Runic sword qi shuttled back and forth amongst the tormented souls.

One after another, the tormented souls were killed off and disintegrated into smithereens. No one could get within three meters of Chu Kuangren, but it was even more arduous to break the Black Mantle.

“Divine Ferocious Avatar, let's go!!”

At this moment, a gush of terrifying ferocious qi surged out from heaven and earth!

The ferocious qi surged into a ten-meter tall Divine Ferocious Avatar. It was the avatar that Daoist Sha had cast.

Compared to the Divine Ferocious Avatar that Chu Kuangren had cast three years ago, this avatar was much stronger with its terrifying and earth-shattering energy.

“Is this the perfected form of the Divine Ferocious Avatar? This is interesting, considering he cultivates an Innate Ferocious Emperor Scripture too.”

His opponent's Divine Ferocious Avatar may be stronger than his, but Chu Kuangren did not mind at all. The Infallible Tormented Physique was just one of many tricks that he had up his sleeves. Abandoning that one trick would not affect him at all.

“Trap them!!”

Daoist Sha cried out and commanded his Divine Ferocious Avatar that threw out a wild punch. At that moment, a huge chunk of the s.p.a.ce between them quivered like ocean waves.

Chu Kuangren cast his Sage-grade runes in quick succession. Combining them with his own Sword-based Daoist Rhyme, an absurdly powerful hundred-meter-long giant sword transformed and lashed out at his opponent!

With a bang, the horrifying impact flung all tormented souls out of the scene. Even the great Giant Tormented Sage Ruler could not stop himself from being pushed back several hundred meters.

“What an incredible runic energy!”

Daoist Sha was pushed back several hundred meters after being hit by the runic energy. As he smashed onto the top of a mountain, he stared at Chu Kuangren in shock.

Since Chu Kuangren had the protection of the Black Mantle, the repercussions were negated.

Daoist Sha immediately took out a bell the size of a palm. It was made from an unknown material, but there were ominous Daoist Rhymes flowing on top of it.

“You should feel honored that you made me use this Innate Ferocious Bell!”

Daoist Sha yelled and was about to strike out another attack.

Just as he was about to do so, Chu Kuangren, from afar, suddenly pointed to the sky.

What was he trying to say?!

Daoist Sha could not understand what that meant.

Then, he looked up into the sky and was overwhelmed with shock!

An extremely enormous silvery-white rune had enveloped the Tormented Army in its entirety. Like a meteor cras.h.i.+ng onto the ground, the rune rained down and smashed onto the army.

The s.p.a.ce around them was like a swamp, making it hard for anyone to move.

Even the almighty Daoist Sha could feel the immense pressure.

“That is a spatial rune!”

“How the h.e.l.l did he manage to produce such a large-scaled spatial rune?!”

Daoist Sha looked flabbergasted.

Chu Kuangren had used the Spatial Cessation Rune to trap the tormented souls to their spots. However, he did not stay on much longer as he swiftly brought Lan Yu and White-Robed General out of the place.

The effect of the Cessation Rune may be strong, but Daoist Sha was not entirely trapped. He still had some fight left in him despite being cast in the Cessation Rune. Besides, he also had an incredibly powerful weapon in his hands, so there was no benefit in prolonging the battle.

Hence, Chu Kuangren decided that it was more important to escort White-Robed General out of here.

“Trying to flee? In your dreams!”

Daoist Sha reactivated his Divine Ferocious Avatar, attempting to break free of the Cessation Rune's clutches. Just as he was about to chase them, ten runic swords suddenly flew out from the sky and towards him.

Each one of these runic swords had the power of killing Sages, so even Daoist Sha was forced to brace himself and face this seriously.

It was at this moment that Chu Kuangren and his group sneaked out unnoticed.

When the Cessation Rune's effects waned, the trio was already long gone. Daoist Sha was so incensed that he shouted, “Go get them!!”

He yelled and led the army of tormented souls in their pursuit.

They had barely traveled several hundred meters out when bizarre runes suddenly emerged in the sky above them. The runes turned into bolts of lightning, frost hales, and fiery embers, showering the place with all kinds of forces of nature as it crashed down onto the great army.

These runic powers were not as strong as the runic sword that Chu Kuangren had summoned, but they were still a force to be reckoned with. On top of that, the runes came in such large numbers that it gave the Tormented Army no time to react. Quite a lot of them were wounded, and they were left scrambling for safety.

“D*mn it!”

Daoist Sha was so angry that his lips kept twitching.

“Master Sha, G.o.d knows how many more runic traps that guy has set up along our way. I'm afraid we won't be able to catch up to them.”

Giant Tormented Sage Ruler sighed helplessly.

Daoist Sha stared at him with a stone-cold gaze, yet at the same time, he knew what Giant Tormented Sage Ruler said was the truth. It did not seem like they would catch up to them this time.

However, the Innate Ferocious Altar was a key to the improvement of his foundation level!

Just like that, it was stolen!

“Even without that Innate Ferocious Altar, I must still speed up my progress in becoming a Sage. I can't trail behind Xiao Jingchen too much.”

“Now that things have gone south, I'm simply left with no choice!”

A brutal gaze shot out from Daoist Sha's eyes.

“Master Sha, please be patient. We can still gather more innate ferocious qi. All of us are willing to give our all to you.”

Giant Tormented Sage Ruler took the opportunity to express his loyalty.

He knew that his superior hailed from an extremely powerful place. If he could gain his favor, he could hope for a chance to break this bind and leave this Ancient Battlefield one day to follow his superior to greener pastures.

“Really? I'm really touched by your loyalty. If that's the case, will you guys give up your lives for me?!”

Daoist Sha said coldly.

Upon hearing his words, Giant Tormented Sage Ruler and the rest of the army panicked. They could not fathom what he meant exactly.

It was at that moment he took out that black bell and activated his spiritual power. That bell expanded in size with the strong winds until it was humongous.

After that, the bell rang. Along with that came surges of catastrophic ferocious qi that swept in from across the land and rushed toward every tormented soul.

Even an elite like Giant Tormented Sage Ruler was falling apart in the face of this bell ring. Cracks began to form on his body.

“Master Sha, what are you doing?!”

The tormented souls were all petrified at this point.

“Didn't you guys say you're willing to give your all to me? Since the Innate Ferocious Altar is now gone, I can only rely on the ferocious qis in your bodies to increase my foundation level. Why? Do you not intend to keep your promises?”

Daoist Sha showed no mercy as he rang the bell furiously.

As if they had substance, the ferocious qi-infused sound waves spread out in all directions. One after another, the tormented souls were crushed, and Giant Tormented Sage Ruler was no exception.

They wanted to run, but they were unable to escape the bell ring's area of damage.

In just a brief moment, the tormented souls all perished. What remained at the scene were streaks of ferocious qis.

Daoist Sha absorbed all these innate ferocious qis into his body. Despite that, there was no trace of happiness on his face. “This source of innate ferocious qi is far inferior to the one in the Innate Ferocious Altar, but this is my only choice. G.o.dd*mn it!!”

“b.l.o.o.d.y thief, after I become a Sage, I will surely track down your whereabouts and then shred you into a million pieces!”

No one else on Firmament Star would have Chu Kuangren's runic prowess. Hence, he trusted that he would not need much detective work to locate him.

When the time came, he wanted this person to pay the ultimate price!

A distance away.

Chu Kuangren, Lan Yu, and White-Robed General had already successfully escaped the Ancient Battlefield's Core Area. They were now on the Illusive Mirage, departing the place.

Back on the Illusive Mirage, Chu Kuangren opened his eyes.

“This Daoist Sha is really cold-blooded.”

His spiritual thought had just only returned from the Ancient Battlefield, where he got to witness Daoist Sha's ma.s.sacre of the tormented souls in full.

Of course, he did not miss the part where Daoist Sha vowed to exact revenge on him. However, it did not really bother him.

Revenge?

So many people in this world wanted to kill him, and countless people wanted to seek revenge on him. Daoist Sha was just one of many.

“Up next, we need to think of a way to heal White-Robed General's injuries. Also, the seal inside my body feels like it's close to unlocking…”

Chu Kuangren muttered to himself.