If one were to judge based on appearances alone, no one would have believed that the young girl before them was one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Holy Spirit Cult.
She looked like an 18 or 19-year-old girl, with large, innocent eyes and adorable double buns on her head. Petite and cute, only about 1.6 meters tall, she wore a short top and skirt that revealed fair arms and legs, giving her an air of youthful energy.
But anyone fooled by her appearance would die a miserable death. No one who could become a Heavenly King of the Holy Spirit Cult was anything less than ruthless.
She possessed the cultivation of a Level 98 Super Douluo, and her spiritual power had already reached the late Domain Realm—stronger even than some half-god Limit Douluos.
Her spirit, the Dark Bell, was a rare combination of darkness and spiritual attributes.
In terms of attributes alone, she surpassed even Leng Yulai, who had the dual attributes of darkness and fire.
Indeed, none who rose to the position of a Heavenly King of the Holy Spirit Cult were easy to deal with.
However, the one she now faced was Leng Yulai. And Leng Yulai was no longer the former Heavenly King of the Holy Spirit Cult she used to be.
The girl gently raised her right hand in the air, summoning a jet-black Dark Bell. Strange runes adorned the bell's surface, glowing green and surrounded by a faint, smoky mist—it was eerie and mysterious.
Under her feet, soul rings began to rise in succession: six black, three red—nine in total.
At the same time, waves of light spread outward, and a layer of dark green battle armor swept up and covered her entire body.
Battle armor aura—Three-Word Battle Armor.
"I've been hearing a lot lately about how fast you've progressed, Sister Phoenix," she said. "They say you've become one of the strongest in the entire continent. In the Endless Mountains, you even killed the quasi-god Black Emperor without giving him a chance to escape. I know I can't beat you, but ever since I became one of the Heavenly Kings, my biggest goal has been to surpass you. If I don't try at least once, I won't be satisfied. Since you're maintaining a massive area soul skill like the Four Realms Revolving Wheel, I imagine it's consuming quite a bit. Let me take advantage of that."
As she spoke, Nanalie suddenly shook the Dark Bell in her hand.
"Ding-ling-ling—!"
A crisp chime rang out, releasing a soundwave that merged with the light from the rings beneath her feet.
The soundwave was emerald green, with form and substance, rippling outward. Following that wave, countless dark green wraiths erupted with shrill howls, surging forth like a geyser and rushing toward Leng Yulai.
"With your talent, you'd be top-tier even at Shrek Academy. I don't know why you chose the path of an evil soul master, but since we share similar fates, let me help you this once."
Leng Yulai sighed softly. With a flip of her delicate hand, the Dark Phoenix Feather turned into a golden Holy Sword. A supremely strong, masculine, and righteous golden aura burst forth from within her.
Raising the golden sword, Leng Yulai swung it with force. Golden sword energy swept in all directions, instantly dyeing Nanalie's green soundwave gold and tearing it apart in two.
The sword energy, having ripped through the soundwave, did not lose momentum—it continued to charge toward Nanalie.
Nanalie's face changed drastically, but as a top-tier Super Douluo, she reacted instinctively. Her body blurred, and the Dark Bell in her hand suddenly enlarged. Her figure melded into the bell, which then expanded further. A humming sound followed.
The true form of the Dark Bell.
Clang——!
A blinding golden sword energy, like lightning splitting the sky, descended violently upon the Dark Bell, instantly turning it gold.
Inside the bell, a painful scream erupted. The bell rapidly shrank, reverting to human form.
"Ahhh…" Nanalie screamed, clutching her head. Her agonized wails made the nearby evil soul masters' scalps go numb. At that moment, her entire body had turned golden—golden light was bursting from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
The pure, masculine sword energy seemed to be tearing her apart from within.
"Dark Phoenix Douluo, we're colleagues—must you go so far?" the Dark Blood Demon stared intently at Leng Yulai, stunned that Nanalie couldn't even take one strike from her.
"I told you, I'm doing this for her own good. Why won't you listen?"
Leng Yulai shook her head, looking calmly at the screaming Nanalie on the ground.
"I endured pain a hundred times worse than this for over four years, all on my own, without any help. I had to figure it out step by step. This sword contains everything I've learned from that experience. I've reduced at least 90% of her pain. She's far luckier than I was."
Her words puzzled everyone, except Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu, who looked at her with heartache in their eyes.
Others may not have understood, but Xia Yi and Leng Yaozhu knew exactly what she meant.
She was purging the evil aura from Nanalie's body.
She had been trapped inside Xia Yi's spiritual world for over four years, and only by using that spiritual world had she managed to completely purge the evil energy within herself.
She had always brushed over the process lightly, but to remove evil energy that had fused into one's soul power, martial soul, and even soul—it was a torment only she truly knew.
Nanalie really was lucky. Now that Leng Yulai's cultivation had soared, and she had also mastered the Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Internal Canon) with a deeper understanding of the Hetu and Luoshu, she could assist Nanalie in purging her evil energy.
Though Nanalie was in great pain now, it was nothing compared to what Leng Yulai had suffered. One could call it child's play by comparison.
The Dark Blood Demon didn't know any of this, but he could feel Nanalie's aura rapidly plummeting—from level 98 to 97—and still falling.
"This is what you call doing her good?" the Dark Blood Demon roared in anger.
"She's different from you. I can't help you. Surrender. I have no desire to kill you, and if you do surrender, maybe my sister can help you."
Leng Yulai sighed.
The elders of the Holy Spirit Cult's Elder Hall had inherently evil spirits—it was inborn. Unlike her and Nanalie, who had only fallen to the evil path later in life, these ones were evil from the root.
Unless their martial souls were removed, there was nothing Leng Yulai could do to help them purge the evil.
She no longer paid attention to the Dark Blood Demon. Her eyes lit up, and her Divine Source Realm spiritual power burst forth, enveloping the entire Holy Spirit Mountain Range.
Under that spiritual power, not even a blade of grass could escape her perception.
The golden Holy Sword in her hand dissolved into countless golden miniature swords, which shot out like a storm.
Among the fifteen Title Douluo in the Holy Spirit Cult's Hall of Worship, aside from the Nether Emperor and Nanalie, the remaining thirteen were instantly locked onto.
The rest of the swords flew out of the Holy Spirit Hall, targeting the fallen evil soul masters.
Locked onto by the golden swords, the evil soul masters activated their martial souls to defend.
But Leng Yulai had already said—even if the Elder Hall and the Hall of Worship's top powers joined forces, they were no match for her.
Now that she was only dealing with the relatively weaker Hall of Worship, there was no chance she would fail.
The golden swords pierced directly into the foreheads of the evil soul masters.
Ahhhhhhh——!
Agonized screams echoed through the entire Holy Spirit Mountain Range like the howls of ten thousand ghosts.
Many couldn't bear the pain. Clutching their heads, they began smashing themselves against the surrounding snow-covered mountains.
Not everyone had the endurance of Leng Yulai or Nanalie.
Seeing the scene, Leng Yulai stopped her assault and looked at the Dark Blood Demon. "The Four Realms Revolving Wheel will only spin faster and faster. Whether you kill me or surrender, I suggest you decide soon."
"Surrendering is impossible," he snapped without hesitation, hearing the agonized wails of the Hall of Worship's experts nearby.
In terms of evil deeds, the Elder Hall's people were far worse than the Hall of Worship.
And if those in the Hall of Worship were being punished so cruelly, what fate awaited the Elder Hall?
Still, despite refusing to surrender, the Dark Blood Demon didn't dare attack Leng Yulai either.
She had already demonstrated her overwhelming power.
Fighting her would be suicidal.
The Dark Blood Demon instinctively turned to look at the Ghost Emperor and the Nether Emperor. Only they still had the power to challenge Leng Yulai now.
(End of Chapter)