Chapter 78: A Talking Tier 4 Magical Beast?

"Let's go. Actually, there's no need for us to be so nervous; after all, haven't the successive Sect Leaders of your Misty Cloud Sect all been perfectly fine?" Xiao Yan gave Nalan Yanran a reassuring smile, which was returned with a big eye-roll from her.

"You still have the nerve to say that? If it weren't for all that nonsense you were spouting, why would I be worried?"

"Hey, wait, what are you doing?!" Nalan Yanran suddenly shrieked.

Xiao Yan suddenly bent down, scooped Nalan Yanran up directly by the waist, and immediately after, a pair of enormous purple wings appeared behind his back.

"This is... Dou Qi Transformation Wings? No, is it a flight Dou Technique? You even have something like this?" Nalan Yanran looked at the wings behind Xiao Yan with some surprise.

"That's right, I have plenty more things; you'll slowly find out in the future." Xiao Yan chuckled, then suddenly flapped his wings and flew straight toward a direction to the northeast.

As early as when he entered, Xiao Yan had already sensed the aura of the Yin-Yang Dual Flames, and it wasn't just the Yin-Yang Dual Flames; something else that was attracting Xiao Yan was also in that place.

Although it couldn't compare to the entire Dou Qi Continent, as a complete world, it was extremely vast in both scale and its sun, moon, mountains, and rivers. Xiao Yan carried Nalan Yanran for two full days and nights and still hadn't reached the destination.

It wasn't until the morning of the third day, not long after Xiao Yan took off again, that a strange black-and-white light rose from the distant mountains, and a scorching aura could be faintly felt.

"Xiao Yan, look! We found it!" Nalan Yanran said excitedly, her arms wrapped around Xiao Yan's neck and her body naturally pressed close to his chest.

After two days of being held while flying, the relationship between the two had clearly drawn a step closer.

"Mm, I see it too." Having flown for so long and finally seeing the target of this trip, Xiao Yan was also very happy in his heart, but with his even more powerful soul strength, the moment he arrived here, he faintly sensed that the surroundings seemed somewhat different from the previous areas.

"Be careful, it seems a bit different around here," Xiao Yan said, feeling a bit instinctively vigilant.

"What's wrong?" Sensing the change in Xiao Yan's expression, Nalan Yanran's tone also lowered, and she vigilantly scanned the surroundings, especially the rear, which Xiao Yan couldn't easily notice, focusing on it as a priority.

"It's nothing, just that there's a feeling that here and—"

"Xiao Yan, watch out behind you!" Just as Xiao Yan was halfway through his sentence, Nalan Yanran's shriek suddenly rang out, and following that, a powerful force of thunder surged rapidly toward Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan did not choose to turn around to fight back, but instead rapidly flapped his wings, flying toward the heights at extreme speed, narrowly avoiding this attack.

After avoiding the attack, Xiao Yan hovered in mid-air for a moment and turned his head to look at the creature that had just ambushed him.

It was an extremely slender snake-type Magical Beast, its deep blue-purple scales and ferocious snake head barely visible in the dense forest, staring gloomily at the two people flying above. Its forked tongue flickered constantly, as if it had taken Xiao Yan and his companion as prey.

If Xiao Yan's feeling was correct, this should be a Tier 3 Magical Beast, and with his current strength, dealing with it wouldn't be much of a problem.

However, the most important thing for Xiao Yan right now was to obtain the Heavenly Flame, not to get entangled with a damn snake here. Plus, he didn't know how many more Magical Beasts were here; he couldn't possibly solve every single one of them.

Thus, Xiao Yan ignored the fellow below, and after confirming that the other party could no longer attack him, he held Nalan Yanran and continued to fly toward the direction of the Heavenly Flame.

Along the way, the two encountered many more Magical Beasts that showed hostile intent toward them, but because they were all on the ground, they posed no threat to them.

"It's really strange. We clearly flew for two days and nights before without encountering a single Magical Beast, so why did they suddenly become so numerous once we reached the vicinity of the Heavenly Flame?" Nalan Yanran asked with some curiosity, looking at another scorpion-type Magical Beast that Xiao Yan had shaken off.

"I'm not too sure, but I think it should be related to the pressure you felt when you first entered. Haven't you noticed that I've already removed the Heavenly Flame that was wrapping around you?" Xiao Yan said.

"Oh, it seems that way!" Nalan Yanran only then realized that the Heavenly Flame Xiao Yan had been keeping open to protect her had been dispelled.

"Wait! Hold on, so that cyan-red flame of yours is a Heavenly Flame? Then why are you still looking for a Heavenly Flame?" Nalan Yanran asked with some confusion. Although Xiao Yan hadn't said it yet, Nalan Yanran had guessed what it was when she saw that black-and-white light. Although the Yin-Yang Dual Flames didn't rank high on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, its characteristics were very distinct, and it could basically be recognized at a glance.

"As for that." Hearing this question, Xiao Yan looked at the person in his arms with a somewhat strange smile, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said softly: "Perhaps you'll know in a little while."

"Hmm?" Nalan Yanran felt completely uncomfortable being looked at with such a strange gaze by Xiao Yan, and said with some dissatisfaction: "Hey, what do you mean by that?"

However, Nalan Yanran's question did not receive an answer from Xiao Yan. The two, who had been moving rapidly, suddenly came to an emergency stop in mid-air, and Xiao Yan's expression gradually became serious.

Before the two of them, the raging black-and-white flames were now fully presented before their eyes.

Beneath these towering flames, which were dozens of feet high, a figure that no one could ignore stood between the two and the Yin-Yang Dual Flames.

It was a tiger-type Magical Beast. Although it appeared somewhat small under the towering flames, its body, which was over a dozen feet tall, was still extremely massive. With the conspicuous golden giant horn on its forehead as the center, streaks of golden-yellow lightning circled its body, and sharp, flowing light flickered in its amber pupils as it stared fixedly at Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran in mid-air.

ROAR!!

A low roar issued from its mouth, which was filled with fangs, as if it were warning the two to retreat quickly.

"Yanran, you find a place to hide first. The strength of the Magical Beasts here is limited; they shouldn't dare to emerge before I finish fighting that Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger," Xiao Yan whispered into Nalan Yanran's ear, then slowly descended from the air.

Under the gaze of the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger, Xiao Yan placed Nalan Yanran on a giant tree not far away.

Nalan Yanran also knew that she was no match for that Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger, so she obediently stayed on the tree trunk.

Before leaving, Nalan Yanran grabbed the corner of Xiao Yan's clothes, bit her lip lightly, and whispered: "You must... come back."

Xiao Yan turned his head in some astonishment, smiled warmly, and said softly: "Don't worry, that Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger is only Tier 4; it's not like I haven't dealt with one before!"

Gently prying Nalan Yanran's hand from his sleeve, Xiao Yan left a "don't worry" smile, then turned around, took the Heavy Xuan Ruler, which was as long as a person, from his Storage Ring, shouldered it, and strode toward the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger.

Although Xiao Yan spoke lightly, the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger before him was not comparable to the Magical Beasts he had encountered earlier. It had already reached the peak of a Tier 4 Magical Beast, only a step away from Tier 5. Considering that the combat power of Magical Beasts is generally stronger than humans of the same level, under normal circumstances, one would need at least the cultivation of a Dou Wang to deal with it.

From this perspective, this Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger was definitely the first Dou Wang-level opponent Xiao Yan had faced, and he couldn't borrow the energy of the Heavenly Flame in his seal, otherwise, if he were careless and it caused a mutual repulsion explosion with the Yin-Yang Dual Flames behind it, he would be finished.

Of course, it was by no means only Xiao Yan who felt the pressure; the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger opposite him felt the same.

Although the Xiao Yan opposite it was much lower in realm than itself, the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger still instinctively felt a strong threat from Xiao Yan. If it could, it didn't want to fight to the death with Xiao Yan either.

"Human, leave, here!" A low voice came intermittently from the mouth of the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger, carrying a fishy stench as it reached Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's pupils shrank, and he said with a serious expression: "You can talk!"

"? Me, can, talk, what is, strange, about that." The Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger, which had never been to the outside world, did not know how strange it was for it to be able to talk at its level.

Xiao Yan's expression immediately became grave. Being able to talk meant that the other party's soul far exceeded its original level. Although the other party likely had no means of soul attacks, it could still greatly improve its perception and control of power during the battle!

"I came here for the cluster of flames behind you, but I suppose you won't give it to me, right?" Xiao Yan smiled helplessly.

"No, possible! This world, has a kind of strange, pressure, we only, by relying on, this cluster of flames, can survive, you, cannot take it away!"

After finishing, seemingly feeling that Xiao Yan's determination could not be shaken, the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger no longer had the intention to continue bickering.

With a roar, accompanied by the rumble of thunder, the light on its golden horn flared brilliantly, and the entire Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger transformed into a bolt of lightning, pouncing toward Xiao Yan with unstoppable force!

Facing the attack of the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger, Xiao Yan was also well-prepared. The Dou Qi that had been accumulating in his body for a long time erupted instantly, and the explosive power directly shattered the ground around his feet. A massive amount of cyan-red flames gathered on the Heavy Xuan Ruler, forming a towering fire ruler!

"Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler!"

With a loud shout, the terrifying fire ruler was swung down with force, colliding fiercely with the Golden-Horned Thunder Tiger that had transformed into lightning.

In Nalan Yanran's field of vision, the golden and cyan-red figures collided at an extremely fast speed. The golden lightning and the cyan-red flames entangled and collided with each other, neither willing to submit, both wanting to overwhelm the other. Finally, the continuously expanding energy lost control, becoming a giant pillar of fire and thunder that occupied half of her vision as it surged toward the sky.

And after such a terrifying explosion, those two figures at the center of the collision remained as if nothing had happened, their auras not dropping in the slightest, and they immediately collided once again.