"Zhou Yi is here! Come out and face your death!"
A cold and piercing voice resounded through the heavens, echoing in everyone's ears.
Inside the Soul Hall, Feng Qing'er, who had just been captured, felt a surge of emotion upon hearing the voice. She hadn't expected Zhou Yi to risk his life and come alone to rescue her.
After all, they had only met once, and she had yet to be formally married to him.
"Insolent brat! Know your place!"
A raspy, grating voice, like metal scraping against steel, emerged from within a swirling black mist. In front of Zhou Yi, several figures materialized, their auras cold and terrifying.
Leading them was a gaunt elder clad in black robes. His eyes emitted an eerie crimson glow, and his presence exuded the might of a Seven-Star Dou Saint.
This was a high-level Dou Saint, a figure of considerable importance even within the Soul Clan.
He was one of the Soul Clan's elders and, apart from Void Devouring Flame, the strongest among those sent to deal with Zhou Yi.
Behind him stood three others.
Two of them were Hun You, a late-stage Six-Star Dou Saint who had previously abducted Feng Qing'er, and Soul Demon Elder, a Five-Star Dou Saint.
The last figure was an aged man leaning on a cane.
His frame was skeletal, his gray robes tattered, and his withered face bore an unsettling, perpetual smile.
His eyes, unlike those of ordinary elders, were not cloudy but gleamed with a strange luster. Under his gaze, one would feel a faint stabbing pain deep in the soul.
This was another Six-Star Dou Saint known as Hun Qianmo.
"Gun Gun, go!"
Zhou Yi patted Gun Gun's head. At his command, Gun Gun charged forward.
Rising on its hind legs, it roared skyward, pounding its chest with its paws. In an instant, its body expanded tenfold, transforming into a monstrous beast of terrifying power.
Its overwhelming presence swept across the battlefield, making the Soul Clan elder, Hun Qianmo, Hun You, and Soul Demon Elder furrow their brows.
"What a beast!"
Soul Demon Elder struck first but was instantly swatted away by Gun Gun's massive paw. His body crackled with explosive sounds as countless bones shattered upon impact.
"This beast is too fierce! Attack together!"
The Seven-Star Dou Saint elder roared, leading Hun You and Hun Qianmo in a combined assault against Gun Gun.
Yet even three against one, Gun Gun overpowered them with ease, striking them down effortlessly.
"Unbelievable!"
"What kind of magical beast is that?!"
Strong Dou Saints from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, including Huang Tian and Phoenix, arrived at the scene. Witnessing Gun Gun dominating three Dou Saints—one of whom was a Seven-Star Dou Saint—they were utterly stunned.
This power was simply too overwhelming.
And if Zhou Yi's mount was this formidable, how strong must he be?
"Since when did such a powerful magical beast appear on the Dou Qi Continent? And Zhou Yi…"
The destruction of the Soul Hall and the upheaval within the Soul Clan had not gone unnoticed by the Ancient Clan. Gu Yuan, the clan leader, had also learned that his daughter, Gu Xun'er, seemed to have taken an interest in Zhou Yi.
The Ancient Clan maintained intelligence networks across the Dou Qi Continent.
Upon learning that Feng Qing'er had been abducted by the Soul Clan, Gu Yuan had come to observe the conflict between the Soul Clan and Zhou Yi.
To his astonishment, before Zhou Yi even acted, his mount alone had already defeated a Seven-Star Dou Saint elder along with Hun You and Hun Qianmo.
"Zhou Yi is indeed talented, both in strength and appearance. He would be a fitting match for Xun'er… but he's too much of a womanizer," Gu Yuan thought to himself.
Zhou Yi already had over a dozen wives and continued to marry more.
Though it was normal for powerful figures to have multiple wives, Gu Xun'er was his daughter—the future leader of the Ancient Clan.
Suddenly, Gu Yuan's gaze sharpened, for Zhou Yi had finally made his move.
A crimson ribbon shot forth.
In that instant, Gu Yuan felt a rare sense of unease.
"That red ribbon… it seems extraordinary."
Fixing his eyes on it, he saw the ribbon streak through the air, wrapping around the captive Feng Qing'er within the Soul Hall. In the blink of an eye, it pulled her back to Zhou Yi's side.
Zhou Yi extended his arms, catching Feng Qing'er's slender waist. Her cold, aloof expression instantly softened, a rosy hue spreading across her cheeks. She gazed at Zhou Yi's impossibly handsome face, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
A hero rescuing a beauty—though cliché, it never failed to charm.
Yet Zhou Yi paid her no heed, his expression slightly furrowed as he lifted his head.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, boundless black flames seeped from the void, spreading like an all-encompassing tide, engulfing the entire sky.
Darkness fell.
The black flames blanketed the heavens, shrouding the land in an eerie twilight.
Within this sea of black fire, Huang Tian, Phoenix, and the others abruptly felt their Dou Qi begin to drain away.
It was as if an invisible force was relentlessly devouring their energy.
This realization sent a wave of terror through them.
"Void Devouring Flame! Since you're here, show yourself!"
Zhou Yi's cold voice echoed through the darkness. From his perspective, tiny black specks, barely visible to the naked eye, floated throughout the air.
Like parasitic worms, these specks attached themselves to living beings, continuously consuming their Dou Qi.
Even using Dou Qi as a protective barrier proved futile—the black specks simply melted into it and continued their relentless assault.
The crimson ribbon surrounding Zhou Yi and Feng Qing'er emitted a faint glow, shielding them. Even Void Devouring Flame's power could not breach its protection.
Thus, Feng Qing'er remained unaffected.
"Void Devouring Flame?!"
The gathered experts gasped in shock.
Among the top-ranked Heavenly Flames, Void Devouring Flame was ranked second—an entity of terrifying legend.
It was said to be born from the void itself, intangible and impossible to grasp. Known as the Devourer of All, it possessed the ability to consume everything in existence. Only a handful of beings in the world could resist its power.
No one had expected Void Devouring Flame to be here.
And it seemed to have strong ties with the Soul Clan.
"Void Devouring Flame…"
Gu Yuan's expression grew grave. The Ancient Clan wielded the fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, but even he had only heard of Void Devouring Flame's legend.
He had never expected to witness it in the hands of the Soul Clan.
"With Lord Nihility taking action, brat, you're as good as dead!"
Hun Qianmo sneered coldly as he fixed his gaze on Zhou Yi.
The moment his words fell, the vast expanse of black flames in the sky began to writhe and pulse.
The dark fire slithered upward, gradually coalescing into a human form. Under the watchful eyes of countless onlookers, the figure fully emerged.
Wreathed in black flames, the entity's entire body was covered in eerie, inky-black runes. His eyes—deep and unfathomable like twin black holes—radiated an overwhelming power of devouring.
He stood atop the dark fire, his features obscured by the flickering flames.
Yet, with his arrival, an ancient and unsettling aura unfurled across the heavens and earth, filling the world with an oppressive presence.
"Wooo—"
The moment the black-flame figure appeared, the sea of Void Devouring Flames let out a strange, reverent wail, as though welcoming their true master.
"So this is the Void Devouring Flame, ranked second on the Heavenly Flame Rankings?"
Huang Tian, Fenghuang, Kunhuang, Yinghuang, and other powerful figures—along with the Fire Cloud Ancestor of the Burning Flame Valley, the Pill Tower Ancestor, and even Gu Yuan himself—fixed their gazes upon the Nihility Devouring Flame, curiosity gleaming in their eyes.
It was too mysterious.
Even Gu Yuan, a Nine-Star Dou Saint and the patriarch of the ancient Gu Clan, had never seen it before.
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