Liu Yan

After dealing with the Demon Ape, Xiao Chen's eyes flickered. He immediately grabbed the Demon Ape's corpse, drained all the True Dragon Essence Blood from it, tossed the clump of dragon-shaped Essence Blood to Xiao Chen behind him, then called out and led the three of them racing toward the Dragon Phoenix Pool at the mountaintop.

For the rest of the journey, the three of them encountered no obstacles with their strength. Presumably, the powerful exotic beasts on White Bone Mountain had all been drawn away by other experts, so none came out to stop them.

At full speed, the three of them crossed through the clouds shrouding the mountaintop in just a few minutes.

With a light tap of their toes, they burst out of the mist and appeared atop White Bone Mountain.

Xiao Chen stood in the air and looked ahead, his gaze suddenly narrowing. The mountaintop was littered with white bones, while at its very center lay two especially enormous skeletons.

They were like giant rocks weighing ten thousand tons.

The two skeletons clearly did not belong to the same owner, yet both radiated a terrifying pressure. Under that pressure, even the surrounding air seemed to have solidified.

The two massive, ancient skeletons connected together, forming a bone pool roughly a hundred zhang wide. Ancient light patterns covered the pool, flickering with a powerful vitality, as though they were constantly breathing.

An indescribable, peculiar power rippled within the empty bone pool. Clearly, this bone pool was the goal of every expert who had entered Dragon Phoenix Heaven—the Dragon Phoenix Pool!

The scene before him gave Xiao Chen a strangely familiar feeling.

Mu Chen, however, stared at the bone pool with blazing eyes.

But just as he was about to step forward, his expression shifted. From three other directions, two extremely powerful surges of spiritual energy suddenly shot into the sky.

Those two powerful auras headed straight for the mountaintop. One stood to his left and the other to his right, forming a pincer position around Mu Chen, faintly revealing their intent to target him.

When Mu Chen sensed one of those powerful spiritual energy fluctuations, his expression turned cold.

That aura was not unfamiliar to him.

Whoosh! A streak of light flashed atop the mountain, and Liu Yan, dressed in white robes, appeared. He looked indifferently at Mu Chen before casually tossing aside the huge exotic beast corpse in his hand.

"I told you, you can't escape my grasp."

Liu Yan lightly clapped his hands, his casual tone filled with the mockery of a cat toying with a mouse.

Liu Yan naturally did not dare offend the Flame Emperor, but he had already investigated the matter. The Flame Emperor seemed to be connected to the beautiful young woman beside Xiao Yan.

As for Mu Chen? Heh. As long as he did not beat him to death, there would be no problem.

After all, someone at the Flame Emperor's level would never care about disputes among juniors.

Yes, that was right.

Perhaps he could even use this opportunity to enter the Flame Emperor's sights.

After all, both he and the Flame Emperor cultivated fire-attributed spiritual energy. His talent was also exceptionally outstanding, and with the opportunities in Dragon Phoenix Heaven, there was a good chance that the Flame Emperor would take a liking to him, allowing him to soar to greatness.

"Idiot!"

Almost instantly, Xiao Chen and Xiao Qingyan saw through Liu Yan's thoughts from his gaze.

They truly had not expected Mu Chen's protagonist stupidity-reduction aura to be this terrifying.

Liu Yan stood in the air, while the massive corpse of an exotic beast lay below him. Blood flowed freely, and a pungent stench spread through the air.

Yet he merely stared coldly at Mu Chen, as though looking down upon an ant in his palm. Mu Chen also looked at Liu Yan, frowning slightly. He had not expected to run into this fellow at the very first stop. Was it really such a coincidence?

"Of course it isn't such a coincidence."

Liu Yan seemed to see through Mu Chen's doubts and smiled faintly. "When we fought at Dragon Phoenix Pavilion, I left a special spiritual mark on you, so I can roughly sense your location."

"Are you talking about this?"

Suddenly, Xiao Chen pulled Xiao Qingyan forward to stand before Mu Chen and extended his palm. A strand of hair appeared in his hand.

"Sir, this is a grudge between Mu Chen and me. I hope you will refrain from interfering. Liu Yan will certainly repay you generously."

Liu Yan absolutely did not dare offend someone capable of killing Fang Yi.

Especially when his eyes fell upon Xiao Chen holding Xiao Qingyan's jade-like hand, the corner of his eye twitched uncontrollably.

A deeply concealed trace of jealousy flashed through his eyes.

"Sure. Give me one billion drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid, and I'll leave immediately without another word."

Hah!

As soon as those words were spoken, the entire mountain range erupted in an uproar. Even if Liu Yan sold the Heavenly Profound Hall behind him, he probably would not be able to gather one billion drops of Sovereign Spiritual Liquid.

"Fine. Since you insist on protecting Mu Chen, I'll let him go for now."

Liu Yan shot a cold glare at Mu Chen, whose face was filled with mockery, then snorted and left behind a threat.

"Mu Chen, this matter isn't over."

"Does anyone else want to compete with us for this Dragon Phoenix Pool?"

Mu Chen swept his gaze around and spoke in a low voice. The many experts looked at one another.

In the end, they could only grit their teeth and retreat.

There was no choice. Leaving aside the Flame Emperor, Xiao Chen alone was already someone they could not afford to provoke.

Though enough ants could bite an elephant to death, doing so would be no different from provoking the Flame Emperor.

If that happened, there would be no need for the factions behind them to continue existing.

Thus, no matter how unwilling they were to give up the Dragon Phoenix Pool, reason ultimately defeated greed. No matter how miraculous the Dragon Phoenix Pool was, it could not compare to their own lives.

Seeing those experts retreat, Mu Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, those who had made it here were no ordinary people.

If they truly disregarded everything and attacked, it would be troublesome for them as well. Now that they had chosen to retreat rationally, it was the best outcome for both sides.

"It's time to open the Dragon Phoenix Pool."

Seeing this, Xiao Chen directly tossed the Demon Ape Essence Blood Mu Chen had given him into the Dragon Phoenix Pool.

Gurgle, gurgle. Crimson blood rapidly spread through the Dragon Phoenix Pool. Within a single minute, it had submerged half the pool, and a rich scent of blood filled the air.

Buzz, buzz. As the blood filled the Dragon Phoenix Pool, the pool began to tremble faintly. Ancient light patterns emerged across the stark white bone pool.

A resounding Dragon's roar and Phoenix's cry rang out from the Dragon Phoenix Pool, echoing between heaven and earth.

Gurgle, gurgle. The blood within the Dragon Phoenix Pool began to boil, releasing bubble after bubble. Vaguely, dragon and phoenix shadows seemed to swim within the bone pool.

As they moved, the originally viscous blood rapidly became clear. Strands of impurities continuously evaporated away, and the fishy stench within the blood vanished entirely. In only a short time, the Dragon Phoenix Pool seemed to have transformed from a blood pool into an immortal pool overflowing with spiritual mist. A mysterious power quietly spread out, causing space itself to ripple.

"Go in and give it a try."

Standing beside the Dragon Phoenix Pool, Xiao Qingyan smiled at Mu Chen. "Aren't you two coming too?"

Mu Chen was stunned. Now that the Dragon Phoenix Pool had formed, anyone who entered it would obtain a tremendous opportunity.

"I don't have a habit of bathing with others."

Xiao Chen shrugged and smiled.

"Don't be so wishy-washy, you big man. Hurry up."

"Thanks."

Mu Chen clasped his fists gratefully. Without saying anything more, he moved, preparing to charge into the opened Dragon Phoenix Pool.

Bang! But at the very instant he moved, a pile of bones atop White Bone Mountain suddenly exploded out of thin air. Fragments shot out in every direction, and amid those fragments, a blurry black shadow passed through space and rushed toward the Dragon Phoenix Pool ahead of Mu Chen.

Mu Chen's expression changed drastically in an instant, and killing intent surged in his eyes. Someone actually intended to play the fisherman and snatch food from his mouth.

Whoosh!

A black streak of light swept toward the Dragon Phoenix Pool like a ghost. This sudden turn of events greatly shocked Mu Chen, but his reaction was not slow. The moment he noticed the streak of light, he struck almost instinctively, invisible lightning flashing in his palm as Netherworld Heart Demon Thunder erupted instantly.

Mu Chen had experienced countless battles between life and death over the years. Such rich combat experience had long been carved into his bones.

Thus, in that brief instant, he did not use spiritual energy to intercept his opponent. Instead, he chose Netherworld Heart Demon Thunder, the fastest and most unpredictable attack at his disposal.

Boom! When the shrill thunderous sound rang out, dark black light immediately surged from the black shadow's body and swiftly devoured the thunderous sound. However, his body still paused for an instant.

That instantary pause cost him his final opportunity.

Xiao Qingyan released Xiao Chen's hand, and her graceful figure vanished at that moment. In the next instant, she appeared before the black shadow, her slender jade finger striking out like lightning.

Her temper was not good, especially not now.

Since childhood, no one had ever dared snatch food in front of her.

A radiant white light bloomed from her slender jade finger. Space rippled faintly, then was directly torn apart. Even the black shadow did not dare ignore Xiao Qingyan's attack. He likewise brought two fingers together, dark light surging as a chilling aura swept forth.

Bang! Their fingers collided, and visible ripples of force spread outward. Enormous waves were immediately raised within the Dragon Phoenix Pool below. Xiao Qingyan's delicate body trembled as she took a step back.

Whoosh! The black shadow, meanwhile, was sent flying backward. He tapped the air lightly with his toes and steadied himself in midair. As the black light dispersed, his figure was completely revealed. Every gaze around White Bone Mountain immediately turned toward him, followed by cries of shock.

"That's... the Netherworld Prince of the Netherworld Palace!"

Hearing the successive exclamations outside White Bone Mountain, Mu Chen's eyes narrowed as he looked over. In midair stood a figure dressed in black, with long black hair draped over his shoulders. His face was rather handsome, though somewhat cold and sinister. His pair of eyes were sharp as blades, making anyone who looked at him feel as though they were being pierced.