"What... what's going on?!"
Upon noticing the abnormality within his body, Xiao Yan was immediately startled and hurriedly examined his inner self, only to find that his qi vortex remained unchanged, and the source of the suction force was not his body.
"This..."
Xiao Yan frowned. If the suction force didn't come from him, then where did the power come from?
Moreover, judging from this situation, it's clearly a sign that a breakthrough in cultivation is imminent!
"Puff!"
Suddenly, Xiao Yan's expression changed drastically as he focused his mind inward. A ball of pink flame burst out of Xiao Yan's body from the center of his vortex and transformed into a figure in the void—it was Huo Yi!
Huo Yi had been dormant within Xiao Yan's body for several years, and now that she has awakened again, it is finally time for her to break through to the Half-Emperor realm!
Coming to his senses, Xiao Yan suddenly looked up, his face beaming with joy as he looked at Huo Yi and laughed loudly:
"Hahaha, Huo Yi, you're finally going to break through too? That's wonderful!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yi in the void slowly lowered her eyes and looked at Xiao Yan. However, the moment their eyes met, Xiao Yan couldn't help but frown slightly. In that instant, he actually saw a detached expression in Huo Yi's eyes.
" Huo Yi..."
" Purifying Lotus Demon Flame! Return to your place!"
Just as Xiao Yan murmured his doubts, Huo Yi in the sky suddenly shouted and waved her hand. Xiao Yan's body below trembled violently. Then, a ball of pink Heavenly Flames was forcibly separated from the vortex of energy in Xiao Yan's body, flew out of Xiao Yan's body, and instantly returned to Huo Yi's body.
With his connection to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame severed, Xiao Yan felt a sharp pain in his mind. However, just as he was about to struggle, he was suddenly struck hard on the back of the neck. The next moment, everything went black before Xiao Yan 'Xiao Yan eyes, and he lost consciousness and fell into a coma.
The instant Xiao Yan collapsed, Gu You Xiao Yan behind him, catching him and gently laying him down before rising to his feet. He looked up at Huo Yi in the sky and said:
"You're finally about to break through; does that mean it's time for you to leave?"
"The time has come; naturally, it is time for me to depart."
Huo Yi spoke indifferently, her face showing no emotion, as she looked at Gu You, who stood quietly beside Xiao Yan below.
"Hmph, as expected, when that guy broke through, you were the second person I thought of. I didn't expect it to be true."
Upon hearing this, Gu You let out a soft snort, a slight smile curving his lips, clearly quite satisfied with his judgment.
Huo Yi remained unmoved, her indifferent gaze lingering on Xiao Yan for a moment before she spoke to Gu You:
"Now, he's in your hands."
"Hehe, don't. You should know that I can't stay in this state for much longer. I originally planned to drag it out a bit longer, but now that even you are leaving, there's no point in delaying any longer. I'll talk to him after you leave."
Gu You smiled, a complex expression involuntarily appearing in his old eyes.
"Anyway, thank you for everything along the way. If it weren't for you, he probably wouldn't have made it this far."
Huo Yi's indifferent expression finally shifted slightly, and her tone of voice became much gentler.
"Hehe, there's nothing to thank me for. It's just my duty. As for you, now that you're about to break through, why are you acting like this, so Leng Bing? That's quite different from before!"
"Boom!!!"
Just as Gu You finished speaking, thunderclouds suddenly rolled across the sky, covering the entire horizon. Instantly, the world darkened, as if night had fallen.
As the thunderclouds rolled, terrifying bolts of lightning descended from the sky, causing the world to tremble.
Under such terrifying lightning, even Nine-Star Half-Emperor probably wouldn't survive a single moment!
However, this is the force that Huo Yi must endure during her breakthrough.
"Heh... Come on, let me see just how much you're worth!"
"Boom!"
As Huo Yi's cold laugh faded, the rolling thunderclouds in the sky suddenly roared with thunder. Then, the world was enveloped in a dazzling silver light, followed by a terrifying bolt of lightning, like a writhing dragon, that suddenly descended from the thunderclouds and slammed into Huo Yi below.
"Snort..."
Despite her tough tone, Huo Yi dared not be careless in the face of the lightning, given her current strength. While dodging left and right, she quickly formed hand seals. The moment the lightning struck, Huo Yi's hand seals were completed, and she slammed her palm into the lightning.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Thunder roared incessantly, shaking the heavens and earth. The entire world trembled incessantly, seemingly in fear of the power of heaven and earth. Huo Yi, above the sky, became increasingly fanatical. Facing the countless bombardments of thunder, he was not defeated. On the contrary, his power grew stronger and stronger.
In the blink of an eye, this capricious bombardment had been going on for three days.
"Broken!"
A deafening roar echoed as Huo Yi unleashed another powerful punch at the crashing thunderbolt from the sky.
The fist strikes, thunder shatters!
Even now, the words that Huo Yi had just uttered still echoed throughout the world.
The thunderclap was broken, Huo Yi stomped her foot on the void, rushing into the rolling thunderclouds. After several rumbling sounds, the thunderclouds that had been rolling in the sky for three days and three nights finally gradually dissipated.
"Buzz buzz buzz!!!"
However, the dissipation of the thunderclouds did not seem to signify the end of everything. On the contrary, an even more terrifying aura quietly enveloped the world at the same time the thunderclouds dispersed.
"So it's finally your turn, huh! This place should have been my domain long ago, but I never imagined it would drag on until now."
Huo Yi glanced indifferently at Gu You's familiar face, a feeling of disgust rising in her heart. She snorted coldly, and her expression finally turned serious again.
"Buzzing..."
As a buzzing sound of unknown origin echoed across the sky, the once calm and flawless azure sky gradually began to distort, and a strange barrier vaguely appeared at the top of the firmament.
At the same time, all the energy between heaven and earth condensed at this moment, and a vast and terrifying energy aura emanated from the sky above Huo Yi's head.
"Hahahaha! Come on! Today I'll see what's so special about you, Heaven!"
As the unrestrained laughter subsided, Huo Yi stomped her foot hard on the void, causing the space below to collapse instantly. Huo Yi then shot straight into the sky, reaching the dome!
Central Region
In a bamboo forest that resembled a fairyland, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe suddenly changed his expression from calm to serious, his gaze turning sharply to the west.
In another secluded place, a pair of scarlet, bloodthirsty eyes, like the former, looked due west, and only slowly closed after a long time.
" The Barrier of Heaven... It's from the Western Region. Could it be that guy again, from last time?"
In the bamboo forest, a middle-aged man frowned, his brows furrowed with worry.
"Alas... the world on this continent is about to change!"
A helpless sigh escaped her lips, a low, melancholic sound that echoed endlessly through the empty bamboo forest.