"Arrogant!" Elder Ming's thunderous roar rolled through the sky, seeming to tear apart the vast sandstorm. Brimming with savagery and provocation, it exploded across heaven and earth.
At that moment, Xiao Zhan was wrapped in blazing crimson-gold flames, like a meteor burning with the power to destroy heaven and earth. With a terrifying force that seemed to shatter space, he came hurtling in with a punch: Void Breaker! Faced with this ferocious attack, the hulking Soul Hall fiend, built like an iron pagoda, showed no sign of retreat. Instead, he strode half a step forward, his resolute advance seeming to proclaim his fearlessness to the world.
His immense blue-gray metal hand shot out from beneath his black robe, fingers splayed like five razor-sharp blades. In the palm, a viscous black orb of energy condensed in an instant. It looked like a bottomless black hole, capable of devouring all things. Inside it, countless anguished, twisted ghostly faces soundlessly wailed and struggled. Their shrill cries seemed like a lament from hell, and the icy deathly stillness they exuded chilled the soul and sent shivers down one's spine.
"Nine Nether Death Soul Wave!" Elder Ming roared again, his voice filled with madness and grim resolve.
BOOM—!!!!
The crimson-gold fist imprint and the pitch-black Death Soul Wave collided violently atop the enormous wind-eroded stone pillar, like two blazing stars. In an instant, an indescribable, terrifying boom erupted like a thunderclap, as if heaven and earth were roaring in fury.
What burst apart first was not a pure storm of energy, but space itself, crying out in anguish. At the center of the collision, space caved inward and shattered like fragile glass struck by a sledgehammer. A terrifying spatial black hole, over ten zhang across, abruptly took shape. Crimson-gold and pitch-black flames burned along its rim, as if it were the boundary between heaven and hell, radiating a dreadful aura.
A terrifying suction force surged madly from the black hole like an invisible hand, tearing at everything around it. The hard rock atop the pillar was as fragile as paper before that force. It was swiftly stripped away and sucked into the black hole, instantly reduced to dust and erased without a trace.
The crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi carried the utmost yang power, capable of incinerating all evil. Like a blazing sun, it burned and purified the black Death Soul resentment with frenzied intensity. Wherever that yang power passed, the deathly cold resentment dissolved. Yet the Death Soul Wave's frigid stillness and soul-corroding power clung to the Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi like a maggot burrowing into bone, furiously seeping into and freezing it, trying to snuff it out.
Two utterly opposing extremes of power savagely tore at and annihilated one another along the black hole's edge, neither giving way. The stray currents of energy became billions of razor-sharp blades, slicing through the surrounding space and reducing the once-whole world to fragments. It was like the end of days.
"Hmph!" Xiao Zhan grunted. The massive backlash sent him sliding several zhang backward despite himself. With every step, the space beneath his feet cracked in a fine, web-like pattern, as though even the earth could not withstand this terrifying force. The crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix scale phantom over his fist flickered violently like a candle in the wind. A sharp pain stabbed through him, and frigid power came creeping in like a maggot burrowing into bone, making his brow furrow slightly.
Elder Ming's power far surpassed Protector Wu and the like. His pure physical strength fused perfectly with his Death Soul power, unleashing an overbearing force like an ancient savage beast, mighty enough to destroy heaven and earth.
"Heh heh heh! That's all you've got!" Elder Ming was also knocked back a step. A huge section of the stone pillar beneath him collapsed with a crash, sending rocks flying and dust billowing. The savagery in his blood-red eyes burned hotter, like two blazing flames, as he let out an utterly arrogant, vicious laugh. "You think that little Dragon-Phoenix aura gives you the right to act up in front of me? Then break!"
Before his words had even faded, his blue-gray giant hand clenched hard, as though gripping heaven and earth itself. The Death Soul Wave in his palm, flickering under the scorching Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi, abruptly collapsed inward and condensed. Like a bomb compressed again and again, it finally became a slender spike of energy, honed to the utmost and gleaming like a black diamond.
The spike ignored the barriers of space. Carrying a sinister, deathly stillness that could pierce through anything, it shot toward Xiao Zhan's back like lightning splitting the night—or a silent instant teleportation. It was as swift as a white steed flashing past a gap and came at an insidious angle that left no room to guard against it, like the reaper's scythe bringing the threat of certain death.
"Watch out!" Elder You's hoarse voice rang out, touched by a hint of barely perceptible gravity, like a cold breeze on a wintry night. He did not attack directly. His gaunt figure remained where he stood, like an ancient statue. The ghostly green soulfire in his eyes locked onto Xiao Zhan, while the sickly green flame atop the Skull Bone Staff in his hand flickered soundlessly, like a summons from hell. He seemed to be preparing an even deadlier attack.
Faced with this sudden, sinister stab in the back, Xiao Zhan's eyes blazed with golden light like a scorching sun, its radiance seeming to pierce all darkness and evil. Without hesitation, he fully activated the Dragon Phoenix Tyrant Body Art, raising his mastery to 60%. A vast force surged through him like a raging tide.
He did not turn to look at the deadly threat. Yet the space behind him rippled with violent distortions, as if stirred by a pair of invisible hands. An energy shield woven in an instant from dense crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix scale phantoms and the Green Lotus Core Flame took shape, protecting his body like an indestructible wall.
"Green Scale Fire Armor!" Xiao Zhan growled, his voice brooking no doubt.
HSSS—!!!
The black diamond spike shot in like a bolt from hell, carrying endless malice and deathly stillness. It slammed into the Green Scale Fire Armor. An ear-splitting sound of dissolution rang out, like thousands of venomous snakes hissing in agony at once, raising goosebumps. The terrifying deathly power within the spike surged like a raging tide, corroding the armor. The crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix scale phantoms were pierced one by one, while the Green Lotus flames were swiftly frozen by the icy power. The armor trembled violently, its light dimming like a candle in the wind.
"Roar—!" Just as the black diamond was about to pierce through the armor and take Xiao Zhan's life, the Seven-Colored Little Snake, usually docile on his wrist, let out an ear-piercing hiss. It seemed to pierce the soul, brimming with fury and desperation. Its tiny body burst with a fantastical seven-colored radiance, like the most dazzling meteor shower in the night sky, and the light poured into the crumbling Green Scale Fire Armor.
Vmmm!
A crisp hum rang out, as if the armor were sounding its rebirth after absorbing the seven-colored radiance.
Seven-colored light flowed freely across the armor like a lively stream, brilliant and dazzling. The parts pierced and frozen by the black diamond now writhed like living creatures, rapidly mending before their eyes. At the same time, a devouring force rooted in the bloodline origin of the Seven-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python erupted like a raging tide. Before this force, the Death Soul power within the black diamond was like prey meeting its natural predator. The seven-colored radiance devoured and decomposed it in a frenzy, and it vanished without a trace.
"What?!" Elder Ming's blood-red pupils shrank sharply, as though he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing in the world. He stared, incredulous, at the attack he had been certain would kill Xiao Zhan, only to see it easily neutralized by the glow from that seemingly insignificant little snake. Devoured? What kind of bizarre power was this?
"Now!" A cold glint flashed in Xiao Zhan's eyes like a drawn sword, sharp and icy. His keen gaze seized the instant opening Elder Ming had left in his shock.
"Green Lotus Core Flame! Flame Dragon Bind!"
Xiao Zhan's hands formed seals as fast as lightning, each movement smooth and natural, as though he had practiced it thousands of times. In his dantian, the Green Lotus that had been sleeping peacefully burst into bloom, like a radiant flower opening in the darkness. The pure, vast source power of the Green Lotus Core Flame surged out without reserve, like scorching lava with the might to burn all things.
The power condensed in front of him into three lifelike flame dragons burning with deep teal fire. Their bodies were lithe, their scales gleaming with a cold light as if forged from the hardest steel. They bared their fangs and claws, fierce and menacing, like messengers from hell.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
The three teal flame dragons roared together, shaking heaven and earth. Their voices rolled like thunder across the sky. Ignoring the distance between them, they lunged at Elder Ming in a triangular formation. Their jaws gaped wide, spewing teal flames capable of incinerating all things, each stream of fire a blazing serpent carrying the scent of utter destruction. Their claws tore through the air with piercing shrieks, wielding the power to bind space as they raked at Elder Ming's four limbs. One flame dragon coiled directly around his hulking body, its teal fire scorching his protective soul power with wild fury, as though it would burn him to ashes.
"Parlor tricks!" Elder Ming roared like thunder, his voice shaking the heavens. His blue-gray giant fist carried the terrifying power to crush mountains, split rocks, and cleave the heavens as it smashed toward the approaching flame dragon. The wind of his fist howled. Wherever it passed, space seemed to twist and deform under the grip of an invisible hand, as though it might collapse.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Deafening explosions rang out one after another as the flame dragons were struck by the giant fist. Their bodies shuddered violently as though badly injured. Deep teal flames scattered in every direction like fireworks blooming in the night, yet burned with enough heat to incinerate all things. But the Green Lotus Core Flame's power of incineration was horrifying beyond measure. It was the supreme flame, capable of burning away every evil in the world. Under its scorching heat, the blue-gray metal skin covering Elder Ming's fist hissed like steel in a furnace. It showed signs of melting.
Worse still, the breath attacks and claws of the other two flame dragons had already reached him. Their terrifying teal flames swept over him like a surging flood. The dragons' claw marks easily ripped through space, leaving dark spatial fissures in their wake and sealing every possible route of escape.
"Damn fire!" Elder Ming roared repeatedly as the teal flames burned him, his voice filled with fury and pain. His protective soul power was being consumed at a tremendous rate by the flames' frenzied corrosion, like floodwaters bursting through a breached dam. His enormous body charged left and right beneath the three flame dragons' assault, like a beast trapped in a cage. He struggled with all his might, yet for a moment, he was firmly entangled and could not break free.
Just as Xiao Zhan had Elder Ming pinned down and the situation seemed to be going well, a sudden change occurred.
"Soul Shockwave!" Elder You's hoarse voice, like dry bones grinding together, rang without warning in the depths of Xiao Zhan's soul, like a frigid wind from the Nine Netherworlds. The voice was icy enough to freeze the soul itself.
Vmmm—!!!
An invisible, intangible soul shockwave powerful enough to freeze even a Dou Zong's soul swept through like a storm—or like billions of icy soul needles. Ignoring all physical defenses, it pierced through space in an instant and stabbed into Xiao Zhan's sea of consciousness. As it passed, his soul seemed to be gnawed by millions of ants, leaving him in unbearable agony.
Elder You had been building up this strike for a long time, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark before suddenly attacking at the most critical moment. Its timing was as precise as a dagger driven straight into Xiao Zhan's weakest point—just as he poured all his attention into controlling the flame dragons, leaving his mind momentarily divided.
"Ugh—!" Xiao Zhan felt as though he had been struck by a heavy blow. It was as if an invisible but immeasurably powerful hammer had slammed into his head. A tearing pain erupted deep in his soul, as though thousands upon thousands of steel needles were stabbing him at once. His vision went black, stars spun before his eyes, and he seemed to have fallen into an endless abyss. His sea of consciousness sank into an icy deep sea, his thoughts nearly stopping. The Dou Qi circulating through him fell into chaos under the sudden soul attack. The three flame dragons, which he had been controlling with meticulous precision, instantly ran wild in the air.
An opening!
A ferocious gleam shot from Elder Ming's blood-red eyes, like two blazing flames revealing boundless cruelty and greed. In the infinitesimal instant Xiao Zhan's soul was wounded and the flame dragons' restraint loosened, his hulking body erupted with even more terrifying power, like a volcano about to erupt. He forcibly broke free of the dragons' coils. His blue-gray metal giant hand shrieked as it pierced through the void, fingers together like a sharp spear. Wrapped in dense, pitch-black Death Soul power that seemed capable of swallowing everything, it became a spear of judgment from hell, steeped in death, and thrust toward Xiao Zhan's heart, which had stiffened slightly from the agony.
"Die, you ant!" Elder Ming's hideous roar echoed through the air like death's verdict.
The stench of bloodshed and chaos had not yet faded. The shaken Snake-People were helping one another and cleaning up the ravaged battlefield. Xiao Yi Xian stood alone amid the filth. The dark violet light around her flowed like a sluggish stream before gradually drawing in. Her cool violet eyes were deep and still as an ancient well, reflecting the brutal battle she had just forcibly suppressed. At her fingertips, a refined, purified strand of gray-black Soul Poison—carrying a trace of the Nether Duo's origin—coiled soundlessly like a venomous snake hidden in the dark.
"The source... a hundred li to the northwest... two of them..." she murmured. Her voice was as cold as a blade scraping across ice, filled with unshakable resolve. Just as she was about to tell Xiao Zhan what she had found—
Vmmm!!!
An invisible yet powerful fluctuation suddenly rang out, as though the gears of fate had begun turning in secret.
An extremely subtle soul fluctuation spread from the heart of the oasis—the foundation of the Ten Thousand Dragon-Phoenix Pagoda. Like a stone silently dropped into a dead pond, it carried a chill cold enough to freeze the marrow. It had no sharpness of an attack. Instead, it was a strange inducement, or perhaps a frenzied awakening, wrapped in a nauseating aura of sacrilege and madness that made one's blood run cold.
"Something's wrong!" A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yi Xian's violet eyes, like a star crossing the night sky. She sensed at once that this fluctuation shared the same origin as the Soul-Devouring Lure that had triggered the injured to go berserk, but was purer and more difficult to detect. Its target was unmistakably... the pagoda's guardians!
Almost at the exact instant the fluctuation spread—
"Ah—!! Protect the pagoda's foundation! There's a traitor!!" Yue Mei's furious, alarmed cry rang out from the direction of the foundation. Then came a series of violent Dou Qi clashes that exploded like thunder, the angry roars of Snake-People warriors, and shrill screams, all mingling into a chaotic, tragic symphony. A violent aura belonging to a Peak Dou Wang, mixed with out-of-control, icy soul power, erupted like a surging tide and crashed against everything around it.
The target was none other than the vital foundation of the Ten Thousand Dragon-Phoenix Pagoda!
"A diversion?!" Xiao Yan's face changed dramatically, as though a dark cloud had blotted out the clear sky. He immediately understood the Nether Duo's sinister plan. They had used the fight a hundred li away to draw his father out, leaving him unable to protect this place. Then they had used the hidden Soul-Devouring Lure to set off a traitor among the pagoda's guardians, attacking from within and without in an attempt to destroy the pagoda and seize their prize. Their crimes were unforgivable!
"Xiao Yi Xian! Protect the wounded! I'm going to the foundation!" Xiao Yan roared, his eyes blazing with fury and his voice ringing like a bell, powerful enough to break through the chaos of the battlefield. Before the words had faded, the Heavy Xuan Ruler was already in his hand, its surface gleaming with a cold light. Wind and lightning exploded beneath his feet like fireworks, carrying a violent force. The next moment, he became a dazzling bolt of lightning and raced toward the pagoda's foundation. His father was not here. He had to shoulder the immense burden of guarding it without hesitation—for this land and for the companions fighting at his side!
Xiao Yi Xian watched Xiao Yan's resolute figure charge away, his upright stance radiating fearlessness and determination. Then she looked at the wounded area, where the Snake-People still wore expressions of panic, their eyes full of fear. Her cool face showed no hesitation, as firm and icy as winter frost. The gray-black strand of Soul Poison at her fingertips snapped taut like a drawn sword, pointing straight toward the pagoda's foundation. Her thoughts raced like lightning as she swiftly formed an intricate, profound seal before her chest, every movement precise and fluid, as though practiced a thousand times.
"Woe Poison Domain: Shifting Shapes and Shadows!"
With her crisp command, Vmmm! The space within a ten-zhang radius warped around her, its light twisting as if squeezed by an invisible hand. The gore and broken flesh scattered across the ground began to stir like monsters awakening. The trace particles of Soul Poison in the air gathered like iron filings drawn to a magnet. Even the gray-black traces clinging to the wounded began to stir, as though summoned by a supreme power.
HSSS-HSSS-HSSS—!
Countless fine streams of poisonous mist in different colors were pulled from the ground and air as if by invisible threads, then rushed toward Xiao Yi Xian like birds returning to their nests. They gathered and compressed around her, forming an enormous vortex of poison. Enveloped by this lethal energy, her figure blurred and grew ethereal, as if she had entered a dream—or were about to cross into another mysterious world.
The next moment!
At the pagoda's outer perimeter, a once-solid defense had been blasted open by violent Dou Qi, leaving a gaping breach. Beside it, space rippled like a lake brushed by a breeze. As the waves spread, Xiao Yi Xian's figure materialized out of thin air like a ghost emerging from the netherworld. A hazy dark violet mist coiled around her, seeming both illusory and fantastical, yet brimming with danger. Her cool violet eyes, like stars in the wintry night, immediately locked onto the heart of the chaotic battlefield.
The sight before her was horrifying!
Nearly half of the elite Snake-People warriors guarding the pagoda's foundation had fallen. Their bodies lay scattered across the ground, an eerie blue-black, as if shrouded by the gloom of death. Icy gray-black Soul Poison clung to their wounds like evil tendrils, showing that they had been caught off guard and murdered from behind by their own people.
The traitor leading them was none other than Rock Specter, chieftain of the Rock Snake Tribe, one of the Snake-People Tribe's Eight Great Tribes! This powerful warrior, whose strength had reached the Three-Star Dou Wang peak, had become unrecognizable. His eyes were blood red, the whites completely flooded with dark green, as if a demon had possessed him. Twisted black markings writhed beneath his skin, like countless snakes crawling under it. His body radiated a violent, chaotic aura just like the berserk wounded, only more intense. Clearly, the Soul-Devouring Lure planted in him had taken deeper root, and his strength was greater. What little reason remained had been consumed by a frenzied urge to destroy the pagoda's foundation.
He gripped a huge poisoned bone spear that gleamed with a cold light and reeked of a nauseating stench. He swung it wildly, each thrust shrieking through the air and trailing a foul, poisonous wind as though he meant to destroy everything before him. He was locked in fierce combat with Yue Mei, who was covered in blood and struggling to hold on. In the clash of blades, life and death hung by a thread.
"Rock Specter! You're mad! Wake up!" Yue Mei screamed at him, her voice hoarse with fury and desperation. Her jade-green snake tail lashed like a supple whip, stirring fierce winds and cutting bizarre arcs through the air. She wielded a poisoned serpentine sword that gleamed with a cold light, its swift, airtight swings forming a green barrier as she desperately held off Rock Specter's storm of attacks.
But Rock Specter had completely lost himself to madness. He fought without fear of death, ignoring his own injuries as he attacked with near-suicidal abandon, solely intent on wounding Yue Mei. On top of that, the frenzied Soul Poison kept gnawing into her like a maggot burrowing into bone. Yue Mei had already been wounded in several places. Her once-brilliant jade-green scales were shattered and ragged, like leaves battered by a storm. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, dripping from her chin and leaving a trail of horrifying red spots on the ground. She had clearly fallen into a disadvantage, and the situation was growing dire.
"Kill! Destroy it! Destroy the pagoda! The lords of Soul Hall... have granted me eternal life!" Rock Specter howled like a beast, his voice twisted and mad, like a summons from hell. The bone spear in his hand slammed toward Yue Mei's head with the force of ten thousand jun, like a falling meteor. The deadly poison coating its tip mixed with the frenzied Soul Poison, releasing a suffocatingly lethal aura, as if it could corrode everything into nothing.
Yue Mei's pupils contracted. Fear and desperation filled her eyes as she held her serpentine sword crosswise, trying to block the fatal strike.
CLANG—!!!
The crash of metal rang through the air like thunder, accompanied by the ear-splitting crack of bone—a death knell. A tremendous force surged along Yue Mei's sword, shattering her grip and sending blood streaming from her palm. The sword flew from her hand, tracing an arc through the air before landing far away. She flew backward like a broken kite, spitting blood as she crashed into the hard metal wall of the pagoda's foundation with a dull thud. She slid to the ground, her strength fading in an instant, like a withering flower.
"Elder!" The Snake-People warriors around them glared in fury, fire burning in their eyes. They hurled themselves toward Rock Specter without regard for their lives, like moths flying into a flame, trying to stop him from reaching the Dragon Qi Vortex at the heart of the pagoda's foundation. It held the Snake-People's hopes and future.
"Get lost, you ants!" Rock Specter snarled, his face twisted like a demon's. He swept his bone spear sideways. Violent Dou Qi mixed with Soul Poison and burst outward like a surging shockwave, tearing the air apart wherever it passed.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
Several Dou Ling-ranked Snake-People warriors who rushed at him were struck as if by giant hammers. Their bodies convulsed before they were sent flying, spitting blood. Gray-black Soul Poison instantly corroded them, black markings appearing across their skin. They screamed and lost the strength to fight, collapsing to the ground, their lives uncertain.
Rock Specter took a heavy step forward, his hulking, mountain-like body wrapped in an aura of destruction, like a demon from the abyss descending upon the world. He raised his bone spear high. A viscous, almost solid orb of gray-black energy rapidly condensed at its tip, radiating a terrifying destructive force like a deadly bomb about to explode. It was aimed directly at the Dragon Qi Vortex throbbing at the center of the pagoda's foundation. If that terrifying orb struck the vortex, the Dragon Qi would certainly fall into chaos, and the entire foundation would be destroyed. Then this land would be plunged into endless disaster.
"Stop!" At this critical moment, Xiao Yan's roar exploded through the air like thunder, making the surrounding space shudder. He came in a bolt of lightning, moving as fast as a flash, and finally arrived in time. The Heavy Xuan Ruler swung in his hands, its shrill thunder and murderous force like a mountain-splitting axe as it came crashing down on Rock Specter's back. Bone Spirit Cold Flame—the mysterious power Yao Lao had left behind before his slumber—and golden Flame Mantra Dou Qi burned fiercely along the ruler, intertwining in a dazzling, perilous display that seemed poised to burn away every evil in the world.
"Little bug! You're asking for death!" Rock Specter sensed the deadly threat behind him. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he wheeled around. Faced with the unstoppable ruler that could cleave mountains, he neither dodged nor evaded. Black Qi coiled around his left hand, which instantly transformed into a ghostly claw wreathed in dense black mist, like a blade from hell, and slashed toward the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
BOOM—!!!
The bone claw and the Heavy Xuan Ruler collided violently like two meteors, and their raging energies erupted at once. Visible ripples of energy expanded in rings, splitting the ground and sending stones flying wherever they passed.
Xiao Yan felt an irresistible force surge up the ruler, mixed with the icy corrosion of Soul Poison. Countless cold poison needles seemed to burrow through his arm and into his body. He grunted. His palm split open, blood pouring out like red plum blossoms. The Heavy Xuan Ruler shuddered violently in his grasp, nearly flying from his hands. His body was knocked away like a rhinoceros had charged straight into him. He crashed hard into the distant ground, kicking up a cloud of dust, then spat blood and turned as pale as paper. The terrifying might of a peak Three-Star Dou Wang, amplified by Soul Poison, was beyond anything he could withstand. That single blow had grievously wounded him.
Though Bone Spirit Cold Flame scorched Rock Specter's left hand, sending smoke curling from it, he only swayed slightly. The killing intent in his blood-red eyes burned even more fiercely. He paid Xiao Yan no further heed, sneered, and raised his bone spear high again. The gray-black energy orb had expanded to its limit, like an evil star on the verge of bursting. With the power to destroy heaven and earth, it plunged toward the Dragon Qi Vortex at point-blank range. If it struck, the pagoda's foundation, bearing the hopes of the Snake-People Tribe, would be destroyed without a doubt.
"The foundation... it's over!" Yue Mei struggled to lift herself, despair filling her jade-green eyes as though she were watching the world collapse.
At that moment of dire peril, when life and death hung in the balance—
"Poison Corrodes... All Laws."
A cool, tranquil voice rang out silently at a distance of mere inches behind Rock Specter, like an ice bead falling gently into a jade plate: clear, yet cold as the judgment of death.
Rock Specter's mountain-like body stiffened abruptly, as if an invisible hand had seized his heart. A boundless fear rooted in his instinct for survival engulfed him, freezing the blood in his veins. He turned around in horror, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Xiao Yi Xian had appeared behind him without a sound, like a ghost. A hazy dark violet mist coiled around her, forming a mysterious veil that made her seem all the more inscrutable. Her deep violet eyes were calm and still, like an icy pool at the bottom of an ancient well. They showed no ripple, as though she were looking indifferently at a lifeless object. Her slender, fair right index finger extended lightly, its tip wreathed in a strand of condensed poison mist glowing a profound dark gold. Silent and utterly free of any trace of force, the strand seemed to merge with space as it aimed precisely for the joint between the scales at the back of Rock Specter's neck and his spine.
Fast—faster than words could describe, as if it had transcended the limits of time and space, leaving no chance to follow its path.
Rock Specter had no time to react. He had not even managed to unleash his protective, frenzied Soul Poison, like a fortress breached in an instant, utterly helpless to fight back.
Hiss.
A barely audible sound, like an embroidery needle piercing thin gauze.
The dark-gold strand of poison slipped unimpeded between the scales at the back of Rock Specter's neck, like an evil snake crawling into its lair.
Time seemed to freeze. The whole world fell silent, leaving only the shock and terror of that fatal strike.
Rock Specter held his bone spear high, its tip gathering an orb of destructive energy that gleamed with perilous light, as if it would devour the entire world in the next instant. Yet in that very moment, his movements abruptly seized up, as if he had been struck by a binding spell. The vicious, twisted expression on his face froze like a horrifying portrait. The dark green in his blood-red, chaotic eyes receded like the tide, replaced by boundless terror—the icy wind of an abyss that made his very soul tremble—and a bewildered disbelief, as though he had awakened from a nightmare only to find himself in an even more terrible reality.
Then—
VMMM—!!!
A shrill, drawn-out hum rang out, like a summons from another dimension. Centered on the spot where the poison strand had pierced the back of his neck, countless fine violet markings glimmering with dark-gold light spread across his body like fast-growing vines. Wherever they passed, his tough skin, taut muscles, hard bones, and tangled meridians all seemed to fall under the control of an invisible hand of limitless power. As if governed by a higher order, they began to break down and vanish in a silent yet harrowing spectacle of destruction.
There was no scream, no explosion.
Rock Specter's mountain-like body, which had once been as imposing as a towering peak, began to collapse and disintegrate silently from within, like a sand sculpture weathered for billions of years. His hard scales crumbled into ash, one by one, like drifting snowflakes. His knotted muscles turned to dust and vanished into the air. His thick bones crumbled into powder as if they had never existed. Even the poisoned bone spear in his hand and the condensed gray-black energy orb could not escape this destruction. They too became fine, dark violet dust, devoid of even the slightest trace of energy, like relics forgotten by time.
A gentle breeze passed, carrying away the fine dust like a dream fading into bubbles, until it vanished into the air. All that remained was a faint human silhouette traced in dark violet powder, the final mark of Rock Specter's existence. A trace of his destruction lingered in the air, faint yet chilling, as if telling of the harrowing annihilation that had just taken place.
Rock Specter, a peak Three-Star Dou Wang driven mad by Soul Poison, had been reduced to ashes, body and soul alike, by what seemed like a casual point of Xiao Yi Xian's finger. It was as though he had never existed in this world.
Silence!
Absolute silence fell over the chaotic battlefield at the pagoda's foundation, as if time itself had stopped. All sounds vanished, leaving only a suffocating stillness and the endless shock and fear in everyone's hearts.
Every surviving Snake-People warrior, including Yue Mei, who had struggled to half-sit up, stared dumbstruck at the dark violet dust drifting away in the wind and at Xiao Yi Xian standing alone in its midst, her violet eyes deep as a frigid pool. Their faces were etched with shock, which swept over them like a surging tide; fear followed like an icy snake wrapped around their hearts; and beneath it all lay the dazed relief of having survived, as though they had just awoken from a nightmare without knowing where they were.
The ultimate poison was terrifying beyond belief! Such power was beyond anything they could have imagined, like divine punishment descending into the mortal world.
"Hiss..." In the distance, Xiao Yan struggled back to his feet and clutched his searing chest. He stared at the astonishing sight and drew in a sharp breath, shivering from head to toe. His eyes were filled with utter shock, as if he had just seen the most unbelievable thing in the world. He had known Xiao Yi Xian would grow powerful after gaining control of the Woe Poison Body, but he had never imagined she would become so impossibly strong. One finger had killed a berserk peak Dou Wang! That strength completely overturned his understanding of the world.
Xiao Yi Xian slowly withdrew her slender, fair finger. The hazy dark violet poison mist around her drew quietly inward like a well-behaved sprite, then disappeared. She did not even glance at the drifting dust, as though it were no more than a trifling matter. Her cool violet eyes, bright as the most dazzling stars in the night sky, turned to the Dragon Qi Vortex throbbing at the center of the pagoda's foundation. A strand of gentle, life-filled emerald poison mist—gained by converting part of the Soul Poison through the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture—slipped from her fingertip like a nimble serpent and entered the Dragon Qi, which had been thrown into slight disorder by the battle. Like a highly skilled physician, the mist began to guide and stabilize the Dragon Qi, gradually calming its previously violent aura.
The crisis was over.
Yet just as everyone began to breathe a little easier, a murderous threat suddenly erupted from the other battlefield.
"Die, you ant!" Elder Ming's Death Soul Spear pierced through the void, carrying deathly stillness cold enough to freeze the soul. Like the reaper's scythe from hell, it was already less than three chi from Xiao Zhan's back! Its tip gleamed with a chilling light, like the call of death. The shadow of death engulfed Xiao Zhan in an instant, plunging him into a lightless abyss from which there was no escape.
Xiao Zhan's soul had been severely wounded by Elder You's Soul Shockwave. His thoughts were trapped in a quagmire, and every turn of his mind came with immense difficulty. His body was as rigid as a stone. He could only watch the fatal spearhead close in, powerless to resist and left to await death.
Yet in that infinitesimal instant, at the critical juncture between life and death—
"Roar—!!!"
A majestic, unyielding dragon's roar surged from the deepest part of Xiao Zhan's bloodline and exploded like thunder in the depths of his soul! The Dragon-Phoenix Origin Imprint, which had endured the agony of Nirvana and completed its dazzling transformation, then struggled on under the extreme pressure of the Nirvana Extinction Residual Poison, suddenly erupted under the intense provocation of death. It blazed with unprecedented brilliance, like a sun rising with a crash in the darkness and illuminating his entire soul.
[Dragon-Phoenix Will (Elementary) triggered! Immunity to 70% of the damage from this Soul Shockwave! Soul resistance greatly increased!]
The system's notification rang out like a thunderclap tearing through the night, exploding in Xiao Zhan's chaotic consciousness. His almost-stalled awareness, which had fallen into the abyss, suddenly broke free of the quagmire of his soul as if injected with a powerful stimulant. The agony remained, like countless steel needles stabbing deep into his soul, but his mind had cleared. The clouds parted, and he regained control of his body.
There was no time to dodge—the situation was far too dangerous! In truth, he did not need to dodge!
"Dragon Phoenix Tyrant Body! Inverse Scale Counter!" Xiao Zhan growled like a beast, his voice low and powerful, like a battle song from an ancient battlefield. The fighting will rooted in his bloodline surged like a mountain, crushing all fear and hesitation. He forcibly twisted his body with a powerful motion, turning his left shoulder—more resilient than his back—toward the attack. At the same time, every crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix scale phantom on his body instantly rose backward, like a band of furious warriors raising their blades, or a wrathful dragon bristling with scales, radiating a chilling aura. Teal Green Lotus Core Flame blazed along the edge of every raised scale, its flames dancing like sprites and carrying searing heat and destructive power.
This was no ordinary defense. It was a desperate, ruthless counterattack—a willingness to trade injury for injury, a fight to the death!
SPLURT—!!!
The pitch-black, icy Death Soul Spear carried endless deathly stillness and malice as it plunged into Xiao Zhan's left shoulder like a blade from hell. Its terrifying deathly power erupted in an instant, surging through his flesh like a raging tide and freezing his meridians. His left shoulder turned numb and blue-black at once, as though covered by icy frost. Even the breath of life seemed about to freeze within him.
"Ugh!" Xiao Zhan let out a scream of unbearable pain, the cry seeming to rise from the depths of his soul. Pale golden blood, mixed with ice fragments frozen blue-black, sprayed out like arrows loosed from a bow, tracing tragic, beautiful arcs through the air like the final brilliant bloom of a life in despair.
But almost in the same instant!
The backward-pointing edges of the crimson-gold Dragon-Phoenix scales, blazing with scorching teal fire, became countless razor-sharp, gleaming blades. With an unyielding, fierce resolve, they scraped hard across Elder Ming's blue-gray metal giant hand. That hand had once been as solid as bedrock, radiating a chilling metallic gleam. Now it had become prey beneath those countering blades.
HSSS-HSSS-HSSS—!!!
The harsh, dense rasp of metal scraping metal erupted together with the sizzling of teal flames, like a fierce symphony of steel and fire. Elder Ming's blue-gray metal skin, his pride and strong enough to withstand a high-tier Profound Class weapon, was scraped away in great swathes as easily as hot knives through butter beneath the combined assault of the Dragon-Phoenix Origin power in the reversed scales and the Green Lotus Core Flame capable of incinerating all things. The "metal" flesh fell in rustling clumps, revealing the dark red muscle beneath, flowing like lava and twitching as if to voice its endless pain.
"Ah—!!" This time, it was Elder Ming who let out a shrill howl, like the cry of a night owl piercing straight into the depths of the soul. The deep, soul-wrenching pain and damage to his origin power swept over him like a raging tide, far beyond anything he had expected, plunging him into unbearable agony.
"Get away from me!" Xiao Zhan shrieked, his voice exploding through the air like thunder. He endured the piercing pain in his left shoulder and the corrosion of the deathly power. It was like countless steel needles stabbing through his body, but he gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with unyielding determination. His right fist, burning with Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi, streaked like a blazing meteor. In the instant Elder Ming's agony distracted him, Xiao Zhan slammed it into the gaping opening in his chest.
"Dragon Phoenix Tyrant Body! Mountain Collapse!"
At his roar, an invisible mountain seemed to topple with a crash.
BOOM—!!!
The impact struck like a falling star, making all of space tremble. Elder Ming's iron-tower frame bent backward as though hammered by an invisible giant fist, like a bow pulled taut. The black robe over his chest turned to ash in an instant and vanished as if it had never existed. His blue-gray metal chest plate—in truth, his skin—caved deeply beneath the crimson-gold fist imprint and cracked. The fissures spread like a spiderweb, a brutal mark of time. The terrifying force passed through his body, and his internal organs groaned beneath the unbearable strain, like beasts struggling inside a cage.
"Pfft—!"
Elder Ming spat out a great mouthful of viscous, ink-black, dark-red blood, foul-smelling and wreathed in dense black Qi, like poison from hell steeped in evil and filth. His entire body flew backward like a cannonball, unstoppable. Along the way, he smashed through several enormous wind-eroded stone pillars that had weathered a thousand years of sandstorms. They snapped with deafening crashes, like the roars of ancient beasts. At last, Elder Ming slammed into a distant dune like a battered sack, kicking up a sky full of misty yellow sand. It gleamed gold beneath the sunlight, but could not conceal the slaughter and carnage filling the battlefield. His aura immediately weakened, like a withering flower stripped of all life and vitality.
In the blink of an eye, the fierce exchange was over, and the victor was clear! By trading injury for injury, Xiao Zhan had grievously wounded Elder Ming through sheer courage and iron resolve, bringing the arrogant powerhouse to ruin.
"Useless!" Elder You's hoarse voice rang out, suddenly laced with furious frustration, like a barrel of gunpowder igniting. He clearly had not expected Xiao Zhan to unleash such a savage, desperate counterattack while gravely wounded in the soul and trapped on the brink of death. The sickly green soulfire at the tip of the Skull Bone Staff in his hand suddenly flared high, like a ghostly flame radiating a sinister, dreadful aura.
"Ten Thousand Soul Heart-Devouring Curse!"
With a sharp cry, Elder You pointed his staff at Xiao Zhan from afar. In an instant, countless twisted, anguished wraiths, their mouths open in soundless shrieks, poured from the skull's mouth at the top of the staff like a flood of black water. The wraiths came in all shapes: some had hideous faces, others were missing limbs. They bore boundless malice, pain, and despair, like evil spirits crawling from hell's depths. They did not attack with physical bodies. Instead, they pierced through space directly, ignoring distance as they rushed at Xiao Zhan's soul and consciousness, seeking to tear his soul apart and devour it, consigning him to eternal ruin.
This was Elder You's true killing move: an attack that targeted the soul, a deathblow capable of making any powerhouse tremble in fear!
Yet when faced with this unavoidable, surging torrent of souls, Xiao Zhan's bloodied face showed no fear. Instead, a cold, mocking smile appeared, sharp and merciless as a blade in winter. The Dragon-Phoenix Origin Imprint between his brows shone brilliantly, its radiance as blinding as the sun, illuminating the world of his soul. Having just triggered the Dragon-Phoenix Will, his soul now seemed plated in an immortal crimson-gold divine light. It was sacred and solemn, as if protected by the heavens, giving Xiao Zhan a measure of confidence and composure in this battle of souls.
"Parlor tricks, and you dare show them off in front of a master?" Xiao Zhan's voice was low and majestic, as though supreme power were surging from his bloodline. Every word carried an unquestionable authority. "Dragon-Phoenix Will! Soul Suppression!"
Vmmm—!!!
In an instant, an immense Dragon-Phoenix pressure like heavenly might erupted. It seemed to come from the primordial age, carrying the vastness and holiness of heaven and earth at their beginning. Mixed with a newly awakened, mysterious force that was absolutely resistant to mental attacks and soul corrosion, it burst from Xiao Zhan's brow like a blazing sun. An invisible field expanded from him in every direction, enveloping every inch of space around him, as if he were the sovereign of all within it.
The torrent of wraiths, which had surged toward him brimming with malice and evil intent, touched the crimson-gold field and instantly dissolved like snow beneath the scorching sun. Like filth meeting holy light, they were utterly purified.
"Ah—!!!" Countless wraiths let out soul-shrieks of unbearable agony, like cries from hell that made the blood run cold. They twisted and struggled in torment. The black Qi of resentment that formed their souls evaporated under purification like morning mist beneath the blazing sun. The wraiths at the very front barely had time to scream before the overwhelming Dragon-Phoenix Will crushed them, and they vanished soundlessly like bubbles.
The Ten Thousand Soul Heart-Devouring Curse, the soul curse Elder You had believed to be an instant-kill technique, had been forcibly suppressed and purified, as though it had never existed.
"Impossible!" Beneath You Lao's hood, the ghostly green soul flame swayed wildly like a candle guttering in the wind. He let out an incredulous shriek, his voice brimming with shock and terror, as if he had witnessed the most unbelievable thing in the world. His deadly soul curse had been dispelled so effortlessly by his opponent. It was utterly beyond his comprehension.
At the instant You Lao's mind reeled and he lost focus!
Xiao Zhan moved!
He ignored the horrific wound on his left shoulder, still spilling bluish-black blood. It looked like a hideous mouth, constantly spitting out dark blood, yet he seemed not to feel it at all. His figure vanished from where he stood as if by teleportation, leaving behind only a faint afterimage. When he appeared again, he was already above You Lao, descending like a divine weapon from the heavens with unstoppable force.
"Old demon! Take this flame!" Xiao Zhan's voice boomed beside You Lao's ears like a thunderclap.
Xiao Zhan abruptly pressed his hands together, his movements crisp and decisive, as if infused with boundless resolve and power. Deep within his dantian, the long-dormant source of the Green Lotus Core Flame surged to life, like a ferocious beast that had finally broken free after being caged for ages. Endless dark-green flames mingled with his newly formed Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi, erupting from his body like a volcano dormant for ten thousand years suddenly spewing forth with world-shattering force. The flames did not scatter chaotically. Instead, they gathered furiously before him, compressing and swirling, as if performing a mysterious and spectacular dance.
A dark-green Fire Lotus, no bigger than a palm yet condensed almost into solid form, floated quietly in Xiao Zhan's hand. It was crystalline and translucent, as if carved from the purest green jade in the world. Every petal shimmered with a destructive glow capable of incinerating all things, like a mark of death from hell. At its heart, a deep violet gleam flickered faintly, like the most mysterious star in the night sky, radiating an eerie yet mighty aura. Terrifying heat and a wave of destruction, enough to burn mountains and boil seas and make even Peak Dou Zong experts blanch, crashed down, as if the whole world would tremble beneath this power.
Buddha Fury Fire Lotus? No! This was no ordinary Buddha Fury Fire Lotus. It was the Dragon Phoenix Green Lotus Flame, formed by fusing the source of the Green Lotus Core Flame with Dragon-Phoenix Dou Qi under the masterful guidance of the Flame Emperor Art's fire-control secrets. It held all of Xiao Zhan's power and will—a lethal strike in this battle to the death.
"Go!"
A cold gleam flashed in Xiao Zhan's eyes, like two sharp blades of ice. His gaze pierced down toward You Lao, whose mind had faltered after his soul curse was broken. Xiao Zhan flicked a finger, a light gesture that nonetheless held immeasurable power.
Whoosh!
The exquisite dark-green Fire Lotus, imbued with world-shattering power, seemed to teleport, ignoring the constraints of distance as it appeared above You Lao in an instant. Its petals then unfurled slowly, like an elegant dancer stretching out, though every moment of their opening threatened death.
There was no earth-shaking explosion. It was as if everything happened in silence.
Only a deep blue-green sea of flames, so dark it swallowed all light, bloomed like a flower of death. Bringing endless destruction and despair, it engulfed You Lao and the vast field of rock pillars beneath him in an instant. Wherever the sea of fire passed, the pillars turned to ash and space warped and twisted, as if the entire world would be reduced to nothing beneath its terrible might.
"No—!!!" You Lao's brief, despairing scream cut through the silent battlefield like a blade, filled with terror and unwillingness. But before he could utter another sound, the blue-green flames that incinerated all things swallowed him completely. The black soul mist protecting him crumbled like brittle paper, vanishing in an instant. The ghastly green soul flame atop the Skull Bone Staff guttered like a candle in the wind and went out, leaving behind only a wisp of pale smoke. His gaunt, hunched figure twisted and writhed frantically in the sea of fire, like a trapped beast in a blazing cage. Yet he could not escape the judgment of fate. He quickly turned to ash and scattered into the air.
The Green Lotus sea of flames drew its elegant, merciless dance to a slow close, then gradually vanished without a trace. All that remained was an enormous pit dozens of zhang deep, its edges smooth as a mirror, as if carved by nature with the most precise instrument. A layer of glass-like crystal covered its surface, glinting strangely in the sunlight. At the center of the pit, a faint, ghastly green soul flame flickered weakly like a candle in the wind. After a few feeble jumps, it was extinguished for good, as if the last trace You Lao had left in this world had vanished with it.
You Lao, one of the Nether Duo of Soul Hall, had perished! His body and soul were annihilated. From that moment on, he was no more!
Among the distant dunes, Elder Ming had just struggled to his feet, his aura as feeble as a candle in the wind. He had watched with his own eyes as You Lao was incinerated by that terrifying Fire Lotus. For the first time, boundless fear showed in his scarlet eyes, as if he had seen the fate awaiting him. He dared not linger a moment longer, nor even utter a threat. He spat out a mouthful of pure soul blood, and the blood mist, almost as if alive, swiftly merged into the black mist around him.
"Blood Soul Escape!"
Elder Ming roared as his figure instantly became a streak of bloodlight, swift as a shooting star tearing across the night sky. Ignoring the barriers of space, he fled for his life in the direction opposite the oasis. He was so fast that he vanished over the horizon in the blink of an eye, leaving only the drifting yellow sand and the battered, wretched silhouette of a man who had suffered grievous injuries, as if bearing witness to the cruelty and mercilessness of the battle.
The wind and sand keened like a mournful dirge as they swept across the ravaged battlefield. Broken rock pillars lay scattered in every direction like defeated soldiers. The vast, glassy pit was a scar on the earth, an appalling sight. The lingering stench of incineration mingled with the foul reek of Soul Poison, silently bearing witness to the savage and tragic battle between Dou Zong experts.
Xiao Zhan hovered in the air, the wound in his left shoulder still horribly gaping. Bluish-black deathly power and pale golden Dragon-Phoenix Power intertwined and clashed within it, as if two forces were locked in a silent struggle. His aura was somewhat unsteady from unleashing power again and again, and his face was pale as paper. Yet his deep eyes burned like stars, sharp and cold as they swept over the direction Elder Ming had fled, as if to engrave the escaping figure in his mind. At last, his gaze turned toward the distant oasis, where the next target of his pursuit seemed to lie.
"The oasis..." he murmured. His figure swayed, as if merging into ripples in space, then vanished in an instant as he teleported toward the oasis, leaving only a faint afterimage that gradually faded from the air.
Before you continue