Cao Ying: I Shouldn't Be Here

The sudden appearance of the white-clad figure startled even Old Man Mu Gu.

However, when he saw that the person who came out of the Space Channel was Xiao Yuan, he immediately showed a look of contempt.

"You dare to spout such nonsense in front of me? Others may not know, but I do. You and Xiao Yan are both disciples of Yao Chen. Xuan Yi has never left Central State in all these years. Where did he find a disciple like you from the Jia Ma Empire in the Northwest Region?"

Old Man Mu Gu had already investigated Xiao Yuan and Xiao Yan's identities. One reason they infiltrated the Pill Gathering was because of some plans of the Soul Hall, and the other was because of the Flame Mantra on Xiao Yan's body!

"If you had really investigated us, you shouldn't have had the courage to come to the Pill Gathering."

Xiao Yuan smiled noncommittally, then looked at the white-skirted figure beside him.

"Give me the collected Medicinal Herbs, and I'll submit them for you. Now, you should leave this place."

The figure in the white dress nodded slightly, handed the three Medicinal Herbs to Xiao Yuan, and then stepped into the Space Channel that had not yet dissipated.

As the figure in the white dress entered, the Space Channel slowly closed. Xiao Yuan put away the Medicinal Herbs and looked at Old Man Mu Gu.

"Alright, there are no outsiders here. The Pill Tower Three Giants have sealed off this space. You can't escape, and you can't call anyone."

Xiao Yuan clapped his hands, brushing off the dirt that had been smeared on the Medicinal Herbs, and his aura began to surge.

Almost instantly, the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations progressed to the third transformation, and Xiao Yuan's aura directly reached the Three-Star Dou Zun level.

"Three-Star Dou Zun!?"

The Old Man Mu Gu's pupils contracted.

Although he knew that Venerable Qing Hai had once been defeated by Xiao Yuan and his group, he did not know just how terrifying Xiao Yuan's combat power was.

Seeing that Xiao Yuan had actually raised his Douqi Realm to such a level, he was immediately taken aback.

With his keen eyesight, he could naturally tell that Xiao Yuan's secret technique was the same as the one Xiao Yan had used before— the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations! But the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations could raise Dou Qi to this level, which could only mean that Xiao Yuan had probably also cultivated the Flame Mantra and possessed multiple Heavenly Flames.

How is that possible?

Even if each of these two brothers possesses two different types of Heavenly Flames, that would still amount to a total of four different types of Heavenly Flames.

Are Yao Chen's disciples really that lucky? But no matter what, we must take down these two today! Old Man Mu Gu thought to himself, his gaze growing increasingly cold.

Immediately afterwards, as he changed the hand seals, a strange, scorching energy suddenly surged out of his body and then condensed into a strange, deep blue crystal layer on his arm, which looked like a blue crystal arm from a distance.

As he swung his arm, the deep blue crystalline claws attacked Xiao Yuan.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuan revealed a mocking expression, then raised his hand and grabbed at the deep blue crystal claw from a distance.

With a whoosh, a surge of powerful Dou Qi aura erupted, carrying a dark golden Heavenly Flames that transformed into a giant fiery hand, crushing the crystalline giant claw.

"Such petty tricks are not worth making a fool of yourself with!"

With a cold laugh, Xiao Yuan stretched his muscles and bones, then twisted his waist and unleashed a simple punch. The air in front of him was compressed to the extreme, turning into an air cannon that shot towards Old Man Mu Gu.

Before the fist even arrived, the wind from it was already there. The terrifying wind from a great distance caused Old Man Mu Gu's hair to flutter backward.

The wind made the skin on their cheeks tremble.

The Old Man Mu Gu swung his arm, which was covered in a deep blue crystal layer, and blasted it out, deflecting Xiao Yuan's attack.

A terrifying ripple of energy shot out like lightning, tearing away nearly half a foot of grass within a hundred-meter radius. Some towering trees were snapped in half, and wood chips and dust burst out from the broken sections.

"Hehehe, you do have some brute strength, but with your meager abilities, I'm afraid you won't be able to stop me today!"

The Old Man Mu Gu laughed wildly.

However, the next moment, Xiao Yuan's fist landed on his face, slamming him into the ground below.

What were you barking like a dog just now?

Xiao Yuan, his body Azure Lightning Flash, asked in confusion amidst a thunderous roar.

Cao Ying, who had been thrown away, was worried about Xiao Yan. As soon as she flew back, she saw the terrifying explosion of surprise. Before she could react, she found herself being carried away by Xiao Yuan again.

"What... what's going on?"

Cao Ying blinked and asked blankly.

Xiao Yan released her, then shrugged and explained, "That woman in the white dress took advantage of us being chased to crush the Space Stone and go outside to call for reinforcements. That's how she summoned my Third Brother, who is currently fighting with that old bastard from the Soul Hall."

"You mean Xiao Yuan?"

Cao Ying's eyes widened, and she immediately turned her head to look over, where she indeed found Xiao Yuan, whose aura was terrifying, hovering in mid-air.

"My God, how does this guy cultivate?"

After a long while, Cao Ying couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"So, just normal cultivation, right?"

Xiao Yan stroked his chin and said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

???

Cao Ying fell silent.

The Old Man Mu Gu dug himself out of the ground in a disheveled state, his cheeks bruised, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and his face extremely gloomy.

He simply couldn't accept that he had just been punched into the ground by Xiao Yuan!

He took a deep breath, and his withered hand slid out of his sleeve, then formed a hand seal with lightning speed!

"Netherworld Demonic Flame Arm!"

As the cold shout came from the Old Man Mu Gu, deep blue flames erupted from his body like a volcano, condensing into a deep blue flame arm. As the flames rose, the arm gave people an extremely cold feeling, like the arm of death.

Looking at the giant arm wreathed in deep blue flames, Xiao Yuan curled his lip.

A chilling glint flashed in the Old Man Mu Gu hand seals suddenly changed, and the giant arm of flame shot up violently. Then, like a meteorite, it crashed down hard towards the location where Xiao Yuan was. Along its path, space collapsed and opened up, revealing numerous dark spatial voids.

The giant arm of fire swept down, and when it reached a certain distance, the flames on it suddenly surged, and the giant arm of fire also expanded against the wind, instantly transforming into a massive shadow of nearly a hundred feet, which enveloped the forest below!

The flaming arm gradually magnified in Xiao Yuan's pupils. Xiao Yuan lowered his eyelids slightly, then suddenly raised his eyes, a sharp light appearing as his hands formed hand seals like lightning.

A surge of powerful Dou Qi qi erupted forth, condensing into a crystal-clear handprint in front of Xiao Yuan.

Sky Annihilation Seal! The Crystal Layer Handprint roared out and collided with the deep blue arm.

A deafening roar, like thunder from the heavens, suddenly resounded. A terrifying energy storm instantly formed and then swept outwards wildly. The entire mountain trembled under the raging energy storm, and huge cracks, each more than ten feet wide, quietly appeared.

The sudden energy storm also attracted the attention of many high-level magical beasts on the mountain. However, when they felt the terrifying power of the energy storm, they were all greatly alarmed and hurriedly rushed away from the mountain. This level of battle was not something they could get involved in.

The spreading energy ripples razed nearly half of the forest on the mountain to the ground, and a huge crater, hundreds of feet in size, gradually appeared at the center of the explosion.

"Hiss"

Looking at the massive, bottomless pit that was nearly a hundred feet in size, even Cao Ying, with her composure, couldn't help but gasp. Such terrifying destructive power was truly worthy of a battle at the Dou Zun level.

Xiao Yan, on the other hand, remained much calmer, his gaze still scanning his surroundings warily.

The billowing yellow dust had just risen into the air when it was swept away by the gale and disappeared from sight. In the sky, Xiao Yuan's gaze quickly swept across the area below before settling on the Old Man Mu Gu, whose body was suspended in mid-air.

At this moment, the Old Man Mu Gu's arms were covered in blood, and his breathing was quite rapid. He had suffered a great loss from the previous attack.

Xiao Yuan nodded slightly, quite satisfied with the power of the Sky Annihilation Seal.

After all, if it were Venerable Qing Hai, the Sky Annihilation Seal from earlier would have been enough to kill him.

This Old Man Mu Gu is quite powerful, but he has suffered some injuries.

Although this was also because Xiao Yuan did not go all out, the power of the Sky Annihilation Seal was indeed not to be underestimated.

The Old Man Mu Gu's expression was somewhat uncertain.

According to the plan, he still has to participate in the later Pill Gathering and win the Pill Gathering, and then seize the opportunity to snatch the Three Thousand Burning Flame. If he fights Xiao Yuan to the death here, what strength will he have left to compete with others?

Given these concerns, he couldn't really fight Xiao Yuan to the death, but if he didn't actually fight, he couldn't defeat Xiao Yuan. This situation put him in a vicious cycle, unable to balance both sides.

Xiao Yuan's strength far exceeded his expectations!

The Old Man Mu Gu's eyes flashed rapidly. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and turned to Xiao Yuan in the sky with a sinister look. He said coldly, "Xiao Yuan, I am also an alchemist participating in the Pill Gathering. As the person in charge of this Pill Gathering, aren't you afraid of losing face for the Danta by attacking me, a contestant?"

"Just now, in front of everyone, Miss Xuan Bing revealed that the Soul Hall infiltrated the Pill Gathering, massacred alchemists, and collected their souls. Therefore, your eligibility to participate has been eliminated, and your helpers will all die today!"

Xiao Yuan said with a cold smile.

He wasn't just watching the show; the scene of those alchemists being slaughtered was recorded by "Xuan Bing" with his soul power and engraved in the jade tablet. He just put on another show outside, and now the crowd outside is already in a frenzy.

When he came in, he made a big show of it, asking the three giants for instructions and asking them to seal off the space.

In the unseen Space Channel, the illusory Xiao Yuan and "Xuan Bing" swapped places again, becoming the illusory "Xuan Bing" and the real Xiao Yuan.

"Alright, alright, I didn't expect to be tricked by that woman. She's in cahoots with you too?"

The Old Man Mu Gu laughed in anger and asked.

"I don't know her, but she is indeed very intelligent."

Xiao Yuan wanted to make his disguise appear completely authentic, so naturally he couldn't admit to such a thing.

"Since that's the case, today I'll see whether it's you who dies or I who perish!"

Now that Old Man Mu Gu had no more worries, he unleashed his full power. As he formed hand seals, he opened his mouth and spat out a pillar of deep blue flames that shot towards Xiao Yuan.

"You don't even have Heavenly Flames, yet you're trying to play with fire with me?"

Xiao Yuan smiled, and dark golden flames surged from his body, transforming into towering waves of fire that crashed down fiercely.

Gazing at the terrifying dark golden flames, Old Man Mu Gu's expression changed slightly. He quickly changed his hand seals, and the spewed fire pillar immediately condensed into a massive fire beast several dozen feet long, which charged towards the fire wolf with lightning speed.

"Laugh!"

The wave of fire, with its unstoppable momentum, crashed down and slammed heavily onto the fire beast. The terrifying force directly annihilated the fire beast, and then continued its relentless advance, engulfing Old Man Mu Gu!

"Five Round Fire Separation Array, Heaven-Burning Purgatory!"

Xiao Yuan changed his hand seals, and amidst the surging flames, five fire beasts shot out, forming an array in a specific location around them, sealing off that area of heaven and earth! The dark golden flames gradually became more colorful, and a destructive power slowly emerged from within them.

The Old Man Mu Gu felt as if he had fallen into a purgatory formed by Heavenly Flames. Even though he was an alchemist with considerable resistance to fire, he still felt his whole body burning hot. The fire in his body had not completely rebelled under the suppression of those Heavenly Flames, which was a testament to the depth to which he had refined the fire. Not to mention the fire he had summoned to protect his body.

Old Man Mu Gu, facing a life-or-death crisis, finally felt a pang of regret.

What gives him the audacity to provoke such a scourge?

But now is clearly not the time for regrets. If we stay in this inferno any longer, we will truly be refined into nothingness.

"Xiao Yuan, even if I die, I will drag you down with me!"

A ruthless glint appeared in his eyes, and the Old Man Mu Gu let out a shrill roar. Immediately, his Dou Qi surged, and his body expanded rapidly like an inflating balloon. He charged towards Xiao Yuan at an extremely fast speed, seemingly intending to perish together with Xiao Yuan.

"Hehe."

Xiao Yuan let out a light laugh, and then, from a distance, slapped the Old Man Mu Gu.

In the purgatory, Five-Colored Flames condensed into a giant arm, pinning down Old Man Mu Gu and forcefully slamming him into the ground.

Boom! The violent explosion shattered the Fire God Arm that Xiao Yuan had conjured, but Xiao Yuan was already watching the show from outside the formation.

"A Dou Zun expert, just like that, died?"

In the distance, Cao Ying covered her red lips and said in disbelief.

"If you offend the Third Brother, it's going to be tough to survive."

Xiao Yan commented.

"Wait, Xiao Yan, be careful!"

Cao Ying suddenly sensed a soul fluctuation rapidly approaching from underground. She quickly issued a warning and gritted her teeth, preparing to rush forward to shield Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan pulled her away, his eyes flashing with azure flames. He stomped his foot on the ground, and invisible flames erupted from beneath his foot, spreading into a net of fire that completely enveloped the soul deep underground.

With a casual gesture, the invisible Fallen Heart Flame enveloped the soul of the Old Man Mu Gu, whose face was filled with horror, and floated out from the ground.

"Fallen Heart Flame?"

The Old Man Mu Gu's soul trembled from the burning flames. He had originally intended to take the opportunity to enter Xiao Yan's or Cao Ying's body to threaten Xiao Yuan, but he hadn't expected to encounter an expert who could control souls! "No way, who gave you the confidence to think my brother is a pushover?"

Xiao Yuan flashed and appeared beside Xiao Yan. Looking at the horrified Old Man Mu Gu, he let out a cruel laugh.

Cao Ying stood to the side, watching the two brothers reveal the same cunning, fox-like smiles, and suddenly felt both foolish and superfluous.