Shattered Space

Xiao Yan was well aware of the numerous problems plaguing the Void Ancient Dragon Clan, and when he noticed the North Dragon King's desperate actions, he did not intervene. Although the Ancient Void Dragon Clan had suffered heavy losses, it was also more united than ever before.

With the successive deaths of the Three Great Dragon Kings, the Void Ancient Dragon Clan, which had been plagued by internal strife, finally cleared away all obstacles.

Under Zi Yan's command in the name of the Dragon Emperor, no further dissent was heard from the Four Great Dragon Islands. The North Dragon King's massacre of his people had already chilled the hearts of all the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, so naturally no one was angry about his death. As for the two Southwest Dragon Kings, they were completely killed by the North Dragon King, which undoubtedly deepened everyone's hatred for him.

Driven by these favorable conditions, the integration of the Four Great Dragon Islands proceeded unexpectedly smoothly.

The Four Great Dragon Islands islands, which had been floating in the Void Space, were finally pieced together again by the combined efforts of many powerful members of the Ancient Dragon Clan.

With this, the Void Ancient Dragon Clan finally achieved unification. From now on, there will no longer be Four Great Dragon Islands, only the single Ancient Dragon Island will stand forever!

As the Void Ancient Dragon Clan was in turmoil due to the unification efforts, Xiao Yan once again went to the Void Lightning Pool, intending to refine the body of the North Dragon King into a puppet.

The North Dragon King's strength during his lifetime was almost at the level of Six-Star Dou Saint. What made Xiao Yan even more envious was that his physical body was far stronger than that of an ordinary Six-Star Dou Saint expert, making him the perfect material for crafting puppets!

Within the Void Lightning Pool, Xiao Yan's expression was solemn. Hundreds of materials shimmering with strange luster floated in the lightning before him; these were all rare items needed to refine puppets.

The body of the North Dragon King is of such exceptional quality that it is truly rare. Naturally, he would use the best materials to match it, so as not to do justice to its preciousness.

Xiao Yan carefully scanned the materials in front of him, making sure nothing was missed, before nodding in satisfaction.

After the inspection was completed, Xiao Yan waved his hand, and a figure several times stronger than an ordinary person floated in front of him. It was the main material for refining the puppet—the body of the North Dragon King.

At this moment, the North Dragon King's eyes were closed, his face was ashen, and his life force had dissipated. However, his body remained tense.

The physical strength of the Ancient Void Dragon is indeed exceptionally gifted and breathtaking; its physique is even more outrageously powerful.

Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the head of the North Dragon King; even now, those three faces still appeared somewhat ferocious.

He couldn't help but shake his head, secretly speculating that the reason this guy's body was so strong was probably related to him swallowing the flesh and blood of the Two Dragon Kings of the Southwest.

"Puff!"

Withdrawing his gaze, Xiao Yan opened his mouth, and a ball of golden flames surged out, expanding rapidly in the wind until it transformed into a massive dragon-patterned fire cauldron in mid-air. He then waved his hand and threw the North Dragon King's body into it.

"Squeak!"

As soon as the North Dragon King's body entered the cauldron of fire, his skin began to hiss and hiss, and blood oozed out, eventually turning into nothingness by the high temperature.

Xiao Yan remained expressionless in the face of this scene.

He had refined bodies before, so he naturally understood this tempering process. After being tempered by the Heavenly Flames, the North Dragon King's body would become even more terrifying.

This step of tempering, though seemingly simple, actually takes an extremely long time, lasting a full day.

Throughout the day, Xiao Yan used the Nine Dragons Lightning Flame to temper the North Dragon King's body almost continuously.

After being tempered by the heat of the day, the North Dragon King's originally extremely robust body shrank by a full three sizes. Even so, his body still looked several sizes stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Outside the cauldron, Xiao Yan calmly gazed at the North Dragon King, whose entire body was as black as iron. Even without the enhancement of Dou Qi, the visual impact was unparalleled.

"The blood within has been completely tempered and infiltrated into the muscles and bones; this body is truly a perfect killing machine..."

Looking at the dark body, Xiao Yan smiled slightly, a strange smile flashing in his dark eyes. Then, with a wave of his hand, the Heavenly Flames enveloping the body gradually faded.

"Boom!"

Just as the Nine Dragons Lightning Flame was about to dissipate, the North Dragon King, whose eyes were tightly closed inside the cauldron, suddenly opened them. A familiar scarlet light surged forth, followed by a sinister laugh.

"Xiao Yan, thank you for helping me complete this stage of tempering. In return, I will show you the terrifying power of this body. Heh heh, if you have anyone to blame, blame yourself for being arrogant and only shattering my soul! For me, the Ancient Void Dragon, the body is the soul, and the soul is the body; the two complement each other and are indispensable!"

The moment the cauldron exploded, the entire secret chamber trembled violently from the raging energy.

The North Dragon King's body, gleaming with the black luster of iron, shattered the fragments of the cauldron, his strong, dragon-like muscles gleaming with a chilling light in the firelight.

He threw his head back and laughed wildly, the sound wave carrying the might of a dragon that cracked the walls, and his giant palm, like a fan, carrying a gale that tore through space, went straight for Xiao Yan's throat!

"My bloodline is symbiotic with the Ancient Void Dragon, how could you, an ant, possibly fathom its secrets!" The North Dragon King's crimson dragon eyes blazed with bloodlust, and his three faces twisted into ferocious grins. Before the fist even arrived, the wisps of hair on Xiao Yan's forehead were already pressed against his cheeks by the force of the wind, and the floor of the secret chamber was actually plowed into a trench several feet deep by the shockwave.

However, Xiao Yan remained unmoved. He stood with his hands behind his back, a faint golden flame flickering around his fingertips, as if he had been waiting for this earth-shattering turn of events.

Just as the dragon claws were about to seize Xiao Yan's crown, a faint, enigmatic smile appeared on his lips, "The Ancient Dragon Flesh-Soul Fusion Art is indeed wondrous, but alas..."

Before he could finish speaking, the North Dragon King's massive, mountain-like body suddenly froze in mid-air.

Suddenly, countless lines of fire erupted from its body, each meridian lit up with eerie golden patterns, and even the seven orifices of its three heads spewed forth tongues of fire. Even more terrifying, those flames transformed into countless thin chains, forcibly binding the remnant soul hidden deep within its heart!

"You think I would let a remnant soul like you slip by?" Xiao Yan lightly tapped the void with his fingertips, and the fire chains instantly snapped shut.

The North Dragon King struggled to break the chains binding the soul, only to find that three thousand lotus petal Dao patterns appeared on each chain.

Suddenly, a cracking sound of bones popping rang out in the dark room. Beneath the North Dragon King's scale-covered skin, the originally bluish-gray dragon patterns were now dyed crimson by demonic fire, and each pattern seemed to writhe beneath his skin like a living creature.

The dragon blood that had been tempered into the bones spontaneously formed 3,600 sealing talismans under the stimulation of the Heavenly Flames!

The blood droplet on Xiao Yan's fingertip floated in mid-air, turning the entire Thunder Pool a dazzling crimson.

The remnant soul of the North Dragon King writhed wildly amidst the Nine Dragons Lightning Flame, its three faces sometimes overlapping and sometimes separating, each strand of soul emanating the unique purple-gold dragon aura of the Ancient Void Dragon.

"I am of the Archaic Dragon Emperor Bloodline..." The roar of the remnant soul abruptly stopped. Suddenly, thousands of fire lines outlined three lotus platforms in the void, each lotus platform engraved with unique ancient seal script.

As the lotus petals spun, the remnant soul of the North Dragon King seemed to be suppressed by the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, with even the dragon scales on the surface of his soul body peeling off piece by piece.

Xiao Yan formed the Ninefold Separation Flame Seal with his left hand, and as he pressed down with his right palm, a starry river projection appeared on the dome of the secret chamber.

That was a unique secret technique called "Celestial Cycle Star Refinement" that Xiao Yan mastered after the simulation. Each star corresponds to an acupoint in the human body.

The moment the third Greedy Wolf Star lit up, the Nine Dragons Lightning Flame transformed into nine divine dragons, tearing the remnant soul of the North Dragon King into three thousand six hundred soul threads!

"Refine!"

With this soft shout, strands of soul energy fell like rain onto the puppet's brow.

The once lifeless body suddenly trembled violently, and mysterious purple-gold patterns appeared on its black iron-colored dragon scales.

Even more bizarrely, when the last wisp of soul disappeared into the crown chakra, ten-zhang-long dragon wings suddenly unfurled from the puppet's back—wings that were clearly only possessed by the Ancient Void Dragon Royal Clan.

Xiao Yan's pupils contracted slightly, and the blood droplet between his fingers suddenly turned into a blood mist that enveloped the puppet's entire body.

When the blood mist touched the dragon scales, it produced a clanging sound like metal striking metal, and condensed into three thousand blood-red runes on the puppet's body.

Each rune subtly corresponds to the trajectory of the stars, creating a mysterious resonance with the combat instincts within the soul threads.

"Click--"

The floor of the secret chamber suddenly cracked open, and the strong wind generated when the puppet knelt on one knee snapped the black iron lamppost three zhang away in half.

Xiao Yan suddenly let out a muffled groan, and his Soul Sea surged with turbulent waves.

The puppet's body spontaneously activated the "Three Fiends Dragon Aura," a technique created by the North Dragon King. The immense physical power caused spatial distortion, and this puppet, which had fused with the remnant soul, was faintly about to break free from the creator's control!

"What a North Dragon King..." Cold sweat beaded on Xiao Yan's forehead. His right hand quickly formed hand seals, and his origins intertwined into a net, eroding the soul connection established between the blood seal and the puppet in reverse.

When the Heavenly Flames touched the puppet's heart, it was suddenly discovered that a Purple-Gold Dragon Crystal had condensed there—clearly a sign of the Ancient Void Dragon Royal Clan bloodline of the Primordial Void reverting to its ancestral form!

The puppet suddenly let out a deafening dragon roar, the sound waves etching dragon claw marks into the Thunder Pool.

Its wings were fully extended, each feather shimmering with the silver light of the laws of space.

Xiao Yan was shocked to discover that the soul connection between himself and the puppet was being eroded by some ancient will, and that the depths of the dragon crystal actually contained a bloodline restriction left behind by the North Dragon King before his death!

At the critical moment, the flame mark that suddenly appeared between Xiao Yan's brows flickered. Under the light, the dragon scales all over the puppet's body were absorbed, and dense lightning patterns condensed on its surface.

"So that's how it is..." Xiao Yan looked at the puppet that was gradually calming down and suddenly burst into laughter.

At this moment, the North King was surrounded by purple lightning and Heavenly Flames, and each slight flap of his wings caused spatial ripples.

When it knelt on one knee, the entire Void Lightning Pool trembled. The sound emanating from its mouth was no longer a mechanical reply, but a deep, resonant voice echoing with a dragon's roar, "North King greets his master."

Xiao Yan gently stroked the lightning pattern on the puppet's forehead, a meaningful smile curving his lips. Just now, when the bloodline restriction backfired, this puppet had truly been refined to a perfect level, capable of holding its own even against Six-Star Dou Saint.

After successfully creating the puppet, Xiao Yan mobilized the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, and the Nine Netherworld Python Clan to jointly search for the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Fragment Map.

With the general area indicated by the simulation, finding that crucial last piece wasn't too difficult.

Three days later, Xiao Yan obtained the incomplete map.

After piecing together all the fragments of the map, Xiao Yan, who already knew it was special, immediately used his Heavenly Flames to refine it.

The Ancient Map suddenly trembled violently, its patterns like ancient dragons awakening, their scarlet light illuminating the entire night sky like a sea of blood. Those patterns broke free from the parchment scroll and condensed in the void into four lines of ancient seal script flowing with magma, each character as heavy as a thousand pounds, pressing down on the space and causing it to crack inch by inch!

"Laugh--"

The Demon Lotus Pattern suddenly transformed into a purple-gold rainbow, tearing through the void and piercing straight into Xiao Yan's brow. In an instant, a nine-colored fire ring ignited around him, and the Flame Mantra within his body circulated at an unprecedented speed. The three great demonic beast royal families simultaneously roared to the sky, and as East Dragon Island trembled, an ancient array covering thousands of miles rose up, and countless torrents of energy transformed into purple-gold, seven-colored, and crimson pillars of light, which poured into that slender figure.

"Not enough!" Xiao Yan's eyes blazed with demonic Fire Lotus marks, and his arms suddenly spread wide. Billions of demonic beasts from the three races— the Ancient Void Dragon, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix, and the Nine Netherworld Python —roared in unison, their bloodline power transforming into a raging blood mist that surged into the great formation. The Zi Yan Dragon-Phoenix Battle Armor clanged, Medusa's snake eyes turned into vertical lines, and the Fenghuang wings ignited with Nirvana Flame —the three ancient pressures perfectly fused within Xiao Yan's body!

"Flame God, appear!"

With a roar, Xiao Yan raised a ten-thousand-foot-long Fire Lotus in his palm. When he struck the void for the ninth time, a crisp sound like shattering glass echoed throughout the entire Central Plains Continent. Above the sky, nine stars, trailing flames that stretched across the heavens, slowly connected. Each shift in the position of a star caused a spatial rift, revealing a surging sea of demonic fire behind it!

Two moons hung in the sky like bloodshot eyes opening and closing, and Nine-Star aligned like a divine sword piercing the sun. The instant the stars were completely aligned, the sound of primordial waves crashing against the shore suddenly resounded between heaven and earth—it was not a real tide, but the energy of the entire plane surging towards the northwest! Countless cultivators were horrified to discover that their Dou Qi, which they had painstakingly cultivated for decades, was boiling and flowing backward in their meridians.

"The Demon Flame Space is about to open!" The teacup in the hands of the Pill Tower Ancestor shattered with a bang.

Throughout the Central Plains, tens of thousands of streaks of light pierced the night sky, while the Soul Hall's black clouds, the Burning Flame Valley's fire boats, and the Flower Sect's lotus platforms surged towards the northwest in an overwhelming manner.

The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame is making its final appearance in the world, destined to unleash a bloody storm that will scorch the heavens and boil the seas!

"The space that sealed the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame has shattered, but the demon flame has not emerged. It must be inside that space. These milky white lights are merely its residual heat..." Xiao Yan, who had just released the Flame God, said softly as he gazed at the scene.

"Residual warmth?"

Upon hearing this, even with Zi Yan's formidable strength, her expression couldn't help but change slightly. A mere trace of residual heat could incinerate mountains and turn them into deserts; how terrifying would it be if one were to truly enter that space?

"Whoosh!"

Shortly after Xiao Yan and his group appeared above the desert, the sound of wind breaking came from all directions. Figures stopped far from the ruptured space, their eyes filled with awe as they gazed at the milky-white desert. They all knew that before tonight, this place had been a vibrant, thriving mountain range...

"Judging from this, it seems that to obtain the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, one must enter that space..." The Skyfire Saint stared at that space for a long time before speaking.