Chapter 363: No Fire

"I heard Hun Xu Zi taught you Spirit Refining—that's how you broke through to Eight Grade?" Xiao Yan faced Mu Gu without the slightest unease, even though Mu Gu's strength far surpassed his own.

"You should be able to sense it, right? Whose soul force is on this Soul Token? Who activated it? With your Soul Force, it shouldn't be hard to tell." Xiao Yan grinned crookedly—the Soul Token indeed bore Hun Xu Zi's soul force signature.

Whether it was giving him the Soul Token, activating it, or even the character "Yan" inscribed upon it—all were done by Hun Xu Zi. There's no way to fake this.

Mu Gu's back molars ground to dust—he could never forget that soul signature!

Back then, when he struggled desperately at Seventh Rank Peak Alchemy, unable to produce colored Pill Lightning for an Eight Grade Pill, it was Hun Xu Zi who gave him a single piece of guidance in Spirit Refining, allowing him to finally enter the Eight Grade realm. To Mu Gu, Hun Xu Zi was his idol, radiant as sunlight—he could never mistake his soul force.

Seeing Mu Gu's constipated expression, wanting to strangle Xiao Yan but daring not to, Xiao Yan knew the moment had come.

"How about this? You're a Senior Brother of the Soul Hall. Since you want the Pill Gathering Champion, I'll just tell Hun Xu Zi—I won't participate in this year's Pill Gathering." Xiao Yan spoke casually, slowly lifting the Soul Token as if preparing to use its voice-transmission ability, as if genuinely planning to withdraw.

"Stop!" Mu Gu's face changed instantly, shouting urgently.

Xiao Yan halted his motion, sighed, and looked at Mu Gu slowly: "Senior Brother, what exactly do you want? You can't kill me, and you won't let me quit the Pill Gathering—so what's your plan? Why not give me a suggestion?"

At this moment, Xiao Yan was utterly certain: Mu Gu deeply revered Hun Xu Zi. It was perfectly natural—after all, Hun Xu Zi's mastery in Pill Alchemy was extraordinary, and someone like Mu Gu naturally looked up to him.

Xiao Yan's words had made it perfectly clear: "I'm going to snitch on you."

Undeniably, Xiao Yan's current strength couldn't defeat Mu Gu—and he suspected even Tian Huo Zunzhe, even with the use of the Fallen Heart Flame, still couldn't beat Mu Gu.

The Soul Hall was one of the top two organizations on the Dou Qi Continent. Mu Gu was an Eight Grade Alchemist, his Soul Force had reached the Spirit Realm. Even if his Cultivation Method wasn't Heavenly Rank, it was at least Earth-Class High-Level.

His Combat Technique might even be Heavenly Rank. A cultivator with such power was no weakling among Dou Zun.

If Xiao Yixian and Cai Lin had both broken through to Dou Zun, Xiao Yan wouldn't waste words with him—he'd kill him outright.

Would he need to use Hun Xu Zi's name to scare him off?

He'd just attack—kill Mu Gu, and not care whether Hun Xu Zi would blame him.

Because Xiao Yan had full confidence—he would win the Pill Gathering Champion!

And Mu Gu had always lacked confidence—his treachery against Yao Zunzhe was the best proof.

Seeing Mu Gu's hesitation, his face twisted in fury, Xiao Yan knew his bluff had succeeded.

At this moment, beyond the black mist, the battle between the Yan Alliance and the Northwest Alliance had reached a fever pitch.

The Yan Alliance launched a full-scale counterattack—not only its disciples in Jia Ma Sheng Cheng, but also Jia Ma's army, Yun Lan Sect disciples, SnakeTribe members, and elite Xiao Clan warriors—all had been deployed. It was a total, all-out assault.

The Yan Alliance's offensive was unstoppable. Though their Dou Wang and Dou Huang ranks were weaker than those of the Northwest Alliance's sect masters, their top-tier combat power was superior.

Especially Cai Lin and Xiao Yixian—they were slaughtering wildly, with no one able to stop them.

"Damn it! Do you even know who that Venerable is? How dare you oppose him!" She Heaven Phoenix struggled desperately—he had almost no understanding of Space Power. Aside from his Dou Qi reaching Dou Zun, everything else remained at Dou Zong. How could he possibly match Tian Huo Zunzhe?

After a dozen rounds, She Heaven Phoenix was nearly collapsing.

Tian Huo Zunzhe, hearing this, felt a mix of amusement and exasperation, and laughed: "You mean to say that black-robed man is a Soul Hall Venerable, right?"

"Say it—you've offended the Soul Hall, and you'll be punished sooner or later, right?"

!!?

Tian Huo Zunzhe had learned to answer before being asked!

"Y-you knew? Then you..." She Heaven Phoenix was stunned—so you knew all along??

Tian Huo Zunzhe couldn't help but laugh and sigh. If not for Xiao Yan being an Alchemist who joined the Alchemist Guild—and if the Alchemist Guild wasn't the Soul Hall's enemy, preventing him from revealing his identity—he'd have just shouted right now: "Xiao Yan is also a Soul Hall Venerable!" just to scare She Heaven Phoenix.

Clearly, this was an internal Soul Hall conflict—who fought whom didn't matter.

"Hmph! Soul Hall Venerable? I'm not afraid." Tian Huo Zunzhe snorted, then without further words, the space around his body began to violently ripple. Within this disturbance, the surrounding rubble trembled violently, then rapidly disintegrated into countless fine grains of sand.

Seeing Tian Huo Zunzhe's confident demeanor, She Heaven Phoenix's eyes flashed with lethal intent. Tian Huo Zunzhe was indeed a powerful Dou Zun—but only One Star. As long as he held out until Mu Gu finished Xiao Yan, victory would still be theirs!

"Xuan She Xue Ming!!"

She Heaven Phoenix's face flushed crimson, then spat out a jet of blood. Immediately, he formed hand seals, and terrifying Dou Qi surged wildly.

Many Beast Techniques are tied to one's Bloodline—and this technique was clearly She Heaven Phoenix's Bloodline Beast Technique!

After pouring in vast amounts of Dou Qi, the blood coalesced, writhing rapidly, until a colossal blood-red Sea Giant Python, a hundred zhang long, slowly emerged into the Sky.

The blood python's body was enormous, its surface crawling with countless blood veins, its scales radiating crimson light. Especially its inverted-triangle serpent eyes—they looked utterly lifelike, brimming with spirit.

As soon as the blood python appeared, She Heaven Phoenix's face turned pale, and streaks of white hair appeared in his hair—clearly, this technique drained his Bloodline Power to the limit. Its power was unimaginable.

Far away, the Yan Alliance members frowned at the blood python. No wonder the former Mansion Master of the She Tian Mansion had such a strange Beast Technique—but it seemed the cost of activating this Demonic Array was enormous.

Tian Huo Zunzhe hovered in midair, gazing at the blood python, his eyes showing slight surprise. The blood python's aura was formidable—its power was equivalent to a strong Earth-Class High-Level Combat Technique!

"If you withdraw now and leave this matter alone, I believe the Soul Hall Venerable won't harm you," She Tianhao fixed his gaze on Tian Huo Zunzhe, whose robes fluttered without wind, and spoke gravely.

"No, no, no—if I leave now, the Venerable will definitely not spare me," Tian Huo Zunzhe quickly shook his head, thinking inwardly: The Yan Zunzhe is not someone to provoke.

"Hmph! Then you're choosing death!" She Tianhao's eyes flashed with icy light—he refused to believe a One Star Dou Zun like Tian Huo Zunzhe could defeat Mu Gu!!

"Give me your life!"

His finger shot out toward Tian Huo Zunzhe, and with a roar, the colossal blood python let out a deafening cry, its massive maw opening wide. A substance like saliva dripped from its jaws.

Sizzling—sizzling—sizzling! The ground instantly corroded into a deep pit, billowing white smoke. The blood python was incredibly toxic—She Tianhao's true form was Snake Race, inherently venomous!

The terrifying blood python lunged at Tian Huo Zunzhe, aiming to devour and poison him!

Facing the surging blood python, Tian Huo Zunzhe's expression grew grave. He had no Heavenly Flame or other fire source—so he couldn't use his strongest technique, the Five Wheel Fiery Law.

"At the Dou Zun stage, if one can skillfully wield Space Power, it's no weaker than any Combat Technique," Tian Huo Zunzhe murmured.

"Space Shear!"

As Tian Huo Zunzhe softly spoke, the space around them violently rippled. The space surrounding the python twisted rapidly, even forming faint wrinkles.

Crack! The moment the space wrinkles appeared, the space itself split open into a pitch-black fracture—Tian Huo Zunzhe had summoned Space Turbulence!

The terrifying Space Turbulence twisted and severed the python, slicing its body into chunks like cutting sausage!

Then, countless blood fragments were swallowed into the black fissures.

By the time the blood python, forged from She Tianhao's essence, reached Tian Huo Zunzhe, only a massive crimson tongue remained—still gaping wide, but from afar, it looked almost comical.

Tian Huo Zunzhe extended his palm, pressed it against the python's forehead, and flicked his finger. The python exploded into droplets of blood, scattering in all directions.

"You're barely into Dou Zun—don't get too full of yourself," Tian Huo Zunzhe said calmly, one hand behind his back, his gaze distant and inscrutable.

You should know that Heavenly Flame Venerable was a Five Star Dou Zun in his lifetime. Although he has only recovered to One Star Dou Zun now, his experience is absolutely not something a person who has just entered Dou Zun can compare to. Heavenly Flame Venerable already has an extremely profound understanding of Space.

With a puff, the beast technique condensed from his own essence blood was broken, and Snake Heaven Sovereign immediately suffered backlash, fresh blood spraying from his mouth, clearly looking injured.

Snake Heaven Sovereign had been suppressed by Heavenly Flame Venerable from the very start, and now he was seriously injured. His figure slid down from the horizon, his feet stamping on the ground for more than ten steps before he gradually steadied himself.

His face actually became somewhat aged, a pallid color surging over his cheeks. It was obvious that Snake Heaven Sovereign was no match for Heavenly Flame Venerable at all.

"This person's control of Space Power has actually reached such a level!!" Not far away, the Shi Ming Sect Master who had come to watch the battle, Shi Nian, said with a drastically changed expression.

"The mastery of this Space Power is definitely more than a one-star Dou Zun—far stronger than She Heaven Phoenix." Ting Hao of the Thunder Sect nodded in agreement.

Upon hearing that Xiao Yan and Medusa had appeared, the Sect Masters of the Thunder Sect and the Lion Ming Sect, who had not joined the battle, could not resist coming to watch, yet they never expected the situation to be so overwhelmingly one-sided.

"That She Heaven Phoenix is in trouble..."

The moment his voice fell, Heavenly Flame Venerable was seen forming hand seals with both hands. Space instantly condensed, and he cast out a Space Lock to seal Snake Heaven Sovereign, planning to slay Snake Heaven Sovereign right then and thoroughly topple the Northwest Alliance, to avoid trouble later.

Feeling Heavenly Flame Venerable's fierce killing intent, Snake Heaven Sovereign was thoroughly panicked. He had only just broken through to Dou Zun, he still had many ambitions and dreams, he did not want to die just like this.

"Venerable, save me!!" Snake Heaven Sovereign could not care about face or not, and directly shouted for help at the top of his lungs.

However, a response actually came.

"The Venerable has arrived!" A gust of force carrying scorching heat swept down from above She Heaven Phoenix's head, and an enormous black ruler rapidly grew larger before his eyes.

With a dull thud, Xiao Yan gripped the Xuan Zhong Ruler tightly with both hands and brutally whipped it across She Heaven Phoenix's face, sending him flying!

The Venerable has arrived—but it's Venerable Yan.

Seeing Xiao Yan appear safe and sound, Xiao Yixian and the others all heaved a sigh of relief. At some unknown point, the black fog overhead had eerily vanished.

"Is it resolved?" Tian Huo Zunzhe asked.

"Of course." Xiao Yan smiled. How would that Mu Gu dare to make a move against Xiao Yan? Although Xiao Yan was indeed bluffing him—he didn't have Hun Xu Zi's Soul Jade at all, nor could he summon Hun Xu Zi.

But Xiao Yan had been hinting from the very beginning, using the Soul Token as cover to make Mu Gu believe he had truly gained Hun Xu Zi's protection.

In the end, Mu Gu was caught between a rock and a hard place, so naturally he dropped some harsh words, saying he would definitely become the Pill Gathering Champion, and then left—otherwise he would have been reported on by Xiao Yan!

"Impossible! How could you be fine! Where is Venerable Mu Gu!!" She Heaven Phoenix struggled to his feet, his face drastically changing as he looked at Xiao Yan completely unharmed.

He couldn't imagine how Xiao Yan, merely an eight-star Dou Huang, could survive under a three-star Dou Zun! And he looked as if not a single hair had been harmed!

Isn't the Soul Hall specialized in capturing Alchemists! Xiao Yan is an Alchemist, why don't they capture him!

Forget Snake Heaven Sovereign, even those Northwest Alliance Dou Zong and Dou Huang who were fighting all revealed looks of surprise—Xiao Yan had actually survived!

"How is this possible! The Soul Hall Venerable actually let Xiao Yan go???" Qiu Ping rubbed his eyes, as if he had seen something unbelievable.

The Soul Hall Venerable let go of a Seven-Grade Heavenly Flame Alchemist! If this news were spread back, everyone would give Qiu Ping a hard time, thinking he had not woken up and was still dreaming.

And in fact, he also felt like he was dreaming.

"You mean that old man Mu Gu? He said he had soup simmering at home and forgot to turn off the fire, so he went back." Xiao Yan smiled, spread his hands, and casually made up an utterly absurd excuse.

Even Tian Huo Zunzhe couldn't help but give Xiao Yan a look—that excuse of yours is just too ridiculous.

But actually, no matter what Xiao Yan said, everyone found it unbelievable; upon careful thought, this reason actually wasn't entirely unacceptable.

At this moment, the Sect powerhouses watching the battle in the distance all exchanged glances.

"That Dou Zun has left? If that's the case—"

"The Heavenly Snake Mansion is finished."

"Tianhao! Let's go!" Snake Heaven Sovereign did not dare stay in this place any longer—this Xiao Yan was too sinister!

Those two, Mei Du Sha and Xiao Yixian, had almost gone on a killing frenzy. Especially Xiao Yixian—with just a wave of her hand, the Eternal Calamity Poison body erupted and killed a large swath of enemies.

"Don't let them escape!!"

When Snake Heaven Sovereign created a Space Channel, planning to take his son away, Xiao Yan also hurriedly shouted.

Xiao Yan absolutely would not let these two father and son, Snake Heaven Sovereign and She Tianhao, off the hook to cause trouble later. Moreover, the Soul Body of a Dou Zun was extremely valuable!

Without Xiao Yan needing to speak up to remind him, Heavenly Flame Venerable reacted swiftly. His palm aimed remotely at that pitch-black Space Channel, his hand clenched fiercely, and an invisible ripple spread out. The Space Channel was seen beginning to collapse rapidly.

With the Space Channel beginning to collapse, Snake Heaven Sovereign's face also changed drastically. Then a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and gritting his teeth, he decided not to bother with She Tianhao charging over from afar, and planned to leave first!

Seeing that Snake Heaven Sovereign actually did not plan to take She Tianhao with him, Heavenly Flame Venerable also frowned. This old fellow was truly ruthless—even his only son he did not want anymore.

"Father! Save me!!" Seeing he was about to be abandoned, She Tianhao hurriedly shouted.

But how could Snake Heaven Sovereign care about so much? If he did not leave now, once this Space Channel collapsed, escaping would be difficult.

Xiao Yan had not expected Snake Heaven Sovereign to be so heartless. Just as Xiao Yan was planning to try attacking with Abyss to see if he could keep Snake Heaven Sovereign, suddenly a green streak of light shot over from afar!

The moment he was enveloped by that green light, Snake Heaven Sovereign's heart jolted. A faint emerald-green flower actually appeared on his forehead, and a layer of green light veiled his eyes.

In that brief instant, Xiao Yan seized the opportunity. Lightning flickered beneath his feet as Three Thousand Lightning Movement activated, and he formed seals with both his left and right hands simultaneously.

"Open Mountain, Flip Sea!!!" Xiao Yan's hand seals formed, the Burning Art circulated, and with a great shout in his heart, he struck out with both seals, left and right together.

Although Xiao Yan's strength was only Eight-Star Demonic Realm, how could the Heavenly Rank Burning Art be a joke? The terrifying Dou Qi energy combined with the might of an Earth-Class High-Level Combat Technique—the twin seals appeared and slammed heavily onto Snake Heaven Sovereign's chest.

For a battle of this level, a single moment of distraction was fatal.

Puff! After being sent flying by Xiao Yan's Emperor Seal Decision, Heavenly Flame Venerable formed seals again. Powerful Space Power transformed into invisible chains, and in an instant Snake Heaven Sovereign was bound.

With a whoosh of breaking wind, a seven-colored streak of light flashed past. Cai Lin's body erupted with seven-colored light, and a seven-colored snake sword condensed in her hand.

Anger showed in Cai Lin's eyes. Although most of the SnakeTribe's Dragon Clan Subordinate were safe and sound, the empire she had built with her own hands had already been destroyed by the Sky Snake Mansion.

How could this not enrage her, the ruler of the Empire, to the extreme!

"Heavenly Devouring Serpent Killing Sword!"

With a puff, even though Snake Heaven Sovereign hurriedly used Dou Qi to protect himself, Cai Lin's attack was unstoppable—a single sword thrust pierced straight through Snake Heaven Sovereign's heart.

"Ah!!"

Seeing Cai Lin strike, the Black Flame of Swallowing Flame appeared before She Tianhao. Xiao Yan's Spirit Realm Soul Power burst forth from his body, and from the Void Space countless black chains flew out, piercing into the already heavily wounded Snake Heaven Sovereign's body.

"Out!"

With a clatter, a large portion of Snake Heaven Sovereign's Soul Body was violently yanked out by the Hun Chain.

"Damnable!! I will not lose!" Snake Heaven Sovereign struggled frantically, and actually slapped apart several Hun Chains in one palm!

The might of a Battle Venerable is truly terrifying!

"Qing Lin!" Xiao Yan shouted loudly; he had just recognized who that green light belonged to!

Hum! Another streak of green light shot from afar as Qing Lin, standing in Space, opened her Third Eye!

A thin laser shot straight into the Snake Emperor's Spiritual Soul—thud! The Snake Emperor's Soul Body lost focus in its eyes, and with a splash, Xiao Yan sealed it inside his Soul Token!

(End of Chapter)