Beneath the heavens, the bright moon cast its cold radiance, laying a silvery frost across the earth.
Behind Gu He, green Dou Qi condensed into a pair of wings as he hovered in midair.
His eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze locked tightly onto Xiao Yan in the distance.
His voice was icy:
"My friend, I gathered my men to confront the Snake People Clan head-on."
"Yet you lurked in the shadows, waiting for your chance to act. That seems rather improper, does it not?"
"Why not let Gu have a look at what you took that has made you so eager to leave?"
As he spoke, coldness flickered in his eyes:
"Otherwise, I fear you may not leave this Snake People Holy City in one piece..."
His words were full of threat.
Xiao Yan floated in the air, the four wings behind him beating softly.
The Gilded Fire Feathers gleamed beneath the moonlight, occasionally shedding sparks like countless fireflies.
Xiao Yan gave a dismissive snort, the corners of his lips curling upward as he spoke contemptuously:
"What I took can wait. But I am rather curious about something."
"You are merely a Dou Wang. Who gave you the courage to stand in my way?"
"Are you planning to crush me to death with your pills?"
With that, he spread open his palm, and the Kirin Devouring Heaven Flame slowly gathered within it.
The blazing crimson flames reflected in Gu He's eyes.
His pupils abruptly constricted, his gaze filled with shock and disbelief!
A perfectly tamed Heavenly Flame form?
Impossible!?
It had not even been an hour!
Then, as though he had thought of something, greed slowly filled Gu He's eyes:
He had two Heavenly Flames!!
The Dou Qi throughout his body surged as he flicked his sleeve!
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Seven Soul Devouring Nails shot out at once!
They tore through the air with piercing shrieks.
Like meteors, they shot toward Xiao Yan.
They arrived before him in an instant!
"Boom!"
His Fire Wings suddenly expanded, blocking them before him!
The moment they touched the wings, they melted into molten iron:
"Sizzle, sizzle!"
They dripped to the ground with a hiss.
Gu He was horrified, his voice trembling slightly:
"Impossible! Those were..."
Xiao Yan's face was full of irritation. He frowned deeply and barked:
"Shut up!"
As he spoke, he lightly flicked a finger. The flames in his palm instantly condensed into a sphere!
Like a bomb, it rapidly swelled, growing to the size of thirty meters in the blink of an eye!
The scorching flames lit up the night sky around them.
Gu He's face instantly turned pale as paper.
He was clearly a Dou Wang, yet this attack made him feel the threat of death!
The fireball shot out abruptly!!
In his panic, he could only hurriedly bring out his Medicine Cauldron to block it with all his might.
The cauldron collided with the fireball and barely held for an instant!
Then a crisp "Crack!" rang out from its body as spiderweb-like fractures spread across it.
"Bang!"
The flames exploded, engulfing an area hundreds of meters wide!
The overloaded Medicine Cauldron fell to the ground with a clang and shattered into fragments.
Among the scattered cauldron fragments was reflected Gu He's twisted, despairing face.
He screamed himself hoarse:
"The target is over here! Do not get tied up in battle!"
Xiao Yan temporarily ignored Gu He.
He knew that if he remained in Holy City any longer, the Snake People Clan would eventually surround and attack him!
Dou Qi surged, and two streaks of light carrying immense momentum broke through Holy City's barrier!
Xiao Yan held Xiao Yi Xian as he flew side by side with Hai Bodong, speeding toward the edge of the desert!
Where the streaks of light vanished, Gu He led the nine Dou Wangs behind him, along with Yun Yun, in relentless pursuit!
As for the Snake People Clan pursuers, they did not leave Holy City.
Across the boundless desert, over the yellow sands.
More than a dozen streaks of light tore through the air, racing through heaven and earth!
The pursuit continued for a full half hour before Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong finally slowed.
Gu He was delighted and accelerated after them!
Xiao Yan placed Xiao Yi Xian on the ground and gave her a pill to conceal her aura.
Then he rose alone into the sky, facing the ten figures before him by himself!
A smile appeared on Gu He's face as he spoke hypocritically:
"My friend, I do not think we need to fight another battle."
"As long as you leave behind the Heavenly Flame, you may leave on your own."
"You are a smart man. Surely you can see the situation clearly?"
Gu He's tone was full of confidence:
There were only two Dou Wangs on the other side, while his side had nine Dou Wangs and one Dou Emperor.
How could anything possibly go wrong?
Even a fool knew which choice to make!
But if the other side remained stubborn, he would have no choice but to help him die with some dignity!
Behind him, the nine Dou Wangs ignited their Dou Qi Armor one after another, their Dou Qi churning like raging waves!
"Hand over the Heavenly Flame now!"
"We will spare your life."
Gu He's furious roar rang out!
Hai Bodong snorted coldly as his Ice Wings suddenly spread wide.
Frost flowers drifted down like snowflakes, swiftly freezing into a hundred-meter-long ice path across the desert.
His gaze was sharp as he glanced toward Yun Yun, whose face was concealed.
His voice was filled with confidence and dominance:
"Merely nine Dou Wangs and one Dou Emperor!"
"No one can touch the people Hai Bodong intends to protect!"
As his words fell, the overwhelming aura of a Dou Emperor crushed the entire battlefield!
Gu He froze:
"Ice Emperor, weren't you long since..."
Before he could finish, Hai Bodong's wings shook, and the ice crystals filling the sky transformed into two ice dragons!
Carrying unstoppable and majestic force, they swept forward!
Mysterious Ice Dragon Soar!
The moment this move was unleashed, countless streaks of sword Qi filled the space before Yun Yun and surged toward Hai Bodong!
Xiao Yan let out a slow breath as surging flames churned within his body!
In an instant, they swept across his entire body:
An armored phantom lit up over his chest!
In the next moment, the Gilded Red Armor swiftly covered his entire body like a living creature!
It let out a series of "Click, click" sounds.
His eyes were firm and resolute:
"Then let me see my own limits!"
The nine Dou Wangs launched their Dou Techniques simultaneously!
The yellow sand was abruptly driven away by the surging Dou Qi.
Their Dou Qi was like a raging torrent.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Wind blades! Lightning! Flames!
They rushed toward Xiao Yan with unstoppable force!
At that critical moment, Xiao Yan's Armament helmet snapped shut with a "Click!"
His aura had finally finished gathering and swept outward like a storm:
Four-star Dou King:
The Gilded Fire Wings behind him suddenly expanded to thirty meters:
"Boom!"
With a fierce flap of his wings, a powerful hurricane howled into being!
It even swept the raging sandstorm around him backward into the sky!
"Wave Splitting Flame Ruler: Nine Star Chain!"
Xiao Yan shouted, his voice booming through the heavens like thunder!
The Heavy Black Ruler in his hand instantly transformed into nine phantoms!
Crimson flames coiled around every ruler edge as Kirin Phantoms emerged, erupting with scorching heat!
The fire-attributed Dou Wang at the front bore the brunt of it!
His pupils widened violently as he looked in terror at the incoming ruler shadows.
Was this power truly that of a Dou Wang?!
He desperately tried to resist, but his fire-attributed Dou Qi, which had always obeyed him like an extension of his limbs,
now seemed to have encountered a sovereign. No matter how he circulated his technique, he could not summon even a trace of it!
Before the Master of Fire, all flames were subjects!
He could only hurriedly raise the huge axe in his hand, trying to block the devastating attack!
"Bang!"
Yet the huge axe shattered instantly beneath the impact of the Kirin Phantom, like a fragile sheet of paper!
Immediately afterward, his Dou Qi Armor was like thin paper that would tear in the wind.
It was effortlessly ripped apart!
Blood burst from his wounds.
His entire body flew backward like a kite with its string cut!
"Rumble!"
His flying body broke the sound barrier in midair and smashed through the entire sand dune behind him.
He vanished into the yellow sands.
The Dou Wang beside him saw that things had gone wrong, and his face turned as pale as paper:
"W-What the hell is this thing?!"
In his panic, he tried to burrow into the sand to evade the fatal strike.
However, Xiao Yan seemed to have already seen through his thoughts.
With a casual wave of his hand, crimson flames erupted from the earth.
They surged up from the sand in an instant, tightly wrapping around that Dou Wang in scorching fire.
"Aaaahhh!"
Miserable screams rang out amid the burning Heavenly Flame.
After struggling a few times within the flames,
he was burned into charcoal, and a pungent stench of scorched flesh filled the air!
"The third."
Like a ghost, Xiao Yan's Crimson Wings trembled behind him.
At a speed that nearly surpassed the limits of a Dou Wang, he appeared behind a wind-attributed Dou Wang.
The wind-attributed Dou Wang only felt a chill rise from behind him.
Just as he was about to turn his head to look, he suddenly felt his neck tighten.
Xiao Yan's armored gauntlet clamped around his throat like iron pincers!
The wind-attributed Dou Wang struggled desperately, using both hands to pry at Xiao Yan's grip!
Countless wind blades swept forth and slashed against Xiao Yan's armor!
Apart from adding a few white marks, it had no effect at all!
"Beg... beg..."
Crimson flames swept over and coiled around his body!
His eyes bulged like bronze bells, and "heh heh" sounds came from his throat.
In the end, his entire body went limp, and he stopped breathing.
The remaining Dou Wang saw this, their eyes filled with fear and despair.
They frantically activated their secret techniques, Dou Qi surging through their bodies like volcanoes on the verge of eruption!
Without sparing Gu He another thought, they sped off in all directions across the desert:
Monster, this thing wasn't human at all!
How could they possibly win!?
Damn it, Gu He had led them to their deaths!
But at that moment, Yun Yun's sword Qi tore through the air like a meteor:
Extreme Wind: Meteor Kill!
A several-hundred-zhang azure luan condensed from sword Qi.
With a piercing shriek, it pounced toward Xiao Yan!
Hai Bodong's figure flashed into view. He lightly raised a hand and clenched it:
Myriad Flower Ice Mirror!
Ice crystals twisted and intertwined, swiftly appearing before him. They radiated bone-piercing cold light and were indestructible!
"Boom!"
The sword Qi struck the ice mirror, and the two canceled each other out.
Hai Bodong let out a cold laugh, his tone casual:
"Sect Master Yun, it seems your sword has grown a little dull."
At this moment, there were two people on each side.
As they faced off in the air, Gu He's face turned ashen.
He knew full well that there was nothing more to gain today.
A trace of unwillingness flashed through his eyes as he gritted his teeth.
Finally, he cupped his hands:
"It is I, Gu, who am inferior in skill!"
Light flashed from the Fighting Wings behind him, and Gu He vanished from where he stood.
The moon hung high overhead, its pure light spilling over the desert like flowing water.
Yun Yun turned around at that moment as well.
Yet her voice transmission slipped quietly into Xiao Yan's ear like a gentle breeze:
"Thirty li northeast. Meet me at the oasis."
Xiao Yan paused slightly, then nodded:
Although he had worn a mask from the beginning, his own characteristics were still far too obvious.
It would have been stranger if Yun Yun had failed to recognize him.
After landing, Xiao Yan told Xiao Yi Xian and Hai Bodong to wait for a while.
Then he flew alone toward the northeast.
The oasis thirty li away was surrounded by lush vegetation.
Under the moonlight, the lake shimmered with a mysterious silver glow.
Like a massive silver crystal embedded in the desert.
A breeze brushed past, sending ripples across the lake's surface until it glistened with reflected light.
Yun Yun's slender figure stood quietly by the lakeside.
Xiao Yan stepped forward.
She gently removed her veil as well...
Before you continue