Above the plaza outside Burning Flame Valley.
A figure cloaked head to toe in blood-red emerged slowly from a pitch-black spatial rift, like a ghost!
Behind him followed several old men in dark blue robes, their faces hidden behind eerie masks!
Even the weakest among them gave off an aura far more terrifying than Fire Cloud Ancestor's!
As for the strength of the blood-red figure...
Fire Cloud Ancestor couldn't even begin to fathom it!
"Who are you people? Since you've come, why not show your true faces?" Fire Cloud Ancestor gritted his teeth and asked, keeping his composure.
The blood-red figure descended slowly, his voice cold. "Everyone who's seen our true faces is dead."
"Heh. Since you've come, I doubt you intended to leave anyone alive in Burning Flame Valley!"
Fire Cloud Ancestor wasn't a fool!
The moment this group of mysterious people appeared, he'd realized that the space within a hundred miles of Burning Flame Valley had been sealed off by some powerful means!
In other words, everyone in Burning Flame Valley had become a turtle trapped in a jar.
With Fire Cloud Ancestor's abilities, there was no way he could break through!
"Why not at least let us know who's behind this before we die?"
The blood-red figure seemed to pause, then suddenly let out a cackling laugh.
"Ke ke ke... Once you become my nourishment, you'll find out soon enough!"
"Attack!"
The blood-red figure twitched a finger.
In an instant!
The several Dou Saint Experts behind him charged in like two ferocious leopards storming into a sheep pen.
One palm strike collapsed a mountain, while one punch blasted a pit dozens of yards deep!
Knowing he was no match for them, Fire Cloud Ancestor abandoned his plan to learn their identities from their own mouths.
All he could do was crush the jade talisman Xiao Xuan had left behind and call for help!
"A distress signal?"
The blood-red figure had seen it too!
"Ke ke. There are no more than five people on this Dou Qi Continent who can save someone from my grasp!"
"Break!"
The blood-red figure reached out and seized the glowing ball of light from the jade talisman.
With a crack, he crushed it!
"Fire Cloud, Tang Zhen, hand over the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, and I'll leave your corpses intact!"
"Dream on!"
When Fire Cloud Ancestor saw that the distress signal had been stopped, his face darkened.
Could it be...
Would Burning Flame Valley really be destroyed at his hands?
"Good! Very good! Since you've rejected my offer, there's nothing more to discuss!"
The blood-red figure's voice was icy. He shifted his foot slightly, and without warning, appeared in front of Fire Cloud Ancestor!
His blood-red hand reached for Fire Cloud Ancestor!
Fire Cloud Ancestor's expression changed drastically.
Dou Qi surged wildly as he struck with his palm!
Bang!
The two exchanged a palm strike!
Fire Cloud Ancestor was outmatched and sent flying.
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot. Once I've killed you, I can search for the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame myself!"
"Heh. Even if I die, I'll make sure you pay dearly!"
Fire Cloud Ancestor formed a hand seal, and his body suddenly began to swell!
"Blowing yourself up? That's nothing but a cheap trick to me!"
"Suppress!"
The blood-red figure conjured a scarlet palm print with one hand and sent it crashing down from above onto Fire Cloud Ancestor!
"Burning Flame Ancestor, I've failed you!"
Knowing he was no match and couldn't resist, Fire Cloud Ancestor could only let out a bitter laugh.
He closed his eyes and awaited death.
Tang Zhen and the others hadn't been killed by those Dou Saint Experts!
They'd all been imprisoned instead!
Suddenly, a voice rang out across heaven and earth.
"You're nothing but a Four-Star Dou Sheng, and you dare kill someone under my protection? Who do you think you are?"
Immediately afterward, ripples spread across the sky above Burning Flame Valley.
They easily dispelled the blood-red figure's attack!
At the same time, a terrifying force, as if wielded by a heavenly emperor, descended from above!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In an instant.
The several Dou Saint Experts brought by the blood-red figure turned into clouds of blood and scattered on the wind!
A powerful suction from the spatial rift effortlessly drew in their souls!
As for the blood-red figure himself, both his arms exploded at the roots!
Blood gushed from his severed limbs like fountains!
"Ah! It's... it's you!"
The blood-red figure stared at the person emerging from the rift.
His eyes, shrouded in blood-red, brimmed with hatred and fear!
"Looks like my suspicions were right!"
Xiao Xuan shook his head, his expression tinged with disappointment.
"I never thought even you people would stoop to such cruel, inhumane acts!"
"Xiao Xuan! Don't push your luck!"
"I'm the one pushing my luck?"
Xiao Xuan laughed.
"Look at the mess you've made! If I'd arrived one minute later, you'd have slaughtered everyone in Burning Flame Valley!"
He'd originally been on his way to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. He'd only just reached the Central Plains when he sensed that the jade talisman he'd left in Burning Flame Valley had shattered.
But no distress signal had come through!
He suspected something had happened to Burning Flame Valley and rushed over at once.
The blood-red figure ground his teeth. "Do you think you can get away with this without facing our revenge?"
"You think you can threaten me? Let the person behind you say that instead. Maybe then it'll carry some weight! You... aren't worthy!"
As Xiao Xuan spoke the final word—
Boom!
The overwhelming might of an Emperor Realm Soul descended from above, turning the Four-Star Dou Sheng blood-red figure into a shower of blood that rained over the land!
As for his soul...
It naturally became nourishment for Xiao Xuan's restored body!
"Big Brother Xiao Xuan, they died way too easily!"
Zi Yan poked her head out from behind Xiao Xuan, chewing on a pill and speaking indistinctly.
Xiao Xuan came to stand before Fire Cloud Ancestor. "Sorry, I... came too late."
"Thank you for saving us, senior."
Fire Cloud Ancestor expressed his gratitude.
Xiao Xuan said, "The Central Plains are in chaos. Take this jade and go to the Jia Ma Empire on the Northwest Continent to find Yao Chen!"
"Yao Chen? He... he's still alive?"
"Yes. That place can also be considered the Xiao Clan's base."
"Very well."
Fire Cloud Ancestor agreed without hesitation.
At that moment, Xiao Xuan suddenly remembered that he'd promised Yao Chen earlier that if he came to the Central Plains, he'd visit Starfall Pavilion and tell Venerable Wind that he was still alive!
So Xiao Xuan took the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, their inherited flame, from Tang Zhen, then immediately left Burning Flame Valley and headed to Starfall Pavilion.
When he arrived, several Dou Venerables had surrounded Starfall Pavilion as well!
Venerable Wind was badly wounded.
Blood kept seeping from the corner of his mouth.
He clutched the wound in his abdomen, blood trickling steadily from it, and his face held a calmness that seemed to have seen through life and death.
"Chen, are you still waiting for me?"
Feng Xian murmured softly.
At that moment, he seemed to see Yao Chen beckoning to him from the horizon!
"Chen, I... may not be able to avenge you. I hope that in the next life... we... we'll still be brothers!"
"Feng Xian, our master has taken a liking to this place. It's your good fortune, yet you still dare to resist? You really don't know when to quit!"
"Who exactly are you people?"
Feng Xian glared at the man wearing the eerie mask and asked through gritted teeth.
The man let out a cackling laugh. "You don't want to know. The answer... would leave you in despair!"
Before you continue