Chapter 882: Capture

Su Che charged forward with a punch aimed at Ao Zu’s forehead. The distance between the two was only about ten feet, short enough that an attack could be delivered with a simple raise of the hand.
In response to this strike, a faint red light flashed at Ao Zu’s forehead. If predictions were correct, he would once again use that crimson shockwave to send Su Che flying.
But in that instant, Manzi pushed her soul control technique to its limit from afar. Ao Zu felt dizzy, and the faint red light above his forehead failed to erupt in time.
This was exactly the opportunity they needed!
Bang!
Su Che’s fierce punch struck Ao Zu’s forehead directly. The red light vanished instantly, as if pushed back into his brain by the blow.
Ao Zu raised his hand and almost simultaneously struck Su Che’s chest, sending him flying. Yet such a hasty attack couldn’t cause real harm to Su Che.
“Ahh…”
Ao Zu remained standing firm, like a stone pillar, not even budging an inch from Su Che’s attack. But he let out a loud roar, with crimson lightning flashing in his eyes and mouth.
Crackling…
In just an instant, the red lightning spread throughout his body, enveloping him entirely. It looked as though a peerless demon king had broken free from his seal.
It was terrifying, but Su Che and the others were thrilled. It was clear that the punch that sent the red light back into his head had triggered a violent backlash of energy within him, causing such obvious signs of madness.
“Ahh…”
Ao Zu suffered immensely, continuing to roar loudly. The red lightning surrounding him grew more and more intense, as if he might explode at any moment.
Su Che immediately retreated a hundred feet away. Like Tian Yin and the others, he watched carefully, highly tense but not daring to attack rashly.
That old man’s condition was extremely unstable. Under such circumstances, it would be best to strike while he was weak. But if the attack was wrong, it might instead have the opposite effect, suppressing his chaotic state and stabilizing him.
“What should we do?”
Su Che asked Tian Yin and Manzi. After all, their lifespans and experience far surpassed his own.
Manzi replied immediately, “Don’t move yet. I’ll use soul control to keep harassing him.”

At this very moment, Ao Zu must be desperately suppressing the chaotic forces within him. If they can continue to harass his soul, making it difficult for him to maintain sanity and driving him further insane, it will surely amplify the chaos even more.
“Ahh…”
Amidst his frenzied roars, Ao Zu’s entire body trembled violently. Streams of crimson lightning merged together, almost completely engulfing him. It seemed that Su Che and the others didn’t even need to take action—just the internal turmoil of his own energy, combined with Manzi’s disruptions, would be enough to defeat him.
But this hope vanished almost immediately. A few breaths later, the red lightning surrounding Ao Zu suddenly snapped back into his body with a whoosh, as if he had stabilized all at once.
“I’ll kill you all! You’ll all die!”
Ao Zu’s face was grotesquely twisted, his blood-red eyes fixed on Su Che like those of a beast utterly enraged.
“Hurry!”
Manzi shouted, “Don’t let him scare you! He’s at his limit—act now!”
Whoosh!
Su Che, Lao Hei, and Xiao Hei charged forward together.
Bang!
Ao Zu waved his hand, sending a wave of crimson energy that struck Su Che first, sending him flying and causing him to crash into over a dozen floating boulders. This single strike left Su Che seriously injured.
Pfft!
Someone spat blood—not Su Che, but Manzi.
At that moment, Manzi unleashed her potential by self-harming, pushing her soul power to its limit. Ao Zu’s figure wobbled visibly, as if unsteady on his feet.
Seizing this opportunity, Lao Hei rushed over, grabbed Ao Zu from behind, and tightly squeezed his arms, rendering his upper body completely immobile.
Though Ao Zu was powerful, his physical resilience paled in comparison to Lao Hei’s puppet body. In such a close embrace, if he tried to shatter Lao Hei’s arms, his own body would suffer first.
Before Ao Zu could struggle, Xiao Hei suddenly grew to a hundred feet tall. With a sweeping motion of his giant hand, he trapped both Lao Hei and Ao Zu in his palm, leaving only their heads exposed.
This was like double shackles, firmly trapping Ao Zu.
Without hesitation, Su Che leaped onto Xiao Hei’s palm, grabbed Ao Zu’s neck with his left hand, and channeled all his Chaos energy into his right fist. Bang! He punched forward.
Bang!
Ao Zu’s head snapped back, hitting Lao Hei’s insanely hard skull. It was as if he was struck from both front and back at the same time.
Again!

Su Che kept punching at Ao Zu’s forehead—bang, bang, bang, bang—delivering rapid, heavy blows, seemingly determined not to stop until his head was shattered. This scene reminded Su Che of a common sight he had witnessed during his time as a constable in Cai Shi Town: the prison wardens, along with their underlings, would brutally beat down any new prisoner. Even if someone was skilled in combat, two fists couldn’t match four, and once trapped from behind with hands bound, they would be knocked unconscious by the wardens standing in front of them, leaving them unable to fight back. Now, Ao Zu was in exactly that situation. Though his strength far surpassed Su Che’s, he couldn’t break free from the double restraint of Lao Hei and Xiao Hei, making him like a meat target in shackles. Bang, bang, bang, bang… One punch after another—such brutality and savagery filled Ao Zu with an unprecedented sense of humiliation. He wanted to erupt, to destroy everything around him, but his arms and legs were tightly held by those damned Haote people behind him, leaving him completely trapped. Bang, bang, bang, bang… With repeated blows and Manzi’s spiritual interference, Ao Zu felt the world spinning, his mind growing blurred, on the verge of losing all consciousness. “No!” Though beaten beyond the point of screaming, he roared inwardly: “How could I, Ao Zu, who has defeated countless opponents across the universe, through chaos, be defeated by these despicable brats? Even enemies stronger than me have ended up shattered and reduced to nothing before me. How could I lose to them?” “No, I refuse to accept it. I cannot fail.” “I’ll kill them! I’ll kill them!” With the last remnants of his sanity, Ao Zu knew it was nearly impossible to break free from those Haote people’s grasp. Once trapped up close, it would be a nightmare for anyone. He tried to use substitution magic to free his true body, but that required casting a spell in an instant—yet the relentless blows to his forehead gave him no such chance.

He even thought of abandoning his physical body and escaping by leaving his soul behind. It would only take a few dozen breaths to recreate a physical body, after which he could return and kill those youngsters with ease. Yet, that damned dwarf kept interfering with his soul control techniques nonstop.

Worst of all, the energy within his body had become chaotic, nearly causing him to go mad. Though he managed to suppress it forcefully, he was still in the most vulnerable state possible…

With internal and external threats, despite his reluctance, Ao Zu couldn’t find a way to escape. His consciousness gradually blurred, until…

“Done!”
Manzi sent a mental message to Su Che: “You can stop now. I’ve completely sealed his soul power.”

After saying that, Manzi collapsed onto a floating boulder, utterly exhausted. His own soul power was also on the verge of collapse. If he kept going like this, he would kill himself.

Su Che stopped, then immediately imprisoned Lao Hei, Xiao Hei, and Ao Zu in the Immortal Prison.

Since Manzi had said Ao Zu’s soul was completely sealed, this state made him perfect for being sent to the fourth layer of the Immortal Prison for soul slavery. It was just uncertain whether his own cultivation level was high enough to enable such slavery.

“It should be possible,” Lao Hei guessed. “Master, you’re now at the level of an Immortal Lord, with a thousand-fold power boost. Even if you’re not as strong as Ao Zu, the gap can’t exceed two major realms.”

Su Che nodded in agreement. In the chaos, travelers from different universes had varying power systems, and there was no clear hierarchy in cultivation levels.

However, Su Che estimated that the gap between him and Ao Zu was roughly equivalent to the difference between a Third Heaven Immortal Emperor and a Ninth Heaven Immortal Emperor.

As Immortal Emperors, a Ninth Heaven Immortal Emperor could easily defeat more than ten Third Heaven Immortal Emperors.

Of course, this wasn’t absolute. Considering factors like timing, location, and luck, many things were unpredictable.

After a dozen breaths, confirmation came from the fourth layer of the Immortal Prison: Ao Zu could indeed be subjected to soul slavery, but it would take sufficient time—at least a few months.

In the chaos, the concept of time was very vague. A few months meant nothing. Inside the fourth layer, Lao Hei and Xiao Hei still held onto Ao Zu with their dual restraints. In short, they wouldn’t let go until soul slavery was completed.

Su Che also prayed silently: nothing unexpected must happen. If they could succeed in enslaving Ao Zu, having such a powerful fighter would surely ensure smooth progress through chaos.
Inside the Array of Chaotic Rocks, Su Che and Tian Yin guarded Manzi, allowing her to rest and recover from the severe depletion of her soul energy.
After half a month, Manzi still hadn’t awakened, but bad news came from the fourth level of the Immortal Prison.
The soul enslavement had failed!
“How could it fail?”
Su Che was shocked. He entered the fourth level of the Immortal Prison and saw Ao Zu, now lifeless, still tightly bound by Lao Hei and Xiao Hei.
“He’s dead,” Lao Hei explained helplessly. “We don’t know why, but the old guy’s soul suddenly vanished. It seems he committed suicide…”