Chapter 438: Ancient Dragon Bear (Daily 10k)

Zi Yan, hidden within the black robe, gathered purple light in her fist, and suddenly unleashed a terrifying spatial force.

The two Xuan Ming Sect Elders had no time to react—how could they have imagined that an Eight Star Dou Zong could traverse space!! This was utterly impossible!

Thud! Thud! The two Xuan Ming Sect Elders were blasted away by Zi Yan's punch, crashing hard against the mountain slope.

Zi Yan's current strength was Eight Star Dou Zong; though her opponents were one Eight Star and one Nine Star, she remained unfazed.

"Hehehe, you two old bastards won't be meddling in Xiao Yan's affairs." Zi Yan chuckled, her eyes narrowing—suddenly, her body erupted in a burst of purple light.

That purple light was beautiful and noble, and within it flickered faint golden radiance; in the instant she unleashed her bloodline power, the space trembled twice.

In that instant, the two Xuan Ming Sect Elders turned pale, their skin prickled with goosebumps, every hair on their bodies stood on end—they felt a crushing pressure, as if facing an absolute monstrous horror!

Instantly, they spared no effort, unleashing their strongest forms—endless crimson bloodlight surged upward, their Dou Qi spiraled wildly.

The next instant, Zi Yan bent her legs slightly, then stomped down hard, charging forward at an unimaginable speed—her velocity was peerless; her physical strength, even compared to Xiao Yan's, surpassed that of ordinary Half-Step Dou Zun, even Seven Rank Peak beasts.

"Xuan Ming Palm!" The two Xuan Ming Sect Elders were startled—should they fight alone, death was certain; they joined forces and slammed out a dual palm strike.

Zi Yan's fists burst forth like dragons emerging from mountains, utterly unafraid of their Earth-Class Dou Technique—she met it head-on with her bare flesh!

Boom! The two sides collided—when Zi Yan's fists met their palms, the impact was like a meteor striking earth, producing a blinding flash of light that illuminated vast stretches of sky and land.

Crack! At that moment, the space of the Dan Realm shattered like glass—the entire void fractured, revealing terrifying black holes and space turbulence.

Seeing the shattered void, all understood: their single strike had been astonishingly terrifying.

Xiao Yan smiled at Chen Xian, grinning: "Looks like your backup isn't reliable after all."

"You!! That's a beast?! How can a beast be an Alchemist?! What did you do!?" Chen Xian was stunned—where had this Eight Star Dou Zong come from?! And this Dou Zong's strength was nearly Half-Step Dou Zun!

Beasts, due to their inherently weak Soul Force, rarely become Alchemists. Chen Xian could never have imagined that Xiao Yan was cheating!

He could never have imagined either that beneath the black robe was a Grand Void Ancient Dragon.

"Die!" Chen Xian narrowed his eyes, seizing Xiao Yan's momentary distraction—he flashed forward, his right hand condensing a crimson ray, slashing a hand-blade toward Xiao Yan.

Hiss! The hand-blade struck—but no blood sprayed as expected; the crimson ray sliced across the ground behind Xiao Yan, carving a deep trench, while Xiao Yan's silhouette slowly faded away.

"Sigh, utterly foolish. Even now you still can't see the gap between us. But fine—even if you begged on your knees, I wouldn't spare you." Xiao Yan's voice echoed like demonic chant from all directions around Chen Xian.

Chen Xian was utterly unable to locate Xiao Yan—he scanned every side but saw no trace of him.

"Show yourself! Have the guts to stop hiding!" Chen Xian realized—even his Seven Rank Intermediate Alchemist's Spiritual Soul couldn't sense Xiao Yan's presence!

Suddenly! The sun vanished—the world plunged into darkness; the surrounding Shan Mai seemed drenched in ink, swallowed by blackness.

"What is this!!"

Chen Xian was completely engulfed in darkness, as if fallen into the Shen Yuan.

Whoosh! Several black Hun Chains shot from the dark, instantly binding Chen Xian's limbs and hoisting him into the air.

No matter how he struggled, he could not break free from the Hun Chains' power.

"This isn't real! It's a Spiritual Soul illusion!" Chen Xian, no fool as a Seven Rank Alchemist, quickly realized he was trapped in a Spiritual Soul illusion—Xiao Yan knew such an advanced Spiritual Soul illusion!

"You're right. You passed Dan Tower's Spiritual Soul illusion quickly—if you can escape mine, I'll let you go." Xiao Yan's voice came from the Sky, followed by a whooshing sound.

Slowly, a monstrous demon-ghost emerged, its entire body bound in Hun Chains, dragging them across the ground, its face twisted in fury.

Seeing the suspended Chen Xian, the demon bared its fangs, licked its lips with a long tongue, and stared at its prey with blood-red eyes.

"Be careful—it loves to flay, peeling off pieces of the soul one by one to eat."

Shh! The demon swung its hand—the Black Sword sliced off a sliver of Chen Xian's SpiritFlesh.

"Aaaah!!" The pain made Chen Xian scream and cry: "What is this!! What are you doing!!"

"It's a Soul Technique," Xiao Yan replied.

"Soul Technique?! Dan Tower could never have such an evil Soul Technique!!" Chen Xian gasped.

"Hehehe, Dan Tower doesn't have it—because this comes from the Soul Hall." A sinister laugh entered Chen Xian's ears—he finally understood why Mu Gu hadn't attacked Xiao Yan!

Because Xiao Yan was also a Soul Hall Alchemist!!!

Of course, he would never reveal this secret in his lifetime—he no longer had a lifetime.

Outside, Chen Xian had just slashed at Xiao Yan's Three Thousand Thunder Illusion Body, then collapsed, eyes vacant.

Xiao Yan pondered a moment, then decided to leave Chen Xian as food for the demon-ghost beneath Shen Yuan—sending him to the Soul Token would be far too merciful!

He had tried to kill Xiao Yan twice—Xiao Yan was utterly enraged.

Not long after, the two Xuan Ming Sect Elders were also killed—even the Nine Star Dou Zong couldn't escape, for Xing Tian stood nearby, preventing any flight.

"Whoa, this guy's ugly as sin, yet his storage ring holds so many Advanced Medicinal Materials!" Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, a gleam of delight flashing.

Who could have imagined? Chen Xian's storage ring didn't just contain several Seven Rank Medicinal Ingredients—it even held two Eight-Pill Medicinal Herbs, likely gathered by other Xuan Ming Sect Elders and given to him.

In addition, there were several scrolls of Seven-Grade Pill Formulas and three sets of ingredients for the Fu Zong Pill—Xiao Yan guessed Chen Xian intended to refine the Fu Zong Pill in the third trial.

Zi Yan wiped sweat from her brow—this time she'd truly enjoyed herself, drenched in sweat, her mood greatly lifted.

"Want to rest a bit?" Xiao Yan asked.

"No! Let's dig more—you make me more sugar pills." Zi Yan showed her cute tiger teeth and dimples, beaming with happiness.

What could she do? In her past days at Jia Nan Academy, she'd lived in hardship and poverty—now that she had a chance, she'd grab every bit she could!

Seeing Zi Yan's expression, Xiao Yan smiled, pulled out his Alchemy Furnace, selected a few Seven Rank Medicinal Ingredients, and refined them into sugar pills for her.

"Eat up, don't starve—we've still got a lot to do."

"Hehe, now that's more like it."

In the following days, Xiao Yan and Zi Yan, like bandits, hunted every corner, digging up countless Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures—not only Eight-Pill Medicinal Herbs, but even a few Nine-Pill ones.

But these were all Medicinal Materials, not Heavenly Treasures like Earth Core Jade Mother that could be used directly—so for Xiao Yan, the greatest fortune remained the Earth Core Jade Mother and Heavenly Soul he'd found on the first day.

Along the way, Xiao Yan encountered Dan Chen—the little girl—but since he and Zi Yan were busy doing something illicit, they didn't speak much—only asked what Medicinal Materials she needed, gathered them for her, then left.

Dan Chen naturally became the first Alchemist to complete her task and exit the Dan Realm.

"Damn it! Don't let me find out who those two are—once I'm out, I'll sell everything I own to hire a powerful expert to settle this score!"

"Count me in! Damn it! I finally found two items on the list, and those two black-robed bandits stole them all! Those two black-robed thieves are hateful!"

For a time, the entire Dan Realm was filled with complaints; over sixty percent of the Alchemists fell victim to Xiao Yan and Zi Yan's raids. Some lucky ones escaped unscathed because they hadn't yet found good Medicinal Materials when first attacked. But others were struck repeatedly.

The unluckiest Alchemist was robbed five times in a row by Xiao Yan and Zi Yan! Every time he found something valuable, the two would appear precisely on time—more punctual than students going to school!

At this moment, all the Alchemists gathered here were grinding their teeth in fury.

Seeing the Alchemists grinding their teeth, desperate to tear them apart, Cao Ying and Song Qing beside her were utterly baffled.

"Did they run into bandits?" Song Qing asked, puzzled, for they themselves were among the lucky ones who had not encountered Xiao Yan and Zi Yan, the black-robed bandit duo.

"Forget about this—focus on the task. We don't have many days left." Cao Ying's expression had grown serious; she had originally planned to search for Medicinal Materials alone.

But after searching the Wanyao Shan Mai for several days without gathering all the needed materials, she eventually realized that most of the precious Medicinal Materials in the mountain range had been seized and moved to the lair of its master.

So Cao Ying had no choice but to recruit Song Qing to organize a punitive expedition.

Her beautiful eyes swept over the dozens before her, and Cao Ying's delicate brows furrowed slightly—she had not seen Xiao Yan.

"Has he already passed the trial?" For some reason, Cao Ying felt a pang of disappointment and resentment.

Seeing the faint sadness and disappointment on the beauty beside him, Song Qing patted her chest, her expression resolute, and comforted: "Sister Cao Ying, don't worry—I've checked. The mountain master's strength is at most Half-step Dou Zun. And Fierce Beasts' Soul Force is inherently weak. If you and I simultaneously use Soul Dou Techniques to restrain him, I'm certain the other Alchemists can join forces and defeat the Beast Master."

Cao Ying lazily glanced at Song Qing, instantly masking all emotion within, and smiled with seductive charm: "Elder Song is truly reliable. I'll await your good news."

Hearing Cao Ying say he was reliable, Song Qing's blood surged, she took a deep breath, and even felt dizzy—she didn't just imagine the child's name, she fantasized about being buried alongside Cao Ying.

Watching Song Qing stride confidently into the crowd, making endless assurances, Cao Ying's smile vanished quickly.

Dressed in a black gown that made her appear especially alluring, Cao Ying toyed with a strand of black hair, her languid expression showing no interest in Song Qing's words at all.

If Xiao Yan were here, he would surely pity Song Qing. It was just like in an animated cartoon—white cat toying with Tom, completely manipulated at her fingertips.

But Xiao Yan was not here now, for he and Zi Yan had already entered the deepest part of the Wanyao Shan Mai.

Over the past few days, Xiao Yan had traversed the other two treasure sites, using Zi Yan's extraordinary treasure-hunting ability to dig up many treasures.

The Wanyao Shan Mai was the final treasure site.

It wasn't that Xiao Yan hadn't wanted to come earlier to complete the Pill Gathering task—it was because Zi Yan had told him the Wanyao Shan Mai was strange: one place had an unusually dense concentration of energy, with an extraordinary number of Medicinal Materials gathered together.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan immediately understood: the Medicinal Materials of the entire Wanyao Shan Mai had been collected in one place.

Each of the three treasure sites had a master, but none could fully control the entire site, because each still contained numerous Seventh-Stage Beasts. Even if you were Half-step Eight Rank, you were still within the Seventh-Stage range—you couldn't possibly defeat all the beasts.

If someone had gathered all the Medicinal Materials of the entire treasure site, there was only one conclusion: the master of the Wanyao Shan Mai had broken through to Eight Rank!

An Eight Rank Beast! Wasn't that the Smoke Snake Sovereign! The Smoke Snake Sovereign was merely an Eight Rank Beast! He was a terrifying powerhouse equivalent to a Three Star Dou Zun.

If the Wanyao Shan Mai's master were only a One Star Dou Zun, Xiao Yan and Zi Yan together could likely defeat him. A Two Star Dou Zun would be a hard fight; a Three Star Dou Zun? Xiao Yan would have to find another way.

He could stand up to the Ice Sovereign only because Xiao Yixian was with him—even the strongest Nine Colored Fire Lotus could only severely wound a Three Star Dou Zun, not kill him. After using the Nine Colored Fire Lotus, Xiao Yan would be left with no combat power, and relying on Zi Yan alone would be insufficient.

That's why Xiao Yan had saved the Wanyao Shan Mai for last—to avoid getting injured and being unable to "dig for treasures."

"Xiao Yan, we're almost there." Zi Yan had already removed her black robe, her face showing a trace of tension.

Direct confrontation with an Eight Rank Beast! This would surely be a brutal battle!

"Hmm, be careful. If the mountain master's strength is too high, we change tactics—I'll hold him off for one minute, you rush into his lair and steal all the Medicinal Materials." Xiao Yan said gravely, having already prepared Plan B.

"Understood."

After exchanging plans, they shot toward the peak where the powerful aura emanated.

Under Zi Yan's guidance, within minutes they reached the summit. The first thing to catch their eyes was a massive Stone Hall, before whose entrance two Fierce Beasts lay sprawled, radiating ferocious energy.

These two Fierce Beasts were no weaklings—both were Seventh-Stage, equivalent to human Dou Zongs of Five-Star and Six-Star strength! When they spotted Xiao Yan's unfamiliar face, they immediately rose, letting out low, thunderous roars that echoed through the air.

Xiao Yan grabbed Zi Yan, who was eager to quickly dispatch the two beasts, and summoned Xing Tian to deal with these Xiao Luo Luo: "Save your strength—our real opponents aren't these minor pests."

Zi Yan nodded, assuming a ready stance and fixing her gaze on the Stone Hall's gate. Both sensed a powerful aura awakening.

With a BOOM, the Stone Gate was blasted open by immense force, and a towering, muscular man over three meters tall stepped out of the Stone Hall.

"Who the hell dares disturb my sleep?!" BOOM! The aura of the Eight Rank Beast surged like a storm, ripping up the surrounding grass.

Seventh-Stage Beasts only gain the potential to transform; without Transformation Pills or other Elixirs, they must endure trials to achieve it. But Eighth Rank Beasts inevitably transform—transformation is one of the conditions for breaking through to Eighth Rank.

"One Star Dou Zun… no, this guy's bloodline is strange. If you factor in Bloodline Power, his combat strength might approach Three Star." Looking at the giant, Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and made his judgment.

Xiao Yan and Zi Yan exchanged glances, nodded, and in the next instant, Xiao Yan unleashed everything—starting with Heavenly Flame Three Mystical Changes!

"Third Change!"

Three Strange Flames erupted along special Meridians; Xiao Yan's aura visibly surged, and in a blink, he reached Half-step Dou Zun!

BOOM! BOOM! Without wasting words, they moved in perfect sync—each stepped forward, crushing the ground into a deep crater, becoming two streaks of light rushing toward the giant.

Xiao Yan and Zi Yan struck from left and right, their legs like whips, both kicking simultaneously. The giant sneered, rooted his stance, and blocked with both hands.

BOOM! Xiao Yan and Zi Yan's strength was unquestionable—combined, their attack could even cause sonic booms. Yet the giant still blocked them.

"Hah! Two Dou Zongs dare challenge me? You're asking for death!" The Wanyao Shan Mai's master roared, crossed his arms, seized Xiao Yan and Zi Yan's calves, and hurled them away with a mighty throw.

Xiao Yan's eyes hardened—his Bone Wings burst from his back, stabilizing his form. Zi Yan's eyes flashed purple light; Space Power stabilized her body, halting her mid-air.

"Hmm? Space Power?" The Wanyao Shan Mai's master narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on Zi Yan. A Dou Zong who could master Space Power—and with greater familiarity than even a true Dou Zun?

Xiao Yan drew his Xuan Heavy Ruler. Zi Yan's Ancient Dragon Bloodline slowly awakened, her fist wrapped in purple radiance.

"Strange Flame Dou Technique—Beast Soul Descent!" HU! Behind Xiao Yan, his Bone Wings revived—massive fire feathers erupted, like the true wings of an Ancient Heaven Phoenix spreading wide.

"Ancient Heaven Phoenix?! No—this is the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's! You've refined their Bone Wings and essence?!" The giant's pupils shrank! He himself was special—even trapped in this Dan Realm, he knew of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

"The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan? What a joke." Zi Yan roared, instantly transmigrating through Space to appear behind the giant, her fist wrapped in potent Space Power, striking forward as space rippled.

THUD! The giant had no time to react—he was blasted backward by Zi Yan's blow.

The Ancient Phoenix Wings flared—Xiao Yan's speed now matched that of an ordinary Dou Zun. In an instant, he appeared before the giant, unleashing Six Directions Swirling Ruler Technique; the Xuan Heavy Ruler slashed from every angle, slamming the giant into the ground.

BOOM! Rocks flew everywhere. The giant glared furiously at Xiao Yan—his bloodline was boiling, and the space around him twisted violently!

"Bloodline Awakening!"

"You've angered me! I am the Ancient Dragon Bear!" The giant roared from his throat, and the surrounding space cracked. His muscles swelled, pores spewed threads of blood mist, his combat power skyrocketed—reaching the late stage of Two Star Dou Zun!

A Dou Zun had risen one and a half levels! The intensity of this Bloodline Awakening rivaled a Quasi Heavenly Rank Secret Technique!

"Ancient Dragon Bear? What a piece of trash—I don't know that thing." Seeing the Ancient Dragon Bear activate his Bloodline Power, Zi Yan smirked—bloodline?

Have you ever seen the Ancient Dragon!

Wishing everyone a happy new year, this is the final update of the year! See you next year!

(End of chapter)