167: Chapter 167 The Long-Disappeared Feng Qing'er

The moment Xiao Yan's xuan heavy ruler struck down, Yao Yao's pupils contracted sharply.

She did not retreat—the speed of an Emperor Realm powerhouse was so fast that she had no room to retreat at all. Thus, she poured all her Dou Qi into her bone whip without reservation. The seventy-two skulls exploded simultaneously with blinding blood-colored light, laying down dozens of overlapping soul barriers before her.

This was her first time defending with full strength since stepping into the late Eight-Star stage; the soul screeching from the bone whip was so sharp that even the remnants of the Flame Emperor Alliance watching from afar had their eardrums ruptured and bleeding.

The six-colored light wheel collided with the blood-colored barriers.

The first layer shattered, the second layer shattered, and the third and fourth layers were torn apart by the power of the Emperor Realm as if they were thin paper.

The stone tiles beneath Yao Yao's feet silently turned to dust. Her figure was blasted backward by the destructive shockwave, the shoulder of her black tight-fitting outfit pulverized, revealing a ruler mark on her shoulder deep enough to see the bone.

Fresh blood gushed from the wound, flowing down her arm onto the bone whip, dyeing the seventy-two skulls an even darker red.

She knelt on one knee in the pile of rubble, using the bone whip to support her tottering body. A wisp of blood spilled from the corner of her mouth, yet she still held her head high. There was not a hint of fear in her peach-blossom eyes, only an even more intense fighting spirit.

"Is that all you've got?" Yao Yao grinned, her teeth stained with blood foam, "The Flame Emperor is nothing more than this."

Xiao Yan did not waste words. His Emperor's pressure surged again, and the six-colored Heavenly Flame spun rapidly on the xuan heavy ruler. He intended to end this demoness's life completely with a second strike.

Just then, he suddenly raised his hand, and a gentle force pushed Yao Chen, Valley Master Tang Zhen, and the others behind him toward the rear.

He did not turn his head, but his voice clearly spread across the square: "Everyone, fall back. Today, I alone am enough."

Yao Chen opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately led the remnants of the Flame Emperor Alliance to retreat toward the main hall.

He knew that Xiao Yan was not overestimating himself—in a battle of the Emperor Realm, ordinary Dou Sheng did not even have the qualifications to approach; getting too close would only make them a burden to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan withdrew his gaze, and his Emperor Realm Soul spread out.

An invisible Emperor's pressure, like a tsunami blotting out the sky and sun, enveloped the entire square, pinning all forty thousand members of the Hun Clan allied forces in place.

Those with lower cultivation directly collapsed to the ground, unable to even move their fingers; powerhouses above the Dou Sheng level could barely stand, but the circulation of Dou Qi within their bodies was like sinking into a quagmire, and mobilizing even a sliver of Dou Qi required several times the usual effort.

Void Swallowing Flame's black flames danced violently at his fingertips. Hun Tiandi's fingers, holding a teacup, paused in mid-air, while Gu Yuan's brown eyes, which had witnessed a thousand years of history, surged with unspeakable complexity.

The cultivation of the three of them was not completely suppressed, but the chasm between the Emperor Realm and the peak of the Nine-Star stage made every step they took feel like swimming against the current.

Xiao Yan carried the xuan heavy ruler and walked toward Yao Yao.

With every step he took, the stone tiles beneath his feet silently turned to dust.

Yao Yao tried to stand up, supporting herself with the bone whip, but the ruler mark on her shoulder tore open violently, and blood gushed out again. Her body swayed, but she stubbornly straightened her back.

Her peach-blossom eyes stared fixedly at the approaching Xiao Yan; there was no begging for mercy in her eyes, no fear, only a kind of disdain carved into her bones.

Just as Xiao Yan raised the xuan heavy ruler, a cold and sharp female voice exploded from the distant sky.

"Xiao Yan! Stop!"

Everyone's gaze turned simultaneously toward the direction the voice came from.

They saw a slender figure flying toward the square at an extremely fast speed from within the distant void.

She was wearing a dress of colorful feathers, her long hair whipping in the high-altitude wind. A seven-colored halo, unique to the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline, flowed around her, and the aura of a peak Four-Star Dou Sheng spread out without any concealment.

Her left hand held a disheveled middle-aged man, and her right arm cradled a young woman in a crimson brocade dress—it was Xiao Zhan and Ya Fei.

Feng Qing'er. She had emerged from the Soul Burial Abyss.

Feng Qing'er landed on the top of a half-collapsed stone tower at the edge of the square, her colorful feathered dress fluttering in the hot wind like a phoenix.

She had spent over two years in the Soul Burial Abyss. Her originally proud and radiant face had gained a bit of coldness honed by the abyss, and her cheekbones appeared sharper than before, but those arrogant eyes were still as bright as stars.

In those two years, she had devoured countless vengeful spirits at the bottom of the abyss, countless times nearly being backlashed by their resentment, and countless times forcibly pulling herself back from the edge of life and death.

Now she was a peak Four-Star Dou Sheng, and the aura of the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline around her was more than several times stronger than it had been two years ago.

She pushed Xiao Zhan and Ya Fei forward, pressing her right hand onto the crown of Xiao Zhan's head. Her five fingers applied slight pressure, and seven-colored Dou Qi condensed at her fingertips into a sharp phantom of a phoenix claw.

"Xiao Yan, if you move again, I will kill your father and your sister Ya Fei." Her voice was not loud, but it clearly spread across the entire square.

Xiao Yan's figure stopped abruptly. The xuan heavy ruler halted in mid-air, the six-colored Heavenly Flame dancing violently on the ruler's body, scorching the surrounding air into distorted ripples.

His gaze fell upon the disheveled middle-aged man in Feng Qing'er's hand—Xiao Zhan was also looking up at him.

The gazes of the father and son met across the distance of several dozen zhang on the square filled with corpses. Xiao Zhan's lips moved a few times, and hot tears welled up in his turbid old eyes, but he did not call for help; he only shook his head slightly at Xiao Yan.

The meaning was—don't worry about me.

Ya Fei leaned against Feng Qing'er's other arm, her crimson brocade dress covered in dust. That face, which had been shrewd for so many years, was pale as paper at this moment, but when she saw Xiao Yan, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes, immediately replaced by deep worry.

In the instant Xiao Yan was distracted, Hun Tiandi, Gu Yuan, and Void Swallowing Flame moved simultaneously.

Although the suppression of the Emperor Realm pressure against a Nine-Star Dou Sheng was powerful, the three of them were old monsters who had stood at the peak of the Nine-Star stage for thousands of years; their resistance to the Emperor's pressure was far beyond that of ordinary Dou Sheng.

Hun Tiandi's soul barrier spread out silently, stripping Yao Yao from Xiao Yan's Emperor Realm pressure lock.

Void Swallowing Flame grabbed Yao Yao by the back of her collar and flung her toward the rear, and the Four Demon Saints stepped forward simultaneously to catch her.

Gu Yuan raised his hand and laid down a golden barrier, blocking the space between Xiao Yan and the three of them.

Xiao Yan withdrew his gaze and slowly turned around to look at the three Nine-Star Dou Sheng before him.

No joy or anger could be seen on his face, but his Emperor's pressure surged again, causing Gu Yuan's golden barrier to tremble violently.

"The three of you," Xiao Yan's voice was calm and indifferent, "come at me together."

Hun Tiandi stood with his hands behind his back, the corners of his mouth hanging with that unchanging, faint smile of ten thousand years.

The black flames at Void Swallowing Flame's fingertips suddenly surged, and Gu Yuan clapped his hands together; the golden barrier transformed into a sky full of golden runes, covering Xiao Yan.

The three Nine-Star Dou Sheng who had stood at the peak of the continent for thousands of years attacked simultaneously.

They needed to buy time for Hun Feng—as long as Hun Feng could step into the Emperor Realm, the Hun Clan would still have a chance to turn the tables.