The scorching sun poured down on the earth covered with yellow sand and rocks. The heat was so intense that even through shoes, one could feel a burning pain, as if standing on red-hot coals. However, the members of the Four Great Sects paid no heed to this. Their gazes followed their sect leader's line of sight to the top of the cliff, where a young man in black robes sat cross-legged, his dark eyes also fixed on them.
The scene fell silent. The howling wind seemed to suddenly quiet down, and the atmosphere gradually became eerie and heavy.
Suddenly, Xiao Yan, who was sitting cross-legged on the cliff, smiled and said:
"Sect Leaders, it's been a year! How have you been?"
Instantly, the heavy atmosphere in the air was broken. As Xiao Yan spoke, his gaze swept over the four people. Ye Luotian, his gaze paused slightly. At the same time, a hint of sinister intent appeared in the latter's eyes when he looked at Xiao Yan.
" Xiao Yan, I didn't expect you to be even more anxious than us. You've already lifted the first seal on the Heavenly Severing Ancient Tomb."
Ignoring Xiao Yan's gaze, Chen Zhen stared at the light screen before him, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"Um?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Jitian, who had not yet noticed this, turned his gaze and carefully examined the light screen. Then, a bright light flashed in his eyes. Sure enough, the first restriction on the entrance had been lifted, which meant that even without Xiao Yan, they could still enter the ancient tomb!
"Heh heh, it seems they're not exactly on friendly terms."
Upon hearing the conversation between the two sides, Qin Yun gave a cold laugh, his tone surprisingly carrying a hint of schadenfreude.
"Hehe, I removed the restrictions beforehand to make it easier to enter the ancient tomb. Now, the remaining two restrictions depend entirely on Sect Master Chen Zhen and Sect Master Wu."
On the cliff, Xiao Yan smiled slightly. He could naturally guess what these guys were thinking, but he just didn't care.
With the current cultivation levels of these four people, it would be difficult for them to harm Xiao Yan. Moreover, even if Qin Yun's group were added, they could only put pressure on him at most. In this Wilderness Cliff, if he wanted to leave, no one could stop him.
"Hmph, we will naturally lift the restriction, but before that, we need to settle things with you first!"
With a cold laugh, Wu Jitian took a step forward, and instantly, a powerful aura swept forward like a gust of wind, directly approaching Xiao Yan.
"Buzz..."
However, when that oppressive aura reached Xiao Yan, the latter simply moved his mind, and his powerful Spiritual Strength surged outward, easily breaking through that invisible oppressive aura.
"Kindness?!"
" Fourth-Tier Soul Power?!"
"This guy has actually become Fourth-Tier Alchemist!"
Sensing the powerful Spiritual Strength surging from Xiao Yan's body, the expressions of the people from the Four Great Sects immediately changed. Even Chen Zhen, a Fourth-Tier Formation Master, looked particularly grim.
Behind them, Qin Yun's fair face instantly radiated a chilling killing intent.
"Damn it, it must be the Fusang Flower! So the Fusang Flower ended up in his hands!"
Upon sensing the surging Spiritual Strength within Xiao Yan, Qin Yun immediately recalled the scene that had occurred in Golden Radiance City six months prior.
He happily put the so-called " Fusang Flower " into his Storage Ring, only to realize upon returning to the valley that the " Fusang Flower " he had treasured was actually just a Nightmare Flower that had no effect on him whatsoever!
This incident enraged Qin Yun, and his hatred and murderous intent surged wildly. For this reason, he searched all over the Western Wilderness Region, just to find the mysterious person who gave him the Nightmare Flower that day. Unfortunately, he did not know that the guy had died along with everyone in the city when they swallowed up the entire Golden Radiance City.
"Damn it!"
Qin Yun cursed angrily on the ground, but this time, it was the black-robed man beside him who stopped him.
"I advise you not to provoke him so soon, otherwise, you won't be able to bear the consequences if he gets away."
Clearly, Qin Yun was quite pleased with the black-robed man's words. As soon as he finished speaking, the latter seemed to have been doused with cold water. He reluctantly flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and retreated.
"Hmph, so what if your Spiritual Strength has increased? Against powerful Dou Qi, Spiritual Strength alone is useless!"
Among the four, Jian Ming snorted coldly and took a step forward, unleashing a powerful aura of Late-stage Eight-Star Dou Di towards Xiao Yan. Unfortunately, the latter remained completely unconcerned.
Immediately afterwards, Chen Zhen beside him also released a powerful aura, which forced Xiao Yan, who was on the cliff, to take a step back.
"You're already so eager to kill me before we've even entered the tomb?"
Xiao Yan's expression was grim, and the Dou Qi within his body had already circulated throughout all the meridians of his body.
"Haha, Xiao Yan, we know that once we enter the Ancient Tomb, we will be bound by the Lightning Punishment Oath, making it even more difficult to deal with you. But as long as we can eliminate you before entering the Ancient Tomb, we won't have any worries!"
As Jian Ming sneered, he lightly touched the ground with his toes and soared into the air, level with Xiao Yan.
" Xiao Yan, you have caused the complete destruction of the foundation of my Four Great Clans, and ruined our centuries-old legacy with your hands. I truly regret not killing you back then. But since Heaven has given me this opportunity again today, I will personally settle things with you!"
"I initially thought it was just the Four Great Clans that were incompetent, but I never imagined that you, the sect leader, would be an equally incompetent fool."
Upon hearing Jian Ming's words, Xiao Yan couldn't help but sneer. Although the members of the Four Great Clans died at his hands, it was Ye Luotian who caused it. In essence, this matter was inextricably linked to Ye Luotian. Yet, even now, these Four Great Sects were still kept in the dark, which was extremely foolish.
"Hmph, sharp-tongued and cunning, you'd better die!"
With a furious roar, Jian Ming's body trembled violently, and the Dou Qi within his body surged outward, condensing into a slightly illusory giant sword around him. The sharp sword intent soared into the sky, causing the void around him to tremble continuously, revealing tiny spatial cracks.
"Today I'll let you taste the strongest strike of my Seven Sword Art, One Sword Reaching the Heavens!"
"Drink!"
Immediately following, accompanied by a thunderous roar, Jian Ming transformed into a sword, cleaving through the void with an incomparably sharp and domineering aura, and charged towards Xiao Yan. Judging from his momentum, it seemed that he wanted to decide the outcome with a single sword strike.
Indeed, with his strength at the Late-stage Eight-Star Dou Di, he certainly had the ability to face a Five-Star Dou Di. However, unfortunately, the current Xiao Yan is no longer the Xiao Yan of a year ago, and his combat power is now completely different.
"Hmph, towering? I'll make you ascend to the heavens with a single sword strike!"
Faced with this situation, Xiao Yan was too lazy to waste any more words and delay. His body trembled, and the Dragon-Phoenix Bloodline within him was instantly activated. He also used the Strength Elephant Art and the Ancient Dragon Phoenix Armor at the same time. At the same time, the Dou Qi within his body frantically gathered on his right fist. With powerful force concentrated in his right fist, he threw a punch forward without hesitation.
With a single punch, Jian Ming, Late-stage Eight-Star Dou Di, died!