BOOM!!
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the earth was cleaved into a ravine a hundred meters deep, effectively splitting the entire Evil Demon Forest into two distinct zones. Faced with this earth-shattering assault, the Evil Emperor was utterly unable to withstand the force, its massive, grotesque body being sliced directly in two.
However, despite being mangled to this extent, the Evil Emperor did not perish. To truly kill such a creature, its crystal core, the very seat of its soul and origin, had to be destroyed. Its physical form was merely a massive vessel for energy. Only the total destruction of the crystal core would yield a soul ring and soul bone.
Relying on the terrifying spiritual power within its core, the Evil Emperor began knitting its body back together, attempting to reassemble itself in seconds.
Lin Mu, however, had no intention of giving it room to breathe.
"Eight Symbols Attack!"
In an instant, Lin Mu compressed four elemental energies into bullets of pure light, firing them simultaneously toward the beast's central pupil. Faced with the rain of projectiles, the Evil Emperor dared not be careless. The previous slash had proven that this human's strength had undoubtedly reached the level of a Limit Douluo.
It lashed out with its eighty-one barbed tentacles, desperately trying to deflect the barrage. Yet, the tentacles were useless against the relentless fire. The light bullets tore through multiple appendages, striking the central pupil with surgical precision.
Under the relentless bombardment, the Evil Emperor lost the chance to repair its body. Worse, its crystal core began to crack under the pressure. Lin Mu didn't stop there; he continued to unleash a sequence of five elemental killing moves. Under such overwhelming firepower, the Evil Emperor was on the verge of total collapse. It had never known such humiliation.
Normally, a Soul Master possesses a maximum of nine soul skills, and those capable of harming a beast of its caliber were exceedingly rare. Yet, this human's arsenal seemed endless, and the power of each skill was devastating. If it had known this man was such a monster, it never would have emerged to avenge its descendant.
Regret was useless now. Only two paths remained: fight to the death or self-destruct. The former offered no hope; the human clearly possessed a way to resist mental attacks. The latter, detonating its physical form, offered a high probability of total annihilation. Even if the human escaped, he would be severely wounded, providing the perfect opportunity for the Evil Emperor to possess his body. With its spiritual power and this man's talent, a path to godhood at Level 100 was almost guaranteed.
Decision made, the Evil Emperor didn't hesitate. It detonated every scrap of energy in its body, releasing a shockwave capable of erasing everything in its path.
Seconds before the detonation, Lin Mu retreated at maximum speed, deploying the Four Symbols Defense to shield himself. He even utilized the explosion's backdraft to further propel himself away from the epicenter.
Minutes later, Lin Mu returned to the wasteland. After a thorough search, he located the crystal core left behind. The moment his fingers closed around it, the Evil Emperor launched a desperate attempt to possess him. However, the mental invasion was flatly rejected by the Thunder Atlas Armor.
Lin Mu was well aware of the beast's treachery. These high-level soul beasts were cunning beyond measure. To prevent any chance of possession, he refused to deactivate his armor.
"Human! You planned this from the start!"
Realizing that the slaughter of its offspring had been mere bait to lure it into a trap, the Overlord of the Evil Demon Forest was consumed by a futile rage. It wished it could perish and take the world with it. Ignoring the screams in his mind, Lin Mu shattered the crystal core with his Lightning Thunder Sword.
A massive, blood-red soul ring drifted into the air. Simultaneously, the spiritual energy condensed into a Vertical Eye External Soul Bone, about the size of an infant's palm. It radiated an eerie, deep-blue light and contained a vast reservoir of spiritual power.
"Tsk... a soul ring over 700,000 years old, just gone to waste."
Lin Mu looked at the scarlet ring with a trace of regret. It was significantly more powerful than the Bear Lord's ring. However, he knew that without breaking through past the Titled Douluo level, he couldn't have killed the beast even with the Thunder Atlas Armor. Furthermore, he wasn't confident he could safely absorb a 700,000-year ring at his current stage.
As for the future "Huo Yuhao" from the original timeline, Lin Mu didn't care. With his interference, the timeline was already shattered; perhaps that boy would now have a peaceful childhood instead.
Lin Mu immediately began absorbing the external soul bone. Due to the self-destruction, every living thing within ten thousand meters had been vaporized. The disturbance could be felt a hundred miles away, ensuring no other beasts would dare approach.
After a long duration, Lin Mu opened his eyes. A vertical third eye now graced his forehead, lending him an eerie, divine aura.
"As expected. My soul power didn't jump, but my spiritual power has increased several times over. I've likely reached the Quasi-God Level."
With his spiritual power now stabilized at an extreme level, he attempted to condense his third soul core again. This time, the process was far smoother. With his surging spiritual power holding the elements in check, the Wind-attribute soul core finally solidified. It began to resonate with his Fire and Lightning soul cores, forming a perfect trinity.
"It's time to go. I'll absorb the skull Soul Bone once I'm back."
Just as Lin Mu prepared to depart, he sensed several powerful signatures approaching. The weakest was a Soul Douluo. Clearly, the explosion had drawn the Sun Moon Continent's strongest experts.
In a flash, Lin Mu became a bolt of golden lightning, piercing the horizon. The approaching Soul Masters skidded to a halt, their eyes filled with disbelief. Was that truly the speed of a mortal?
As they moved closer to the epicenter and saw the massive, scarlet 700,000-year Soul Ring hovering over the ruins, they froze. A storm of shock swept through their hearts. There was only one overlord in the Evil Demon Forest: the Evil Emperor.
The Evil Emperor had been slain. But who was the golden figure that killed such a god-like soul beast and didn't even stop to take the soul ring? Was it a manifestation of a god?