Hearing the Phoenix Nine’s furious roar full of killing intent, Xiao Yan also slowly turned his head. His gaze, slightly cold and sinister, stared at the former like a fierce beast. Under Xiao Yan’s intimidating gaze, the Phoenix Nine suddenly felt a chill on his skin, regaining some composure. Yet, his expression remained extremely grim as he stared unwaveringly at Xiao Yan, snarling, “We entered the Bodhi Ancient Tree together, overcoming countless obstacles. Now you want to take all the Bodhi Seeds for yourself? Isn’t that too unreasonable?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan burst out laughing mockingly. “Reasonable? I fear that’s not what you really mean. You’re thinking of talking with your fists, aren’t you?”
Xiao Yan knew well that if it weren’t for the power of his side making the Phoenix Nine wary, the latter would have long acted to forcibly seize the seeds. Reasoning? This was merely a way for the weak to beg for mercy in the face of strength.
The corner of the Phoenix Nine’s eye twitched violently, and a surge of uncontrollable killing intent welled up within him. Fortunately, he still maintained a sliver of reason and didn’t act immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the Soul Jade with a dark and ominous tone, “Brother Soul Jade, you wouldn’t be happy to see him take all the Bodhi Seeds, rendering our efforts in vain, would you?”
Soul Jade’s expression remained calm, but the sinister glint in his eyes still revealed his dissatisfaction. No matter how deep his schemes, at this moment, his rage and killing intent still raged hard to suppress.
“Xiao Yan, hand over eight Bodhi Seeds to my Soul Clan and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan. Then we can overlook this incident,” after a moment of silence, Soul Jade’s cold voice finally emerged.
Xiao Yan smiled lightly, spreading his palm, revealing eleven Bodhi Seeds. If he gave away eight, he would only have three left. Such a thing was not something Xiao Yan would do. The Bodhi Seeds had the miraculous effect of greatly increasing the chance of breakthrough to Dou Sage, and they could even be used to refine Bodhi Pills – an eighth-grade pill that could attract nine-color pill lightning, which would make any peak Nine-Change Dou Venerable go mad. If these seeds were given to them, it might enable future members of the two clans to break through to Dou Sage, thereby creating formidable rivals for himself. With Xiao Yan’s shrewdness, there was no way he would commit such a foolish act. Hence, he gently shook his head, stating calmly, “I refuse.”
As the word “refuse” fell, the atmosphere in the area instantly tightened. An oppressive cloud enveloped everyone’s hearts; everyone knew today’s events likely couldn’t end well.
Soul Jade’s expression turned completely icy when Xiao Yan spoke those three words. Staring at the latter, he nodded slowly, “If that’s the case, then we’ll have to kill you first.”
*Bam!*
With the fall of Soul Jade’s last word, the Dou Qi within the members of the Soul Clan and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan erupted without reservation almost in unison. Their figures flashed, and they surrounded Xiao Yan and his companions.
Seeing the combined attack from the Soul Clan and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, Xun’er and others’ expressions gradually grew frigid. Stepping forward, they began to circulate the Dou Qi inside their bodies.
“Soul Jade, do you really want to start a war between the ancient clans?” Gu Qingyang coldly rebuked.
“Hmph, war? My Soul Clan has never been afraid of your ancient clan. Letting you remain peaceful for so long was merely giving you more time. Do you really think my Soul Clan would hesitate to act against you?” A sneer twisted Soul Jade’s lips. He then turned his chilling gaze back to Xiao Yan, “Your recent fame in my Soul Clan is quite impressive. Even the Four Great Venerables returned with empty hands. I once said, act sooner rather than later, but those old fools disregarded my advice, allowing you to survive. But I think it ends here.”
Dense black Dou Qi abruptly gushed out from Soul Jade, spreading waves of cold fluctuations throughout the area. Sensing the massive energy emerging from Soul Jade, Xun’er and the others adopted serious expressions. Soul Jade was indeed one of the top three among the younger generation of the Soul Clan, making him a very troublesome opponent.
“Deal with Xiao Yan for me, brother Phoenix Nine. The others will be handled by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and the other Soul Clan experts.” At Soul Jade’s words, Phoenix Nine nodded and glanced at Xiao Yan, saying, “I wanted to deal with this boy, but since Brother Soul Jade has spoken, I’ll leave him to you.”
“Attack!”
*Boom!*
No sooner had the command dropped from Phoenix Nine’s mouth, the surrounding multitude of experts released their powerful Dou Qi towards Xun’er and the others, their eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Hmpf.”
Facing the overwhelming onslaught from the Soul Clan and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, Xun’er and the others emitted a cold humph. As they waved their sleeves, the powerful Dou Qi attacks dissipated into nothing before they could hit. Though their numbers couldn’t match the enemy, their quality was higher.
“Big Brother Xiao Yan, let me handle Soul Jade, okay?” Breaking through the aggressive Dou Qi, Xun’er turned her gaze to Xiao Yan.
“No need.” Xiao Yan smiled. Before entering the Bodhi Ancient Tree, alone against a Dou Venerable peak expert at least at the Sixth Change like Soul Jade, he’d only win using his Fire Lotus. But now, both in tier and combat ability, Xiao Yan far surpassed Soul Jade. What did the latter have to fight him?
“Handle the Phoenix Nine and the others. The neutral experts who’ve gathered the Bodhi Seeds shouldn’t meddle further. Despite their numbers, it’s still manageable.” Xiao Yan shot a glance at the neutral experts who had retreated far. They were quite strong, and if they joined forces with Soul Jade, the pressure would be immense. That, coupled with wanting to keep the situation under control, made him reluctant to part with more Bodhi Seeds.
“Be careful, then.” Hearing this, Xun’er relinquished, nodding lightly.
Xiao Yan smiled, stepping out of the circle formed by the experts from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and the Soul Clan. The enemies automatically parted, watching as he walked past, then closed the ring around Xun’er and the rest once more.
“The Dongshen Emperor Jade should be in your possession, right?” Watching Xiao Yan step out and stand in front of him, Soul Jade’s eyes flickered with black light.
“Want it? Come and take it.” Xiao Yan smiled.
Soul Jade narrowed his eyes, his handsome face suddenly turning cold. Xiao Yan’s confident, smiling demeanor enraged him, sparking a storm of killing intent.
“You little fool with a sharp tongue.” Soul Jade sneered.
Looking at Soul Jade, Xiao Yan chuckled, “No point in playing tricks. It’s useless.”
Just as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan punched the empty space to his left. The air crackled with fiery force, and the space rippled violently. Then, a figure awkwardly tumbled backward, landing none other than Soul Jade!
Driven out by Xiao Yan’s punch, Soul Jade’s face darkened, looking at the fading shadow that had misled him. He hadn’t expected Xiao Yan’s perception to be so sharp.
Xiao Yan glanced at the dark-faced Soul Jade, then at the chaotic battle in the distance, shaking his head. He paused no longer, striding forward, unleashing an overwhelmingly vast aura that surged without restraint from his body!
This immense energy instantly swept across the entire area, causing the weaker ones to feel intense pressure…
“Peak Ninth Change Dou Venerable?”
The neutral powerhouses in the distance, sensing the formidable presence, visibly changed countenance, staring at Xiao Yan in shock. They were certain that just a month ago, Xiao Yan had no such strength!
Even Soul Jade, his face twitching, looked terrible. Now he understood why Xiao Yan was unfazed by him—because the latter’s power had already vastly surpassed his own.
“So what if you’re a Peak Ninth Change Dou Venerable? Do you think I’m frightened of you?” Taking a deep breath, Soul Jade suppressed his astonishment, and with a change of his gesture, a clan symbol slowly emerged from his forehead. As the symbol appeared, his aura soared, nearing that of Xiao Yan in an instant.
“Reached Eighth Change, huh? Still not enough,” feeling the surge of Soul Jade’s aura, Xiao Yan merely shook his head amusedly.
“We’ll see whether it’s enough or not soon enough.” Soul Jade smirked, rapidly forming a series of complex hand seals. Dark, frigid Dou Qi swiftly condensed into a pitch-black palm print in front of him. Piercing screams echoed from the palm print, and hideous faces of souls flickered faintly on its surface.
“Soul Destruction Palm!”
As the cries intensified, Soul Jade bellowed, the pitch-black palm print streaking towards Xiao Yan like a thunderbolt. Although small in size, the palm print carried an immensely cold and potent Dou Qi. Clearly, Soul Jade realized that, facing the significantly enhanced Xiao Yan, holding back would lead to defeat.
“Still not enough.” Faced with Soul Jade’s all-out palm strike, Xiao Yan simply shook his head once more, taking two light steps. Ignoring Soul Jade’s shock, he appeared before the palm, his right hand emitting a surge of blazing flame, which gently slapped the black print.
*Crack!*
The collision halted for a split second, followed by the horrifying sight of the black palm, loaded with Soul Jade’s concentrated Dou Qi, exploding into pieces from Xiao Yan’s casual slap.
This kind of power was an absolute suppression from a different level!
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