Chapter 156: Bait

The bead trembled in Su Yun's palm, the Divine Soul fragment inside emitting a low roar.

The sound was not loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a hammer.

Bai Shuang's face turned pale, and the twenty Nascent Soul female cultivators were trembling all over.

Su Yun did not put the bead away; instead, he held it higher.

He injected his Late Huashen Stage spiritual power into the bead. The blood-red light inside began to surge, and under the impact of his spiritual power, fine cracks appeared on the Seal of the Green Spiritual Plant.

Valley Master Su Yao's expression changed drastically. She shouted for her master to stop, but Su Yun did not listen.

The cracks multiplied, and the blood-red light grew brighter.

The roar inside the bead turned into a sharp screech, the sound piercing through the tranquility of the Thunder Pool, penetrating the gray-white sky of the Northern Wilderness, and spreading in all directions.

The surface of the Thunder Pool began to churn, the purple liquid boiling as bubbles rose from the bottom of the pool, emitting ear-piercing screams when they burst.

The twisted shadows at the bottom of the pool began to rush upward frantically, and one black shadow after another shot out from the pool water, pouncing toward Su Yun.

Su Yun raised his hand and struck out with a palm.

The few black shadows charging at the forefront were shattered, dissipating into purple mist.

But there were more black shadows rushing out from behind, densely packed and countless in number.

Valley Master Su Yao, Fairy Jianyun, and Zi Wuji attacked simultaneously. Sword light, lightning, and palm wind wove into a large net, blocking those black shadows outside.

Bai Shuang and the twenty Nascent Soul female cultivators also joined the battle, but there were too many black shadows; after killing one batch, another came, as if they were endless.

Su Yun ignored those black shadows. He stood at the edge of the Thunder Pool, holding the bead, waiting.

He knew that those small things were not the one he was waiting for.

He was waiting for the thing that had rushed out of the Ten Thousand Year Cold Pool, that black shadow at the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage.

The Divine Soul fragment in the bead was calling to it; it would definitely come.

The distant sky began to change color.

The northern horizon had originally been gray, but at this moment, it turned a strange purple-black, as if something were devouring the sky.

Clouds churned, lightning flashed, and a massive black shadow flew in from the edge of the sky.

Its speed was astonishing, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived above the Thunder Pool.

It was a monster wrapped in purple lightning, shaped like a Dragon, but without scales. Its skin was gray-black, covered in cracks, and purple liquid seeped from the cracks.

Its eyes were blood-red, devoid of pupils, containing only violence and madness.

The aura of the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage pressed down overwhelmingly; Bai Shuang and those Nascent Soul female cultivators knelt on the ground instantly, unable to even stand.

Valley Master Su Yao, Fairy Jianyun, and Zi Wuji also turned deathly pale, barely managing to hold on without collapsing.

Su Yun did not retreat. He stood in place, holding the bead, looking up at the monster.

The bead trembled violently in his palm, and the Divine Soul fragment inside emitted a sharp screech.

The monster also let out a screech. The two sounds intertwined, causing the water in the Thunder Pool to explode, sending purple liquid splashing into mid-air, turning into a sky full of blood rain.

Su Yun raised his hand and threw the bead toward the center of the Thunder Pool.

The bead traced an arc in the air, landing on a large boulder in the center of the Thunder Pool.

It rolled a few times and came to a stop.

The Divine Soul fragment inside screeched frantically, summoning the monster over.

The monster stared at the bead, a flash of hesitation appearing in its blood-red eyes.

It circled in the air a few times, seemingly confirming something.

Then it dove down, pouncing toward the bead.

Su Yun moved. He took a step forward, appeared in front of the monster, and threw a punch.

This punch condensed all his power: the Power of the Five Elements, the Thunder Spirit Power, the Ice Soul Power, and the Blood Fiend Power—four powers combined into one.

The force of the punch slammed into the monster's head, emitting a dull, thunderous sound.

The monster's head was knocked to the side, but it was not injured.

It turned its head, fixed its blood-red eyes on Su Yun, and opened its mouth. A bolt of purple lightning shot out from its throat, striking directly at Su Yun's face.

Su Yun dodged to the side. The lightning grazed past him and struck a boulder at the edge of the Thunder Pool, causing the boulder to explode instantly and sending stone fragments flying.

He pressed forward and struck with another punch.

This punch landed on the monster's neck. It let out a low roar and retreated a few steps.

Su Yun did not give it a chance to catch its breath, attacking with both fists and palms, every strike landing on the monster's body.

The monster's skin was very thick; a full-strength strike from the Late Huashen Stage could only leave a shallow dent on it, but Su Yun did not care.

What he needed was not to kill it, but to stall it.

Fairy Jianyun drew her sword. Seventy-two Flying Swords unsheathed simultaneously, the sword light weaving like a tapestry as they pierced toward the monster from all directions.

The monster was enveloped in sword light, and the purple lightning on its body erupted wildly, knocking away most of the Flying Swords.

However, a few Flying Swords pierced through the lightning and embedded themselves in the monster's body, leaving several deep wounds.

Purple liquid flowed from the wounds, dripping into the Thunder Pool with a sizzling sound.

Zi Wuji also attacked. She formed Seals with her hands, and a pillar of purple lightning descended from the sky, striking the monster's head.

The monster shrieked, its body trembling violently.

The lightning pillar lasted for a full ten breaths; the monster's head was scorched black, and one of its eyes exploded.

It struggled frantically, its tail sweeping across and knocking Zi Wuji flying.

Zi Wuji crashed into the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Valley Master Su Yao did not attack. She stood in the distance, holding a Medicinal Pill in her hand, ready to provide support at any moment.

She knew her strength was not in combat, but in saving people.

Her gaze remained fixed on Su Yun; as soon as he was injured, she would rush up.

The monster was enraged. It abandoned the bead, turned around, and pounced toward Su Yun.

Its speed was incredible; Su Yun could not dodge in time and was knocked flying, crashing into the Thunder Pool.

The pool water was bone-chillingly cold, and the purple liquid poured into his mouth and nose. He felt his spiritual power being devoured by those liquids.

He struggled to surface, spitting out a mouthful of purple blood.

The monster pounced again.

Su Yun gritted his teeth, leaped out of the Thunder Pool, and met the monster head-on.

This time he did not use his fists, but his palms.

A cluster of ice-blue light condensed in his palm; it was the full power of True Monarch Bingpo.

He slammed that cluster of light into the monster's wound.

The monster shrieked, and its body began to freeze. The ice layer spread from the wound in all directions, quickly covering half of its body.

It struggled, trying to break free, but the ice was too thick, and it could not move.

Su Yun landed on the monster's head, raised his hand, and struck down with a palm.

This palm struck the top of the monster's head, shattering its skull and causing purple liquid to gush out.

It let out a desperate screech, and its body began to disintegrate.

The cracks grew larger and larger, and purple liquid gushed out from the fissures, flowing into the Thunder Pool.

Its body grew smaller and smaller, more and more withered, and finally turned into a pile of gray-black fragments, scattered in the center of the Thunder Pool.

Su Yun jumped down from the monster's head and stood at the edge of the Thunder Pool.

He was covered in wounds, his clothes torn in several places, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he was still standing.

Valley Master Su Yao rushed up, gave him a healing Medicinal Pill, and helped him treat his wounds.

Fairy Jianyun and Zi Wuji also walked over; both were injured, but not seriously.

Bai Shuang and the Nascent Soul female cultivators climbed up from the ground, their faces deathly pale, but no one had died.

Su Yun looked at the pile of fragments in the center of the Thunder Pool, remaining silent for a long time.

Then he walked to the large boulder and picked up the bead.

The bead lay quietly in his palm; the Divine Soul fragment inside was no longer roaring.

It was quiet, as if it had fallen asleep.

Su Yun put the bead into his Storage Ring and turned to walk south.

"Return."

The group soared into the air and flew toward the Central Region.

Behind them, the surface of the Thunder Pool gradually calmed down, and the purple liquid stopped churning.

The twisted shadows at the bottom of the pool also stopped moving; they sank to the deepest depths and never came out again.

The sky over the Northern Wilderness finally cleared up.