"Roar!" The skeleton opened its mouth. Though it clearly had no vocal cords, a shrill cry rang out from within. The cry carried a strange frequency that could disturb the minds of others, leaving them dazed. Anyone whose will was weak might even go mad on the spot.
Naturally, none of that could happen to Xiao Yan. He snorted coldly and opened his mouth wide. A furious roar like that of a mad lion suddenly thundered through the jungle, scattering the eerie skeleton's sound waves outright. Even the skeleton itself was driven several steps back by the terrifying sonic blast.
This sonic Dou Technique was precisely the one Xiao Yan had found in the stone box inside the cave, named Mad Lion's Roar. Combined with the phoenix cry within his body, it was the perfect counter to these eerie sound waves.
After being forced back, the skeleton immediately retaliated. It lightly pressed its palm against the ground, and the jungle floor swiftly cracked apart. Countless bone-white skeletal hands reached out of the fissures, trying to seize Xiao Yan and drag him underground. However, Xiao Yan had sensed something amiss the moment the skeleton moved and deployed his Purple Cloud Wings in time, evading the skeletal hands.
"Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations! First transformation: Nine Nether Transformation!" Almost without hesitation, Xiao Yan unleashed the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations as he deployed his Purple Cloud Wings. Eerie Black Flame Dou Qi swiftly flowed through his meridians, and his aura surged explosively.
The last time Xiao Yan had used the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations, his strength had risen by almost an entire rank. This time, the increase in his level was not quite so frightening. After all, although both were measured in stars, a single star meant something entirely different for a Dou Shi than it did for a Da Dou Shi.
Although the rise in his level was not as frightening as before, the actual effect was considerably stronger. After all, the effectiveness of the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations depended on the quality of the flame. His Nine Nether Flame had undergone a significant improvement after absorbing the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle's blood essence, so the technique's effectiveness had risen with it, like a boat lifted by the rising tide.
His apparent level alone now exceeded that of a Five-Star Dou Ling. If he also unleashed the Dou Techniques he had mastered, he could defeat a Peak Dou Ling expert. Yet that was nowhere near enough against this eerie skeleton. Judging by the Hellish Ghost Hands it had just used, its strength should be no lower than that of a Dou Wang.
Feeling the surging Dou Qi within him, Xiao Yan let out a low shout. Before the skeleton could pull its hand out of the ground, he swung the Xuan Heavy Ruler and smashed it viciously toward its head. Having sunk one arm underground to unleash its earlier sinister attack, the skeleton had no way to dodge and could only stand its ground against Xiao Yan's heavy strike.
Facing the black heavy ruler descending from above, the skeleton raised its remaining free arm and slammed it against the weapon. The instant they collided, Xiao Yan felt an immensely powerful force surge from the other end of the ruler. Not only had his strike failed to shatter the skeleton, but that tremendous force knocked the weapon clean out of his hands.
Losing his weapon did not change Xiao Yan's expression. The instant the Xuan Heavy Ruler was knocked away, a crimson energy lion rapidly formed before him and charged toward the skeleton with a roar!
Although this Lion Mountain Split had formed in an instant, its power had not diminished in the slightest. Even an ordinary Dou Ling might not have escaped it unscathed. Unfortunately, such an attack clearly had no effect against a Dou Wang-level existence. With a casual slap, the skeleton shattered the energy lion into dust.
"This thing's body really is tough..." Xiao Yan frowned slightly as he looked at the skeleton. Its strength in life must have been at least at the Dou Zong level. Otherwise, without the reinforcement of Dou Qi, it could never have taken his full-powered strike without suffering any damage.
Moreover, whatever was controlling it clearly possessed considerable intelligence. Under its control, the skeleton moved no differently from an ordinary person. Coupled with those extremely sinister techniques, even a Dou Wang would have struggled to escape death in terrain like this. Under these circumstances, even his Flame Splitting Wave Ruler would probably have difficulty defeating it completely.
"In that case, I can only use this move." Xiao Yan opened his left hand, and the pitch-black Nine Nether Flame swiftly rose from it. Then he opened his mouth, and a mass of grayish-white flame emerged, landing on his right hand. It was the Life Transformation Fire he had previously cultivated using the Flame-Tending Mantra.
Relying solely on the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, Xiao Yan might have been able to inflict some damage on the skeleton, but he could never defeat it completely. Besides, the skeleton was not a living being. Even an injury would not diminish its fighting strength. Xiao Yan, however, was different. Unleashing an Earth Tier Dou Technique would consume a tremendous amount of his Dou Qi, making this opponent even more troublesome afterward.
Thus, Xiao Yan intended to unleash one of the moves he had been proudest of in his previous life and shatter this skeleton completely!
Although Life Transformation Fire was not a true heavenly flame, it was far stronger than beast flame. That was also why Xiao Yan had chosen it for this move.
Under Xiao Yan's control, the black and grayish-white flames swiftly collided. Their inherent incompatibility made them instinctively reject each other, but before either could erupt with its own power, a surge of Dou Qi poured into the flames and forcibly suppressed them.
The two utterly different flames rapidly intertwined in Xiao Yan's palm, finally forming a black-and-white sphere of fiery light. The sphere teemed with extremely violent energy. Even the occasional spark that splashed out of it turned the jungle below into a fiercely burning sea of fire.
The skeleton leaped upward. Without Dou Qi, it naturally could not use Dou Qi Wings and could only rely on its jumping power to pursue its enemy. It too had sensed how terrifying the attack Xiao Yan was gathering would be, so it promptly decided to interrupt him outright.
Faced with the skeleton's sharp claws mere inches away, Xiao Yan remained utterly impassive. With a flick of his hand, he hurled the still-incomplete sphere of fiery light away. As it shot forward, a wisp of Dou Qi emerged from his fingertip and swiftly caught up with it.
As that wisp of Dou Qi entered the black-and-white sphere, the mass of light that had seemed ready to explode at any moment suddenly settled. In the next instant, an uncanny black-and-white Fire Lotus blossomed from within it. As the Fire Lotus spun, even the surrounding space was burned into nothingness. Then a staggering explosion rang out, and an utterly terrifying wave of fire spread outward, razing the entire forest to the ground in an instant.
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