High in the sky, Yun Yun swung her sword, and fierce winds rose. Violent currents swirled around her, forming a tornado that howled toward the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
Sand flew and stones tumbled, trees were torn out by their roots, and devastation lay in the tornado's wake.
Xiao Yan had no doubt that if this attack had struck Wutan City, more than half the city would have been destroyed in an instant, sending countless people to the underworld.
Disdain flickered in the Amethyst Winged Lion King's enormous eyes. The beast threw back its head and roared, sending purple flames surging into the heavens. Everything nearby burned and crumbled to ash; even a tiny tongue of flame could reduce an ordinary person to dust.
The instant the tornado collided with the purple flames, the brilliant light they unleashed dimmed even the sun for a moment. A powerful shock wave swept outward immediately afterward, enough to tear apart any magical beast that lacked the strength to withstand it.
Black-and-white protective barriers lit up around Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian simultaneously, blocking every trace of the two Dou Emperors' shock waves.
The woman and the beast seemed evenly matched.
"Doesn't that mean..." An idea sprang into Xiao Yan's mind, and he was just about to speak.
"Little Yanzi, I'll sneak into the Amethyst Winged Lion King's lair and steal the Purple Spirit Stone. If anything changes, have Yao Lao send me a soul transmission!" Xiao Yi Xian called up to Xiao Yan, then immediately sprang into action.
Xiao Yan nodded. It seemed they had both reached the same conclusion. Yun Yun's unexpected arrival was an opportunity for them as well. Their plan had originally carried some risk, but with the two Dou Emperor-level experts locked in battle, it had become much easier.
He watched Yun Yun's sword slash into the Amethyst Winged Lion King with blades of wind, only to leave a shallow scratch on its purple scales. He understood then that it would take a long time for either of them to claim victory.
"Little Yanzi, do you dare go for something big?" Yao Lao suddenly asked excitedly, as though he had spotted something good.
"Something big?" Xiao Yan asked incredulously. What is Yao Lao planning? Surely he isn't going to make me go up there and fight those two Dou Emperors?
"That's right. I want you to go up there and fight them." Yao Chen confidently spoke words that made Xiao Yan's hair stand on end.
"I'll die, Teacher." Xiao Yan wanted to cry, but no tears would come. Killing someone one rank above him was already impressive enough. A Dou Emperor was five major realms above him; anyone who could still pull off a kill against that gap would truly be inhuman.
"Don't worry. Let me borrow your body again." After reassuring him, Yao Chen took complete control of Xiao Yan's body without giving him any time to react.
After a brief adjustment, Yao Chen could just barely make use of Xiao Yan's flesh. He sensed the two kinds of beast flame within his dantian and dismissed them with disdain.
With a raise of his hand, a ghastly white flame emerged from the Black Ring at Xiao Yan's chest and enveloped his entire body. The surrounding temperature suddenly plunged several notches, and even flakes of snow began to fall.
Eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking: bone spirit cold flame.
The Eagle Wings on Xiao Yan's back beat fiercely, and he shot toward the two battling Dou Emperors like an arrow loosed from a bow.
This sudden development startled both Yun Yun and the Amethyst Winged Lion King. Woman and beast quickly drew apart, each assuming the newcomer was reinforcements summoned by the other.
But once Xiao Yan entered the fray, he showed no intention of exchanging greetings. The Heavy Xuan Ruler instantly appeared in his hand, bone spirit cold flame coating its surface, and he charged straight at the Amethyst Winged Lion King with a vicious strike.
"Early Earth Tier Dou Technique: Flame Splitting Wave Ruler!"
It was the same Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, but its power under Yao Lao's control was worlds apart from when Xiao Yan wielded it himself.
Wherever the bone spirit cold flame passed, the temperature plummeted. The purple flames had barely touched it before they vanished without a trace, like subjects facing their emperor.
The strike instantly shattered the barrier of purple flames surrounding the Amethyst Winged Lion King, then slammed viciously into the sixth-rank magical beast. The scales that had remained impregnable during its battle with Yun Yun now crumbled apart.
Blood sprayed everywhere. For the first time in the battle, the Amethyst Winged Lion King was wounded.
"You damned woman! You actually brought help!" the Amethyst Winged Lion King roared furiously. Its eyes turned blood-red, and the purple light radiating from its body grew ever brighter.
"Hey, woman over there! The Amethyst Winged Lion King is about to unleash its seal. Aren't you going to finish it off?" Controlling Xiao Yan's body, Yao Lao shouted to Yun Yun.
Yun Yun's gaze darkened. Ignoring the rudeness in Xiao Yan's words, she flicked the Dou Qi wings on her back and instantly closed to within five meters of the Amethyst Winged Lion King. Then she raised her sword and slashed into the newly opened wound.
Green Dou Qi poured through the wound, savagely destroying the Amethyst Winged Lion King's body from within and interrupting the sealing technique it had just prepared.
The rest of the battle required no further intervention from Yao Lao. Yun Yun ranked among the best even within the ranks of Dou Emperors, and against a gravely wounded Amethyst Winged Lion King, she held an overwhelming advantage.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King barely parried a few more attacks. Then a flash of sword light swept past, and its enormous body finally plummeted toward the ground.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King's fall sent great clouds of dust billowing upward. Throughout the valley, magical beasts either died or fled in terror.
After disposing of her enemy, Yun Yun showed not the slightest gratitude. She turned her sword toward Xiao Yan and demanded coldly, "Who are you?"
"Miss, don't be so hasty. I just happened to be passing by." "Xiao Yan" shrugged, then pointed at the Amethyst Winged Lion King's corpse below. "How about we split that magical beast between us? I'll take its horn and magic core. As for the Purple Spirit Stone in its cave, it's all yours."
Yun Yun's gaze darkened as she began scrutinizing Xiao Yan.
While Yun Yun was still pondering just how strong Xiao Yan really was, a furtive group on the other side of the valley was setting something up.
There were nine of them in total, all dressed in black robes. No fluctuations of Dou Qi seemed to emanate from their bodies, yet not a single magical beast had dared attack them along the way.
"Keh keh keh! Hun Tiandi, you actually sent me to handle this damned nonsense? I'll remember this grudge!" One of the black-robed figures let out an eerie laugh. The figure held something resembling a formation flag, though there was no telling what power it contained.
"Lord Void, keep your voice down. Don't let the clan leader hear you." Another black-robed figure hurried to stop the first from continuing this disrespectful behavior.
"What the hell is there to fear? That heartless bastard is busy reuniting with his long-dead wife amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. How would he have time to monitor what we're saying? But... Miesheng, how do you use this Formation Disc of yours? I've been with your Hun Clan for ten thousand years, and I still can't figure out this damned thing."
"This? First, you do this... then this... and finally this... there."
The two black-robed figures huddled together, fiddling with the Formation Disc in their hands. Before long, an eerie gleam flashed across it, and a strange fluctuation enveloped the entire valley.
"The show begins. Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
"Keh keh keh."
Before you continue