As the Heavenly Venerable’s hand was caught, his face slightly changed. At that moment, he found that the Dou Qi within him seemed to stagnate, and the mist of raindrops around him began to dissipate rapidly. This scene naturally brought some shock to the Heavenly Venerable. He suddenly raised his head and saw an old figure floating behind Xiao Yan. The familiar face caused him to cry out in disbelief… “Yao Chen? Your body… you’ve actually regained your strength?”
With just a glance, the Heavenly Venerable noticed that the Elder Yao’s body no longer had the ethereal quality it once had; it was now a real, solid form. What truly made his heart sink was the overwhelmingly terrifying aura surrounding Elder Yao. The strength of this aura even made him feel a chill.
“Teacher? You’ve awakened?” When the Heavenly Venerable’s attack was intercepted, Xiao Yan also quickly turned around and saw Elder Yao, his face lighting up with delight.
“Um…” Elder Yao smiled at Xiao Yan and slowly said, “Young man, go help the others for now. I will handle him.”
Hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yan nodded. With his exceptional soul perception, he could sense that Elder Yao’s aura was extremely horrifying. This level of power was something not even the Heavenly Venerable or Dark Blade from that day could match. In fact, it was the strongest aura Xiao Yan had ever encountered.
“Is this Teacher’s full strength during his peak? Indeed, very powerful. No wonder he had such a reputation in the Central Plains.”
Xiao Yan let out a sigh of relief and then, under the Heavenly Venerable’s increasingly dark gaze, he retreated gracefully.
“Yao Chen, do you think regaining your peak strength means you can contend with our Hall of Souls?” Although he had repeatedly tried to intercept Xiao Yan, the Heavenly Venerable knew that the Yao Chen before him had returned to his former self, the renowned Pill Emperor. Even with his pride, he had to admit that his current strength was no match for Elder Yao.
“The Hall of Souls is not the strongest in the world. There are many formidable opponents who cannot act freely. As long as they stay out, someone like you cannot threaten me!” Elder Yao chuckled lightly, but his smile carried a hint of coldness. “Today, the Hall of Souls has launched a massive assault, and you have injured my only disciple. This debt must be repaid…”
“Do you really think I fear you?” The Heavenly Venerable’s face was icy cold, and a layer of gleaming blue light appeared on his palm. With a strange twist of his arm, he broke free from Elder Yao’s grip. Opening his mouth, a torrential flood of blue Dou Qi spewed out, swiftly coalescing into a monstrous beast. Emitting a dense energy pressure, the sharp claws charged right at Elder Yao.
Facing the Heavenly Venerable’s attack, Elder Yao remained calm. Extending his palm, he tightly clutched the air, causing the space in front of him to collapse. The monstrous beast was cut in half, disintegrating into a rain of water droplets.
BAM!
With a single strike, Elder Yao dispelled the Heavenly Venerable’s attack and, with a distant palm, launched another. This strike caused the energy in the world to oscillate violently. An invisible, gigantic hand pierced through space, silently approaching the Heavenly Venerable.
Though the gigantic hand was silent, the Heavenly Venerable still felt a grave danger. Quickly changing his hand seals, he shouted, and endless cold energy from the surroundings gathered, forming a massive, hundred-foot blue water shield around him.
The gigantic hand slammed down on the large blue shield, and an overwhelming force of spatial energy spread instantly. The space warped, and the terrifying sight caused many to change their expressions in shock.
BOOM!
As the spatial force swept through, the seemingly robust blue shield held only for a split second before bursting open. Rain poured down in torrents, pounding the forest with a crisp, clear sound.
“Hmph…”
The rupture of the blue shield caused the Heavenly Venerable to stagger. He was thrown back over a hundred meters, a suppressed grunt escaping his throat. Clearly, even in their first confrontation, the Heavenly Venerable had been injured.
Such a magnificent battle, naturally, attracted the attention of the strong fighters in the distance. Many of them, with their considerable experience, recognized Elder Yao. Astonished exclamations arose one after another.
“Is that Pill Emperor Yao Chen? He’s actually still alive?”
“Didn’t they say that Yao Chen had lost his body and his strength had greatly diminished? How can he be…?”
“With Yao Chen regaining his strength, the Great Crisis facing the Falling Star Pavilion might be resolved. With the fully restored Pill Emperor, the Falling Star Pavilion’s fame and power will skyrocket, possibly becoming unmatched even by the Three Valleys…”
Whispers filled with complex emotions spread. Many exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting their perplexity. The reappearance of Pill Emperor Yao Chen in the Central Plains would undoubtedly become true news. Many of the older generation of strong fighters deeply understood the influence he once wielded in the Central Plains. Though many years had passed, the title of the Central Plains’ First Alchemist remained unchallenged, even by the three giants of the Dan Pagoda.
As the most skilled alchemist, reappearing after a long absence, the shock and turmoil created would certainly be earth-shattering.
Xiao Yan watched Elder Yao gain the upper hand, smiling faintly. With Elder Yao regaining his peak, the Falling Star Pavilion no longer needed to fear the revenge of the Hall of Souls. After all, although the Hall of Souls was powerful, it had many entanglements, and some top-tier experts could not easily act. Without their intervention, the Falling Star Pavilion could remain safe.
BOOM…
As Xiao Yan pondered, a muffled sound echoed from the sky. Sensing something, he quickly looked up, frowning as he saw the Heaven Demon Puppet being pushed back by the relentless onslaught of the Dark Day Venerable. Cracks were already visible on its hard body, indicating that, despite its strength, fighting the Dark Day Venerable alone was still a bit strenuous.
Pausing at the Heaven Demon Puppet, Xiao Yan’s gaze shifted to the battle between Qing Lin and the White Day Venerable. Expecting to see Qing Lin’s defeat, he was instead met with an intense fight. Two figures clashed fiercely, their forms flickering, spreading shocking energy fluctuations.
“This aura… It’s the ancient Celestial Serpent…”
Xiao Yan squinted, feeling a hint of viciousness in Qing Lin’s aura—a sensation he had experienced before in the cave. It was clear that Qing Lin was drawing on the power of the ancient Celestial Serpent. Otherwise, even with the support of the Jade Snake Three Flower Pupil, she wouldn’t be able to fight so fiercely with the White Day Venerable.
“As long as the Black and White Day Venerables are kept busy, there’s no danger. With Elder Feng and Little Fairy Doctor, they should be able to fend off the other strong fighters from the Hall of Souls.”
Xiao Yan’s gaze flickered. Since Qing Lin was fine, he decided to deal with the Black Day Venerable. Together with the Heaven Demon Puppet, they should be able to keep him distracted. However, the longest casualties were the ordinary disciples of the Falling Star Pavilion. Protracted battles would only make things worse for them.
While Xiao Yan frowned, Elder Yao seemed to sense something. He lowered his head, looking at the bloodstained Star Realm. His eyes flashed with cold intent. Clenching his fist, a massive spatial hand formed, slamming towards the Black and White Day Venerables.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the Black and White Day Venerables barely reacted. Their faces turned pale as they felt an extreme sense of danger from the spatial force.
PFFT!
The massive spatial hand struck the two, and the seemingly powerful Venerables spat out blood, their bodies crashing like meteors into the forest, leaving deep trenches a hundred feet long.
Seeing that the Black and White Day Venerables could not withstand even one round, the distant strong fighters drew a breath of cold air.
BAM BAM BAM!
After subduing the Black and White Day Venerables, Elder Yao’s palm continued to strike down. Any Hall of Souls warrior touched by the spatial hand exploded into a black fog, their flesh and blood turning into dust.
Witnessing the near-slaughter by Elder Yao, the Hall of Souls warriors finally felt genuine fear, scattering in panic, no longer daring to linger in the Star Realm.
Seeing the heavy losses of the Hall of Souls, the Nine Heavens Venerable’s face grew dark. The situation was out of control due to Yao Chen’s presence, but he was unwilling to give up.
“Yao Chen, having just regained your strength, you can’t fully unleash it. Let’s see if you can turn the tide and save the Falling Star Pavilion today!”
The Nine Heavens Venerable took a deep breath, his hands rapidly forming seals. As his seals changed, the space around him rippled, and a tear in space slowly opened.
As the space tear opened, a freezing, bone-chilling aura seeped out.
“Even the Eighth Prisoner of the Eight Heavens…?” Feeling this icy aura, Elder Yao’s brow twitched, murmuring softly.
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