Deep in the boundless, vast Tagor Desert, beneath a sky filled with drifting yellow sand, Snake Abyss Oasis lay like a brilliant piece of jade, quietly embedded in this expanse of desolation and death. It radiated a rare and precious aura. Yet now, the peace and serenity won through so much hardship were silently torn apart by a bone-chilling malice, as though it had come from the deepest reaches of hell. Like a boulder dropped into a tranquil lake, it sent out wave after wave of ominous ripples.
Xiao Zhan hovered above the oasis like an immovable deity. His blue robe remained utterly still amid the scorching, raging sandstorm, as if he were separated from the violent world around him. The Seven-Colored Little Snake that usually slept like a tranquil lake around his wrist suddenly jerked its slender body upright, as if it had been seared by a red-hot iron. It looked like a bowstring drawn taut! Its pale-purple eyes contracted into dangerous vertical slits, like two sharp daggers, and locked onto the distant northwestern horizon. Sharp, urgent hisses spilled from its mouth without pause. Like an invisible alarm, they pierced straight into Xiao Zhan's soul, jolting him into alertness.
An extremely faint yet stubbornly persistent aura, as cold and sinister as a leech clinging to the bone, traveled intermittently along the invisible bond of their bloodline pact. It was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue in the dark, carrying greedy desire, intense malice, and the reckless resolve of a man with nothing left to lose. Just sensing it made one's blood run cold.
Protector Wu! It was that Soul Hall Protector who had fled in such a sorry state, like a rat scurrying through a filthy gutter!
Instead of fleeing far away like a stray dog, he had lurked like a venomous scorpion in the shadows, sinister and cunning. He had dared to turn his greedy gaze toward the oasis once more, like a hungry wolf eyeing a fat lamb! His target was obvious: either the sleeping Queen Medusa's Origin, which held boundless power, or the blazing, mysterious Green Lotus Core Flame he had only just subdued!
"Looking to die!" A flash of icy light shot from Xiao Zhan's eyes, and killing intent, sharp as tangible icicles, burst forth. Its bone-chilling cold seemed to freeze the air around him and plunge the temperature by several degrees. His aura abruptly drew in, like a ferocious beast that had lain in wait for a long time, awaiting the perfect moment to strike. He blurred and instantly slipped into the subtle ripples of space, darting toward the source of that sinister aura in utter silence, swift as lightning! He moved so fast that only a faint, distorted afterimage remained where he had stood, like a trace left by torn space.
Within the oasis, Xiao Yan was near the ruins of the Ancient Altar, steadying his turbulent emotions. Suddenly, he jerked his head up and looked past the dunes toward the direction where his father had disappeared. At the same moment, the black ring on his left hand gave a faint but bone-chilling tremor without warning, as though some kindred evil presence had quietly stirred it—a cold dagger stabbing straight into his soul. In an instant, a chill shot up his spine like lightning, making him shudder.
"The Soul Hall... That revolting aura belongs to the Soul Hall! Father..." Xiao Yan's face changed at once, as though he had been struck by lightning. Without another thought, he bolted toward the watchtower on the oasis's outskirts like an arrow loosed from a bow! He had only one thought: he had to see with his own eyes that his father was safe. Even if the way ahead led through a mountain of blades and a sea of fire, he would not hesitate!
Protector Wu was in truly dreadful shape. He hid in the shadow of a towering, weathered rock pillar, like a rat afraid of the light. His wide black robe hung in tatters, like rags torn apart by wild dogs, snapping in the wind as it barely concealed the wavering soul body beneath, which looked ready to crumble into countless fragments at any moment. The dense black mist that had once shrouded him like ink was now as thin as the faint haze of dawn. A gentle breeze might have scattered it without a trace.
At the core of his soul body, a seven-colored poison scar that had nearly cut him in half was entwined with a crimson-gold brand that seared his soul. They resembled two vicious snakes, radiating a destructive aura. These were the marks left by Queen Medusa's dreaded Poison Evil Seal and the remnants of Xiao Zhan's Dragon-Phoenix Power, both driven deep into his soul like twin blades.
Every faint ripple of soul power brought tearing agony, as though countless steel needles were piercing him all at once. At the same time, wisps of illusory black qi kept leaking away, like the breath of life slowly ebbing from him. Under the desert's scorching heat and the torment of his grave wounds, he clung to life like a soul lamp on the verge of running dry, tottering at the brink of collapse.
"Damn it... Damn that Medusa... Damn Xiao Zhan!" Protector Wu's illusory face twisted beyond recognition with pain and hatred, like a sheet of paper crumpled into a ball. Soulfire flickered wildly in his empty eye sockets, raging like flames as he unleashed a silent yet thunderous roar. His illusory, trembling claw reached down and gripped a nondescript black leather pouch at his waist, covered in countless carved faces twisted in agony. It was the dreaded Ten Thousand Soul Banner!
This was his final trump card, the life-saving weapon the Soul Hall had bestowed upon its Protectors—a last resort meant to take his enemies down with him! Like a deadly thorn hidden in the night, it could unleash devastating power at a critical moment.
"Heh heh... Even if this Protector's soul is scattered to the winds, I'll drag you all down with me! The purest essence of the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python... the blazing Origin of the Green Lotus Core Flame... they're all destined to be mine!" A crazed, greedy gleam burned in Protector Wu's eyes like poisonous fire, brimming with insatiable desire and madness. He recklessly set his soul body ablaze with its last scraps of soul power, feeding wisps of black qi into the pouch like venomous snakes. Its mouth twitched faintly, as though a gate to hell were slowly opening. Countless vengeful souls wailed and struggled within, their cries half laughter, half sobs, radiating a despair and malice that froze the soul. Their aura began spreading like dense fog, cloaking everything around him in sinister dread.
Just as he was about to detonate the Ten Thousand Soul Banner and turn the entire area into a desolate realm of death, plunging every living thing into an endless abyss—
"Protector Wu, you picked a rather good rat hole to hide in."
A voice as cold as the icy winds of the underworld, utterly devoid of feeling, suddenly exploded deep within Protector Wu's soul! It sounded like a judgment from hell, carrying unquestionable authority and merciless coldness.
Protector Wu's soul body shuddered violently, as though struck by a bolt of lightning. He looked up in shock!
Atop the enormous rock pillar where he had been hiding, a figure in blue robes had appeared without his noticing. Xiao Zhan stood there, still as an unshakable mountain. Like a specter, he had emerged without a sound. His gaze, cold as a searchlight, pierced the pillar's heavy shadows and fixed on Protector Wu's horrified soul body. It seemed to see straight through his soul, leaving him nowhere to hide.
"You... How is this possible?!" Protector Wu cried out in shock. His soulfire flickered wildly, like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment. He had believed his concealment to be excellent, and the Soul Hall's secret arts should have hidden him beneath a thick cloak of invisibility. Yet Xiao Zhan had found him so quickly and precisely! Terror and confusion filled him, as though a hunter had cornered his prey.
"Spatial power... You're a Dou Zong powerhouse... You really are a Dou Zong!" Protector Wu finally understood. All his earlier suspicions had just been cruelly confirmed. A bone-deep chill swept over him like a raging tide, and bottomless terror rose from the depths of his soul.
He did not dare hesitate. His soul body unleashed its last reserves of power, streaking away like a meteor burning itself out. He became a wisp of black light, thin as smoke yet swift as lightning, and fled desperately in the direction opposite the oasis! He seemed intent on tearing through space itself. At the same time, his illusory claw, filled with desperate resolve and madness, clenched hard around the Ten Thousand Soul Banner at his waist! Even if he was doomed to die, he would drag the whole area down with him and turn the land into a living hell!
"Still trying to run?"
A trace of icy mockery colored Xiao Zhan's voice, like a biting north wind in midwinter, striking straight at Protector Wu's heart. He stood calmly where he was, making no attempt to pursue. He merely raised his right hand, slowly and elegantly, as though everything were under his control. Facing the direction of Protector Wu's desperate flight, he gradually spread his fingers like a deity commanding the laws of heaven and earth, then abruptly clenched them!
"Spatial... Lockdown!"
Buzz—!!!
Centered on Protector Wu, space across a radius of several hundred zhang rippled at once, like water struck by a boulder. Visible, immensely solid waves of distortion spread outward in rings, carrying a mysterious and formidable power. Wherever they passed, the air seemed to freeze into solid ice, the sand stopped rolling, and even light appeared bound by invisible threads, unable to pass freely. Everything seemed frozen in place by an unseen force!
The streak of black light carrying Protector Wu at breathtaking speed slammed into an invisible spatial barrier, one as unyielding as it was tough. It was an impregnable prison, seemingly the strongest thing in the world.
Thud!
A dull crash rang out like thunder right beside one's ear! Protector Wu's illusory soul body was hurled backward and smashed against the wall of frozen space. He felt as though he had been sealed inside a vast, invisible piece of amber. The surrounding space had grown viscous and heavy as a mountain; every movement seemed to drain all his strength. He could no longer flee—not even the slightest tremor of his soul body came easily. His claw, reaching for the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, was frozen in midair, a mere inch from the black pouch. But that inch now stretched farther than the distance between heaven and earth. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not move forward at all.
"No—!!!" Protector Wu let out a scream of utter despair from the depths of his soul, a cry of pain as though his very soul were being torn apart, full of terror and unwillingness to accept his fate. Spatial Lockdown! It was the signature technique of a Dou Zong powerhouse who had mastered the rules of space! Faced with this absolute spatial seal, the soul-traversing art he had once prided himself on, certain it could carry him through the void, had become a cruel joke. He was like a fly trapped in a glass jar, uselessly crashing in every direction.
Xiao Zhan's figure blurred like a specter, and in an instant he appeared outside the wall of sealed space. Like a cold, sheer cliff, he looked down without a trace of pity at Protector Wu, who struggled like a trapped beast within. With a light flick of his finger, he sent a strand of deep-blue flame dancing into the air. It radiated terrifying heat, enough to incinerate all things. It was the mysterious and powerful Green Lotus Core Flame!
"It's over." Xiao Zhan's voice was calm and cold, like the final judgment of the god of death, carrying an authority no one could challenge. As soon as the words fell, the blue flame at his fingertip flared brightly and became a condensed thread of deep-green fire. Like a roaring fire dragon, it shrieked as it pierced through the void, stabbing toward the core of Protector Wu's soul body with incredible speed!
The shadow of death descended like an invisible mountain, pressing down on Protector Wu until he could barely breathe. The madness in his soulfire blazed to its limit, like a raging fire ready to reduce everything to ash.
"You want to kill me?! Then we'll die together! Ten Thousand Soul Banner—explode!!!"
He unleashed one final, hysterical roar of the soul, like a curse from hell, filled with boundless hatred and determination. The black pouch—the Ten Thousand Soul Banner—had been barely suppressed by the force of space and remained a mere inch from his claw. Now it erupted with a blinding black light, as though a black hole had swallowed all things, seemingly ready to drag the entire world into an endless abyss.
Boom—!!!
It was an explosion too terrifying for words. It was no ordinary shockwave of physical matter, but a devastating storm on the level of the soul, like a savage beast awakening from an ancient abyss and opening its cavernous jaws to devour every soul in the world.
That tiny leather pouch had become a forbidden gate to the deepest reaches of hell, unleashing endless horror and despair. Countless agonized, twisted figures surged from within: black vengeful souls steeped in boundless hatred and despair. Like a burst dam's black flood, they smashed through the weakest point of the spatial lockdown near the Ten Thousand Soul Banner's detonation site. They poured out in a frenzy, as if trying to break free of their long-held prison and turn the world into an inferno.
Wooooo—!
The piercing wails of countless vengeful souls intertwined into a soundwave powerful enough to tear the soul. Like countless sharp daggers, they stabbed into the depths of every living creature's soul. The soundwave swept across heaven and earth, and the sky abruptly darkened wherever it passed, as if an invisible hand had splashed it with ink. The whole world sank into chaos and darkness.
Thick, tangible black fog made of vengeful souls churned and boiled like a surging black sea, blotting out the sky and shrouding the whole world. A bone-chilling wind howled, cold enough to freeze blood, as if it meant to extinguish every trace of life. The sunlight was swallowed by the darkness, and the whole desert plunged from daylight into a ghostly night without end, like a cursed world.
Where the black fog passed, the scorching sand instantly crusted over with black frost, cold and merciless as the touch of death. Even a few tenacious desert thorns withered and weathered away at a visible rate, until they crumbled into dust and vanished into the air. Even the air itself seemed contaminated by the fog, reeking of rot and death so foul that it turned the stomach.
The spatial lockdown was blasted open by the impact of that terrifying force. Protector Wu's battered soul body wavered like a candle in the wind. Swept along by the flood of vengeful souls, it became a dim streak of black light and fled like a stray dog, heading away from the explosion toward the one opening. Only chaos and terror remained behind him.
"Hmph! It's nothing but the death throes of a cornered beast!" Xiao Zhan's gaze was cold as ice that had remained unmelted for ten thousand years, radiating bone-deep chill and unquestionable authority. The spatial lockdown had been blasted open by the terrifying shock of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner's detonation, but its invisible force remained like a vast Heavenly Net, covering most of the space in the area.
Xiao Zhan's thoughts stirred, as though a deity were commanding the powers of heaven and earth. The source power of the Green Lotus Core Flame within his dantian erupted like a slumbering dragon awakening, releasing boundless might.
"Green Lotus Fire Prison!"
At Xiao Zhan's low shout, a thunderous boom rang out, as though the heavens themselves were roaring. Centered on him, endless deep-green flames burst skyward like an erupting volcano, scorching and violent, determined to burn everything to ashes. They did not spread chaotically. Instead, they instantly gathered and interwove into a hellish sea of fire that stretched a thousand zhang in every direction, formed from countless blazing green fire lotuses.
Each fire lotus seemed like an envoy from hell, spinning and burning. Its leaf edges were sharp as blades, glinting coldly, as though the slightest brush could slice through space. At its heart, green flames surged forth, capable of incinerating all things. They were blazing and pure, radiating an aura of the utmost yang and strength—a weapon that purified every evil, and the absolute bane of these sinister, yin-bound vengeful souls.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!!!
Dense, grating sounds of dissolution rang out one after another, like red-hot irons plunged into snow. The moment the black fog touched the Green Lotus sea of fire, a fierce reaction erupted. Countless vengeful souls at the front of the wave were reduced to wisps of smoke by the pure, blazing green flames before they could even scream, like dust blown away on the wind, utterly annihilated from the world.
"Roar!" Deep within the fire prison, a massive Fire Python took shape from pure green flame. Its body was enormous, flames surging all around it like the ruler of a world of fire. With power that could burn the heavens, it roared toward Protector Wu's fleeing remnant soul, its force seemingly enough to set the whole world ablaze.
"Ah—!!" Protector Wu's remnant soul let out a shriek so piercing it seemed to pass straight through the soul, like a wail from the depths of hell that made one's hair stand on end. The Fire Python, savage as a wild beast, sank its fangs into his already shattered soul body. In an instant, it melted like a candle thrown into a blazing furnace. Flames spread wildly across his soul body, devouring him piece by piece.
His eyes brimmed with boundless hatred and unwillingness, as though he meant to burn Xiao Zhan's face into his soul and wait for the day he could take revenge. His remnant soul writhed and twisted in the green flames, like a trapped insect struggling in a spider's web, fighting its last futile battle. Then he unleashed one final, curse-like shriek of the soul:
"Heh heh heh... Xiao Zhan! You destroyed my soul body... The Soul Hall won't let you go! The Blood Soul Guide has already been planted... Just you wait... The Soul Extinction Penalty... will surely descend! None of you... will escape!!!"
The shriek abruptly cut off, as though an invisible hand had choked it short. Under the fierce burn of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the last wisp of Protector Wu's remnant soul vanished completely, leaving the world without a trace of him. Only a few wisps of resentful black smoke lingered in the air like threads, but the surrounding flames quickly purified even those, as though they had never existed.
The terrifying wails of the vengeful souls stabbed into the depths of Xiao Yi Xian's soul like billions of icy needles, filled with boundless chill and malice. Seated on a black rock in the valley, she shuddered violently, like a leaf swept up by a gale.
Pfft—!
She spat out a mouthful of blood flecked with seven-colored light. It arced through the air like a blooming red flower. Inside her, the dark-purple Poison Source Crystal Core that Xiao Zhan had refined and temporarily subdued was stirred by the surging soul power, steeped in despair and malice, like a spark falling into boiling oil. It went berserk in an instant, like a ferocious beast awakened, crashing wildly through Xiao Yi Xian's body and unleashing its poisonous power without restraint.
Buzz—!!!
In an instant, dark-purple light surged from Xiao Yi Xian's chest like a raging tide, staining everything around her with an eerie hue. A destructive poison power far purer than the valley's miasma and a hundred times more violent erupted from its long slumber like a volcano dormant for ten thousand years! It surged with enough force to devour everything in the world. The emerald glow of the Detoxification Spirit Bead flickered like a candle in the wind before that terrifying power, letting out a strained whine as it was suppressed to its limit, seemingly ready to go out at any moment.
"Ugh—!" Xiao Yi Xian cried out in unbearable pain, the sound seeming to be wrenched from the depths of her soul, full of despair and struggle. Her once-lovely face twisted beyond recognition, and beads of sweat rolled from her forehead, soaking her clothes in an instant. The seven-colored markings on her skin flared dazzlingly bright, like lightning streaking across the night sky. Her gray-white pupils were completely flooded by wild dark-purple poison light, stripped of all life and turned into two bottomless black holes.
The uncontrolled poison power gathered, compressed, and twisted wildly around her, as though an invisible hand were kneading it. The gray-white poisonous mist merged with the dark-purple poison from the crystal core, transforming into a terrifying energy serpent dozens of zhang long. Dark-purple scales covered its entire body, glinting coldly in the light, while gray-white poisonous flames burned in its eyes like fire from hell, radiating a violent urge to destroy everything. The giant serpent raised its head and unleashed a silent roar. Though soundless, it seemed to carry such overwhelming pressure that the entire Poison Barrier Valley trembled. Yet the force of destruction was not aimed outward. Its first target was Xiao Yi Xian herself, unconscious and defenseless! The poison had turned on its master, like a double-edged sword that unleashed terrifying power even as it drove her toward the abyss of eternal ruin.
The terrifying poisonous serpent opened its maw, formed from pure poison power. Its mouth was a bottomless black hole, steeped in the deathly stillness that extinguished all life. It lunged down toward Xiao Yi Xian, whose breath was faint and who had no strength to resist, as if it meant to swallow her whole and make her part of itself.
"Xiao Yi Xian—!!!"
A heart-rending roar came from the entrance to the valley, full of terror and despair, as though its owner had lost the most precious thing in the world. Xiao Yan charged into the Poison Barrier Valley like a madman, moving as fast as a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness. He had just reached the watchtower when he saw the world-destroying burst of black fog full of vengeful souls, followed by the dark-purple poisonous serpent rising within the valley, an apparition that made even his soul tremble. He saw it strike its fatal blow toward Xiao Yi Xian. At that moment, an invisible hand seemed to squeeze his heart so tightly that he could not breathe.
He did not hesitate or retreat! Xiao Yan pushed his speed to its absolute limit, as if breaking through the shackles of space. Dou Qi surged through him like a flood bursting through a dam, burning recklessly. The scorching energy rushed through his meridians, threatening to burst his body apart. Like a moth flying into a flame, he threw himself forward with fearless resolve, placing himself between Xiao Yi Xian and the serpent capable of destroying everything at the critical moment, with life and death hanging in the balance.
He flung his arms wide. His back, not broad but incredibly solid, faced the terrifying poison power that could reduce a Dou Ling powerhouse to a skeleton in an instant. He stood straight as a pine tree, like an immovable mountain. Even if the way ahead led to a bottomless abyss, he would not retreat.
"No—!!" The Snake-People Tribe warriors on the distant watchtower shrieked in utter terror, their cries tearing through the sky, full of despair and helplessness, as though they were witnessing the most tragic scene imaginable.
The poisonous serpent's massive maw, shadowed by the death that would devour all things, descended like a mountain of darkness and swallowed Xiao Yan's seemingly tiny figure. Dark-purple and gray-white destructive poison power, seething like potent acid and reeking sharply as it corroded all it touched, crashed into Xiao Yan's back. The air sizzled as the poison passed through it, as though the whole world were about to be destroyed by that force.
At this seemingly fatal instant, when all hope was lost!
Buzz—!!!
The black, ancient-looking ring on the index finger of Xiao Yan's left hand, which had always lain dormant like an ordinary ornament, erupted without warning with an unprecedented burst of light. It was neither the fiery red-gold of a flame nor the dancing green fire, but a color unfathomably deep, ancient, and mysterious, as if it could contain all things while rising above them all. It was the dark-gold hue of primordial chaos at the birth of the universe, filled with endless mystery and majesty.
A thin, gossamer-like curtain of dark-gold light, condensed to the utmost, instantly spread out from the ring, forming a perfect spherical shield. It radiated a soft yet steadfast glow, firmly protecting Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian behind him, as though building an impregnable wall between them and every danger beyond.
Sizzle—!!!
The destructive serpent's maw lunged down with enough ferocity to devour heaven and earth and snapped shut on the dark-gold curtain. The terrifying poison power, potent enough to corrode space, surged against it like a violent tide, eroding the shield. The curtain shuddered violently, its surface rippling countless times like a lake struck by a boulder, as though it could shatter at any moment under the force.
Yet no matter how wildly the dark-purple and gray-white poison raged, gnawing at it like a savage beast, the seemingly fragile dark-gold curtain stood firm, an unchanging rock from time immemorial. Every trace of poison that touched it was silently purified and annihilated, like snow beneath the blazing sun, reverting to its most primal nothingness and vanishing into the air as if it had never existed.
The poisonous serpent released a silent, unwilling roar, seemingly filled with boundless hatred and fury. Its enormous body writhed and slammed against the shield, each impact carrying enough force to destroy heaven and earth, yet it could not advance even an inch. It could only struggle futilely beyond the curtain.
Within the curtain, Xiao Yan clung tightly to Xiao Yi Xian, holding her as firmly as an iron clamp, as though she would vanish if he let go. He could feel the terrifying energy crashing against the shield behind him, cut off yet still enough to make his hair stand on end. His heart pounded so violently it seemed ready to leap from his throat, the thudding echoing in his ears like a countdown to death. Looking down at the dark-gold light flowing across the ring on his left hand, he watched it stream over his fingertips like a mysterious brook. A thought flashed through his mind like lightning:
"Bronze Fragments... Is this their power?!"
By now, Protector Wu's remnant soul had been completely annihilated, like a candle snuffed out in the wind. The black fog of vengeful souls filling the sky melted and dispersed beneath the purifying flames of the Green Lotus Fire Prison, like snow beneath the sun. The darkness that had blotted out the sky was pierced, and the scorching sunlight fell once more on the charred sand, as though bringing a trace of life to the dead land.
Xiao Zhan stood alone at the center of the thousand-zhang sea of fire. The green flames around him slowly receded like the tide. His brow furrowed tightly, as if he could trap a fly between his brows. The dying curse Protector Wu had uttered—"The Blood Soul Guide has already been planted"—coiled around his heart like an icy snake, filling him with a chill. The Soul Hall's methods were unfathomably secretive. The so-called Blood Soul Guide was no idle threat; it had to conceal some great scheme and danger.
His powerful soul force swept through himself like an immense, invisible tide, especially through the depths of his soul's Origin. Just as he had expected! At the edge of the radiant Dragon-Phoenix Origin Imprint, an extremely obscure, tiny dark-red mark clung silently like the most vicious and cunning parasite. It released not the slightest trace of energy, yet it radiated a bone-cold sense of being marked, so repulsive that revulsion welled up from deep within him, as though invisible eyes were watching him from the shadows.
"The Blood Soul Guide..." Xiao Zhan's gaze turned colder than ice that had remained unmelted for ten thousand years. It was clearly a tracking mark that Protector Wu had planted using the Soul Hall's mysterious secret art, at the cost of his final soul power. Like a beacon that never went dark in the night, it would allow stronger Soul Hall experts to sense and lock onto Xiao Zhan with the precision of hunters tracking their prey, no matter where he was in the world. It was a serious nuisance, like the Sword of Damocles hanging above his head, ready to fall at any moment.
Just then, the Soul Imprint he had left inside the oasis suddenly sent out a powerful warning, its signal ringing sharply through the depths of his soul. The direction was the Poison Barrier Valley!
Xiao Zhan's expression changed at once, like a boulder dropped into a tranquil lake, stirring wave after wave of ripples. He had no time to examine the damned Blood Soul Guide. His figure blurred and instantly slipped into the ripples of space, rushing at full speed toward the oasis. He moved like a bolt of lightning tearing across the sky.
When he stepped out of the spatial ripples and appeared above the Poison Barrier Valley, he saw a heart-stopping sight: a terrifying dark-purple serpent of poison was madly slamming into the dark-gold curtain surrounding Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian. The shield shuddered violently, its surface rippling countless times, yet it remained unbroken, like an impregnable fortress. The valley's poisonous miasma had been completely driven away, revealing the ground below, eaten away by poison and pitted with countless holes. Huge craters marred the earth like shocking wounds.
"It's poison source backlash!" Xiao Zhan's gaze was keen, and he saw at once how perilous Xiao Yi Xian's condition was. Without the slightest hesitation, he joined his fingers like a sword and sent a strand of Green Lotus Core Flame, pure and condensed to the utmost, shooting from his fingertip. The flame darted like a nimble serpent. Rather than attacking the dark-gold curtain, it passed through it like a thread, delicate and precise. Strangely, the curtain seemed to offer no resistance to Xiao Zhan's energy. The flame slipped straight into the space between Xiao Yi Xian's brows.
Sizzle!
The green flame, brimming with powerful purifying force, erupted inside Xiao Yi Xian like a scorching downpour, instantly suppressing the frenzied will of the rampaging Poison Source Crystal Core and driving it back. The crystal core, which had raged like a wild beast, gradually calmed beneath the flames' purification. At the same time, Xiao Zhan's powerful soul force flowed into the depths of her soul like gentle, unending tides, forcibly smoothing its chaotic, rampaging fluctuations, like a master musician softly drawing harmonious notes from a disordered instrument.
"Ugh..." Xiao Yi Xian let out a pained groan, heavy with exhaustion and struggle. The frenzied glow of the seven-colored markings on her body quickly dimmed like a dying lamp. The wild dark-purple poison in her eyes receded like the ebbing tide, revealing clear eyes filled with exhaustion and fear, as though she had just awakened from a terrible nightmare.
Without its Origin to drive it, the terrifying giant serpent formed from poison power let out an unwilling hiss, as if railing against its fate. Its enormous body quickly crumbled and dispersed into a sky full of grayish-purple poison gas. Seeing this, Xiao Zhan waved his hand, and the Green Lotus Core Flame surged out again like a blazing dragon, thoroughly purifying the poison gas without leaving a trace.
The dark-gold curtain slowly drew in as well, like a guardian who had fulfilled its duty. It slipped back into the black ring on Xiao Yan's left hand and disappeared, as though it had never appeared in the world.
"Xiao Yi Xian! How are you?" Xiao Yan rushed forward at once and caught the girl as she swayed unsteadily. His voice trembled with relief and lingering fear, as if he were afraid of losing the world's most precious treasure.
Xiao Yi Xian's face was pale as paper, like a lifeless, withered branch dusted with a thin layer of winter snow. Her body was soaked with cold sweat, her clothes clinging tightly to her skin and accentuating her weakness and disheveled state. She leaned helplessly against Xiao Yan, her delicate body trembling with each shallow breath. She lifted her eyes to the young man's face, full of worry and anxiety, and tears spilled silently down her cheeks like beads from a broken string. Choking with guilt and remorse, she said, "I'm... I'm sorry... I... I lost control again..."
"It's all right! It's all right!" Xiao Yan held her tightly, as if he wanted to draw her into his own body and give her every ounce of security he could. He felt the coldness and tremors of her body in his arms, and fear churned in his heart like a tide, leaving him shaken to the core. He slowly looked up at his father, who was descending from the sky. His eyes brimmed with gratitude, as though he had found a guiding light in the darkness, along with a hint of lingering fear. His voice trembled as he said, "Father! That light just now..."
Xiao Zhan landed lightly beside them, his steps steady and firm, each one seeming to strike at their heartstrings. His gaze was deep as an abyss, like a bottomless, frigid pool. It swept over the ancient-looking ring on Xiao Yan's left hand, now returned to its former, unassuming appearance, its surface glinting in the sunlight with a mysterious sheen as though it concealed endless secrets. He then looked at the exhausted Xiao Yi Xian with concern and scrutiny before speaking in a low voice. "The power of the Poison Source Crystal Core is too strong, like a ferocious beast that's difficult to tame. You've only just obtained the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture, and your foundation is still unstable, like a great building with its foundations yet to be laid. Forcibly absorbing the Poison Source Crystal Core will only do more harm than good. This time, the vengeful souls' malice triggered your loss of control, but that was only the fuse, an external cause. The real problem is your unstable foundation."
As he spoke, he turned his hand over and took out the two remaining Poison Source Crystal Cores. They radiated a wild, dangerous aura, as though they contained boundless destructive power. He closed his eyes slightly and focused. His powerful soul force surged out like a raging tide, mixed with a trace of the mysterious and mighty Dragon Phoenix Origin, and instantly laid layer upon layer of sealing runes over the crystal cores. The runes glimmered with five-colored light like stars in the night sky, weaving together into a series of sturdy barriers. As their light flowed, they completely locked away the cores' violent aura, like shackles clamped around a ferocious beast, leaving only the pure source of poison power, quietly and tamely dormant within.
"I've carefully sealed these two crystal cores. Once your realm is stable and your foundation is firm, you can refine them gradually." Xiao Zhan's expression was solemn as he held out the sealed crystal cores to Xiao Yi Xian. His tone was firm and left no room for argument. "Cultivation is like rowing upstream: you must advance step by step. Never rush or try to achieve too much too soon, or haste will bring failure. If you suffer another backlash, even the Spirit Bead may not be enough to keep you safe."
Xiao Yi Xian carefully accepted the now-gentle crystal cores with both hands. Her fingertips brushed them lightly, feeling the tremendous power now tamed within, as though touching the pulse of life. She nodded firmly. There was still fear in her eyes, but determination as well. "Yes, Uncle Xiao! I'll remember your advice!"
Xiao Zhan's gaze slowly turned to Xiao Yan, focusing in particular on the ring in his left hand. His expression was grave, as though he bore a burden weighing a thousand jun. "Yan'er, you must never tell anyone about what happened today, especially the ring's strange reaction! Even after Yao Lao awakens, you must keep it to yourself! The interests and dangers connected to this object are far beyond our imagination. Until you possess enough power, you must keep it deeply hidden, like a treasure locked away in a secret chest!"
Seeing the unprecedented gravity in his father's eyes, Xiao Yan felt that gaze pierce straight into him like a pair of sharp swords. He recalled the terrifying sensations that had come from the ring both times it had stirred, as well as the incredible protective curtain just now, like a thrilling dream. His heart felt heavy as a boulder. He nodded firmly. "Yes, Father! I understand how serious this is!"
Xiao Zhan gave a slight nod, then gazed beyond the oasis toward the place where Protector Wu had finally been annihilated. His eyes were as deep as a cold pool, seemingly concealing endless secrets and dangers.
The Blood Soul Guide clung to him like a parasite burrowed into the bone, while the Soul Hall's retaliation hung overhead like a sword, ready to fall at any moment. The secret of the Bronze Fragments was like mist within an abyss, hazy and mysterious, impossible to grasp. The desert's surface might have found a brief calm, but beneath it, even more turbulent undercurrents were surging.
The true storm had perhaps only just begun to gather. A thrilling struggle was about to unfold across this vast desert.
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