Chapter 1889: Haoran Sword Qi

A massive halo descended from the sky. Wherever it passed, the moonlight imprints above the heads of the scattered soul puppets instantly developed more and more cracks, seemingly on the verge of collapse at any moment.

This vast sword energy was the most powerful innate talent of the Grand Sword Soul. Its most apparent effect was its ability to inflict extremely powerful damage on souls originating from Yin energy. It could also be considered an innate evolutionary instinct; as soon as the Grand Sword Energy was unleashed, all soul powers originating from Yin energy or death aura would instantly collapse.

Although the moonlight imprints above their heads offered some protection to the essence of these soul puppets, any protective power has its limits. At this moment, Xu Yang burned his soul essence to resonate with the aura of the Grand Sword Soul, pushing his innate talent to its peak. This was something soul puppets of the Myriad-Year Disciple level simply couldn't withstand. If these five hundred soul entities below had all reached the strength of Martial God-level devotees (meaning, they had exchanged their silver robes for true golden robes), then the souls of five hundred golden-robed devotees could absolutely not be destroyed by Xu Yang alone using this single method.

Boom! The brilliant Grand Halo finally reached the end of this plains battlefield, concluding with a most explosive roar. The moment that violent explosion occurred, Xu Yang finally achieved his goal, completely shattering the moonlight imprints above the heads of the over five hundred soul puppets below.

Horrifying roars and howls wildly erupted from the ranks of these five hundred Myriad-Year Disciples and soul puppets. At the same time, they completely lost the ability to distinguish between the soul entities around them. They began launching indiscriminate, frenzied attacks on the nearest soul entities beside them. The five hundred soul entities, who had previously seemed almost invincible, instantly plunged into a state of endless chaotic slaughter.

"Hahaha, Boss is truly a god!" Little Mushroom exclaimed. "He can even do this all by himself, knocking all these Myriad-Year Disciple souls senseless! If it were me, even if my current power were amplified a hundredfold, I probably wouldn't even come close to achieving that."

Little Mushroom was currently perched on Xiaoxiao's shoulder. As she possessed the talent to freely change her form and size, she currently looked like a small mushroom-shaped kitten. Even perched on Xiaoxiao's shoulder, she seemed like a pet, perfectly natural.

Hearing Little Mushroom's devout praise for Boss Xu Yang, Xiaoxiao also nodded repeatedly in agreement. "You're absolutely right," Xiaoxiao added. "Sir Xu Yang is truly unprecedented and will never be surpassed. In my opinion, he is the true pinnacle of humanity on this continent. I've seen many geniuses, but to use that word to describe Boss Xu Yang would be an insult to his strength and level."

Although Lan Ling'er was completely conquered by Xu Yang's powerful strength deep down, this girl had, after all, joined the team as a captive, and always harbored a subtle, almost imperceptible resistance towards Boss Xu Yang. Seeing her companions praise Xu Yang with such unreserved admiration, a hint of defiance welled up in Lan Ling'er's heart. She crossed her arms and huffed towards Little Mushroom and Xiaoxiao.

"What if he's strong? So what?" Lan Ling'er retorted. "When the true elders and revered masters of our Long Cloud Heavenly Sect arrive in the imperial capital, even the entire Imperial City will tremble!"

Little Mushroom heard Lan Ling'er's arrogant thoughts and decisively turned her face away to make a funny face at the girl. "I advise you not to place too much hope in those old fogeys from your sect," Little Mushroom scoffed. "If Boss Xu Yang truly doesn't want to give up and leave, don't even mention those old folks from your sect; even if the Heavenly King himself came, Boss Xu Yang wouldn't acknowledge him."

Perhaps because Xu Yang alone unleashed such powerful battlefield influence, his several team companions were truly too idle. Unable to intervene, they could only stand by and bicker.

When Xu Yang returned to their side once more, these girls immediately fell silent, each assuming a serious expression again.

"Why are you all standing around gawking?" Xu Yang asked. "My task is complete. Now it's time for you guys to do the heavy lifting. These five hundred soul puppets are now completely berserk and have lost their self-awareness. They won't automatically lock onto you as sworn enemies. You just need to seize opportunities, exploiting their weaknesses while they attack their own comrades, and slay all these soul puppets that no longer pose a threat. This is your next mission."

Hearing Boss Xu Yang's words, Xiaoxiao was the first to respond, transforming her body and surging forward as a streak of light. In an instant, the purple light released from her body formed a perfect arc of slaughter across the battlefield. Wherever the purple light appeared, the corresponding Myriad-Year Disciple level soul puppet would instantly lose its ability to move, and soon its complete soul outline would vanish, becoming a core still burning with vital energy.

"Haha, I like this game!" Lan Ling'er cheered. "Those old geezers from the sect always said I was a hothouse flower. Today, I'll slay more disciples to prove to them that this young lady is also a formidable character."

Supported by this somewhat peculiar reason, Lan Ling'er also didn't remain idle but joined the mission alongside Xu Yang's other team members. Given Lan Ling'er's special status, Xu Yang paid particular attention to her subsequent actions. Although her strength couldn't yet compare to Xiaoxiao's, her performance still showed the deep power she possessed from being from the empire's top sect. At least in terms of cultivation talent, this young girl could already be considered among the top tier of the entire martial world.

The Old Emperor remained motionless, still standing calmly within the protective halo, observing the team around him. He was the only one with such a privileged status. At this moment, the Old Emperor couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xu Yang.

"I must admit, your strength is truly immense," the Old Emperor said. "No wonder even that imposter wanted your support to use your power to launch an attack on the neighboring empire. If you hadn't seen through the truth and were truly exploited by that imposter, with your strength alone, I fear the neighboring empire would indeed have suffered greatly."

Xu Yang chuckled and shook his head. "That's certainly true on the battlefield," Xu Yang replied. "But looking at it from another perspective, if I had truly helped them commit evil, then once the true purpose of the people behind them was exposed, it would sooner or later bring disaster to the entire Ancient Martial God Realm. No matter which faction among the great empires, none would escape such a looming shadow."