Han Shuo soon caught up with Stratholme, the old monster, and the water Divine Magus Tiana.
When they reached the defensive shield, a humiliating aura enveloped the land. A crushing pressure pressed down on them.
The three exchanged horrified glances before Stratholme the Old Monster exclaimed, "This can't be good. It has risen!"
Han Shuo and Tiana both knew to whom the old monster was referring. Tiana's calm, fragile face changed, and with great agility, she reached out with her staff to the region defended by the exotic energy. An ice awl, glittering with cold light, suddenly materialised in her palm. The dense water element within was threatening. She aimed the ice awl at the space defending this area as it shot out.
Creak!
The ice awl of the Water Divine Magus seemed to pierce the hardest iron and stone in the world. The ice awl shattered into a million pieces!
Their hearts sank in unison. Stratholme, the old monster, asked, "Elder Sister Tiana, what is it?"
"The energy has been amplified. I can't break this defence," Tiana explained with a hint of panic in her voice. Her face turned ugly.
Stratholme, the old monster, furrowed his brow. The longsword he had always carried, never stored in the ring, began to emit a battle aura like fireworks, though colourless and formless. A blinding white light flashed.
Stratholme gathered all his remaining energy and struck at the defence field.
Clang!
As before, his bombardment seemed to have struck an immovable stone. He drew back his trembling right arm. With an expression of overwhelming shock, he growled, "I can't break it either!"
A magical attack and another physical attack, but neither worked!
"That thing came out. It must have boosted its defensive energy! We may not be able to break through it," Han Shuo said heavily as he looked at the two confused demigod-like experts. It was clear to him that the six-horned alien race must have done just that.
Buzz Buzz...
A strange, loud buzzing began in the distance. Unlike the previous buzzing that had attacked the souls of Han Shuo and the old monster, this one had some strange effects. It seemed to be capable of tearing the sky apart. Fine lines of space ripples appeared in the sky, and bright, colourful chasms appeared beneath the cracks in the air.
The old monster Stratholme and Tiana exchanged glances. At the same time, they let out a breath of cold air. As they stared at the colourful light-emitting cracks in the air, their faces took on an ugly expression.
Stratholme, who had just pulled out a scroll in his hand, turned to Tiana as if to cry and said, "The fluctuation of space is too violent. The space magic scroll can't be used at all. This guy has cut off all our escape routes!"
At this point, even Tiana was at her wit's end. She shook her head and sighed, "We're going to die here. Stratholme, this is my fault. I've failed you. I never expected to face such a beast!"
The two of them, with their demigod powers, were unable to break through the defences surrounding this region with their own strength. The next best thing they could do to survive was to use a space magic scroll to rip space-time apart and escape through it. However, this ripping caused rifts in space. In a chaotic space, a space magic scroll was of no use at all. Indeed, there seemed to be no hope of escape.
"My turn!" Han Shuo, who had remained silent the whole time, suddenly spoke.
The reason Han Shuo managed to appear calm all this time was because he still had a few tricks up his sleeve!
The eyes of the two demigod experts immediately landed on Han Shuo's body. The old monster stared blankly for a while before asking, "You, you have a way?"
Han Shuo did not answer, but chanted an incantation. The foolish looking Earth Elite Zombie suddenly appeared. Stratholme the old monster and Tiana both looked at each other with obvious doubt in their eyes. They seemed to have no idea what purpose this lowly zombie warrior could serve at such a time.
Suddenly, a most astonishing phenomenon occurred in front of their eyes.
As the mindless zombie warrior fell to the ground, to their surprise, his body melted into the ground. The hard ground seemed to offer no resistance, and his body quickly disappeared.
In this world, an earth magus could use the power of the earth, but only for offense or defence. They couldn't explicitly use the Earth's energy to pierce through it at will like the Earth Elite Zombie, the favoured son of Earth.
So when the body of the Earth Elite Zombie sank into the ground like quicksand, the Divine Magus and the Divine Swordmaster gaped in disbelief at the surreal sight before them and stood dumbfounded.
"Let's go!" shouted Han Shuo, who was already deep inside the underground tunnel.
The two demigod existences went from stunned to euphoric. They looked at each other and stayed in the tunnel.
"Save... save me!" Just as the three entered the underground tunnel, the wailing of Lightning Sacred Magus Reynold could be heard from afar. His voice was filled with fear.
A suffocating pressure approached like a strong wind. Han Shuo and the others who had just entered the tunnel immediately understood what was happening - the six-horned alien had appeared. Reynold tried to flee towards the tunnel, presumably pursued by the alien experts.
Han Shuo turned to Stratholme and Tiana and found them with similarly furrowed brows, maintaining their silence with extreme rapport.
They had given up on Reynold! Han Shuo understood that in his heart.
Han Shuo knew what he had to do next. He gave an order to the Earth Elite Zombie. The thick, solid earth slowly filled the opening to the underground tunnel.
As Stratholme, the old monster, and Tiana watched the last trace of light fade from above their heads, they exhaled. It was as if a weight had been lifted from their hearts. Their appearances also relaxed slightly.
In the darkness, Han Shuo had seen the expressions on their faces very clearly. He had gained a deeper understanding of human nature.
It's every man for himself!
"Thank you, Bryan. You really are a lifesaver!" praised Stratholme, the old monster who was following behind Han Shuo.
"Don't worry about it. We are partners. It's my duty!" Han Shuo replied in the darkness, although his heart could not accept it as true.
The real reason Han Shuo had brought the two of them into the underground tunnel was because Han Shuo could not tell if he would face more terrifying dangers later on. Vaguely, through his instincts, Han Shuo felt that it wouldn't be so easy to escape alive this time. But with these two experienced fighters beside him, the three of them might have a better chance of staying alive. It was only under such circumstances that Han Shuo was so willing to save them.
The three of them had received all the loot they had sought on their journey. There wasn't much difference between their strengths, so by working together, they would have a better chance of escaping alive. As for Reynold, he was nowhere near their strength. He would be of no use in such drastic times. It was the inevitable, logical step to abandon him.
"Elder Sister Tiana, this is your Origin Crystal of Water!" Stratholme pulled out a ruby that glowed a soft, warm blue light in the darkness. Stratholme handed over the orb.
Turning his head to catch a glimpse, Han Shuo saw an uncontrollable excitement on Tiana's face. Her hand trembled as she caught and held the round orb. Her eyes sparkling, she murmured, "Origin Crystal. I have an Origin Crystal!"
Tiana was quite old. After the Origin Crystal had been placed in her space ring, she had lived so long that she had quickly learned to stabilise her emotions. After taking a deep breath, she looked ahead at Han Shuo who was leading the way and asked, "How much longer until we get out?"
"Very soon! But I think you two can feel it too. Even here, deep underground, we can still feel this heavy pressure. I doubt we are really safe yet!"
Just two minutes later, the Earth Elite Zombie broke through the ground. The glaring light of day shone through.
The three of them stepped out of the tunnel. Han Shuo took a quick look around. Before he had a clear idea of where he was, his consciousness suddenly felt like it was being targeted. This feeling was far from reassuring. Han Shuo immediately screamed, "It knows where we are!"
Even though Stratholme, the old monster, and Tiana didn't have as sharp a sense as Han Shuo's consciousness, the crushing pressure they felt didn't go away. They immediately understood that Han Shuo's words were true.
Come with me. We'll walk and talk!" Tiana said hurriedly. The mist around her thickened again and she flew off into the distance. Han Shuo and Stratholme followed close behind.
"The six-horned tribal king of the Soul Race has locked onto our souls. As long as we are within the Profound Continent, he will be able to find us. Their race is naturally good at understanding souls. They have a deep understanding of souls, which I believe you have experienced yourself. We just can't escape his soul targeting!" Tiana said to Han Shuo and Stratholme the old monster as she flew past like the wind.
"Soul race? What kind of race is that? Why have I never heard of it?" Han Shuo asked, furrowing his brow as he tried to keep up.
"This is not a race from the Profound Continent. They appeared on the Profound Continent several thousand years ago, but then they disappeared and were never seen again. Why they would suddenly appear in Tarrag Canyon this time, I have no idea.
"The knowledge I have of this race I've only stumbled upon in an ancient scroll. I have no way of knowing the details of what happened all those years ago. Based on their appearance, I assume they are from the Soul Tribe," Tiana explained.
Tiana's eyes twinkled. Han Shuo had not expected Tiana to know so much about the Soul Race. However, it would have been inappropriate for Han Shuo to get to the heart of the matter.
"Elder Sister Tiana, could it be that once the six-horned tribal king of the Soul Race recognises our souls, we will have no choice but to wait until he catches up with us and kills us?" Stratholme the old monster asked, worried for his own safety.
"Not really. We have the Origin Crystals in our hands now. As long as we fuse them with our souls to form Souls of Element, not even that six-horned tribal king of the Soul Race will be able to sense where our souls are. Once a Soul of Element is formed, we will merge with and become one with the elements that are everywhere between heaven and earth. He will not be able to locate us," Tiana explained.
"But the process of fusing one's soul with an Origin Crystal takes time, during which he could possibly locate our souls and kill us one by one. What are we to do?" Stratholme said with a bitter smile, as if he was overcome with grief at having obtained a most precious treasure that he would not be able to enjoy.
A thought struck Han Shuo. He remembered that he could use the skeleton staff to send his consciousness into the netherworld. Separated by the boundless distance of different planes of existence, no matter how remarkable the abilities of this six-horned tribal king, there would be no way for him to detect the location of Han Shuo's consciousness. Han Shuo could simply fuse the Origin Crystal with his soul in the netherworld and hide from this terrifying being's pursuit.
This would be the most reliable method. Moreover, Han Shuo's consciousness was not like Tiana's or Stratholme's. Once one reached a certain level in the demonic arts, one's soul would evolve into an incomparably superior consciousness. Han Shuo reckoned that given a little time, his consciousness would surely find a way to free itself from the six-horned creature's perception.
With that in mind, Han Shuo felt at ease. However, Han Shuo was still quite curious about this soul race, so he did not hastily leave, but stayed to continue listening to the conversation between Tiana and Stratholme.
"There's still a way out for us," Tiana said with a strange expression on her face.
"What is it?" the old monster asked worriedly.
"By using the transportation matrix facilities of different lands, we can travel faster than he can. Then, if we bring him to a powerhouse with enough strength to compete with him, we could pit him against one of the few formidable existences within the Profound Continent. Then we might actually have a chance of escaping alive!" Tiana said to Stratholme after a moment's hesitation.
The old monster's eyes lit up as he immediately understood what Tiana meant and replied, "Beings within the Profound Continent that could resist the six-horned king of the Soul Race, you can count them on one hand. Besides, most of them don't live in fixed places. The only ones in fixed locations are those in the headquarters of the Church of Light and the Church of Calamity!"
Han Shuo, who was about to leave, was shocked, but continued, "Church of Light it is then!"
Tiana and Stratholme, the old monster, both made a strange expression. The two exchanged glances, remained silent for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement with Han Shuo's proposal.
For the Church of Light, who had always taken it upon themselves to exterminate heretics, to have such an obviously unfriendly race appear at their headquarters - Han Shuo found it amusing.
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