Chapter 1666: Great Escape (Second Update)

He had considered various ways they might be discovered by the shadow. The one possibility he hadn't considered was that it would be due to Gongzi Xiang's flamboyant sword strike.

The shadow gave them no time, instantly enveloping the volcano beneath their feet. A few surviving two-star and three-star Blood Demon Kings undoubtedly perished on the spot, their screams reaching them above. Faintly, Jiang Fan seemed to hear their curses as well.

The screams, so close to his ears, filled Jiang Fan with dread, his instincts urging him to flee quickly. But reason told him that at this moment, any movement would mean death! No matter how fast he was, he couldn't outrun the shadow.

Gongzi Xiang and the other three, along with the white tiger beneath them, all remained calm and motionless. Luckily, they were either top venerables from various realms or Beast Kings who had fought their way out of hunting grounds. If it were anyone else, how could they possess such powerful composure? They could only wait now, hoping the shadow would retreat after searching the volcanic ruins.

This process was not long. Just a few breaths later, as two more screams abruptly ceased, the shadow withdrew from the ruins and drifted away into the distance.

Jiang Fan was so nervous that he was covered in sweat. Liu Bianhuang, Yun Wanxiao, and Tianjian were also intently watching the shadow, their expressions extremely tense. Fortunately, the shadow was finally leaving. Once it moved out of sight, it would be their moment to escape.

Just as it was about to move far away, it suddenly stopped again. Jiang Fan's heart skipped a beat; he instantly had a bad premonition! Yun Wanxiao and the others' expressions also changed drastically! They feared the shadow had realized something!

Sure enough! The shadow actually soared into the air, slowly enveloping the space above the volcano, attempting to search for any stragglers.

Jiang Fan made a quick decision, stomping on the white tiger's head, signaling it to flee quickly. The white tiger had also been through battles and was certainly not one to bury its head in the sand; in this situation, decisive action was necessary. The later they acted, the more dangerous it would be!

Gongzi Xiang, Liu Bianhuang, Yun Wanxiao, and Tianjian also made extremely decisive choices. Gongzi Xiang suddenly pointed towards the distance, exclaiming, "I! Am omnipresent!" The moment he moved, the shadow quickly locked onto them. The next moment, everyone's vision went dark as they plunged into the deadly black shadow!

Jiang Fan then horrifyingly discovered that this was not merely a shadow. It was a living being! Its body was compressed into a flat shadow, its two blood-red eyes like ghosts within it, hunting for hidden prey. Moreover, it immediately detected their presence.

A chillingly cold black blade, striking directly at the soul, silently slashed towards everyone.

Gongzi Xiang, who had made the first move, was also the first to be attacked; he instantly turned into mist. It turned out he had already used the Law of Etherealization; his true body had appeared outside the shadow, and he was once again holding his breath and focusing.

Tianjian's expression changed drastically, and he also decisively made his move. The moment the blade slashed towards him, a puppet identical to him appeared in front of him, imbued with the fluctuations of a Law. The blade cut through his body, but the damage appeared on the puppet instead. A faint scream came from within the puppet. In contrast, Tianjian safely evaded the attack and took the opportunity to teleport out of the shadow, hiding far away and continuing to hold his breath and focus.

The blade also cut across Liu Bianhuang, but he remained calm. He was the most thoroughly prepared participant in this competition. A slight cracking sound was heard as some kind of magical artifact in his embrace shattered, unleashing a Law-level soul fluctuation. This was clearly a Law of Soul Defense! Having dodged the attack, Liu Bianhuang decisively teleported away.

Before leaving, he glimpsed Jiang Fan, who had reacted the quickest, surprisingly already riding the white tiger and leaping out of the shadow, thus avoiding the blade's strike. Instantly, fierce light flashed in his eyes. They had all relied on the power of Laws to evade this attack. Did Jiang Fan think he could simply escape? Was that even possible?

Without thinking, he tossed a bottle of wriggling silver liquid behind him. The bottle shattered, and the liquid, like a living thing, stuck to Jiang Fan and the white tiger, pinning them in place. The huge commotion naturally attracted the attention of the Death Soul. The terrifying soul blade headed straight for the man and the tiger.

Yun Wanxiao's expression changed, but he didn't hesitate; taking advantage of Jiang Fan drawing the fire, he decisively teleported away. They all escaped, but Jiang Fan was trapped in the shadow.

Liu Bianhuang, having escaped the shadow, turned his head and sneered, "Fight with me? You think you're worthy? Your achievements and that gourd of yours are all mine now!"

But the next moment, a purple light flashed on his wrist, and a burst of spatial energy enveloped him, forcibly teleporting him. The next instant, his vision went black. He surprisingly appeared in front of Jiang Fan and the white tiger! A purple ring glowed on Jiang Fan's wrist, and there was one on Liu Bianhuang's wrist as well!

"You..." Liu Bianhuang was startled, wanting to ask when it had been placed on him. But the terrifying blade had already swept over, silently piercing his body.

Fortunately, he still had a soul Law on him, which once again blocked the attack. Similarly, Jiang Fan and the white tiger also escaped unharmed. Jiang Fan gave him a cold stare, and with a wave of his hand, he recalled the ring. At the same time, the white tiger finally broke free from the silver liquid and teleported out of the shadow.

Liu Bianhuang was furious. That bastard actually made him waste another life-saving Law! But he had no time for anger; he could only quickly teleport away as well.

Thus, the five people and one tiger, who had been in extreme danger, all successfully escaped. They stood separated in five directions around the shadow, maintaining a significant distance. But having witnessed the shadow's teleportation speed, which far surpassed that of the Five Decays of Heavenly Beings, no one dared to act rashly. All concealed their aura and remained motionless. At this moment, anyone who moved would attract the shadow's attention, creating an opportunity for the others to escape.

The shadow missed its target, failing to kill anyone, and surged with anger. A soul-level shriek swept in all directions. Jiang Fan immediately felt an immense stinging pain in his soul. Looking at Gongzi Xiang and the others, they all frowned, clearly not feeling well. But they all held on, still not making a sound.

The shadow was exasperated, the immensely vast shadow boiling like water and emitting countless bubbles. Subsequently, the shadow continuously contracted, its center bulging high. One zhang, two zhang, three zhang... Four zhang, five zhang, six zhang... Only when it reached twenty zhang did the shadow finally solidify.

This was no longer just a shadow. Instead, it was a twenty-zhang tall ghost draped in a black shadow cloak, floating in mid-air without feet. Beneath its hood was a pitch-black void, and a pair of blood-red eyes gleamed with cold, merciless light. Sinister bone claws formed from black shadow gripped a gigantic twenty-zhang scythe. It exuded a terrifying sharp aura that made souls tremble! Just moments ago, it was this scythe that had been reaping them! And the majestic black-robed ghost before them was the true form of the Death Soul!

Jiang Fan was secretly awestruck. On its hood were five translucent stars symbolizing its soul origin, indicating that it was merely the weakest five-star Death Soul in the hunting ground. Even so, it nearly wiped out the five people and one tiger present. Jiang Fan thoroughly believed that no world invaded by a Death Soul had survived. He couldn't imagine how those worlds could resist such an extremely dangerous dark creature.

What worried Jiang Fan even more was that the Death Soul, having revealed its true form, was in a rage. It wasn't going to give up easily; its blood-red eyes scanned around, as if it had sensed that the few people were still nearby.