The Curtain Falls

"Buzz."

The Golden Greatsword, more than thirty meters long, slashed down. Its immense might stirred up invisible shockwaves, parting everything in its path as though nothing could stop it. Even the smoke and dust rising from the ground were split apart, revealing the earth below—and Yao Yan's figure to Mu Xiao.

Yao Yan stood ramrod straight at that moment. His clothes were in tatters, and his bronze-colored body was covered in wounds. Sharp Gold Feathers had sliced open much of his flesh, leaving him in a miserable state.

Yet his aura showed no sign of weakening. Instead, it was like a blazing furnace, burning ever fiercer. The abundant vitality and Blood Qi within him surged continuously, nourishing his wounded areas and rapidly healing them at a visible rate, while making those parts even stronger.

Some of the restored areas even gave off faint specks of silver light. That was the sign of entering the Indestructible Diamond Body Second Level.

However, Yao Yan had no time to comprehend these changes. He raised his head to look at the Golden Greatsword descending from the sky. Its overwhelming might felt as though heaven and earth were pressing down upon him, rendering him unable to move or evade. Yet he felt no fear at all. If anything, he had the illusion that he could take it head-on.

Come on... Yao Yan roared inwardly. He raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, and punched upward. It was still a plain, unadorned punch, but its power was far greater than before. The air before him was directly compressed by that force into a solid Air Cannon, which instantly collided with the Golden Greatsword.

"Boom!"

The two clashed violently, their terrifying power spilling out in a raging storm. At the same time, the descending Golden Greatsword halted for a moment.

Mu Xiao's pupils contracted at the sight. Madness flashed within his One-Eyed eye as all the Dou Qi in his body poured into the Golden Greatsword. The descending blade immediately became even more imposing, swelling in size as well. He was no longer holding anything back. This was a desperate, life-or-death strike.

"I'm not some whetstone!"

He was a Dou Huang!

It was one thing for him to bow his head before that mysterious Dou Zong expert, but how could he possibly fail to take down some brat?

He had been a genius in his youth too!

He had his own pride!

With Mu Xiao's complete eruption, the descending Golden Greatsword became even more terrifying. It instantly split apart the Air Cannon formed by Yao Yan's fist force and came crashing down.

Yao Yan threw several more punches, but the Air Cannons he unleashed could only slightly slow the Golden Greatsword's descent. They could not damage it at all. Clearly, against a Three-Star Dou Huang who was fighting for his life, his current strength was still far too lacking. Seeing that he could not stop the opponent's Dou Technique, he could only raise both arms before him and attempt to withstand it head-on.

As for dodging, it was already too late with the greatsword's attack range.

"Clang!"

There was no sensation of flesh being cut apart—only the sound of two hard objects colliding, like metal striking metal. Then a tremendous roar rang out as the ground within several hundred meters caved in, driving Yao Yan deep into the earth.

The skin and flesh on Yao Yan's arms were instantly split open, exposing the bones beneath. As the two came into contact, they seemed to trigger another force, causing a jade-like sheen to emerge over his originally snow-white bones, radiating an indestructible aura.

That originated from the Yao Clan Dou Sheng Essence Blood Yao Yan had first devoured.

Although the immense energy within it had been completely refined by Hun Xuzi, leaving behind only the purest Dou Di Bloodline Power, a Dou Sheng was ultimately still a Dou Sheng. That indestructible power had long been contained within it, and as Yao Yan refined it into his body, it caused his physique to undergo an unimaginable transformation.

This was also the true reason Hun Xuzi had dared to give him an Earth Rank High Grade Body Refining Technique—because Yao Yan's natural foundation could bear it.

Without that foundation.

How could Hun Xuzi have dared to let Yao Yan freely devour the Dou Di bloodlines of every clan?

"How is that possible?!"

Mu Xiao naturally had no idea just how monstrously Yao Yan's body had transformed. He only knew that his attack had been blocked, that it could not even sever the other's arms. His expression instantly twisted, and the madness in his One-Eyed eye grew even stronger as he directly controlled the Golden Greatsword to explode.

The tremendous energy within instantly swallowed everything around it. Not a blade of grass remained within several kilometers, and the dense forest was reduced to a barren wasteland.

Having expended too much Dou Qi, he panted heavily, his One-Eyed eye fixed tightly on where Yao Yan had been.

As the smoke and dust dispersed, an empty patch of ground was revealed.

Yao Yan had vanished without a trace.

Won... did I win?

Mu Xiao swallowed, his heart pounding violently as he instinctively looked up at the mysterious expert high in the sky. His expression immediately froze. The brat who had been fighting him just moments ago now stood at the mysterious expert's side, 'completely unharmed,' seemingly saying something to him.

The next moment, the mysterious expert named Yao Nong raised a hand and clenched it in Mu Xiao's direction through the air. There were no words, only indifference.

Mu Xiao felt no pain. His consciousness vanished directly, and his body turned into a cloud of blood mist, leaving no corpse behind. Even his soul was erased. The only thing left was an Intermediate Storage Ring with a silver bright color. Naturally, that storage ring became Yao Yan's spoils of war, along with the storage rings belonging to those Mercenaries.

Yao Yan looked regretfully at Mu Xiao, who had been crushed into a blood mist. The man had been very strong. If Yao Nong had not intervened just then, even if Yao Yan had not died, he would likely have been severely injured by the explosion.

His bones might have been able to endure it, but the rest of his body might not.

That was why Yao Nong had acted.

Yao Yan was currently in a stage of rapid growth. If he were severely injured this time, it would undoubtedly affect his future path of cultivation and might even damage his natural foundation. The loss would outweigh the gain. As for tempering himself, once he truly grew stronger, there would surely be no shortage of it in the future.

Yao Yan could do nothing about that. He had to admit that the other man was right.

As for Mu Xiao, all he could say was sorry—he had broken his word~

In a Fantasy World, breaking one's word gave Yao Yan no psychological burden whatsoever. If Mu Xiao had truly believed him, it only meant that he was not mature enough.

Mu Xiao: ...

Ling Er didn't run away, did she...? Yao Yan looked at the forest below, which had been leveled by the battle, and could not help feeling a little uneasy. If Ling Er had run off, there would really be nothing he could do. Given the peculiar nature of the Living Flame, if she truly wanted to hide, even a Dou Sheng would be unable to do anything unless they refined the entire Shennong Mountain Range.

Fortunately, his worries were somewhat unnecessary.

Yao Nong had only just returned her to the ground when a petite green figure darted out from the distance. She was quite fast, reaching Yao Yan's arms in a few leaps. Her pair of fluffy ears stood upright as her emerald eyes sized up Yao Yan, seemingly checking whether he was intact. At the same time, an empty Medicine Bottle was clamped in her mouth, its cap nowhere to be seen.

Clearly, the Flora Essence pills inside had already been eaten.

She's worried that if I die, no one will feed her... Yao Yan inexplicably felt that was what Ling Er meant. He raised a hand and rubbed her head, saying with amusement, "Don't worry. I won't die."

Ling Er raised her head and nuzzled against Yao Yan coquettishly. Then she obediently lay on his shoulder, leisurely swishing her fluffy fox tail. Her lively eyes glanced at Yao Nong in midair, seemingly curious about where he had been hiding earlier.

Yao Yan removed the Medicine Bottle from Ling Er's mouth and stored it in his storage ring.

Then, under Yao Nong's watchful gaze, he walked into the distance.

As space rippled, Yao Nong's figure vanished from the sky as well.