4: Chapter 4 First Encounter

It was the deepest part of the night, even the wind seemed dead.

Withered, ancient trees twisted their branches in the darkness, and saprophytic vines crawled over every inch of exposed rock. The faint scent of rotting corpses in the air suddenly intensified—so strong that it felt like a corpse that had been decaying for a hundred years was breathing right against the back of one's neck.

Deep within the mountain range, the black roof of the Hall of People poked out from the dense, withered branches. The hall was covered in dense soul runes that emitted a ghostly green fluorescence in the darkness, appearing from afar like countless half-open eyes staring at the intruders.

In the midst of the deathly silence, a streak of ghostly blue fire suddenly tore through the night sky.

The line of fire was as thin as a strand of hair, shooting silently from the dense forest on the outskirts of the mountain range. Its speed was extreme, leaving behind an almost invisible afterimage in the air.

The next instant, the line of fire accurately struck the soul barrier on the outer perimeter of the Hall of People—that defensive shield woven from thousands of soul bodies. The ghostly blue flames spread wildly in all directions from the point of impact, and wherever they passed, the soul bodies emitted silent screams before dissolving into nothingness.

The soul barrier shattered.

The moment the breach opened, dozens of figures shot out from the dense forest.

Leading them was Xiao Yan, followed by Yao Chen and Zi Yan. Behind them were dozens of elite experts from the Sky Mansion Alliance, all of whom were at least Dou Zun, with the weakest being at the Eight-Star Dou Zun cultivation level.

Placed before any super power in the Central Plains, this team would be enough to make them tremble with fear.

"Follow the plan." Xiao Yan's voice was low and curt. "Teacher, you are responsible for Mu Gu. Zi Yan, hold off the Grand Heavenly Lord. The rest of you, follow me to clear the perimeter. Remember—be quick. Take the Hall of People before the reinforcements from the Hall of Souls arrive."

"Understood!"

Dozens of Dou Qi rays exploded in the darkness simultaneously, smashing toward the main gate of the Hall of People like meteorites.

Xiao Yan took the lead, his xuan heavy ruler sweeping out with a heavy, wind-breaking sound. With one Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, he shattered the final defensive restriction in front of the hall.

The hall gate exploded, sending wood chips and stone fragments flying in all directions. The experts from the Sky Mansion Alliance swarmed in, their war cries shaking the heavens and the earth.

However, the moment Xiao Yan's feet truly stepped into the front hall of the Hall of People, his pupils suddenly constricted.

It was empty.

The front hall of the Hall of People was completely empty; there wasn't even a single shadow.

There were no Soul Hall Protectors guarding the hall, no patrolling guards from the Hun Clan, and not even the most basic soul traps had been triggered.

The entire hall seemed to have been emptied out in advance; only those ghostly green soul runes on the walls continued to flicker silently.

"Not good!" Yao Chen's reaction was faster than anyone else's, and he shouted sternly, "Everyone retreat—"

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of dense, wind-breaking noises suddenly erupted from the night outside the hall.

They did not come from one direction, but from all directions simultaneously, as if a net had long been laid out, just waiting for the prey to walk in.

The terrifying pressure of a Four-Star Dou Sheng descended from the sky, like a mountain crashing onto everyone's shoulders.

Seven or eight Dou Zuns in the Sky Mansion Alliance camp with slightly weaker cultivation were pressed to one knee on the spot, blood spraying wildly from their mouths.

Following that, ten black figures emerged silently from the darkness. From ten different positions, ten auras of low-level Dou Sheng erupted simultaneously, completely sealing off the retreat for everyone in the Sky Mansion Alliance.

Xiao Yan's expression finally changed.

"We've been ambushed."

Hun Qian walked slowly out of the darkness.

The face of this senior elder of the Hun Clan appeared exceptionally sinister under the reflection of the ghostly green soul fire. His thin, withered fingers extended from his sleeves, with a wisp of purple-black soul mist swirling around his fingertips.

Behind him, ten black-robed Dou Sheng were neatly arranged, each expressionless, like killing machines carved from the same mold.

"Xiao Yan, Young Hero Xiao." Hun Qian's voice was hoarse and slow, as if he were sipping a cup of tea rather than standing on a battlefield. "The Young Master asked me to greet you. He said—you did well with the matter at Dragon Island, but you don't need to trouble yourself with the Hall of People."

Xiao Yan did not speak. His gaze drifted past Hun Qian and landed in the direction behind him—deep within the Hall of People, a fluctuation of Heavenly Flame that he was extremely familiar with was faintly emanating.

The Sea Heart Flame was still there, which meant Mu Gu was not yet dead.

But since the Hall of Souls could set an ambush here in advance, it meant their plan had been leaked long ago.

No, it wasn't a leak.

Xiao Yan's gaze suddenly became sharp—the Hall of Souls knew from the very beginning that they were going to make a move on the Hall of People.

This wasn't a temporary redeployment; this was a long-planned trap waiting for the prey.

"Zi Yan." He lowered his voice, his tone remaining calm. "How long can you hold off that Four-Star Dou Sheng?"

Zi Yan cracked her knuckles, battle intent igniting in her golden eyes. The bloodline pressure of the Void Ancient Dragon Emperor erupted from her body, causing the surrounding space to crack with fine fissures.

She grinned, revealing a mouthful of small white teeth: "Until I twist his head off."

"That's enough." Xiao Yan took a deep breath, the xuan heavy ruler in his hand sinking slightly. Deep blue flames surged out from his left palm—Three Thousand Burning Flame.

At the same time, forest-white flames rose from his right palm—Bone Chilling Flame.

The two Heavenly Flames erupted simultaneously, the terrifying high temperature burning the surrounding air into distorted ripples. "Teacher, find Mu Gu. I will clear the way."

Seeing this, Hun Qian sneered and flicked his withered fingers lightly: "Kill them all."

The ten low-level Dou Sheng attacked simultaneously. Ten streaks of black Dou Qi tore through the night sky, strangling toward the members of the Sky Mansion Alliance like venomous snakes.

Although the experts of the Sky Mansion Alliance were the elite of the elite, before low-level Dou Sheng, the chasm-like gap between Dou Zun and Dou Sheng could not be bridged by mere numbers.

Almost at the very first exchange, several people in the Alliance camp were sent flying backward, blood spraying out in a tragic arc in the night.

Zi Yan moved.

The Dragon Emperor's speed was so fast that the naked eye could not capture it. The golden power of the Void Ancient Dragon condensed into a dazzling ball of light on her fist, directly tearing through space and smashing toward Hun Qian.

Hun Qian snorted coldly, and the soul mist condensed into a thick black shield in front of him—the moment the fist and shield collided, the entire Corpse Burial Mountain Range shook. The shockwave uprooted the surrounding withered trees, and rotting soil and stone fragments flew into the sky.

Four-Star against Four-Star, Void Ancient Dragon royal bloodline against Hun Clan secret techniques—the area where the two fought instantly became a death zone, and no one dared to approach within a hundred zhang.

Xiao Yan took advantage of this gap to dash straight to the back of the hall.

Three Thousand Burning Flame and Bone Chilling Flame formed two flame shields at his sides, and wherever he passed, the Soul Hall Protectors were burned to ashes like paper.

His perception had already locked onto the location of the Sea Heart Flame—it was in the direction of the entrance to the underground palace of the Hall of People, and that deep blue flame fluctuation was becoming increasingly clear.

A Soul Hall Dou Sheng attempted to intercept him from the side.

Xiao Yan did not even turn his head. Bone Chilling Flame transformed into a forest-white fire spear and shot out from his hand, accurately piercing the Dou Sheng's chest and pinning him to the hall wall.

Before the corpse could hit the ground, it was frozen into an ice sculpture by the Bone Chilling Flame and then shattered into powder.

The entrance to the underground palace was right before his eyes.

However, just less than ten zhang from the entrance, a sharp and unparalleled gust of wind suddenly descended from the sky.

Xiao Yan's pupils constricted, and he almost instinctively held his ruler horizontally to block—with a loud boom, the xuan heavy ruler and a silver-white bone whip collided fiercely, sparks flying everywhere. The impact caused the hard black jade floor under Xiao Yan's feet to crack inch by inch.

He raised his eyes and saw the interceptor.

It was an extremely beautiful woman.

She wore a black dress with an extremely daring cut, the hem slit high up to the thigh, revealing two snow-white, long, and slender jade legs.

The neckline was very low, and her delicate collarbones and full curves were faintly visible under the reflection of the Dou Qi firelight.

She was barefoot, stepping into a pair of thin-strapped black sandals. The silver bell on her ankle jingled in the previous strike, crisp and pleasant, completely out of place with the surrounding sounds of slaughter.

Her features were as delicate as a fine brush painting, with a petite nose and slightly red cherry lips. A pair of peach-blossom eyes were looking at him with a beaming smile, as if she were looking at prey that had delivered itself to her door.

But what really made Xiao Yan's pupils constrict was not her appearance, but the aura that erupted from her body.

Three-Star Dou Sheng.

And that silver-white bone whip in her hand—each segment was refined from a different skull, totaling seventy-two segments, seventy-two skulls, all of which were above Dou Zun level.

The bone whip was wrapped in a layer of eerie blood-colored Dou Qi. Xiao Yan was all too familiar with that aura: it was the blood-attribute Dou Qi unique to the Hun Clan, only it was purer and more ferocious than that of ordinary Hun Clan members.

"Xiao Yan, Young Hero Xiao." Yao Yao played with the bone whip in her hand, her smile sweet, her tone as if she were greeting a big brother from next door dropping by for a visit. "The Young Master asked me to bring a message—don't you be thinking about the Sea Heart Flame; my Young Master wants it. If you leave now, I can pretend I didn't see you."

Xiao Yan did not speak. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingers gripping the xuan heavy ruler slowly tightened.

Three-Star Dou Sheng, and it was blood-attribute Dou Qi—within the Hun Clan, blood-attribute Dou Qi and fire-attribute Dou Qi were the two most difficult to deal with.

Blood-attribute specialized in soul erosion, which happened to counter his Alchemist constitution. This woman's strength was far more dangerous than her appearance suggested.

"Move aside." Xiao Yan said in a deep voice, his tone devoid of any underestimation.

"Not moving." Yao Yao tilted her head with a grin, the bone whip carving a silver-white arc in the air, emitting a harsh, wind-breaking sound. "The Young Master said you are tough to fight, so he specifically sent me to greet you. Are you touched?"

As soon as she finished speaking, her figure disappeared from where she stood.

It was not teleportation, but pure explosive speed.

The sound of the silver bell still lingered in place, but she had already appeared at Xiao Yan's side, the bone whip coiling toward his throat like a venomous snake.

Xiao Yan held the xuan heavy ruler horizontally, and the bone whip coiled around the ruler's body, emitting a harsh sound of metal friction.

Yao Yao flicked her wrist, and the seventy-two skulls on the bone whip simultaneously lit up with ghostly green light. Seventy-two soul screams erupted from the bone whip, pouring directly into the depths of Xiao Yan's consciousness.

Soul attack.

Xiao Yan let out a muffled groan; it felt as if seventy-two needles had been stabbed into his sea of consciousness simultaneously. The intense pain caused his movements to slow by half a beat.

It was in this half-beat that Yao Yao formed her left hand into a claw, blood-colored Dou Qi condensing into five sharp blood blades at her fingertips, aiming straight for Xiao Yan's chest.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and pushed the Three Thousand Burning Flame to form a fire shield in front of him. The blood blades struck the fire shield, emitting a sizzling, corrosive sound—the blood-attribute Dou Qi was actually corroding the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

No, it wasn't corrosion. It was assimilation.

That blood-colored Dou Qi contained a trace of the Void Swallowing Flame's aura, and it was converting the energy of the Three Thousand Burning Flame into its own nutrients.

Xiao Yan's heart sank.

A sub-fire of the Void Swallowing Flame—this maid actually possessed a sub-fire of the Void Swallowing Flame.

Although it was only a trace, it was enough to give her blood-attribute Dou Qi the ability to devour Heavenly Flames, which was a massive suppression for Xiao Yan, who relied on Heavenly Flames to fight.

No, he had to end this quickly.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, stomped his feet violently on the ground, and retreated several zhang to create distance.

He formed hand seals, and the Dou Qi within his body surged out like a flood, a vast and ancient pressure suddenly rising from his body.

The surrounding air instantly became as heavy as a swamp, and countless fine cracks appeared on the stone wall at the entrance of the underground palace with cracking sounds. This was the Great Creation Palm—a Heaven Rank Dou Skill, obtained from the ruins of the Creation Saint, with power enough to split mountains and cleave the earth.

Xiao Yan opened the fingers of his right hand, and a dark golden ball of energy condensed in his palm. Within that ball of light was an aura of chaos, akin to the beginning of creation; it felt as if with just one palm strike, even heaven and earth could be reshaped.

His gaze suddenly became sharp, and he struck out with his palm. The dark golden palm print expanded in the wind, instantly becoming several zhang in size, and with the force of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth, it covered Yao Yao's head.

Yao Yao's peach-blossom eyes narrowed, her toes tapped lightly on the ground, and her figure drifted backward like a ghost.

She danced her bone whip rapidly with her right hand, setting up seventy-two silver whip shadows in front of her, layered like a spider web.

The dark golden palm print of the Great Creation Palm slammed onto the web of whips, breaking through layer by layer, and being blocked layer by layer. Every time it broke through a layer, the palm print weakened by a fraction.

By the time it broke through to the fiftieth layer, the palm print had shrunk to half a zhang in size. Yao Yao slashed down with her left-hand blood blade, splitting the remaining palm print in two, which then crashed into the hall walls behind her, blasting out two shocking, massive craters.

"Heaven Rank Dou Skill? How fierce." Yao Yao shook her wrist, the aftershocks on the bone whip not yet dissipated. She looked up at Xiao Yan, a touch of seriousness flashing in her peach-blossom eyes. "If that palm had landed, I'm afraid I would be injured. Too bad it's too slow; the time it took for the hand seals was enough for me to whip you three times."

Xiao Yan's expression did not change, but his heart became increasingly grave.

He used his soul power as a guide, and a brilliant golden light suddenly lit up between his eyebrows. A soul fluctuation, even more ancient and vicissitudinous than the Great Creation Palm, spread out from his brow—that was the Huangquan Heavenly Fury—a Heaven Rank High-Level sonic Dou Skill, the ultimate technique of the Yellow Spring Demon Saint, which attacked the soul directly and was impossible to guard against.

"Hum!"

An ancient and desolate syllable was spat out from Xiao Yan's mouth, as if it were the roar of a Demon Saint from the deepest depths of the Nine Serene Yellow Springs.

The void trembled violently in the sound waves, and the air was torn into countless ripples visible to the naked eye, rolling toward Yao Yao's direction in layers.

The Huangquan Heavenly Fury specialized in attacking the soul, ignoring physical defenses. Ordinary Dou Qi shields were useless against it. Once struck head-on, the soul would be injured and the sea of consciousness shaken at best, or the soul would be scattered on the spot at worst.

However, the moment Yao Yao heard that sound, not only did she not dodge, but she smiled instead.

She did not retreat but advanced instead, her lotus steps moving lightly. The silver bell on her ankle emitted a highly rhythmic, crisp sound with her footsteps.

The bell sound was pleasant at first, but listening closely, it made one's blood run cold—the seventy-two skulls resonated simultaneously, emitting screams that pierced the soul, colliding head-on with the sound waves of the Huangquan Heavenly Fury.

The two soul attacks collided fiercely in mid-air, the air exploding into countless fine, black spatial cracks, and the shockwaves snapped the stone pillars at the entrance of the underground palace in half.

"Soul attacks work on others, but they don't work on me." Yao Yao tilted her head, her peach-blossom eyes filled with a trace of sincere apology. Her tone was like she was explaining a simple truth to a friend. "My blood-attribute Dou Qi is specialized for refining souls. Years ago, an Alchemist at the Heaven Realm Great Perfection wanted to possess my body, but I backlashed him into an idiot. Your Huangquan Heavenly Fury is formidable, but when it comes to soul offense and defense, no one dares to claim first place if the Hun Clan's blood attribute claims second."

A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth—his Huangquan Heavenly Fury had been broken head-on, and the soul backlash felt like a heavy hammer striking his sea of consciousness. He stared fixedly at Yao Yao. The combat instincts hidden beneath this woman's seemingly cute and naive appearance were simply monstrous. His Great Creation Palm had been dissolved layer by layer by her whip net, and his Huangquan Heavenly Fury had been neutralized head-on by her blood-attribute soul resonance. His two strongest long-range Dou Techniques were like child's play in front of her.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to use that.

A flash of determination swept through Xiao Yan's eyes. He formed seals with both hands simultaneously, and four flames of different colors erupted from his body—the cyan Green Lotus Core Flame, the bone-white Bone Chilling Flame, the deep blue Three Thousand Burning Flame, and the almost transparent Fallen Heart Flame that radiated terrifying heat. The four Heavenly Flames spun rapidly in his palm, and a violent, world-destroying energy burst forth from him, causing the entire underground palace to tremble violently.

Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus.

This was Xiao Yan's strongest trump card at the moment. By forcibly compressing and fusing multiple Heavenly Flames, the power upon detonation was enough to kill a high-star Dou Sheng across ranks. He had used this move to heavily injure the Three Great Dragon Kings on Ancient Dragon Island. Now, facing an opponent who completely countered him, Xiao Yan had no choice—he could only bet that the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus would win in one strike.

The four-colored flames fused crazily in his palm, and a palm-sized four-colored fire lotus slowly took shape. With every rotation of the fire lotus, the surrounding space collapsed by an inch. The stone ceiling above the underground palace began to crack extensively, and gravel fell with a rustling sound. The air was scorched and distorted by the high temperature. Even Hun Qian and Zi Yan, who were fighting in the distance, felt the terrifying fluctuations coming from this direction and changed their expressions simultaneously.

However, just as the fire lotus reached its sixth rotation, a silver-white whip shadow struck out like a ghost from an inconceivable angle.

It wasn't aimed at Xiao Yan; it was aimed at the fire lotus in his palm.

The bone whip accurately struck the core node of the fire lotus's fusion—the connection point between the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame. This position was the most fragile moment of the four Heavenly Flames' balance, and the only moment during the fusion process when the energy would be briefly chaotic. Yao Yao had been watching for this moment since Xiao Yan began forming his seals. Having fought so many battles, she had long ago figured out a principle: the more powerful a finishing move, the greater the flaw during its execution.

The blood-colored Dou Qi swirling on the bone whip pierced fiercely into the core of the fire lotus. At the same time, the sub-flame of the Void Swallowing Flame unleashed its devouring power, tearing a tiny opening at the balance node of the four Heavenly Flames. It was this opening that caused the previously stably rotating fire lotus to suddenly lose balance, as the four Heavenly Flames lost the power that kept each other in check—

The fire lotus exploded.

But it did not explode in the way Xiao Yan had anticipated. The four-colored flames collapsed from within, and the violent Heavenly Flame energy rebounded against Xiao Yan himself. The Green Lotus Core Flame scorched his meridians, the Bone Chilling Flame froze his blood, the Three Thousand Burning Flame burned his Dou Qi, and the Fallen Heart Flame directly scorched his soul. The four types of backlash erupted simultaneously. It felt as if an invisible giant hammer had smashed into Xiao Yan's chest. Blood sprayed wildly from his mouth, and he was blasted backward, slamming heavily into the palace wall behind him, creating a human-shaped indentation in the wall.

In the moment before his consciousness blurred, he saw Yao Yao put away her bone whip, tilt her head to look at her masterpiece, and then stick out her tongue, muttering softly: "Young Master said I couldn't kill you, but he didn't say I couldn't cripple you."

Meanwhile, the battle in the side hall was also decided in the blink of an eye.

Yao Chen had headed straight for the side hall from the very beginning of the battle. His target was extremely clear—Mu Gu Old Man. The old grudges of several decades and the vengeance for Han Feng's betrayal of his master had to be settled with his own hands. Taking advantage of the gap while Zi Yan held back Hun Qian and Xiao Yan entangled Yao Yao, he rushed into the side hall at the fastest possible speed.

Deep in the side hall, Mu Gu Old Man was standing with his back to the door, frantically trying to activate a teleportation array. This Elder Zun of the Hall of Souls had clearly realized that something was wrong—the Grand Heavenly Lord and the Vice Hall Master were gone, the Hall of People had been hollowed out, and he had been treated as an abandoned pawn. He only wanted to take the Sea Heart Flame and run, as far away as he could.

"Mu Gu!" Yao Chen's voice sounded as if it had been pulled out of an ice cellar after being frozen for decades, bone-chillingly cold. "Where else can you run?"

Mu Gu Old Man's back stiffened abruptly. He slowly turned around. On that aged face, there was first terror, then unwillingness, and finally, he actually squeezed out a twisted smile.

"Yao Chen... you really came."

"The old debts of several decades will be settled together today." Yao Chen stared at him coldly. His white robes fluttered without wind, and the bone-white flames of the Bone Chilling Flame condensed into a spear in his palm.

Yao Chen did not waste any more words and thrust the spear out. Mu Gu barely managed to urge the Sea Heart Flame to resist. The deep blue flames collided with the bone-white flames, but under the crushing strength of Yao Chen's One-Star Dou Sheng level, his resistance was as fragile as paper. In less than three moves, Yao Chen shattered his heart meridians with a single palm strike.

However, the moment Yao Chen prepared to extract the Sea Heart Flame, a figure walked out silently from the shadows behind Mu Gu.

Hun Feng.

His movement as he stepped out from the shadows was as casual as taking a walk in his own back garden. One hand pressed casually on the shoulder of Mu Gu's corpse, and with a slight exertion of his five fingers, the Sea Heart Flame inside Mu Gu was firmly locked down. He raised his eyes to look at Yao Chen, with an innocent smile hanging on the corners of his lips: "Senior Yao Chen, I'm sorry, this Old Mister belongs to me now—to be precise, the Sea Heart Flame on him belongs to me."

His other hand had long since formed a profound seal, and Dou Qi intertwined with black and blood-red colors probed into Mu Gu's body, accurately locking onto the source of the Sea Heart Flame. Although Mu Gu had already breathed his last, the Heavenly Flame had not yet dissipated. Grabbed by Hun Feng's devouring power, the deep blue flame seed was forcibly pulled out from the corpse's chest, beating violently in the air like a small blue heart.

Hun Feng flipped his finger, and the heaven swallowing mirror flew out from his sleeve. A bright white light shone from the mirror surface, and with just a flash, it swallowed the Sea Heart Flame and sealed it tightly. The entire process was clean and neat, without the slightest bit of hesitation.

"Stop—" Yao Chen's eyes turned red, and the Bone Chilling Flame transformed into a bone-white fire spear, shooting out rapidly.

Hun Feng dodged to the side. The white flames of the Bone Chilling Flame grazed his shoulder, freezing half a wall behind him into an ice sculpture. He clicked his tongue lightly, not desiring to prolong the battle. He withdrew the mirror into his sleeve, tapped his feet, and drifted out of the side hall.

Just as Yao Chen was about to pursue, Hun Feng retreated to the hall door and suddenly flicked his right hand—more than a dozen ghostly lights broke through the air silently, and soul spikes hidden in the shadows of the side hall exploded. This soul-piercing trap was vicious, and the angle was tricky. Yao Chen's body shook violently, and three blood flowers exploded simultaneously on his shoulder, waist, and thigh. The soul spikes pierced through his Dou Qi shield and injured his soul origin directly. He groaned and retreated several steps, his aura withered on the spot, and his robes were quickly stained red by the blood gushing from his wounds.

Hun Feng stood at the hall door, turned back to look, and said in a tone as gentle as an apology: "No matter how strong one's soul perception is, there are times when it is blinded by emotions. Senior Yao, your injuries are not fatal, but they are enough to make you lose the ability to pursue."

After saying this, he had already flashed out of the side hall.

On the battlefield in the front hall, the moment Hun Feng landed, he scanned the overall situation. Yao Yao had just whipped Xiao Yan's Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus to explosion, Xiao Yan was blasted into the wall, Zi Yan was fiercely entangled with Hun Qian and could not spare herself, and the remnants of the Sky Mansion Alliance were being suppressed by ten Hun Clan Dou Shengs and could not lift their heads. The battle was decided.

Seeing Hun Feng come out, Yao Yao immediately put away her bone whip and hopped over to his side. The icy light in her peach-blossom eyes instantly turned into water vapor, and she changed back into that delicate little handmaiden, her voice even softening by three points: "Young Master, his lotus was so powerful, he almost unleashed it."

"Didn't you interrupt it then?" Hun Feng glanced at Xiao Yan, who was embedded in the wall and covered in blood, then looked at the unsatisfied expression on Yao Yao's face, and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Have you played enough?"

"Almost. But he can really take a beating. He used four Heaven Rank Dou Skills in rotation; anyone else would have been whipped into bones by me long ago. It's a pity, his Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus isn't the complete version. I counted when you weren't here; he only has four Heavenly Flames on him—the Green Lotus Core Flame, the Fallen Heart Flame, the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and the Bone Chilling Flame. If I had been a step late just now and really let him finish forming the fire lotus, this hall would have been gone." Yao Yao put away her bone whip, spun it into a flourish, leaned against Hun Feng, and looked up at him with a smile. "Young Master, did you get the Sea Heart Flame?"

"Hmm." Hun Feng nodded slightly, his gaze falling on Xiao Yan, who was slowly sliding down from the wall in the distance. Deep in his eyes, a trace of indescribable complexity flashed by. He knew that Xiao Yan was an unkillable cockroach; no matter how badly injured he was, he could crawl back up, and he would become stronger after every serious injury. Therefore, he did not seek to kill Xiao Yan in today's battle; as long as he crippled the Sky Mansion Alliance and took away the Sea Heart Flame, it would be enough to break even. "Tell them to retreat. The Sky Mansion Alliance is also a tough nut to crack."

Yao Yao immediately raised the jade slip to send the retreat signal. After receiving the order, the ten low-level Hun Clan Dou Shengs stopped pursuing the remnants of the Sky Mansion Alliance and disengaged from the battle in a well-trained manner. In the sky, Hun Qian also snorted coldly, took one last look at Zi Yan, and his figure turned into a black light, breaking through the air and leaving.

Zi Yan did not pursue. She landed back on the ground, first glancing at Xiao Yan embedded in the wall, then at Yao Chen's weak aura in the direction of the side hall, her golden pupils slightly constricting. She walked quickly to Xiao Yan's side, pulled him out of the rubble, and frowned, saying: "You are heavily injured. What is that woman's background? She could even interrupt the Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus."

Xiao Yan coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood and used the xuan heavy ruler to steady himself. His gaze stared fixedly at the direction where Hun Feng had disappeared. He remained silent for a long time before speaking: "The people around the Young Master of the Hun Clan are not to be trifled with. Next time we meet, I won't let her have it so easy."

Yao Chen walked out of the side hall, leaning against the wall. His robes were mostly stained red with blood, and his face was as pale as paper, but his eyes remained clear. He looked at Xiao Yan's injuries and said in a deep voice: "Xiao Yan, this Hun Feng is extremely cunning; this was a trap from the very beginning. The loss we suffered today, we will repay him tenfold in the future."

Xiao Yan did not speak, only nodded. He remembered that face, remembered that name, and also remembered that black-skirted woman with a sweet smile but extremely vicious methods. The Sky Mansion Alliance had lost nearly half its forces in this battle, and the Sea Heart Flame could not be retrieved, but he would settle this account personally.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, at the Void Ferry in the Soul Realm. Hun Feng walked out of the teleportation array, followed closely by Yao Yao, her black skirt fluttering in the void turbulence. The silver bells on her ankles were still jingling, and the coldness in her peach-blossom eyes had completely dissipated, turning back into that clingy little handmaiden.

"Young Master, you didn't use your full strength today, did you?" Yao Yao tilted her head to look at him, her eyes filled with a bit of mischief. "You could have clearly killed Yao Chen."

"If I had killed Yao Chen, Xiao Yan would have gone mad. A mad Xiao Yan is ten times harder to deal with than a calm Xiao Yan." Hun Feng touched the heaven swallowing mirror in his sleeve, feeling the deep blue flame seed of the Sea Heart Flame beating quietly in the mirror world. "The Sea Heart Flame is in hand, and the Sky Mansion Alliance has been severely damaged; that is enough. Before the Purification Lotus Demon Flame emerges, there is no need to wage an all-out war with them."

"Young Master is wise." Yao Yao giggled and circled in front of him, looking up at him earnestly, her peach-blossom eyes full of pride. "How did I perform today? His Great Creation Palm and Huangquan Heavenly Fury were both broken by me, and his Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus was also whipped to explosion by me. Am I not very impressive?"

Hun Feng looked down at her "praise me" expression, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, and he reached out and flicked her forehead. "You are impressive, but weren't you a bit too immersed in the fight? I told you to hold him back, not to beat him to death. Look for yourself; four types of Heavenly Flame backlash plus soul backlash, plus seventy-two blood blades from the bone whip—if Xiao Yan doesn't lie in bed for three months after going back, I'll take your surname."

"He didn't die, did he?" Yao Yao rubbed her forehead and hummed indifferently. "Besides, I just wanted to see how long he could hold on. It turns out he really could hold on; anyone else would have died eight times over. This guy's constitution is like a cockroach's; the more you beat him, the more resistant to beatings he becomes." As she said this, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and leaned into Hun Feng's ear, her voice low, sweet, and soft. "Young Master, are you worried that I couldn't beat him? Hmm?"

Hun Feng reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist, then lowered his head and kissed her. Then he let go and strode towards the bedchamber.

"You were brought up by my own hand; when have I ever worried? Let's go, there's still a pile of things to arrange."

Yao Yao stood in place, covering her mouth, water vapor misting in her peach-blossom eyes, her face redder than last time. But this time she didn't stomp her feet or scream; she just pursed her lips and smiled for a long time, then chased after him with the jingling sound of her strappy sandals.