Above the azure expanse, more than a dozen figures floated in the sky, scattered and scanning the mountains below with cautious eyes. After searching for a while, an elderly man in red robes with a yellow complexion, unable to contain his impatience any longer, turned to the gray-clothed elder beside him and said angrily, “Shen Yun, you said you could sense the exact location of that boy due to your Blood Thunder Mark. Where is he now?”
Shen Yun’s face was somewhat gloomy at this moment. Throughout the journey, he had sensed the connection between the Blood Thunder Mark and him becoming weaker. Especially when he entered the vicinity of this mountain range, the connection was utterly severed. He could only rely on the faint connection to follow the route, but after such a long time, there was still no result.
“That boy has somehow erased the Blood Thunder Mark from his body,” Shen Yun said with a sullen voice. To be honest, he was extremely shocked by this. The Blood Thunder Mark was incredibly difficult to remove, and yet, it had completely vanished in less than half a day. This was the first time he had encountered something like this.
“Didn’t you have confidence in your Blood Thunder Mark? If I had known, I would have chased after him immediately!” Upon hearing this, Hong Tianxiao became furious. If they lost the sense of the mark, how were they supposed to find that boy if he had fled far away?
“What are you shouting for? You go chase him! Hmph, if it weren’t for your fear of the puppet that boy has, wouldn’t you have already caught up?” Shen Yun frowned, showing his impatience.
“You… You’re lying, why would I be afraid of that boy’s puppet?” Hong Tianxiao immediately raged and yelled.
“Then when we find him, you can deal with the puppet.” Shen Yun let out a cold laugh and waved his hand, saying sternly, “All of you, search the ground below, inch by inch. That boy must still be in these mountains. I don’t believe he can fly under my nose.”
Hearing Shen Yun’s order, the dozen or so experts in the sky hesitated for a moment before turning their eyes to Hong Tianxiao. They were all retainers of the Hong family and naturally had to follow Hong Tianxiao’s instructions.
“Do as he says,” Hong Tianxiao said, waving his sleeve.
“Yes!” Hearing this, the retinue of the Hong family bowed and dispersed, slowly descending to the ground, forming a fan shape, and began to search the mountains.
While Hong Tianxiao and others were searching for Xiao Yan, two figures quietly emerged from a hidden part of the forest behind them. One of them was Han Xue, and beside her was an old man in white robes with a wry smile. The old man, through the gaps in the branches, looked towards Shen Yun and the others in the distance, a serious look crossing his eyes.
“Great-Grandfather, will they find Xiao Yan?” Han Xue, looking anxiously at the Hong family’s retainers conducting a meticulous search, worriedly asked.
“Sigh, girl, although I couldn’t resist your begging to come and see, I must set some expectations. If something happens, I can only act without revealing my identity as much as possible. You should understand, Great-Grandfather. Hong Tianxiao is one thing, but Shen Yun is from the Wind Lightning Pavilion. We, the Han family, cannot afford to provoke such a force…” The old man sighed, his face slightly serious.
“I can bring you to take a risk, but it’s only because that boy helped our Han family once. I don’t like to owe people favors. If it weren’t for that, no matter how much you begged, I wouldn’t mess with the Wind Lightning Pavilion.”
Han Xue bit her red lips, nodding helplessly, and softly said, “Xue’er understands. When the time comes, please act according to the situation. If it’s really impossible, we’ll just leave.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke. Seeing her like this, the old man gave another wry smile, gently stroking Han Xue’s smooth green hair and sighing, “Sigh, to turn my proud granddaughter into this state, that Xiao Yan must be quite something.”
Upon hearing this, Han Xue’s face reddened with shyness, just as she was about to speak, there was a loud explosion in the distant mountains. Amidst the distant cries of shock, vague shouts of “He’s here” could be heard.
“Have they found him?” Han Xue clenched her delicate hands tightly.
“Boy, did you think you could hide forever?” Shen Yun’s figure floated in the air, his eyes filled with darkness as he looked at the young man slowly walking out of a cave, mocking him.
“Quite a large group. It seems Elder Shen truly hates me to the bone,” Xiao Yan said, scanning the sky with a smile and pausing his gaze on Hong Tianxiao.
“Wait until you’re in my hands; you will experience the full depth of my hatred clearly,” Shen Yun said with resentment, his hand feeling the faint pain, like a sharp thorn piercing his heart, igniting a surge of killing intent.
“Boy, this time, I want to see how you will escape! I promised my nephew to break your limbs and bring you to him,” Hong Tianxiao glared viciously at Xiao Yan, his chilling voice causing the hearts of the Han family retainers to tremble.
Xiao Yan smiled, but there was a hint of icy coldness in his expression.
“It seems that both of you won’t rest until I’m dead. In that case, I’ll end your lives instead,” he said, still smiling.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s grin, Hong Tianxiao sneered, “Arrogant whelp, do you really think one puppet can save your life?”
At this, Xiao Yan’s smile grew a bit enigmatic. Snapping his fingers, a silver light flashed, and Earth Demon Puppet appeared before him.
As the Earth Demon Puppet appeared, the Han family retainers hurriedly retreated, fearful of the terrifying puppet that had snapped Shen Yun’s fingers.
When the Earth Demon Puppet appeared, Hong Tianxiao’s eyes narrowed, his face growing slightly more serious. He, too, knew the trouble it posed.
“Hong Tianxiao, since you made your statement earlier, deal with the puppet. I’ll handle the boy,” Shen Yun said, staring at the Earth Demon Puppet, his eyes flickering with a hint of fear, as he turned to Hong Tianxiao.
Upon hearing this, Hong Tianxiao’s face twitched, and he took a deep breath, laughing coldly, “Very well, leave the puppet to me. You best finish off that boy quickly.”
“Rest assured, this time, I’ll make him realize that offending the Wind Lightning Pavilion was his greatest mistake!” Shen Yun said fiercely, his eyes locked on Xiao Yan.
Facing the two old men’s hostile gazes, Xiao Yan smiled, his finger subtly gliding over his white ring, then pointing sharply at Hong Tianxiao, he said softly, “Kill him!”
The moment Xiao Yan’s words fell, the Earth Demon Puppet before him stomped the ground, sending rocks flying, its figure shooting into the sky like a rocket, heading straight for Hong Tianxiao.
“Hmph, let me see just what makes your puppet so impressive!” Upon seeing the Earth Demon Puppet approaching, Hong Tianxiao sneered, and his fiery red Dou Qi surged out like flames, engulfing his form. He clutched a large, two-meter-long blade, and with a sweeping swing, it aimed for the Earth Demon Puppet with intense heat.
**Clang!**
The blade cut the shoulder of the Earth Demon Puppet, sparks flying, a white mark appearing where the blade struck.
“Such a hard body.” Seeing this, Hong Tianxiao was slightly surprised, then gripped his blade again, colliding head-on with the Earth Demon Puppet, initiating a fierce battle.
As Hong Tianxiao engaged the Earth Demon Puppet, Shen Yun slowly descended, floating in front of Xiao Yan, his gaunt face revealing a menacing smile, and his chilling voice slowly drifted out.
“Boy, you broke my finger; I’ll sever all ten of yours!”
Xiao Yan smiled faintly, stamped his foot, and leaped, landing lightly on a large tree.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s actions, Shen Yun kept his hands behind his back, looking at the former with a mocking gaze. In his view, the current situation was like a dying mouse struggling, while he, a cat toying with it.
Although, this was only his wishful thinking.
Ignoring Shen Yun’s ridicule, Xiao Yan slowly spread his hands, closing his eyes, and a low murmur resonated in his heart.
“Elder Jiaolian, lend me your strength…”
The low murmur gradually faded, and after a moment, the white ring on Xiao Yan’s finger quivered. A powerful, vast soul force surged through his arm like a tidal wave, flooding into his body!
As the overwhelming soul force surged into his body, the space around Xiao Yan twisted, and a mighty aura, like that of a revived emperor, descended upon the world!
At the moment this mighty aura appeared, Shen Yun, the surrounding Han family retainers, and even Hong Tianxiao, who was fighting the Earth Demon Puppet, were momentarily stunned, followed by a surge of uncontrollable horror in their hearts.
Far from Xiao Yan and the others, the white-robed elder was also speechless, and after a moment, he stiffly turned his head, looking at Han Xue’s puzzled face, and said dryly, “Girl… it seems this trip was in vain.”
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