Chapter 364: The Great Battle Ends

With the chilling scream of She Heaven Phoenix echoing, everyone understood at that moment that the Tian Snake Mansion was finished.

After the Hun Chain pulled She Heaven Phoenix's Soul Body into the Hun Ling, Black Flame immediately enveloped his Corpse, and a series of chewing sounds emerged from within the Black Flame—terribly frightening.

Xiao Yan paid no attention to the others; instead, he looked up at Qing Lin in the sky—without doubt, it was Qing Lin's Qi San Hua Tong that had momentarily seized control of She Heaven Phoenix.

Long-distance Space Channels easily collapse if not maintained, but the Space Channel Xiao Yan constructed using the power of Swallowing Flame had only existed for two days—how could it collapse so easily?

Xiao Yan deliberately left the Space Channel open so Qing Lin could come for support after finishing her business.

"Qing Lin, when did you start learning to arrive right at the last moment?" Xiao Yan smiled warmly. It had truly been a hair's breadth—thankfully Qing Lin arrived just in time; otherwise, that Dou Zong Soul Body might have escaped.

Qing Lin tilted her head, not understanding what Xiao Yan meant, then said seriously: "Young Master Xiao Yan, the Tian Snake Mansion has been secured."

Behind Qing Lin followed three others: besides Lv Man and Bai Ya, there was also the Four-Star Dou Zong old woman, and a large number of Demon Beast auras surrounded them from nearby.

Those Demon Beasts were clearly the Tian Snake Mansion's Demon Beast races loyal to Qing Lin.

As for the Snake Race leaders who did not follow, either they were dead or had been controlled by the Qi San Hua Tong.

For the Snake Race, Qing Lin's Qi San Hua Tong was far more terrifying than the Eternal Calamity Poison.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk—Qi San Hua Tong. A Two-Star Dou Zong can make a Snake Race Dou Zong Soul Body lose its wits. Had it not been for this, She Heaven Phoenix would surely have escaped," Shi Nian stared at Qing Lin with grave eyes, unable to hide his wariness.

"Yes, Qi San Hua Tong is truly the Snake Race's nemesis. The Yan Alliance has now fully controlled all Snake Races in the Northwest Region—no Snake Race dares to challenge the Yan Alliance," Lei Dian glanced at Qing Lin and Mei Du Sha—without doubt, the Snake Races of the Northwest Alliance had been unified.

It is not necessarily wise for the Yan Alliance to openly unite all Snake Races, for the Nine Underworld Earth Serpent Clan—one of the Three Great Demon Beast Clans—would never permit a Qi San Hua Tong to emerge with even Dou Zong power, let alone a Sage Emperor's might.

Some experts understood: Qi San Hua Tong wielded immense authority over the Snake Race, and one of the Three Great Demon Beast Clans was the Snake Race; thus, the Yan Alliance would inevitably attract the attention of the Nine Underworld Earth Serpent Clan.

"Qing Lin, spare me! The Tian Snake Mansion once treated you well!" She Tianhao knew escape was impossible—not only was Qing Lin now a Two-Star Dou Zong with Qi San Hua Tong, which completely suppressed him, but there was also a Dou Zong Heavenly Flame Master present.

They had been utterly defeated in this battle!

When the Heavenly Flame Master was revived and Mu Gu was fooled away by Xiao Yan, the so-called Northwest Alliance was already doomed to collapse and be purged.

In truth, Mu Gu had not done anything wrong—he had guessed Xiao Yan was certainly alive, so he came from Zhong Zhou and deliberately provoked the Tian Snake Mansion into uniting other Sects to crush the Yan Alliance. If Xiao Yan appeared, he would come for revenge, and then Mu Gu could capture him in one sweep.

He never imagined Xiao Yan had ties to Hun Xu Zi—this completely threw Mu Gu into disarray.

At this moment, Qing Lin looked at She Tianhao's pleading face with not a trace of mercy—her eyes were even filled with anger. After emerging from the Space Channel, she had learned that Shimo City had also been destroyed.

That was the place of Qing Lin's memories, her hometown.

"You destroyed Shimo City!" Qing Lin gritted her teeth, her eyes blazing with fury—it was where she had met Xiao Yan, now reduced to ruins!

"No, no, no! It wasn't me—it was the Three Empires acting on their own!" She Tianhao fell to his knees, crawling toward Qing Lin on his knees, sobbing.

She Tianhao knelt directly at Qing Lin's feet; seeing this, many powerful figures who knew She Tianhao couldn't help but shake their heads.

A once-great Emperor had ended up like this.

Suddenly, She Tianhao unleashed his Dou Qi—his Seven-Star Dou Zong speed rivaling lightning—as he seized Qing Lin's slender, snow-white neck and roared: "All of you, get out of my way! Make a path!"

"You're not just pitiful—you're also stupid," Xiao Yan said beside him, shrugging and shaking his head with pity as he glanced at She Tianhao.

The Dou Qi Continent is this cruel—resources, land, and talent are always insufficient; when one Faction rises, another is destined to be toppled from its pedestal.

She Tianhao's inability to accept the shattering of his dream is only natural—no, it's snake-nature.

"Qing Lin, I leave this man to you. His soul body? Forget it—keep him as a bodyguard. Since the Tian Snake Mansion once trained you, I'll spare his life," Xiao Yan said dismissively, then vanished to join the pursuit.

Even Bai Ya and Lv Man sighed deeply—he had once been their Mansion Master.

At this moment, in the eyes of Lv Man and Bai Ya, She Tianhao's eyes had turned entirely emerald green, and the emerald three-petal mark on his forehead grew ever more distinct.

They also felt fear and wariness toward Qi San Hua Tong—She Tianhao hadn't even realized when he'd been ensnared. This was terrifying!

Moreover, a Two-Star Dou Zong had controlled a Seven-Star Dou Zong. Though it only worked on Snake Races, this was already extremely frightening.

No one knew what illusion She Tianhao was seeing, but everyone nearby knew what he saw was nothing like reality.

After She Tianhao gripped Qing Lin's neck and roared for a short while, he slowly released his grip, standing lifelessly behind Qing Lin like a puppet—unconsciously controlled.

The outcome of the battle held no suspense—nowhere in the Northwest Region, nor even on the outskirts of Zhong Zhou, could a Dou Zong be anything other than a dominant force.

The so-called Four Pavilions had only one Dou Zong—and that was enough to dominate the outskirts of Zhong Zhou.

The Heavenly Flame Master had even sealed off a portion of space—escape was impossible.

The fiercest killers were Cai Lin and the SnakeTribe warriors—their homeland had been destroyed, and some of their kin slain. This hatred and rage could only be washed away in blood.

"Too brutal."

"No wonder she's the infamous Medusa Queen."

Nearby, the sect experts watching Mei Du Sha's brutality—killing like a butcher, each sword swing sending heads flying—were drenched in cold sweat, the scent of blood drifting over them.

Yet none of these sect experts noticed that every time Mei Du Sha killed a Dou Zong or Dou Huang, a faint wisp of Black Flame appeared, then silently shot out a Soul Chain to retrieve the soul body untouched by her blade.

Mei Du Sha certainly had the power to destroy both body and Soul Body to prevent escape—but she deliberately did not.

"Queen, spare some surrendered prisoners—later, the SnakeTribe Empire and Jia Ma Empire will need labor to rebuild," Xiao Ding spoke a cruel truth.

Cai Lin glanced at Xiao Ding, thought for a moment, then swept her sleeve and ordered the SnakeTribe warriors: "Cease."

Eventually, under Xiao Ding's urging, the SnakeTribe warriors stopped their slaughter.

After all, all Dou Zong had been killed, many Dou Huang were dead, and only those below Dou Wang remained—no longer a threat.

"Master Xiao Yan, can you brew some Pills to prevent them from rebelling?" Yao Ye, clad in battle armor and riding a warhorse, approached. The Jia Ma Empire was larger than the SnakeTribe Empire and had more destroyed cities—it needed vast labor for reconstruction.

"Don't worry. These people's Cultivation Realms are too weak—I can plant a Shura Soul Seal. If any dare betray, the Shura Soul Seal will annihilate their Soul Body from a thousand li away, leaving no trace," Xiao Yan smiled brightly—truly, the man who possessed Bone Spirit Cold Fire spoke with chilling precision.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, those with secret intentions felt as if doused in ice water—their dreams shattered.

Xiao Yan slowly rose into the air and bowed to the sect experts gathered on the distant mountain range: "Lords of the various sects of the Northwest Region, the show is over—it's time to disperse."

"Once the Yan Alliance returns to order, I will invite you all to gather."

Upon hearing this, even the Sect Masters of Thunder Sect and Shi Ming Sect were shaken—Xiao Yan's words carried hidden meaning, veiled threats!

Xiao Yan made it clear: he would invite them to the Yan Alliance in the future—this was no simple dinner invitation, but a summons regarding the unification of the Northwest Region!

The Tian Snake Mansion affair was a lesson for the Yan Alliance—how could Xiao Yan let such a lesson repeat itself?

With the Heavenly Flame Master present, unifying the Northwest Region was inevitable.

Shi Nian forced a bow and said: "Heh, if Master Xiao Yan invites me, the Shi Ming Sect will surely come."

Glancing at Shi Nian, Lei Dian, Sect Master of Thunder Sect, also smiled apologetically and bowed his hands: "Hehe, my Thunder Sect is the same."

Seeing that the Sect Masters of Thunder Sect and Shi Ming Sect—forces second only to Tian She Mansion—were hinting at their submission, other Sect Masters grew even more explicit, nearly swearing to die for the Yan Alliance.

After all other Sect elites had departed, the sky fell silent; the Yan Alliance members' hearts felt like a rollercoaster—two months ago, everything for the Yan Alliance had been so good, then suddenly, She Tian Huang broke through to Dou Zun and launched a siege against them.

The Snake Tribe Empire was the first to be destroyed; half of the Jia Ma Empire had also fallen. Now Xiao Yan had returned with overwhelming force, bringing a Dou Zun warrior—the Northwest Alliance had been wiped out, and all Snake Race within Tian She Mansion had submitted to Qing Lin!

All of this felt to them like an unbelievable dream.

Xiao Yan looked at the plain littered with corpses and blood, the stench of blood lingering long, and shook his head.

"Let's return—it's our Yan Alliance's victory!" With a sweep of his hand, Xiao Yan declared the end of the largest Sect war ever fought in the Northwest Region.

Instantly, countless Yan Alliance disciples began cheering.

Hearing the cheers, Xiao Ding rubbed his forehead and smiled: "Phew, it's finally over."

"Hehe, but after today, the Yan Alliance is unquestionably the supreme dominant power in the Northwest Region!" Hai Bodong laughed.

After all, even Yun Yun Sect from the Jia Ma Empire, when attending the Northwest Region's Sect Assembly in the past, had been met with scorn—because, in the eyes of those terrifyingly powerful factions, a sect without even a single Dou Zong had no right to sit at the same table as them.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xingtian and Yun Yun nodded with smiles; as one of the original four founding factions of the Yan Alliance, they finally felt vindicated.

Yun Yun gazed at the man in the sky and smiled—Yun Lan Sect's glorious rise and fame throughout the Northwest Region were entirely due to him.

They had never dreamed that one day they would unify the entire Northwest Region, and that he would be one of its founding heroes!

Above the sky, Xiao Yan heard the thunderous cheers and exhaled in relief, turning to Xiao Yixian with a smile: "You've worked hard."

"It's nothing, just a small matter," Xiao Yixian replied with a gentle smile and shook her head.

"Don't worry—once I've settled the Yan Alliance affairs, I'll head straight to Zhong Zhou." Xiao Yan knew Xiao Yixian's Eternal Calamity Poison body had worsened; after all, two months ago she had faced She Tian Huang alone—a Dou Zun.

Xiao Yan estimated the Flame Sealing had originally lasted three years; now it might last no more than one.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Yixian merely smiled faintly, not pressing further—as if she had already accepted her fate.

With the great war finally over, this astonishing news spread like wildfire across the entire Jia Ma Empire and throughout the Northwest Region.

In this great war, the names of Xiao Yan, Mei Du Sha, Xiao Yixian, and Tian Huo Zunzhe once again reached every ear. With two ultra-powerful Nine-Star Dou Zuns and one Dou Zun, the Yan Alliance's prestige had surged to unprecedented heights!

After resting for three days, while the outside world buzzed with celebration, in the imperial council hall of the Jia Ma Empire's Imperial Palace, Xiao Yan, Yao Ye, Yun Yun, Cai Lin, and others gathered to discuss what came next.

"Everyone, though the war has ended, post-war reconstruction is paramount—especially for the Snake Tribe Empire. Many Snake Tribe members are now homeless. Yun Lan Sect's Shan Mai is far too small to accommodate so many."

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan spoke: "Then Cai Lin, stop living in the desert. Open a territory in the nearby Mo Shou Shan Mai and build the Snake Tribe Empire's Shen Cheng. Assign the Eight Tribes to the former Tian She Empire lands—now that the Space Channel is open, you can travel back and forth in half a day."

Cai Lin cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Yan. Though she disliked being ordered around, after three days of deliberation, the Snake Race internally favored this plan. After all, they had lived in the desert only out of necessity—the center of the Northwest Region, where Tian She Empire lay, held many fertile lands suited for their survival.

The Yan Alliance's headquarters would remain in the Jia Ma Empire's Shen Cheng, primarily because the Xiao Clan was there; the Snake Tribe Empire would establish its territory nearby in Mo Shou Shan Mai—four factions side by side was appropriate.

"How will you handle the Three Empires?" Yun Yun asked softly. Over these two months of war, those Three Empires had truly contributed money and manpower—but empires were empires, vastly different from Sects, with too many innocent civilians within.

"Disband all Mu Lan Valley and Luo Yan Sect disciples who did not participate in battle; spare no others. Confiscate all sect assets for Yan Alliance reconstruction. As for Chu Yun Empire, the Poison Sect and Wan Xie Men likewise—do not spare the imperial family's war faction. Unify all Chu Yun Empire's major and minor Sects."

"Make the Three Empires vassal states of the Jia Ma Empire. Treat civilians well. Turn them into agricultural empires producing Medicinal Materials and grain, strengthen the industrial chain, and entrust Miter Guild with commercial operations—it's already a symbol of our Yan Alliance. For cultivation Sects, let Yun Lan Sect establish branch Sects within the Three Empires to gradually replace existing ones, recruiting annually talented disciples with good character."

"As for other Sects in the Northwest Region," Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened, his voice grave: "Those willing to join the Yan Alliance shall abide by the Yan Alliance Covenant. Replace their imperial currencies with Yan Yuan, offer protection, allow Miter Guild to establish outposts in their territories, and let Yun Lan Sect build branch Sects. Those unwilling? Let them be."

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, many present sighed and shook their heads. This wasn't Xiao Yan being kind by granting these Sects free choice.

In truth, it was a slow, cutting blade.

The entire Northwest Region was under Yan Alliance control—even Tian She Mansion. If any Sect refused to join, they'd be surrounded and isolated by Yan Alliance factions.

Especially now that Xiao Yan had introduced Yan Yuan, unifying the currencies of all allied Sects: to buy Yan Alliance goods, you needed Yan Yuan; your own currency was worthless to them. Over time, every Sect would collapse.

Xiao Yan was clearly using overwhelming power to pressure them!

After all, other Sects hadn't wronged you—you couldn't just march in with Tian Huo Zunzhe and slaughter them; that would breed hatred and disaster.

What if someone emerged who said, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west"—wouldn't that be disastrous?

After much discussion, the Yan Alliance leaders reached a preliminary consensus: unifying the Northwest Region couldn't happen overnight—it must proceed gradually.

After finalizing all matters, Xiao Yan flew toward the Soul Palace; Tian Huo Zunzhe followed closely to protect him.

Xiao Yan absolutely could not be harmed—he was now the very soul of the Yan Alliance.

"This is your Soul Palace?" Tian Huo Zunzhe knew a little—Soul Palaces weren't unique; some Zunzhe controlled one or even several.

"Sort of. But I didn't build it." Xiao Yan pushed open the door—Xiao Li was inside the Soul Palace.

Xiao Li had not disappeared—he had been secretly leading Soul Envoys from the Soul Palace to undermine Tian She Mansion.

"Second Brother, how are Father and the others?" Xiao Zhan and some elderly and weak Xiao Clan members had been evacuated to Xiao City in the Black Horn Region before the war—"a clever rabbit has three burrows," and Xiao City was one of them.

"Father and the others are fine. Don't worry."

Hearing Xiao Li's words, Xiao Yan relaxed—the safety of his family had been his purpose in forming the Yan Alliance, and his promise to Ancestor Xiao Xuan.

Arriving at the Altar deep within the Soul Palace, Xiao Yan casually tossed the Soul Token onto it—black mist surged forth, wails echoed, and the Altar frantically absorbed the Spiritual Souls within the token.

"Xiao Yan! You'll die a miserable death!!" She Tian Huang roared.

"Hehe, I don't know if I'll die a miserable death—but you're definitely dead." Xiao Yan remained calm before such curses.

Seeing the number increase on the Soul Token, Xiao Yan was unsatisfied. Though it had reached six digits, She Tian Huang's Spiritual Soul—a Dou Zun—was worth less than YaoAo's!

But that wasn't surprising—a Dou Zun's Spiritual Soul wasn't necessarily more valuable than a Seventh Rank Peak Alchemist's, let alone one from the Yao Clan.

"Master Yao, have you ever heard of the Fuling Green Pill?" Xiao Yan's eyes flickered, turning slowly to ask.

!!!! Tian Huo Zunzhe's gaze sharpened, then he frowned: "You mean—?"

"Interested in joining the Soul Palace?"

【Today, December 14: Daily 10,000-character bonus update completed. From now on, daily updates will be 8,000 characters. Thank you all for your monthly ticket support last month.】

Today, December 14: Daily 10,000-character bonus update completed. From now on, daily updates will be 8,000 characters. Thank you all for your monthly ticket support last month.

(End of Chapter)