A beam of light suddenly emanated from Xiao Yan's forehead.
That light was unlike any of the Soul Skill he had released before; it was purer, deeper, and carried a penetrating power that struck straight to the soul.
No, to be precise, it should be his fused Head Soul Bone.
The next moment, within the domain of the Everfrost Mausoleum, those originally formless and traceless souls that were merely wandering in the air...
Summoned by this light, they all converged on Xiao Yan's location.
Those souls are invisible to the naked eye, but they are as clear to the soul as fireflies in the dark.
They are frost-covered wandering souls born from the fusion of the extreme cold power of the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and Xiao Yan's own Soul Power in this icy realm.
It is the most core and most hidden additional effect of the Soul Skill " Everfrost Mausoleum".
Normally, they simply wander silently within the domain, their chilling aura constantly weakening the mobility of all enemies within.
"Waaaaah--"
A piercing wail suddenly rang out in the night sky; the sound did not come from one direction, but rose simultaneously from all directions.
Dozens of wails merged together, intertwining layer upon layer, forming an invisible sound wave.
Wherever the sound waves passed, the air trembled slightly, and even the moonlight seemed to dim in the wailing.
The hundreds of mournful howls of the Eternal Frost Mourning Demon converged into an invisible torrent, all rushing toward the sword light falling from mid-air.
How fast does sound travel?
The sword light was so fast that there was no time to dodge it, and it was directly hit by this torrent of spiritual energy.
"Click click click!"
A sickeningly sharp freezing sound rang out in mid-air.
It is clearly an energy form formed by the convergence of Dou Qi, so in theory it should not be affected by physical freezing.
But as the mournful wails of those Eternal Frost Mourning Demon continued to wash over...
A layer of visible frost slowly condensed on the originally unstoppable cyan-green sword light.
That frost was not ordinary ice, but a soul frost formed by the fusion of Mental Power and the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
It began to spread from the surface of the sword light, penetrating inward inch by inch, slowly freezing the sword energy at the energy level.
The speed of the sword light as it flew slowed down and became increasingly sluggish under the corrosive influence of the frost, eventually freezing completely in mid-air.
It transformed into a massive, frost-covered sword that stretched across the sky.
The frost-covered longsword was crystal clear, its blade covered with dense ice cracks.
The moonlight refracted through the ice, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene, but it no longer possessed the destructive power it had before.
The Wind Attribute Dou Emperor's expression changed drastically. He never dreamed that his full-force sword strike would be blocked in this way.
But he was, after all, a seasoned Dou Emperor, and after a brief moment of shock, he reacted.
He let out a furious roar, unleashing his full Dou Qi without reservation.
Through the invisible connection between him and the sword energy, it continuously flowed into the sword light. Under his full output...
The frozen frost longsword began to tremble violently, and the frost covering its blade was peeled away and shattered layer by layer by the impact of the Dou Qi from within.
Although Xiao Yan's skull Soul Skill had some effect on this Dou Emperor, successfully freezing his attack for a moment.
However, Xiao Yan himself knew that this move could not completely block the opponent's full-force attack.
After all, he now has to deal with battles on both sides at the same time, so the Soul Power allocated to his Soul Bone Skill is extremely limited.
The Eternal Frost Mourning Demon was, after all, merely an add-on to the domain, not an invincible entity.
Sure enough, as the Dou Emperor's Dou Qi continued to increase its output, the cyan-green light on the sword became dazzling again.
The cracks on the frost greatsword multiplied and became increasingly dense, finally exploding with a series of dense cracking sounds.
The sword light finally broke free from the shackles of the Eternal Frost Mourning Demon.
It transformed back into a sharp sword aura and continued to slash towards Xiao Yan.
The phantoms of the Eternal Frost Mourning Demon let out their final mournful cries under the raging sword energy.
It was immediately shredded by the sword light, turning into wisps of cold white mist that dissipated into the air.
However, the sword light breaking free from its restraints did not come without a price.
During the process of being frozen and struggling to break free, the terrifying Dou Qi contained within the sword light was continuously consumed.
Each layer of frost peeled away carried away a portion of the sword energy, and each shattering of the Eternal Frost Mourning Demon neutralized a portion of the sword light's destructive power.
The enormous sword energy that once stretched across the sky has now shrunk by nearly half.
The color of the sword light also changed from the initial deep green to a light blue, and the edges even flickered and became much weaker.
What Xiao Yan wanted was precisely this weakened result.
From the beginning, he never expected the Eternal Frost Mourning Demon to completely block that sword strike; all he wanted was to delay and weaken it.
As long as the power of the sword light is weakened to a level he can withstand, his plan can continue.
In the brief moment that the Eternal Frost Mourning Demon was entangled with the sword light, Xiao Yan seized the opportunity to rush in front of the Earth Attribute Dou Emperor.
The distance between the two suddenly shrank from tens of feet to less than three feet, so close that Xiao Yan could even see the fleeting tension in the other's eyes.
" Eight Extremes Collapse!!"
Before he could even get close, Xiao Yan had already raised his right palm high.
With his fingers slightly spread, a hidden force gathered in his palm, and he let out a deafening roar.
The roar echoed through the stone forest, carrying an indomitable and resolute momentum that made the surrounding rubble tremble slightly.
Pale blue Soul Power swirled wildly across his right arm, enveloping the entire arm in a Youyou halo.
Judging from his appearance, he seemed to intend to pour all his strength into this attack.
Completely ignoring the rapidly descending sword light behind him, he decided to fight this earth-attribute Dou Emperor to the death first.
This stance is a blatant act of trading one's life for another.
It's a ruthlessness that disregards life and death, a resolute determination that's ruthless enough to oneself and even more ruthless to the enemy.
Seeing Xiao Yan's desperate stance, the earth-attribute Dou Emperor revealed a deep sense of vigilance in his eyes.
He had just witnessed his colleague being instantly killed by Xiao Yan's close-range burst of power; he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
The earth dragon he released was already tightly bound by that strange Netherworld Lock.
Unable to move in mid-air, there's no hope for them in the short term.
He could only rely on himself now. Having learned from the experience of the previous Dou Emperor, he was much more cautious.
The goal is not to kill the enemy in one blow, but to first establish an invincible position.
"Kid, do you really think we're pushovers?"
The Earth-attribute Dou Emperor snorted coldly. After all, he was a veteran who had experienced countless battles, and he quickly calmed down after a brief moment of tension.
He took a deep breath, and the Dou Qi in his dantian surged out like a flood bursting its banks.
The Dou Qi within his body circulated rapidly across his skin, layer upon layer of earthy yellow light accumulating on his skin.
Soon, the Dou Qi qi formed a thick and dense Dou Qi Armor around his body.
The armor was not an illusion, but a solid protective layer compressed from high-density Dou Qi, every inch of which shimmered with a thick metallic luster.
His body was completely enveloped from head to toe, even his eyes were covered with a semi-transparent Dou Qi membrane.
The armor was as thick as half a palm's width, and its surface was engraved with earth-attribute defensive patterns, which gleamed with a dark light under the moonlight.
This wasn't the end of it; he wasn't content with just one layer of defense.
After his Dou Qi Armor took shape, he suddenly clasped his hands together in front of his chest, producing a crisp clapping sound.
His Dou Qi surged out of his body like it was free, and the earthy yellow Dou Qi began to expand outward from his palm, weaving into a huge cocoon-like structure at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The giant cocoon was perfectly round, about two zhang in diameter, and its walls were several chi thick.
The surface is covered with countless fine lines of Dou Qi.
Each line is an independent defensive barrier, nested layer upon layer, interlocking with each other.
" Earth Rampart!"
The giant cocoon expanded rapidly, eventually transforming into an indestructible barrier.
It completely enveloped him.
From the outside, the giant cocoon looks like a boulder that has been buried deep underground for thousands of years.
Steadfast, profound, and unshakeable.
The Earth-attribute Dou Emperor stood in the center of the giant cocoon, looking through the semi-transparent cocoon wall at Xiao Yan's increasingly approaching figure, and finally a look of relief appeared in his eyes.