97: Chapter 97 Annihilating Xiao Xuan

Heavenly Tomb, third year.

Under the azure sky, four formidable auras erupted simultaneously from four directions.

Yao Yao was the first to open her eyes from her cultivation; a sharp, piercing glint flashed in her peach-blossom eyes as blood-attribute Dou Qi surged around her like a physical force, drawing all the ancient energy within several dozen zhang into her body.

The pressure of an Eight Star Dou Sheng mid-stage powerhouse condensed into a sea of blood-colored mist around her, within which countless fragments of souls she had devoured could be faintly seen writhing and shrieking.

She stood up and stretched her limbs, and as she flicked her wrist, the bone whip emitted a low, satisfied soul-trembling sound from its seventy-two skulls.

Medusa was the second to open her eyes.

The phantom of the Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python slowly receded behind her, and the luster flowing within her purple eyes was deeper than it had been three years ago.

Her Seven-Star Dou Sheng peak aura was as steady as a mountain, and her Heaven Realm Great Perfection soul power had expanded her sensory range several times over; no movement within a hundred-mile radius could escape her detection.

She tilted her head to look at the faint outline of the mansion not far away, her tone indifferent and cold: "It is right ahead."

Gu Xun'er was the third to stand up.

The Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame condensed into a dazzling golden armor around her; her cultivation had also stopped at the Seven-Star Dou Sheng peak, just a thin layer of paper away from the Eight Star level, and her soul realm had already reached the Heaven Realm Great Perfection.

She raised her eyes, which were as clear as an ancient well, and looked at the mansion in the distance—years ago, when she first entered the Heavenly Tomb with Xiao Yan, she had seen the remnant soul of the Xiao Clan ancestor, Xiao Xuan, in that mansion.

At that time, Xiao Xuan had sat on a stone chair, burning his remnant soul to help Xiao Yan break through.

Now, standing here again, her identity was completely different.

She was not here to reminisce; she was here to clear the last hidden danger on the Emperor Realm path for Hun Feng.

Xiao Yi Xian was the last to conclude her cultivation; the source of the gray poison had been completely refined during three years of arduous training, and her cultivation had steadily settled at the Seven-Star Dou Sheng mid-stage, with her soul power also stepping into the Heaven Realm Great Perfection.

She walked to Gu Xun'er's side, followed her gaze toward the mansion, and whispered: "Let's go."

The four figures swept out simultaneously, landing in front of the mansion gate within a few breaths.

Medusa did not pause and shattered the stone door with a palm strike.

The great hall inside was empty and dilapidated, the walls carved with long-faded totems of the Xiao Clan.

In the center of the hall, a translucent figure of an old man sat on a mottled stone chair.

His features were blurry, but his eyes were startlingly bright—it was the afterglow of an Emperor Realm Soul, and even with only one soul and one spirit remaining, it still exuded a heart-stopping pressure.

"A girl of the Gu Clan."

Xiao Xuan's gaze fell upon Gu Xun'er, his voice very soft, like wind passing through the empty hall, "I remember you. You came here with Xiao Yan a few years ago. Now, you bring people from the Hun Clan back here—is it to take this old man's life for the Hun Clan?"

Gu Xun'er did not answer, merely turning her head to glance at Medusa.

Medusa did not waste words either; she pressed her right hand onto her sword hilt, and the nine-colored sword light pulsed silently within the scabbard.

Yao Yao uncoiled the bone whip from her wrist and flicked it twice in her hand; there was no pity in her peach-blossom eyes, only the focus of a hunter locking onto prey.

Xiao Yi Xian opened her palms, and gray-purple poison mist flowed silently from between her fingers, spreading slowly along the ground and sealing off all retreat paths from the great hall.

Xiao Xuan looked at the four women and suddenly laughed.

There was no fear or anger in that laughter, only a sense of relief after seeing through the vicissitudes of a thousand years.

"That brat Xiao Yan, he really did lose after all."

He slowly stood up from the stone chair, his translucent body swaying slightly in the air, and the afterglow of the Emperor Realm Soul condensed into a final halo around him, "Very well. After a thousand years of lonely guarding, I can finally rest today. Come, let me see how much capability the new generation of the Hun Clan truly has."

The response to him was Yao Yao's bone whip.

The seventy-two skulls simultaneously lit up with a dark green soul-chilling light, and the whip struck straight at Xiao Xuan's throat like a venomous snake, its speed so fast that it tore the air with a sharp, piercing shriek.

Xiao Xuan raised his hand to set up a soul barrier in front of him; the bone whip lashed against the barrier, exploding into a sky full of green light.

Yao Yao was pushed back by half a step from the recoil, but the smile at the corner of her mouth deepened—the Emperor Realm Soul was indeed worthy of its reputation; even with only one soul and one spirit left, it could block a full-force strike from her as an Eight Star Dou Sheng.

Medusa's sword followed immediately.

The nine-colored sword light carved a sharp arc in mid-air, the devouring power of the Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python attached to the blade, tearing a tiny crack in Xiao Xuan's soul barrier.

Gu Xun'er's Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame arrived at the same instant, the golden flames pouring into the barrier through the crack and exploding into a fierce golden inferno in front of Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Xuan gave a muffled groan, his figure drifting back several feet, and more cracks appeared on the soul barrier.

Xiao Yi Xian's poison mist surged up silently from below, seeping in through the cracks in the barrier; when the gray-purple poison mist touched Xiao Xuan's translucent body, it emitted a sizzling corrosive sound—the Calamity Poison Body was equally effective against soul bodies.

The four did not give Xiao Xuan any chance to catch his breath.

Yao Yao's bone whip coiled toward his legs from the left, Medusa's long sword pierced straight at his chest from the front, Gu Xun'er's Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame sealed his retreat from the right, and Xiao Yi Xian's poison mist continuously eroded his soul barrier from below.

Under the siege of the four, Xiao Xuan struggled to hold on.

The afterglow of the Emperor Realm Soul dimmed rapidly under the repeated fierce attacks, and the cracks on the soul barrier grew more numerous, finally collapsing with a crisp shattering sound.

Medusa's sword tip pierced through the barrier and struck Xiao Xuan's chest.

The Nine-Colored Sky Swallowing Python's devouring power attached to that silver-white long sword began to crazily absorb the Emperor Realm Soul origin within Xiao Xuan's remnant soul.

His translucent body began to disintegrate inch by inch from his chest, turning into a sky full of pale golden light spots.

He looked down at his dissipating body; there was no fear or unwillingness in those startlingly bright eyes, only a sense of relief.

"The path of the Xiao Clan ends here."

His voice grew softer, and his figure grew fainter, "Girl, tell Xiao Yan—no need to come find me again."

The last bit of pale golden light dissipated silently in the air, turning into four strands of pure Emperor Realm Soul origin, which injected into the center of each of their foreheads.

After absorbing Xiao Xuan's Emperor Realm remnant soul, the soul realms of the four simultaneously surged.

The bottleneck of the Heaven Realm Great Perfection was directly broken through; although they had not truly stepped into the Emperor Realm Soul, they had already firmly stood at the peak of the Heaven Realm Great Perfection, only one opportunity for enlightenment away from the Emperor Realm.

Yao Yao closed her eyes, feeling the unprecedented, vast soul power in her sea of consciousness, and a satisfied smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Medusa returned her sword to its scabbard, a faint glimmer of satisfaction flashing in her purple eyes.

Gu Xun'er looked at the spot where Xiao Xuan had dissipated for a moment, then turned and walked out of the hall.

Xiao Yi Xian withdrew her poison mist and followed behind her.

The four figures swept out of the mansion and flew toward the azure light curtain in the distance—that was the exit of the Heavenly Tomb, and also the way home for them.