Chapter 20: Mountains, Rivers, Vegetation, Sun, Moon, and Stars!
"We're surrounded," Hu Liena said seriously as she set Zhou Chen down.
The third ability of her Enchantress Fox martial spirit endowed her with extraordinary perception, allowing her to sense numerous human presences within a few hundred meters.
Sure enough, in the next moment, blurry figures emerged from all sides.
They moved swiftly, closing in on Hu Liena and Zhou Chen within a few breaths, encircling them completely.
These figures were clad in black, numbering in the dozens, and each exuded a menacing aura!
"Are these the Spirit Hall's enforcement team?" Zhou Chen whispered.
Hu Liena shook her head, her expression grave, "No, in the Spirit Hunting Forest, our Spirit Hall people don't need to hide."
"Heh, what a pretty little girl!"
A rough, mocking voice rang out as a burly, imposing man in black stepped forward. He coldly surveyed Zhou Chen and then pulled out an image from his pocket.
In the faint moonlight, Zhou Chen clearly saw that the image bore his own face!
"Yes, it's you."
The leader of the men in black sneered and shouted, "Martial spirit, possess!"
Instantly, a strong, pale light burst from the leader's body. His hands sprouted ten sharp claws, his bones crackled, muscles swelled, and white fur covered his body, making him over two meters tall!
On his forehead, four faint black lines appeared, forming the character "王" (king)!
"White Tiger Martial Spirit?"
Seeing the leader's transformation, Hu Liena exclaimed, "Are you a member of the Xingluo Empire's royal family?"
It was well known that the top-tier beast martial spirit, the White Tiger, comparable to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, was possessed only by the Dai family of the Xingluo Empire's royal family!
Thus, the identity of these black-clad figures was obvious—they were death soldiers sent by the Xingluo royal family!
"You Xingluo Empire have some nerve! I'm Hu Liena, the Spirit Hall Saintess, and Titled Douluo Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan is nearby. Let's see who dares to touch me!"
Hu Liena stood protectively in front of Zhou Chen, her voice fierce.
Hearing this, the leader hesitated briefly, then laughed coldly, "Hu Liena, who are you trying to fool? Our secret guards know all about you helping Zhou Chen escape! As for relying on Chrysanthemum Douluo, he's busy searching the Spirit Hunting Forest for you and can't attend to this side!"
"As long as we kill you both, no one will know Xingluo Empire did it."
As he finished speaking, the leader stomped the ground, and six bright soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and two black—rose from his feet, a powerful soul power pressure radiating outward!
"Six soul rings, a Soul Emperor!!"
Hu Liena clenched her delicate fists, her face turning pale.
She was only at level 31, and Zhou Chen was in an extremely weakened state. How could they possibly handle a Soul Emperor?
And it wasn't over yet—the next moment brought even more despair to Hu Liena!
The dozens of men in black all released their martial spirits, soul rings rising, revealing that they... were all soul masters!
Furthermore, all these men were at least level 30 or higher, Soul Elders!
"System, any solutions?" In such a dire situation, Zhou Chen could only rely on the system.
"Ding... Does the host have 100,000 gold soul coins?" the system asked in return.
"System, if you let me die, all your initial investments will be sunk," Zhou Chen replied calmly despite the system's opportunism.
"Ding... The system can help the host awaken the second martial spirit ahead of time!"
"Ding... Awakening the martial spirit requires time. Please delay for ten breaths."
"Alright!"
Zhou Chen nodded and whispered urgently to Hu Liena, "Can you hold them off for ten breaths? I have a plan!"
"I can try," Hu Liena gritted her teeth.
At that moment, the leader of the men in black shouted:
"Time is wasting, kill them!"
With a wave of his hand, the dozens of Soul Elders lunged forward!
"Enchantress Fox, possess!"
With the release of her martial spirit, Hu Liena seemed to grow even more beautiful, a fluffy, fiery red fox tail emerging from her back.
A faint red glow emanated from her, her eyes flashing as she looked at the men in black.
Her third soul skill—Charm!
In an instant, the men in black, preparing to unleash their soul skills, froze. Hu Liena's unique allure captivated them, making them abandon their resistance and gaze at her!
Such a powerful charm was why the Pope Bibi Dong chose her as a disciple.
"Courting death!"
Seeing his subordinates charmed, the leader roared in anger.
He swung his claws, ten silver streaks crisscrossing the air, instantly sending the level 31 Hu Liena flying several meters, blood spurting from her mouth!
With their master injured, the charm skill lost its effect, and the black-clad Soul Elders snapped back to reality, immediately beginning to release their soul skills!
In an instant, a barrage of soul skills surged toward the two!
Yet...
"Boom!"
A golden pillar of light descended, enveloping Zhou Chen and Hu Liena. All the attacks from the black-clad figures were blocked outside!
At the center of the light pillar, Zhou Chen radiated an ancient and majestic aura, a point of light glowing at his brow!
"Buzz!"
With a sword hum, a small golden sword about ten centimeters long shot from Zhou Chen's brow. As it met the air, it expanded into a three-foot-three-inch-long golden ancient sword!
Seeing the sword, Zhou Chen was stunned, for he recognized it!
"Inscribed with mountains, rivers, and vegetation on the left, and sun, moon, and stars on the right... This is the sacred sword forged for Emperor Xuanyuan from the copper of Shoushan, the Xuanyuan Sword!"