Chapter 494

It wasn't just Hua Jin who felt shock and fear—the two elders of the Nine Underworld Earth Snake Clan, already at war with the Yan Alliance, also wore expressions of disbelief.

"His strength far exceeds that of an ordinary Five-Star Dou Zun!"

"What the hell are those Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan bastards doing? Why aren't they here yet!"

For a moment, the Dou Zun elders of the top factions all turned to look at Xiao Yan—for them, Earth Rank Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods were meaningless; every one of them sought only the Heavenly Rank Dou Technique created by the Sage of Creation.

Xiao Yan naturally sensed several hostile gazes fixed on him, but he paid no mind, instead turning his eyes to the bones of the Sage of Creation.

"Pity—you're only a remnant of bones with a sliver of your former consciousness." Xiao Yan twisted his neck; though this skeleton was vastly inferior to a Dou Saint, it was perfect for him to practice on.

Since reaching Five-Star Dou Zun, he hadn't yet encountered a worthy sparring partner.

Sensing Xiao Yan's Battle Intention, the hollow eyes of the Sage of Creation's bones flickered with a flash of red, then locked onto Xiao Yan, and a withered voice echoed: "Intruder into the Ruins—die!"

With a hum, the puppets of Tian Yao Kui level once again activated their Sealing Array—but this time, the golden energy did not flow into the puppets; it all converged onto the jade-white bones!

Whirrr!! The jade-white bones glowed as if gilded, golden patterns wrapping their entire form, their aura surging uncontrollably.

"Need help?" Xiao Yixian whispered into his mind; ten puppets, each at Dou Zun level, had pooled all their power—and this was the bones of a Dou Saint! No one knew what techniques the Sage of Creation had left behind.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. "No. To fight a Dou Saint—even just bones—is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity."

Sensing the fierce Battle Intention in Xiao Yan's tone, Xiao Yixian watched his back and sighed helplessly.

With two sharp whistles, Xiao Yan and the Sage of Creation's bones both shot forward as streaks of light, moving so fast only the thunderous crashes of their collisions could be heard.

The Sage of Creation's bones raised a hand violently—the space before it tore open under its terrifying power, and a palm slammed toward Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan merely smiled faintly, clenched his fist, and in an instant, all his Dou Qi condensed into his right arm before exploding outward!

The impact generated a terrifying shockwave, as if two titans were battling—the square cracked beneath them, stone pillars shattered, and they exchanged dozens of blows in an instant.

The strength of the Sage of Creation's bones was astonishing; even though Xiao Yan's body had been enhanced to Eight Rank beast level, each collision sent searing pain through him.

Boom! Xiao Yan was blasted backward, smashing through three stone pillars, his body drenched in blood—but the Sage of Creation's bones weren't faring much better; many of their bones had begun to crack.

"My god, is he really brawling head-on with a Dou Saint's bones?!"

"This guy must be a beast in human form!"

For a moment, everyone was stunned by Xiao Yan's terrifying physical power—even the actual beasts of the Nine Underworld Earth Snake Clan and Feng Qing'er were frozen in shock.

His body is stronger than ours!

Remember, Xiao Yan claimed his initial entry into Eight Rank matched the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon Clan—even in ancient times, among beasts, the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon's physique was the strongest!

With a splash, Xiao Yan shoved aside the rubble, twisted his shoulders, and streams of purple-red flame erupted from his body—Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Fire strengthened his flesh, while Three Thousand Yan Flame continuously healed his wounds.

Wiping blood from his lips, Xiao Yan grinned. "No wonder you're the bones of a Dou Saint."

Xiao Yan showed no sign of serious injury; his eyes burned with Battle Intention. As Three Thousand Yan Flame circulated, his bones cracked and popped loudly—like broken bones reknitting themselves—a sound that sent chills down spines.

"Three Thousand Yan Flame!"

"I forgot—he's the Pill Gathering Champion, and he refined Three Thousand Yan Flame."

For a moment, many forgot this "human dragon" was also an Alchemist! Aren't Alchemists supposed to be weaklings? How can he be fiercer than a beast?!

"Again!" Xiao Yan roared, instantly channeling his Dou Qi—you won't use a Dou Technique? Fine, neither will I!

He coiled his legs, bent low, and with a thunderous boom, launched forward like a mad bull—each step shattered the ground, leaving deep craters; the fusion of Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Fire and Three Thousand Yan Flame granted him astonishing physical power!

Though the Sage of Creation was dead, he had once been a Dou Saint. For a mere Dou Zun to provoke him so brazenly—how could a skeleton retaining even a sliver of its former consciousness tolerate such disrespect? It dishonored the Sage of Creation's dignity!

The jade-white bones roared and charged forward, BOOM BOOM!! Deafening crashes split the space.

Finally, Xiao Yan stood atop a stone pillar, his eyes flashing with ferocity; he stomped hard, shattering the pillar, and unleashed his Dragon Qi—his fist emitted a continuous Dragon Roar!

The collision was like two mountains crashing together—but this time, it was not Xiao Yan who was blasted backward!!

"Holy shit! Xiao Yan defeated the Sage of Creation!"

"It's just bones."

"Still insane enough!"

Seeing the Sage of Creation's bones flung away, many eyes shifted, exchanging glances. After all, Xiao Yan was wounded—and if you couldn't beat him, running away wouldn't help.

After the puppets had been drained of energy, the Scrolls had already been divided; many powerhouses with the strength to compete for the Heavenly Rank Dou Technique now stared hungrily.

A Heavenly Rank Dou Technique—who wouldn't want it?!

Many had begun subtly inching toward the hall—even if they couldn't claim the Heavenly Rank Dou Technique, some of the bones' essence blood would still be valuable.

Except one person!

"That punch!! That punch!!"

At the side of the hall, Star Plucking Old Ghost's face was deathly pale, his teeth chattering, pupils wide with terror, fixed on Xiao Yan's back as if he'd seen a ghost.

That punch just now—the one with the burst of Dragon Qi—it felt familiar. No—he'd felt it before. He'd been hit by it!

"Yan Alliance Xiao Yan… Xiao… could it be…!!"

In an instant, Star Plucking Old Ghost's scalp felt ready to explode—he had just realized a terrifying possibility!!

"My Lord, Xiao Yan has expended much energy and is wounded. If we strike now, we can not only seize the Heavenly Rank Dou Technique, but also harvest the Soul Body of a top-tier Alchemist." A Soul Hall Dou Zun stepped behind Star Plucking Old Ghost and whispered.

"Idiot!" CRACK! Star Plucking Old Ghost spun and slapped him hard—before the Dou Zun could react, his teeth were all knocked out, nearly killing him.

Seeing their Lord enraged, the other Soul Hall Dou Zuns dropped to one knee, terrified—none knew what their comrade had said wrong to provoke such a brutal response.

"Hmph! Whoever dares do such a thing—I'll kill them myself!" Star Plucking Old Ghost snarled, glaring fiercely—don't you dare drag me into your suicide!

At this moment, Star Plucking Old Ghost's heart trembled with terror—he was the very first one who had attacked!

"Oh no, oh no—if Xiao Yan really is the Tenth Heavenly Lord… I just attacked the Tenth Heavenly Lord!!" Star Plucking Old Ghost shook violently—he felt death was inches away!!

Of course, few now paid attention to what Star Plucking Old Ghost was doing; it was best if he didn't try to seize the Heavenly Rank Dou Technique.

Seeing someone slowly approach the Sage of Creation's bones, Xiao Yan gave a knowing smile, silently chuckling: "Fool."

The dust cleared—the bones, flung by Xiao Yan's blow, sat motionless on the ground, as if drained of power; only the flickering red light in their eye sockets proved they weren't ordinary remains.

"It's not moving!"

"The Heavenly Rank Dou Technique is mine!"

In an instant, everyone's eyes blazed with greed, like moths rushing toward a candle flame.

When someone drew within ten meters of the Saint of Creation's remains, its head suddenly snapped up, and a faint, deep, hoarse voice, as if drifting from ancient eons, softly echoed forth.

"Great Heaven Creation Palm!"

The hoarse, ancient, broken cry carried an overwhelming sense of mortal peril, flooding from the depths of their Spiritual Souls. Under the terror of death, the powerful figures who had surged forward out of greed nearly in an instant felt regret surge within them.

Didn't you see Xiao Yan standing there, not moving closer?!

"It's casting a Dou Technique! Fall back!"

Instantly, terror flooded every face; a scream rose, and without another thought, they spun around and fled like rats.

"Damn it! He deliberately stayed away!" Hua Jin's face darkened with fury. No wonder he didn't move—he lured them in on purpose, waiting to reap the benefits!

Though cursing, Hua Jin and the two Hua Sect Elders fled with no less speed, vanishing in a flash to a hundred meters away; the two Nine Underworld Earth Snake Clan elders, also Four Star Dou Zun cultivators, simultaneously retreated.

But what they never expected was that Star Plucking Heavenly Venerable suddenly appeared behind the two snakes.

"Jie jie jie! Since you're so eager for a Heavenly Rank Dou Technique, go take it!" Star Plucking gathered Dou Qi in both hands and slammed a palm toward the backs of the two snakes, blasting them with terrifying Dou Qi toward the remains.

Puff!

"Star Plucking, you—!"

Star Plucking smirked coldly, whispering through transmission: "You think you can escape after offending the Ten Heavenly Elders?"

All of this happened in an instant. As chaos erupted within the hall, the Saint's bones turned a deep crimson, as if alive, all the redness surging toward its palm, instantly staining the right hand as if soaked in blood for countless ages—dark and chilling.

When the last trace of crimson flowed into the palm, a black dot, no larger than a soybean, suddenly appeared at its center—so pure and black that to look upon it seemed to swallow one's Spiritual Soul whole, eerily unnatural.

As the black dot formed, the Saint's bone palm rose sharply and slammed down hard onto the hall's unbreakable floor.

Where the bone palm struck, the stone slab made no sound; at the moment of contact, the incredibly hard stone vanished as if erased, revealing dark brown rock beneath.

"Tsii!"

The floor vanished—a black energy barrier suddenly rose from the slab, then violently expanded!

Tsii tsii tsii!

Centered on the Saint of Creation, the black barrier spread like a black hole; countless beings froze in soul-deep terror. Wherever the black barrier touched—stone slabs, pillars, anything—it vanished instantly, utterly, without a single trace remaining.

It felt like a black hole—mysterious, terrifying.

"Run!"

The horrifying sight sent chills down every spine. Seeing the black ring still expanding, their hearts clenched, and they desperately retreated.

"Aaah!"

"Aaah! Save me!"

Even though they were Dou Zun, capable of using spatial power to teleport, they could not escape the black hole's expansion. An unimaginable suction force yanked the One Star and Two Star Dou Zun backward, and the instant they touched the black ring, they vanished without a trace.

Puff, puff. The two Nine Underworld Earth Snake Clan warriors struck by Star Plucking held out briefly, but ultimately perished beneath the Heavenly Rank Dou Technique. They never dreamed the Soul Hall Heavenly Venerable would suddenly betray them.

They hadn't offended the Soul Hall!

And who exactly were the Ten Heavenly Elders?! When had they ever offended the Soul Hall's Ten Heavenly Elders?!

Of course, they would never know the answer.

In an instant, the Great Heaven Creation Palm reached Xiao Yan's front. Facing the terrifying Heavenly Rank Dou Technique, Xiao Yan did not flee.

"Xiao Yan!" Yun Yun's heart tightened as she saw him standing still.

"Master, be careful."

Beside him, Xiao Yixian had already secretly activated her Dou Qi, but upon sensing the wild surge of Dou Qi within Xiao Yan, she relaxed.

"Huh." Xiao Yan murmured, exhaling slowly: "Let's see if your Great Heaven Creation Palm is stronger than the Gu Clan's palm technique."

"Heavenly Flame Three Mystical Changes!" Boom! Xiao Yan's Dou Qi suddenly surged, then coalesced entirely into his right hand.

His hands moved like lightning, leaving countless afterimages; his Dou Qi surged like a flood, racing through the meridians of his arms.

"Split Mountains! Flip Seas! Overturn Earth!"

The three seals merged; Xiao Yan's face flushed crimson. A brilliant light-seal flickered faintly in his palm, the terrifying energy causing the space around him to crack open with endless black fissures.

"Four Seals Combined—Annihilate Heaven Seal!!"

Four seals combined form Annihilate Heaven; five seals multiplied form Ancient Emperor Seal!

Another energy seal, roughly the size of a palm, quietly emerged and merged silently into the previous three.

Emperor Seal Technique! The Dou Technique Xun Er gave Xiao Yan!

This technique was the hardest Xiao Yan had ever learned—even with a Heavenly Realm Soul Force, he could master only up to four seals.

"Ha!"

Boom! Xiao Yan's palm thrust forward, launching a four-seal-combined palm imprint—crystal-clear, radiant—straight into the black barrier.

The two immensely powerful Dou Techniques collided; in an instant, heaven and earth changed, space darkened, the entire Guang Chang shattered beneath the impact, and even the hall's walls cracked with terrifying fissures!

In that moment, the clash of the Dou Techniques shattered the hall's ceiling; space had already been erased, even void turned to Chaos. Had both combatants reached Dou Sheng level, the entire hall would have collapsed.

"A clash of Heavenly Rank Dou Techniques?!"

"I don't know, but Xiao Yan's technique is certainly not some ordinary Earth Rank Dou Technique!"

Even those Dou Zong who had sneaked in to profit from the chaos paled. Star Plucking Old Ghost's face turned white—he was now one hundred percent certain: Xiao Yan was Heavenly Venerable of Yan—the newly promoted Tenth Heavenly Elder of the Soul Hall!

A normal Five Star Dou Zun could never possess such combat power!!

To fight a Dou Sheng's remains alone? Only the Tenth Heavenly Elder—who, as a Three Star Dou Zun, had decisively defeated Black and White Heavenly Venerables—could achieve such cross-rank power!

Moreover, Xiao Yan possessed multiple Heavenly Flames—this was common knowledge!

Even Hua Jin, who had barely escaped, turned pale with shock. She never imagined Xiao Yan's power had reached this level! His strength—she doubted even her lover and she together could defeat him!

Boom! A dark shadow was flung backward—it was Xiao Yan! Though Yun Yun rushed to catch him, Xiao Yixian, with higher cultivation, moved first; her Jade Hand caught him firmly. Seeing his battered form, worry etched across her face.

"Why didn't you dodge?"

"Heh, just testing the technique's power. Don't worry—I've Three Thousand Yan Flame."

Seeing the Three Thousand Yan Flame slowly healing the wounds on Xiao Yan's body, Xiao Yixian could only glare at him, having nothing to say.

Once the ripples dispersed, the originally grand and beautiful Guang Chang had now completely vanished, the space itself shattered, the Creation Saint Bones floating in the void, the red glow in its eyes also gone.

Yet not a single person dared step forward to snatch it.

Most of those who had fought over it just now had already turned to nothing, their bodies and bones gone without a trace. Moreover, who would dare fight Xiao Yan for it? A monster who had the gall to take a Heavenly Rank Dou Technique head-on from a Dou Saint!

Xiao Yan swept his gaze over the remaining people, pausing especially on Hua Jin for a moment, then finally casting a slightly interested glance at the trembling Star Plucking Old Ghost. Seeing Xiao Yan look his way, where did Star Plucking still have his earlier arrogant air? If not for the crowd, he would have dropped to his knees on the spot!

"Does anyone else want to fight for it?"

For a moment, the whole place fell silent. Although quite a few people had Soul Jade tokens on them, able to summon some powerful experts. However, the strongest backup they had was nothing more than a Six Star Dou Zun.

The question was, could a Six Star even beat Xiao Yan??

"Looks like no one wants to fight for it, then I won't hold back." Xiao Yan's Soul Force swept out, wrapping around the floating Creation Saint Bones and seizing them in his hand.

Xiao Yan had no time to examine the bones now, so he stored them in his storage ring, planning to study them slowly when he had the chance.

With an Elixir slipping down his throat, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi slowly began to recover a little.

"Let's go, this trip has been extremely fruitful." Xiao Yan couldn't help but let out a great laugh; the gains this time could truly be called a bumper harvest, so much so that even Xiao Yan couldn't quite close his grinning mouth!

He had even taken the Creation Saint's corpse bones away with him!

With a wave of his hand, he leapt onto the Lion King's back, and with Xiao Yixian and the others, swaggered out of the Ancient Ruins under the envious gazes of the crowd.

(End of Chapter)