The heavy sword in his hand crashed down like a fiery red meteor!
Wreathed in flames, the heavy sword swept up a scorching wave of fire and cleaved viciously into the Yin Fire Thunder Pearl flying toward him from behind!
"BOOM!!"
A deafening rumble like muffled thunder resounded through the sky, and the blazing light instantly banished the darkness shrouding the Xiao Clan that night!
"Bang!"
The violent energy shock caused the buildings in Xiao Zha's courtyard to collapse with a crash, leaving a scorched patch of ground.
The head-on collision between the Earth Tier Dou Technique and the volatile Yin Fire Thunder Pearl sent both men flying with its tremendous force!
Xiao Yan spat blood, but he also used the lingering force to smash through the wall, hurtling outside like a kite with its string snapped.
Once he had put enough distance between them, he steadied himself and swiftly stuffed several Qi Recovery Pills into his mouth.
Meanwhile, after Xiao Zha retreated several steps, an ink-black, chilling wind began winding around him. The eerie Profound Yin Demonic Qi seemed to protect him of its own accord, absorbing much of the impact.
"..."
"Was that... an Earth Tier Dou Technique?"
Forcing down the burning sensation in his throat, Xiao Zha stared fixedly at the heavy sword in Xiao Yan's hand, a thoughtful gleam flickering in his eyes.
Among the cultivation methods and Dou Techniques he had inherited, several secret arts, once cultivated to a certain level, were every bit as powerful as Earth Tier Dou Techniques—or even stronger!
But many were exceedingly difficult to cultivate, requiring vast amounts of time or resources before they could unleash sufficient power.
He had yet to fully master them...
The Yin Fire Thunder Pearl he had just used was one such example. Following a secret method, he had condensed a large quantity of the pure yin fire he had cultivated and mixed in a trace of lightning power to refine it into a single-use killing move.
Yet this man had boldly blocked it with an Earth Tier Dou Technique. Judging by its display, that technique seemed even more powerful than the Yin Fire Thunder Pearl.
"Ah..."
Xiao Zha exhaled softly, a smile lingering at the corner of his mouth as he waved a hand.
Then he plopped down amid the shattered walls and rubble, rested his right arm on his right knee, and looked up toward Xiao Yan.
"I don't know who sent you to probe me, but since you have your suspicions, I wonder whether you're prepared to face..."
"Four Da Dou Shi hunting you down!"
Before his words had faded, three black-robed figures burst from the ruined buildings behind him. Together with Jia Lie Bi, who had stood motionless in the courtyard, they radiated a chilling aura and charged straight at Xiao Yan!
Though he still had hidden trump cards and was confident he could take Xiao Yan down in one stroke, being on Xiao Clan grounds restricted him from using them.
Even if he defeated Xiao Yan personally, he would lose much of the fruit of his cultivation, which would hinder his coming plans...
Xiao Zha looked up at Xiao Yan holding his sword and silently weighed his options.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Xiao Yan pushed his flowing movement technique to its limit, drifting through the courtyard like a gust of wind as he desperately evaded the four Da Dou Shi's encirclement.
Yet the four black-robed figures seemed tireless. Their attacks surged like a tide, cold Dou Qi pouring in from every direction and sealing off every escape route.
"Damn it!"
Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, surging Dou Qi spinning in his palm as he kept searching for an opening.
His figure abruptly halted. Rather than retreating again, he charged toward a corner of the courtyard in one burst.
Sensing four powerful streams of Dou Qi hurtling toward him from behind, Xiao Yan slammed his Fire-Blowing Palm into the ground. The tremendous recoil instantly launched him into the air, allowing him to narrowly evade the attacks behind him!
Good thing I raised the Flame Mantra to the Xuan tier beforehand. Otherwise, this kind of expenditure would have exhausted me long ago.
Xiao Yan's mind raced, constantly calculating the depletion of the Dou Qi within him.
I only have enough Dou Qi left to use it once...
After he swiftly landed, the sturdy heavy sword trembled faintly in Xiao Yan's palm, giving off a continuous hum.
Violent fatal flame erupted from the meridians throughout his body and flooded wildly into the blade as he charged straight at the four puppets!
"Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"
This time, the crimson flames burned even more fiercely than before!
Waves of dark red fire rose from the sword's edge like a falling sun, bathing the entire courtyard in the colors of sunset!
"BOOM!!"
The heavy sword swept horizontally, unleashing the Earth Tier Dou Technique's greatest might without reserve.
Fatal flame intertwined with vast Dou Qi, forming a crimson sword blade dozens of meters long that swept outward with the force of a storm crushing rotten wood!
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Four dull impacts rang out in succession as all four puppets were hurled away by that enormous force!
At the same time, the residual waves of Dou Qi struck all four of them. Their black robes burned away in the lingering flames, revealing gaunt, darkened bodies beneath, along with faces as pale as paper.
Xiao Yan's pupils narrowed slightly. What he saw was exactly as he had expected.
Jia Lie Bi, Oba Pa, an elder of the Jia Lie Family, and an utterly unfamiliar elderly face...
Propping himself up with his sword, Xiao Yan gasped for breath, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
That strike had drained almost ninety percent of his Dou Qi, but its effect was equally striking-
The black Dou Qi surrounding the four puppets scattered in disarray, and their hollow eyes grew dim and lightless. They had clearly sustained considerable damage.
As the fatal flame settled on them, their skin-and-bones bodies gradually began giving off the smell of charred flesh.
Absolute burning!
Watching the searing flames spread across their bodies, leaving broad patches of blackened flesh wherever they passed, Xiao Yan felt slightly relieved.
But just then, something unexpected happened!
The Jia Lie Family elder suddenly staggered, as though some invisible force were coursing through his body and wreaking havoc!
His eyes flew wide, and the black markings in his pupils abruptly shattered. His Dou Qi drained away like floodwater through an opened sluice, as though some core sustaining his life had been utterly destroyed.
He crashed to the ground!
[Fatal Flame: 5% chance to instantly kill an enemy.]
"He... died?!" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted sharply. This outcome had taken him completely by surprise.
No, he was already dead. I should say... he's been destroyed.
Xiao Yan was puzzled. With his strength at the Dou Shi level, even using an Earth Tier Dou Technique, temporarily driving these men back was already no easy feat. Killing them had never crossed his mind.
"Hm?"
Xiao Zha's body stiffened slightly where he lounged against the broken walls and rubble, two murky red gleams flickering uncertainly in his eyes.
He stared at the fallen puppet, his brows slowly furrowing as a vicious glint appeared in his gaze.
Refining these puppets had been far from easy.
On that moonless, windswept night, he had been scouting near the Jia Lie Family when he happened to witness that mysterious Dou Wang descend and defeat Jia Lie Bi and the two elders with thunderous force.
Upon learning that their bodies were weakened and their strength greatly diminished, Xiao Zha immediately decided to take a dangerous gamble-
He concealed himself using the "Form-Shifting Art" from the Profound Yin Art, then employed the "Soul-Separation Secret Art" to abduct Jia Lie Bi and Oba Pa one after the other after they returned home completely unsuspecting!
But something went wrong when he dealt with the Jia Lie Family's two elders.
After he drove tiandu corpse fire into one of them, the other abruptly awoke and launched a desperate counterattack!
The Dou Shi puppet that had been following him all along blocked the elder's final blow, perishing together with him.
Of course, with Profound Yin Demonic Qi protecting him, even taking that blow would not have endangered his life. At worst, he would have suffered some injuries.
Thus, the man into whom he had driven the corpse fire had not died at the time, but Xiao Zha had not managed to take him away before he later died at home.
As for the unfamiliar old man, Xiao Zha had refined him afterward, when he went out and ordered the three puppets to surround and kill an unaffiliated cultivator.
"Damn brat..." Xiao Zha cursed under his breath, the red gleams in his eyes growing ever murkier.
Losing a puppet was a painful loss for him, too.
"Still..."
"A puppet's body knows no pain and fears neither life nor death. Even engulfed in raging flames, it can still move."
Xiao Zha's dangerous gaze swept over Xiao Yan. "Boy, you miscalculated."
At that moment, Xiao Yan also realized something was wrong.
The puppets, with much of their flesh burned away, were still relentlessly advancing toward him, utterly fearless of death!
Just as Xiao Zha's expression darkened and he prepared to enter the battle himself, capture and kill Xiao Yan in one stroke, and replenish his puppets, a sudden thunderous shout made his eyes narrow.
"Who dares cause trouble in my Xiao Clan!"
Before you continue