Word Count: 2,616 Words
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Clang!
The clash of swords and whistling of blades echoed through the sky as the two Dou Emperors, Mulan Tianhua and Yan Luo Cai, simultaneously launched into battle.
One wielded a sword that seemed to dissolve into nothingness, merging with the wind itself, much like Yun Yun's own wind-attributed sword, creating a symphony of sword winds.
The other swung a massive blade that emitted thunderous roars. Bolts of lightning crackled around him, and peals of thunder accompanied each slash. His blade sliced through the air in an overwhelming and commanding manner as he wrapped himself in a cocoon of lightning.
These two were well-known Dou Emperors in their respective empires. The surge of their combined Dou Qi filled the sky, forcing nearby Dou Kings to keep their distance to avoid being swept away by the residual shockwaves.
However, Yun Yun was no ordinary person. She showed no sign of being rattled even while beset by two Dou Emperors at once. The Cloud Sword in her hand suddenly glowed with dazzling brilliance, sheathed in a swirling wind. Its radiant gleam seemed to illuminate the entire sky.
Standing high above, she appeared to hold not a sword, but the sun and moon themselves!
Whirlwinds swirled madly around her like stars accompanying the moon. The brilliance of the Cloud Sword in her hand outshone even the real sun, rendering it dim as if replaced.
The sword in her grip inspired both awe and dread at this moment!
Countless onlookers below felt their hearts pounding. Everyone knew Yun Yun was the Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect, but they hadn't expected this peerlessly beautiful Sect Leader to possess such formidable strength, exuding an aura capable of sweeping across all directions.
"Ha! Take this slash! Infinite Heaven Blade!"
"Single Word Sword Kill!"
One Dou Emperor attacked from the left, the other from the right, both channeling their Dou Qi in an instant. The techniques they unleashed were both High Xuan Class Dou Techniques. They were merely low-star Dou Emperors, after all. Their sects might possess Di Class Dou Techniques, but cultivating them was no easy feat.
"Wind-Splitting Spiral Dance."
Those words left Yun Yun's lips in a soft whisper as she struck back, making what appeared to be an extremely casual gesture, like a light dance.
Yet this seemingly effortless sword strike caused Mulan Tianhua and Yan Luo Cai's hearts to sink. An intense sense of danger surged within them.
Waves rippled subtly in the space before Yun Yun. A dozen or more giant wind blades, each about ten meters long, materialized from thin air. They interlocked in a spiral, bristling like whirling razors, and tore forward as a unified storm of blades.
A mere Dou King facing these unleashed wind blades would have no choice but to close their eyes and await death. The two Dou Emperors clung fiercely to their survival instincts, biting their tongues to jolt themselves back to clarity. They raced to muster all their Dou Qi, borrowing the energy of the world to shield themselves while using their weapons to parry.
Boom!!
As expected, their combined Dou Techniques were no match for Yun Yun's. Upon collision, their attack shattered like dead wood, and a surge of wind-attributed energy blasted toward them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The two were sent flying backward hundreds of meters. The spiraling wind shredded their clothes, and fresh blood seeped from cuts all over their bodies.
Had they defended a moment too late, they would have been sliced apart rather than merely wounded.
"Power on par with a Di Class technique…"
Their faces grew gloomier by the second. One blow was enough to show that even working together, they might at best fight Yun Yun to a draw, and even that might be wishful thinking.
Yun Yun did not press her advantage. Her real aim was merely to hold them at bay until reinforcements could arrive.
At that moment, a sense of danger emanated from above her. A figure appeared, and as he did, an indescribable aura spread instantly across the land.
The figure was a middle-aged man who, upon stepping forward, immediately backed up Mulan Tianhua and Yan Luo Cai.
Liang Zhongsheng. This middle-aged man was the First Elder of the Poison Sect, a name known throughout the Chu Yun Empire. He had used his poison techniques to suppress multiple Dou Emperors in the previous Great Meeting of Factions, and even peak Dou Emperors were no match for him.
Whether or not one knew him by sight, his presence alone announced his extraordinary might.
"A peak Dou Emperor..." Those within the fortress couldn't help but feel a chill as they murmured to themselves.
Facing three Dou Emperors, one of whom was a peak Dou Emperor, even someone as formidable as Yun Yun couldn't possibly hold them off.
"As expected of the most talented member of the Misty Cloud Sect. If you ever reach peak Dou Emperor, perhaps even I might not be able to do anything to you. But this is where it ends." Liang Zhongsheng's gaze locked onto Yun Yun like a tiger eyeing its prey.
Yun Yun remained silent, but her expression was extremely grave. She knew she couldn't retreat. The fortress would be unable to withstand the assault of three Dou Emperors if she did. Not only would the Snake-People Tribe suffer, but even some of the reinforcements from the Yan Alliance would face heavy casualties.
Black and white sword shadows flickered in an instant, and domineering blade lights slashed down. Just as Yun Yun was about to forcibly parry their combined attack again, a pungent odor wafted from above. Suddenly, a sharp whip of poisonous gas lashed out with a piercing sound, tearing through the air toward her.
The sudden pincer attack caused her expression to change. She gripped her sword in her right hand while her left hand formed a seal. A massive wind-attributed energy handprint shot upward to counter the attack.
Her right hand wielded her sword once more and swept horizontally to deflect the combined assault of the other two.
Bang! Boom!!!
A deafening burst of power echoed across the sky. Under many watching eyes, Yun Yun let out a muffled groan and staggered backward, managing to steady herself only after more than ten paces. She had clearly suffered in that three-versus-one collision.
Knitting her brows, she immediately circulated her Dou Qi and used the Cloud Sword to cut her fingertip, forcing out a thread of poisoned blood.
The Poison Sect's cultivation methods were extremely sinister. Their Dou Techniques were imbued with deadly toxins. A single misstep could result in being poisoned.
"Now we'll see how you can possibly stop us!" Yan Luo Cai exulted, bursting into loud, triumphant laughter.
Yun Yun didn't bother to retort. Dou Qi surged within her like a torrential flood. The natural energy of the world began to fluctuate violently in response to her internal Dou Qi. From the looks of it, she was preparing to fight to the death.
Observing such resolve, the trio paused momentarily before letting out cold laughs of their own. Each mustered all the Dou Qi in their bodies.
Everyone below watched that fierce vortex of swirling energy in the sky, knowing that a terrifying clash at the Dou Emperor level was about to begin!
Thunderous roars echoed across the sky. Flashes of swords and blades illuminated the intensity of the clash above.
"This is bad. Sect Leader Yun can't hold off all three of them!"
Just as Yun Yun was about to be overwhelmed by the trio's combined assault, wisps of black flame suddenly emerged from the space behind her, forming a vortex-like passage. A voice called out from within, "You're not that young anymore; can't you stop being so reckless? Still thinking of taking on three by yourself..."
A large hand suddenly reached out from the black flames, sliding around Yun Yun's slender waist. She gave a startled cry as she was drawn into a firm embrace.
"Xiao Yan!!"
Her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief. She wasn't aware that Xiao Yan had returned to the Jia Ma Empire, as the Yan Alliance's borders were too distant, making news travel difficult.
Xiao Yan gazed softly at the woman before him, memories of those days in the mountain cave surfacing. Just as Hai Bodong had teased him before, when a man felt indebted to a woman, it often led to complications.
Although Yun Yun was well past thirty, her outward appearance was that of someone barely in her twenties. She was graceful and refined, and the moonlit armor she wore accentuated her regal bearing.
Her most captivating feature was her elegant eyebrows; they were like swords, adding a touch of majesty to her noble demeanor. She seemed like a peerless and graceful natural-born empress.
"Three men bullying a woman. How glorious," Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed as a surge of killing intent emanated from him.
He had encountered those who had gone to seek reinforcements on his way here. As a result, he had the Amethyst Winged Lion King accelerate to rush over, even directly using the power of the Nihility Devouring Flame to traverse space, arriving here in a single step from several kilometers away.
"Traversing space?!"
"A 7-star Dou King?!"
A 7-star Dou King capable of traversing space? Are you kidding?! Even their Sect Leaders who were Dou Ancestors couldn't traverse space!
A purple light flickered just as the three were questioning reality. The space beside Xiao Yan rapidly distorted, speckled with points of purple light that grew increasingly brilliant.
Finally, under their incredulous gazes, ten slender fingers pierced through the empty space like something out of a horror movie. It was as if something was about to crawl out from within, chilling to the extreme!
"Open up!" A childish voice called out from the void. Then, Zi Yan directly tore open the empty space with a ripping sound and leaped out!
The large and small Lion Kings followed closely, along with Little Fairy Doctor. Even the Amethyst Winged Lion King showed a look of astonishment. They had traversed space from kilometers away!
"Hah... bringing extra people along is tough." Zi Yan wiped the sweat from her forehead. Even though she was from the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe and had reached Rank 6, equivalent to a Dou Emperor, bringing others through space was still challenging.
Mulan Tianhua and Yan Luo Cai were so shocked their eyes nearly popped out when they saw two more people and two magical beasts emerge from the void.
Heavens!! Are these all Dou Venerates?!
"The Woeful Poison Body… so you're indeed with the Yan Alliance!" Liang Zhongsheng unexpectedly shifted his gaze toward Little Fairy Doctor right away!
It turned out that when the Poison Sect had previously discovered Little Fairy Doctor's Woeful Poison Body, they had clashed with her and the Amethyst Winged Lion King. During their escape, she had killed an elder of the Poison Sect, who had placed a tracking mark on her.
Although the mark had been eradicated by her Woeful Poison Body, it allowed the Poison Sect to deduce that she might have come from the Jia Ma Empire, the current Yan Alliance!
Yun Yun's cheeks flushed when she saw so many people appearing. She gently extricated herself from Xiao Yan's embrace.
Xiao Yan looked toward the middle-aged man in Poison Sect attire. Their coveting of such a rare physique made him extremely disgusted.
This time, he planned to attend the Great Meeting of Factions to see just what kind of faction this so-called Sky Serpent Mansion was. If necessary, he would forcibly bring Qing Lin back!
"Since you're here, you might as well leave something behind."
Before Xiao Yan could even make a move after speaking, the newly advanced Zi Yan took the lead. Her fists surged with purple light as she directly targeted the strongest one there: the First Elder of the Poison Sect!
She had snatched his target!
"Come on! Let me test my strength!" Zi Yan unleashed a spatial heavy punch. Having reached the Dou Emperor realm, her strength was terrifying beyond compare; a single punch caused the entire space to distort.
She actually sent the peak Dou Emperor Liang Zhongsheng flying with a single punch. Her pair of purple Dou Qi wings flapped vigorously as she pursued him relentlessly.
"Hey, Zi Yan, be careful of that guy's poison!" Xiao Yan hadn't even finished his warning before the ever-energetic Zi Yan charged ahead, not caring whether her opponent was from the Poison Sect or elsewhere.
"I'll go with her. Take care of yourself." Little Fairy Doctor nodded gently. When it came to poison, she was certainly no weaker than anyone from the Poison Sect.
If she wished, disregarding Xiao Yan's previous cautions and fully activating her Woeful Poison Body, she could even poison the Sect Leader of the Poison Sect to death.
Xiao Yan felt more at ease with Little Fairy Doctor accompanying Zi Yan. He turned to the Amethyst Winged Lion King and said, "Lion King, please assist on the battlefield below with Little Lion King. Don't hold back!"
The Amethyst Winged Lion King's eyes flashed with fierce light as it heavily nodded. It brought Little Lion King and pounced toward the battlefield below.
Reunited after two years, Xiao Yan and Yun Yun exchanged only a quick smile, then wordlessly charged toward Mulan Tianhua and Yan Luo Cai together.
"Since you're here, you might as well stay." Xiao Yan swung his Heavy Xuan Ruler. A mere low-star Dou Emperor dared to cause trouble on the Yan Alliance's doorstep?!
"You're Xiao Yan of the Yan Alliance!" Yan Luo Cai's heart trembled. Who hadn't heard of the renowned Xiao Yan?
The initiator of the Yan Alliance Treaty, the youngest and most talented alchemist of the alliance!
Even the 'Yan' in 'Yan Alliance' was from his name. This hinted that while the Yan Alliance might only be a defensive coalition without an official leader, almost all factions rallied around him.
"Correct. Flame Splitting Tsunami!"
Since he had guessed right, Xiao Yan 'rewarded' him with a Di Class Dou Technique!
The terrifying Flame Splitting Tsunami surged like a towering inferno. Against such a low-star Dou Emperor, there was no need to use ultimate moves like the Open Mountain Seal.
But for Yan Luo Cai, this was already an utterly lethal attack!
Boom!
An explosive sound echoed. The perfected Di Class Dou Technique, combined with Dou Qi from a Low Tian Class Qi Method, unleashed terrifying power comparable to a peak Dou Emperor's full-force strike, even without using a Heavenly Flame or exerting full strength.
"Pfft!!"
A mouthful of blood spurted out. Yan Luo Cai's entire body was charred black as he plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground and leaving a massive crater. His life or death was uncertain.
Xiao Yan slowly descended. Seeing Yan Luo Cai continuously vomiting blood, he thought he shouldn't let it go to waste. The Heavy Xuan Ruler ruthlessly smashed down, then he used the Soul Command Token to collect the soul body.
'Two more to go; can't let them go to waste. I'm running low on soul points.' In order to obtain Gu He's Body Transformation Pill, he had exchanged for a High Xuan Class Soul Training Method and purchased medicinal ingredients for refining a Little Soul Black Purple Pill.
All of this had strained his already tight finances.
Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength instantly locked onto the remaining Dou Kings on the battlefield and the two remaining Dou Emperors in the sky. He couldn't help but lick his lips.
Whether he could become a Tianzun would depend on how much the three great empires could contribute.