Li Guanqi's heart shuddered, and the flame mark between his brows flickered madly with a faint glow.
Bloodshot veins crept across his white eyes, his fingernails dug deep into his palms, and the veins on his forehead throbbed violently.
Bolts of lightning scattered in all directions, terrifying the onlookers and sending the observing alchemists scurrying in panic.
Meng Jiangchu, Xiang Huaizhi, and Gu Changsheng each pressed a hand firmly onto Li Guanqi at the same time!
Only then was the turbulent, surging power inside him forced back under control.
Li Guanqi clamped his eyes shut, drew several deep breaths, and slapped over a dozen inscribed talismans onto himself before finally quelling the tempest within his sea of consciousness.
"Are you all right?"
"What happened to make your emotions fluctuate so violently?"
"Even with the three of us here, you need to rein it in."
Each of the three men spoke in turn. Meng Jiangchu keenly sensed that something was seriously wrong with Li Guanqi's state of mind.
Looking down at the cracked life-bound jade slip in Li Guanqi's hand, he instantly understood what was happening.
Meng Jiangchu reached out, touched it lightly with a fingertip, and closed his eyes, murmuring softly, "Fortunately, his life is not in immediate danger."
"He must have endured some inhuman agony that nearly shattered his life thread! Thankfully, that mysterious power has already receded."
Li Guanqi forced himself to calm down and inspected it, finding the situation to be just as the man said.
The fractured crack was now gradually receding. Killing intent surged in Li Guanqi's eyes, and he ground out through clenched teeth:
"I leave my soul matters to you seniors!"
"I must step out for a moment!"
Gu Changsheng said nothing more, merely handing Li Guanqi a token that granted unrestricted passage in and out of the domain.
Meng Wanshu followed Li Guanqi as he vanished from the Gu clan domain in an instant.
The moment Li Guanqi stepped outside the domain, he pulled out his Pavilion Master jade slip and spoke in an icy tone:
"Have you still not located Ye Feng?!"
"Spare no expense! Mobilize every connection and resource at our disposal to find him!"
Lowering the jade slip, Li Guanqi's shoulders trembled faintly.
Meng Wanshu reached out a hand, hesitating in midair without letting it fall, gazing at his trembling shoulders with heartache in her eyes.
She knew how agonizing Ye Feng's capture was for Li Guanqi, and what immense pressure he was under.
As the eldest among his sworn brothers, he had watched helplessly as his brother was dragged away, unable to do a thing.
Now Ye Feng's very life was in mortal peril, yet Li Guanqi could only burn with helpless anxiety.
Facing the empty void, Li Guanqi threw out over a hundred savage punches in rapid succession!
Rumble! Boom! Crash!
"Aaaaargh! Ahhh!"
A hoarse, agonizing roar echoed through the heavens. It was the only way he could vent the stifling torment suffocating his chest.
***
Deep within the void stood a pitch-black grand hall.
A man whose entire existence blurred between illusion and reality planted his foot on a gray-haired youth.
By now, the power within Ye Feng's right arm had grown terrifying beyond measure, nearly rivaling the peak of the Body Integration Realm!
Yet to achieve this, Ye Feng had endured boundless, excruciating agony. He lay sprawled on the ground, tears, mucus, and saliva pooling beneath him.
His hair hung disheveled and matted with blood, and his battered forehead was cracked open and dripping crimson.
His limbs were twisted at grotesque, unnatural angles, surrounded by the remnants of black pool water that had only just receded.
As though he had been soaked in foul sludge, Ye Feng was drenched from head to toe, dripping with a mixture of black liquid and cold sweat.
Red bursts of broken capillaries filled his eyes as he lay on the ground in utter weakness.
Demonic qi coiled thickly around his right arm, and the demon spirit's power grew ever more formidable.
His right eye had turned entirely pitch-black, its pupil a bizarre, menacing scarlet.
Sha stood before him, grinding his right foot into Ye Feng's head, sneering with mild amusement.
"Your willpower is surprisingly strong. Even after all that, the demon spirit hasn't even claimed half your soul—it has barely taken thirty percent."
"I'm truly curious what on earth is keeping you going."
"Brotherhood? Family?"
Ye Feng's eyes were completely hollow, as if he couldn't hear a word Sha said. Half his face was ground into a bloody pulp beneath Sha's crushing force.
His cheekbone was crushed, leaving that side of his face caved in.
Sha slowly lifted his foot, crouched down, and hoisted Ye Feng up by the hair.
"Peak Body Integration... that should suffice for now."
"I'll need a few other things before completing the demon soul conversion. In the meantime, you have your first task to attend to."
Bang!
With a flick of his hand, he carelessly hurled Ye Feng across the hall. The youth slammed violently against a stone pillar.
The pillar cracked, sending shards of stone flying everywhere.
A woman clad in a black dress knelt respectfully not far away.
Sha tossed a jade slip onto the ground and said softly, "Recorded in here are five chosen prodigies from the Ethereal Immortal Domain and the Ancient Clans."
"Your task is to use whatever means necessary to capture all five of them within one year."
"Hmm... from now on, we shall be known as the Heavenly Demon Hall!"
"Hehehe!"
Ye Feng's ghost hand demon spirit flowed out like viscous liquid, instantly scooping up the jade slip.
The demon spirit then manifested the fawning form of an old man, bowing and nodding repeatedly as it forced Ye Feng's body to drop to one knee!
Ye Feng stiffened his neck, refusing to bow, but the demon spirit's overwhelming force bore down on him. A sickening crack of splintering bone echoed out as his head was violently forced downward!
Except... Ye Feng had his neck snapped by the brute force of the demon spirit...
Sha seemed to have thought of something amusing, his mood lifting noticeably.
With his hands clasped behind his back, he turned away from the two of them and strolled toward the hall's exit. Glancing back at Song Zhi'ang, he said in a chilling voice,
"You will accompany him. You know what I expect."
Song Zhi'ang kept an impassive face, replying in a deep voice, "This subordinate understands, Hall Master."
Sha nodded in satisfaction, though he soon furrowed his brows.
"Tsk. Since we are calling ourselves the Heavenly Demon Divine Hall, shouldn't I change my name as well?"
"What should it be...?"
"How about... Lutian? Hehe, hahahaha!"
"A splendid name. From now on... you will address me as Hall Master Lutian! Have you got that?"
Feeling the soul pressure vibrating through the surrounding void, Song Zhi'ang answered in a pale, muted whisper,
"This subordinate will remember."
Adopting his new name seemed to put Sha in high spirits. With an icy glint in his eyes, he looked down at the woman beside his feet.
He slowly leaned in close to her ear, murmuring in a voice devoid of warmth,
"Be sure to carry out my orders diligently. After all, I paid a tremendous price to raise you to your current realm."
"Never forget: everything you possess was granted by me."
"Just as I can elevate you into the Body Integration Realm, I can easily strip you down to a mere mortal."
Song Zhi'ang's shoulders trembled slightly, not daring to look up and meet his gaze.
The agony Ye Feng had just endured was nothing compared to what she had suffered; the torment of ten thousand demons devouring her soul had been far more horrifying.
She did not even dare look back upon what she had been put through.
"Understood..."
After Sha departed, only the mocking jeers of the demon spirit and Ye Feng's labored, rasping breaths remained in the hall.
Song Zhi'ang rose to her feet, cast a deep, lingering look at Ye Feng, and without a word, turned and walked away.
Chapter 983