Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step

Xiao Yan paid no heed to how furious those fellows outside were. If he had not needed to conserve his strength for whatever awaited him inside the tomb mansion, he might have hurled a Demon Fury Fire Lotus at them already and made those noisy pests quiet down for a while.

As for the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect emblem, he had deliberately drawn it on his clothes. It was an old trick-diverting the flood of trouble toward someone else-but an effective one. Besides, a group from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect really had appeared near the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion before vanishing without a trace. That was his greatest asset in fishing in these muddy waters. Even the sect master of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Sect would probably have to swallow this bitter loss in silence.

After entering the Heavenly Scorpion Tomb Mansion, Xiao Yan took the Xuan Heavy Ruler in hand. He did not believe the tomb mansion's defenses were limited to the poisonous mist outside. By his reckoning, the traps the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast had laid within would only be far more dangerous!

Thus, the moment Xiao Yan entered, he spread his soul force and swiftly scanned everything in the burial chambers. Thanks to his formidable soul force, he managed to avoid quite a few traps.

The Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast had amassed quite a collection, no less impressive than the one in that cave in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Xiao Yan found plenty of rare medicinal ingredients among it. Naturally, he refused none of them and took them all.

Apart from those medicinal ingredients, Xiao Yan also found quite a few cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. Most were Black Tier, and several had even reached Earth Tier. However, they were all suited to magical beasts, so Xiao Yan had little interest in them. Still, unwilling to let anything go to waste, he tossed them all into a corner of his Storage Ring.

These cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, medicinal ingredients, and other treasures had all been sprinkled with deadly poison. Even the slightest contact would cause the poison to flare up and kill the victim. Presumably, the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast had intended to use them as bait to kill everyone who dared enter its tomb mansion. Unfortunately for it, Xiao Yan possessed the netherworld poison flame and had no need to worry about these poisons. Thus, all the treasures in the tomb mansion fell into his lap.

Although Xiao Yan had obtained many things inside the tomb mansion, he still had not found the most important prize: the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast's corpse. At last, a massive stone door blocked his way at the end of the passage.

"Only the final burial chamber left..." Looking at the stone door barring his path, Xiao Yan drew a deep breath and brought the Xuan Heavy Ruler down with a powerful swing, smashing the door apart. The instant it shattered, a huge dark shape suddenly charged out from behind it and hurtled straight toward him.

Feeling the fierce wind rushing toward him, Xiao Yan immediately swung the Xuan Heavy Ruler and struck hard at the shape before him. The instant they collided, he felt a terrifying force surge through the other end of the ruler. His body flew backward beyond his control before slamming heavily into the wall behind him.

Xiao Yan coughed softly and quickly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, an exceedingly grave look entering his eyes. Although that blow had been a surprise attack, the strength required to send him flying in a single exchange was far beyond that of an ordinary Dou Wang!

Had absorbing the netherworld poison flame not greatly increased his strength, that strike alone might have shattered his body and bones.

Xiao Yan slowly raised his head. At the other end of the passage, an enormous black scorpion emerged from behind the rubble. A layer of sturdy armor covered its entire body, and its massive pincers gave off a faint, foul stench, clearly indicating deadly poison. Behind it, a scorpion tail gleamed coldly, aimed at Xiao Yan's position. More astonishing still, four pairs of enormous wings sprouted from its back, giving it the ability to fight high in the air.

"Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion..." Xiao Yan recognized the magical beast with a single glance. In a sense, it was related to the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast, for the latter had originally been this very kind of Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion. Only after gaining a trace of Ancient Void Dragon bloodline had it leaped through the dragon gate like a carp and undergone a complete transformation.

"What's this thing doing here?" Xiao Yan was puzzled. A living creature had actually emerged from a burial chamber. Surely the Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast had not begun a second life?

Although a Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion was weaker than a Heavenly Scorpion Poison Dragon Beast with its dragon bloodline, it was still among the finest scorpion-type magical beasts. Judging by that last blow, this one had probably already reached Tier 6. It was considerably stronger than the Skeleton he had defeated in the Heavenly Poison Swamp!

Before devouring the netherworld poison flame, Xiao Yan would probably have needed to summon the bone spirit cold flame and create a true dual-Heavenly-Flame Demon Fury Fire Lotus to defeat a Tier 6 Magical Beast. But he was different now. After he refined the netherworld poison flame, the energy accumulated within the flame itself had carried him across the Dou Ling barrier in one leap and into the Dou Wang realm!

Although he was only a One-Star Dou Wang, within the Jia Ma Empire, that was enough to make him an unrivaled powerhouse in everyone's eyes. Such strength was still somewhat insufficient to face a Tier 6 Magical Beast, of course, but that applied only to ordinary Dou Wangs. Xiao Yan was not among their ranks.

An ordinary netherworld poison flame would probably only have allowed Xiao Yan to break through to Dou Ling and then rise another star or two. But the netherworld poison flame he had refined was undoubtedly an anomaly. It had existed for far too long, accumulating a terrifying amount of energy. Not only had it helped the Flame Mantra evolve to Earth Tier, but it had also carried Xiao Yan across more than an entire major realm.

Such a meteoric rise, however, had left Xiao Yan's foundation showing slight signs of instability. Thus, he had previously set aside some time to consolidate it and, along the way, review some of the Dou Techniques he had acquired in his previous life. Although they were all Earth Tier Dou Techniques, they were perfectly practical for a Dou Wang.

"I'll use you to test the fruits of my hard training these past days." Xiao Yan did not employ the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations. He intended to face this powerful Tier 6 Magical Beast with his own strength.

Despite its enormous size, the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion was astonishingly fast. Just after Xiao Yan recognized it, it attacked again. Its massive body swept toward him with a terrifying rush of wind, while its exceptionally hard pincers smashed straight toward his head. If they struck home, even Xiao Yan would suffer serious injuries.

Facing a formidable magical beast that could give even a Dou Emperor a bitter fight, Xiao Yan naturally did not dare take it lightly. He immediately employed a movement Dou Technique, his body becoming a crimson blur as he swiftly evaded the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion's charge.

This time, Xiao Yan had not used his previous Burst Step. Its speed alone was nowhere near enough to evade the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion's attacks. Instead, he decisively employed a movement Dou Technique he had obtained in his previous life-the Flame-Treading Sky-Soaring Step.