Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

"Senior is too kind. This man has committed heinous crimes. I was just doing it on the side. Please arrest him without hesitation. I will take my leave now."

"Hehe, wait a minute, how am I supposed to know if you've damaged him if I don't check?" The sound of friction rang in Xiao Fan's ears again.

Xiao Fan could only stand there and watch as the other drifted past him toward the location of that soul entity.

"Squeak..." The iron chain sprang out from the black mist, like a nimble giant python, and stabbed straight towards the giant sphere enveloped in chaotic fire.

Swish!

The thin layer of fire was directly pierced by the black iron chain.

Buzz... Boom!

Although the soul within was enveloped in chaotic fire, it had been gathering strength in preparation for an attack. Sensing the attack from the dark chains, it had no choice but to fight back. The two clashed, resulting in a violent roar.

"Boy, join me in attacking, otherwise, after dealing with me, he will also target you!" The voice of the soul entity rang faintly in Xiao Fan's ear.

A glint flashed in Xiao Fan's eyes as he recalled the power of a Dou Wang-level expert's attack that he hadn't yet used, and quietly added it to his body.

"Lotus of Life!" The voice of the soul entity rang out, unleashing a tremendous impact on the Soul Palace powerhouse.

Looking at the Soul Palace expert's back as he turned away, Xiao Fan flipped his hand, and the Thousand Flame Spear appeared. In an instant, Xiao Fan's Dou Wang-level combat power burst forth.

"A crane's shadow in the clouds!"

Chapter 77 Black Corner Domain

"Lotus of Life!"

"A crane's shadow in the clouds!"

Xiao Fan and his soul form, imbued with their immense fighting spirit, simultaneously attacked the Soul Palace expert positioned between them.

Chaos Flame made its first appearance in battle, unleashing a crane shadow that transformed into a black crane, resembling a black swan yet radiating a chilling aura. The crane shadow flapped its nimble wings and sped towards the back of the Soul Palace expert.

As if he had expected it, the Soul Palace expert did not turn around. He let out a cackling laugh, and the chains in the black mist launched an attack on the soul in front of him like a nimble serpent, stabbing fiercely. With his other hand raised, a black palm print several feet in size appeared out of thin air behind him, facing Xiao Fan. The crisscrossing fingerprints on the palm print were clearly visible as it slammed towards Xiao Fan.

boom!

The crane's shadow in the clouds and the pitch-black palm slammed together violently. The resulting explosion created a massive shockwave, slamming Xiao Fan diagonally from mid-air to the ground. Black flames, accompanying the shockwave, scattered from the sky before falling like a black lotus flower scattered by a fairy.

Xiao Fan adjusted his posture in mid-air, landed on the ground, and plunged the spear in his hand into the ground. However, he still did not dissipate the impact force, and plowed three deep grooves in the ground, which were more than ten meters long. Even the battle qi armor that Xiao Fan summoned became tattered and was about to disintegrate.

"Hmm... Pfft!"

With a muffled groan, Xiao Fan spat out a mouthful of blood, but didn't pay it any mind. He looked up at the center of the explosion, wondering if the combined attack had injured him.

This was the strongest power Xiao Fan could unleash. If this attack failed, there would be no way to proceed. Xiao Fan gently squeezed his left arm with his right hand; a little one was still sleeping there...

At the epicenter of the explosion, black flames fell from the sky and then gradually disappeared before hitting the ground, as if they had never appeared. A small portion of the flames landed in the mountains, igniting the trees there, but not a wisp of smoke rose, and no one noticed.

The thick, dark fog in the sky obscured Xiao Fan's vision. He wanted to take this opportunity to leave, but he always felt that a pair of eyes were coldly watching him from the shadows.

"Hehehe... You guys, you're already done for?"

The piercing laughter still echoed in the air. Xiao Fan sighed and looked around helplessly. The magical beasts in the mountains had long been killed or knocked unconscious by the aftershocks of the explosion. Those that had managed to escape with their lives had already fled far away and would not linger in the vicinity.

As the thick black mist dissipated, the illusory soul was pierced through the chest by pitch-black chains. The red runes on the chains glowed faintly. After struggling for a moment, it was immobilized in mid-air and stopped moving.

The chains slowly contracted into the black mist, taking the soul with them. Then, a faint chewing sound could be heard, sending chills down one's spine.

As the soul entity was captured, the Soul Palace experts in the sky turned their gazes toward Xiao Fan.

A sudden tightness gripped Xiao Fan's heart, but he met the gaze without fear.

"Hehehe, kid, do you want to live or die?"

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Fan concealed his nervousness and controlled his fear, saying in a deep voice, "Of course I want to survive."

The dark figure flew above Xiao Fan, looking down at him.

After a long silence, the dark figure emitted another piercing sound.

"Hehehe... It's been a long time since I've met such an interesting person. I didn't expect to have such a rewarding trip to the Gama Empire."

A jet-black chain emerged from the black mist and slowly reached out towards Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan wanted to resist, but seeing that the Soul Palace expert did not seem to have any ill intentions, he simply guarded cautiously.

The chains slowly wrapped around Xiao Fan's body, then stopped tightening, binding him. The Soul Palace expert carried him away from the scene, flying into the distance, leaving behind a scene of devastation and a few trees slowly disappearing in the chaotic fire.

Throughout the flight, the powerful figures from the Soul Palace showed no hostility towards Xiao Fan. They were treated like toys, hanging from the iron chains behind him, following him all the way.

Xiao Fan briefly surveyed the surrounding terrain, but unfortunately, it wasn't a familiar place, so he had no idea where the person wanted to go.

"May I ask your name, senior?"

After flying for a while, even Xiao Fan's injuries had almost healed. Xiao Fan hesitated for a moment and asked.

Sensing the gaze from within the black mist, Xiao Fan clearly noticed a moment of surprise.

"Oh? Your injuries have healed so quickly? There's something strange about your body... If you were to run into those guys... tsk tsk tsk..."

"You may call me the Eagle Protector."

"The Eagle Protector, huh...?"

Xiao Fan muttered a few words to himself. Judging from his words, the "them" he mentioned were likely other powerful figures from the Soul Palace. From his words, it could be inferred that some of them seemed to have some knowledge of these bodies...

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan felt uneasy again.

"Don't worry, since I've brought you along, I won't let you die so quickly, hehehe..."

Another ear-piercing laugh rang out. At this moment, Xiao Fan desperately hoped that he could encounter other Dou Huangs from the Jia Ma Empire, or some powerful soul beings, and fight against the experts of this Soul Palace. Only in this way would Xiao Fan have a chance to leave while they were fighting.

Under the influence of the Soul Hall experts, Xiao Fan gradually relaxed his initial wariness of being grabbed.

This relaxation wasn't due to a lack of hostility, but rather a consideration of his purpose in leaving him behind. After all, he was just a minor Grand Battle Master; killing him would be easy for him. There was no need for him to carry such a burden around every day. Just as he said, since he was taking him along, he wouldn't let him die so easily on the road.

Afterwards, Xiao Fan could only silently accumulate strength. The urgent task of eliminating the law and saving his life from the Soul Hall experts had not yet been completed, which meant that Xiao Fan was still not out of danger.

Thus, Xiao Fan, disoriented, followed the Eagle Protector and wandered for about ten days. Along the way, the Eagle Protector sensed the soul fluctuations of several soul entities and went to capture them, but these soul entities did not cause any disturbance.

They were easily captured by the Eagle Protector, and even one of them, whose soul power reached the level of a Battle King, had his head pierced by his chains and then dragged into the black mist.

Ten days later, the two had no idea where they had arrived. Xiao Fan only knew that they were no longer in the Gama Empire. Looking at the endless black plains ahead, Xiao Fan felt a sense of familiarity.

"Hehehe, little guy, welcome to hell, or you can call it—Black Corner Domain!"

Chapter 78 The Black-Hearted Old Man

Although the Eagle Protector had told him that this was the Black Corner Region, Xiao Fan still found it hard to believe.

This is completely contrary to my plan. Xiao Yan's three-year agreement is about to expire, and I will have to go to Yunlan Sect to help him. At the very least, I have to distance myself from the incident of Xiao Zhan's disappearance. After all, it was because Xiao Zhan disappeared that Xiao Yan thought Yun Leng had captured him, which led to his second trip to Yunlan Sect and ultimately caused a blood feud between the Xiao family and Yunlan Sect.

If he hadn't met Yunzhi, Xiao Fan wouldn't have minded going against the Yunlan Sect. But since he wanted to trick Yunyun into his hands, he couldn't let the relationship between the two become awkward.

Otherwise, if the Yunlan Sect were destroyed, given Yun Yun's personality, she would probably hide away just like in the original story.

Glancing at the black chain around his waist, Xiao Fan shook his head helplessly. He had unexpectedly encountered a powerful figure from the Soul Palace, and now there was no way for him to escape. He had no idea what this person intended to do with him.

But since they went to such great lengths to bring me from the Gama Empire to the Black Corner Region, they shouldn't kill me easily, which means I'm safe for now.

"We can only wait until we land in the Black Corner Region to see what he wants me to do."

Whether it was good luck or the Eagle Protector's formidable strength, Xiao Fan did not encounter the legendary Black Storm on the Black Domain Plains, nor did any foolish beings provoke him along the way.

Although Protector Eagle didn't show it, Xiao Fan could sense it after arriving in the Black Corner Region. Even his aura was far less domineering than it had been in the Gama Empire. While not exactly being overly cautious, he also didn't recklessly provoke any powerful enemies.

The Eagle Protector carried Xiao Fan for two days, flying through the Black Corner Region before finally stopping in a pitch-black mountain range.

In mid-air, Xiao Fan looked at the dark mountains in the distance, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart.

The forest, which should have been lush and green, somehow appeared dim and lifeless, as if a layer of eerie light enveloped the entire mountain range, giving it an unsettling atmosphere.

It took Xiao Fan a long time to realize: life! This mountain range had no life!

Forests should be teeming with life, from large magical beasts to small birds, but this mountain range was utterly devoid of creatures, eerily silent. Xiao Fan even suspected that even the most common life forms, like earthworms, wouldn't exist in the soil, as if this eerie light had shut out all life.

Just as Xiao Fan was still surveying the mountain range below, a figure appeared not far from the Soul Palace expert in a flash.

"Hehehe, Black-hearted Old Man, I'm here again." The man, referred to as Black-hearted Old Man by the Eagle Protector, wore a jet-black robe, and even his face was unlike that of an ordinary person, as pale as a corpse. His eyes emitted an eerie, ghostly light, like a vortex; if you looked into them for too long, you would unconsciously be drawn into them...

Xiao Fan looked him over, then his mind cleared, and he came to his senses, staring in horror at the old man opposite him.

"Huh? Eagle Protector, this kid is quite interesting. He actually managed to break free from my soul-absorbing technique. Is he a new research subject?" The Black-Hearted Old Man stretched out his withered arm, pointed at Xiao Fan, and asked Eagle Protector with curiosity. His tone seemed to contain a hint of excitement.

"Hehehe, this kid isn't for you to play with. I've got a lot of uses for him, so don't mess him up." The Eagle Protector's hoarse voice interrupted the Black-Hearted Old Man. "Alright. Enough said, let's go inside! This trip has been very fruitful, hehehe."

Then, the ruthless old man and the eagle protector led Xiao Fan down into the dark mountains below.

Upon entering the mountains, Xiao Fan felt the surrounding temperature drop significantly, and indeed, he couldn't sense any living beings.

"The entire mountain range is like a dead zone..."

Not long after, a huge crack appeared in the ground in front of the Eagle Protector and the Black-Hearted Old Man. It was deep and dark, and Xiao Fan's gaze was unconsciously drawn to it. It seemed that this was the territory where the Black-Hearted Old Man was located.

The enormous crack, like a wound torn open after an earthquake, stretched for tens of meters. The further down you went, the larger the space on the ground became. Xiao Fan also discovered some low-level cultivators here.

Most of them were dressed in black and had pale faces, seemingly because they hadn't seen the sun for a long time. When they saw the Black-Hearted Old Man, they all stood still and respectfully bowed to him. The black mist around the Eagle Protector had already been dispelled, but since he was facing away from Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan couldn't see his face clearly. Ironically, after being captured for more than ten days, it seemed that this was the first time he had seen the Eagle Protector's true form.

As Xiao Fan followed Protector Eagle forward, looking at the disciples around him, he understood that this must be a subordinate sect of the Soul Palace in the Black Corner Region.

Judging from what the ruthless old man said at the beginning, it seems that the Soul Palace is still conducting some kind of horrific human research here. Every once in a while, they would capture new research subjects to provide for their studies, which is why the ruthless old man always used Xiao Fan as an experimental subject.

After walking underground for an unknown amount of time, Xiao Fan felt that he had gone at least a hundred meters underground. It was hard to imagine that this sect was hidden in the Black Corner Region and had developed to this extent. However, considering the strength of the Soul Palace, it did not seem to be a particularly difficult thing to support a sect in a remote part of the Dou Qi Continent.

The further down he went, the fewer people there were, and the stronger they became. At the top, Xiao Fan could sense that the disciples were only Dou Zhe or Dou Shi. As he went deeper, he saw some Dou Shi and Dou Ling. But at this point, the Dou Ling level disappeared. He hadn't seen any other strong people yet, which made sense, since strong people couldn't stay outside all the time.

On the walls surrounding the crevice, Xiao Fan saw countless cave dwellings. It seemed that the disciples or powerful figures usually cultivated in them.