“Quickly go!” The moment Xiao Yan’s body turned ethereal, Soul Cliff’s expression changed, and a shout rang out. He immediately turned around without hesitation and dashed towards the distance. Behind him, the sullen-faced Soul Ferocious followed closely. The ambush they had meticulously planned was not only ineffective but also fell right into Xiao Yan and his companion’s trap.
“Since you’ve come, why rush to leave so soon?” However, just as the two of them turned to dash away, a figure slowly appeared in the space behind them. With that smiling visage, it could only be Xiao Yan.
“Shhh!” Seeing Xiao Yan blocking their path, Soul Cliff’s face darkened. With a flick of his sleeve, a thick, black chain shot out like a venomous snake, whistling through the air, straight for Xiao Yan’s head.
Seeing Soul Cliff’s attack, Xiao Yan smiled. He stomped on the ground with force, causing it to suddenly burst open. A massive column of magma surged toward the sky and collided fiercely with the black chain.
While Soul Cliff and Soul Ferocious were being delayed by Xiao Yan, Xun’er quickly retrieved the Nine-Star Energy Nucleus. She flashed and appeared behind them, sneering, “We were indeed curious. Nine-Star Energy Nuclei are quite rare. If you discovered a Nine-Star Energystream, you wouldn’t let it go. So why did you stay completely unperturbed this time? It turns out you really intended to set an ambush!”
Soul Cliff and Soul Ferocious’s faces were dark, their eyes filled with coldness.
“Running for nearly half a month, you must be tired, right?” Xiao Yan said with a light smile.
“It has been tiring. The ambush was just to save some effort. Since this plan didn’t work, I’ll just kill you outright,” Soul Cliff’s face grew sinister. He then turned to Soul Ferocious, “I’ll hold her back. Take care of Xiao Yan!”
“Rest assured, last time was just because we were caught off guard. This time, I will cut off both of his arms!” Soul Cliff said with a grim look. His strength was no less than the Ancient Demon, and with the Soul Clan’s strange techniques, killing Xiao Yan shouldn’t be too difficult, as long as he doesn’t have the chance to use those powerful Heaven-level and Fire Lotus combat skills.
“Alright,” Soul Cliff nodded slightly, casting a cold glance at Xiao Yan. Then, he swiftly turned around. A torrent of vast, dark Dou Qi surged from his body, and his figure became a streak of lightning, dashing straight for Xun’er.
“Big Brother Xiao Yan, be careful! Give me some time.” Seeing Soul Cliff charging at her, Xun’er’s beautiful eyes hardened. She gave a light shout, and golden flames flared up on her hand. She moved forward without hesitation, colliding with Soul Cliff.
As the two began to fight, Xiao Yan let out a slow breath, watching the sinister-looking Soul Ferocious in front of him. The latter was also at the Eight Star Dou Zun level, but with one arm missing, his combat power had diminished. In contrast, Xiao Yan had improved by one star compared to when he fought the Ancient Demon. Therefore, it would be quite difficult for Soul Ferocious to deal with him.
“Xiao Yan, you might have won against the Ancient Demon, but you might not win against me! Today, you will pay for this arm you took!” As he spoke, a frigid, dark mist surged from Soul Cliff, and countless black chains shot out, easily piercing through the air and shooting toward Xiao Yan like a storm.
Facing the overwhelming black chains, Xiao Yan’s expression remained unchanged. His fingers flexed, and streaks of purple-brown fire, mixed with white, shot from his fingertips. They clashed mid-air with the black chains, exploding like beautiful fireworks.
“If that’s all you can do, you’d better take back your words,” Xiao Yan said with a smile as he watched the explosions.
Soul Ferocious’s face darkened, ignoring Xiao Yan. He formed some strange seals with his hands, and as he did, a black vortex appeared on his forehead. As the vortex slowly rotated, a strange rune appeared between his eyebrows.
“Letting me use my clan rune to deal with you is a blessing,” Soul Ferocious said. As the strange rune appeared, his aura suddenly soared. Black fog swirled around him, solidifying like a shield. His empty right sleeve writhed violently, and a black arm emerged. Upon closer inspection, the arm was covered in grotesque, screaming faces—it was composed of condensed souls!
“Hehe, surprised, aren’t you? Such a clan rune is something your fallen Xiao Clan has no right to possess,” Soul Ferocious sneered as he saw the seriousness on Xiao Yan’s face. Unlike others who used enhancing techniques like the Heavenly Fire Three Mysteries, the ancient races relied on their powerful clan runes.
These runes were not only immensely powerful but also caused no damage to the user, unlike other techniques. To possess such a unique clan rune, those who relied on blood loss or self-mutilation to boost their strength paled in comparison.
Xiao Yan frowned, never expecting the clan rune to have such effects. If he had had access to a clan rune during his fight with the Ancient Demon, the outcome might have been different.
“Enough, Xiao Yan. Next, I’ll show you what real despair feels like!” Black fog swirled around Soul Ferocious, his scarred face twisting with malevolence. His aura had reached the pinnacle of the Eighth Star, even hinting at the Ninth Star. This power far exceeded Xiao Yan’s.
As he spoke, the black fog around him exploded, and his figure vanished eerily.
*Boom!*
As Soul Ferocious disappeared, Xiao Yan’s fist, engulfed in purple-brown flame, slammed into the space behind him. But as his fist made contact, black fog spilled out, easily stopping it.
“A weak attack,” the black fog reformed into Soul Ferocious. Glancing at Xiao Yan, he sneered disdainfully.
“Third Transformation of the Heavenly Fire! First change! Second change! Third change!” Xiao Yan took a deep breath, instantly activating the Heavenly Fire Three Mysteries. As his Dou Qi surged, he faintly felt an itch between his eyebrows. But it was fleeting, making him think it was just a delusion.
*Peng!*
As the transformation was activated, Xiao Yan twisted his palm, freeing himself like an eel, and instantly retreated.
“What is this?” As Xiao Yan retreated, Soul Ferocious looked shocked. His eyes focused on Xiao Yan’s brow. When Xiao Yan activated the transformation, he saw a strange rune appear and disappear. This rune was familiar; it was the Xiao Clan’s clan rune!
“Was that the Xiao Clan’s clan rune? How? The Xiao Clan’s bloodline power is depleted. How can they still have a clan rune? I must have been mistaken.”
It wasn’t a surprise he was bewildered. Only the ancient eight clans possessed clan runes, activated by bloodline power. The Xiao Clan’s bloodline was long gone, making a clan rune impossible.
“Regardless, we must kill him! Huan’er won’t last long, and that girl from the Ancient Clan is too strong,” Soul Ferocious’s eyes flashed with savagery. Vast, oceanic Dou Qi erupted, shaking the energy mist within a hundred yards.
“Xiao Yan, give up your life.” With surging Dou Qi, Soul Ferocious resembled a demon god, dominating the sky. His movement stirred a black cloud, surging toward Xiao Yan.
As Soul Ferocious approached again, Xiao Yan took a deep breath. Bolstered by the clan rune, Soul Ferocious was now stronger than the Ancient Demon. A head-on clash would likely end in disaster.
“It’s time to test its power…” Xiao Yan’s eyes glinted. After a moment, the hand seal in his hand changed abruptly.
*Boom!*
As Xiao Yan’s hand seal altered, the ground below exploded, spewing dirt. Golden light poured out, revealing several golden figures in the crater. These were the puppets Xiao Yan had reinforced in the Void Lightning Pool!
Golden light surged and converged on the first golden figure, and its skin transformed from dark gold to a strange purple, with traces of golden light still visible.
As the golden light dissipated, the puppets’ eyes opened, and dark golden light flowed. One of the puppets stepped before Xiao Yan, its eyes coldly observing the approaching black cloud, golden light flowing beneath its skin.
After absorbing the power of ten puppets, it had reached a terrifying level of strength!
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