Two Dou Emperor, one on the left and one on the right, attacked Xiao Yan from both sides like a giant clamping pincer.
The burly earth-attribute Dou Emperor on the left had earth-yellow Dou Qi surging around him, as if he were wearing a thick layer of mountain rock armor.
The ball of Dou Qi gathered on his fist had reached its peak and was ready to explode at any moment.
The wind-attribute Dou Emperor on the right, wielding a long sword, moved as swiftly as the wind, his toes lightly touching the top of the stone pillar, each time using force silently.
Only the faint whistling sound of the sword tip cutting through the air gave away his trajectory.
Standing atop the stone pillar, Xiao Yan felt the oppressive pressure from both sides like two tightening ropes, gradually compressing his space.
The night wind, carrying dust from the stone forest, swept past him, making his tattered robes flutter loudly.
He took a deep breath, and the burning sensation in his chest subsided slightly.
Under his mental control, the Soul Power within his body began to circulate at high speed once again.
The Third Soul Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up, the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring bursting with dazzling light.
The purple halo was reflected in Xiao Yan's pupils, and he quickly formed a hand seal in front of him.
" Cold Fire - Netherworld Lock!"
As Xiao Yan finished speaking, the space behind him seemed to be torn apart by some force, and several transparent chains suddenly appeared from the void.
One end of the chain was connected to the void behind Xiao Yan, while the other end snaked and twisted in the air, emitting a faint metallic scraping sound.
Xiao Yan pointed forward with his right hand, and the chains, like venomous snakes receiving a command, all changed direction.
It drew several sharp arcs in mid-air, carrying a piercing sound as it stabbed towards the two Dou Huang expert simultaneously.
The Netherworld Lock moved at an extremely high speed, leaving only a few transparent afterimages in the air.
In the blink of an eye, they were already in front of the two.
The moment the Netherworld Lock appeared, Old Ghost Liu stood in mid-air with his hands behind his back.
For the first time, a hint of undisguised surprise flashed in those large, copper-bell-shaped eyes that had always maintained composure and arrogance.
His pupils contracted slightly as he stared intently at the transparent chains, a hint of apprehension even flickering in his eyes.
"This method is somewhat similar to the attack style of those guys from the Hall of Souls..."
Old Ghost Liu muttered to himself in a low voice, so soft that only he could hear it.
His brow furrowed slightly, and the rumors about the Hall of Souls involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
These mysterious figures appear and disappear without a trace, each move accompanied by chains and eerie soul fluctuations. Even Dou Zong expert would find it extremely troublesome to be entangled with them.
The Hall of Souls is an existence that even the Lord of the Yellow Springs Pavilion is unwilling to provoke easily.
On the Central Plains Continent, this name itself represents mystery, power, and inviolability.
But shortly after, Old Ghost Liu breathed a sigh of relief.
His soul perception far surpassed that of everyone present. After a brief moment of alertness, he quickly detected the energy fluctuations emanating from the Netherworld Lock.
Although that fluctuation was somewhat similar to the methods of the Hall of Souls in appearance.
However, upon closer examination, the essence of these two is completely different.
The methods employed by the Hall of Souls exude pure chill and deathly stillness.
The Netherworld Lock released by Xiao Yan, though equally cold, contained a unique, intense aura of a Heavenly Flames.
That was the natural fluctuation of spiritual energy emanating from a wondrous object of heaven and earth, completely different from the inhuman and ghostly aura of those in the Hall of Souls.
Old Ghost Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the tension he had felt just moments before dissipated considerably.
Even though he was an elder of the Yellow Springs Pavilion, he didn't know much about the mysterious Hall of Souls organization.
All he knew was that the Hall of Souls operated with extreme secrecy, possessed unfathomable strength, and had influence throughout the Central Plains and even further afield.
If Xiao Yan truly has some connection with the Hall of Souls, then he will have to carefully consider his actions today.
Fortunately, this kid's methods only appear to be the same; in essence, they are completely different from those of the Hall of Souls.
Old Ghost Liu suppressed his doubts and resumed his arrogant demeanor.
Since it has nothing to do with the Hall of Souls, there's nothing to worry about.
"Snort!"
The burly Dou Emperor on the left, his body enveloped in thick, earthy-yellow Dou Qi, let out a muffled snort as he watched Xiao Yan unleash the Netherworld Lock hurtling towards him.
He had just witnessed his colleague being instantly killed, and he was already burning with rage.
It was both anger and a kind of fear that they were unwilling to admit.
He hated the feeling of being intimidated by a mere brat; it was an insult to him as a senior Dou Emperor of the Yellow Springs Pavilion.
He wanted to use his own methods, his most proficient and proudest technique—a direct and overwhelming crushing defeat—to completely crush this kid.
" Earth Dragon Roar!"
His Dou Qi surged wildly like a ignited powder keg, and earthen-yellow Dou Qi erupted from his palms.
It was so thick it almost solidified into magma.
Dense Dou Qi rapidly condensed beneath his feet, and accompanied by a deep dragon roar, a yellow dragon-shaped Magical Beast, over ten meters long, roared out from the Dou Qi aura.
Although the dragon-shaped phantom was merely formed from condensed Dou Qi, it was remarkably lifelike.
The earth dragon opened its blood-red maw, from which surged extremely dense, earth-yellow Dou Qi.
Carrying an overwhelming and destructive force, it tore towards the several Netherworld Lock.
Xiao Yan stood on the stone pillar, facing the roaring earth dragon, his expression completely unchanged.
His right hand clenched lightly in mid-air, the movement calm and precise, like a craftsman manipulating a marionette.
With his fingers slightly spread, Soul Power was transmitted to the Netherworld Lock through an invisible connection.
Under his control, the several Netherworld Lock suddenly changed their attack posture.
Like a nimble snake, Entanglement upwards, avoiding the earth dragon's gaping maw, and instead meandered along its side, close to its body.
The chains continued to extend along the dragon-shaped phantom's body, and in the blink of an eye, they tightly bound the earth dragon's neck, torso, limbs, and tail.
Cold white flame patterns flickered on the surface of the chains, and with each flicker, the earth dragon's struggles lessened.
The once majestic dragon-shaped phantom was firmly held in mid-air by the Netherworld Lock.
Like a moth caught in a spider's web, the more it struggles, the tighter it gets entangled.
" Wind-Splitting Slash!"
At the same moment that Xiao Yan was using the Netherworld Lock to entangle the earth dragon, an attack from the other side was already quietly approaching.
The wind-attribute Dou Emperor, wielding a long sword, saw that Xiao Yan was focusing all his attention on controlling the chains.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and the wind-attribute Dou Qi within his body surged wildly into the longsword in his hand like a floodgate being opened.
The longsword suddenly burst forth with a dazzling azure light, and the air around the blade was cut by the rapidly flowing wind-attribute Dou Qi, emitting a sharp whistling sound.
The sword itself trembled slightly under the infusion of this power, as if it could not withstand the intensity of this force.
The moment he approached Xiao Yan, who was less than ten feet away, the Dou Emperor unleashed a fierce sword strike.
His movements were swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, clearly indicating that he had been preparing for this strike for a long time.
A cold light shot out from his hand in an instant, and the sword light expanded rapidly the moment it left the sword.
It transformed from a thin line into a massive sword aura several meters wide.
The sword energy took on an almost tangible bluish-green hue, and the air around the edge of the sword's blade was churned and twisted as it was cut.
The powerful sword energy surged upwards the instant it left the body, expanding at an astonishing speed.
In the blink of an eye, the sword energy transformed into a fierce hurricane that seemed to stretch across the sky.
The hurricane carried countless tiny wind blades, each powerful enough to slice a boulder in two.
The hurricane-like sword energy descended upon Xiao Yan.
The sword's power was so immense that it caused fine cracks to appear on the stone pillars below.
However, Xiao Yan's reaction to the opponent's fierce attack surprised everyone.
He didn't dodge, didn't turn around to block, and didn't even glance back at the sword energy that was slashing down at him.
He stomped his legs on the top of the stone pillar, and the solid pillar shattered in half with a crash.
Using the recoil, he shot towards the earth-attribute Dou Huang expert like an arrow released from a bow.
As for the fierce sword light slashing down on him from behind, he seemed not to see it at all.
They didn't even show the slightest intention of turning back.
This almost insane act stunned everyone for a moment.
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, which quickly turned into a cold laugh.
Arrogant brat, if you take this sword strike, even if you're made of Tie Gu, you'll be cleaved in two.
However, at the very moment the sword energy struck, an unexpected change occurred.