Upon seeing the two gray-robed elders in such a state, Xiao Yan and the others were momentarily stunned. They then turned their gaze to where the elders were looking but only saw an empty, void space with no trace of any figure or energy fluctuation. Although they were puzzled, Xiao Yan and the others knew that given the strength of these two, they would not make pointless moves. If they said so, there must be some hidden secrets in that void space.
“After all these years, you still have that repulsive old appearance. Your space concealment technique is ineffective against us.” Elder Qian lightly smiled, then waved his sleeve. As he did, Xiao Yan and the others immediately felt a powerful fluctuation in the surrounding space. A ripple, like water waves, spread out from the tip of his finger, encompassing that void space in an instant…
“Bang!”
The ripple brushed past gently, and then, to their astonishment, Xiao Yan and the others saw that part of the space suddenly split open, revealing a black crack. From within, a ragged figure was expelled.
Seeing the figure expelled from the spatial crack, Xiao Yan’s face instantly changed. This guy wasn’t the Earth Demon Old Ghost who had just been hit by his “Destruction Lotus?” How could he have survived under the attack of that fire lotus?
“This old ghost is still alive?!” Su Qian’s face was full of shock, his disbelief evident.
Indeed, the Earth Demon Old Ghost was still alive, but his robes were almost entirely reduced to powder. His body was covered in ugly, nauseating burns, making it seem as if not an inch of good flesh remained. The coagulated, brownish-red blood on his scorched body made him look like he had been skinned and then thrown into a pot of boiling oil, making for an extremely ghastly sight. His face, already resembling a skull, was even more terrifying, with eyes and nose barely discernible. Clearly, although the Earth Demon Old Ghost had managed to survive the attack of Xiao Yan’s Destruction Lotus with some means, the price was very high.
Glimpsing at Xiao Yan with a venomous gaze, the Earth Demon Old Ghost’s body trembled as he recognized the two gray-robed elders. His voice, filled with a mix of fear and menace, broke the silence, “Bai Lie and Qian Mu? I didn’t expect you two old buggers to still be alive…”
Elder Bai and Elder Qian glanced at the Earth Demon Old Ghost, now a monstrous visage neither human nor ghost, with a touch of pity. “You’re still alive, so how could we be dead?”
The Earth Demon Old Ghost’s face twitched slightly, and his heart grew even darker. With these two elders intervening, his plans were thoroughly shattered. With his strength, dealing with one of them was already a stretch, let alone both of them together, and with Su Qian and others keeping a watchful eye. It seemed the situation was truly dire…
“Old Bai, Old Qian, don’t let this old devil escape! Over the years, many students from our Ganaan Academy have fallen victim to the Magic Flame Valley. If we let him go now, he’ll become a great threat in the future!” Su Qian’s eyes flickered with a cold light, his words filled with killing intent.
Hearing this, Elder Qian and Elder Bai narrowed their eyes, their aged faces showing little emotion. They merely nodded indifferently. They understood that an enemy of the seven-star Battle Sect level posed a serious threat to Ganaan Academy. To uproot such a threat, their old and wise nature told them exactly what needed to be done.
They could not always be present. At their level, they often needed to retreat to break through to the next Battle Sect level, sometimes for extended periods. During such times, they could not sense what was happening at Ganaan Academy. This time, had it not been for the terrifying energy of the Destruction Lotus, it would have been difficult to rouse them from their seclusion. While this stroke of luck might work now, it may not be the same next time…
Seemingly sensing the faint, yet menacing aura around Elder Qian and Elder Bai, the Earth Demon Old Ghost’s pupils shrank. He knew from the moment he saw them that these two elders were stronger than him, and he was severely injured, making it nearly impossible to fight at his peak. If they decided to act, he might meet his end here today.
His thoughts raced like lightning. In an instant, the Earth Demon Old Ghost’s eyes turned icy cold. Before Elder Qian and Elder Bai could act, he slammed a fist into his chest, spewing a mouthful of blood. The blood mist enveloped him, and as it did, the space around him rapidly distorted.
“He’s trying to escape! Stop him!” The sudden change happened in the blink of an eye. By the time the others reacted, the Earth Demon Old Ghost was already enclosed in the blood mist. Su Qian, noticing his intent, anxiously shouted.
“Bang!”
As Su Qian’s voice faded, the blood mist exploded, and amid the spatial distortions, the Earth Demon Old Ghost vanished into thin air.
Seeing the old demon vanish, Xiao Yan and the others’ faces turned grim. They had finally managed to push this old devil to the brink. If he escaped and recovered, it would be a grave threat to Ganaan Academy and the Xiao Clan when he returned.
“Old Bai, Old Qian, hurry and chase him down! We can’t let him escape!” Su Qian, in a panic, urgently urged the two elders.
“Haha, don’t worry. This old devil won’t get away,” Elder Qian smiled faintly, then glanced at Elder Bai. “It’s your turn to handle this…”
“Still the old space blood escape trick…” Elder Bai nodded, his raspy voice laced with mockery. “After all these years, still stuck at seven-star Battle Sect. Today, I will settle some old scores…”
With those words, Elder Bai moved, appearing silently hundreds of meters away, and then vanished from the sight of Xiao Yan and the others in a few blinks.
Watching Elder Bai’s incredible speed, Xiao Yan couldn’t help but wipe the cold sweat from his brow. “Is this the speed of a Dou Zun?”
Having seen the impressive techniques of Elder Qian and Elder Bai, Xiao Yan naturally assumed they were Dou Zuns.
“Dou Zun? You give us two old buggers too much credit. We only know a bit of shallow space power, far from the true Dou Zun level,” Elder Qian responded with a light smile.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan was startled. “So you two aren’t Dou Zuns?”
“At most, we can be considered nine-star Battle Sects. Although we’re only one star away from Dou Zun, it has taken us decades and we still haven’t made the breakthrough. Maybe we never will.”
Xiao Yan fell silent. His path of cultivation had been relatively smooth, though filled with hard work. The feeling of being stuck for decades was something he hadn’t experienced and didn’t wish to. Perhaps this was a common path, but he knew that with the “Flame Decisive,” his path to power would be different, though riskier.
“The Earth Demon Old Ghost won’t escape from Elder Bai. And since they have some old grudges to settle, we don’t have to worry anymore. We can’t stay long, so after this, we’ll need to retreat again. The affairs of Ganaan Academy will still be yours to handle,” Elder Qian said, turning to Su Qian.
Su Qian nodded, dispatching some Inner Sect elders to calm the Inner Sect disciples.
Taking this opportunity, Xiao Yan scanned the surroundings. He noticed that the crafty Han Xue had escaped the moment he saw Elder Qian and Elder Bai.
“That bastard, he sure runs fast…” Xiao Yan muttered under his breath. He had hoped to catch the guy and extract information about the Soul Palace and the whereabouts of Pharmacist Chen.
“Never mind, there will be other chances. How are your injuries?” Little Healer Immortal comforted him, frowning. Xiao Yan’s aura was extremely unstable, and his face was deathly pale, clearly affected by the backlash of the “Destruction Lotus.”
“I’m fine, I’ll recover with some rest. But you… You used your Curse Body again…” Xiao Yan wiped the blood from his mouth, sighing.
Little Healer Immortal brushed back her snow-white hair with a slight smile, but said nothing.
“Sigh, don’t worry. Once we find the last ingredient, you’ll be free,” Xiao Yan said, exasperated by her noncommittal expression.
Little Healer Immortal nodded, her voice soft. “These two elders are very strong. I wonder if they can dissolve the ‘Demon Poison Spot’ inside you.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan’s heart leaped. His original purpose in coming to Ganaan Academy was to investigate the mysterious academy head and the hidden powerhouses. Now, though the head hadn’t shown up, these two guardians were his best hope. And seeing the techniques they displayed, perhaps they really could dissolve the “Demon Poison Spot” inside him…
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