Chapter 32

This was a massive tree that would require several people to encircle it. Its branches and leaves were lush, and its surroundings were overgrown with thorny vines and other plants. From its exterior, the tree looked no different from the others around it, and there wasn't even a trace of anyone having visited. Clearly, the Evil Soul Master hiding here was exceptionally skilled at covering his tracks.

If not for Yun Chuan sensing the distinct presence of life within the center of this tree through his Plant Domain—like a candlelight in the dark—he would never have thought someone could be hiding within such an unremarkable tree.

Without a sound, Yun Chuan used his domain's teleportation ability to instantly move to this spot. His aura seamlessly blended with the surrounding vegetation, making him indistinguishable from the flowers, grasses, and trees nearby. As a result, the Evil Soul Master hiding within the tree had no awareness of Yun Chuan's arrival.

Upon reaching the area, Yun Chuan frowned as he observed the place covered in thorny vines. Activating his domain's abilities, the chaotic mass of vines and plants around him seemed to come alive. They began wriggling silently and gradually moved aside, clearing an open space in the process.

At the center of the cleared area, only the massive tree remained.

At that moment, the life force within the tree abruptly surged with violent fluctuations. Evidently, the Evil Soul Master had been awakened and realized he had been exposed.

"Boom!!!"

The entire tree exploded with a deafening sound. A blood-red, dark, and filthy glow, carrying a nauseating stench, shot toward Yun Chuan like lightning!

In the blink of an eye, Yun Chuan reacted swiftly. With a thought, he disappeared from his original position, aided by the power of his domain.

"Boom!"

The blood-red glow smashed into the ground, missing its target, and left a large crater behind. Black and red liquid splattered in all directions, landing on the surrounding vegetation.

"Ssssss!"

Every plant touched by the black and red liquid began emitting green smoke. It was evident that the liquid had strong corrosive properties.

Hidden in the shadows, Yun Chuan finally caught a glimpse of the Evil Soul Master's true appearance. The sight brought one word to his mind: vampire!

The Evil Soul Master appeared to be in his twenties, with a pale and handsome face. Due to his Martial Soul possession, he had gained distinct features: pointed ears, sharp fangs protruding from his mouth, a pair of blood-red bat wings on his back, and claws on his hands—an unmistakable vampire-like image.

The two yellow, two purple, and three black soul rings encircling him marked him as a level-70 Soul Sage!

"I must admit, among Evil Soul Masters, your talent is truly extraordinary…" Yun Chuan's voice echoed from all directions, making the Evil Soul Master's expression turn grim as he was unable to sense Yun Chuan's location.

"…Just by drinking blood, you can rapidly increase your soul power. Tsk, tsk. If you were to escape today, who knows how many people would fall victim to you in the future!" Yun Chuan's voice carried a tinge of emotion.

"Today, you will die here!"

The moment he finished speaking—

"Rumble!!!"

The surrounding vegetation erupted into chaos.

Thick vines broke through the ground like serpents, lunging toward the Evil Soul Master. What made it worse were the sharp thorns growing on the vines. Just imagining being entangled by them was enough to conjure a scene of utter misery.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Vampire Bat True Form!"

The Evil Soul Master, whose name was still unknown, let out a shout as his seventh soul ring lit up! A terrifying wave of energy erupted, scattering the incoming vines. The next moment, his figure soared into the sky, transforming into a gigantic, blood-red bat in a burst of light!

The enormous bat flapped its wings, radiating blood-red light as it ascended hundreds of meters into the air, leaving a long trail of crimson flames.

"You think flying into the sky means I can't deal with you?" Yun Chuan's voice continued to resonate from all directions.

In the next instant—

All the trees in the desolate mountain began to thrash wildly.

The trees twisted and writhed, transforming their shapes in a chaotic display like a demonic dance.

The massive blood-red bat thought it had found a way to escape, but the next moment, it sensed multiple objects slicing through the air toward it.

Using the echolocation unique to bats, the Evil Soul Master discovered that the incoming projectiles were not ordinary objects—they were enormous leaves, each a meter in diameter with jagged, serrated edges. It was clear that being struck by one of these would be no different from being slashed by a blade.

The giant bat performed a sharp roll, narrowly avoiding the first wave of leaves. However, just as it dodged, another wave of bladed leaves came from a different direction!

The blood-red bat barely managed to evade this attack, but before it could catch its breath, two more waves of deadly leaves came from two other directions!

The Evil Soul Master, now in the form of a massive blood-red bat, could only continue dodging frantically in midair, unable to find a chance to fly higher or farther away.

Standing gracefully atop a tree branch, Yun Chuan seemed as light as a feather. His entire body swayed gently with the breeze, exuding a carefree and elegant demeanor.

"Not bad at dodging. Well, it makes sense. As a bat, your poor eyesight forces you to rely on echolocation, which gives you a natural advantage in avoiding obstacles," Yun Chuan said, arms crossed, as he calmly observed the giant blood-red bat's struggle from his perch.

Over the years, Yun Chuan had developed a new understanding of using his domain in combat. Against flying enemies, his approach had evolved. Instead of controlling plants to bloom and fire seeds, which was inefficient and wasteful, he now controlled the leaves of plants, mutating them into razor-sharp blades.

To launch these bladed leaves, the method was simple—he made the trees shake to fling them like projectiles. It was crude yet effective, as evidenced by the giant blood-red bat's current predicament.

The Evil Soul Master realized that mere evasion was futile; he would be trapped if this continued.

"Shriek!"

The massive blood-red bat let out a sharp, piercing screech.

Instead of dodging the next wave of bladed leaves, the bat charged directly at them, its body glowing with a blood-red light.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The razor-sharp leaves sliced through the air.

The giant blood-red bat collided with the incoming leaves head-on!

"Bang! Bang!"

The modified leaves were harder and sharper than steel. Combined with the force of their high-speed launch, they penetrated deep into the bat's body, eliciting a pained wail.

"Shriek!"

But soon after, the leaves lodged in the bat's body began to corrode under the blood-red light it emitted, and its wounds healed rapidly, as if they had never existed.

Seizing the opportunity, the giant bat flapped its wings and darted forward!

This time, the bat ignored the incoming bladed leaves, letting them pierce its body as it focused on escaping. Though its body was riddled with wounds, they healed almost instantly under the blood-red glow.

"Hmm, such strong regenerative abilities?" Yun Chuan muttered in surprise before realizing that such rapid recovery came at a cost. Otherwise, the Evil Soul Master would have used it earlier instead of being trapped for so long.