The man in black stood expressionless, retracting the bell, and the light orb completely vanished into the runes on its surface.
At that moment, three pitch-black pupils simultaneously turned towards Chen Ping.
The leader’s voice rasped like two shards of ice grinding together, “There’s a powerful soul in your sea of consciousness, hand it over.”
Chen Ping’s heart sank, instinctively activating the Heart Condensation Technique to protect his sea of consciousness.
“No,” Chen Ping’s tone was icy.
“Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit,” the man in black wasted no more words. The three simultaneously formed hand seals, and three black light ropes shot from their sleeves, the myriad soul flames strung on them suddenly surging, transforming into massive soul-shade nets enveloping Chen Ping.
The nets emitted shrill wails, causing ripples in Chen Ping’s sea of consciousness.
Three soul-shade nets closed in like spider webs, the cries of countless lost souls turning into tangible sound waves, making Chen Ping’s eardrums throb with pain.
He instinctively activated the Unbreakable Golden Body, his entire form covered in golden scales.
Hu Mazi also instantly produced several talismans, forming layers of protective shields around them.
“Sss…”
The moment the soul-shade nets touched the light shields, the bone-chilling soul flames sizzled like snow meeting a blazing sun, turning into wisps of green smoke.
Chen Ping simultaneously employed the Heart Condensation Technique, frantically absorbing the yin-shade energy he came into contact with.
“This shade energy, it’s bloody pure…” Chen Ping was utterly shocked, never expecting the yin-shade energy of these three men in black to be so pristine!
Such pure yin-shade energy was immensely beneficial to Chen Ping’s cultivation!
Seeing this, the leader’s withered face showed a hint of surprise for the first time, “Impossible! Soul-shade energy slays gods and annihilates demons, how can a mere mortal body resist it?”
Chen Ping didn’t respond, but a playful glint ignited in his eyes.
In his palm, flames suddenly began to flicker, their colours constantly shifting.
“Burn!”
Golden flames roared out like a dragon breaking free, instantly reducing the three soul-shade nets to ash.
The flames’ momentum didn’t waver, charging straight at the three men in black.
The man on the right hurriedly raised a black banner engraved with skulls, unleashing countless ghostly shadows as it unfurled, yet they couldn’t withstand the glassy flames for even half a breath, crumbling into charred powder.
“Supreme fire! And a fused supreme fire, how does he possess such power?”
The man in the middle cried out, releasing twelve bronze nails from his sleeve, their twisted soul runes forming a miniature array in front of him.
Yet, the moment the flames touched the array, the soul runes on the bronze nails shattered inch by inch, and scorching sparks landed on his black robe, burning holes that emitted black smoke.
“Retreat!”
The leader made a snap decision, his waist gourd exploding, releasing thousands of soul-shade spikes to cover their retreat.
Chen Ping’s gaze turned cold, instantly conjuring a fireball that seemed unremarkable but caused the surrounding space to ripple.
“Trying to escape?”
The fireball shot out, splitting into three streams of light in mid-air, precisely striking the backs of the three men in black.
The man on the left screamed, engulfed entirely by flames, his soul unable to escape before turning to ash.
The man in the middle was grazed by the fireball at his waist, half his body instantly carbonised, stumbling as he crashed through a stone wall and fled into the mist.
The leader reacted fastest, raising a pitch-black shield to block the fireball, but he was still forced to cough up black blood, the souls in his gourd scattering from the violent impact.
“You’ll pay for this, kid!”
A hoarse, venomous voice faded into the deep mist, the chilling yin aura between heaven and earth receding, leaving only scorched ground and the lingering smell of sulphur.
“Chen Ping, are you alright?”
Hu Mazi hurriedly asked.
Yun Wuya, meanwhile, stared warily in the direction the men in black had vanished, cold sweat dripping from his forehead, “Those three were from that mysterious organisation, we’re in trouble now!”
“Let’s get out of here first,” Chen Ping retracted the supreme fire, his brows slightly furrowed.
