Under the watchful and tense gazes of many, the remnants of energy slowly dissipated, revealing the seven-colored Heaven Swallowing Serpent that had been struck. The once beautiful and smooth scales were now cracked and shattered, with dark red blood seeping through the broken pieces, dripping down like a light rain. The massive body twitched slightly, releasing Xiao Yan who was unharmed within.
Xiao Yan raised his head, gazing into the serpent’s eyes, which now had a much dimmer glow. The blood dripped onto his face, feeling slightly warm. “Sss…” The Heaven Swallowing Serpent hissed at Xiao Yan, its eyes showing a human-like concern. Now at the fifth stage, it had already gained a spirit no less than that of a human. If not for the suppressing soul power of Queen Medusa, it would have long spoken in the human tongue. Since its birth, the first person it saw was Xiao Yan, and their close companionship had formed a familial bond, even though it was a beast.
Gritting his teeth tightly, Xiao Yan looked at the Heaven Swallowing Serpent with its scales broken, especially the concern in its eyes. A wave of fury almost overtook his reason, but he managed to suppress it. He cast a cold glance at Yun Leng below, then quickly took out healing potions from his storage ring and smashed them against the serpent’s body. The bottles shattered on impact, and the cool healing liquid flowed along the wounds, soothing the serpent’s pain.
“Lucky guy, the beast saved you last time, but what about this time?” Yun Leng sneered, waving his hand as a massive energy vortex ball formed in the sea of clouds again. The surface of the ball glowed with surging energy, and the terrifying force turned the surrounding air into nothingness. “Go to hell,” he said, a cruel look on his face. With a push, the giant energy ball soared towards Xiao Yan, causing the sky to howl with the pressure.
Xiao Yan’s eyes fixed on the expanding energy ball, biting his teeth, gripping the Heavy Scale tightly, and his Dou Qi surged wildly within him. “Hey, Yun Leng, as the Grand Elder of the Misty Cloud Sect, you dare to use such a heavy hand on a junior? How shameful,” Hai Bodong’s mocking voice rang out just as the energy ball was about to hit Xiao Yan.
“Floral Ice Mirror!” Following the shout, a huge ice mirror that covered several yards appeared in front of Xiao Yan. The surface of the mirror was covered with countless tiny planes, gleaming under the sunlight, as if it were a solidified sheet of sunlight.
“Boom.” The energy vortex ball slammed heavily into the ice mirror, and the immense energy was dispersed by the countless tiny planes. After the energy ball dissipated, although the ice mirror was riddled with cracks, it held until all the cloud energy in the surrounding air dissipated, before shattering with a loud crack, turning into ice crystals that floated down gently.
“Hey, are you okay?” Hai Bodong flashed to Xiao Yan’s side, facing him, and asked.
“I’m fine,” Xiao Yan shook his head, gripping the scale tightly and muttered.
“This is troublesome. I didn’t expect this guy to use the ‘Cloud Smoke Over Sunlight Array’ so ruthlessly. This is the protective formation of the Misty Cloud Sect, and its cost is no joke. It has helped the Misty Cloud Sect through countless crises in the past,” Hai Bodong scanned the sea of clouds below, his tone bitter. “As long as the Misty Cloud Sect disciples still have energy, we are fighting against nearly a thousand disciples. Even a Battle Emperor powerhouse can’t handle this.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan frowned deeply and said, “What should we do then?”
Hai Bodong glanced at the energy shield covering the square and said, “Unless we can break this thing, only then can I take you away. But right now, I have to protect you, so I can’t focus on it.” He looked at the enormous Heaven Swallowing Serpent behind Xiao Yan and added, “The energy shield is constructed by over a hundred elders of the Misty Cloud Sect. With its Dou Wang level strength, breaking it will take time, and what we lack most is time…”
“Let me and the Heaven Swallowing Serpent try, Old Man Hai, help us guard against that guy’s attacks!” Xiao Yan decided after a moment of thought, knowing they had no time to waste.
“Alright, we have no other choice. That ‘Cloud Smoke Over Sunlight Array’ requires a Battle Emperor to resist. Fortunately, Yun Yun isn’t here, or her Battle Emperor level skills would make even a Battle Sect cautious,” Hai Bodong said, although he knew it was difficult for Xiao Yan to break the energy shield. At this point, there was no other option. If the shield wasn’t broken, they would have to fight against the nearly a thousand disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect.
One against a thousand, even for a Battle Emperor, it was not an easy task. Unfortunately, the combined strength of the disciples, enhanced by the array, was almost entirely channeled to Yun Leng, making the battle extremely uneven. Even Hai Bodong had to temporarily avoid the brunt of it.
“Hai Bodong, since you are obstinate, don’t blame me for being unforgiving,” Yun Leng said coldly, summoning another cloud smoke ball from the sea of clouds. This time, the ball was almost twice the size of the previous one.
Seeing the enormous energy ball, Hai Bodong’s expression grew serious. His hands were surrounded by a chill, and tiny ice crystals began to form in the air around him.
“Ah, things have gotten out of hand…” Watching the two sides preparing for the real battle, Jia Xing Tian sighed and shook his head. “All this for Mo Cheng? Fighting a Battle Emperor and a potential future powerhouse, is it worth it?”
“It’s not really for Mo Cheng. As an outer elder, he doesn’t have that much power,” Fa Ma shook his head, a bitter smile on his face. “The Misty Cloud Sect is concerned about its reputation. But this situation has gone too far. Xiao Yan’s attack earlier humiliated Yun Leng, leading him to activate the sect’s protection array, driven by personal motives…”
“Ah,” Jia Xing Tian sighed, shaking his head. At this point, any attempt to mediate was impossible.
“Boom.” The Heavy Scale, imbued with fierce energy, slammed against the energy shield, causing only a ripple. Xiao Yan’s face darkened as he watched the impenetrable shield. He turned to see the Heaven Swallowing Serpent’s attack, which did create a significant disturbance, but was still far from destroying the shield.
“Damn it.” Turning back, Xiao Yan saw the sharp and impending clash between Hai Bodong and Yun Leng, and cursed under his breath. “I won’t believe I can’t break this damn thing.”
His breathing intensified, and his eyes turned red. Gripping the Heavy Scale tightly, his Dou Qi surged, and he roared, slamming the scale against the unyielding energy shield.
“Boom.” As the Heavy Scale fell, a tremendous sound echoed. Countless people looked up, dumbfounded, as the cracks spread across the energy shield. After a moment of shock, they turned to Xiao Yan, who was holding the black scale, equally stunned.
This… An energy shield that even a Dou Wang needed time to break, was shattered by his casual strike?
“Impossible!” Yun Leng stared at the cracked shield in disbelief and roared angrily.
“Haha, I didn’t expect the Misty Cloud Sect, famous throughout the Jia Ma Empire, to act like this. The entire sect, with over a thousand people, is joining forces to deal with a boy not even twenty years old. Truly, it’s an embarrassment to the face that Yun Po Tian had built for the Misty Cloud Sect in the past,” a somewhat hoarse laugh echoed from the sky as everyone was in shock.
“Who dares to insult the ancestors of the Misty Cloud Sect? Show yourself, you coward,” Yun Leng shouted, his face darkening.
“Haha, show myself, I will. Others may fear the Misty Cloud Sect, but I don’t,” the laughter continued, and as it faded, the already crumbling energy shield finally shattered, turning into fragments of energy that vanished.
“Ptch… Ptch…”
As the energy shield broke, the Misty Cloud Sect elders on the trees around suddenly turned pale and spat out mouthfuls of blood.
Ignoring the vomiting elders, Yun Leng fixed his gaze on a certain spot in the air. Suddenly, the air there began to undulate strangely, and a moment later, a black figure emerged, materializing in the view of everyone.
As the black figure appeared, the faces of Hai Bodong, Jia Xing Tian, Fa Ma, and Yun Leng changed dramatically.
“Another Battle Emperor?” Jia Xing Tian drew a deep breath, his voice filled with shock.
“Seems like reinforcement for Xiao Yan… This guy must have a very powerful backing,” Fa Ma said, his expression unusually grave. “The Misty Cloud Sect is in trouble this time…”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage