"Bang!"
The magnificent ruler of light stood between heaven and earth, forcefully splitting the oncoming spear in two. The Origin Qi formed by the fusion of the four people within it naturally crumbled in that instant.
Just as Xiao Yan said before, even if their Origin Qi can merge to release a more powerful force, it is not their individual power after all. It is still a side path. It might be okay to use it against ordinary Origin Return Realm experts, but for Xiao Yan, who has Heavenly Flames, this kind of Dou Technique is not even half of his own power.
The Four Elders of East Valley suffered such a swift defeat for a considerable reason. The most important reason was that they encountered an opponent they shouldn't have faced, or rather, they shouldn't have chosen this time to cause trouble for Lan Ye.
Having shattered the combined attack of the four with a single blow, Xiao Yan did not pause for a moment. He instantly unleashed the Heavenly Severing Steps, and in the blink of an eye, before the four could react, the giant flaming ruler in Xiao Yan's hand slammed heavily into their bodies one after another.
"Bang bang bang bang!"
Four muffled thuds rang out in succession, and the four men were sent flying backward without any surprise or even a chance to respond. They had already lost their original fighting power.
"Pfft!"
It's unclear whether it was because Xiao Yan's attack was too fast, or because the four of them were truly so in sync, that even their actions and sounds of spitting blood were almost perfectly synchronized. Unfortunately, even so, they were still defeated, a truly crushing defeat.
These four, who supposedly joined forces and were comparable to experts at the Origin Return Realm, were defeated by Xiao Yan. Even if they survive today, this incident will likely leave them with permanent scars.
The four men were deathly pale, and blood was still gushing from their throats, but they no longer had the strength to spit out the blood that was making them feel suffocated.
"With this kind of strength, you dare to claim you're comparable to the Origin Return Realm? You overestimate yourselves."
With a cold snort, Xiao Yan shook his head slightly. His figure flashed, leaving several afterimages in the sky before he stopped in front of the four people, holding a giant ruler. Just as he was about to send them on their way, a sharp sound of wind breaking suddenly came to his ears.
"Um?"
With a furrowed brow, Xiao Yan turned around without thinking and swung his sword a foot wide. A powerful force erupted, flames shot out, and the puppet charging behind him was also blasted away by Xiao Yan's sword. The terrifying flames even melted a shallow dent into the puppet's chest.
As Xiao Yan turned his head, he discovered that the four people behind him had already been helped up by the other three puppets and had retreated to a place more than a hundred feet away in the blink of an eye.
When Xiao Yan looked at Luo Jin and the others, they were all unharmed. He just hadn't expected the puppet to be recalled so quickly, when they had been fighting fiercely just moments before.
Lan Ye, on the other hand, had his mind disturbed by Xiao Yan and was bombarded by the two puppets. Although he wasn't seriously injured, he was still panting for a while and his body was covered in wounds. This was not the appearance of a Late Origin Return Realm expert.
Little did Xiao Yan know that if Lan Ye hadn't been carefully observing the situation on Xiao Yan's side and keeping her eyes fixed on Fang Zhicong, things wouldn't have turned out this way.
The puppet that Xiao Yan took out really impressed him!
Now that the three puppets had returned to their side, it was impossible to kill the four of them. Xiao Yan reluctantly gave up the idea of continuing to pursue them. After all, they were just four insignificant guys who only had some confidence because of the puppets. From now on, if they encountered him again, they would probably have no choice but to take a detour.
These Four Elders of East Valley are clearly no longer a threat.
only...
"Bang!"
Just as the puppet was about to be summoned back, Xiao Yan suddenly flipped into the air and stomped heavily on its back, forcing the speeding puppet into the ground. The powerful force instantly cracked the earth, and huge fissures spread rapidly like a spider web. Xiao Yan's foot was planted more than an inch deep in the puppet's back, ensuring that the Xiao Yan could not break free from his power.
"You..."
"If you want to live, get out of here right now. Otherwise, don't just leave this puppet here, you'll all be left behind!"
One of the four was about to shout angrily, but Xiao Yan stopped him with a single sentence. At the same time, the other three looked at Xiao Yan with great fear and quickly stopped him. Although they were extremely unwilling, they still fled the place quickly under the protection of the puppet.
Seeing the Four Elders of East Valley leave, the puppet beneath his feet seemed to struggle even more fiercely. This time, Xiao Yan had no intention of showing any pity. He swung the giant fiery ruler in his hand, and the moment the ruler tore through the void, it also blasted the head of the puppet beneath his feet to pieces. In an instant, the puppet became still.
Although these puppets have some abilities, once they are out of human control, it is not difficult to deal with them.
Having dealt with the puppets, Xiao Yan turned his attention back to Lan Ye. The others were fine, but he, the strongest member of the team, had been rendered helpless by the two puppets, which surprised Xiao Yan.
" Master Lan, are you alright?"
Upon approaching, Xiao Yan casually took out a pill from his Storage Ring. After receiving the pill, he did not swallow it immediately. Instead, after hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and swallowed the pill.
"Thank you very much for the elixir, Mr. Xiao Yan."
As the gentle medicinal power began to spread throughout his body, rapidly repairing his injuries, Lan Ye gradually relaxed and thanked Xiao Yan, but his eyes never met Xiao Yan's.
Xiao Yan was somewhat suspicious of this, but he didn't understand what had happened. He only vaguely sensed that Lan Ye's attitude towards him seemed to have changed slightly.
Although he had some doubts, Xiao Yan didn't think too much about it. He recalled the puppet he had just released, inquired about Luo Jin and the others' condition, and after confirming that they were alright, he sat down cross-legged to recover the Origin Qi consumed in the battle.
As Lan Ye refined the pills within her body, her eyes involuntarily caught sight of Xiao Yan. Her gaze carefully swept over Luo Jin and the others, and when she looked at Zhou Tai, her doubts deepened.
Recalling her chance encounter with Xiao Yan, the latter's initiative to expel the poison from Fang Zhicong, and the events just now— Xiao Yan single-handedly suppressing the renowned Four Elders of East Valley — Lan Ye unconsciously connected all these events in her mind...