Chapter 386

Xiao Yan's expression was grave; he secretly activated his Dou Qi. The fused Strange Fire Poison Pill, combined with the Soul-Raising Method, could elevate the pill to Eighth Grade—a possibility Xiao Yan had anticipated from the start.

After all, the original Poison Pill method, in both materials and refinement technique, had already reached Seventh Rank Peak Alchemy.

Using Strange Fire as an ingredient was a reckless idea Xiao Yan conceived only after using the Burning Scripture to continuously devour Strange Fires and strengthen himself.

Ordinary Alchemists would consider themselves blessed to obtain even one Strange Fire, revering it like an Ancestor, using it for Spirit Refining—this was outright madness.

What Xiao Yan hadn't expected was that his Strange Fire Poison Pill had perfectly neutralized the Eternal Calamity Poison, yet this had angered Heaven itself.

Facing the Eight-Grade colored Pill Lightning, Xiao Yan had some psychological preparation—but this Forbidden Pill's gray Pill Lightning was troubling.

Although the Pill Sage had not left the Forbidden Pill Formula in Xiao Yan's space ring, ancient texts mentioned that any pill whose refinement harmed Heaven and Earth would summon this gray Pill Lightning.

The power of this gray Pill Lightning would not change; according to Xiao Yan's estimate, the fused Strange Fire Poison Pill after Soul-Raising should normally produce either Four-Colored or Five-Colored Pill Lightning.

The greatest danger of gray Pill Lightning is that it has no limit. This kind of divine punishment, akin to Heavenly Retribution, would not cease until it destroyed both the Alchemist and the pill!

Xiao Yan glanced back at Xiao Yixian, still seated in meditation. The Strange Fire Poison Pill was fully refined, but what would happen next—even Xiao Yan did not know.

"Xiao Yixian looks quite suited in an Alchemist Long Robe." Xiao Yan smiled, recalling how Xiao Yixian's original dream had been to become an Alchemist—though unfortunately, she lacked the Alchemist talent.

BOOM BOOM BOOM! In that instant, the gray storm clouds in the Sky could no longer contain themselves and suddenly struck with a bolt of lightning—this bolt was as thick as a mountain range; if struck, not only would the entire Library Pavilion be obliterated, but even the entire space might be instantly destroyed!

"Eighth-Grade Pill Lightning!"

"A Dou Zun's attack!"

The two old men's faces turned pale—this was Eighth-Grade Pill Lightning, its power equivalent to a normal Dou Zun's strike!

Although both were already Half-Step Dou Zun, the gap between Half-Step Dou Zun and Dou Zun remained immense; even Xiao Yixian's Eternal Calamity Poison Body could not overcome a newly entered Dou Zun like She Tian Huang, clearly demonstrating this.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM!!!

At this moment, the ground of the Inner Court glowed with orderly lines of light; all Elders took their positions at key nodes—even Wu Hao, Hu Jia, Xiao Ning, and Xiao Yu contributed their own strength.

"Thousand-Layer Guardian Array, activate!"

Su Qian, the Grand Elder, shouted loudly, standing at the center of the array. This was the guardian array left behind by the mysterious Dean; when the Fallen Heart Flame erupted, Su Qian and the many Inner Court Elders had joined forces to form this array—otherwise, Xiao Yan and Cai Lin could never have subdued the Fallen Heart Flame.

ZOOM! Countless Dou Qi coalesced into a celestial mirror that appeared above the Library Pavilion; endless radiant light cascaded down, forming an immensely powerful defense to shield Xiao Yan from this Heavenly Tribulation!

Su Qian and the others trusted Xiao Yan—they knew he would never refine a pill that harmed Heaven and Earth!

BOOM! The gray lightning struck the celestial mirror with full force—unexpectedly, the guardian array left by the Dean actually blocked the gray Pill Lightning.

"It blocked it!!"

"No—look quickly!"

CRACK CRACK CRACK! Suddenly, sounds came from the heavens—the guardian array, forged from the combined Dou Qi of all Inner Court elites and personally arranged by the Dean, began visibly petrifying.

In mere moments, the radiant celestial mirror lost all its light and turned into stone—BOOM—the gray Heavenly Thunder instantly shattered the entire Inner Court array.

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly—this gray Heavenly Thunder was even more terrifying than he imagined. Its strength wasn't just in power!

The gray Pill Lightning contained a terrifying deathly force; upon contact, regardless of cultivation level—even if you were a Sage Emperor—your muscles would instantly age, as if you had grown ten years older in an instant.

It would steal your lifespan!

If you resisted with Dou Qi, no matter how powerful, once touched by this dreadful force, it would instantly corrupt—no matter how vast your Dou Qi, it would be devoured until you became a corpse.

After all, refining Forbidden Pills was forbidden—if someone beside you were a Dou Zun, wouldn't they recklessly refine Forbidden Pills?

How could Heaven allow such a thing? Thus, the gray Heavenly Tribulation could not be resisted by strength alone—any force would be stripped away by that grayness, just as the color of the Pill Lightning itself, including human life!

With the array broken, Grand Elder Su Qian bore the brunt of the backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood, sighing: "Alas, Xiao Yan—the rest is up to your fate."

Seeing the power and terror of the gray Heavenly Tribulation, the two old men's eyes hardened with resolve; they stepped forward together, exchanged glances, and slowly extended their withered palms from their sleeves, methodically forming strange hand seals.

As the two old men moved, violent spatial fluctuations erupted around them; as the space rippled, the surrounding area twisted grotesquely, like countless folds, appearing crooked and distorted, bending all sight.

Together, their combined power was no less than a Dou Zun's!

ZOOM! The entire Library Pavilion suddenly erupted in brilliant light, now resembling a luminous pagoda, entirely enveloped in a special radiance.

The Space Lock of the Library Pavilion instantly sealed!

The Library Pavilion was the most important place in Jia Nan Academy—its protection was the strongest!

BOOM! A gray Heavenly Tribulation struck—immediately, the entire Library Pavilion shook violently, blocking the first blow!

After blocking one gray Heavenly Tribulation, the storm clouds seemed enraged; with another thunderous BOOM, lightning unleashed Space Turbulence with overwhelming force, like a raging tidal wave, shattering the entire Space Lock in an instant.

Xiao Yan, standing within the Library Pavilion, exerted slight force, gripping the Xuan Chong Chi—he knew the only way to break this dead end was to destroy the storm clouds above.

The storm clouds contained countless gray deathly forces; any Dou Technique that touched them would instantly petrify, corrupt, and disintegrate into Heaven and Earth Power—impossible to break through.

But Xiao Yan had an opportunity!

All Dou Techniques could not touch the storm clouds—he could! Because he still possessed Strange Fires—and now, eight of them!

The storm clouds' power resembled the Death Flame of Yin-Yang Dual Flame; if Xiao Yan were a Dou Zun now, perhaps Yin-Yang Dual Flame alone could resolve the storm clouds.

But to ascend into the sky, even a slight misstep meant utter annihilation.

"Xiao Yan! The Library Pavilion's protection is about to fail!" At this moment, Old Man Qian's voice echoed in Xiao Yan's mind—the Library Pavilion's crystalline protective membrane had dimmed to near darkness.

"If all else fails, destroy the pill!" Old Man Bai's urgent voice echoed simultaneously.

Having withstood two such terrifying strikes, the Library Pavilion's protection had reached its limit—even the Heavenly Flame Elder would struggle to survive two such blows.

"Thank you, Old Men Qian and Bai, and all the Inner Court Elders—I am deeply grateful." With these words, Xiao Yan formed a hand seal—his shirt's back instantly tore open, revealing a pair of mighty, thunder-shimmering Bone Wings on his back.

With a thought, he activated the Heavenly Flame Three Mystical Transformations; eight colored Strange Fires burst from his body, then instantly returned within, surging violently through his Meridians—a spiritual pressure reaching Dou Zong erupted from Xiao Yan, and the pressure continued to rise.

This was the first time since his battle with Ling Quan that Xiao Yan had used all his Strange Fires to activate the Heavenly Flame Three Mystical Transformations!

The terrifying Strange Fire power tore through Xiao Yan's entire body with searing pain.

This was clearly not enough—he swallowed dozens of Seventh-Grade Pills as if they were candy: Imperial Power Purple Pill, Soul-Returning Pill, Great DragonPower Pill, Master Qi-Replenishing Pill—all pills capable of temporarily boosting his power were swallowed at once, their potent effects flooding his body.

Xiao Yan's dictionary contained no word for "retreat."

Outside, Old Men Qian and Bai's eyes widened in shock—the third gray Heavenly Tribulation struck; within moments, the Library Pavilion's protection, which had withstood Dou Zun attacks, shattered—its Space Lock was shattered into fragments!!

"Flame-Partitioning, Devouring Wave Ruler!"

A thunderous cry rang out from the Library Pavilion—then, a colossal eight-colored ruler of light shot through the sky like lightning; the faint traces of energy leaking from it tore the very space apart.

Flame-Splitting Wave Ruler, though only an Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Technique, is one of the few Dou Techniques Xiao Yan has cultivated to perfection, and it is enhanced with Eight Different Flames!

The Flame-Splitting Wave Ruler, as large as storm clouds in the sky, crashed heavily against the gray lightning before the astonished eyes of the Thousand and Hundred Elders.

Boom!!!

Two terrifying attacks collided with the force of meteorites striking each other!

To the astonishment of the Thousand and Hundred Elders, the vibrant colors of the Different Flames were not stripped away by the gray force!

The power of the Different Flames cannot be taken or erased even by Heavenly Punishment!

For the Different Flames are the strongest forces born of Heaven and Earth!

The two pools of energy expanded rapidly; in the end, the light points grew blindingly bright, and the spatial ripples intensified violently. A terrifying explosion erupted in midair, forming a bizarre energy mass.

One side glowed with the vibrant colors of the Different Flames; the other side held not a single hue—the Lightning Tribulation.

At the very instant both energies annihilated each other, a sharp *puff* pierced the air—Xiao Yan, his Cultivation Realm enhanced, unleashed the Three Thousand Thunderous Steps combined with Bone Wings, his speed now rivaling that of a Dou Zun. He became a blurred shadow and charged recklessly toward the storm clouds above!

"Xiao Yan!!"

"Is that Senior Student Xiao Yan?!"

Seeing Xiao Yan's figure fly out from the shattered Space Lock, many sharp-eyed onlookers cried out in shock!

"What is Senior Student Xiao Yan planning?!"

"He's going to charge into that storm cloud!"

Seeing this, Xiao Yu clenched her hands tightly, her eyes filled with worry: "Xiao Yan, don't you dare get hurt."

"I don't care if you're the true Heaven or just putting on a show—today, this Pill, Xiao Yan will make it succeed!!" Xiao Yan roared. In that instant, his Spiritual Soul fully unleashed, and a terrifying dark Soul Power once again enveloped his entire body!

Xiao Yan transformed once more into Xiu Luo!

"Xiu Luo!"

Unlike last time, this time Xiao Yan's Soul Realm had reached the Spirit Realm!!!

This time, there was no support from the Heavenly Flame Elder's Soul Power—but Xiao Yan's own Soul Power was no longer what it once was!

All of his Spirit Realm Soul Power erupted. The third technique of the Xiu Luo Soul-Cutting Art unfolded, and Xiao Yan's Cultivation Realm surged again like a mad thing! With the triple boost of Elixir, Different Flames, and Soul Power, Xiao Yan's Cultivation Realm skyrocketed to the terrifying realm of Nine-Star Dou Zong!

(End of Chapter)