Lu Shang glanced at Li Chang’an, who was hiding nearby, doing absolutely nothing.
He was about to explode.
He desperately wanted to say something.
But the Cultivators’ attacks came at him like a relentless tide. Lu Shang had no choice but to pour all his energy into frantically dodging.
Just as he was surrounded by the seven of them and on the verge of being captured, Li Chang’an, who had been watching the spectacle from afar, finally made his move.
"WHOOSH... FWOOM!"
A torrent of Soul Fire, a full ten meters long, erupted from Li Chang’an’s mouth. It swelled rapidly in the air, transforming into a massive, fiery serpent.
The fiery serpent was incredibly fast, swallowing several of the Cultivators in the blink of an eye.
Instantly, a chorus of bloodcurdling screams rang out.
Of the seven Cultivators in total, five were struck by the immense torrent of Soul Fire on the spot. Although the remaining two were only grazed by a small amount, they still screamed in agony.
When dealing with Cultivators—and Divine Soul Incarnations at that—Soul Fire was naturally the most effective weapon.
To ensure the blow was as fatal as possible, Li Chang’an not only activated his Soul Fire but also used a Cultivator’s Casting method to spew out the massive flame.
Because it was a long-planned sneak attack, the strike was far more effective than anticipated.
Having succeeded, Li Chang’an didn’t hesitate for a moment. He immediately sent several more gouts of flame flying, preparing to press his advantage and refine them all into pure Energy.
Nearby, Lu Shang finally had a moment to catch his breath. He, too, unleashed various flames in an assault.
Among the seven Cultivators, the five who took a direct hit from Li Chang’an’s surprise attack were instantly and grievously wounded. The remaining two, having only been grazed by a small amount of Soul Fire, were still able to barely dodge and hold on.
Although they were all incarnations, just like the white-robed Elder Xiao from Great Zhou before them,
their souls were still attached to the physical bodies of their incarnations.
The Soul Fire could cause them immense damage, but because their physical bodies remained, Soul Fire alone could not kill them completely.
However, Li Chang’an’s adapted version of the Martial Scripture: Divine Soul Chapter was not so easy to deal with.
The flames the two of them summoned contained more than just Soul Fire.
They were also infused with a considerable amount of Bone Fire and Qi Blood Fire.
Bombarded by continuous attacks that dealt true damage, the five Cultivators who had been hit directly soon stopped moving.
Though they were not yet dead, they were clearly powerless to resist.
The two remaining Cultivators, who were still fleeing in a sorry state, were utterly dumbfounded by the sight. The looks on their faces were as if they’d seen a ghost in broad daylight.
They turned their gazes to Li Chang’an, who had remained silent all this time like a mere attendant, and finally realized they had made a grave mistake.
He was the one truly pulling the strings from behind the scenes!
But the question was, why hadn’t they sensed how dangerous he was beforehand?
They would never have dreamed that the reason for this was that Elder Hun had worked his magic on Li Chang’an. Using the Heaven and Earth Consciousness, he had completely erased Li Chang’an’s aura, leaving only a harmless presence behind.
As long as Li Chang’an himself didn’t act out of the ordinary, to Cultivators who were so fond of judging strength by aura, he was nothing more than an insignificant attendant.
Of course, dwelling on such things now was pointless.
Among the two remaining Cultivators was the hoarse-voiced elder who had been leading the group.
His strength was the most solid and powerful among the seven.
Thus, his condition was much better than that of the others.
The hoarse-voiced elder stared wide-eyed at Li Chang’an and Lu Shang, both shocked and furious. "What kind of Cultivation Method is this? How can it directly affect our souls? What have you two been up to in secret?"
There were, in fact, many ways to attack one’s spirit and soul.
But an Attack Technique like the one Li Chang’an and Lu Shang were using—so simple, brutal, and aimed directly at the soul—was something they had never even heard of.
Neither Li Chang’an nor Lu Shang answered. They simply continued their vicious assault.
Before coming here, the two had already established a clear strategic objective.
—Either keep the Soul Fire trump card hidden, or, once revealed, leave no survivors.
All information about the Soul Fire and its properties had to be erased from the scene. Only then could they hold on to a powerful trump card for the crises that might arise at any moment.
Seeing the two attack so relentlessly without a word, the remaining two guessed their intentions. They turned and prepared to pilot their incarnations away.
They had to preserve their Divine Souls to get the news out. Their true bodies and the other Cultivators in the Cultivation Realm had to know about the strange anomaly on the Jiuzhou Continent.
This bizarre flame that could directly affect the soul made them feel an intense sense of danger.
Originally, they had estimated that as long as they were willing to pay a certain price, they should be able to escape the Jiuzhou Continent and return to the Cultivation Realm.
But when they actually turned to flee, they discovered it wasn’t that simple—Elder Hun had used his authority as the Heaven and Earth Consciousness to seal the entire Da Yuan Imperial Palace.
They couldn’t even manage to have their Divine Souls leave their bodies, let alone escape.
Finally, after nearly half an hour of frantic battle, the Da Yuan Imperial Palace, once filled with the constant sound of explosions, at last fell completely silent.
The seven Cultivators had been burned by Li Chang’an and Lu Shang until only seven clumps of pure Energy remained.
The Energy from their souls was, naturally, the most abundant part.