A pitch-black halo, like a mysterious black hole, rapidly spread from Xiao Yan’s palm. Almost in the blink of an eye, it collided fiercely with the nearby Hou Li.
“This kid has such a terrifying reaction!” Staring at the rapidly expanding black hole halo, a look of shock flashed across Hou Li’s eyes. Even if Xiao Yan had woken up at this moment, with his strength, he should not have been able to withstand the attack. But he never expected that the guy would, without hesitation, unleash such a powerful technique right upon opening his eyes!
When the black hole halo came into contact with Hou Li, a dense black mist of aura burst from the latter’s body surface. Unlike how it had completely eroded the Zhai Xing Lao Gui, it did not directly corrode and disappear him. Clearly, the strength of Hou Li far exceeded that of Zhai Xing Lao Gui.
“Hmph!” Sensing the halo being blocked, Xiao Yan’s gaze turned cold. The aura within his body surged out overwhelmingly, pouring entirely into the pitch-black halo.
“Shh, shh!” As the aura was poured in, Hou Li’s sleeve suddenly exploded. Drops of blood seeped through his arms, sliding down and forming a line, falling continuously onto the ground like raindrops.
Feeling the terrifying tearing force emanating from the halo, Hou Li’s face slightly changed. He could feel the frenzied energy inside the halo growing stronger. If this continued, even he might not be able to bear it, and would inevitably suffer severe injuries.
“Spirit Explosion!” With this thought, a murderous intent flashed across Hou Li’s eyes. A steady stream of dense black mist surged out from his palm. In a series of miserable screams, one strong soul after another self-destructed, unleashing a terrifying energy impact that forcibly stopped the spread of the black halo. Using the counterforce of the self-destruction, Hou Li rapidly retreated.
“Not bad, a top-notch expert of the Soul Clan,” Xiao Yan muttered, seeing that the guy could actually withstand the Great Heavenly Creation Palm. His right hand once again slammed into the air.
“Bang!” As Xiao Yan’s palm descended, the black halo, which had been halted by the soul explosions, once again spread out, swiftly chasing after the retreating Hou Li, and struck him fiercely.
“Ack!” With such a fierce collision, the blood and qi within Hou Li’s body churned violently. His internal organs seemed to have shifted positions. A mouthful of bright red blood spewed out, and his body tumbled like a kite with a broken string, flying back into the distance.
“Since you’ve made your move, then leave your life behind!” In mid-air, Xuner was also surprised by the sudden turn of events, but seeing that Xiao Yan was fine, she felt relieved. Her beautiful eyes glanced at the injured and retreating Hou Li, and her killing intent flared. Shaking her jade-like hand, the spear, enveloped in golden flames, pierced through the void, rushing towards Hou Li’s head with intense force.
Xuner’s strike was extremely ruthless. At this moment, Hou Li was already exhausted, and in the air, he could hardly avoid the attack. So, he could only watch as the golden spear shot towards his head.
“Boom!” However, just as the golden spear was about to strike Hou Li’s head, a gust of wind suddenly shot over, slamming heavily into his body. Using this momentum, Hou Li shifted his trajectory, and what was supposed to be a headshot became a shoulder hit.
“Thwack!” The golden spear struck Hou Li’s shoulder with immense force, instantly piercing through it. Hou Li’s body was thrown out, finally being nailed to the ground. The spot where he landed collapsed more than half a meter deep.
The terrifying wind spread from the collapsed area, and a dark figure flashed over like a ghost. Looking at the blood-covered Hou Li, whose shoulder bore a nearly bowl-sized wound, Huen’s face also showed a hint of gloom. Without hesitation, he swung his hand, slashing Hou Li’s left arm, which was already thoroughly eroded by the golden flame, reducing it to ashes.
However, Hou Li was indeed tough. Despite his arm being cut off, he gritted his teeth and remained silent.
“Xiao Yan, I’ll give you a compliment, but this debt won’t be so easily settled!” Grabbing the nearly dying Hou Li, Huen cast a vicious glance at Xiao Yan and Xuner, and sneered.
“Planning to leave?” Seeing this, Xuner smiled coldly, and just as she was about to move to intercept them, a dense black fog surged from Huen’s body. Numerous soul bodies, with hideous faces, shot out, spreading out and attacking Xuner. Before they reached her, they all self-destructed…
The terrifying shockwave from the numerous soul explosions made Xuner frown. She stepped back a few steps, and with a wave of her hand, a sea of golden flames swept out, burning away the black fog. But the two were already nowhere to be seen.
“Escaping so fast.” Frowning, Xuner turned her head and looked at the energy curtain leading to the second layer in the distance. There, two shadowy figures were barely visible, diving into the second layer.
Drawing her gaze from the energy curtain, Xuner rushed to Xiao Yan, who now had a slightly pale face. “Are you okay, Brother Xiao Yan?”
“It’s nothing major. I just broke through, and my aura is still unstable. Using a Heaven-rank technique caused some backlash. I’ll be fine after a short rest,” Xiao Yan replied, shaking his head.
“Almost got played by these scoundrels. Next time, we must take their lives!” Xuner said, her anger barely contained.
Xiao Yan nodded, his eyes filled with killing intent. If he had not awakened early and used a Heaven-rank technique immediately, he might have been ambushed successfully.
“We need to be more careful in the future. These guys are not easy to deal with,” Xiao Yan thought. During his recent training, without anyone else around, his alertness had diminished. Now, he realized that the Sky Tomb was not as peaceful as he had imagined.
“Brother Xiao Yan, rest for a while first. Once you recover, we’ll head to the second layer. Since we severely injured Hou Li, their strength will definitely have weakened. If we meet again, I’m confident I can kill Huen,” Xuner said, her expression icy.
“Alright,” Xiao Yan nodded. He wouldn’t let go of the opportunity to beat a fallen dog, especially one from the Soul Hall.
Closing his eyes, Xiao Yan’s face rapidly regained its color as his breathing stabilized. Seeing him enter a state of meditation, Xuner slowly stood up. Given the previous incident, she did not leave Xiao Yan’s vicinity, her face cold, her vast aura surging like a tide. Anyone entering her range would suffer a ferocious attack.
Xiao Yan’s cultivation lasted about an hour. He then slowly opened his eyes, his black pupils brimming with powerful aura, causing ripples in space. Compared to before, his strength had undeniably improved.
“Six-star Dou Zun…” Feeling the vast aura within him like a great ocean, Xiao Yan smiled. He clearly sensed the soaring power and ease brought by the advancement.
“Four months of cultivation have indeed been very effective, but advancing to seven stars will take much longer…” Xiao Yan understood that although the energy nuclei of the Sky Tomb were a great supplement, the later stages of Dou Zun were incredibly challenging. The required energy was enormous, and reaching it was extremely difficult.
“Brother Xiao Yan, congratulations…” Xuner breathed a sigh of relief, seeing Xiao Yan open his eyes. She smiled, “With my perception, I can tell that your strength has greatly improved.”
“Only six stars… still a bit weaker compared to Gu Yao and Huen,” Xiao Yan straightened, hearing the cracks from his bones, and smiled.
“They’ve trained much longer than you. At your age, they were inferior. Both clans have a long history, and the training they receive is incomparable to ordinary people. If Brother Xiao Yan had trained like this from a young age, he might have already reached the level of Dou Saint,” Xuner laughed, covering her mouth.
“Reaching Dou Saint isn’t just about that…” Xiao Yan shook his head, standing up and looking at the distant energy curtain. “Let’s go. Next, we should see what dangers the second layer of the Sky Tomb holds.”
With that, Xiao Yan stomped his foot on a boulder, and his body flew towards the energy curtain. Behind him, Xuner smiled and followed closely.
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