When White Bone Douluo saw the way Iron Hammer Douluo died, he knew that everything was over.
He turned and ran.
But the tree eye of the Demon King flickered.
Tree eye paralysis.
An invisible wave swept across the body of the White Bone Douluo.
His movements suddenly froze, as if someone had stuck a needle into his spine.
Limbs stiffened, muscles became unresponsive, and the flow of soul power was interrupted.
He froze on the spot.
Hundreds of branches surged up in the next second.
The remaining Soul Emperors, Soul Saints, and Soul Kings didn't even have a chance to escape.
The three ferocious beasts gradually closed in on their encirclement.
With every step forward, someone will fall.
The screams grew weaker and weaker, becoming increasingly sparse.
In the end, this area in the core circle fell completely silent.
All that remained on the ground were mutilated limbs, charred ashes, shriveled corpses, and mud soaked in blood.
...
The massacre is over.
Xiong Jun stood amidst the corpses and wreckage, his breathing steady.
Its dark golden fur was stained with human blood, but it didn't care.
It lowered its head, picked up the injured Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear Clan member, and placed it on the clean grass beside it.
The Crimson King extinguished the flames on his body, and his six crimson-gold eyes swept across the battlefield.
Corpses littered the ground, shattered iron cages, and scattered chains.
There are several other soul beasts locked in cages; some are still alive, while others are on the verge of death.
The Demon King's branches stretched out and lifted the iron cages one by one.
The trapped spirit beasts were rescued, but they were in very poor condition.
The Demon King swept up these injured soul beasts and held them in mid-air.
Xiong Jun hoisted his people onto his back, turned to look into the distance, and narrowed his vertical pupils.
"There are three more guys." Xiong Jun's voice was deep. "They ran pretty fast. You can take my people back."
It put down its kin, pressed its front paws to the ground, tensed its muscles, and prepared to give chase.
At this moment, one of the Demon King's main vines came across and blocked Xiong Jun's way: "Don't chase him."
Xiong Jun stared at the vine for two seconds, then snorted unhappily, "Why? Those three are also human, they deserve to die too!"
"Di Tian said that those who haven't made a move don't need to be hunted down."
Upon hearing Di Tian's name, Xiong Jun's body visibly stiffened for a moment.
Its fur stood on end slightly, then quickly pressed back down.
"Fine, fine," Xiong Jun muttered, his voice lacking confidence.
It retracted its front paws and picked up its injured kin again.
"Don't think I'm scared! I just think chasing after them is a waste of time. My people are still injured, and I don't have time to deal with those three who escaped."
The Red King's middle head stuck out its tongue, as if it were laughing.
"Yes, yes, you're not worried about Di Tian, you're just concerned about your clansmen."
"Are you mocking me?" Xiong Jun glared at Chi Wang.
The Red King shook all three of his heads simultaneously: "No, no."
The Demon King did not participate in the bickering between the two beasts.
Its vines had gathered all the injured soul beasts together.
"Let's go to Emerald Swan first. These children's injuries will leave lasting effects if left untreated."
...
The outer perimeter of the Starry Sky Forest.
In a dark corner hidden by huge tree roots.
The three people were crammed into that small space, panting heavily.
Yue Guan leaned against the tree root, his chest heaving violently.
His bright red tuxedo was covered in dirt and fallen leaves, the jewel on his chest was covered in dust, and his makeup was smudged, revealing his pale skin beneath, pale with extreme terror.
The ghost crouched beside him, its entire body enveloped in a thinner black mist.
Escaping at full speed consumed a lot of his soul power; the two points of dark purple light flickered erratically, and his breathing was hoarse and rapid.
Ling Yuan knelt on the ground, one hand supporting her knee, the other hand pressed against her chest.
Her combat gear had several cuts, from being scratched by tree branches while she was running away.
His short, purplish-black hair was disheveled and stuck to his forehead, and sweat dripped down his chin.
None of the three spoke.
Only heavy breathing echoed in the dark corner.
It took Yue Guan a while to catch her breath.
He pricked up his ears and listened to the sounds around him.
The faint sound of birdsong could be heard, and in the distance, the sounds of low-level soul beasts moving about could be heard.
But that suffocating, oppressive feeling from the ferocious beast is no longer felt.
"They didn't catch up?" Yue Guan said dryly.
The ghost sensed it and nodded after confirming.
Ling Yuan exhaled a long breath, as if all her strength had been drained, and leaned against the tree root.
"We…left them behind," she said.
There was a hint of lingering fear in his voice.
Yue Guan tilted his head and glanced at her: "Aren't you going to leave her behind and wait to die?"
"I know," Ling Yuan said, closing her eyes. "I just...sigh..."
Ghostly: "If we don't run, the three of us will die there too. Chrysanthemum Pass and I are both level 95. If it were just a 100,000-year-old soul beast, we might have a chance to fight it together. But those three guys just now..."
He paused for a moment, unsure how to describe it.
"In short, it's pointless for us to stay; we'll just be throwing our lives away."
When three ferocious beasts joined forces to attack, it was beyond the capabilities of the five titled Douluo.
Unless the entire Elders' Hall is moved here, and Grand Elder Qian Daoliu and Pope Bibi Dong personally intervene.
"No wonder," Ling Yuan murmured.
"No wonder what?" Yue Guan asked.
"No wonder Dongfang Jing said that the forest is dangerous."
After saying this, the three of them fell silent again.
He recalled Qian Renxue's warning, which Ci Xue relayed last night.
At the time, they felt that this was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Although the inner circle is dangerous, they are titled Douluo and this is not their first time entering.
Even if we encounter a powerful enemy, at least we can escape unscathed, right?
Looking back now, if the three of them hadn't been mindful of preserving their soul power from the very beginning, and if they hadn't decisively run away the moment the ferocious beast appeared...
Their fate will be no different from that of Iron Hammer Douluo, White Bone Douluo, and their ilk.
Yue Guan shivered.
"How did that kid find out?" Yue Guan couldn't help but ask.
The ghost patted him on the shoulder: "Never mind! Why think so much? The most important thing right now is to get out of here before those intelligent beasts change their minds!"
He looked around to confirm the direction.
"Going back to the Spirit Hall now would be like walking into a trap. Bibi Dong will find out sooner or later that everyone else is dead, and only the three of us came back unharmed. What do you think she will think, given her personality?"
Ling Yuan immediately realized what was going on.
"She would think we abandoned our comrades and deserted our posts."
"Yes." Yue Guan nodded. "At best, it's a demotion and a pay cut; at worst… hehe."
Everyone understands.
Bibi Dong would not tolerate any traitor.
Even if they ran away to protect themselves, in Bibi Dong's eyes, disobeying her will was a capital offense.
What's more, they didn't even get a single soul bone.
Therefore, returning to the Spirit Hall is impossible.
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(End of chapter)