Word Count: 2,591 Words
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The Great Heaven Creation Palm was far more than a simple black sphere. That black dot was essentially a spatial singularity, forcibly created through Dou Qi and mastery over space.
A point of crushing density and searing heat, of unimaginable temperature and pressure, an extreme distortion of spacetime, yet occupying only an infinitesimally small volume.
One could well imagine the phenomena that would erupt the instant such a point appeared.
"Hm?"
Two powerful gravitational forces suddenly pulled against each other. Xiao Yan knew the twisting force of the Great Heaven Creation Palm alone could not harm the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. This was a flame that could purify even the Woeful Poison; any Dou Technique would lose more than half its strength before it ever reached him.
So instead of trying to crush it, Xiao Yan locked the Demon Flame between the two singularities and used spatial strength to peel away the protective layer of flame surrounding its body.
When Xiao Yan unleashed this Double Great Heaven Creation Palm, even the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's brows drew together slightly.
"Soul Suppressing Heaven Seal!"
"Drifting Medicinal Pill!"
"Grand Luo Flame Palm!"
The Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls and the others seized the opening Xiao Yan had created. One after another, they unleashed Tian Class Dou Techniques, knowing they could not afford to miss this chance.
In an instant, six terrifying Dou Techniques, each capable of tearing apart mountain ranges and boiling seas, erupted together.
"Hmph. Mere parlor tricks."
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame remained utterly calm even when encircled by seven Tian Class Dou Techniques. With a single thought, wisps of milky-white demonic flame surged from his body, flickers of red light dancing within them.
The demon flame expanded in a flash and slammed into every incoming technique. Even Xiao Yan's Great Heaven Creation Palm was purified in an instant. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame could cleanse all things in this world; even the power of space was erased before it.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
The demon flame collided with the other six Dou Techniques. The terrifying shockwaves turned into storms that swept through the entire space. Below, the sea of fire roared and threw up monstrous waves of flame.
Yellow Spring Finger!
When one strike failed, another came right behind it. Xiao Yan and the others had never expected to defeat the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame in a single move.
The entire sky above the magma sea now fell within an intense, sprawling battlefield. The most explosive and terrifying area was naturally the central war zone, miles across, where seven 4-star Dou Saints stood locked in combat with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame!
Once Xiao Yan and the others fought at full strength, even with his power at the peak of 5-star Dou Saint, the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame found himself entangled. No matter how overwhelming his strength, his opponents were simply too many, and each carried deeply seasoned combat experience. Though it was their first time fighting side by side, they quickly fell into a rough coordination. Under their combined assault, even he had to sharpen his focus and face them with caution.
For a time, fighting one against seven, even the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame found himself hard-pressed.
No one dared step lightly into that vast battlefield. Terrifying astral winds howled through it while chaotic energy storms spread in wild, tangled patterns, drawing no distinction between friend and foe. Anyone swept inside would suffer a fatal blow.
Outside the massive battle zone, several smaller circles had also formed. These were where Little Fairy Doctor and the others fought the Fire Slaves.
After dozens of exchanges, Xiao Yan's brows furrowed tightly. Even with a High Tian Class Qi Method, he could feel the Dou Qi within his body draining at an alarming rate. The others were already panting, their faces pale.
People like Yao Wangui and Huo Yao, whose desire for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was lukewarm at best, had already begun considering retreat.
It was then that Hun Mie Sheng's grave voice rang out. "Everyone, lend me your strength! The Demon Flame has already exhausted much of its Essence Flame. Now is the best time to seal it!"
Xiao Yan turned to look. The Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls surged into the sky, hair disheveled, pulling out some unknown object. He slapped his palm against the void. A resonant hum split the air as terrifying Spiritual Strength surged skyward, and an enormous black formation miles across materialized above. Its center locked precisely onto the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame below!
"It's actually the Tianluo Sealing Demon Formation!"
Xun Er cried out in alarm. From her expression, this formation's reputation within the Hun Clan was clearly far from ordinary.
"Good!"
Gu Nanhai and the others also recognized the black formation. At such a critical moment, they could not afford to hesitate. After a rapid moment of thought, they all roared in agreement.
A deeply concealed smile flickered at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth. So the Hun Clan is finally revealing its trump card...
If Hun Mie Sheng had truly intended to capture the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame all on his own, wouldn't Hun Tiandi just be playing him for a fool?!
Xiao Yan stopped holding back. Six vast, majestic pillars of energy, so powerful they made the soul tremble, surged up from all directions and poured straight into the giant formation overhead.
Whoosh!
The tremendous energy flooded the formation, and the slightly pale Hall Chief immediately shifted his hand seals in a blur. The formation shuddered, and from its center a pitch-black beam of light covered in profound runes shot out and slammed down onto the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame below with lightning-like speed.
"Tianluo Refines Fire, Return to Essence!"
A fanatical light surfaced on the Hall Chief's face as he stared at the struck Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. His gaze burned with triumph. Now, even if the latter sprouted wings, escape was impossible!
Whoosh!
The massive black pillar of light descended from the formation's center at astonishing speed. In a single flicker it pierced through the sky, and even the magma sea below was forcibly torn open into a colossal crater several thousand feet across.
"Argh!"
The black pillar struck the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's body, and he immediately sensed an exceptionally strange decomposing power erupting from within it. Under that force, the flames covering his body dimmed thread by thread. A miserable scream laced with violent fury rang across the realm.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Genuine danger surged through the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame at the bizarre power within that black pillar of light. His body suddenly expanded, transforming into a colossal flame giant ten thousand feet tall. The temperature soared in an instant. The magma below boiled violently as columns of molten rock blasted skyward one after another. The constant rumbling echoed like approaching doomsday.
Under the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's frenzied struggle, ripples spread along the black pillar of light, and it even began to twist faintly.
"Everyone, pour your strength into the formation! If he breaks the seal, we all die!" The Hall Chief's face changed sharply as he shouted.
He was the first to shift his hand seals, mobilizing every last drop of the vast Dou Qi within his body and pouring it furiously into the formation without pause.
Naturally, Xiao Yan was second.
He formed a hand seal, and terrifying Dou Qi flowed from his body into the formation in an unbroken stream. He even poured his Spiritual Strength into the enormous black array without holding anything back.
Xiao Yan's reckless effort left everyone else present dumbstruck. You two are trying way too hard!
"Hun Mie Sheng is right. No matter what, since we've moved against the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, it won't let any of us walk away." Gu Nanhai shot Xiao Yan a glance, saw the man throwing everything he had into the formation, then gritted his teeth and began pouring vast amounts of Dou Qi in as well.
Huo Yao, Yao Wangui, and the others exchanged looks. Why did it feel as though some invisible hand was shoving them along?
But they were riding a tiger now and could not dismount. One after another, they began channeling their Dou Qi to support the formation.
Bolstered by such enormous reserves, the formation swelled outward. The pitch-black light column grew purer by the moment, and the strange power coiling within it became increasingly terrifying.
"You want to seal me? Just what do you think you are?!"
A furious roar erupted from within the colossal flames. Without warning, the fire inside the pillar detonated, and wave after wave of destructive shockwaves slammed against the walls of the black column.
Grug!
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's crazed counterattack drained the color from the faces of the Hall Chief, Xiao Yan, and the others. Fresh blood spurted from their mouths in unison, and exhaustion crept into their expressions. The battle against the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had been too violent, too ferocious. Even cultivators of their caliber could not sustain such a pace forever.
"Everyone, stake it all!"
Xiao Yan swept his hand, and several tier 8 pills that had once drawn nine-colored Pill Lightning shot through the air to hover before the others.
The sight of him pulling out pills of that grade left everyone even more shaken.
You're really going all in!
The Hall Chief swallowed his pill without a moment's hesitation. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and a savage cast surfaced across his otherwise unremarkable face. He bit down on the tip of his tongue, and a mouthful of essence blood sprayed out, shooting straight into the light pillar.
That the Hall Chief was willing to burn his own essence blood made the others' expressions shift. In the end, they all swallowed the pills Xiao Yan had given them. With no time to refine the medicine, they invoked secret techniques to wring every drop of Dou Qi from their bodies.
As the seven of them poured themselves into the assault, the light within the pillar flared violently. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's massive body began to shrink at a rapid rate. He roared again and again in rage, but he could not stop his form from dwindling.
"Tianluo Sealing Demon Formation, seal!"
The Hall Chief's eyes lit up with delight. His hands flickered through a blur of seals before he barked the command.
The towering black pillar that had pierced the surroundings contracted in a heartbeat, collapsing into a black cylinder roughly ten feet tall. Within that cylinder, a cluster of milky-white flame rose slowly, and a terrifying heat spread silently from its core.
"It worked."
Relief flooded every chest. After a desperate, all-out struggle by seven 4-star Dou Saints, they had finally seized the moment to seal the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.
Xiao Yan's gaze remained fixed on the black cylinder. After a moment he came back to himself, and his eyes flicked, almost imperceptibly, toward the Hall Chief of the Hall of Souls. With the Demon Flame sealed, a brief hush fell over the sky.
"Hehe, this cooperation has truly been a pleasure. With the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame finally bound, the Central Plains has been spared from devastation. My thanks to all of you!"
The Hall Chief steadied his breathing, then was the first to laugh heartily. He cupped his fists toward Yao Wangui and the others, and the strings drawn tight in their hearts loosened a fraction at the gesture.
Yet in that very instant of relaxation, a strange smile flashed across the Hall Chief's face. His palm shot out toward the black cylinder, and the cylinder streaked toward him like a bolt of lightning.
"Haha, my thanks to everyone for today. My Hun Clan will remember this favor!"
"Bastard!"
"I knew he couldn't be trusted!"
The sudden turn left everyone reeling. They snapped back to themselves an instant later, and furious curses rang across the sky.
But just as the Hall Chief was about to close his grip on the sealed cylinder, a streak of purple light flickered out of empty space, and a laughing voice rang out.
"Hehe, you certainly dream beautifully."
Zi Yan emerged from the void. Still in peak condition, she met the charging Hun Mie Sheng with purple light gathering around her fist and drove a punch straight at him.
BOOM!
A massive purple fist imprint materialized in midair. Hun Mie Sheng's eyes flashed with shock. He crossed his arms to block, but the explosive impact hurled him down into the sea of fire below.
"Intermediate 4-star Dou Saint?"
For an instant, every onlooker was stunned. Since when did the Yan Alliance have a little girl... no, a little monster at the intermediate 4-star Dou Saint?!
"Ancient Void Dragon Tribe? Wasn't the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe missing? The three Dragon Kings are only 3-star Dou Saints. When did an intermediate 4-star Dou Saint emerge?!"
Zi Yan and Cai Lin had concealed their strength from start to finish, barely committing to a single open exchange. They had relied almost entirely on Little Fairy Doctor, Xun Er, and Qing Lin's three magical beasts. The two of them had hidden themselves remarkably well.
With a great splash, Hun Mie Sheng burst back out of the sea of fire, one hand clutching his chest. A glimmer of wariness flickered in his eyes, and his voice dropped low. "So strong."
Xiao Yan slid a sidelong glance at Hun Mie Sheng. His acting's a little thin on the surface. That's the new generation for you.
"Hall Chief! Are you alright?!" Deputy Hall Chief Hun Zhu flew over with a face full of worry and hurriedly steadied Hun Mie Sheng. The concern on his features looked anything but feigned.
Now this one's an old hand. He's clearly done this plenty of times before.
Zi Yan caught hold of the black cylinder, a smug smile curling her lips. With a single spatial shift, the cylinder darted across the air and landed neatly in Xiao Yan's palm.
A heartbeat later, Xiao Yan felt a gaze settle on him that carried a rather peculiar weight.
"What, you want to grab it?" Xiao Yan looked over at Hun Feng, who had stood off in the distance the entire time, neither acting nor speaking. Now that Xiao Yan had taken the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, Hun Feng was clearly struggling to sit still.
After all, in Hun Feng's mind, Xiao Yan was the man competing with him for 'favor.'
If Xiao Yan were allowed to walk off with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, wouldn't that be the same as handing the position of Crown Prince over to him?!
In the end, he did not step forward to contest it, even though Xiao Yan was already heavily drained. Hun Mie Sheng and Hun Zhu were both watching him now with brows knit tight.
Ruining a matter of such importance to the clan would cost him ten lives over.
"Is that so? A pity. I was honestly thinking that if you came for it, I really would have handed it over." Xiao Yan spread his hands in what looked like deliberate mockery.
Then his eyes turned cold as they shifted to Yao Wangui, and a faint smile curved at the corner of his mouth. In the next breath, he did something that left every onlooker thunderstruck.
He tossed the sealed cylinder straight to Yao Wangui!