Chapter 8: Blackstone Prison
Bates asked the question, but he still had some confidence. He knew the nature of these bandits well: they bullied the weak and feared the strong!
Even if the bandits were certain they could kill all their targets, they would still consider whether the losses were worth it. Now, with Linley’s group, Bates was far too powerful, and even Linley, Bebe, and Olivier could easily slaughter mid-level gods—clearly a tough nut to crack.
To kill Bates and his group, the losses would definitely not be small.
“It’ll be fine. That bandit leader won’t be that stupid.” The mid-level god demon, the green-haired burly man Taim, rarely showed a trace of a smile on his face.
“We’re definitely going to make it.” Another short, stocky man beside him said in a low voice.
Achi’s eyes were also filled with hope.
“If we can avoid a fight, that’s the best outcome.” Linley thought to himself, but he didn’t let his guard down, still vigilantly watching the surrounding bandits. At this moment, the fourteen survivors on Linley’s side were all waiting for the leader, Daiman’s, reply.
The bandits were also waiting for Daiman’s answer.
“Second leader? Kill or not?” The high-level god behind Daiman asked softly.
The bandits were reluctant. The enemy was just a handful, while they had thousands, including over thirty high-level gods and the powerful second leader. The enemy had killed nearly three hundred mid-level gods—were they really going to let them go? The bandits were unwilling!
Daiman squinted, staring at Bates in the distance, then glanced at Olivier. “A soul mutant…”
Daiman was thinking, then looked at Bates again. “This high-level god is clearly a practitioner of the dark laws, skilled in speed. Good at concealing his aura.” Daiman was also surprised, because he hadn’t noticed Bates hiding his strength at first.
“The profundities he’s comprehended should lean toward concealment and speed; his attack power might be lacking.” Daiman thought to himself.
If the enemy were truly strong, they wouldn’t bother negotiating with him.
Thousands surrounded a dozen people, and it was dead silent. Everyone was waiting for Daiman’s decision. But suddenly—
“Kill!!!” Daiman suddenly roared.
Achi, Taim, and the other mid-level gods’ expressions froze instantly, and even Bates’s face changed.
“They’re making a move?” Linley frowned.
Daiman’s eyes were bloodshot as he bellowed, “All brothers, charge together! Kill them! Kill them!”
“Kill!” First, the group of high-level gods behind Daiman rushed forward at top speed. Instantly, the sea roared, and elemental beasts emerged one after another, some standing on the heads of elemental pythons, others hiding in the mist.
The combined assault of over thirty high-level gods, just their aura alone, made Linley feel suffocated.
In perfect unison, the thirty-plus high-level gods swung their weapons and unleashed their soul attacks. Translucent beams of various colors shot toward Linley’s group.
“Damn!” Linley’s face changed drastically.
These thirty-plus high-level gods were only a hundred meters away from Linley’s group. The speed of soul attacks far exceeded human movement speed. Everyone could only barely dodge a tiny distance. The target of these thirty-plus high-level gods’ soul attacks was three people—
Bates, Bofei, and Delia!
“Pfft!” “Pfft!” “Pfft!”
“Watch out!” In that critical moment, Linley, who was beside Delia, forcefully pulled her, while also trying to move himself.
“Pfft!” “Pfft!”…
Even with the best possible evasion, six soul attacks still struck Linley’s body in succession.
The thirty-plus high-level gods attacked three people, with ten soul attacks aimed at Delia and Bofei each, and over a dozen at Bates. Linley tried his best to dodge but still took six high-level god soul attacks!
“Boom!”
The six soul attacks shot straight into Linley’s mind, violently crashing against the soul-protecting divine artifact. Like eggs hitting a rock, they all shattered into pieces. These high-level gods were relatively weak, and their soul attacks were quite basic.
Linley finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Linley.” Delia stared at him intently, not blinking.
“I’m fine.” Linley showed a faint smile.
Over six hundred years of cultivation in the Amethyst Mountains, especially refining large amounts of amethyst and absorbing soul essence, had been slowly repairing the crack in the soul-protecting divine artifact. After six hundred years, a thin membrane had formed over the gap.
Though not as strong as other parts of the soul-protecting divine artifact, its defense was still decent.
Linley’s situation was okay, but Bofei and Bates were not so fortunate.
The bald young man Bofei was hit by several soul attacks. He fell limply from midair, while another Bofei, dressed in a black robe, shot out from his body—it was Bofei’s mid-level god clone.
“Swish!” Bates moved extremely fast.
Facing over a dozen soul attacks, he managed to dodge most of them, only getting hit by two. Those two soul attacks made Bates’s face turn pale. He didn’t have a soul-protecting artifact.
After all, even a Seven-Star Demon’s soul wasn’t much stronger than an ordinary high-level god’s; at most, their defense was a bit better. If they took too many soul attacks head-on, they’d still be done for.
The bearded Bates glanced at Linley: “This Linley really is hiding his strength. Hit by several soul attacks and still fine. No wonder he’s from the Four Divine Beasts clan.” Seeing Linley transform into a dragon, Bates had already guessed his identity.
“Brother—”
A mournful cry came from nearby.
Linley turned to look. It was the mid-level god demon who had been with him, the tall, silver-haired man, Wilburn, crying out in pain, tears streaming down his face.
It turned out that among the soul attacks aimed at Bates, most had been dodged, but one had struck Wilburn’s unlucky brother. A high-level god’s soul attack—how could Wilburn’s brother withstand it?
Moreover, Wilburn’s brother had only become a god by refining a divine spark, and he died on the spot.
“Wilburn must have been very close to his brother.” Linley thought to himself, seeing Wilburn so grief-stricken. But no one in the group had time to comfort Wilburn. Linley immediately refocused on the group of high-level gods.
“Haha, not bad, you’ve got some skill.” The high-level gods laughed loudly.
“Brothers, let’s do it again.”
These thirty-plus high-level gods loved launching coordinated attacks.
“Linley, if you don’t act now, I’m washing my hands of this and leaving.” A voice rang in Linley’s mind. Linley instantly recognized it as the bearded Bates. “Linley, I didn’t expect you to be a high-level god too, deliberately hiding your strength. Even I can’t see through you.”
Linley was stunned.
A high-level god? How did he not know?
“As a core member of the Four Divine Beasts clan, I recognized you the moment you transformed. And you’re still hiding your strength? I, Bates, may not be great at much, but I’m good at escaping. These thirty-six high-level gods, especially that leader—I can’t handle them. If you don’t act, I’m out. I’m not the type to sacrifice myself for others!” Bates transmitted mentally.
Bates valued his own life greatly.
“Haha, kill them!” Daiman shouted joyfully from afar.
“Got it, Second Leader.”
The thirty-plus high-level gods were full of confidence as they raised their weapons again.
“Linley!” Bates transmitted again.
“Get ready for a slaughter.” Linley transmitted back to Bates. At the same time, in Linley’s soul sea, beneath the seven-colored sword-shaped soul, centered on that blackstone, a massive amount of soul power began to ripple. Simultaneously, earth elements in the surroundings gathered violently.
Linley watched coldly as the thirty-plus high-level gods raised their weapons.
Eerily, powerful streams of earth divine power, like ripples on the sea, vibrated within a two-hundred-meter radius. Their trajectories matched exactly the changes of the 108 soul power streams within the blackstone. Within that two-hundred-meter range—
The thirty-six high-level gods suddenly felt an immense gravitational force, so strong that they couldn’t maintain their floating state and fell from midair!
“Ah!” The thirty-six high-level gods cried out in alarm.
“Whoosh, whoosh—”
Countless earth elements had now fully condensed, forming a completely sealed, pitch-black prison within the two-hundred-meter radius. Everyone inside was trapped in this black prison. The thirty-six high-level gods were naturally caught in it as well.
Blackstone Prison! The thousands of mid-level gods watching from outside were momentarily dumbfounded, completely stunned.
Inside the Blackstone Prison—
“What, what is this place?” The thirty-six high-level gods looked around in shock. Everywhere were black walls, corridors, and rooms. They had been separated into different areas. At the same time, they were subjected to an astonishing gravitational force.
The gravity was absurd. Even high-level gods couldn’t fly.
“Pfft!” A shadow flashed, and a high-level god collapsed to the ground.
“Haha, what a thrill!” Bates was ecstatic. Everyone on Linley’s side was surrounded by earth divine power, completely unaffected by the gravity, moving at their normal speed.
The thirty-six high-level gods’ speed was reduced to a crawl, but Bates and the others were unaffected. Moreover, the thirty-six were separated—
It was a massacre!
“This damn place, break open!” One high-level god angrily punched the black wall. The black wall rippled like water but remained unharmed. This Blackstone Prison, formed from three profundities, had defense comparable to Linley’s former Pulse Guard armor.
“Damn it, how do we get out?” The high-level god was frantic.
Suddenly—
“Hey.” A voice sounded.
The high-level god turned around, only to see a figure emerge eerily from the wall. He just noticed a pair of dark-golden, icy eyes, then felt his head spin, and knew nothing more.
“Killing like this is so easy.” Linley smiled faintly.
The Blackstone Prison wasn’t just for trapping and gravity. The blackstone also had a special soul influence, similar to the eerie wind sounds in the Amethyst Mountains. As Linley acted, he used his soul power through the blackstone to exert a soul effect.
The enemy would become dizzy and lose consciousness, and Linley could easily kill them with one blow.
“Huh!” That high-level god was shocked and immediately launched a soul attack.
A black light flashed, and a high-level god’s head exploded, a divine spark flying out.
“Haha, too slow!” Bebe laughed loudly.
Under the gravity, their speed was restricted, and they couldn’t even dodge. They could only launch one soul attack, but when facing Bebe, they still died.
And if they faced Linley… they were even worse off. They didn’t even get a chance to launch a soul attack.
“Attack!” The moment the Blackstone Prison formed, Daiman immediately roared.
Instantly, thousands of mid-level gods raised their weapons. Countless material attacks—earthy yellow, light green, cyan-green, golden—roared toward the Blackstone Prison.
But—
“Whoosh!” The Blackstone Prison eerily sank, suddenly dropping below the sea surface.
“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”
Of the thousands of attacks, only a few hundred hit the Blackstone Prison. The combined assault of hundreds of mid-level gods, against this prison formed from three profundities with defense comparable to Pulse Guard armor, only caused the prison walls to tremble slightly before settling.
Completely unharmed!
Linley’s Blackstone Prison had defense nearly on par with the desert castle.
“Huh?” Daiman was shocked.
But suddenly, the entire Blackstone Prison vanished eerily, revealing the twelve people inside—Linley and his group. Though it felt slow, the Blackstone Prison had formed and lasted less than ten seconds before disappearing.
The only difference from before was that all thirty-six high-level gods were dead!
“No, impossible!” Daiman’s face changed drastically.
Thirty-six high-level gods, dead in the blink of an eye? How was that possible?
“There’s an earth-attribute expert.” Daiman understood. The black prison, filled with earth aura, had formed, and in an instant, all thirty-six high-level gods were dead. “This expert is probably not that bearded man. There’s another hidden powerhouse in this group.”
Daiman was alarmed.
He didn’t know how this small team could have two high-level gods, then Bates, and now someone even more terrifying.
“Haha…” Bates laughed loudly. “Now there’s only one high-level god left—you. Hehe, let me—”
Would Daiman dare to fight?
He wasn’t entirely sure of Bates’s strength, and there was an even stronger earth-attribute expert hiding!
Flee!
Without a word, Daiman turned and fled, cursing inwardly, “This team only had twenty-something people. How are there so many hidden experts?”
“That blackstone castle killed thirty-six high-level gods in no time. Definitely a Six-Star Demon, maybe even a Seven-Star Demon!” Daiman was certain. “Whatever, I don’t care. At least I found a soul mutant this time—that’s a merit!”
Thinking this, Daiman escaped without a trace.
“The Second Leader ran!”
“Run!”
The thousands of mid-level gods fled in terror. Their combined attack hadn’t even shaken the Blackstone Prison, and that was when it was large, with only a few hundred attacks hitting it. Against a high-level god expert, only a few attacks would land at most.
In moments, the figures vanished without a trace, leaving only the twelve survivors.
“Who was that expert who used the blackstone castle?” Achi, who had survived by luck, immediately looked around at the others. But the other surviving mid-level god demons were also bewildered, while Bebe, Olivier, and the others deliberately looked confused, glancing at each other.
“Hey, who was it?” Bebe asked, looking clueless. “We’ve got such a powerful expert among us? I’m in awe! Tell me, who is it?” Bebe kept looking around at everyone else.