Chapter 693: Chapter 693. Captured

“Xan Chi! Don’t kill it!” Amon exclaimed. They needed the Soul Flayer alive because they wanted its blood fresh.

Xan Chi paused upon hearing Amon’s shout. The pause gave the Soul Flayer the time to clear its head. Its tentacles grabbed Xan Chi and slammed him into the ground before throwing him away. It then dashed toward the closest cave.

By now, the Soul Flayer no longer had the illusion that it could kill these intruders. All the zombie beasts that gave it its special abilities were gone. Without them, it was a strong albeit normal spirit beast. The fear of death now drove it into a self-preservation mode.

“Do not think you can escape!” The disguised Lin Li exclaimed.

The air before the entrance to the cave darkened before the Soul Flayer could enter it. The Soul Flayer recognized the aura from the darkened air. It stopped its charge and jumped back, just as a pair of black tentacles shot out.

Amon dared to use the Elder God Tentacles because he stuck close to Lin Li in disguise. If anyone paid attention to where the infernal energy that formed the black tentacles originated from, they would assume it was from Lin Li. Additionally, Lin Li’s earlier yelling made it more convincing that she had acted, rather than him.

The Soul Flayer acted fast, but it failed to make a clean escape. One of its tentacles was grabbed by the black tentacles. A sizzling voice was heard as the black tentacles eroded the Soul Flayer’s tentacle. Unlike before, it couldn’t recover its wound anymore. It roared from the pain.

Seeing a chance, Sura Yao left the Beta Puppet’s protection. She flew with her scythe lifted high and dropped at high speed right on top of the Soul Flayer. As she fell, sharp rocks materialized around her before converging into a giant scythe. This rock scythe followed her swing. This was the fourth art of her Climate Festivals, Autumn Fall. Her assault targeted one of the wounds on the Soul Flayer’s back.

Sensing the attack, the Soul Flayer pulled with all its might. This caused its trapped tentacle to elongate. Sura Yao’s rock scythe cleaved the tentacle instead. The black tentacles already weakened the Soul Flayer’s tentacle. Despite its extreme hardness, its eroded state couldn’t withstand the cleave. The tentacle was severed.

Sura Yao’s attack had instead freed the Soul Flayer from the Elder God Tentacles. Even so, the Soul Flayer wasn’t out of predicament. Xan Chi was back. He slammed his hammer on the Soul Flayer’s back before it could flee.

The additional wounds Xan Chi suffered from the Soul Flayer had instead strengthened him due to his special constitution. The slam that the Soul Flayer received was even stronger than before. The ground under the Soul Flayer cratered, and it sank inside.

When the spirit beast was stunned by the slam, Amon threw an engraved chain. One end of the engraved chain had been tied to his Xian Cloth. The Xian cloth slipped around the Soul Flayer, tying the engraved chain on the large beast.

An engraved chain was strong enough to bind a Peak Spirit Stage, but not a Lord Stage cultivator. However, the Soul Flayer had greatly weakened. It couldn’t break the chain fastening around its body.

After finishing tying the Soul Flayer with the engraved chain, Amon took out two more engraved chains. He threw one at Xan Chi, and the two worked to bind the Soul Flayer further. The Soul Flayer struggled, but it was futile. All it could do was roar to express its anger.

“Release me…!!!” The Soul Flayer yelled amid its mostly undecipherable roars.

Amon ignored his captive. He told Sura Yao, “You can stop doing whatever it is you do now.”

Sura Yao never stopped sucking the Soul Flayer’s life force. This was another reason the Soul Flayer was greatly weakened. What she did not only worsened the wound from which the life force was sucked, but she also drained her victim’s energy, causing the Soul Flayer greater fatigue the longer the effect lasted.

Sura Yao did as Amon instructed. Everyone could sense that the energy thread linking Sura Yao and the Soul Flayer finally ended.

“How did you do that?” Xan Chi asked Sura Yao. He consumed a recovery pill. Now that the battle was over, he needed to heal.

Sura Yao took a new mask and covered her disfigured face. When she spoke, it was again the rough voice of a man. “It’s the ability from my special constitution. I can drain the energy from whatever living creature I have wounded.”

“A very useful vampiric ability. No wonder you gained the nickname, the Reaper,” Amon remarked. He stored the broken Alpha Puppet in his black space ring. He then picked up the Soul Flayer’s cut tentacle and threw it at the man Lin Li was disguising as.

“Now that we are done with the Soul Flayer…” Xan Chi made a show like he was ready to lunge. Amon hurriedly forbade him.

“Stay your ground! He helped us defeat the Soul Flayer. All he asks is one part of the Soul Flayer, which he already obtained. He will leave in peace.”

“You can’t be serious. He is a demon,” Xan Chi said.

“We owe him. Have you no honor that you will turn on someone who just helped you?” Amon asked.

“Hmph! Fine! I will let him go,” Xan Chi uttered.

Amon turned to Sura Yao.

Sura Yao showed no sign of aggression. He said, “I never truly care whether someone is a demon or not. Furthermore, he could fight the Soul Flayer almost on equal ground, even when his aura didn’t seem stronger than ours. I will be a fool to challenge him.”

Xan Chi rolled his eyes at Sura Yao. “Is that your indirect way of calling me a fool?”

Sura Yao didn’t respond.

Lin Li also didn’t say anything. He flew up with the Soul Flayer’s tentacle in her hand and slipped out of one of the holes in the ceiling.

“I guess that’s our way out,” Xan Chi said. He then looked at the bound Soul Flayer and asked, “Are we going to keep it alive until we are back to Oredolia?”

“The talisman-making needed this beast’s fresh blood. The blood must be taken when it is still alive,” Sura Yao said.

“Can’t we just make the talisman here?” Xan Chi asked.

“We don’t have the equipment, nor are we expert-level talisman-masters,” Amon replied.

“Isn’t that Sima Fang lady an expert talisman master. Where is she, by the way? Is she still lost inside the maze?”

“She is gone. Only the three of us are left. We will put this Soul Flayer in a cage and return,” Amon said.

“How do we do that?” Xan Chi asked.

Instead of answering, Amon revealed a metal box. When he opened it, a portal appeared.

“What is that?” Xan Chi asked.

“A special cage I have prepared to contain this high mythical beast,” Amon answered. “Keep watch while I put this beast inside.”

Amon lifted the Soul Flayer, which was still struggling futilely, and threw it into the portal. The Soul Flayer was larger than the portal, but the portal enlarged momentarily when the Soul Flayer touched it. It then disappeared into the portal.

“One more thing, do not step into this portal while I’m inside,” Amon warned. “I won’t be able to guarantee your safety if you violate this instruction.”

After giving his warning, he disappeared into the portal. The Beta Puppet stood before the portal, barring the way for anyone else to enter.

Xan Chi turned to Sura Yao, who was already sitting on the ground meditating. She didn’t exhibit any physical wounds because her wounds were already healed, thanks to her sucking the Soul Flayer’s life force. Even so, her aether was almost depleted. Using the ability from her special constitution consumed her aether, and the life force she sucked didn’t replenish it.

Xan Chi looked at his body, which was in a worse shape. He decided to follow Sura Yao’s lead. He sat cross-legged and used a recovery art to accelerate his recovery.

*

While the battle had ended, no one knew that something else was happening inside the cave. It was at the place where Amon first encountered the Soul Flayer, where he had murdered both Princess Huang Er and Sima Fang.

The cave used to be filled with corpses, but all those corpses had risen and followed the Soul Flayer. All except one, Sima Fang’s corpse.

At this time, a soft glow emitted from the hole in Sima Fang’s chest where Amon’s black blade had pierced. This eerie glow persisted while the hole slowly closed. As that was happening, threads of blood vessels came out of her severed neck. These blood vessels moved until they connected with her severed head. The blood vessels then slowly dragged the head back.

As if a doll that was put together, Sima Fang’s head slowly reattached to its neck. Not long after that, her eyes opened.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep