361. Crushing Tang Hao

“What is that?”

Though Tang Hao was a bit distracted due to the frustration in his heart, he was still a formidable Titled Douluo.

His alertness had become second nature, so the slightest movement instantly caught his attention.

He looked up, his murky eyes narrowing slightly. He wanted to dodge but didn’t know where to move—because the expanding Evil God's Heart already covered a range of over twenty meters.

Caught off guard, Tang Hao found himself enveloped tightly by the purple-black triangular space.

“Who is it?” Tang Hao shouted, his whole body starting to surge with power.

Buzz!

Two yellow, two purple, and five black rings slowly appeared under his feet, forming a total of nine spirit rings.

His hand was shrouded in a bloody light, and the Clear Sky Hammer, inscribed with the Slaughter Domain, was ready to burst forth.

But Qian Renjue was even faster. The triangular space abruptly shrank, contracting to a size just big enough to trap Tang Hao.

Puff!

Tang Hao felt a strange force suppressing him; his Clear Sky Hammer dissappear, and even his nine spirit rings were sealed.

Panic flashed across his face as he realized he couldn’t move.

Who is this?!

His only free movement was to scan the surroundings with his eyes, which soon caught the slow, steady approach of footsteps.

Tang Hao fixed his gaze and saw a figure cloaked in black. His dark eyes trembled, and his cracked lips quivered.

“A fallen soul master?!”

A hoarse, eerie laugh answered him.

“Hehehe.”

Like Tang Hao, Qian Renjue wore a black cloak, slightly retracting his black six wings.

His entire figure was hidden under dark fabric, with only a pair of blood-red eyes and a few strands of silver hair visible, exuding an intense, chilling aura that would make anyone’s heart pound.

“A Titled Douluo of the Clear Sky Clan?” Qian Renjue’s voice was raspy and ice-cold, his blood-red eyes gleaming with mockery and danger. “Hehehe. Seems I’m in luck, finding such high-quality blood food in this desolate place.”

“You… bastard!” Tang Hao gritted his teeth, struggling to shout in fury. The soul rings under his feet were firmly bound, his bloodshot eyes filled with frustration.

When had the mighty Clear Sky Douluo ever been ambushed and subdued like this?

“Hah, don’t bother struggling.” Qian Renjue’s gaze was cold as he repressed the urge to finish Tang Hao off immediately.

He raised his slender, pale right hand, placing his index and middle fingers together against his chest.

The technique he used to trap Tang Hao was one of the four main skills of the Sea God's Sacred Barrier: the Sea God’s Barrier—a control and immobilization skill that immobilizes any enemy with spiritual power less than three times that of the caster.

Now at level seventy-eight as a Soul Saint, and having consumed a pill crafted from the Dew of Clear Sight, Qian Renjue had refined his Eye of Insight.

Using this technique on Tang Hao, who was only a level ninety-three Titled Douluo, posed no challenge.

Even if Tang Hao had a head spirit bone, he was nothing more than a brute relying on muscle.

“Cursed fallen one, I’ve killed thousands like you!” Tang Hao, regaining composure, struggled to issue a threat.

Meanwhile, his soul rings began to emit an unusual light.

Though his condition wasn’t ideal, he knew that against fallen soul masters, who were notorious for cruelty, he might have to unleash his ultimate power—or he’d die.

“Pfft, the hidden technique of the Great Sumeru Hammer… ring explosion, right?” Qian Renjue sneered, his attack already in preparation as he raised his hand again.

“I told you, stop struggling; it’s all in vain.”

“Falling Thunder—!” Qian Renjue’s raspy voice fell, and Tang Hao’s eyes widened.

His pupils rolled upward—how could he possibly match the speed of lightning?

At the top of the triangular space, like a showerhead, a torrent of black lightning suddenly poured down.

“Ah—!” Tang Hao screamed in agony, his body paralyzed as his ring-explosion technique was interrupted. His hair stood on end, and his body slowly began to char.

“Hehehe!” Qian Renjue let out a harsh laugh, channeling even more icy spirit power through his fingertips.

The Sea God’s Barrier was originally just a control skill and couldn’t attack spirit masters inside it.

But that was a limitation of the Sea God’s Sacred Barrier, not of his Evil God's Heart

“Ah—!” Tang Hao screamed in misery, clenching his fists, eyes filled with hatred as he desperately tried to activate the ultimate technique of the Great Sumeru Hammer.

“A full set of spirit bones really does make one resilient,” Qian Renjue murmured, a more sadistic smile forming at his lips.

“Binding Wind!” he announced, and a fierce whirlwind sprang up within the Evil God's Heart, spiraling around Tang Hao. It tightly bound him while sharp wind blades sliced his clothes and skin.

“Thunder Dragon!” The cold, hoarse voice echoed again.

Roar—

Tang Hao, trembling, lifted his head. His dark eyes reflected the forms of three dragon heads!

In the confined space, three lightning dragons, each as thick as an arm, spiraled down with the gusts, wrapping around Tang Hao.

Inside the purple-black Evil God's Heart, blinding lightning crackled.

“Ahhhhh—!” Tang Hao’s prolonged screams and the black smoke rising from his scorched body were trapped within the Evil God's Heart.

After a minute, Qian Renjue frowned slightly, feeling his spirit power slightly drained. Tang Hao’s screams had ceased, but to be safe, Qian Renjue continued the assault.

He looked at Tang Hao, lying unconscious and twitching amid the dense black smoke, when suddenly a faint flash of blood-red light appeared.

“Not good! Ugh—!” Qian Renjue’s expression shifted dramatically as he quickly canceled all his skills. The backlash forced a muffled groan from him.

The Evil God's Heart faded as Qian Renjue staggered back a few steps, coughing.

“Cough, cough…”

“Your Highness!” Ling Yuan, responsible for keeping watch, rushed to Qian Renjue’s side, her eyes filled with concern as she helped him up. “Are you alright?”

Clutching his chest, Qian Renjue glared intensely at Tang Hao’s smoldering, motionless body on the ground. The Inverse Divine Mark on his brow flickered faintly. Seeing no sign of movement from Tang Hao, he slowly shook his head, his voice still cold.

“I’m fine.”

Qian Renjue stood up straight. He had nearly triggered the residual power left behind by that cursed being, but thankfully, there was no real danger this time.

Qian Renjue waved Ling Yuan aside, commanding, “Continue monitoring the area.”

“Yes.” Douluo Ling Yuan nodded, returning quickly to her position, though she kept a careful eye on Qian Renjue.

From his system space, Qian Renjue retrieved a golden coin-like item as he approached Tang Hao’s fallen body. What he held was a one-time divine ability acquired earlier—Memory Stealing Method