After the final wave of energy storm swept across the plaza, the scene was horrific, with corpses strewn everywhere.
Not long ago, dozens of Dou Di powerhouses present had all perished here. Each of them died a gruesome death, and their faces were filled with endless terror.
Beneath that Fire Lotus, almost no one present was able to escape. Such immense power was something even they, as powerful Dou Di experts, could hardly withstand.
The square, littered with corpses, was eerily silent. A heavy stench of blood permeated the entire area, and although the Fire Lotus had dissipated, its lingering effects persisted for a long time.
The square was filled with smoke and blood, but the statue in the very center of the square remained standing.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a muffled explosion rang out from the pile of corpses. Several bodies were blasted away and exploded in mid-air, turning into a cloud of blood mist that lingered and did not dissipate.
"Cough cough..."
Amidst the pile of corpses, a figure slowly rose to his feet. He appeared somewhat disheveled, his snow-white clothes stained crimson with blood, and his vital energy was extremely weak. However, compared to the dead men around him, he was undoubtedly in much better condition.
This person was none other than Zhuo Lin.
Finally, at the critical moment when the energy storm swept through, he barely managed to withstand it by using Sun Shuo's body. Sun Shuo, who was already severely injured, naturally had no chance of survival under the storm. As for Zhuo Lin, although he survived, he was also seriously injured.
Staring in horror at the horrific scene unfolding across the plaza, Zhuo Lin was gripped by a deep-seated fear. He had never witnessed such a terrifying sight, nor had he ever seen such a horrifying Dou Technique.
He truly couldn't believe that Xiao Yan was really just a Half-Emperor level expert.
A Half-Emperor could unleash such immense power, causing countless deaths and injuries to even true Dou Di experts with a single strike. It's unimaginable how insignificant and weak these so-called Dou Di experts would appear in his eyes once Xiao Yan reaches the Dou Di level.
Taking a deep breath, it took Zhuo Lin a long time to slowly recover from his shock. Forcibly controlling his emotions, Zhuo Lin raised his eyes with trembling hands, scanning the square in front of him. His lifeless eyes searched the square carefully, hoping to find Xiao Yan's body.
However, after his gaze swept carefully across the square, Zhuo Lin's expression suddenly tightened, his pale lips trembled as he opened them, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his ashen face.
"He... he..."
Zhuo Lin's voice was hoarse. Although he wanted to speak, he ultimately collapsed to the ground in fear, his terror intensifying at that moment.
He had just carefully scanned every corpse present, but in the end, he hadn't found a single one that matched Xiao Yan's. He was certain he hadn't missed anything; Xiao Yan's body was indeed gone...
At this moment, Zhuo Lin could only hope to the greatest extent possible that Xiao Yan had been completely reduced to ashes in that storm, leaving not even a corpse behind.
Of course, these were all Zhuo Lin's most beautiful fantasies. Faced with such a terrifying enemy, he did not want the other party to have any chance of survival, because if that happened, it would mean that in the future, he might see Xiao Yan again, and see the devil deep in his heart again!
In Zhuo Lin's mind, Xiao Yan was the first person in history to be considered a devil, a fact that even the other geniuses from the Four Great Sects could not pose such a threat to him.
Xiao Yan's growth potential has reached an extreme level. Only by truly destroying such an enemy can he find peace of mind. Otherwise, if Xiao Yan does not die, he will become an obstacle in Zhuo Lin's heart forever, and may even cause his cultivation to stagnate, thus turning him into an ordinary Dou Di. This is something he absolutely cannot accept.
But at that moment, Zhuo Lin also discovered that not only was Xiao Yan's body missing from the square, but even the One-Horned Whale Serpent, which was wrapped in an energy keratin layer, had vanished!
This scene further confirmed Zhuo Lin's belief that Xiao Yan was still alive!
"No... no... no! Impossible! How could he have survived? This can't be real, this absolutely can't be real! Xiao Yan! Where are you? Show yourself if you dare! What kind of hero hides like this! Get out here!"
Suddenly, Zhuo Lin's pale face, which had been trembling all over, turned red rapidly, and his lifeless eyes were immediately filled with blood. He swung his hand violently, and the Golden Cloud Sword appeared in his palm. He struggled to support his already severely injured body, as if he were going to fight Xiao Yan, whose fate was unknown, with his life.
Cough cough cough!
Suddenly, a violent coughing sound came from somewhere in the square, and Zhuo Lin's gaze abruptly turned in that direction.
" Xiao Yan?!"
With a hoarse roar, Zhuo Lin forced himself to stand up and stomped hard on a corpse in front of him, then ran wildly toward the direction from which the coughing sound came.
At the same time, amidst a pile of corpses in that direction, a blood-covered figure struggled to crawl out of the mass of bodies. Judging from his appearance, it was none other than Huo Ba, the leader of the Huo Clan's expedition to the ruins.
Although Huo Ba had temporarily lost his fighting ability in the previous battle, which prevented him from mobilizing his internal Dou Qi, he managed to withstand the energy storms at the critical moment using his own methods. Even so, Huo Ba was extremely weak at this time. He could barely move his body, let alone get up and mobilize his internal Dou Qi.
However, just as he crawled out of the pile of corpses, struggled to turn over, and breathed heavily in the blood-soaked air, he heard a hoarse roar from afar, followed by a series of heavy footsteps. When he came to his senses, Zhuo Lin was indeed standing in front of him. With a swift movement of his sword, before Huo Ba could react, the Three-Star Dou Di was already decapitated.
After killing Huo Ba, Zhuo Lin, filled with madness, suddenly went limp and collapsed heavily to the ground. Beside him, the Golden Cloud Sword also fell uncontrollably, its sharp tip pointing directly at Zhuo Lin's throat.
"Bang!"
At that moment, in the square where everyone thought there was no one left alive, another figure struggled to get up, his old eyes filled with fear looking at where Zhuo Lin was.
Despite the excruciating pain within his body, the old man forcefully mobilized the last Dou Qi of battle qi remaining in his vortex, stomped heavily on the ground, and in a few flashes, finally arrived in front of Zhuo Lin.
Weak and struggling, Zhuo Lin opened his eyes with difficulty, revealing only a narrow slit. Through the blur, he could still make out that the person who had come was none other than Zhuo Bentang, the leader of his Zhuo Clan.
Both being Three-Star Dou Di powerhouses, Huo Ba didn't die, so Zhuo Bentang naturally wouldn't die so easily either.
Approaching Zhuo Lin, Zhuo Bentang looked at the latter with a solemn expression, filled with worry.
As the most talented genius in the Zhuo Clan, Zhuo Lin was someone he didn't want to make any mistakes. Otherwise, not to mention that, he wouldn't be able to get past his father, the patriarch of the Zhuo Clan. Therefore, he dared not be negligent in the slightest towards Zhuo Lin, who was already seriously injured.
"Young Master, rest assured, I will absolutely ensure that nothing happens to you!"
Zhuo Bentang muttered something under his breath, then frowned and withdrew his gaze. He quickly took out a jade bottle from his Storage Ring, opened it swiftly, and a perfectly round pill rolled out. Instantly, a rich medicinal fragrance spread rapidly throughout the void of Shenzhou, even washing away much of the thick stench of blood in the space.
This pill is a third-tier pill, which Zhuo Bentang specially prepared for this trip to the ruins, just in case.
He thought this trip to the ruins would be foolproof, but to his surprise, he actually ended up needing to use this pill. Thinking of this, Zhuo Bentang sighed inwardly and couldn't help but recall the Destruction Fire Lotus that Xiao Yan had unleashed at the end.
The power of that thing was terrifyingly strong. Even now, when Zhuo Bentang recalls it, he is still filled with endless fear!
It's truly unimaginable that such immense power could be unleashed by a Half-Emperor. It's terrifying! He couldn't even fathom what would happen if Xiao Yan were a bit stronger, reaching the level of Eight-Star Half-Emperor or even Nine-Star Half-Emperor, and then unleashed the Fire Lotus. Just how terrifying would the Fire Lotus's power be then?!
Even for Three-Star Dou Di expert like him, there's probably no chance of survival!
After feeding the pill to Zhuo Lin, Zhuo Bentang finally snapped out of his reverie. His old eyes slowly moved, eventually landing on the Golden Cloud Sword at his feet.
"Well..."
With a deep sigh, Zhuo Bentang casually grasped the hilt of the Golden Cloud Sword, his gloomy old eyes carefully examining the Golden Cloud Sword before him.
At the same time, within Zhuo Lin's body, the pill he had just swallowed was also spreading warm medicinal power, rapidly repairing Zhuo Lin's injuries.
While Zhuo Bentang was focusing his attention on the Golden Cloud Sword in his hand, he did not see that Zhuo Lin was squinting, staring intently at Zhuo Bentang, a chilling killing intent flashing deep in his eyes.
A few minutes later, Zhuo Bentang put down the Golden Cloud Sword in his hand, moved his body, and sat cross-legged next to Zhuo Lin, who was lying flat on his back. After taking a pill, he also began to calmly recover from his injuries.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to both of them, in the square, the statue standing in the very center of the square held up two hands, in which stood Bai Ying, dressed in white, quietly. However, judging from his expression at this moment, he seemed to be in no better condition than Zhuo Bentang.
A pair of chilling eyes stared at Zhuo Lin and Zhuo Bentang, who had survived in the square, and a solemn expression crossed his pale face.
Unexpectedly, not a single member of the Zhuo Clan is missing. In this case, he cannot take the risk of making a rash move. If he were facing Zhuo Bentang alone, it would be fine, but since Zhuo Lin has also joined the family, he has to be extremely careful.
A Two-Star Dou Di expert can turn the tide of a battle at a crucial moment. Even though Zhuo Lin is seriously injured at this moment, isn't that exactly what he is capable of?
With this in mind, Bai Ying frowned and glanced at the two people on the field. Then he withdrew his gaze, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate his internal energy to heal his injuries.
Bai Ying did not bring any pills with him when entering the ruins; he had already given those to Bai Zhan before entering the ruins.
This time, the father and son entered the ruins separately, one openly and one covertly. Bai Ying, as Three-Star Dou Di powerhouse, naturally had no doubt about his own strength. He did not believe that anyone could truly harm him during this trip to the ruins. Of course, the current situation made him miscalculate.
As for Bai Zhan, the father and son had already discussed it. Bai Zhan would not go deep into the ruins. In order to obtain some treasures in the Ancient Forest, Bai Zhan would inevitably take considerable risks. To be on the safe side, Bai Ying handed over all the pills he had to Bai Zhan, so that Bai Ying had no pills to take at the moment.
"Laugh!"
However, at a certain moment, Bai Ying, who was meditating, suddenly heard a hissing sound of a long sword piercing through a body. When he hurriedly looked in the direction of the sound, he saw a scene that shocked him greatly.
At this moment, Zhuo Lin, who had been lying on the ground, was now standing in front of Zhuo Bentang. Zhuo Lin was holding the Golden Cloud Sword and piercing it fiercely through Zhuo Bentang's chest!
This scene left Bai Ying completely dumbfounded. He never expected that Zhuo Lin, a member of the same clan, would actually try to kill Zhuo Bentang. Just moments before, Zhuo Bentang had saved his life, and now, in such a short time, he had been killed by the latter with a single sword strike. Zhuo Bentang was truly pitiful. Not only Bai Ying, but even he himself probably never imagined that the person he had so wholeheartedly wanted to protect would ultimately become the one who killed him.
Why...?
Before his death, Zhuo Bentang's pale face showed an expression of disbelief, and his pair of gloomy old eyes stared intently at Zhuo Lin in front of him, his tone filled with grief and despair.
"I never need a reason to kill."
With a detached tone, Zhuo Lin coldly withdrew his gaze. At the same time, he abruptly withdrew the Golden Cloud Sword from his hand. Zhuo Bentang's body convulsed uncontrollably before collapsing to the ground, and the life force in his eyes vanished rapidly.
At this point, the number of the two remaining Three-Star Dou Di in the arena has decreased by one again.
Upon seeing this scene atop the statue, Bai Ying couldn't help but sneer inwardly. He was about to reveal himself and make a move, but then his figure froze in place.
Zhuo Lin's indifference was beyond Bai Ying's imagination. Although he was only Two-Star Dou Di at the moment, Bai Ying dared not make a move rashly based on his temperament.
If Zhuo Lin can be so ruthless to his own family, how much more so to an outsider like him? With such a threat and pressure, Zhuo Lin will only unleash even more terrifying power, which is not what he wants to see. To be on the safe side, everything must be carefully considered, not only for himself but also for the family behind him.
At the same time that all this was happening in the ruins, on the other side, outside a snow-covered mountain in freezing cold, several figures were slowly standing there. Even the One-Horned Whale Serpent that had disappeared on the square had also appeared there.
A cold wind howled through the air, snowflakes danced in the air, and the thick snow underfoot was like mud. Every step left a deep dent in the snow. At this moment, Xiao Yan stood here, and Xiao Yan and Tian Ying other two also stood here beside him.
Before these four people, in the void where the cold wind blows, stood a beautiful woman from the glacier, her pretty face indifferent and steady. Her long, narrow eyes were fixed on Xiao Yan, and the coldness in her eyes was so intense that even the cold wind in the world could not compare to it.
Standing on the snow, the chill of the world seemed to be suppressing the surging energy within Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, making his complexion somewhat better. However, when he looked at the stunning beauty before him, a look of surprise welled up in his dark eyes.
Xiao Yan never expected that, in that seemingly hopeless situation, at the crucial moment, it would be this person who would come to his aid and lead Xiao Yan away from the ruins.
Of course, Xiao Yan wasn't the only one with such thoughts in the room at this moment. The three Tian Ying people not far from him were also looking at the beautiful woman in front of them with astonishment. Facing her, they dared not show the slightest disrespect in their eyes. Instead, they were unusually respectful, unlike their usual carefree demeanor.
To command the utmost respect from the three great beasts of the Xilin Mountain Range, and being a woman, her identity is self-evident. This woman is none other than the overlord of the Xilin Mountain Range, the true queen of the Xilin Mountain Range, a super powerhouse whose strength has reached the Origin Transformation Realm.
Leng Bingshuang!