Xiao Yan's roar exploded like thunder, instantly tearing through the clamor in the valley. Red and blue Heavenly Flames surged around him like two blazing suns, bearing the might to burn everything to ashes as he charged straight at the Blood Shadow Cult Master in the center of the altar.
"You don't know when to die!" The Blood Shadow Cult Master grinned viciously. Black energy erupted around him, connecting with the presence of the Darkness Core to form a massive black shadow. "Since you're in such a hurry to die, I'll oblige you!"
The Dark Envoy shrouded in black mist moved as well. It had no physical form and was more like a mass of concentrated dark energy. It transformed into a bolt of black lightning and blocked Xiao Yan's path. Countless twisted tendrils reached out from the black mist, seizing at him with an air of all-consuming corrosion.
"Get lost!" Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. The Heavy Xuan Ruler swept across, and a ribbon of flame roared like an enraged dragon, instantly burning the tendrils to nothing. But the Dark Envoy seemed undying and indestructible. Its burned tendrils regenerated in an instant, and its assault grew even more frenzied.
"Heavenly Flames: Emperor Flame Lotus!"
Xiao Yan held nothing back. A three-colored lotus of flame formed above his head, its petals unfolding layer upon layer, each containing destructive energy. He thrust the lotus platform forward, and the lotus trailed a long tail of flame like a falling meteor as it struck the Dark Envoy.
"Sizzle-!"
Flame and dark energy collided with an ear-piercing sizzle. The Dark Envoy let out a piercing shriek, its black mist churning violently as the Emperor Flame Lotus forcibly tore a gap through it.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Yan flashed past the obstruction and charged straight at the Blood Shadow Cult Master!
"Don't even think about approaching the core!" the Blood Shadow Cult Master roared. He formed hand seals, and all nine altars lit up with a blood-red glow. Countless vengeful souls poured out of them, forming a black torrent that swept toward Xiao Yan.
These vengeful souls were all that remained of the consciousnesses of the sacrificed cultivators, filled with boundless resentment and pain. Wherever they passed, even space rippled.
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. These vengeful souls were immensely corrosive to the soul, and ordinary Origin Qi could not withstand them at all. He acted decisively, using the Fallen Heart Flame to protect his sea of consciousness while unleashing the Green Lotus Core Flame to form a wall of fire before him.
"Aaargh-!"
The vengeful souls crashed into the wall of fire, wailing in agony as they were burned until their souls scattered. But more souls surged forward in an endless stream, and the wall of fire began to shake violently.
"Brother Xiao Yan!" Ling Xue's voice rang out.
The Ice Spirit Power surged around her as though a goddess of ice and snow had descended. Countless chains of ice crystals rose from the ground and intertwined into a massive ice net, firmly blocking the torrent of vengeful souls. The purest cold within the ice crystals could even freeze the souls' resentment.
"Now!" Ling Xue shouted.
Xiao Yan's heart tightened. Grasping the fleeting opportunity, he took the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone from his Storage Ring. The pale-gold divine stone glowed in his palm, and a stabilizing spatial force instantly spread outward. The space distorted by the vengeful souls slowly settled.
"The Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone?!" The Blood Shadow Cult Master's expression changed drastically. "You actually found it!"
He could no longer concern himself with maintaining the ritual. He sprang up and charged at Xiao Yan in person, forming a long spear as black as ink in his hand, its tip flashing with the chilling light of destruction.
"Die!"
Rather than retreat, Xiao Yan advanced. He held the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone in his left hand to stabilize space, while the Heavy Xuan Ruler in his right blazed with fierce flames as it crashed head-on into the Blood Shadow Cult Master's black spear!
"Clang!"
The clash of metal rang out deafeningly. Flames and dark energy collided in a frenzy, and the stone slabs of the altar beneath their feet shattered in an instant.
Xiao Yan felt a bone-chilling force travel up the ruler, seemingly intent on freezing his blood. He gritted his teeth and drove his Heavenly Flames to force back the cold, then put strength into both arms and forced the Blood Shadow Cult Master half a step back!
"Your strength... it's grown so much since before!" The Blood Shadow Cult Master was both shocked and furious. He could sense that the strength of Xiao Yan's Origin Qi was now infinitely close to the Intermediate Origin Emperor level. With the Heavenly Flames countering him as well, he could not gain the slightest advantage.
Just then, the Dark Envoy broke free of the Emperor Flame Lotus's lingering power and transformed into black mist once more, charging in to attack Xiao Yan from both sides with the Blood Shadow Cult Master.
Attacked from front and rear, Xiao Yan came under mounting pressure. He had to fend off the Blood Shadow Cult Master's domineering black spear while guarding against the Dark Envoy's impossible-to-guard-against tendrils, and he gradually fell at a disadvantage.
"Brother Xiao Yan!" Ling Xue was frantic. She wanted to go to his aid, but an endless stream of Blood Shadow Cult followers kept her occupied, and the ice net was on the verge of collapse under the vengeful souls' assault.
Zhou Xiaotian and the others were also locked in a bitter struggle. Though they fought hard to cut down the cultists, they could not break through the defensive line and reach the altar. The two Origin Emperor retainers had even been injured by energy leaking from the Dark Envoy, leaving their presence feeble.
"Hahaha! Give up!" the Blood Shadow Cult Master laughed wildly, his black spear striking with ever greater ferocity. "The Gate of Darkness is about to open, and the Great Thousand World will ultimately submit to darkness!"
The black mist in the spatial rift grew denser, and still larger black shadows could dimly be seen writhing within it. Their terrifying pressure made the entire valley tremble.
The black spear swept into Xiao Yan's shoulder, instantly staining his robes red with blood. The searing pain made him falter. The Dark Envoy seized the chance to whip a tendril viciously across his back.
"Pfft!"
Xiao Yan spat out a mouthful of blood. The Origin Qi within him fell into disorder, and the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone nearly slipped from his hand.
"It's over!" Killing intent flashed in the Blood Shadow Cult Master's eyes as he aimed his black spear straight at Xiao Yan's heart.
At that critical moment, Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the dying cultivators on the nine altars, over Zhou Xiaotian and the others fighting through bloodshed, and over Ling Xue holding on with gritted teeth. A startling light suddenly burst from his eyes.
"It's not over yet!"
He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone. The divine stone instantly burst with brilliant golden light, its spatial power stronger than ever before, forcing the surrounding dark energy back three feet!
At the same time, he took out the Void Origin Stone Fragment. The two wondrous stones containing the origin of space touched in his palm, producing a wondrous resonance.
"With my essence blood as the guide and Origin Qi as the medium, spatial power, explode!"
Xiao Yan roared and thrust the two wondrous stones forward.
"Hum-!"
Pale-gold and pitch-black light intertwined into a spiraling pillar. Within it were two utterly opposed spatial forces, tearing and stabilization, yet at this moment they fused perfectly, forming an indescribably terrifying energy that instantly pierced the Dark Envoy's black mist and shot straight toward the spatial rift!
"No-!" The Blood Shadow Cult Master's eyes nearly split with rage. He tried to stop it, but the power escaping from the pillar of light sent him flying.
The Dark Envoy let out a despairing shriek. Its black mist was annihilated inch by inch within the pillar of light until it vanished completely.
The pillar of light struck the Darkness Core at the center of the spatial rift with perfect accuracy. The two spatial forces tore at it frantically, annihilating it.
"Crack..."
Cracks appeared in the Darkness Core. It burst with blinding black light, then shattered completely!
Without the Darkness Core to sustain it, and under the stabilizing power of the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone, the spatial rift dozens of feet wide began to contract violently. Countless unwilling roars came from within it before it finally closed completely with a "bang," leaving only distorted ripples in space that gradually subsided.
As the spatial rift closed, the blood-red light on the nine altars instantly dimmed. Deprived of the energy sustaining them, the vengeful souls also gradually dispersed into the air.
Seeing this, the Blood Shadow Cult followers' morale plummeted. With no will left to fight, they turned to flee.
"Kill!" Zhou Xiaotian seized the opportunity and led the others in pursuit of the remaining enemies.
The Blood Shadow Cult Master stared at the closed spatial rift and the shattered Darkness Core, his eyes filled with despair and madness. "No... my grand undertaking..."
He turned sharply toward Xiao Yan, a ruthless determination to die together flashing in his eyes. "Xiao Yan! Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!"
The Blood Shadow Cult Master burned his own origin, and black energy surged as he charged at Xiao Yan like a madman.
Xiao Yan was already at the end of his strength, his Origin Qi exhausted and his body gravely wounded, but his gaze remained sharp. Watching the Blood Shadow Cult Master charge at him, he slowly raised the Heavy Xuan Ruler.
Just then, a spear of ice crystals tore through the air and pierced the Blood Shadow Cult Master straight through the heart.
The Blood Shadow Cult Master froze and turned back in disbelief, looking at Ling Xue holding the ice spear.
Ling Xue's face was pale. That strike had clearly exhausted the last of her strength, but her gaze was firm. "This is for my people, and for everyone you've harmed!"
The Blood Shadow Cult Master opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end he only spat out a mouthful of black blood. His body slowly fell, and all signs of life left him.
Peace gradually returned to the valley, leaving only the victors' panting and the wounded's groans.
Xiao Yan looked at the closed spatial rift and let out a long breath. His taut body could hold on no longer. Everything went black before his eyes, and he fell.
"Brother Xiao Yan!" Ling Xue cried out and ran over to help him up.
Zhou Xiaotian and the others gathered around as well. Looking at the unconscious Xiao Yan and the wreckage scattered across the ground, their faces showed exhaustion and relief at having survived the ordeal.
The crisis that had gripped the entire Northern Region had finally been brought to an end, at a tremendous cost.
Three days later, at Soul-Severing Cliff.
The surviving cultivators were clearing the battlefield and tending to the wounded. The nine altars had been dismantled, and the rescued cultivators wept tears of gratitude toward Xiao Yan and the others.
Under Ling Xue's care, Xiao Yan had regained consciousness and was slowly recovering.
Zhou Xiaotian walked over to him and offered him a crystalline pill. "This is a high-grade healing pill. It'll help you recover."
Xiao Yan accepted the pill and swallowed it. "Thank you, City Lord Zhou," he said gratefully.
Zhou Xiaotian sighed. "We're the ones who should be thanking you. If not for you, the consequences would have been unthinkable. You saved the entire Northern Region, and perhaps even the entire Great Thousand World."
Xiao Yan shook his head. "I only did what I had to do."
He looked over at Ling Xue, who was comforting the rescued cultivators nearby, and asked, "Ling Xue's people..."
Zhou Xiaotian was silent for a moment. "We've already sent people to investigate the Snow Region Ice Plains. Hopefully, they'll find survivors."
Xiao Yan nodded and asked no more.
Just then, Li Xuantong walked over with a black token in his hand. "Xiao Yan, this was found on the Blood Shadow Cult Master. It appears to be a token from the Blood Shadow Cult's main headquarters."
Xiao Yan took the token. Strange runes were carved into it, and it gave off a faint black vapor. He glanced at it, then put it in his Storage Ring. "The Blood Shadow Cult has suffered a crippling blow, but there may still be remnants. This might prove useful."
Zhou Xiaotian said, "After this battle, all the major powers in the Northern Region will be on higher alert. It won't be so easy for the Blood Shadow Cult to make a comeback. But what about you, Xiao Yan? What are your plans?"
Xiao Yan gazed into the distance, a hint of longing flashing in his eyes. "The Great Thousand World is so vast. I want to see it. I also have friends waiting for me."
Xun'er and Cai Lin, whom he sought, might be somewhere in a corner of this vast Great Thousand World.
Zhou Xiaotian nodded. "That's good too. With your talent, staying in the Northern Region would indeed be a waste. If you ever need help, Tianbei City will always have your back."
"Thank you."
A few days later, Xiao Yan and Ling Xue left Soul-Severing Cliff. Ling Xue decided to return to the Snow Region Ice Plains first to search for her people, and the two said goodbye at a crossroads.
"Brother Xiao Yan, take care." A trace of reluctance showed in Ling Xue's eyes.
"You too. Look after yourself," Xiao Yan said with a smile. "If you run into trouble, you can go to Tianbei City and find City Lord Zhou."
Ling Xue nodded, then turned and headed toward the Snow Region Ice Plains.
Xiao Yan watched her figure disappear into the distance, then turned and set out along the unknown road ahead.
In his hand, he held the Void Origin Stone Fragment tightly. After this great battle, his understanding of spatial power had deepened another level. Perhaps it would not be long before he could fully control the fragment's power and teleport over greater distances.
The road ahead was long, and challenges still lay before him, but Xiao Yan's eyes were filled with determination and anticipation.
The vast canvas of the Great Thousand World was waiting for him to measure it with his own feet and use the Heavenly Flames in his hands to write the legend of "Xiao Yan."
(To be continued)