Dark mists surged, and a hunched figure as withered as a skeleton slowly appeared in Xiao Yan’s field of vision. Clad in black robes, his ancient face was extremely gaunt, with sunken eyes flickering with ghostly fires, emitting an eerie glow. “The fabled Great Reverend of the Soul Palace, you finally deign to show yourself…” Looking at the elderly figure, Xiao Yan smiled slightly and spoke softly.
The aged figure slowly raised his head. Under the illumination, his withered visage appeared terrifying. The ghostly fires in his eyes flickered, and a hoarse, chilling voice sounded, “Xiao Yan, I never expected that you would have the nerve to come here. Originally, the clan intended to let you live for a while longer, but since you took the initiative to come here, this old man will just have to take your life first!”
“Who’s taking whose life is still uncertain!” Xiao Yan grinned, his eyes coldly glaring at the emaciated elder. In the past, when he had killed Sage Bone Yin, this wizened ghost had secretly intervened to save the latter. If he had shown himself then, Xiao Yan might not have been able to easily defeat him. But now, things were different. With his current acumen, Xiao Yan could clearly gauge the Great Reverend’s strength—mid-stage Two-Star Dou Sheng. He was indeed stronger than Xiao Yan, who had just advanced, but that gap was not insurmountable for Xiao Yan.
“Old brother, there’s no need to waste words on this upstart. Kill him and extract his soul. Haha, the soul of a half-sage is equivalent to nearly a hundred years of souls collected by one of our palaces!” Sage Bone Yin’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He had long harbored resentment after being severely injured by Xiao Yan. However, due to Xiao Yan’s strength, he hadn’t dared to seek revenge. Now that Xiao Yan dared to enter the Soul Palace, he must pay a heavy price!
“Hehe, Sage Bone Yin, you talk too much. Let me handle it.” As Sage Bone Yin finished speaking, the space before him twisted, and the figure of the Pharmacist Elder emerged. He smiled at the former, his eyes filled with sinister intent.
“Yao Chen!” Seeing the elder before him, Sage Bone Yin’s face darkened. Just as he was about to scoff, he suddenly felt a faint pressure radiating from Yao Chen, and his expression instantly turned grim. “You’ve actually broken through to Dou Sheng?!”
Watching Sage Bone Yin’s twitching face, Yao Chen smiled. “Just a stroke of luck. Last time you ambushed me. This time, I’ll repay that debt…”
“Hmph, don’t think you’re untouchable just because you’re a Dou Sheng. I’m only a hair’s breadth away from becoming one myself!” Sage Bone Yin snorted without much fear. This was their home turf, where his combat strength could be greatly enhanced. With a press of his palms, a wave of black energy erupted from his body. The numerous chains around the giant hall trembled violently, and torrents of black energy gushed out, all converging into his body.
“Yao Chen, today I want to see how you intend to collect that debt in my Soul Palace. Last time we captured you, and this time, I’ll do the same!”
Surrounded by the surging black energy, Sage Bone Yin roared like a descended demon god. The sound of clashing metal echoed, and countless black chains emerged from the mist with piercing screams, sweeping towards Yao Chen with terrifying force. Upon seeing this, Yao Chen smiled faintly and did not retreat. His battle aura surged, transforming into a bolt of lightning, and he clashed heavily with Sage Bone Yin.
As Yao Chen engaged Sage Bone Yin, Xiao Yan wasted no more words with the Great Reverend. Glancing at the other strong men from the Soul Palace, he turned to Little Healer Immortal and Qing Lin, smiling. “I’ll leave the others to you.”
Though the defenses of the palace were formidable, Xiao Yan knew that, with the strength of Little Healer Immortal and Qing Lin, even half-sages were no match. Moreover, with Qing Lin’s ability, the numbers were not to be underestimated.
“Hmph!” Seeing this, the Great Reverend’s face chilled. A complex hand seal formed in his sleeves.
“Whoosh!” As the hand seal was completed, Xiao Yan’s surrounding space rippled, and numerous white figures rushed forth. The void around him abruptly transformed into countless sharp white bones, thrusting towards him at lightning speed.
“A petty trick.” Xiao Yan grinned, flicking his sleeves, and a powerful flame erupted from his body, instantly melting the bone spears.
“Bone Emperor Rending Sky!” Just as the bone spears dissipated, the Great Reverend’s icy voice boomed. Above Xiao Yan’s head, space rippled, and a colossal bone saber, exuding an eerie aura, cut through the void, slicing downwards at Xiao Yan.
“Whizz!” Accompanied by the swipe of the peculiar bone saber, a strange wave of energy exploded out, rushing towards Xiao Yan at lightning speed. “A soul attack,” Xiao Yan murmured, slightly startled. It was unexpected that the Great Reverend knew soul attacks. But in terms of soul strength, Xiao Yan had never backed down from anyone.
“Break!” Xiao Yan clenched his fist, his expression calm, and unleashed a straightforward punch. There was no fancy display or battle aura fluctuation. Instead, when he punched, Xiao Yan’s soul power surged out from his forehead!
“Boom!” An intangible soul wind burst from Xiao Yan’s palm, colliding mid-air with the wave from the bone saber. Both energies annihilated each other.
Seeing Xiao Yan easily shatter the soul wave, the Great Reverend’s figure flashed, appearing beneath the massive bone saber in the sky. Black mists coalesced into a giant hand, seizing the saber. With a cold shout, the bone saber cleaved through space, reaching Xiao Yan’s head, and unleashed a terrifying attack.
“That bone saber is strange. It seems to harm souls…” The huge bone saber rapidly approached Xiao Yan’s eyes. He pressed his hands down, and the ground below abruptly rose, ejecting hundreds of magma pillars. The magma pillars collided with the bone saber with overwhelming force!
“Humph!” Faced with the blocked attack, the Great Reverend sneered. The bone saber sliced through, causing the magma pillars to explode, suppressing even the raging fire energy beneath the earth.
“Xiao Yan, this bone saber is forged from the bones of ten thousand people, infused with countless souls. If its blade wind touches you, you will suffer the torment of ten thousand devouring souls!”
The Great Reverend held the bone saber aloft, his voice cold. “Today, I will use it to take your life as a sign of respect!”
“Trickster techniques.” Xiao Yan sneered, confident in his protective flames. What kind of blade air could harm his soul? With a swipe of his hand, five flames appeared before him, including the recently refined Seaheart Flame, totaling five unique heavenly flames!
“Since you are so confident in this broken bone saber, let me break it for you!” Xiao Yan’s hand seals changed rapidly. As his seals shifted, the five flames expanded, transforming into enormous fire spirits: wolf, leopard, jiaolong, and so on. They floated in the sky, forming a gigantic flaming array.
Using the Five Wheel Flame Technique, with four elements forged from heavenly flames, the power was already comparable to celestial tier combat skills. Now, Xiao Yan was using all five unique heavenly flames, fully exerting the technique to its utmost potential!
“Whoosh!” The five fire spirits quickly merged, transforming into a massive fire wheel hundreds of feet wide. The wheel spun wildly, and even space itself collapsed into a gaping maw of darkness.
“Hmph, arrogance!” The Great Reverend sneered, his black energy swelling, forming countless ghastly faces, and the many souls rushed into the bone saber. As these souls flooded in, the bone saber’s pristine surface gradually turned crimson, like dark, congealed blood…
“Soul Annihilation Slash!” As the bone saber exhibited that eerie redness, the Great Reverend’s face became solemn. With a wave of his hand, the immense bone saber slashed down at the hovering fire wheel in the sky.
“Break it for me!” A flush of red swept across the Great Reverend’s face. Where the bone saber passed, space crumbled, and the ground beneath, a thousand feet below, was cut into a deep trench hundreds of feet long.
“Turn!” Feeling the ferocity of the Great Reverend’s slash, Xiao Yan’s hand seals changed. The fire wheel pivoted, spinning madly, and, like a massive spinning disc, shot out at breakneck speed, colliding fiercely with the gigantic bone saber.
“Clang!” At the moment of impact, a deafening roar shook the sealed space. A torrential energy storm raged, and the black halls quaked, collapsing under the sheer force.
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