Within the blazing curtain of the Five Ring Flame Expelling Formation, Protector Jiu's aura surged violently.
After devouring Yun Shan's soul — a soul belonging to a Dou Zong powerhouse — the black mist swirling around him expanded in a frenzied storm.
The eerie, corrosive miasma churned and boiled, forcing back the boundless five-colored flames inch by inch.
A Dou Zong's soul was no trivial thing. Even for Protector Jiu, who had long tread the path of devouring souls, such nourishment was rare. Only after being pushed to his limit had he resorted to this desperate, savage method.
Beneath his black cloak, the crimson glow in Protector Jiu's eyes pulsed with madness. His gaze swept across the three figures outside the formation — Liu Xi, Yao Tianhuo, and Yun Yun.
"Mine… all mine! Your souls — I'll take them all!"
Forming a seal, the black mist around him surged together, writhing as if alive. It condensed into a pitch-black claw nearly eight zhang long — an abyssal ghostly hand without a trace of light. Just looking upon it could make one's soul tremble and blur, as though it could swallow consciousness itself.
"Soul-Eroding Demon Hand!"
Protector Jiu roared with manic glee. The monstrous black claw shot upward like a meteor, tearing through the flames.
The five-colored sea of fire was ripped open, forming a dark corridor that distorted the very space it passed. A jagged black scar stretched across the tunnel — a mark of pure corruption.
Boom!
The massive claw slammed into the fiery curtain with earth-shaking force. The impact sent violent tremors through both the blazing barrier and Yao Tianhuo's spectral form.
"Little friend," Yao Tianhuo's voice grew strained, "it's not that I'm losing my edge — this man has used a vile, forbidden method to boost his power. My formation… may not hold him much longer."
Liu Xi's expression darkened. He wasn't surprised. After all, the Five Ring Flame Expelling Formation was built from five kinds of beast flames — all only 5th or 6th Rank, with not a single Heavenly Flame among them.
"There's no helping it," Liu Xi said grimly. "Elder Yao, weaken his strength as much as you can before the formation collapses. The rest will be up to me and Sect Master Yun."
He turned toward Yun Yun, his voice calm but heavy. "Sect Master Yun, we each unleash our strongest Dou Techniques next. We'll only have one chance. Once he breaks free, we won't get another opening."
Yun Yun nodded solemnly. She understood that without Liu Xi's support, her odds of killing Protector Jiu alone were almost nonexistent.
Gripping her snow-white sword tightly, her heartbeat quickened. She could feel it pounding wildly, her nerves drawn taut like a bowstring.
Liu Xi's cyan Dou Qi wings unfurled, and he and Yun Yun flew to opposite sides of the blazing formation. Together with Yao Tianhuo, they formed a three-point encirclement around the trapped Protector Jiu.
Drawing the azure flame back into his body, Liu Xi exhaled slowly. Wisps of invisible fire flowed out from his skin, and his aura began to soar — soon reaching a level no weaker than a peak Dou Huang.
His slender fingers danced before him, forming increasingly intricate seals. The air around him warped as terrifying energy converged into a brilliant, pulsating sigil.
On the other side, Yun Yun sensed his power spike and couldn't hide her astonishment. She had borrowed the full might of the Cloud Mist Sun-Shrouding Formation to reach peak Dou Huang strength… but Liu Xi — how was he doing this alone?
Yet there was no time to think. She raised her sword, the edge gleaming with pure white light. Wind howled and gathered around her, feeding into her blade until its radiance shone like a second sun.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Under the relentless pounding of Protector Jiu's ghostly hand, cracks spiderwebbed across the fiery barrier — each fissure glowing like molten veins in glass.
Yao Tianhuo's eyes glinted sharply. He could feel the formation reaching its limit. With a final roar, he pressed his palms together. "Five Ring Flame Expelling Formation — detonate!"
In that instant, the boundless flames converged inward. The fiery curtain blazed with dazzling light before collapsing upon itself. The complex sigils of the formation folded inward and—
Boom!
A deafening explosion tore through the sky. Flames bloomed outward like a field of exploding stars, waves of heat distorting the very heavens. The shockwave rippled through the clouds as a pained, guttural roar echoed from the heart of the blast.
Through the firestorm, a ragged shadow emerged — Protector Jiu. His robes were shredded, the black armor beneath him cracked and dim, and the mist around him had thinned to mere wisps.
"Radiant Seal!"
Liu Xi thrust his palms forward. The glowing sigil before him burst into a wave of rippling energy, cutting through the smoke like divine light as it shot toward the weakened Protector Jiu.
"Wind's Peak—Dazzling Sunset!"
Yun Yun's sword flashed, unleashing a razor-thin line of light that streaked through the sky, sharper than death itself.
Protector Jiu's pupils shrank. At his peak, such attacks would have been laughable. But now, the power he'd stolen from Yun Shan's soul was gone, and the backlash of his devouring method was corroding him from within.
He could feel it — if these strikes landed, he would die.
"Spirit Soul Dissolution!"
He formed a frantic hand seal, his teeth clenched.
Instantly, his aura surged once more. The black mist erupted from his body, thick and overwhelming. Above his head, the fog condensed into a massive black shield.
In the next heartbeat—
Boom!
Liu Xi's Radiant Seal and Yun Yun's sword-light struck the shield simultaneously.
The already-chaotic space imploded into pure madness. Violent shockwaves ripped the air apart, tearing black rifts through the sky. The world twisted, wrapped in a hurricane of light and shadow.
Even Yao Tianhuo, Liu Xi, and Yun Yun were forced back, shielding themselves from the blast.
Down below, the Yunlan Sect disciples could no longer stand. Only a few Dou Wang elders barely held their ground. The rest — elders, deacons, disciples — were pressed flat by the sheer force of the energy storm, trembling as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.
Even the Dou Wang elders looked pale with fear. A single stray current from the clash above could have erased them in an instant.
The violent shockwaves spread outward, distorting heaven and earth. Within several dozen li around Yunlan Mountain, the very flow of energy had become chaotic.
As the storm subsided, Yao Tianhuo's spectral body flickered weakly. He drifted toward Liu Xi and dissolved into a streak of light that returned to the ring.
"Little friend," his tired voice echoed faintly, "not even I would dare touch that energy storm. That man's done for… I'm going to rest awhile. I'm exhausted…"
Yun Yun, her strength from the formation fading, gazed fixedly toward the center of the blast. Her voice trembled softly.
"Teacher… I've avenged you."
(End of Chapter)
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