Chapter 551

"Once a Dou Saint appears in the Manhuang Ancient Domain, these Demon Saints will be alerted. Thus, all major clans have an unspoken agreement: no Dou Saint may be sent, or else the Demon Saints will rage and ignite a Saint-level war—we'd all die."

Hearing this, the Elders of the Hua Sect and others couldn't help but feel a chill of dread; they had once considered summoning their half-Saints in seclusion to clear a path, hoping to obtain Bodhi Seeds to forge Bodhi Pills and break through to Dou Saint.

Bodhi Pills are useful even to half-Saints—they're the pinnacle among Eight Grade Elixirs; a single Bodhi Pill can even persuade a half-Saint to act!

Now that they heard this, they were glad Yun Yun had stopped them back then; otherwise, disaster would have struck.

"The appearance of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was unexpected," said Gu Hua.

Gu Zhen suddenly interjected: "Not surprising. I heard Ji Feng is close with Ren Yaozi of the Yao Clan—he's leading this expedition to obtain Bodhi Seeds and exchange them for elixirs with Ren Yaozi."

"Ren Yaozi?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.

"Heh, Ren Yaozi is the most gifted pill alchemist among the Yao Clan's young generation—far surpassing the man you met before. If anyone in the young generation can match your pill alchemy, it's probably only Ren Yaozi."

Hearing Gu Zhen's words, Xiao Yixian and others all showed expressions of surprise; they knew how powerful Xiao Yan's pill alchemy was—Cao Ying and Dan Chen, the strongest the Dan Tower had trained, were no match for him, and he had crushed the Pill Gathering.

And yet this Ren Yaozi could rival Xiao Yan!

Gu Hua raised an eyebrow at Xiao Yan, as if deliberately saying: "I also heard Ren Yaozi might already be able to forge Nine-Treasure Pills—I don't know if it's true or not."

Hearing Gu Hua's words, Xiao Yan's eyes widened in shock—did the Yao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline really run this powerfully?! Could they forge Nine-Treasure Pills at will?!

Gu Hua, clearly enjoying the drama, laughed loudly: "When the Yao Clan holds their Pill Ceremony, go there and crush their arrogance—I'm certain your pill alchemy is far superior to that Ren Yaozi!"

Just as Gu Hua was deliberately provoking, Qing Lin's eyes flashed a faint green light as she pointed ahead: "Young Master Yan, we've arrived."

As the main force flew over a lush mountain peak, a boundless black plain appeared before all eyes.

Xiao Yan's gaze pierced through the throngs, fixed on the black plain—he drew in a sharp breath and muttered: "Damn, these are just a small part of the Mo Shou Shan Mai's Fierce Beasts?!"

Across the endless plain, black clouds swirled; on the ground, Fierce Beasts of all shapes and sizes filled the view, stretching to the horizon, roaring with violent fury like thunder, echoing endlessly through the heavens and earth.

There were giant apes as large as hills, white demonic oxen covered in lightning, desert giant eagles soaring through the sky, and countless massive ants crawling in dense swarms.

All these Fierce Beasts radiated savage energy, their eyes glowing red with rage and hatred—imagine what would happen if anyone dared invade their territory: a tidal wave of attacks.

"No wonder it's impassable—this number is truly terrifying," said Nalan Yanran, staring at the beast tide, her face grim.

Eight Rank Mo Shou Shan Mai beasts were everywhere; Seven Rank beasts were as countless as grains of sand!

"A human forbidden zone? No lie," said Hai Bodong, swallowing hard, his skin crawling. This many? No way to feel refreshed!

The beasts of Mo Shou Shan Mai were like children by comparison!

Xiao Yan's gaze passed beyond the endless beast tide, gazing far ahead—where a thick black mist shrouded the distance. Yet through the Bodhi Seed, he sensed: within that strange mist lay the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

As everyone stared in awe, the frontmost Soul Jade transmitted to all: "Everyone, ahead lies the beast tide. Now is the best moment to charge. Since I proposed this alliance, I'll have my people lead the most dangerous vanguard—but once they're exhausted, they'll fall back, and others will take their place."

Hearing Soul Jade take the lead, Xiao Yan, aware of the Soul Sovereign's "excellent character," shook his head. You're a weasel paying New Year's calls!

"Everyone, act! The Bodhi Ancient Tree lies ahead—the chance to become a Saint awaits us!"

As his voice faded, the Soul Sovereign's forces stepped on Space, led by Soul Jade like an arrowhead, charging straight into the beast tide. Seeing Soul Jade and the Soul Sovereign's elites lead the charge, and hearing of the Saint opportunity, no one could hold back—they all unleashed their Body Techniques to follow Soul Jade.

From afar, it looked like a sharp arrow speeding toward the beast tide.

Roar! Roar! Roar!! As Soul Jade and his group charged forward, every Fierce Beast let out a furious roar at once—their deafening cries shook the earth.

"Kill!!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The strongest Soul Sovereigns unleashed their ultimate techniques—waves of Soul Techniques flew forth. Since Fierce Beasts inherently had weak Spiritual Souls, the Soul Techniques struck, instantly annihilating countless beasts' Spiritual Souls; they dropped dead en masse!

Seeing Soul Jade and the Soul Sovereigns so powerful, the Dou Zun and Dou Zong behind them, hoping to profit from the chaos, showed smiles of delight—they all resolved to cling to this powerful backer and scavenge, launching fierce attacks on the Fierce Beasts, trying to carve a path into the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

"Be careful—true danger begins when we enter the midsection of the beast tide; then we'll be completely surrounded," Xiao Yan warned.

Everyone nodded. Many had already lost their reason, believing Soul Jade could truly lead them through the beast tide. In truth, the front was safest—the real crisis came when everyone was fully inside the tide, surrounded from all sides by countless beasts.

At that point, escape would be impossible—and that was Soul Jade's goal!

Sure enough, when they entered the midsection, beasts surrounded them from front, back, left, right, even above and below. As more Eight Rank beasts appeared, even Soul Jade and the Soul Sovereigns began to struggle; after close combat, their advance slowed drastically.

Meanwhile, casualties rose rapidly. Watching their numbers shrink fast, Xiao Yan and others' faces grew grim—even Dou Zun at Six Star or Star Seven levels, under this endless onslaught, gradually grew exhausted, then were thrown into the Fierce Beast horde and torn to shreds within moments, swallowed whole.

Even Qing Lin's summoned Snake Slaves had perished—She Tianhao, too, finally ended his evil life, torn apart by countless Fierce Beasts and devoured.

"Xiao Yan, Soul Jade and the others are gone," said Cai Lin, her voice grim—she had been watching Soul Jade's group closely.

"Those bastards are preparing to break through the final stretch—follow them! Don't let them reach the other side first!" Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed; his Soul Force had long locked onto Soul Jade's group. He roared, and the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark flared on his forehead—his Cultivation Realm surged instantly by three levels!

"That's the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark!"

"Wait—that's impossible! How does Xiao Yan have the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark—and at this rank?!"

Seeing the Clan Mark on Xiao Yan's forehead and sensing the boiling Dou Di Bloodline within him, Gu Qingyang and others wore expressions of stunned disbelief.

Xiao Yan's heart sank—he activated his Strange Fire and roared: "Strange Fire Dou Technique—Buddha Fury Fire Tornado!"

Instantly, a yellow-brown flame surged from Xiao Yan's body. The moment the Wind Fury Flame Dragon appeared, the entire sky was veiled in yellow sand, obscuring the Fierce Beasts' vision; a tornado wrapped around Xun Er and the others, spiraling toward the Bodhi Ancient Tree!

In an instant, yellow sand filled the sky like a desert storm—nothing could be seen; even eyes couldn't open from the grit. Within the terrifying sand, Strange Fire burned, and Soul Force grew chaotic, unable to track Xiao Yan's group.

Boom! A yellow-brown wrathful dragon, swirling with Xun Er and the others, blasted straight through—not only Xiao Yan had seen Soul Jade's trick; some faction elites also knew the latter half was where true strength was needed.

Several groups surged upward simultaneously—clearly, they too had understood Soul Jade's scheme, yet they merely wished to use others' strength to reach this point.

Yun Yun's beautiful eyes dimmed as she shook her head, sighing inwardly—those deceived by Soul Jade were doomed to die in the beast tide; they were sacrificed, mere bait to draw the tide's attention.

After these true elites departed, thousands of cultivators were eventually devoured by Fierce Beasts, dying in the delusion of becoming the next Bodhi Ancient Saint.

Xiao Yan's Strange Fire Dou Technique carried him a great distance, quickly catching up to Soul Jade's group; behind Soul Jade, those with Yao Huang Wings were naturally Ji Feng, Feng Qing'er'er, and the other Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan members.

Seeing Xiao Yan closely following, Ji Feng's eyes flashed a murderous glint.

Roar! Roar!! The elites who had reached the latter half had no time to react before waves of Eight Rank Peak Fierce Beast auras surged upward!

These powerful beasts were the final line of defense of the beast tide!

No Demon Saint emerged from the Manhuang Ancient Domain's beast tide, because a Dou Saint's intervention meant something entirely different—after all, Dou Saint was already the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent; if a Demon Saint intervened, it would mean full-scale war between humans and beasts.

"Don't stray too far—conserve as much Dou Qi as possible. Watch out for those bastards," Xiao Yan said, then instantly unfurled his Ancient Phoenix Wings and activated his Diamond Glass Body.

He didn't use Buddha Fury Lotus or other ultimate techniques; Xiao Yan knew this wasn't the time to fight to the death—his goal had never changed: the Bodhi Ancient Tree. He wouldn't fight to the death until he saw the Bodhi Heart!

Moreover, Xiao Yan didn't want Soul Jade or Ji Feng to benefit from his strength.

For a moment, it seemed all had reached an unspoken agreement: no one fought the super Fierce Beasts to the death—instead, they merely held back their Eight Rank Peak attacks, inching slowly toward the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

Everyone knew full well that if the explosion was too strong, it would draw the attention of Fierce Beasts; no one wanted the Beast Tide to focus on them, wishing nothing more than for all the beasts to rush toward the opposite side.

Originally, Xiao Yan could have used the Twelve Color Fire Lotus to blast open a path and break through immediately, but that would consume enormous Battle Qi and Soul Force. The real enemy was not the beasts, but those now "fighting shoulder to shoulder" with him.

Over this short stretch, Xiao Yan and his group spent half an hour grinding against several Super Beasts; thanks to fighting these Super Beasts, the Beast Tide dared not approach, instead forming a barrier.

Xiao Yan and the others took turns battling, hand-to-hand with multiple Eight Rank Peak Fierce Beasts, using the beasts' physical bodies as shields, and slowly nearly broke through the second half!

"We're almost there!" Nalan Yanran gasped with joy.

Just as Xiao Yan and the others prepared to surge out of the Beast Tide into the Black Mist Zone, a burst of colorful light shot from afar!

"Brother Xiao Yan, watch out!"

With a hum, the colorful light pierced through Space and struck Xiao Yan directly—but strangely, it had no lethal power!

"Soul Illusion Realm!!"

"Damn it! Xiao Yan has fallen into a Soul Illusion Realm!"

Xiao Yan's eyes were veiled in colorful light, and he froze—but the next instant, a faint Golden Light flashed from his eyes, instantly shattering Jiu Feng's Soul Illusion Realm.

Instantly, Xiao Yan's expression turned dark; he recalled something, and a cold smile curled his lips as his Soul Force stirred secretly.

With a hum, Feng Qing'er'er's eyes beside Jiu Feng suddenly darkened; under everyone's stunned gazes, Feng Qing'er'er gathered Wind-Thunder Force in her palm and struck Jiu Feng squarely on the back.

Boom—the hidden Strange Fire within the Wind-Thunder Force exploded; caught off guard, Jiu Feng spat a mouthful of blood and was slammed straight into the Beast Tide.

"Feng Qing'er'er, what are you doing!!" Jiu Feng shrieked, eyes twisted with rage.

In an instant, Feng Qing'er'er snapped back to herself, her face paling—Xiao Yan had controlled her! Though only for a fleeting moment, he had truly controlled her body!

"It's not… him…" Feng Qing'er'er gritted her teeth, glaring at Xiao Yan. You're framing me!

Xiao Yan sneered coldly. Playing Soul Illusions with me? If I weren't trying to conserve Soul Force right now, unfit for battle, I'd make Jiu Feng experience the Shen Xiu Illusion Realm!

"Go!" Xiao Yan waved his hand, leading everyone out of the Beast Tide circle; the Soul Jade had already surged forward during that moment and entered the Black Mist.

Naturally, for Jiu Feng, being struck by Feng Qing'er'er wasn't fatal—but it struck at his heart!

At this moment, Jiu Feng was already furious beyond reason, for everything had happened too fast; to outsiders, it looked as though Xiao Yan had fallen into his illusion, and Feng Qing'er'er, to protect her lover, had launched a surprise attack on Jiu Feng!

"Feng Qing'er'er, you bitch!" Jiu Feng roared as he charged through the Beast Tide.

He had always regarded Feng Qing'er'er as his exclusive possession, planning to claim her for himself—now she had betrayed him to aid a stranger! How could Jiu Feng not go mad!

Green hat from head to toe!

"I didn't… I didn't do it…" Feng Qing'er'er no longer knew how to explain—could she say she'd been threatened by Xiao Yan, forced to betray her own clan?!

Now, framed so cruelly by Xiao Yan, Feng Qing'er'er was truly trapped between a rock and a hard place!

(End of Chapter)