171: Chapter 171 The Final Showdown

The gates of the Myriad Soul Origin Pool slowly opened before Hun Feng. The heavy stone door, which had been sealed for years by the nine-layer Soul Pattern Array, emitted a low rumble. The golden energy surging within the pool receded like a tide, slowly closing behind him. He did not rush to step out, but instead stood inside the doorway, adapting to this body that now completely belonged to him.

A tenfold increase in talent made his Emperor Realm Soul even sharper than when he first broke through. He could clearly perceive the strength and emotions of every aura on the Starfall Pavilion plaza—Xiao Yan's Emperor prestige was like a scorching sun, while the auras of Medusa, Gu Xun'er, and Xiao Yi Xian remained steady. The ruler mark on Yao Yao's shoulder was still oozing blood. His gaze pierced through the void and landed on Yao Yao. Before his seclusion, she had been that feisty and charming little demoness, pestering him every day for dual cultivation with all sorts of tricks, saying "I'll make you beg for mercy tonight," yet every time, her legs would go weak first. Now, she stood amidst a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, her black outfit shattered at the shoulder, her late-stage Eight-Star aura withered by more than half, yet she still held her head high, refusing to fall.

Yao Yao seemed to sense something and looked up toward the direction of the Soul Realm. Across tens of thousands of miles of void, her peach-blossom eyes met Hun Feng's gaze. A faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth, and her lips moved, silently saying something. Hun Feng understood—she was saying, "You've finally come out." He retracted his gaze and lightly slashed his hand in front of him.

Above the Starfall Pavilion plaza, a spatial rift opened silently. Unlike the black rifts torn by ordinary Nine-Star Dou Sheng, the edges of this rift shimmered with a faint blood-colored halo; it was the embryonic form of the Law of Space. Even before the aura from the other side of the rift was fully revealed, everyone's gaze on the plaza had already been drawn to it.

A foot stepped out from the rift, landing on the rubble-strewn ground of the Starfall Pavilion plaza. Immediately after, a slender figure in profound black robes slowly walked out from the rift. It was Hun Feng. He was slightly thinner than before his seclusion, his cheekbones more prominent, his jawline sharper, but the light surging within his deep eyes was more captivating than ever. Emperor prestige flowed around him; it was not deliberately released, but the natural aura of an Emperor Realm expert. Unlike the scorching, fire-like Emperor prestige of Xiao Yan, Hun Feng's Emperor prestige was vast as an abyss and deep as the sea, making one involuntarily want to submit. Nine blood-colored flame halos spread out behind him like wings covering the sky. After the Heaven-Slaying Flame advanced to the Emperor level, every single strand of flame contained a terrifying high temperature capable of burning mountains and boiling seas. He stepped out of the rift and scanned the plaza—Hun Tiandi was leaning against a pile of rubble with blood still lingering at the corners of his mouth; Gu Yuan was kneeling on one knee, his golden barrier long since shattered; the black flames of the Void Swallowing Flame had dimmed significantly, but a flash of undisguised relief flickered in those eyes burning with black flames. The forty-thousand-strong army of the Soul Clan Alliance erupted in earth-shaking cheers simultaneously.

"Welcome, Young Master, on your successful emergence from seclusion!" Soul Mie Sheng was the first to kneel on one knee, followed closely by the Four Demon Saints. The black phalanx of the main Hun Clan force knelt in unison, and the elites of the Gu Clan's Black Annihilation Army, the Yan Clan, the Lei Clan, the Void Ancient Dragon, and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan also bowed in salute. Gu Yuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked at Hun Feng's young and steady face, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. He said to Gu Dao beside him, "Back then, when I married Xun'er off to him, who among you still disagreed?" Gu Dao rarely revealed a smile, and Gu Qingyang even slammed his fist into his palm. Zi Yan plunged her Dragon Bone Sword into the ground and shouted loudly, "Big Brother." Feng Tianyu secretly rejoiced that the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan had chosen the right side—this Young Master was already at the Emperor Realm; the future of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was now as stable as Mount Tai. Those leaders of the factions who had hesitated repeatedly in the main hall of the Soul Realm and ultimately chose to offer their bloodline origins were now all rejoicing in their decision—betting on an Emperor Realm expert had yielded returns far richer than they had imagined.

Hun Feng did not look at them. His gaze passed over everyone and landed on Yao Yao.

She stood amidst the rubble, leaning on her bone whip with one hand. Her black outfit was shattered at the shoulder, and that ruler mark, deep enough to see bone, extended from her shoulder blade down to her upper arm, the edges of the wound charred black by the Heavenly Flame. The blood had long since coagulated, but the residual Emperor prestige within the wound was still slowly eroding her meridians. Her face was as pale as paper, and only those peach-blossom eyes remained startlingly bright. Seeing Hun Feng walk toward her, she grinned, wanting to say something, but was stopped by him raising his hand.

"Don't speak." Hun Feng crouched down and gently pressed his right hand onto her shoulder. The blood-colored flame of the Heaven-Slaying Flame silently swirled in his palm, but it was no longer destructive—after advancing to the Emperor level, the Heaven-Slaying Flame simultaneously possessed the purifying power of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame and the gentle water-attribute energy of the Sea Heart Flame. He peeled away and devoured the Emperor prestige that Xiao Yan had left in the wound, bit by bit, and then used his Emperor Qi to stimulate her own blood-attribute Dou Qi, accelerating the healing. Yao Yao's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and the charred flesh at the edges of the wound regained its rosy color at a speed visible to the naked eye. Although it had not yet fully healed, the corrosive Emperor prestige had been completely cleared. Hun Feng withdrew his palm, his fingertips still stained with the blood from her shoulder. Yao Yao looked down at her healing wound, then looked up at Hun Feng, and suddenly reached out and punched him in the chest, the force soft and weak: "Do you know that Xiao Yan almost killed me just now? You were in seclusion for so long, I almost died!"

Hun Feng grasped her wrist, gently pressed her fist against his chest, and looked down into her peach-blossom eyes, his tone calm yet every word as hard as iron: "I am here. For every bit he hurt you, I will pay him back tenfold." Looking at the seriousness in his eyes, Yao Yao suddenly felt that the ruler strike she had taken earlier hadn't been for nothing. She wrapped her bone whip around her wrist, lifted her chin toward Xiao Yan's direction, and fighting spirit rekindled in her peach-blossom eyes: "Then you must beat him well for me."

Hun Feng stood up and turned to the few wives not far behind him. Medusa was still her cold and composed self, though the fingers gripping her sword were slightly white; Gu Xun'er stood beside Medusa, the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame dancing silently in her palm; Xiao Yi Xian still stood quietly a little further away, her white hair gently swaying in the hot wind. Medusa only said two words: "Be careful." Gu Xun'er opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, she only softly said, "He is, after all, my Brother Xiao Yan." Xiao Yi Xian did not speak, only looked into his eyes and nodded gently. Hun Feng nodded to them, then turned and walked toward the center of the plaza.

There, Xiao Yan stood with his hands behind his back. The xuan heavy ruler was slanted in the rubble beside him, with six-colored Heavenly Flames slowly flowing along the ruler's body. His gaze had been fixed on Hun Feng, and from the moment he stepped out of the rift, it had not shifted. The two stood facing each other across a distance of several dozen yards; one was the newly promoted Flame Emperor, the other the newly promoted Soul Emperor. The cheers on the plaza gradually subsided, everyone held their breath, and only the hot wind carrying sand and gravel swirled between the two.

"You have finally come out." Xiao Yan's voice was calm and indifferent.

"I have kept you waiting." Hun Feng raised his right hand, and the Heaven-Slaying Flame condensed in his palm into a battle spear that was blood-red all over. A nine-colored halo slowly flowed on the tip of the spear, and ripples of the Law of Space spread silently around the spear shaft, tearing tiny cracks in the surrounding air. He raised his eyes to look at Xiao Yan, and his Emperor Realm Soul spread out. The prestige of the two Emperors collided silently in mid-air, causing the entire plaza to tremble slightly. This battle would determine the fate of the continent.