Traversing BTTH with the Devouring Ancestral Symbol

Chapter 5: Heaven Talisman Master vs. Earth-Level Protector

A gentle breeze rustled the air, stirring strands of hair as Ya Fei and Nalan Yanran chatted. Neither paid much attention to the moment, tucking their loose hair behind their ears as they continued their conversation.

"Elder Sister Ya Fei, since you've lived in Wu Tan City for so long, do you know much about Xiao Yan?" Nalan Yanran asked.

"Not much," Ya Fei replied with a smile. "He rarely leaves his home and avoids socializing. Unless it's a major festival, you'll hardly see him."

"So he's that cowardly, unwilling to even face the world?" Nalan Yanran shook her head with slight disdain.

"Ah, little sister, you're mistaken," Ya Fei countered, shaking her head. "Reclusive behavior doesn't necessarily mean he's useless or unmotivated. If he's been persistently training every day despite losing his Dou Qi, he could very well be a man of incredible determination."

"Elder Sister Ya Fei, that's just a guess," Nalan Yanran said skeptically.

"And isn't your judgment of him just speculation as well?" Ya Fei teased gently.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about him." Nalan Yanran's tone turned sullen. Although she sought to annul her engagement primarily to avoid marrying a stranger, a part of her disdain stemmed from looking down on her fiancé.

"So, why not take a son-in-law instead, little sister?" Ya Fei teased, pointing toward the boy sitting by the window. "That one's handsome enough to suit you."

"Elder Sister Ya Fei, stop joking… huh?" Nalan Yanran's expression shifted in surprise. "Where did he go?"

Ya Fei froze for a moment before turning her gaze to the window. The figure that had been there was now gone.

"Where… where did he go?" Ya Fei's face paled slightly as her eyes scanned the area, but she couldn't find any trace of him.

…

Time passed quickly, and night fell. Under the dark sky, with no moonlight and only faint gusts of wind, the lush forest outside the train window transformed into a shadowy, eerie landscape.

In a section of the forest, the rustling of leaves echoed as startled birds flew away. Lu Bu came to an abrupt halt in a clearing, his gaze fixed on a dark spot beneath a tree to the west.

He didn't know who was there. Having only arrived in this world three days ago, the only enemy he could think of was Yun Leng. But Yun Leng, a mere Dou Wang, didn't have the means to pull this off.

"Jie Jie Jie… You've noticed me…" From the shadowy darkness, two red lights glowed faintly, accompanied by a piercing, sinister laugh.

"Damn it…" Lu Bu's face twitched. Soul Hall. That unmistakable laugh was known across the Great Thousand Worlds and beyond—nobody could mistake it.

"Kid, how did you notice me?" The black mist rippled slightly, the voice dripping with curiosity.

Lu Bu said nothing. His soul energy expanded outward from the center of his brow, enveloping his entire body.

"No matter, Jie… Come with me, boy. Your soul has caught my eye." The black mist began to solidify, the red lights growing brighter. The Protector of the Soul Hall let out another eerie laugh.

Exhaling softly, Lu Bu's expression turned sharp. There was no way to resolve this peacefully. The Soul Hall was far too arrogant; reasoning with them was out of the question.

Swish! Swish!

Suddenly, the black mist trembled, and two sharp chains shot out like venomous snakes striking from their lair.

"Boy, I am Wu Protector of the Soul Hall. Surrender your soul to me!"

"Jie!" Lu Bu snorted coldly, waving his sleeve. His soul energy materialized into a long spear, hurtling forward with force.

Clang!

The sharp clash of metal echoed throughout the forest, and powerful gusts of wind erupted from the point of impact, uprooting nearby shrubs and trees.

Wu Protector let out a sinister laugh. "Boy, not bad. Among the Human-Level Protectors of the Soul Hall, you could be considered one of the best."

"Human-Level Protector?" Lu Bu's brow furrowed slightly. As a One-Mark Heaven Talisman Master, he wasn't sure how his strength ranked on the Dou Qi Continent.

"Jie… In your terms, that's equivalent to the peak of Dou Huang," Wu Protector explained mockingly as the black mist surged. Runes began glowing along the chains, emanating an eerie power. "But I am an Earth-Level Protector. Fighting me? Jie Jie, you're far too inexperienced!"

With a violent tremor, the chains passed straight through Lu Bu's soul spear in a strange, unpredictable motion, hurtling toward his face.

"Jie Jie… Your soul energy is worthless before me. Surrender your soul!"

"Peak Dou Huang?" Lu Bu's heart sank slightly. It seemed he couldn't directly compare the realms of the Profound Domain to those of the Dou Qi Continent.

Pushing that thought aside, Lu Bu's eyes narrowed, focusing on Wu Protector. Invisible, intangible spiritual flames erupted along his soul spear, spreading along the chains toward the black mist.

At the same time, Lu Bu stomped the ground, and formation lines rippled outward. A pillar of earthen-yellow light rose around him, forming a protective barrier.

Boom!

The light pillar trembled violently, ripples cascading outward. But it barely managed to block the chains.

"Argh!"

"Damn it! What kind of fire is this? It can burn souls?!" Wu Protector's pained screams erupted from the black mist, clearly shaken by the encounter. Lu Bu had gained the upper hand, albeit slightly.

"Damn you!" Wu Protector roared in fury, the black mist expanding wildly. The thin starlight in the sky was completely swallowed up as darkness consumed the area.

Within the black mist, the red glow intensified. A soul body floated out, its expression dazed as it scanned the surroundings. Judging by its energy fluctuations, it was a powerful being, no weaker than Lu Bu.

But before it could react, the black mist swallowed it whole. A moment later, the sickening sound of crunching echoed through the clearing, accompanied by agonized screams and cries of pain—the unfortunate end of the devoured soul body.

Lu Bu's mouth twitched. Damn it, going all out just because of a minor setback? Aren't Soul Hall Protectors supposed to rant angrily for at least a few hundred words first?

If they had this kind of resolve when dealing with Xiao Yan, he wouldn't have been able to become a Dou Di!

"Jie Jie Jie… boy, to die under my Soul Hall's Ninefold Soul Devouring, your life can be considered worthwhile!"

Amid the sinister laughter, the all-encompassing black mist began to contract and condense rapidly. Within the shadows, a faint figure clad in armor began to take shape.

"Hmph!"

Lu Bu snorted coldly, his hands forming seals at an incredible speed, so fast that even afterimages appeared.

As his seals took shape, the earthen-yellow light beneath his feet receded rapidly. Transparent silver runes twisted and coiled across the ground, glowing faintly like fireflies.

Lu Bu stomped the ground and clapped his hands together, shouting:

"Yin Demon Howl!"

Above his head, a massive translucent silver skeleton wreathed in mysterious runes materialized, standing as tall as a building.

"Damn it! This kid is truly strange!" Wu Protector, who had been calmly devouring souls, was visibly startled. Despite capturing souls for years, he had never encountered a situation like this.

However, Lu Bu wouldn't let this opportunity slip by. His motto had always been: strike while they're weak.

Powerful soul energy surged from Lu Bu's brow. The silver skeleton opened its mouth, and an ear-piercing wail erupted:

"Screeeech—!"

Boom!

Wu Protector's armored figure was blasted backward, the black armor turning illusory as black mist billowed out once more.

"Argh—!"

"Damn it, a soul attack?!" Wu Protector's red eyes flared brightly within the black mist, and his terrifying aura swept outward like a storm.

"Boy, you've ruined three years of my cultivation! I'll take your soul as compensation!"

It was clear that Lu Bu's attack had inflicted significant damage. The black mist churned violently, and the armored figure flickered between solid and intangible.

"Ninefold Soul Devouring, bind!"

Wu Protector roared, and the dissipating black mist reformed into armor. The black fog vanished completely, leaving behind a lone figure floating in midair, stepping lightly on the void.

Whoosh!

As he appeared, a fierce, eerie wind swept through the forest, making the pitch-black night even darker. The chilling aura radiating from Wu Protector made the entire forest feel like a scene from a nightmare.

"Jie Jie Jie… boy, hand over your soul obediently!"

Lu Bu, shrouded in his protective formation, felt his face twitch. Damn it, there's no way I can beat him!

This level of power was beyond his current capabilities. Even if he used the Devouring Ancient Talisman, the chances of victory were slim. Besides, Lu Bu didn't want to absorb something so sinister.

What to do?

Lu Bu's eyes flickered as he calculated, his black pupils darting around. Finally, he sighed in resignation.

"Forget it. I really can't win. Time to run…"

He quickly changed his hand seals, and the silver-transparent formation beneath him suddenly glowed brilliantly. Black cracks flickered within the light, accompanied by faint sounds of shattering glass.

"Not good, that's spatial power! The boy's trying to escape!"

Wu Protector shouted in alarm, unable to comprehend how someone at the peak of Dou Huang could wield spatial power. Without hesitation, he raised a hand and slammed it downward.

Clang!

The deafening roar reverberated through the forest.

A massive black serpent, forged entirely of chains, roared to life. As it lunged forward, the very air seemed to shatter in its wake, accompanied by explosive thunderclaps that echoed across the mountains.

"Boy, you won't escape! Die for me!" Wu Protector cackled as the giant black serpent opened its maw wide, aiming to devour Lu Bu.

But just as the serpent was about to strike, the brilliant silver light of Lu Bu's formation suddenly dimmed and vanished, like a lamp abruptly extinguished.

Boom!

The ground trembled violently. Mountains crumbled, and waves of earth shot high into the air. The black serpent obliterated half a mountain in a single blow—its destructive power was terrifying.

"Damn it, he still got away!" Wu Protector roared furiously, his voice shaking the heavens. The clouds above churned violently, as though disturbed by his wrath.

"Boy, you've ruined three years of my cultivation! Just wait—I'll find you and make you suffer the agony of a thousand souls devouring your body!"

…

Half an hour later, after confirming that Wu Protector's presence had completely disappeared, a small mound of dirt began to rise from the ground. A disheveled Lu Bu crawled out, covered in dirt and looking utterly miserable.

"Damn it… Good thing I managed to trick him… ptoo!" Lu Bu spat out the dirt in his mouth, letting out a relieved sigh despite his sorry state.

Spatial formations? Me? Well, technically, Lu Bu did understand spatial power to some extent, but he couldn't actually use it yet.

In the Dou Qi Continent, only the Void Ancient Dragon clan and cheat characters like Xiao Yan could manipulate space before reaching the Dou Zong level. Regular people—and Lu Bu—couldn't.

What Lu Bu had used earlier was merely an illusion formation, designed to deceive his opponent. Thankfully, it worked, and he successfully fooled Wu Protector.

"Damn it! I'll remember this grudge!" Lu Bu's eyes gleamed with a cold light.

"Wu Protector, just you wait. One day, I'll repay you properly!" Lu Bu clenched his teeth. This matter wasn't over.

Wu Protector's life was already marked. Even if the Soul Hall Master himself came, it wouldn't change Lu Bu's plans.

With a light step, Lu Bu's figure transformed into a streak of lightning, darting eastward toward the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen