowed with a dim light.

[Exile to the Underworld]

But this time, he did not strike the enemy.

The scythe slashed through the void, and the gray-white death aura spread like a tide, but it did not corrode; rather, it enveloped.

A gray-white light gate slowly took shape in the center of the cave.

Behind the door lay that familiar desolate wasteland of the underworld.

The sky was leaden gray, the earth was cracked and pale, and the gray fog churned endlessly.

"This is……"

Ya Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and he subconsciously took a half step back.

The aura emanating from that portal of light made even a Soul Douluo like him tremble in his soul.

Qian Anci did not explain.

He simply walked slowly toward the children's bodies, his scythe lightly touching their foreheads.

"In my name, I guide the departed souls."

His voice was soft, yet it carried a kind of majesty that seemed to transcend life and death.

"On the path to the underworld, there is neither birth nor death, only the path to return."

A pale purple light emanated from the scythe, enveloping Xiao Tang's body.

The girl's body gradually turned into specks of light and dissipated, and a semi-transparent figure slowly rose from the specks of light.

That was Xiaotang's soul.

She looked paler and more translucent than when she was alive, but her eyes were clear and bright.

She looked at Qian Anci, then at Ashi kneeling on the ground, and her lips moved.

"elder brother……"

The sound was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

Ashi suddenly looked up at the semi-transparent figure, his whole body trembling.

"Xiaotang...Xiaotang!"

He reached out to grab it, but passed right through the illusory figure.

"Don't go...don't leave your brother..."

Xiao Tang's soul drifted toward the gate of light and stopped at the threshold.

She turned to look at Ashi and gave him a faint smile.

"Brother, don't be sad."

"Big brother will take care of me."

She looked at Qian Anci, her clear eyes filled with trust.

"Is that right, Sir Extraditer?"

A gray glint settled in Qian Anci's eyes.

"right."

His voice was hoarse, yet resolute.

"In the underworld, I will protect you."

Xiao Tang smiled.

That smile was like the first flower blooming in the desolate wilderness of the underworld, pale yet gentle.

She turned and floated into the portal of light.

Qian Anci continued walking towards the next child.

One, two, three...

More than ten translucent souls rose from the gray-white death aura and drifted toward the portal of light.

Some were crying, some were looking around blankly, and some were quietly accepting it all.

Qian Anci led them all away one by one, and the gray-white light on the Grim Reaper's scythe grew stronger and stronger.

His face grew paler and paler.

Guiding the souls of the dead consumes his soul power.

"An Ci, that's enough."

Xia Die's voice carried a hint of urgency.

"If this continues, you'll damage the foundation!"

Qian Anci did not stop.

He walked toward the last body, a boy who was about five or six years old.

A broken vine was still stuck in the boy's chest; his death was gruesome.

"The last one."

He said to Xia Die in his heart.

"Let me... finish seeing them off."

The sickle lightly touched the boy's brow.

A pale purple light shone forth.

However, this time, an unexpected change occurred.

As the boy's soul rose, a dark red glint suddenly flashed in his empty eyes.

"Be careful!"

The exclamation of the butterfly resounded deep within her soul.

The soul suddenly twisted and turned into a pitch-black shadow, lunging towards Qian Anci!