Outside the Dark Soul Hall, a number of young Spirit Masters were gathered. They neither left nor involved themselves in the turmoil within, merely clustering in small groups, speculating on the outcome. Suddenly, everyone seemed to sense something, their eyes drawn to the thick, dense fog ahead.

"Hoo, hoo..."

The long-calm mist suddenly churned violently. Five women, beautiful in appearance and graceful in form, rushed out from within. They were Hua Mei and her companions. Since discovering the trace of the "Netherflame Spring," the five had traveled ceaselessly. After nearly two days, they finally arrived. "This is it!"

Her eyes, shimmering with moisture, quickly swept over the Spirit Masters lingering at the hall's entrance. A member of the Flower Spirit Clan chuckled happily, "Thank goodness! Thank goodness! We made it in time! Our luck seems quite good; the 'Netherflame Spring' hasn't been taken yet. We still have hope."

"Hmph," Hua Mei also let out a soft sigh of relief, raising her gaze to the pillar of blood-red light. A flicker of barely perceptible excitement crossed her beautiful, watery eyes.

"Let's go, quickly inside!" Like a gentle breeze brushing the face, the five figures elegantly passed through the gate of the "Dark Soul Hall," their presence quickly vanishing. Only a faint, ethereal fragrance lingered and drifted in the void.

The surrounding Spirit Masters were slightly taken aback, not expecting such a collection of ethereal beauties to arrive together. They couldn't help but secretly wonder about their identities. However, before they could form any coherent theory, several more figures darted past their line of sight, moving like phantoms...

"Only the last spirit beast is still attacking! That spirit beast in the corner hasn't moved yet. What should we do later?" "Let's attack together and take down that spirit beast first!"

"If you want to move, go ahead yourselves. I'm not taking that risk. Besides, even if we eliminate that spirit beast, what if we also try to take the 'Netherflame Spring'? Who can guarantee we won't end up like those fallen spirit beasts?"

"Exactly. We must proceed with caution. Although the 'Netherflame Spring' is precious, it's not worth dying here for it!"

In the center of the hall, the final rank-seven spirit beast began to stagger, its roar growing weaker, yet it still ceaselessly charged the high platform, attacking the pillar of light. Seeing that it was nearing its end, the Spirit Masters at the entrance discussed amongst themselves, their minds agonizingly conflicted.

Once this last spirit beast fell, should they attempt to seize the treasure, or merely observe the situation? If they moved to seize it, would they provoke the attack of that giant eagle? Would they be unable to stop attacking once they started, just like the exhausted spirit beasts? But if they remained passive, and their fears proved unfounded, wouldn't they regret it eternally if the "Netherflame Spring" was taken by someone else?

Compared to them, Nie Kong's state of mind was entirely different.

After absorbing three spheres of Origin Soul Flame Fire, the Flower Spirit Clan members had still shown no sign of appearing. Disappointed, Nie Kong finally let go of his anxiety completely. Since they hadn't shown up, it probably meant they hadn't entered the "Netherflame Spring." Given that, self-reproach was useless.

On the high platform, the last spirit beast launched another desperate assault.

"Bang..."

Repelled by the light pillar, its massive body slammed heavily onto the steps, rolling down with a thud, and never moved again—it was clearly dead.

This scene had been rehearsed countless times in everyone's imagination. But when it truly unfolded before their eyes, the area before the hall instantly fell silent, so quiet a pin drop could be heard. The expressions of the Spirit Masters became complex: some gazed greedily at the "Netherflame Spring" on the platform, while others nervously glanced towards the "Phantom Eagle King" lurking in the corner...

Nie Kong paid no mind to their expressions, grinning as he waited for that last sphere of Origin Soul Flame Fire to drift toward his corner.

"Whoosh..."

A moment later, a broad leaf curled, collecting the final sphere of Origin Soul into his Heart-Phase. The instant this Origin Soul merged into his Heart-Phase, Nie Kong's thoughts stirred. His Spiritual God Aperture vibrated violently; the fifteen pairs of minor apertures spun rapidly. Towering spiritual power surged like a tide, pouring into the apertures like a frantic wave, churning and agitating fiercely through the meridians.

Although the merging of the Origin Soul Flame Fire primarily enhanced the Heart-Phase, the boost to spiritual power could not be ignored. After absorbing over twenty spheres of flame fire, Nie Kong had vaguely perceived that invisible barrier within his Spiritual God Apertures. As he absorbed more and more, his sensation of this barrier deepened. Now, after absorbing the Origin Soul of the last rank-seven spirit beast, the time was ripe. Nie Kong finally mobilized all the spiritual power in his body and launched a fierce assault on that invisible barrier.

"Boom!"

Meeting almost no resistance, the invisible barrier dissipated with a loud crash. At this moment, the spiritual power intensity within Nie Kong soared frantically, and the Spiritual Thought in his Heart-Phase underwent a constant transformation. Vaguely, Nie Kong realized his Spiritual Thought seemed to extend out from his Heart-Gate, merging into the void.

"Void Spirit?" The words flashed suddenly in his mind. Before Nie Kong could savor this profound sensation, Qing Yue's voice unexpectedly resonated in his mind, carrying a tone of forced solemnity: "Nie Kong, your grandmother has something important to tell you. When you were breaking through, I felt a familiar aura. If my feeling is correct, that should be the Flower Spirit Clan members you've been looking for."

"What? Are you telling the truth?" Nie Kong was startled first, then a surge of ecstatic joy filled his chest. To think that just as he had completely given up hope, fortune suddenly turned—the Flower Spirit Clan members had appeared at this very moment.

However, at that precise instant, the octagonal high platform in the center of the hall underwent a strange transformation. After all the spirit beasts had exhausted themselves and ceased their attacks, the "Netherflame Spring" seemed to awaken from a dream. The wildly leaping spring water grew calmer and calmer, and the substantial, thick pillar of blood-red light retracted, completely merging back into the spring water within mere seconds.

"Swoosh! Swoosh..." Several figures closest to the octagonal high platform suddenly moved, shooting forward. Seeing their actions, more Spirit Masters anxiously glanced toward the "Phantom Eagle King" in the corner. If that giant eagle remained motionless, perhaps they too would be unable to hold back.

"Splash! Splash!..."

To everyone's surprise, the giant eagle did not move, but the "Netherflame Spring" on the octagonal platform did. With a clear, crisp sound, a stream of crystal-clear, blood-red spring water suddenly jetted out of the circular pool, splashing onto the platform below, flowing rapidly toward the corner where the giant eagle resided.

The further it traveled, the smaller the water became. When it was only thirty to forty meters from the corner, the stream, which had been ten meters wide, had shrunk to barely a meter wide.

"The entire pool is empty!" "It's running away!" "Stop it! Don't let it escape!" A few exclamations of shock suddenly rang out—it was the several Spirit Masters who had just rushed onto the high platform, now leaping down again. Those at the hall entrance exchanged confused glances. After so many spirit beasts had died from exhaustion, the "Netherflame Spring" was actually fleeing, and it was running toward the corner occupied by the giant eagle! Wasn't it afraid that spirit beast would swallow it whole?

Though filled with suspicion, upon hearing the shouts of those few Spirit Masters, not a single person moved rashly. Laughable—the mysterious leader of the spirit beasts was glaring menacingly from that spot! Before they understood the situation, who would rashly attack like those few fools!

Not only the Spirit Masters were astonished; even Nie Kong, whose cultivation had just learned of the Flower Spirit Clan's arrival at the "Dark Soul Hall," was dumbfounded. Others thought the "Netherflame Spring" was fleeing, but Nie Kong vaguely understood that it was rushing toward him, likely coveting the vital essence of his spiritual treasure.

"Splash! Splash!..." The "Netherflame Spring" continued to shrink as it advanced, but the sound of rushing water grew louder. In the blink of an eye, it reached the giant eagle. At this point, it had contracted from its initial meter width to just two fingers wide, its undulating movement resembling a small, entirely red snake.

As the distance between the spring water and the giant eagle narrowed to less than two meters, everyone's hearts constricted slightly. Such a short gap—the giant eagle only needed to lower its head to peck the "Netherflame Spring" into its mouth. Yet, to everyone's immense surprise, the giant eagle still made no movement. It was delivered right to its beak, and still, it didn't bite. Was it truly just a statue? If so, what about the dark-green vortex that had appeared earlier? Everyone's minds were filled with shock and doubt as they stared, eyes unblinking, at the blood-red spring water flowing swiftly like a spirit snake.

"Splash! Splash!..." Another clear, crisp sound rang out. Under everyone's gaze, the "Netherflame Spring" suddenly leaped high off the ground, surprisingly forcing its way through the feathers on the giant eagle's wing and rushing past. The moment the "Netherflame Spring" completely passed the eagle's wing, some sharp-eyed individuals glimpsed half a face through the gap in the still-unclosed feathers.

"Someone! There's someone!" "There's a person hidden behind that spirit beast!" A fierce commotion instantly erupted at the entrance of the hall, shouts of surprise rising one after another. Those gathered at the entrance had been hesitant for a day or two, and some Spirit Masters had even left the "Dark Soul Hall" for safety. They never expected that after so much mutual caution, the final truth would be so unexpected!

Since someone was hiding behind the giant eagle, that person must also be one of the Spirit Masters who entered this illusory space! When such a Spirit Master entered, their cultivation would be at most late-stage Rank Nine of Spirit Transformation. Even if they had advanced after entering, they would only be at Rank One of Spirit Control. Even if they could command a spirit beast, how strong could that beast be? Reaching Rank Five would be excellent. Furthermore, the spirit beast hadn't moved at all; perhaps, as some speculated, the beast was a statue, and the prior movements were merely staged by the hidden Spirit Master to mislead everyone!