"Swish, swish, swish!"
Just as Xiao Yan's figure was rapidly traversing among the stone forest, constantly changing position by using the jagged stone pillars, three ear-piercing sounds of air being torn apart came almost simultaneously from the distant horizon.
The sound was sharp and urgent, like three sharp arrows tearing through the silence of the night sky.
Three streaks of light descended swiftly from the distant horizon, revealing the figures of three Dou Huang expert.
Their Dou Qi Wings shimmered with various colors under the moonlight.
A powerful aura emanated from their bodies, causing the air above the stone forest to distort slightly.
The three Dou Emperor exchanged glances; years of working together had forged a tacit understanding between them that required no words.
With just a glance, the three of them reacted simultaneously.
With a flap of their wings, they transformed into three streaks of light and immediately sped off in three different directions.
One person is placed in each of the three directions: east, west, and south.
Adding to this the direction from which Old Ghost Liu was pursuing them from the north, the four directions formed an impenetrable encirclement.
It firmly surrounds the entire stone forest in the center.
Three powerful auras, each at the level of Dou Emperor), rose simultaneously from different directions, echoing each other.
Like three invisible walls, they completely severed the connection between this stone forest and the outside world.
"Kid, keep running."
Old Ghost Liu's voice came from mid-air. The voice was not loud, but it clearly penetrated the howling night wind in the stone forest and reached Xiao Yan's ears.
His tone carried a hint of cat-and-mouse playfulness, as if he were enjoying the prey's final struggle.
One Dou Zong and three Dou Emperor surrounded Xiao Yan from four directions.
Four directions, four different auras, like four mountains slowly closing in, blocking all his escape routes.
To the east was a tall, thin Dou Emperor with a sinister face, surrounded by pale blue wind-attribute Dou Qi;
To the west was a burly, menacing-looking Dou Emperor. His earthy-yellow Dou Qi condensed into a thick layer of armor on his body, giving him an astonishing defensive capability.
To the south was a middle-aged Dou Emperor with the most composed aura, his eyes gleaming with suppressed sharpness, and a long sword gleaming coldly in his hand.
Meanwhile, in the northern sky, Old Ghost Liu stood with his hands behind his back. Although his robes were somewhat disheveled, the unique pressure of a Dou Zong was like a mountain, heavily pressing down on the entire stone forest.
The leader, Old Ghost Liu, wore a sinister smile. Moonlight filtered through the clouds, illuminating his gaunt face and making the smile all the more chilling.
His lips curled up, but there was not a trace of a smile in his large, bell-like eyes.
A deep chill surged in his eyes, a coldness born from the temporary suppression of his murderous intent.
He had already remembered the humiliation of having his robes soiled and his cuffs burned by a Dou Emperor brat, and he planned to get his revenge with interest in the most ruthless way possible.
"This place is not bad; you've picked a good burial plot for yourself."
Old Ghost Liu's gaze slowly swept over the stone forest below.
The jagged stone pillars cast crisscrossing shadows under the moonlight, creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere reminiscent of a cemetery.
His figure stood in mid-air, without needing any leverage, steadily hovering there.
Looking down at Xiao Yan, who had stopped in place below, from his vantage point.
In his eyes, this stone forest was the burial place that Xiao Yan had chosen himself, and he was happy to grant him that wish.
Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks.
It's not that I don't want to run, it's that there's no need to run anymore.
All four directions were blocked off. Old Ghost Liu was in the sky above, and although there were many stone pillars on the ground, they could not stop the Dou Emperor's senses from sweeping through.
Continuing to run will only waste your energy.
He simply stood still, regulated his somewhat disordered breathing, and smoothed out the surging Soul Power within his body.
"Hahaha, one Dou Zong and three Dou Emperor."
Xiao Yan suddenly laughed, his laughter echoing through the empty stone forest, carrying an undisguised mockery.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried far on the night wind, and every word clearly reached the ears of the four pursuers.
Surrounded by four people with no way out, Xiao Yan completely relaxed and gave up on his escape.
With a slight movement, he lightly touched a pebble with his foot and leaped to the top of the thickest and tallest stone pillar, his robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze.
Looking up at Old Ghost Liu in mid-air, Xiao Yan's gaze didn't waver at all, meeting those cold, large, bell-like eyes directly, his tone full of sarcasm:
" The Yellow Springs Pavilion really thinks highly of me."
To deal with a mere brat like me who isn't even Dou Zong yet, they actually mobilized a Dou Zong elder plus three Dou Emperor.
"This kind of pomp and circumstance will probably make the whole Central Plains laugh their heads off if word gets out."
He deliberately emphasized the words "young upstart," his gaze sweeping over the four pursuers one by one, his mockery undisguised.
The expressions of the three Dou Emperor changed slightly at the same time.
Xiao Yan's words struck a nerve with them.
Four against one, and the opponent was only at the Dou Huang Realm. If this were to spread, it would certainly not do their Yellow Springs Pavilion any good reputation.
But the three of them quickly suppressed their unease.
What does reputation matter?
As long as we can kill this kid and get our hands on the Heavenly Flames, the process doesn't matter.
Now that he had nowhere to retreat, Xiao Yan felt a calmness he had never felt before.
That calmness wasn't numbness, but rather a purity that came after all distractions had been stripped away in a desperate situation.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath, and the scorching heat in his chest slowly circulated.
Under his precise control, the Soul Power Soul Power within his body flowed through his limbs and bones like a floodgate being opened, filling every meridian to its fullest extent.
A slight humming sound even emanated from between the bones.
He no longer deliberately suppressed his aura, releasing all his strength without reservation.
The powerful aura emanated from him and spread outwards. Although it was far less overwhelming than Old Ghost Liu's oppressive aura, it possessed its own sharp and unparalleled power.
Looking up at Old Ghost Liu in mid-air, Xiao Yan's lips curled up slightly, revealing a faint smile.
There was no fear, no flattery, not even a trace of solemnity in that smile; only a composure and certainty that had settled after countless life-and-death experiences.
This smile made Old Ghost Liu, who was in mid-air, frown slightly; he didn't like the expression on the kid's face.
A dying person should not show such a smile.
The next moment, dazzling Soul Ring appeared from the void beneath Xiao Yan's feet.
The moment those Soul Ring appeared, they burst forth with dazzling light, illuminating the surrounding stone forest in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Each Soul Ring had a distinct color and luster, ranging from deep to bright, from heavy to light, with five different energy fluctuations rippling outwards from beneath his feet.
Yellow, purple, and black!
Five dazzling Soul Ring appeared one after another beneath Xiao Yan's feet, resembling a peculiar array of runes.
Centered on Xiao Yan's body, they were arranged in layers along the vertical direction, enveloping his entire body from his ankles to the top of his head, moving up and down in mid-air with a slow and regular rhythm.
With each pulse, the light of the Soul Ring would brighten briefly before slowly dimming again.
It repeats itself endlessly, like breathing, or like the rhythm of some ancient ritual.
This is the core symbol of the Soul Master system in the Douluo Continent, a form of power that has never appeared in this world before.
What is this?
Old Ghost Liu's gaze fell on the Soul Ring surrounding Xiao Yan, and for the first time, a hint of genuine surprise appeared in his large, copper-bell-shaped eyes, which were originally filled with mockery and killing intent.
Having lived for so many years, he had witnessed all sorts of cultivation techniques and Dou Technique on the Dou Qi Continent —the unorthodox, the orthodox, the lost, and the newly created.
I wouldn't say I've seen them all, but I've at least heard of them.
However, the five peculiar halos emanating from this young man were completely beyond his comprehension.
His gaze scrutinized the five Soul Ring, and the more he looked, the more unbelievable they seemed.
In his perception, each of the five halos emitted an independent energy fluctuation, which was both distinct from each other and interconnected, forming a complete energy cycle system.
The energy fluctuations were different from the Dou Qi he was familiar with; they were more subtle and varied, carrying a kind of power of rules that he could not decipher.
A hint of curiosity flickered in Old Ghost Liu's eyes.
He was Dou Zong expert, and his perception of power was far more acute than that of Dou Emperor level experts.
During his investigation, the energy fluctuations emitted by these five Soul Ring exhibited an extremely strange characteristic.
They are not simply amplification of power, nor defensive shields, but rather an enhancement at the level of some kind of rule, as if these five halos themselves are a manifestation of a law.
He had never even heard of such a form of power, let alone seen it before.
However, Dou Emperor is ultimately just Dou Emperor.
The curiosity in Old Ghost Liu's eyes lasted only a few breaths before being suppressed by his usual arrogance and confidence.
He shook his head, inwardly scoffing at himself for having lived so long, and then quickly put his curiosity out of his mind.
No matter what strange things this kid has, in the face of an absolute difference in strength, they are nothing but a flashy joke.
In his life, he has seen too many young people who think they have a trump card and can challenge those above them.
And without exception, those people ended up as bones beneath his feet.
No matter how many trump cards you have, you can't withstand the crushing power of absolute strength. This is the ironclad rule of the Dou Qi Continent.
"You guys, go and play with him."
Old Ghost Liu stood in mid-air, his hands back behind his back, regaining his initial composed demeanor.
He looked at Xiao Yan below with a mocking gaze, and spoke casually to the three Dou Emperor not far away.
In his eyes, three Dou Emperor were more than enough to deal with one Dou Emperor.
If I were to personally intervene, it would appear as bullying the weak, which would damage my reputation.
All he had to do was stand by and watch, see how pathetic the kid looked when he was surrounded and attacked by three equally powerful opponents.
Wait until he's exhausted and has used up all his cards before striking to reap the rewards; it's both effortless and satisfying.
The three Dou Emperor not far away exchanged glances upon hearing Old Ghost Liu's command.
The three men's eyes met briefly in mid-air, a barely perceptible hint of apprehension flashing in each of their eyes.
They had witnessed Xiao Yan's strength firsthand, and the power of that blue and white lotus flower exploding still left them with lingering fear.
If faced with an attack of that level alone, none of them would be confident of escaping unscathed.
What made them even more wary was that Xiao Yan had managed to escape several times from Old Ghost Liu's Spatial Lockdown. This fighting instinct and adaptability were definitely not something that an ordinary Dou Emperor could possess.
They had to admit that, faced with Xiao Yan's endless stream of bizarre attacks and his almost ingrained fighting instincts, none of them could be guaranteed victory in a one-on-one fight.
There was a reason why Han Li was killed by this kid.
but...
The three of them looked up at Old Ghost Liu in mid-air at the same time, and saw that the Dou Zong master was standing steadily in the void.
The power of space around them was faintly visible, like an unshakeable guardian deity, and a hint of self-mockery reappeared on the expressions of the three.
What's there to be afraid of?
With Elder Liu around, what trouble can they possibly cause?
The difference between Dou Zong and Dou Emperor is a qualitative one, which cannot be bridged by any skill or trump card.
Even if this kid is a good fighter, Elder Liu could kill him with one hand.
Moreover, this is a great opportunity to show off in front of Elder Liu.
The three of them thought of this almost simultaneously.
Elder Liu holds a highly respected position in the Yellow Springs Pavilion, and it is usually difficult for them to have a private conversation with him. But now, if they can make a good impression on this important person, they might be able to leave a lasting impression.
Their future prospects in the cabinet will naturally be very different.
Of the three, the Dou Emperor who was the first to regain his senses reacted the fastest.
" Elder Liu, how could you trouble yourself with such a small matter? Please rest for a while."
One of the Dou Emperor took a step forward, stepping into the air, a perfectly timed fawning smile on his face.
He bowed respectfully to Old Ghost Liu in mid-air, keeping his posture extremely low and deliberately softening his voice.