Word Count: 3,005 Words
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That snake tail struck home with devastating force. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame was flung outward like a streak of white running fire, hurled straight down into the sea of flames below. Cai Lin's blow had even whipped part of the Heavenly Flame loose from his body, and a mouthful of flame that looked just like 'fresh blood' sprayed from his lips.
With her terrifying physical strength reinforced by the soul power of her Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python ancestors, that single strike inflicted the gravest wound the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame had suffered since its sealing thousands of years ago.
The organs woven from Heavenly Flame inside his body were violently jarred out of place. His figure hurtled downward like a cannonball beneath countless stunned gazes, shattering one floating mountain after another into dust. He tore a deep gully nearly a thousand feet long across the surface of the sea of fire before finally grinding to a halt.
Across the entire expanse of the sky, gazes traced the gully as it stretched to the very edge of sight, and throats bobbed in unison. When those eyes lifted back toward the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python drifting above, a distinct fear now filled every pupil. Strength of that magnitude would probably reduce an ordinary 1-star Dou Saint, perhaps even a 2-star Dou Saint, to a fine mist of blood with a single lash of that tail.
"Sister Cai Lin is so strong!" Zi Yan remained in her true form, astonishment filling her enormous dragon pupils. She knew that a little over two years ago, Cai Lin had gathered vast resources along with a legendary Nine-Colored Origin Stone, then descended into the depths beneath the Nine Serene Yellow Spring to complete her evolution into a Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python.
In the barbarous era, Dragon Phoenixes had appeared several times. According to the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe's records, even a fully matured Dragon Phoenix had never been without rivals. Across the vast Dou Qi Continent, invincible creatures capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with a Dragon Phoenix still existed, and the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python was among them.
By bloodline, Zi Yan was not merely the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe, carrying the blood closest to the Ancestral Dragon. She was also a Dragon Phoenix, bearing the power of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix. Yet Dragon Island had long since split into four, and the inheritances had been divided along with it.
The Dragon Emperor's inheritance did indeed reside on Eastern Dragon Island, but every record and legacy concerning the Dragon Phoenix that had been passed down through the ages rested not on Eastern Dragon Island at all, but on Northern Dragon Island. As a result, Zi Yan currently understood almost nothing about the true power of the Dragon Phoenix.
Cai Lin, meanwhile, was far from an ordinary Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. She also possessed a Heavenly Flame Serpent Body, forged into rebirth only after Xiao Yan had personally used three separate Heavenly Flames on her and she had endured untold suffering.
Even though those three Heavenly Flames ranked far lower and could hardly compare to the third-ranked Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, Cai Lin's Heavenly Flame Serpent Body still granted her a real measure of resistance against the Demon Flame's purifying power, allowing her strike to carve devastating harm into it.
The experts from the Lei, Yan, Yao, and Shi Clans, along with Gu Nanhai, Hun Mie Sheng, and the others, all stood rigid, their faces frozen. Their eyes were fixed on the terrifying giant python above, every last one of them shaken by the raw might she had just unleashed.
"This… this must be late 5-star Dou Saint strength, right?"
"So strong. Even the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's purification power couldn't stop that nine-colored radiance."
"Could that truly be the legendary Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python? Hasn't the Heaven Swallowing Python Tribe long since vanished? How can an ancient divine species like a Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python still exist?!"
A divine species referred to a magical beast qualified to break past Rank 9 and reach the legendary Rank 10. In the ancient era, Rank 10 magical beasts had not been called Dou Gods but Divine Beasts, and any magical beast with the potential to ascend to Rank 10 was thus called a divine species. Naturally, the Dragon Phoenix was one of them as well.
While silence gripped every corner of the surrounding realm, the massive Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python in the sky slowly coiled her enormous body. Radiance of countless dazzling hues surged from within her scales. Her gigantic form began to shrink, and under countless astonished gazes, it condensed at last into a graceful, curvaceous female figure.
The light in the sky faded, and that bewitching silhouette stepped fully into view.
Cold, sultry, ruinous enough to topple kingdoms, alluring beyond compare. Every line of her body was smooth and inviting, the arc of her waist elegant, the proud curve of her chest and the long, flawless legs half-veiled beneath a layer of gauzy silk. Every detail carried a dangerous allure sharp enough to set hearts pounding and cloud any thinking mind.
At the first glimpse of that faintly cold, enchanting face, the pulses of many among the younger generation quietly quickened. Men like Yao Tian and Huo Xuan felt their heartbeats jump despite themselves. The older generation, by contrast, felt only a deep and wary caution.
"Hall Chief… with someone like this standing at Xiao Yan's side, and Xiao Chen assisting as well, we probably don't need to call upon Lord Hun Mo anymore, do we?"
Hun Mie Sheng's brow creased at these words. He glanced down at the sea of fire, already healed shut once more, and a strange glint flickered through his eyes. For a moment, no one could tell what he was thinking.
The enchanting woman in the sky, now fully revealed, raised a jade-like hand and beckoned toward the dozens of Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Pythons still coiled overhead. They let out piercing whistles as they descended, dissolving into streams of seven-colored light that flowed back into her body.
Yet not one of them, neither Cai Lin nor Xiao Yan nor anyone else, allowed their expression to ease. They all understood that as overwhelming as that strike had been, they were still far from truly defeating the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame.
Setting aside the fact that Cai Lin had only momentarily forced herself up to the full power of a late 5-star Dou Saint, even if her true cultivation genuinely stood at that realm, she still could not defeat the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame alone within the Demon Flame Space.
This was his home ground!
Sure enough, only a short while later, a thunderous boom rang out. The sea of fire below suddenly parted from its center outward in every direction, and a circular vacuum opened within it. Inside that vacuum, a man clad in white flame robes, his hair loose and wild about his shoulders, slowly rose into the air.
The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame opened his eyes. A terrifying heat wave surged outward like a shockwave, rippling through the entire space. The blast alone drove many of the onlookers stumbling backward. The sheer pressure of his gaze was already something an ordinary 1-star Dou Saint could not have endured.
'Initial 6-star Dou Saint… so he really can push his strength even further.' Xiao Yan's brows knit tight, and his expression grew heavier still. Fighting an enemy on his own home turf, it would be stranger if the other party had no hidden methods left.
"Good. Very good. In thousands of years, you are the first to wound me this severely." Vicious fury smoldered in the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's eyes. His bloodshot pupils locked onto Cai Lin with a stare so savage it looked ready to devour her whole.
Two sharp streaks cut through the air as Xiao Yan and Zi Yan flashed to Cai Lin's side. Xun Er, Little Fairy Doctor, and Qing Lin stood together atop the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent, closing the ring into a pincer formation.
After that first exchange, the experts from the other Dou God Clans, Hun Mie Sheng included, had already burned through a considerable amount of Dou Qi. They had drained a great deal of the Demon Flame's energy in the process, but it still was not enough. His true trump card had yet to be forced into the open.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, ordinary sealing formations cannot bind the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. But you cultivate that special Qi Method. Perhaps you can try using Heavenly Flames themselves to seal and suppress him." Xun Er's soft voice sounded suddenly in Xiao Yan's mind.
"Hm? That makes sense."
The power of an ordinary Heavenly Flame simply could not draw close to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. Even Xun Er's Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame was no exception. Though it ranked fourth, the gap between it and the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame remained enormous.
But Xiao Yan cultivated the Flame Mantra and had already refined twelve kinds of Heavenly Flames. He possessed the Heaven Seed Flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame as well. Together they were more than enough to form a prison of Heavenly Flame around the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and lock it in place.
He nodded inwardly, then sent a voice transmission to Hun Mie Sheng. "Does your Hun Clan actually have any trump cards left, or not? Don't tell me Hun Tiandi truly believes that relying on just you three, no, just you alone, someone barely close to 5-star Dou Saint, plus a single formation, would be enough to subdue the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame."
Xiao Yan was honestly speechless. Hun Tiandi, you scheming old fox. You promised to throw the full strength of your clan behind me for the sake of subduing the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, and this is what you call full support?!
Only Hun Mie Sheng was pulling any real weight. The other two were clearly there just to make up the numbers and drag everyone else down.
Are you playing me for a fool?!
A trace of hesitation flashed across Hun Mie Sheng's eyes. The pact between the Dou God Clans still carried some binding weight, and if the Hun Clan were the first to break it, there was no guarantee the other clans wouldn't be driven wholesale to the Gu Clan's side. If that happened, even the Hun Clan would not be able to bear the consequences.
The hesitation vanished as quickly as it came. Hun Tiandi's parting instructions surfaced in his mind, and in the next breath his hands folded into a seal. A strange black curtain unfurled before him.
"Old Mo, you've watched the show long enough. Time to move." The Hall Chief conjured the black-light prison as he spoke, yet his low shout was aimed outward, toward the crowd beyond.
The color drained from Yao Wangui's face, and the others beside him stiffened just as sharply. So the Hun Clan really had another expert hidden among them!
The Demon Flame Space blocked even spiritual messages from passing through, let alone the opening of a spatial channel to the outside. That meant this concealed Hun Clan expert had entered alongside them from the very beginning.
"Haah. These old bones can't take much more of this tossing about."
Xiao Yan's expression shifted as well. Surprise flickered across his face, tinged with a wary edge, and he swept his gaze across the battlefield as though bracing himself for whatever powerhouse the Hall Chief might be calling forth.
An aged, weary sigh drifted through the void a moment later.
With his perfected Heavenly State Spiritual Strength, Xiao Yan located the source first. His head snapped around, and his eyes fixed on a cluster of figures not far away. From within it, a grey-clothed old man whose apparent strength reached only the high Half-Saint level shook his head and walked slowly forward, his face full of disappointment. As he emerged, his features began to change. A pair of long black eyebrows unfurled and hung low from his brow, lending him an eerie, unsettling look.
Xiao Yan had swept past this old man during the earlier chaos, but at the time, the latter had been fleeing from Fire Slaves in utter disarray. He hadn't paid the man any heed. Never had he imagined that someone so utterly ordinary in appearance had been concealing himself this deeply.
Deeply enough to slip past even a perfected Heavenly State soul.
There was no denying it. In matters of Spiritual Strength, the Hun Clan stood at the very forefront of the entire Dou Qi Continent.
"Hun Mo, so it really is you?! Does your Hun Clan actually intend to break the agreement?"
Gu Nanhai and the other ancient clan Elders darkened at the sight of the black-browed old man, and a faint trace of wariness surfaced in their eyes.
"The agreement… before the essence of the Demon Flame, it doesn't really count for much."
Hun Mo's words drew frowns from many of the Dou God Clan Elders. Their displeasure was plain.
"Whatever agreements you Dou God Clans have among yourselves, take them outside and argue there. Can we deal with the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame first, or are all of you planning to die here and become Fire Slaves?" Xiao Yan's low shout cut across the rising discontent, and his gaze swept over every Elder present.
Many of the older generation felt a strange twist in their hearts. To say the Xiao Clan counted among the Dou God Clans... the 5-star Dou Saint pact had been made only after the Xiao Clan's destruction, so in truth it had nothing to do with the current Xiao Clan. To say it had nothing to do with him, though... he bore the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark, and he himself claimed to be the Xiao Clan's orthodox heir.
"Heh, heh." Hun Mo coughed lightly. He gave Xiao Yan a sidelong glance and said, "The Xiao Clan's Little Clan Leader speaks reason. If any of you are dissatisfied, you may leave the Demon Flame Space this very moment."
"Xun Er, Little Fairy Doctor, come help me." Xiao Yan called to the two women. Both possessed Heavenly Flames of their own. With his strength alone, even a crippled Purifying Lotus Demon Flame would be impossible to seal.
"Mm."
"Mm."
Two soft rushes of air sounded as their graceful figures shot to his side, one on his left and one on his right. Neither held anything back for his sake.
A low hum filled the air as Xun Er formed her seal. A wisp of golden Heavenly Flame drifted before her, and the Gu Clan's Dou God Bloodline flared into full awakening. The Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame swelled violently in the wind and shaped itself into a brilliant golden fire dragon of dazzling beauty.
Little Fairy Doctor's Woeful Poison Body erupted in the same breath. Her red lips parted, and a torrent of grey poison mist surged into the Ghostly Poison Flame before her, or more precisely, into that Heavenly Flame Poison Pill. In an instant the Thousand-Eyed Night Zhen opened all thousand of its eyes at once, and a terrifying poison power spread outward in waves.
The Ghostly Poison Flame ranked only twentieth, far beneath the fourth-ranked Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame, yet the Thousand-Eyed Night Zhen was no ordinary Ghostly Poison Flame. It was also a truly extraordinary medicinal pill, and after being nurtured for years within Little Fairy Doctor's body by her Woeful Poison Body, the poison strength it now held far surpassed anything the original Ghostly Poison Flame could ever have mustered.
Xiao Yan wasted no more breath. He shut off the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark and set the Flame Mantra circulating. Every Heavenly Flame he had refined, save the Heaven Seed Flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame, flew from his Acceptance Soul in unison. Ten Heavenly Flames drifted around him, orbiting his body like satellites around a sun.
The moment all twelve Heavenly Flames appeared together, even the pupils of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame contracted sharply. The temperature of the entire space surged upward again.
"Ten kinds of Heavenly Flames!!!" Behind her veil, Huo Zhi's beautiful eyes went wide with shock, and she let out a sharp, involuntary cry. Yet no one noticed her lapse in composure. Every heart present was too busy reeling.
"Ten... he has ten all on his own?!" Yao Ling stared at Xiao Yan, her lovely eyes struggling to make sense of what stood before her. This was no longer a question of Spiritual Strength.
Xiao Xuan had once relied on his Emperor State soul and cultivation base to forcibly refine three Heavenly Flames. The Yan Clan Head had drawn on his own cultivation together with the mystic power of the Fire Emperor Profound Canon to refine the Fire Mountain Rock Flame and the Nine Serene Golden Ancestor Flame, and had even merged them.
But ten. Refined, and both merged and separated at will. What kind of concept was that?!
An ordinary person could only manage one. Xiao Yan had already reached ten times that number!
"His Qi Method... even the Fire Emperor Profound Canon passed down through my clan's generations could not merge this many Heavenly Flames."
"No, this isn't only about a Qi Method. To encounter this many Heavenly Flames in the first place, how great must his fortune be? And to dare refine them all... the resolve and courage that demands are rarer still." Huo Yao's brows drew together tightly. Whatever Xiao Yan had become today, luck alone could not explain it.
"Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, you are indeed strong. I only wonder whether you can hold your ground against twelve Heavenly Flames at once."
Xiao Yan's gaze locked onto the white-robed figure within the distant sea of fire. His hands slowly spread apart, and surging flame light roared up around him.
"Sky Sealing Heavenly Flame!"