Dark clouds roiled above the valley, blotting out the sky, and in an instant, the once-clear heavens turned somber. The eerie black mist seemed to block even the sunlight from penetrating. Sharp, piercing cries echoed endlessly throughout the valley. Countless souls darted through the mist, appearing like malevolent spirits concealed within the night, their blood-red eyes especially eerie in the dim light. "Everyone stay alert—these are all souls manipulated by them!" Xiang Yan gazed solemnly at the swirling souls above, his voice steady and firm. Su Mei and the other strong warriors were momentarily startled by the sudden upheaval, quickly moving to gather around Xiang Yan and the others, their expressions serious as they watched the dense, dark clouds overhead. The haphazard flight of the countless souls made them feel particularly uneasy. "Hah, to successfully capture you, this Guardian has truly brought his A-game. These souls—gathered over no less than three full years—have been carefully assembled to form the great array. I hope this is sufficient for you all." On the mountain wall, Xuan the Guardian watched the spreading black clouds, his voice dark and amused. Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, gazing at the expanding black mist above. With his keen sight, he could clearly see the multitude of souls hidden within the fog—so dense and numerous that even he had to take a quiet breath. Clearly, this Xuan Guardian had truly invested heavily. Such a "Ten-Thousand-Souls Phasing Array" demands an immense amount of souls. Even back in the Yun Empire, when the Iron Guardian of the Hún Palace had attempted to establish such an array, he had not succeeded. "Heh, Xiao Yan—how do you find the meal?" When you fall into the Hands of the Soul Palace, I'll personally request that I take good care of you!" Han Feng's face was filled with fierce expressions as he laughed loudly at Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan glanced at him briefly, then his gaze shifted toward the swirling black clouds—the so-called "Ten-Thousand-Soul Devouring Spirit Array" clearly possessed considerable power, and its resolution would likely prove quite challenging. Suddenly, a remarkable change that startled Xiao Yan. With a deep command, he clenched his hands, and a column of emerald flame surged skyward. Wherever the flame touched the crimson souls, the ethereal bodies instantly began to burn, emitting piercing cries that rang continuously. Under Xiao Yan's control, the flame column swept swiftly across the battlefield. The intense heat caused the fierce crimson soul bodies to momentarily retreat, yet their numbers remained overwhelmingly vast, so many still launched themselves fiercely, charging toward Su Mei and the others. "Boom!" The invited强者, all of whom possessed strong prowess, had immediately summoned their qi shields to protect themselves. As the waves of souls surged like wolves upon them, their qi erupted powerfully and struck the souls with determined force. The sharp edge of the spear, enhanced by the aura of qi, was powerful enough to cleave mountains—whenever these souls made contact, they were torn apart instantly. Yet these slain souls transformed into a fine gray mist within moments, rising swiftly and eventually merging into the black clouds, intensifying the pressure within the cloud layers. "Damn it! The qi doesn't severely damage these soul-forms, yet they are endless. If this continues, they'll eventually be worn down to nothing!" Xiao Li's long spear trembled rapidly. With each flick of silver-lit thunder qi, it pierced through one soul. Yet against the vast horde of souls that surged like a pack of wolves, each individual soul seemed negligible. After having severed dozens of them, Xiao Li finally drew a deep breath and shouted to Xiao Yan. By the side of Xiao Yan, Xiao Yi and Su Qian did not immediately move, but instead furrowed their brows, gazing at the dense black clouds. With their keen eyes, they could clearly observe that as more and more souls were being severed, the energy within the cloud seemed to grow stronger and stronger. The true strength of this technique lies not in these seemingly endless soul attacks—after all, the souls themselves are merely feed. Each soul severed is absorbed into the black cloud, pure soul energy. As more and more such energies accumulate within the cloud, a formidable spirit, forged from the fierce wrath of tens of thousands of souls, begins to coalesce within it. This fierce spirit then directly connects with Xuan's guardian soul—thus becoming Xuan's very embodiment. Its power will undoubtedly match or even surpass his own. Of course, should this embodiment be destroyed, Xuan will suffer severe repercussions; if he cannot withstand it, he may drop down to the Battle Sovereign level at the very least, and in the worst case, be overwhelmed by the overwhelming sense of fury, losing his consciousness entirely and becoming a mere killing machine. Su Qian stared intently at the dark clouds above, speaking in a steady tone: "Moreover, as far as I know, each time this grand array is activated, the soul energy consumed is no small amount. Generally, few members of the Soul Palace undertake this array, because if they fail to receive a return equivalent in value to the souls consumed, they will face severe punishment from the Palace—punishment so severe that life itself becomes unbearable." "Seizing me might, in his estimation, be sufficient to match the value of those consumed souls," Xiao Yan said softly. Su Qian nodded slightly, adding, "To break this array, the only option is to eliminate Xuan, the one serving as the array's focal point. However, that individual has already vanished into the dark clouds, further concealed by the countless souls—making it extremely difficult to locate." "Then, isn't that what Elder Su means—only after Xuan successfully gathers the fierce spirit essence will we have the opportunity to strike and defeat him?" "Little Doctor Liu, her brows furrowed slightly, said, 'If that malevolent spirit truly coalesces successfully, then even without Mo Tianxing, they'll have four Dou-Zong-level masters on their side—then things will indeed become quite troublesome for us.' Su Qian chuckled, for he himself only had a basic understanding of the Ten-Thousand-Souls-Devouring-Spirit Array. Xiao Yan frowned, deeply troubled—this Huadeng Sect's tactics were truly no longer conventional, yet each time they managed to strike unexpectedly. 'Heh, young one, the Fallen Heart Flame is a spirit's nemesis; ordinary spirits shy away from it, even avoiding it. Yet you're still having trouble with it?' You possess two forms of hetero-fire—indeed, even I had not anticipated that. Yet your fused hetero-fire, in terms of power, truly surpasses the Fallen Heart Flame. However, precisely this fusion weakens the unique soul-annihilating effect of the Fallen Heart Flame. Have you not noticed that, whenever you use this flame to destroy souls, the residual soul energy of the slain souls is noticeably more diluted than in others? If you were simply employing the Fallen Heart Flame alone, these souls would vanish entirely, leaving no trace—no escape at all. Of course, you must remember to control the Fallen Heart Flame using the "Five-Phase Separation Fire Technique"; otherwise, with your currently unrefined control, how could you possibly withstand so many soul energies? As Xiang Yin pondered, a subtle, elderly voice suddenly resonated within his mind. Hearing this voice, Xiao Yan's fingers instinctively brushed against the snow-white naga ring on his hand, his eyes gleaming slightly. As the former owner of the Fallen Heart Flame, Tian Huo Zun, he naturally knew it far better than Xiao Yan did. "Thank you, Elder Yao!" With a touch of genuine pleasure, Xiao Yan said his gratitude to Tian Huo Zun. A sudden thought crossed his mind, and the emerald flames swirling around his body swiftly faded, replaced instead by the intangible, colorless Fallen Heart Flame. As this invisible flame appeared, the blood-colored souls that had surged forth in overwhelming numbers, seemingly unafraid, now began to show signs of hesitation in their fierce, hostile gazes. "It truly works," Xiao Yan thought with growing satisfaction. At once, he adjusted his hand seals, and the intangible flame surged forth from within him, eventually coalescing into a massive wolf-form fire spirit, ten zhang in height, hovering above his head. As the Wolf-Formed Flame Spirit took shape, the countless blood-colored souls in the sky suddenly grew restless, their surging momentum no longer as fierce and unyielding as before. "Aaaah!" Huo Ling let out a long, resonant roar, and an intangible ripple spread outward from his mouth like sound waves. Any soul caught within this ripple instantly trembled violently, then burst with a loud "pop," dissolving into pure emptiness—yet this time, not a single trace of soul energy remained. As the wolf-shaped Huo Ling carried out this sweeping wave of annihilation, the combatants below, who had been locked in intense soul entanglements, found their pressure significantly eased. With their numbers dwindling, these souls could no longer stand against the onslaught—mere strokes of the blade were enough to dispatch them completely. Even as they turned into wisps of gray vapor, they were effortlessly swallowed whole by the massive wolf-shaped Huo Ling. This mastery of fire control, Han Feng believed, even he himself, at this very moment, found it difficult to achieve—yet Xiao Yan had accomplished it?