The Castle of Darkness was made up of no fewer than 100 palace halls, and Xiang Shaoyun's goal was the main hall. Previously, he was forced into the Castle of Darkness by the three villains and encountered Scarlet Flame Monarch by pure luck. And now, he was back to try free Scarlet Flame Monarch.

When he arrived before the main hall, numerous dark bats were flying about, completely surrounding the building. Not even a peak Emperor would dare to approach in this situation, as Sovereign bats, which possessed formidable combat strength, existed here as well.

Xiang Shaoyun showed no fear when facing the bats. He strode straight toward the entrance, as though he was ignoring all the bats.

The dark bats noticed him, and dozens of them shrieked. Powers of hypnosis rippled out of their black eyes as they launched their attacks toward his eyes and ears. He only needed to blank out for a single moment for the bats to move in and tear him into pieces. This was their usual attacking method. It was extremely effective, especially against cultivators that were inexperienced in dealing with them.

Xiang Shaoyun was strong enough to completely disregard the attacks. He continued onward, and finally, the bats pounced on him. He sent several punches out, blasting the bats into pieces one after another.

But in doing so, he had poked a proverbial hornet's nest. Numerous dark bats charged him, with Emperor Realm bats among them. Not only were they attacking him with sound and vision attacks, but they were also clawing and spitting dark energy attacks at him. He was completely surrounded on all sides, and it did not look like he had a way of avoiding them.

Xiang Shaoyun focused on the bats as his aura started rising. A roaring white tiger materialized behind him, emanating the dreadful aura of a king of beasts as it overlooked them. The disdain in its eyes seemed to be saying that the bats were the lowest of the low, completely incapable of posing any threat to it.

"Scram!"

A tiger's roar escaped Xiang Shaoyun's mouth; the sound wave rumbled forth like a thunderclap. It contained the power of an unrivaled Emperor that nobody dared to disobey. The bats were unable to withstand such a terrifying tiger's roar and started dropping from the sky one after another.

Stepping over their bodies, Xiang Shaoyun strode into the main hall. He knew that the truly strong bats had yet to show themselves. Sure enough, when he entered, seven late-stage Demon Emperor bats flew out.

"All human intruders are to be killed!" shouted one of them with a hoarse voice. It raked at Xiang Shaoyun with its sharp claws.

The other bats naturally wouldn't spare Xiang Shaoyun either. They all attacked, their combined strength enough to kill a peak Emperor. Xiang Shaoyun moved around with the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps while using the Raging Skyburn Palm repeatedly. 

His palm was akin to a collapsing sky, and his flame energy was akin to a sea of fire that raged in all directions. The seven Demon Emperors were so frightened they started screeching. Two of them were immediately killed, their cores harvested. The current Xiang Shaoyun was no longer an opponent any Emperor could hope to match.

"Brazen human, you dare kill the juniors of my race? I'll eat you!" threatened a Demon Sovereign. A black humanoid figure flew out and stabbed Xiang Shaoyun with the trident in his hand.

Dark energy rippled out and turned their surroundings into complete darkness. The Demon Sovereign then made use of the opportunity presented by the absolute darkness and continued stabbing at Xiang Shaoyun.

Compared with a Demon Emperor, the Demon Sovereign was on a whole different level. The attack was fast and accurate, carrying behind it a dreadful might that could easily kill any Emperor.

Little did the Demon Sovereign know, Xiang Shaoyun could see in the dark. He saw clearly the incoming stab, and before the attack could land, he moved away with Phantom Shift. He launched an attack of his own with yet another Raging Skyburn Palm. Each palm of his hit like a volcanic eruption, burning and causing the Demon Sovereign to shriek in pain.

Xiang Shaoyun was using only one of his stars, but with the assistance of Yun Flame and flame profundity, he was able to threaten even a first-stage Demon Sovereign.

The Demon Sovereign tried to strike back, but fire happened to be its weakness. Thus, he was forced to transform back into his bat form and used his sound attacks instead. At the same time, his eyes rippled with waves of hypnosis power far stronger than anything the other bats were capable of.

Xiang Shaoyun was prepared. He had a filthless soul, and his soul power was stronger than an ordinary Sovereign's. The Demon Sovereign was unable to harm him, and Xiang Shaoyun countered with a tiger's roar before flickering around like a specter. He rained fiery palms upon the bat.

The palms came without end, striking the Demon Sovereign to the point where he couldn't react at all. Ultimately, he was burned into ashes. After harvesting the core, Xiang Shaoyun continued onward.

There was definitely more than one Demon Sovereign here. They were all glaring at Xiang Shaoyun furiously. If he dared to continue further, they would attack as well.

Xiang Shaoyun thought to himself, If I had refined the Noble Glazed Flame, I could easily kill all of these bats. 

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Demon Sovereigns did not dare to approach him, and they started shrieking, sending waves of sound attacks toward him, aiming for his soul. This was an unstoppable attack. Even if Xiang Shaoyun shut his eyes and ears, he still wouldn't be able to stop it. Fortunately, his very soul was protected, or that attack would have been his end.

"Get lost, or I'll kill every single one of you," threatened Xiang Shaoyun.

He seemed to have transformed into a barbaric dragon as he hurled his fists out. Dense battle intent surged from him as his fist intent shot out. His unequaled fists seemed to be everywhere, leaving no space for the bats to hide.

The Demon Sovereigns were no weaklings, but when they sensed his alarming fist intent, they cowered. They realized that if they continued standing in his way, they would die. Thus, they started retreating while defending against the punches.

Xiang Shaoyun did not intend to kill all of them. After all, leaving them here would be the same as leaving some free guards for the place. He still had something he needed to do here.

The elder stationed at the castle, Yu Yuchen, saw everything clearly. His eyes flashed with a thick murderous intent as he said, "Only two short years have passed, but he has already grown this much. I can't let this kid continue living."

He then charged toward the main hall.