Chapter 840: Pressing You

"Soul Devour?"

Zhou Yuan stared in surprise at the sixth Genesis Rune on the mottled brush. He savored the information flowing into his mind, and after a long moment, a slightly shocked smile appeared on his lips.

"Soul Devour," as it was called, allowed for the consumption of all souls. Of course, this was only its most basic ability. The sixth rune on the Heavenly Yuan Brush could devour any soul and store it within itself. After devouring, the souls could be released in a special form, known as "Soul Burial."

Zhou Yuan's gaze shifted to the corpse of the Sky Annihilation Beast on the ground. In the next instant, countless white bristles shot out from the Heavenly Yuan Brush in his hand. They drilled directly into the Sky Annihilation Beast's head, then slowly rose, wrapped around a fist-sized black beast soul crystal.

Inside the beast soul crystal, the Sky Annihilation Beast's soul could be seen roaring in fury, but it was unable to escape the crystal's confines. The white bristles directly pierced through the soul crystal and then into the Sky Annihilation Beast's soul. Faintly, the furious roars of the Sky Annihilation Beast could be heard.

It seemed to sense that something terrifying was about to happen, but its resistance was futile. Soon, its beast soul shattered, and all of its soul energy was absorbed by the bristles.

Zhou Yuan watched as black substance flowed back along the bristles, eventually infusing into the sixth rune, which quickly turned a deep black. "Devour souls, then use them as burial to form a powerful attack," Zhou Yuan murmured, moved. Soul self-detonation, whether by humans or genesis beasts, was always a last desperate gamble, a suicidal move to drag an opponent down with them.

Many people would rather die than have the courage to detonate their own souls. Yet, this sixth "Soul Devour" rune could consume souls and then generate the power of a soul self-detonation.

Of course, this power was certainly not as potent as a true soul self-detonation. That's because a true self-detonation also involved igniting the Genesis Qi within the body, whereas the souls absorbed by Soul Devour obviously didn't possess Genesis Qi. Even so, its ability was quite terrifying.

What was most crucial was that, in Zhou Yuan's perception, this sixth Soul Devour rune seemed to have no limits. It could continuously devour souls, as long as Zhou Yuan could withstand the soul backlash during "Soul Burial." Theoretically, he could even use this technique to kill experts at the Heavenly Sun stage or even the Nascent Soul stage.

Of course, the Law Domain stage was out of the question; anyone in a Law Domain was like a deity, nearly invincible. Nevertheless, this "Soul Devour" was truly heaven-defying.

"This sixth rune is quite interesting," Zhou Yuan thought, his eyes gleaming. As the Heavenly Yuan Brush's Genesis Runes awakened one by one, it was gradually recovering its former splendor. It was hard to imagine what kind of power the Heavenly Yuan Brush would possess when all nine of its Genesis Runes were fully awakened.

As Zhou Yuan rejoiced in the power of the sixth rune, a strange sound suddenly echoed across the heavens and earth. He looked up and saw Fang Ao and two other late-stage Divine Dwelling experts fiercely assaulting the Genesis Qi barrier not far away. Under their assault, the barrier quickly began to waver.

However, at that moment, Ye Bingling and others, who had been hidden in the shadows, suddenly launched their attacks. Genesis Qi assaults whistled forth, sending the two late-stage Divine Dwelling experts spitting blood as they flew backward. But Fang Ao blocked those attacks, his eyes coldly fixed on Ye Bingling and the others who had revealed themselves.

"Zhou Yuan, we've already helped you kill this Sky Annihilation Beast! Aren't you going to open the barrier?!" Fang Ao turned his gaze towards Zhou Yuan and said chillingly.

Zhou Yuan moved, appearing in mid-air. "Vice-Pavilion Master Fang Ao is truly formidable; he managed to slay the Sky Annihilation Beast with the loss of only two men," Zhou Yuan remarked with feigned admiration.

Hearing this, Fang Ao's eye twitched in fury. His gaze, fixed on Zhou Yuan, was filled with venomous resentment. The humiliation he suffered today was deeply ingrained. Yet, despite his extreme anger, Fang Ao forcibly restrained himself. He knew they had lost their best opportunity today, so they would have to wait for another time.

"Enough talk, open the barrier!" he said darkly.

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said calmly, "Vice-Pavilion Master Fang Ao, you seem to be mistaken about something. You followed me, plotting mischief and trying to take my life. Do you really think things are just settled now?"

Fang Ao's eyes narrowed, a fierce glint flashing within them. He looked at Zhou Yuan and chuckled, saying, "Oh? What else does Pavilion Master Zhou Yuan intend to do?"

"Kill me here?" A sneer played on his lips as he said indifferently, "It's not that I look down on you, but even if you have more people, trying to kill me here today might not be enough."

As Fang Ao's voice fell, he took a direct step forward. Immediately, vast and majestic Genesis Qi surged skyward from within his body. Silver light filled the sky, reflecting countless Genesis Qi stars. A terrifying Genesis Qi pressure swept across the area.

Ye Bingling, Shang Xiaoling, and the others couldn't help but change their expressions. Their eyes showed a hint of dread because, in their perception, Fang Ao's Genesis Qi foundation had actually reached a level of sixteen million! This was far stronger than Chen Beifeng!

"Already scared?" Fang Ao sneered. He extended his palm, revealing a complete Fire Spirit Rune on the back of his hand. The next moment, a crimson, violent aura emerged, and Fang Ao's Genesis Qi foundation surged again!

It directly added 2.5 million to his Genesis Qi foundation out of thin air! At this moment, Fang Ao stood in the void, Genesis Qi forming a terrifying storm around him. A Genesis Qi foundation of 18.5 million!

Xiao Hong and the others couldn't help but turn pale. They hadn't expected that Fang Ao had also quietly condensed a complete Fire Spirit Rune. Under such a level of Genesis Qi pressure, their bodies felt heavy. They even began to doubt if they could truly stop such a formidable individual as Fang Ao.

"Zhou Yuan, you really don't know what's good for you! I originally intended to spare your life today, but you're determined to seek death!" Fang Ao's face contorted into a malevolent grimace as he said chillingly, "Do you really think I was leaving because I was afraid of you? I just wasn't sure I could kill all of you, and having someone escape would be troublesome. But since you truly want to die, I'll grant your wish!"

As his furious roar fell, the entire world trembled violently, and Genesis Qi roared across the heavens and earth. However, facing Fang Ao's astonishingly vast Genesis Qi, a flicker of surprise crossed Zhou Yuan's face, but no fear. Instead, he smiled and said, "Eighteen point five million Genesis Qi foundation, truly impressive."

Unlike Ye Bingling and the others, he did not recoil in shock. Instead, he took a step forward directly. With that step, his own vast Genesis Qi also surged skyward without reservation. Fifteen million Genesis Qi stars flickered in the void.

Behind him, Ye Bingling, Xiao Hong, and the others watched this scene in shock. They distinctly remembered that just over a month ago, when Zhou Yuan fought Chen Beifeng, his Genesis Qi foundation was only a little over eleven million. It was only after activating the Wind Spirit Rune that his Genesis Qi foundation surged to fifteen million! But now, Zhou Yuan clearly hadn't activated his Wind Spirit Rune!

Fang Ao's pupils also contracted at this moment. But Zhou Yuan didn't give him a chance to speak. He took another step forward. On the back of his hand, a blue light pulsed, and the Wind Spirit Rune appeared. His Genesis Qi surged by over three million! It directly reached a level of eighteen point five million, exactly the same as Fang Ao's!

At this moment, everyone was stunned. Even Fang Ao wore an expression of horror.

"Think that's the end?" A sarcastic smile played on Zhou Yuan's lips. On the back of his hand, a red light emerged. His Fire Spirit Rune, which was 70% complete, also activated at this moment.

As a result, Zhou Yuan's Genesis Qi experienced another surge. Although not as terrifying as a complete Wind Spirit Rune, it still increased by about 1.5 million Genesis Qi stars.

Twenty million! A full twenty million Genesis Qi stars filled the heavens and earth, causing the void to tremble!

Fang Ao stared blankly at the scene, a chill racing straight to his scalp. In the depths of his heart, a profound sense of fear surged out like a tide.

Zhou Yuan gazed at Fang Ao, his eyes devoid of emotion. His calm voice echoed across the heavens and earth. "Eighteen million Genesis Qi stars are indeed intimidating, but unfortunately, I just happen to..."

"...surpass you."