Blue Silver Emperor Sovereign vs. Xiong Jun!

"This time, we miscalculated." Ning Fengzhi sighed. "But Senior Sword breaking through to rank ninety-seven can be considered a blessing in disguise."

"Unfortunately, having lost an arm, it will be difficult for him to make any further breakthroughs."

Gu Rong nodded. "There is another matter as well. Chen Xin gained some insight during the battle, and his Soul Power has already broken through to rank ninety."

At this moment, Gu Rong's attitude had become far more serious. In the past, he had always called Chen Xin an old bastard, but this time, he directly used his name.

Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi finally revealed his first smile of the day.

"That is good news."

But immediately afterward, Ning Fengzhi grew troubled again.

For Chen Xin to attain his Title, he needed to obtain his ninth Soul Ring. Yet the Star Dou Great Forest was obviously extremely dangerous now. How could they hunt one?

They could not possibly go to Sunset Forest, could they?

Finding a Soul Beast over eighty thousand years old in Sunset Forest would be far too difficult.

Clear Sky Sect.

Tang Hao and Tang Xiao finally returned to the sect with the surviving clansmen.

As soon as the two entered, they were ushered into the council hall.

When the elders saw the people remaining behind Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, all their expressions changed.

"Where is the First Elder? Why has he not returned?" The Second Elder's voice trembled slightly.

Tang Hao nodded, his voice hoarse. "He died beneath the Heavenly Tribulation. That Blue Silver Emperor used him as a sacrifice to block the Lightning Tribulation."

"What?!" Several elders rose to their feet at once.

Just then, Tang Lan, seated in the place of honor, suddenly began to cough violently.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Tang Lan's face had already been pale, but now it was utterly bloodless.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but instead spat out a mouthful of old blood. Blood splattered across the table, a shocking sight.

"Sect Master!"

Tang Hao and Tang Xiao were horrified and rushed forward in a single stride.

Tang Lan's body swayed before he fell backward.

Tang Xiao hurriedly caught him and discovered that his breath had already weakened to an extreme degree.

"Quick, summon the healing Soul Masters from the sect!"

The entire council hall instantly descended into chaos.

Several elders gathered around. Some went to call for physicians, while others hurriedly transferred Soul Power into Tang Lan.

But Tang Lan's condition was simply too poor, and his breath grew weaker and weaker.

In the end, he fell unconscious.

Tang Hao clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.

Tang Xiao also lowered his head, saying nothing.

The First Elder was dead, and their father had fallen unconscious. More than half of the Clear Sky Sect's top combat strength had collapsed in an instant.

The Second Elder took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the grief in his heart as he turned to the others.

"Now, the only thing we can do is dispatch a large number of sect members to search for traces of the former Sect Master, Tang Chen."

"Inform him of the crisis the sect is facing and hope that he can return as soon as possible."

"Only if the former Sect Master returns will our Clear Sky Sect have any hope of turning things around."

The elders all nodded, and no one objected.

Tang Chen was their last pillar of support.

Three days later.

At the Lake of Life, Lan Lingcang slowly opened his eyes.

The injuries on his body had completely healed. Bi Ji's healing abilities truly lived up to her reputation.

He rose to his feet and stretched his limbs. Xiong Jun had long since grown impatient.

His enormous body stood in the open space beside the lake, making the ground tremble faintly.

"You're finally done?"

Xiong Jun grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs. "Then come on!"

Lan Lingcang said calmly, "Begin."

Xiong Jun had been waiting for those words. Without any warning, his enormous body suddenly lunged forward.

The Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was far faster than its appearance suggested. With a howling gust, its bear paw slammed down toward Lan Lingcang's head.

Lan Lingcang shifted aside and dodged the strike. The bear paw struck the ground, smashing out a massive pit several meters deep as shattered stones flew in every direction.

"You're pretty quick!"

Xiong Jun shouted and swung another claw in a sweeping strike.

Lan Lingcang tapped the ground with his toes and leaped several yards backward.

"Do you only know how to dodge?" Xiong Jun roared irritably.

Lan Lingcang smiled. "Then stand firm."

The Blue Silver Dragon Spear appeared in his hand. With a flick of the spear tip, it became a streak of blue-gold light that stabbed straight at Xiong Jun's face.

Xiong Jun neither dodged nor retreated, simply raising a bear paw to strike the spear shaft.

Clang!

A thunderous sound like clashing metal rang out.

Xiong Jun's bear paw was covered in a layer of dark-gold light, forcibly knocking aside the spear tip.

But Lan Lingcang twisted his wrist, turning the spear back and sweeping it toward Xiong Jun's waist and abdomen.

Xiong Jun reacted with incredible speed, turning his body aside. The spear tip grazed his fur, taking several dark-gold hairs with it.

"You've got some skills!"

He had cultivated for four hundred and sixty thousand years, while Lan Lingcang had only just reached four hundred thousand years.

Under normal circumstances, he should have crushed his opponent. Yet now, they appeared almost evenly matched.

However, this was only the beginning!

Excitement flashed through Xiong Jun's eyes. It had been a long time since he had encountered an opponent capable of fighting him head-on.

With a sudden charge, Xiong Jun's body crashed forward once more.

This time, he used his full strength, his speed nearly doubling from before.

Lan Lingcang had no time to evade and raised his spear to block.

Bang!

The collision sent him staggering back more than ten steps, his feet gouging two deep trenches into the ground.

Xiong Jun's strength truly was absurd.

"You can't win in a head-on clash!"

Xiong Jun laughed loudly and threw another heavy punch.

Lan Lingcang no longer took the blow head-on. His figure flickered, becoming an afterimage as he circled to Xiong Jun's side.

The spear moved like a dragon, stabbing directly beneath Xiong Jun's ribs.

Xiong Jun reacted swiftly, turning and swinging his claw to knock aside the spear tip once more.

The two traded blows, locked in an inseparable battle.

Every strike from Xiong Jun was immensely powerful, cracking the ground without end.

Lan Lingcang, meanwhile, relied on his speed advantage to weave around him constantly, seeking an opening.

The other Ferocious Beasts by the lake had all retreated into the distance to watch.

Bi Ji stood beside Di Tian and said softly, "This Blue Silver Emperor truly is not weak."

Di Tian nodded. "To fight Xiong Jun to this extent with the body of Blue Silver Grass is already remarkable."

Zi Ji narrowed her eyes. "But it looks like he is still at a disadvantage."

"Keep watching," Di Tian said. "He has not used his elemental power yet. That is his most terrifying aspect."

The battle in the field continued.

Xiong Jun's attacks grew more and more ferocious, each claw accompanied by a shriek that tore through the air.

After blocking several times in succession, Lan Lingcang's palms had begun to go numb.

He could not keep fighting like this.

Xiong Jun was even stronger than he had imagined. Without using other abilities, he truly could not gain any advantage in a straightforward clash.

Since he could not match the other in strength, he would use another method.

With a thought from Lan Lingcang, the Blue Silver Domain instantly unfolded.

Countless tiny blades of Blue Silver Grass sprang forth from the ground beneath his feet and the surrounding air.

This Blue Silver Grass would not directly attack Xiong Jun, but its very existence was a massive trap.

The Blue Silver Domain could continuously absorb an opponent's Soul Power and stamina. Though the process was slow, the accumulated effect over time would be considerable.

At the same time the Blue Silver Domain expanded, the Sun Flame Domain activated as well.

A ring of red light spread outward from Lan Lingcang, enveloping Xiong Jun completely.

Xiong Jun froze. "What is this?"

He did not sense any attack. He merely felt that the surrounding temperature seemed to have risen slightly.