Xiao Yan abruptly froze, his pupils contracting sharply!
"Who?!"
He shouted inwardly, and crimson-blue heavenly flames suddenly surged from his palm. Dou Qi erupted around him as he braced himself as though facing a formidable enemy!
Inside the Bone Flame Ring, Yao Chen's spectral soul also trembled violently, unprecedented horror surfacing on his aged face!
"That voice... it actually penetrated my Soul Barrier and spoke directly to Little Yanzi?!"
"Just who is this mighty figure?!"
In the hall, Nalan Yanran was stunned by Xiao Yan's sudden surge of power. Her plain, moon-white dress fluttered in the waves of force, her cool face filled with bewilderment.
"Mr. Yan Xiao...?"
But Xiao Yan had no attention to spare for her and ignored her entirely.
He spoke inwardly in a low voice, tinged with tremulous gravity.
"Who exactly are you, Senior? How can you transmit your voice directly to me?"
The aged voice fell silent for a moment, then slowly sounded again, as though gathering some remnant of strength. It carried the weariness and weathered sorrow of one who had traversed endless ages.
"I... only awakened recently."
"As for my identity, this little fellow who appears to belong to the Yao Clan seems to have once joined the Pill Tower as well. That would make him my junior..."
Beneath his black robe, Xiao Yan's expression changed violently!
The Pill Tower?!
He instinctively lowered his head and looked at the pale yellow ring on his other hand.
He was now certain that the voice and the pulses of soul energy were coming from it!
The ring was pale yellow throughout, its material seemingly ordinary. There were even several fine cracks on its surface, as though it had endured the erosion of long years.
Before his mother passed away, she had placed both the Bone