Chapter 556: Dead End
The baleful body of the Evil G.o.d rampaged throughout the desolate island.
Nearly a hundred Pan Family clansmen, all of whom were in the Netherpa.s.sage Realm, fought fiercely. They unleashed battle cries and wielded their dazzling spirit artifacts as they tried to subdue the Evil G.o.d while avoiding its murderous frenzy.
Unfortunately, in just eight short minutes, more than a dozen of them had already been killed.
Every person that died did so tragically, either having their bones crushed by the Evil G.o.d’s hands or getting stomped into a b.l.o.o.d.y pulp.
“Don’t get near it!” Pan Tong ordered. “Spread out as much as you can! Leave the island for now if you have to! Just don’t let it touch you!”
Since they were in the Fragmentation Realm, Pan Tong and the three elders hovered in midair. They aimed their spirit artifacts at Gao Yu, continuously a.s.saulting him with shock waves of energy.
They were well aware of the fact that killing Gao Yu was the key to victory.
However, every time their attacks were about to hit Gao Yu, the Evil G.o.d would swing its ma.s.sive arms and withdraw when necessary.
Its hands seemed capable of enveloping the heavens and the earth. They blocked every single attack from the four Fragmentation Realm martial pract.i.tioners.
The Evil G.o.d’s hands resembled sharp demon claws and were st.u.r.dier than the strongest refined steel. The combined attacks of Pan Tong and the elders could only generate tiny metallic sparks when they clashed with them. They couldn’t even pierce the Evil G.o.d’s skin.
Gao Yu had yet to take a direct hit.
“I guess Gao Yu alone is more than the Pan Family clansmen can handle,” Du Xiangyang said with a smile. “This guy’s… not that simple.”
Seeing that the Pan Family had no idea how to deal with Gao Yu and the Evil G.o.d’s body, Xue Moyan and Luo Chen began to relax. Their serious expressions suddenly softened.
If the Pan Family couldn’t take down the Evil G.o.d, they wouldn’t be able to control this region of the sea and have the energy to deal with them.
Of course, the rest of Qin Lie’s group were perfectly happy to watch from the sidelines.
“Hmph! Even Qin Lie is less reliable than this Gao Yu!” Luo Chen exclaimed coldly.
The fact that Qin Lie hadn’t shown up when they needed him most annoyed him to no end.
“He was probably delayed by something,” Xue Moyan murmured.
Like Song Tingyu and Xie Jingxuan, she believed in Qin Lie from the bottom of her heart. She was certain that Qin Lie wouldn’t just abandon them.
“What do we do, big bro?” Pan Tao yelled into the air from his position on the island. “If we can’t take care of this Evil G.o.d as soon as possible, the commotion we’re causing might attract the attention of scouts from the nearby Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley. Those two Copper rank forces have been watching us with greedy eyes for a long time. If they found the opportunity to ruin things for us, they would definitely take it! If that happens, all of our efforts will be for naught!”
“Shut up!” Pan Tong yelled angrily. “I’m thinking!”
He had long since realized that the situation started spiraling out of control.
Like every other va.s.sal force of Illusory Demon Sect, the Pan Family had received word about a ma.s.sive search for the remains of ancient elites that was currently under way. They found out that thousands of forces, big and small, were scouring regions of the sea near every continent of the Land of Chaos.
Aside from the Pan Family, Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley, two other Copper rank forces, were also in this region of the sea.
Both forces were actually stronger than the Pan Family. If it weren’t for Pan Qianqian deeply connecting them to Illusory Demon Sect, Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley would have attacked them already.
If the Pan Family couldn’t subdue Gao Yu and the Evil G.o.d as soon as possible, the commotion occurring on the island and in the waves would eventually draw the attention of those two forces.
When Gold Sun Island and Blue Moon Valley arrived, all of their efforts would go to waste.
Pan Tong understood the situation clearly.
After taking a moment to contemplate his options, Pan Tong looked at someone hovering behind the Evil G.o.d and yelled, “Pan Long! Hit that kid with a soul wave!”
“B-but patriarch…!” the man named Pan Long exclaimed.
“The body of the Evil G.o.d has only been possessed!” Pan Tong said. “It can’t utilize its soul energy, so you don’t need to worry!”
“I…”
“Unleash a soul attack this instant!”
“A-alright!” Pan Long acquiesced helplessly. He distanced himself from the Evil G.o.d’s body, then immediately gathered his soul consciousness, switching from defending against the Evil G.o.d’s attacks to preparing an offensive.
Pan Tong fished a black jade spirit rune out from his robes, a strange light flas.h.i.+ng through his eyes.
As he did that, Pan Long, one of the Pan Family elders in the Fragmentation Realm, finished gathering his soul consciousness and used it to attack Gao Yu.
Pan Long’s soul consciousness streamed toward Gao Yu like an invisible flow of energy, moving as quickly as an arrow shot from a bow.
It headed straight for Gao Yu’s mind!
“Suicidal fool,” Gao Yu muttered. He touched a hand to the Evil G.o.d’s neck, and five evil lights shot from his fingers and seeped into the Evil G.o.d’s body.
“Whoosh…!”
The vile soul, which had sunken deep into the Evil G.o.d’s body, emerged from its eyes with a roar. It transformed into a pitch black mouth capable of swallowing mountains and rivers as it ferociously sucked the attacking soul energy into itself.
“No!” Pan Long screamed in horror.
He could clearly sense that the soul consciousness imbued into his soul attack had been devoured by the demonic mouth of the vile soul. It had been swallowed in a single gulp.
“Pwack!”
Pan Long spat out a mouthful of blood. Deep within his mind, his True Soul suddenly became blurry and indistinct.
His soul instantly suffered grievous injuries.
At the same time, Pan Tong steeled his heart and threw the black jade spirit rune.
“Go!” he cried as it transformed into a bolt of black lightning and shot into the vile soul’s demonic mouth.
All of a sudden, the vile soul erupted in pitch black flames that burned at its ethereal body.
“Soul Burning Fire!” Gao Yu exclaimed, his face stricken with fear.
“P… part of my soul…!” Pan Long cried at the top of his lungs.
The flames that the black jade spirit rune unleashed had also vaporized the soul energy that the vile soul had devoured.
“Not good!” Du Xiangyang exclaimed. He had been observing the situation the entire time. “The spirit rune that Pan Tong just used actually contained a trace of Soul Burning Fire! That vile soul will probably burn to dust!”
The moment he realized this, his face went pale.
“Oh no!” Song Tingyu cried. “Gao Yu used that vile soul to control the Evil G.o.d’s body. Once it perishes, the Evil G.o.d will no longer be of use!”
This development worried Xie Jingxuan and Xue Moyan as well.
“Get ready to run!” Gao Yu yelled harshly as soul wisps emerged from his Ogre-face Rings once more.
These soul wisps coalesced into yet another vile soul that suddenly seeped into the Evil G.o.d’s body.
This vile soul was clearly much smaller than one from earlier. As a result, it was much weaker and had less control over the body of the Evil G.o.d.
While the first vile soul continued to writhe with Soul Burning Fire, the Evil G.o.d’s body moved once more.
This time, however, its footsteps were obviously a lot more sluggish. The movements of its arms had also become much stiffer than before.
“Krak!”
The Evil G.o.d stomped yet another Pan Family clansman into a pulp.
This clansman had been guarding one of the worn-down crystalline war chariots.
Once the Evil G.o.d crushed this person, it then grabbed the war chariot and tossed it toward Du Xiangyang and the others. It landed right in front of them in a burst of sand and skidded to a stop.
Du Xiangyang, Song Tingyu, Xie Jingxuan, Luo Chen, and Xue Moyan immediately leaped into action and summoned their spirit energy. They examined the war chariot that the Evil G.o.d had s.n.a.t.c.hed and prepared to use it to escape.
“Don’t let them get away! Send a group of people to chase them down!” Pan Tong screamed frantically. “The vile soul that kid just created obviously doesn’t give him enough control over the Evil G.o.d’s body. Begin another round of attacks!”
The four Fragmentation Realm experts turned to Gao Yu once more, gathering concentrated rays of dazzling prismatic light and firing them.
The body of the Evil G.o.d, which had just tossed the war chariot over to the others, hastily withdrew its arms to defend against the attacks.
However, it moved its arms too slowly and wasn’t able to completely protect Gao Yu.
“Swoos.h.!.+”
A spark of energy managed to pa.s.s through a gap in the Evil G.o.d’s fingers and strike Gao Yu’s dark s.h.i.+eld of light, shattering it instantly.
Gao Yu took cover behind the Evil G.o.d’s neck, looking even paler than he was before. His cold, sharp eyes dimmed as well.
He was only in the Netherpa.s.sage Realm after all.
He couldn’t even withstand the power that a stray spark of a Fragmentation Realm expert’s energy held.
Having lost the protection of the Evil G.o.d’s body, the huge chasm between the Netherpa.s.sage and Fragmentation Realms made him look unfathomably fragile.
Blood trickled from the corners of Gao Yu’s lips and down his neck.
Pan Tong and the three elders cheered triumphantly. The second they prepared to attack again, the Evil G.o.d’s hands completely encased Gao Yu.
It no longer rampaged throughout the island. Instead, it headed toward the sea, moving awkwardly as it protected Gao Yu.
On the other side of the beach, Du Xiangyang and the others succeeded in getting the worn-out crystalline war chariot working. They quickly boarded it and sped away at top speed, escaping from the desolate island.
“Chase them! Chase them down! Don’t let even one of them escape!” Pan Tao yelled frantically, his eyes bloodshot. “Especially those three women! They mustn’t escape!”
All of the Pan Family clansmen grew excited. They all noticed that Gao Yu had been injured and gradually lost control over the Evil G.o.d’s body.
As for the rest of Qin Lie’s group, all of them were only in the Netherpa.s.sage Realm. None of the Pan Family considered them a threat.
“Don’t listen to Pan Tao!” Pan Tong, the family’s patriarch, burst into a yell. “If you have the chance, kill them! We can’t afford to waste any more time here!”
At his command, the Pan Family clansmen boarded the other two war chariots and pursued Du Xiangyang and the others with murderous intent.
Pan Tong and the elders, on the other hand, chased after Gao Yu. They chased him from the sky since they were Fragmentation Realm martial pract.i.tioners.
“Dammit!” Du Xiangyang swore, gripping the front edge of the chariot tightly. “The Pan Family basically devastated this flying spirit artifact. It won’t be able to move much longer!”
“Let’s run as far as we can,” Luo Chen said, a helpless look on his face.
“We aren’t faster than them,” Xie Jingxuan said, clearly the calmest out of everyone.
Her word prompted everyone to turn around and look, and they noticed that the two war chariots pursuing them were moving a lot faster than theirs was.
“They’re boosting the war chariots with their own spirit energy!” Song Tingyu exclaimed.
“Then we shall do the same!” Luo Chen began pouring all of his spirit energy directly into their war chariot to increase its speed.
The others followed his lead and did the same.
Although the crystalline war chariot was on the verge of breaking down, it did fly a lot faster with the added spirit energy propelling it forward.
But it was still a lot slower than the chariots carrying the Pan Family clansmen.
The Pan Family clansmen were much more powerful and also outnumbered Qin Lie’s group. The same kind of war chariot receiving even greater amounts of spirit energy would naturally be much faster.
Considering how Qin Lie’s group was so small and possessed lower realms, it was just a matter of time before the Pan Family caught up and utterly slaughtered them.