Douro Continent

Chapter 340 The Soul-Chasing, Life-Taking Yama's Decree (Part 2)

A silent black light had already reached Shi Nian. As a Soul Saint, Shi Nian's reaction was extremely fast; it was too late for him to dodge. His arms rose simultaneously in an almost impossible instant, his soul power condensed to its extreme. His left arm felt slightly numb; the black light had already entered it. Even the soul power he unleashed at his absolute limit, risking injury, couldn't stop it.

boom--

Tang San deflated like a punctured balloon, his body tumbling through the air before crashing heavily to the ground, panting heavily. The light in his eyes had returned to normal; he used one hand to barely support his upper body as he lifted himself up, while wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth with the other.

Although he blocked the black light, Shi Nian's eyes were now blank, and he muttered, "No, this is impossible. You are just a Soul Master who has just passed level forty, how could you possibly break my seventh Soul Skill?"

Tang San looked at him coldly, then leaned against a large tree and barely managed to stand up.

"Nothing is impossible in this world. You lost."

"Hahahaha—" Shi Nian burst into wild laughter, "I lost? You're so young, yet you've got quite the nerve. Although I don't know how you saw through my seventh soul skill, Nightmare, do you really think that's enough to defeat me? That's laughable. With my level 72 soul power, even without using any skills, you can't break through my defenses or restrain me. Even if you break through my skill, the outcome won't change. However, before you die, I'll give you a chance. I'm very curious about how you broke through my Nightmare divine skill. Tell me, and I might let you die a little more painlessly."

Tang San leaned against a large tree and stood there. "You have no right to know. Just stay a fool. If the King of Hell calls you to die at midnight, who dares to keep you alive until dawn? Goodbye—."

Shi Nian was stunned for a moment, then his expression suddenly turned strange. His whole body was completely stiff. He raised his right hand, pointing at Tang San, wanting to say something, but he couldn't utter a single word. His eyes seemed to be bulging out of their sockets.

Tang San continued to coldly observe his opponent, as if he had already anticipated everything that was happening before his eyes.

With a thud, Shi Nian's body collapsed to the ground, black blood flowing from his seven orifices. His entire body was covered in a strange black color, and the black blood spread across the ground, seemingly hollowing out his body. Gradually, it spread from the inside out to his skin and bones, and Shi Nian's body vanished into thin air in the blackness.

Did Shi Nian really die mysteriously? No, of course not. Heaven is fair; luck is only relative. He died at Tang San's hands, or rather, he died as a result of Tang San's scheme.

As a Soul Saint of level 72, Shi Nian could never have imagined that Tang San's Purple Demon Eye was the nemesis of all illusions.

If it were the original Purple Demon Eye, it might not have been able to break through Shi Nian's seventh soul skill due to the huge difference in soul power between the two. However, after Tang San consumed the Autumn Water Dew, his Purple Demon Eye became like a Fiery Eye, capable of seeing through anything, not even the illusion of the seventh soul skill. Even the ninth soul skill, if it was an illusion, could not deceive his eyes.

Even before Tang San noticed anything amiss, he had secretly used his Purple Demon Eye to carefully observe everything around him. At the time, he believed Tang San was in an illusion, but in reality, Tang San had always known his true location. He simply hadn't acted on it.

The difference in soul power between level 41 and level 72 was simply too great. Tang San knew that even if he wanted to escape, it wouldn't be an easy task. Therefore, from the moment Shi Nian appeared to kill him, he was creating an opportunity for himself, a chance to deliver a fatal blow to his opponent. Tang San knew that would be his only possibility of survival.

So he waited. Even enduring the agonizing torment of the illusion, he endured it all, only erupting when Xiao Wu was about to be truly humiliated. Although it wasn't the best time for Tang San to seek revenge, he had already reached his breaking point.

With Tang San's intelligence, wouldn't he know that the Blue Silver Grass covering his body couldn't protect him in an illusion? No, of course not. He used the Blue Silver Grass not to protect himself, but to block Shi Nian's vision. With Shi Nian blocked, Tang San took something from his Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moonlight, something that was the only thing that might give him a chance to turn the tide.

The third-ranked hidden weapon of the Tang Clan's inner sect is the Soul-Chasing and Life-Taking Yama's Decree.

He didn't choose mechanical hidden weapons, nor did he choose the Mother-Child Soul-Chasing Deadly Darts he had crafted, which could cover a wide area. Tang San knew he only had one chance. If he failed, given the difference in their soul power, even if his opponent didn't use the Remnant Dream Martial Soul, he would still be the one to die. Besides the King of Hell's Decree, Tang San couldn't think of any other weapon that could break through his opponent's defenses.

He didn't even use any control skills to lock onto the opponent's body, because it was completely unnecessary. Firstly, Tang San simply didn't have enough soul power to unleash soul skills. Secondly, did the King of Hell's Invitation even need to lock onto the opponent? If so, how could this hidden weapon be ranked third in the Tang Sect? How could it be hailed as the King of Hell's Invitation?

That faint black light was actually the condensation of Tang San's entire soul power. This was the power of a single strike that Tang San only possessed after his cultivation level exceeded forty.

Back then, Tang San had crafted three Yama's Decree near the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire, and now, its terrifying effects were finally being revealed.

The King of Hell's Decree has two effects, also known as a double kill with one decree. It is a deadly poison with no antidote. Even if the limb is severed the moment the poison needle enters the body, it cannot stop the poison from spreading instantly. Even Tang San himself needs to push his Xuan Yu Hand to its limit when using the King of Hell's Decree, and dares not easily come into contact with it.

Besides the poison, what makes the Yama's Decree even more terrifying is its structure. Once inside the body, it immediately shatters, dispersing the toxins that are transmitted through the bloodstream. At the same time, the shattered Yama's Decree also travels directly into the heart via the bloodstream.

This is a double kill with a single decree; no one has ever survived under the Yama's Decree, not even the Tang Clan themselves, who have no chance of finding an antidote. It's not that the Yama's Decree's poison is incurable. There's always a countermeasure in the world; where there's poison, there's an antidote. However, the Yama's Decree spreads far too quickly; even if an antidote existed, there would be absolutely no chance of taking it.

When the Yama's Decree enters the body, one only feels a slight numbness; it brings no pain. By the time one senses something is wrong, death is already imminent. With his previous soul power of level seventy-two, he had only uttered a few words before his entire body turned into a pool of black water.

Tang San didn't leave because he was now exhausted. Was the King of Hell's Decree so easy to unleash? One had to concentrate internal energy at a single point, precisely reaching the devastating limit the deva could withstand, before releasing it. Only then could it ignore all defenses. No protective aura could withstand the devastating attack of the King of Hell's Decree; that was its most terrifying aspect. Coupled with its special technique, dodging was virtually impossible.

In this world, things might change. After all, some powerful defensive soul skills might not be unable to withstand the attack of the King of Hell's Decree, such as the Xuanwu Turtle soul master Tang San and his companions encountered. If the Xuanwu Turtle spirit had been cultivated to a certain level, and with prior preparation to protect its entire body, it might have been able to withstand the King of Hell's Decree. Unfortunately, Shi Nian was an illusion soul master. Defense wasn't his forte to begin with. Moreover, how could he have known that Tang San would possess such a terrifying and domineering hidden weapon?

Gasping for breath, Tang San looked at the pool of black water that had turned the surrounding ground yellow and withered, and couldn't help but feel a wave of fear.

The one who wanted to kill him was, after all, a Soul Saint of level seventy-two. If his opponent hadn't used illusions, but was a power-attack type Soul Master, even if his Death warrant could kill the opponent, it would likely have been a mutual destruction. Deep down, he strongly felt the inadequacy of his strength.

Although I can be considered one of the best among my peers, I am still far, far behind the truly strong.

Tang San took out a piece of dragon fungus leaf from his magic pouch and put it in his mouth to recover his strength. Just as he was preparing to meditate and return to Shrek Academy as soon as possible, he suddenly saw a ball of colorful light in the black water that Shi Nian had transformed into.

A surge of intense surprise welled up within him. He knew all too well the corrosive nature of the Yama's Decree's poison. Not to mention clothing, even hard gemstones would be reduced to nothing by its potent corrosive power. What on earth hadn't been corroded by the poison?

Struggling to his feet, Tang San cautiously approached the Black Water. When he clearly saw the object shimmering with colorful light, his pupils involuntarily contracted.

It was a round bone, about three inches in diameter, shimmering with a faint seven-colored light, and looked like a miniature skull.

The two words suddenly spread through Tang San's mind, causing his brain to go blank for a moment.

Soul bones.

Yes, this must be a soul bone, and an extremely precious piece of skull at that. How could Shi Nian, who possessed the Remnant Dream Martial Soul, have such a treasure?

Tang San felt no joy, only fear. If Shi Nian had used the effect of this soul bone before, then…

-

I need to correct something here regarding the soul bone; I made a mistake and wrote "skull" instead. I'll just revise the beginning since the later arrangements are based on the skull. My apologies.

(End of this chapter)