The Hall of Souls had perfected the art of framing others. It had not only deceived the hotheaded Xiao Yan—it had already extended its reach into the Heavenly Snake Mansion.
The several Dou Zong experts lurking in the Heavenly Snake Mansion immediately sprang into action after quietly receiving the message from the branch hall.
"What are the various elders and the mansion lord's thoughts regarding this Mu Lan Empire?"
Inside the main hall of the Heavenly Snake Mansion, an old woman sat upright and dignified. Her strength had actually reached the five-star Dou Zun realm. Although she was not as powerful as Shi Tian of the Lion Underworld Sect, she still counted as a first-rate expert across the entire Northwestern Continent.
The old woman was named She Qingqing. She was the Supreme Elder of the Heavenly Snake Mansion and had already reached the age of three hundred.
Though her appearance now resembled withered wood, she had once been known in her youth as one of the Northwestern Continent's Two Beauties alongside the previous Queen Medusa of the Snake People Clan. Unfortunately, time spared no one. As the years passed, both her fearsome reputation and her beauty had faded from the world.
"Supreme Elder, I think we should befriend this Mu Lan Empire," the mansion lord, She Xiuyue, said solemnly.
"According to the reports sent back by our Heavenly Snake Mansion, the Misty Cloud Sect truly possesses an unfathomable ancestor. Although we do not know that ancestor's true strength, there is no need for our Heavenly Snake Mansion to fight them, is there? Since there is no conflict of interests between the two sides, I think befriending them would be best."
After hearing She Xiuyue's analysis, the elders nodded one after another, feeling that the plan was feasible.
"Mm. Xiuyue, you've indeed grown quite a lot." She Qingqing smiled in satisfaction.
"I heard that the Misty Cloud Sect established the Misty Cloud Empire in its heartland. Our Heavenly Snake Mansion should send an envoy to offer our congratulations and gifts. We can also take the opportunity to test them and see what sort of existence that Yun Lan Ancestor truly is."
As she spoke, She Qingqing suddenly frowned. She abruptly sensed a trace of evil, murderous energy drifting through the Heavenly Snake Mansion. The other venerable elders in the various halls sensed it as well and flew outside to investigate.
The area where the outer disciples of the Heavenly Snake Mansion lived was in complete disarray. More than thirty disciples lay scattered in pools of blood. Their corpses had either been blasted into minced flesh or reduced to withered skeletons. Their deaths were exceptionally brutal.
"What on earth happened?" She Xiuyue's willow brows rose sharply. Her exquisite face was filled with fury. Someone had actually dared to come to the Heavenly Snake Mansion and slaughter their disciples. She would never let those people off.
"Mansion Lord, Supreme Elder, look over there." An old woman pointed in shock at several bloody characters on the distant wall.
"First destroy the Heavenly Snake, then destroy the Lion Underworld. Only the Misty Cloud rules the Northwest."
The elders sucked in a sharp breath. It turned out that the deaths of these outer disciples had actually been caused by the Misty Cloud Sect.
The Misty Cloud Sect was simply too arrogant.
They had originally intended to befriend the Misty Cloud Sect, but it seemed there was no need for that anymore. A force this arrogant and domineering could not be allowed to remain in the Northwestern Continent. It had to be eliminated.
"Damn Misty Cloud Sect! Do you really think my Heavenly Snake Mansion is easy to bully?" She Xiuyue's phoenix eyes widened as she clenched her delicate fists. She then looked toward She Qingqing and asked for instructions. "Supreme Elder, shall we fight?"
She Qingqing narrowed her old eyes slightly. At present, she still could not determine whether this matter had truly been done by the Misty Cloud Sect. If not, then the Heavenly Snake Mansion might have been used by someone else as a tool to kill with a borrowed knife. Wouldn't that be a terrible loss?
"Hm? Which insignificant vermin is hiding there? Come out for this venerable one!"
She Qingqing extended her withered hand and suddenly grabbed at the empty space to the left. The distant space immediately twisted, followed by two miserable cries. She seized control of the hidden intruders.
A flash of astonishment passed through everyone's eyes. These two sneaky vermin were actually Dou Zong experts. It seemed the opposing force was not to be underestimated.
"Speak. Who sent you? Why did you kill the disciples of my Heavenly Snake Mansion?" She Qingqing's expression turned cold.
The two Dou Zong experts knew that they could not escape this calamity. They both burst into sinister laughter, completely fearless.
"You still dare to laugh? Speak, or this sect master will slaughter you both!" She Xiuyue flew into a rage and drew her treasured sword. With one slash, she severed the head of one of the men before her.
Just as she was about to interrogate the other, she saw the remaining Dou Zong expert's body rapidly swell. The battle qi in his body was gradually compressing.
"Not good! That man is going to self-destruct!" The elders hurriedly retreated.
"Long live the Misty Cloud Empire!" the Dou Zong expert roared with laughter. His body burst apart like a punctured balloon.
She Qingqing sighed. It really was the Misty Cloud Sect! She lightly swept a finger through the air, and the explosive energy was immediately directed into another space, posing no threat.
"Supreme Elder, you believe us now, don't you?" She Xiuyue's face was filled with rage as she said resentfully, "This Misty Cloud Sect is nothing but a demonic sect. It will stop at nothing to achieve its goals and actually wishes to destroy our Heavenly Snake Mansion. We must eliminate it!"
She Qingqing nodded. "Then let's fight!"
Meanwhile, Xiao Lao San—the three-time fool—was consumed by fury after hearing that the Xiao Clan had been destroyed by the Misty Cloud Sect. He had set his mind on causing a scene at the Misty Cloud Sect.
Unfortunately, he was not the Monkey King and did not possess heaven-defying abilities. The moment he flew to the Misty Cloud Sect, reality dealt him a heavy blow.
A Dou Zong expert stood in the distance. It was none other than the old Yun Shan, dressed in pajamas.
The moment such a colossal figure appeared, Xiao Yan immediately lost his nerve.
Even so, he forced himself to put on a brave front and shouted, "Yun Leng, get out here! Hand over my Xiao Clan members!"
"Hm? What are you trying to do, kid?"
Yun Shan was utterly baffled. Recently, he had been run off his feet dealing with the Misty Cloud Sect's expansion. After finally getting a peaceful night's sleep, he had heard this brat cursing on Misty Cloud Mountain early in the morning. It was truly irritating.
"Sect Master Yun." When Xiao Yan saw Yun Shan emerge, his eyes filled with coldness. "Yun Leng of your Misty Cloud Sect came to my Xiao Clan several days ago and captured my father, Xiao Zhan, along with the members of my clan. Do you know about this?"
"Such a thing happened?" Yun Shan looked puzzled.
"Stop spouting bullshit! When did this old man ever go to your Xiao Clan?" A mummy wrapped from head to toe in white bandages appeared beside Yun Shan and cursed Xiao Yan furiously.
This person was Yun Leng. Several days earlier, he had followed the army to attack the Mu Lan Empire and had nearly died beneath the Xuanyuan Sword. He had barely managed to survive, only to be slandered by this brat. He was so enraged that he nearly rolled his eyes back.
"Yun Leng, tell me honestly. Did you go to the Xiao Clan or not?" The old Yun Shan stroked his beard as he secretly pondered. Could this old fellow Yun Leng have mastered some cloning technique?
"No, old sect master!" Yun Leng trembled with anger. Heaven and earth could testify that he had been caught in the sword qi of the Xuanyuan Sword back then, leaving his body nearly shattered. His legs had almost been crippled. How could he have had the strength to go to the Xiao Clan? Besides, why would he go there? To have an affair with Xiao Zhan?
"You're not going to hand them over, are you?" A cold gleam flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes. In an instant, his left hand released Green Lotus Core Flame while his right hand simultaneously released Bone Spirit Cold Fire. Two Heavenly Flames blazed furiously, twisting the air violently. At that moment, he slammed his hands together, and under everyone's stunned gazes, a fiery lotus appeared in his hands.
"What are you trying to do?" Yun Shan flew into a rage. If that fiery lotus were thrown over, it would likely cause devastating casualties among the Misty Cloud Sect's disciples.
"Sect Master Yun, you'd best not interfere in this matter, because this is a grudge between Yun Leng and me," Xiao Yan said through clenched teeth.
"Fine, fine, fine. This sect master won't interfere. Do whatever makes you happy." Yun Shan flicked his sleeve and walked away.
This left Xiao Yan dumbfounded. He's really not going to interfere? I'm trying to kill Yun Leng here!
"Old sect master, you can't just ignore this!" Yun Leng cried and wailed, his legs twitching from fear of the fiery lotus's might.
"Yun Leng, prepare to die!"
How could Xiao Yan let such a perfect opportunity pass? He swung his hand, sending the fiery lotus crashing down like a falling meteor toward Yun Leng below.
"Ten Thousand Poison Scorpion Pincers!"
An old man's voice rang out. Beneath Misty Cloud Mountain, a gigantic scorpion pincer condensed and directly crushed the fiery lotus.
Xiao Yan paled in shock. The Misty Cloud Sect actually had another Dou Zong expert. What was he supposed to do?
Xie Biyan appeared before everyone and said, "I'm still an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect, after all. Since that old Yun Shan refuses to interfere, I'll handle it."
Yun Shan, who had not gone far, turned his head and snorted angrily. "Handle my ass! What does it have to do with you? You're just meddling in other people's business!"
Xie Biyan's old face flushed red with anger. He picked up a washbasin, splashed the water inside, and said, "Fine, fine, fine. Then I won't interfere."
Xie Biyan left as well.
Xiao Yan: "..."
On the empty ground below, only the mummy-like Yun Leng remained.
"Yun Leng, prepare to die!"
Another fiery lotus descended from the sky, frightening Yun Leng into wetting his pants.
Yet another speechless incident occurred. A young girl's voice rang out.
"Excalibur."
"BOOM!"
A golden sword ray rose from the ground and instantly blasted the fiery lotus into pieces.
Saber appeared below. She gave the mummy-like Yun Leng a casual greeting and said, "The cafeteria is about to start serving food. I'm heading over first. You should go soon too." With that, she turned and walked away without looking back.
Xiao Yan: "..."
Xiao Yan's mentality completely collapsed. How could they keep dealing blows like this?
Three Dou Zong experts had effortlessly destroyed his two fiery lotuses, then simply walked away as though nothing had happened.
Creating the two fiery lotuses had already drained Xiao Yan's soul force and battle qi. Yet with his enemy right before him, how could he let him off so easily?
Yun Leng no longer feared anything. Seeing Xiao Yan panting like an ox in the sky while still being unable to do anything to him, he immediately planted his hands on his hips and laughed wildly. He even performed a short old-man square dance on the spot.
"Come on, Xiao Yan! I'm right here! Hit me! You can't hit me, can you? I'm just this powerful! Come at me all together! I'm not afraid of anything! Try to take me down!"
"Ahhh! I'm furious!" Xiao Yan spat blood in his rage. This time, even if he had to risk his life, he would kill this old bastard.
He slammed the two Heavenly Flames together again, molding them into another fiery lotus. However, this lotus was clearly much weaker than the previous two. He still hurled it viciously at Yun Leng, who was striking coquettish poses below.
Yun Leng was dumbfounded. Who could have imagined that Xiao Yan could still use such a killing move?
Although the fiery lotus's power had fallen sharply, he was still seriously injured. He immediately fled in panic, rolling and crawling away.
"Heh heh, old dog Yun Leng, you're destined to die today." Xiao Yan gave a cold laugh.
Just as Yun Leng was about to perish, another damned change occurred.
"Vacuum Domain."
A barrier suddenly appeared behind Yun Leng. There was not a trace of air inside it. Once Xiao Yan's fiery lotus entered the barrier, it lost the air needed to keep burning and gradually went out.
Xiao Yi Xian, her black hair flowing, appeared below. It turned out that she had comprehended a small portion of the Gas-Gas Fruit's abilities and wanted to conduct an experiment. She had happened to encounter this scene.
"Oh! Xiao Yan, what are you doing here?" Xiao Yi Xian was instantly delighted upon seeing her old friend.
Xiao Yan floated stupidly in the air like a walking corpse.
Watching the third fiery lotus flicker weakly before going out, he could no longer withstand the blow. With a cry, he spat out his heart's blood and fell from the sky.
Ye Qianqian, who was inside the main hall, witnessed everything. She shook her head and sang softly for Xiao Yan, "It hurts too much! That kind of hurt..."
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