CHAPTER 186: CHAPTER 182: THE VENGEANCE OF ANNIHILATION, AWAKENING OF THE NINE-INFANT!

"Father, what should we do?"

"Patriarch, you must come up with a plan quickly!"

"It’s over, everything is over!"

Shen Ling’s son, also Shen Tianqi’s father, watched in horror as his uncles scattered, only to be relentlessly pursued and devoured by an invisible, eerie force. They collapsed to the ground, turning into empty husks.

The scene before them defied any scholarly explanation.

Even a cursed Pet Beast would exhibit spiritual fluctuations, but this silent attack had felled over twenty Shen Clan members in succession, each a pillar in their respective fields. It was too bizarre!

Even if they survived this strange event, without this group of core members, the Shen Family would be critically weakened, facing a desperate struggle to recover.

"Escape!"

Shen Ling took a deep breath, commanding the Red Cloud Eagle to ascend higher, fleeing the Shen Family grounds as if escaping a cataclysm.

The next moment, he witnessed an unbelievable sight. The Shen Clan members following on their flying Pet Beasts suddenly turned ashen-faced and, within moments, fell lifelessly.

With the Masters dead, their flying Pet Beasts shrieked in distress and crashed, plummeting from the sky like a meteor shower.

A chilling dread seized the survivors, a cold fear rising from the base of their spines.

This eerie presence can fly!

Or rather, its infectious power was so overwhelming it was as if all Shen Family members had already been infected, afflicted by this bizarre curse!

"What exactly is it that seeks to extinguish our Shen Family?!"

"It’s catching up!"

"Save... Patriarch, save me! I’m your grandson, after all..."

"Third Uncle, Sixth Uncle, all... all perished... Can any of us even survive?"

Despair etched itself onto the faces of the Shen Family members.

The killing intent drew closer with every passing moment. The eerie presence randomly devoured one person after another, relentlessly pushing their endurance to its limits.

The deceased were their own kin, their family members. The pressure was horrifying. Everyone deeply felt their helplessness; everything they did was in vain. Ultimately, they could not escape death.

In the face of this eerie presence, even a Golden Beast Tamer was powerless, forced to flee in haste.

WHOOSH!

The Red Cloud Eagle transformed into a crimson cloud, streaking across the sky. Its speed was so great it even alerted Yaoguang City’s enforcers; flying Pet Beasts had speed limits within the city, and violators faced heavy fines.

Yet, despite this, the eerie presence still caught up.

"Not good!"

Shen Ling unleashed his Gold-rank spiritual energy, forming a golden barrier that enveloped everyone on the Red Cloud Eagle.

But the eerie presence drifted in effortlessly, carrying with it a chill that pierced the soul. A few clan members, faces etched with despair, collapsed silently, their breath ceasing, becoming empty husks.

"Father, save me..."

His son’s face was a mask of terror, as if he had witnessed something truly dreadful. The light in his eyes dimmed, his breathing grew shallow, and he tumbled from the eagle’s back.

"AAAH! Who exactly is massacring my Shen Family?!"

Shen Ling was on the verge of madness. He knew his son, parasitized by this eerie presence, was undoubtedly doomed. In that instant, he realized he was the only one left in the Shen Family; everyone else was dead.

「At this time.」

The Red Cloud Eagle reached its destination: a secluded villa estate.

By the time the officials arrived, it would be too late. For any hope of immediate salvation, he had to reach the temporary residence of this lord.

He took out a communication device and placed a piece of bone into a recessed slot.

Immediately, a massive gate constructed from countless skeletons materialized before him.

This lord is still here, thank goodness!

Shen Ling’s heart eased, and he was about to plead with this lord when a primal, forest-like aura enveloped him. The void fractured, his thoughts grew sluggish, and half of his soul was forcibly dragged from his body.

The eerie presence had targeted him!

"My Lord, I beg you to save me..." he cried out anxiously, his body erupting with golden spiritual energy. Yet, he felt his control over his physical form slipping away, as if his soul were detaching.

CRUNCH...

A chaotic shadow erupted from the bone gate, engulfing the eerie presence that was tugging at Shen Ling. Immediately, a rustling, gnawing sound followed...

HMPH!

A figure cloaked in bone armor and a black robe, its lower half resembling a mass of writhing, inky blackness, slid out from the partially open bone door.

Countless scarlet, vertical pupils fixed on Shen Ling. On him, centipede-like lines of ancient script writhed and undulated. Upon closer inspection, these characters were formed from wriggling worms—surreal and grotesque.

"My Lord, please save me! I’m willing to pay any price..."

The Shen Family’s elites, its high-ranking members, its entire core circle—all annihilated, the family now existing in name only. Hatred blazed in Shen Ling’s eyes. He vowed to investigate the source of this eerie presence.

The Qin Family, Chu Yi, even this lord before him... they were all suspects!

Revenge!

Shen Ling’s eyes burned with fury. The blood feud for the extermination of his clan was irreconcilable.

Even if... he had to become a lackey of the Evil Gods, doomed eternally!

「」

"Today is truly a fine day. Time to clear out some inventory," Chu Yi mused, picking up his little notebook. He cross-referenced it with photos before tossing the captured souls into the Chaotic Burial Mound for the Nine Infants to snack on.

Capturing souls within a thousand-mile radius was truly a Divine Technique for eliminating enemies.

Of course, the Soul Capturing Spell had its limitations.

Back in the Royal City, all his attempts to capture the soul of the Succubus Princess had ended in failure; it was largely ineffective against Dawn Star-level combatants.

But against anyone below Dawn Star rank, it was unfailingly accurate.

Where is Shen Ling’s soul?

Chu Yi wondered. He had confirmed that the entire core circle of the Shen Family was wiped out, yet Shen Ling himself was missing from the final count.

His deliberate plan was to make this old man suffer immense pressure and torment, to watch the elites of his clan die before his very eyes, making his suffering unbearable before finally, ’kindly,’ granting him release.

I am truly a living Bodhisattva.

Chu Yi hummed a little tune. Having wiped out the Shen Family in one fell swoop, he performed several more soul captures but still couldn’t seize Shen Ling’s soul.

Shen Ling is the head of a family. It’s inevitable he has life-saving measures to protect against soul attacks. That’s quite normal.

He pondered for a moment, arriving at a reasonable explanation.

I thought about using [Something from Nothing], but after checking my Divine Power reserves, which are nearing the critical line, I realized this small fry isn’t worth it.

HMPH. Since you have treasures protecting your soul, I’ll just perform a soul capture every few hours. I refuse to believe I can’t capture you.

Master Chu had all the time in the world to slowly play with this old bastard, to torment him to death.

Furthermore, I could also launch a surprise attack at night, sending a Time Blade to cut through space and kill him.

UGH...

At this moment, in the Chaotic Burial Mound, a slender woman in a scarlet palace gown, possessing nine incredibly beautiful faces, began to stir. Her rosy lips parted and closed, devouring the captured souls. As she chewed, a sickening, rustling sound filled the air, enough to set one’s teeth on edge.

Is she awake? Chu Yi thought with surprise.

Ever since the Moon Princess had been implanted with a Seed of the Desire God—a seed from the Desire Mother Tree—the Nine Infants had fallen into a prolonged slumber, continuously consuming souls. Finally, she was awakening.

NNNGH...

One by one, the nine beautiful heads awoke. After a moment of grogginess, they immediately emerged from the Chaotic Burial Mound. Their first glance towards Chu Yi conveyed a multitude of expressions: charming giggles, icy indifference, affectionate gazes, gleeful yandere-like delight, heroic spirit, childlike innocence...