With that, Jiang Yun took out the pitch-black token. It was black all over, etched with eerie patterns. A single glance at it felt like stepping into a world of utter darkness, filling one with unease.
Zi Yan knitted her brows, her little face full of aversion. "Little Yun, what is that thing? Its aura is awful!"
At her words, Jiang Yun's expression shifted slightly. He was all too familiar with the aura on the token, so utterly at odds with this world. It belonged to the Evil Clan, though he did not know which clan had once existed here.
"If you hate it, close your eyes!" Jiang Yun said gently. Zi Yan's eyes immediately flickered, and she plunged into his arms. "You said it yourself!" she said in a muffled voice.
Nestled against Jiang Yun's chest, Zi Yan's nostrils twitched, and an intoxicated expression spread across her face.
Still the same scent, just like back then. I really want to swallow Little Yun in one bite!
Looking down at the little head wriggling against his chest, Jiang Yun's eyes held a trace of fondness.
With a pop, a cluster of flames appeared in his palm. This time, it was no longer pure white fire, but the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame, its black and white intertwined.
The flame burned gently. Before long, the token began to give off a faint glow. Its light shimmered, as though resonating with invisible threads woven through the surrounding world.
An unknown change quietly took place within this space.
Had a Dou Sheng been present, they would have seen a complex formation quietly awakening between heaven and earth, spreading toward the crowd at tremendous speed.
Yet those locked in the chaotic melee still had no idea that an "oriole" lurking in the shadows had already begun drawing in its net.
In the sky, the vast sea of fire slowly contracted. In just a few blinks, it became a fist-sized, lake-blue shield of fiery energy that flowed like water.
Within that blue flame shield, a mass of grayish-brown Life Transformation Fire slowly rose.
"Hahaha! Your Life Transformation Fire truly is extraordinary. I've had a taste of it today. Since this isn't a convenient time, I, Han Feng, will seek you three out another day for a proper exchange!"
Amid his laughter, Han Feng slowly drew the flame shield back and swallowed it whole. Sensing that the Dou Qi within him had begun to stir toward a breakthrough, he burst into triumphant laughter.
As his laughter rang out, he sped toward the direction from which they had entered the secret realm.
"Han Feng, are you truly determined to fight our Demon Flame Valley to the death? The Ancestor won't spare you!"
Having lost their Life Transformation Fire, Fang Yan and his two companions were gravely injured. Unable to stop Han Feng from leaving, they could only roar at his retreating back, their faces pale.
Hearing them, Han Feng glanced back during his escape with a cold sneer. Earth Demon Ancestor? Once I unravel the secret of the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva, not only that paltry Earth Demon Ancestor, but even Venerable Feng will cease to be a threat. I'll reach heights that old bastard never could.
Suddenly, he swayed, his face turning pale as an overwhelming weakness surged through his body.
"Damn that old bastard." Although Han Feng had severely injured Fang Yan and his companions in just a few moves, that had been thanks to the power of his Heavenly Flame. Had the three not possessed fire attribute Dou Qi, he would probably have struggled to escape.
The High Xuan Tier Flame Mantra clearly could no longer sustain such intense combat.
He dared not stop, or even show the slightest fatigue. Otherwise, those desperate outlaws would swarm him like sharks scenting blood and tear him apart.
Forcing himself to draw another breath, Han Feng clutched his chest with one hand and flew swiftly toward the outside.
"Han Feng's running!"
"After him! The chance to become a Dou Sheng is on him! Whoever kills him gets it!"
"Kill him!"
"Han Feng, stop!"
Seeing Han Feng break through the encirclement, the Dou Wangs and Dou Lings in the third wave, who had still been hesitating earlier, could no longer resist their greed. They shot after him.
A sky full of multicolored Dou Techniques rained down on Han Feng as though they cost nothing!
"Bastards!" Sensing the threats behind him, Han Feng cursed inwardly, then called out, "Help me break through, and you can take your pick of fifth-grade and sixth-grade pills!"
At Han Feng's offer, many who had not yet acted immediately joined the battle. This time, however, they were helping him.
"Gold and Silver Elders, that's a chance to become a Dou Sheng! Aren't you tempted? Are you just going to let Han Feng take it? Why don't the three of us join forces, capture him, and explore that opportunity together?"
Unable to break free of the Gold and Silver Elders' relentless interference, Mo Tianxing grew anxious as he watched Han Feng about to escape. He hastily tried to persuade them.
The Gold and Silver Elders wavered at his words, and their movements briefly faltered.
After all, not everyone could ignore the chance to become a Dou Sheng!
An opening! Mo Tianxing's eyes lit up. His hands formed a seal, and a terrifying pulse of energy spread out.
The Gold and Silver Elders quickly suppressed their wavering thoughts, but it was already too late.
"This is bad!"
"Black Demon Fiend Palm!" Mo Tianxing swiftly formed seals. The energy between heaven and earth erupted into turmoil as he drove a palm strike toward the Gold and Silver Elders.
"Elder brother!" "Younger brother!" Facing the handprint's lethal threat, the Gold and Silver Elders shouted to each other. Golden and silver radiance intertwined around them in a ring, making them seem like a single entity as their auras underwent a profound transformation.
"Twin Birth Guardian!"
A ring of intertwined gold and silver surged forward to meet the black handprint.
Boom!
A violent explosion rang out, and terrifying ripples of energy rapidly spread in every direction.
"Pfft!"
The Gold and Silver Elders spat out blood. In the end, Mo Tianxing, a Dou Zong, had proved superior.
"Go!" Exchanging a weary glance, the Gold and Silver Elders swiftly flew away.
"Hmph!" Watching the defeated Gold and Silver Elders flee, Mo Tianxing snorted coldly. Rather than pursue them, he stepped through the void, using spatial power to chase in the direction Han Feng had taken.
At the same time, Elder Ying Shan broke free of the five Dou Emperors and also hurried after Han Feng.
With the main players gone, most of the others left one after another to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Fan Lao and Yuan Yi, however, remained. After a moment, Yuan Yi said slowly, "Aren't you going to look elsewhere, Sect Master Fan? This secret realm is so vast. There might be other opportunities."
"You haven't left either, Sect Master Yuan." Fan Lao gave Yuan Yi a meaningful look, his eyes seeming to say, I saw through you ages ago. Why are you still pretending?
"Hahaha!" Yuan Yi was not annoyed at having his little scheme exposed. Instead, he laughed. "Then let's each rely on our own abilities!"
"Exactly what I had in mind!"
The two exchanged a glance, then descended separately toward the ruins below. There had been three items on the stone platform, but the impact of the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva had been far too overwhelming.
So many people had overlooked the other two treasures, giving these two attentive men a chance to pick up what everyone else had missed.
How could treasures placed alongside the Bodhi Body-Transformation Saliva possibly be ordinary?
"No need to search, gentlemen. The treasure is right here." Just as Fan Lao and Yuan Yi were about to lead their men in a search, a clear voice rang out.
That familiar voice made Fan Lao and Yuan Yi whirl around. On the ruins not far away stood the fellow they hated enough to grind their teeth, holding a black token and smiling at them.
That token was precisely one of the three items they had just seen.
"It's you!"
"You little bastard! You actually dare show yourself!"
The sight of Jiang Yun sent Fan Lao and Yuan Yi into a towering rage. After their previous encounter, the more they thought about it, the less sense it made. They had returned to the spot afterward, and a careful examination had led them to a conclusion that left them grinding their teeth with hatred.
They had been fooled!
A teenage brat had played them for complete fools!
On their way to the center, they had sent men to search for Jiang Yun and Zi Yan. But the pair's concealment methods were superb, far beyond those men's ability to detect.
In the end, they had naturally found nothing!
They had never expected to encounter Jiang Yun here. The road truly was narrow for sworn enemies!
"Ah, Sect Master Fan and Sect Master Yuan! I still haven't thanked you both for your generosity!"
A mischievous gleam flashed through Jiang Yun's eyes. Putting on a look of sudden recognition, he cupped his hands slightly toward the pair in thanks.
"You little bastard! I'll skin you alive!" Jiang Yun's taunt, delivered right to their faces, reminded them of how frightened they had been earlier, pouring oil onto the flames.
Fan Lao roared. His figure shifted slightly, and his pale, withered hand suddenly shook.
Blood-colored Dou Qi surged from his body, then condensed into a blood snake as thick as an arm. With a flick of his hand, the snake shot forward, opening its hideous, bloody maw as a foul stench assaulted their faces.
The blood snake hurtled toward him in an instant. Even before it reached him, Jiang Yun sensed the savage, chilling energy contained within it.
Jiang Yun's expression remained unchanged. His hand seals shifted rapidly, and the black token gave off a faint dark glow, releasing an eerie fluctuation of Dou Qi.
"Activate the formation!"
A faintly visible formation of light appeared in the air. As though struck by an immobilization spell, the blood python froze in midair. Black light surged forth, devouring it bit by bit until nothing remained.
Fan Lao's eyes narrowed slightly. It was that same method again.
Exchanging a glance with Yuan Yi beside him, his gaze quickly turned icy. Blood-colored Dou Qi rolled from his palms, forming a sea of blood several yards wide behind him. An even stronger, nauseating stench filled the air.
"Blood-Devouring Great Hand Seal!"
At his cold shout, the sea of blood churned violently. A strangely shaped, dark-red handprint nearly five feet wide shot out of it, leaving waves of bloody aura in its wake.
"Yin Wind Claw!"
Beside him, Yuan Yi thrust out his hand. His withered palm descended lightly, as though delivering only a gentle pat, yet the turbulent Dou Qi around it revealed its extraordinary power.
Facing the full-force attacks of two Dou Emperors, Jiang Yun slowly closed his eyes. Spirit Seals flew from his sleeves, settling into peculiar space nodes.
The sky above began to darken and grow scorching hot. A black formation of light roughly a thousand feet across slowly took shape, sending fierce waves of searing heat through the world.
"Great Demon Refining Formation!"
Jiang Yun shouted softly and changed his seal. The enormous black Spirit Array abruptly began to operate. Black demonic flames spread out like layered waves of fire, sweeping across the sky.
"After ten thousand years, let the two of you sample this Demon Refining Grand Array of the Dou Qi Continent!"
Indeed, this secret realm had been created by a member of the Outer Realm Evil Clan. Although the great war fifty thousand years ago had long since ended, the Evil Clan invaders on the Dou Qi Continent had not been entirely eradicated. For tens of thousands of years afterward, the continent's native inhabitants had continued exterminating them.
This particular one had been unlucky. In that distant era, he had encountered one of the age's strongest experts and suffered an utterly inevitable defeat. However, because the Outer Realm Evil Clan's evil energy was so difficult to eradicate, his corpse had remained sealed here.
The grand array Jiang Yun controlled was just one corner of the complete formation, yet its power rivaled a level four spirit array.
As he finished speaking, Jiang Yun extended a slender finger and pointed down through the air. His black eyes turned icy.
"Refine!"
With a boom, towering flames surged from the Spirit Array, blanketing the sky.
Bang! The instant the two sides met, the great snake and claw phantom vanished. Flames spread, and a pillar of fiery light thousands of feet across shot straight out of the Spirit Array.
"Aaargh!"
Two agonized screams came from within the flames. Yuan Yi and Fan Lao had both become blazing figures.
"You little beast! You'll die a horrible death! Aaargh!"
"Mercy! Please, spare me! I'm a Dou Emperor! I can serve you like an ox or a horse! Let me go!"
Jiang Yun paid no attention whatsoever to their screams and pleas. His gaze remained calm, like a bottomless lake.
As time passed, their voices gradually weakened until they vanished altogether.
Frowning at the flaming formation, Jiang Yun lightly swept his sleeve. The array slowly dispersed, and the black demonic flames returned to his body, leaving behind two desiccated corpses whose forms were unrecognizable.
To Jiang Yun's surprise, the instant the flames entered him, a surge of pure Dou Qi erupted within his body.
"This is..." For the first time, astonishment appeared in Jiang Yun's eyes, swiftly followed by wild joy.
He had never expected the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame to possess such an effect. White flame governed vitality and creation, while black flame governed destruction and devouring. Only now had he truly begun to understand the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame's properties.
There was no time to ponder it. The Crimson Fire Treasure Mirror circulated frantically within him, absorbing the Dou Qi fed back by the demonic flames, and his aura began to climb rapidly.
Peak Two-Star Dou Ling, Three-Star Dou Ling... Four-Star Dou Ling... Five-Star Dou Ling... After reaching Five-Star Dou Ling, Jiang Yun sensed that his Dou Qi was still rising. He abruptly formed a seal and began compressing it back down.
Within his body, the Crimson Fire Treasure Mirror and Saint Heavenly Demon Flame frantically purified his Dou Qi.
Growing stronger too quickly was not a good thing. Jiang Yun's goal was the foremost figure of the Evil Clan, the Saint Heavenly Demon Emperor. Every step he took had to be steady; only then could he support himself on the journey farther ahead.
Soon, Jiang Yun's aura settled at peak Four-Star Dou Ling and stopped changing. He let out a long breath, feeling the tremendous increase in his strength, yet his thoughts remained on the properties of the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.
Before you continue