Chapter 637

Xiao Yan had only fought Nalan Yanran three days ago and updated his combat metrics; I have to say, following Xiao Yan, you eat nine meals a day.

The Bodhi Ancient Tree's insight truly lived up to its reputation; the Bodhi Three Treasures—Bodhi Seed, Bodhi Heart, and Bodhi Ancient Tree—elevated Nalan Yanran's understanding of sword Dao by an entire tier.

Even without Xiao Yan's help, with the Ninefold Cultivation Method, Nalan Yanran would surely break through to Half-Sage and become a Sword Saint!

Yun Yun mastered all kinds of Dou Techniques—swordplay was merely one of them; she also excelled in Body Techniques, Sealing Arrays, and more, while Nalan Yanran knew only how to wield a sword.

Xiao Yan slowly rose to his feet; the movement caused a tremor that made Yun Yun blush furiously, barely stifling a cry, and she shot Xiao Yan a furious glare—the greedy lecher.

Xiao Yan suppressed his laughter, but he didn't linger long in this tender embrace; the world was still not at peace—he still needed to strive.

He stepped out of the building, used Soul Force to mask his presence, and stood amid the mist, watching the battle below.

As things stood, Nalan Yanran held the upper hand; her Yun Sha Black Sword slashed forth waves of jet-black sword qi, and with a casual swing, she carved jagged, lasting fissures into Space.

But Feng Qing'er'er was no pushover; her feathers condensed into a seven-colored ribbon that could advance or defend—hard enough to block sword strikes, flexible as a whip or cleaver—and as a beast, her physical strength surpassed Nalan Yanran's.

Xiao Yan watched the battle below calmly; Feng Qing'er'er coming alone was a signal, and it was enough to make Xiao Yan believe she had no intention of betraying him.

But unifying Dragon Island must be ensured with absolute certainty.

He rubbed his chin, fell silent for a moment, then whispered to Nalan Yanran: "Deliberately leave a few openings for Feng Qing'er'er—see how she responds."

Nalan Yanran, mid-battle with Feng Qing'er'er, felt utterly exasperated—fighting an opponent on her own level and now being told to expose weaknesses? You want me dead, don't you?

Though Nalan Yanran didn't know what Xiao Yan planned, she didn't refuse.

The next instant, Nalan Yanran suddenly appeared to have overextended her Dou Techniques—her Dou Qi faltered, her movements hesitated, her attack speed slowed by half a second.

To ordinary fighters, half a second meant nothing; but in a battle at this level, half a second was a catastrophic blunder—fatal!

"Hm?!"

Even Feng Qing'er'er's eyes flickered with surprise—but she seized the opportunity instantly; her silk ribbon coiled like a sentient venomous snake, charged with fierce Dou Qi, shattered Nalan Yanran's sword qi, and with swift hissing sounds, wrapped around the Yun Sha Black Sword.

*Beng! * Feng Qing'er'er yanked hard, trapping Nalan Yanran's sword and preventing her from freely wielding sword techniques.

Trapped by Feng Qing'er'er's hold on her Black Sword, Nalan Yanran urgently surged Dou Qi to shatter the ribbon—but how could Feng Qing'er'er let slip this "once-in-a-millennium" chance? She activated the Three Thousand Thunder Illusion Body; instantly, two Feng Qing'er'ers appeared, flanking Nalan Yanran left and right.

In an instant, wind and thunder surged, amplified by the Demon Phoenix Sacred Image—Nalan Yanran gradually fell into the disadvantage.

Roar! Roar! Roar!! Wowowow!!

A deafening chorus of beastly roars erupted across the entire plain.

"How did Nalan Yanran, Sect Master, suddenly fall behind? Wasn't she just overpowering Feng Qing'er'er?" asked a young human, tense.

"Her Dou Qi is depleted. Heaven Grade Dou Techniques are attainable by high-level Dou Zun, but Heaven Grade Cultivation Methods are exceedingly rare—even Half-Sages may not possess one. Nalan Sect Master's attack stalled due to Dou Qi exhaustion," an elder observed gravely.

"That's the advantage of beasts—their bodies are immensely strong; even without Dou Qi, they can fight with raw physical power."

Again, thunder rumbled in the sky; the two women's battle grew ferocious—describing it as shaking heaven and earth was an understatement; attacks of a thousand zhang in scale were commonplace.

Yet just as the beasts of Shou Yu believed Feng Qing'er'er would win, a dramatic twist occurred again.

This time, it was Feng Qing'er'er who suddenly faltered in her Dou Qi—exposing a weakness!!

Even Xiao Yan couldn't help laughing—two faking it.

Yun Yun's exquisite face showed a puzzled surprise; then her beautiful eyes turned curiously toward Xiao Yan, who was barely holding back laughter, and asked: "Feng Qing'er'er..."

Like Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun knew nothing of Feng Qing'er'er's true situation; aside from Cai Lin and Zi Yan, no one in the Yan Alliance knew Feng Qing'er'er had fallen into the Ten Heavenly Lords' grasp.

"Two Dou Zun juniors performing such clumsy acting won't do—this is how you plan to fool the Heavenly Phoenix?" Xiao Yan tried to suppress his laughter, but the acting was so poor it couldn't even fool Yun Yun beside him.

"Enough. Do as you wish—win or lose, it's up to you now," Xiao Yan whispered to Nalan Yanran.

Unless Feng Qing'er'er achieves Bloodline Ancestral Return and evolves into an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, she cannot defeat Nalan Yanran after her insight from the Bodhi Tree.

"Stop pretending. The rest—win or lose—is your choice," Xiao Yan whispered to Nalan Yanran.

The purpose of this duel was simple: to give Feng Qing'er'er a legitimate excuse to emerge from the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, and to gauge her true intentions.

Xiao Yan had seen clearly just now—Feng Qing'er'er was even considering deliberately losing; at the very least, she had no desire to stand against the Yan Alliance.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Nalan Yanran's eyes lit up; her Dou Qi erupted instantly—a wisp of black-and-white Demon Fire rose from her sword, completely incinerating Feng Qing'er'er's ribbon.

"Demon Fire?!" At the sight of the Yin-Yang Dual Flame, Feng Qing'er'er's heart jolted; though she didn't know this was Yin-Yang Dual Flame, she had "tasted" the flavor of Demon Fire before.

She instantly recognized it as Demon Fire!

Seeing Feng Qing'er'er's stunned expression, Nalan Yanran smiled smugly; this Yin-Yang Dual Flame was certainly not the original source—just a fragment Xiao Yan had left behind when helping her break through at the Flower Sect, which she had hidden inside the Black Sword.

"Try to break this one!"

Nalan Yanran smiled, silently scolding Xiao Yan for dragging her down. Then she stomped down—*Boom! *—the earth trembled; terrifying Dou Qi erupted, crushing Space, annihilating Heaven and Earth!

In that instant, Nalan Yanran unleashed an aura that shook the land; the searing heat melted the surrounding Space, as if the Sky itself were being burned through—Demon Fire emerged, and Space melted!

Though only a wisp of Yin-Yang Dual Flame, its power was fully unleashed by Nalan Yanran—and this was no mere use of Demon Fire.

"Yin-Yang Sword Extreme!" Nalan Yanran slashed—plain, unadorned, just one sword stroke; beneath it, the Demon Fire fused into the sword qi, splitting into black and white, distinguishing Yin and Yang, cleaving Heaven and Earth!!

This sword strike, enhanced by Yin-Yang Dual Flame, bore a striking resemblance to the Flame-Partitioning, Devouring Wave Ruler!!

Yet its power was far beyond a mere Earth Grade Dou Technique!

Locked by this strike, there was nowhere to flee—the vast Heaven and Earth were all encompassed within this single sword!

At this moment, not only did Sword Master and other sword-wielding Dou Zun turn pale, but even Huo Zhi, watching alone in Space, was stunned—her veil concealed a look of shock.

Huo Zhi's gaze did not rest on Nalan Yanran's sword strike, but on her Demon Fire; though she had never fought Nalan Yanran, and though her own cultivation had reached High-Level Half-Sage—stronger than Nalan Yanran—

Since the Demon Fire Space, she had been closely monitoring the Yan Alliance's movements.

"Yin-Yang Dual Flame... that's Xiao Yan's Demon Fire," Huo Zhi's face beneath her veil paled; in the Demon Fire Space, her Yan Clan had clashed fiercely with Xiao Yan.

Even the Sixteenth-ranked Fire Cloud Water Flame had been sealed by Xiao Yan's Mysterious Black Flame, costing the Yan Clan one of its Demon Fires.

Some Yan Clan members once proposed retaliation against the Yan Alliance—but they were silenced by Xiao Chen; everyone had witnessed how terrifying Xiao Chen's power had been in the Demon Fire Space.

Even if the Dou Emperor Family's pact no longer held, confronting the vast Yan Alliance would demand immense cost—just Xiao Chen alone could devastate the Yan Clan, let alone Mei Du Sha and the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Dragon Clan.

Under current circumstances, the Yan Clan could not afford to provoke further conflict; moreover, the Gu Clan had ties to Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan—they would never stand idly by while the Yan Alliance was destroyed.

"Though this isn't the true Yin-Yang Dual Flame, merely a fragment hidden in the sword—why is the Yan Alliance suddenly challenging Feng Qing'er'er now?" Huo Zhi's heart sank; a terrifying thought formed in her mind.

"Has Xiao Yan returned?!!"

At this moment, Nalan Yanran swung her Yun Sha Black Sword; terrifying demonic flame heat and fierce sword qi surged in all directions. As wind aids fire and flame enhances sword power, Nalan Yanran's Dou Qi was inherently wind-affiliated—under her wind-affiliated Dou Qi, the Yin-Yang Dual Flames burned even more fiercely.

"Demon Phoenix Descent, Demon Wing Slash Ten Thousand Generations!" Feng Qing'er'er spat out a mouthful of essence blood; instantly, the Demon Phoenix emitted blinding light, its wings swirling with black lightning and hurricanes.

The colossal Demon Phoenix saintly image slashed down with its massive wings, carrying black lightning and black wind.

Zing! In the end, Nalan Yanran's sword swept through empty air—a merciless, fatal strike. Wherever this sword passed, everything was severed and incinerated. Even a half-Saint would bleed from this blow.

Boom! The two attacks collided instantly; cracks spread across the earth. Feng Qing'er'er was blasted a great distance by the sword—despite possessing the Wind Thunder Body, she could not withstand Nalan Yanran's sword, fused with demonic flame!

Boom!! Feng Qing'er'er was shattered a thousand li away, crashing through mountain peaks and spitting out a mouthful of blood. The crimson blood stained her Dark Black Dress, strikingly vivid.

Nalan Yanran stood with sword in hand, calmly saying: "You have lost. As agreed, the territory of Huang Quan Shan Mai shall return to the Yan Alliance."

Nalan Yanran, standing with sword in hand, spoke slowly, exuding an ineffable grace—like a female Sword Saint, decisive in slaughter, never hesitating. The spectators fell silent, utterly speechless.

Even disciples of Dou Emperor Families walking the continent, upon witnessing this battle, were left mute and silent.

It turns out Dou Di Bloodline is not necessarily invincible; there still exist geniuses capable of matching—or even surpassing—their diluted Dou Di Bloodline. Dou Di Bloodline merely enhances their innate talent; it does not make them invincible.

Talent without effort will still be surpassed.

That sword strike just now—probably even an Eight Grade Dou Di Bloodline could not have unleashed it; they would likely have lost in bitter defeat. And how many are there above Nine Grade?

With the battle over, news swept across Zhong Zhou like a storm.

【Incredible! Yan Alliance's Nalan Yanran has defeated the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's Holy Maiden! Yan Alliance's power is overwhelming, unmatched!】

【Shocking! The Yun Lan Sect Master's final sword strike defeated her foe—she has revealed Saint Might; she may become the Yan Alliance's next Saint!】

【Breaking News: A disciple of a Dou Emperor Family once boasted he would set up a challenge arena to fight Yun Lan Sect disciples and proclaim Emperor Might!】

In an instant, due to this battle, the Yan Alliance was once again thrust into the eye of the storm, with all manner of "hype-chasing" acts emerging endlessly.

Of course, for the Yan Alliance's high-ups, they had no interest in managing this—they already knew, for not long ago, Xiao Yan had returned. This duel had been orchestrated by Xiao Yan himself; those among the high-ups who had learned the news earlier already understood.

The real big event is still to come.

After Nalan Yanran's battle with Feng Qing'er'er, in the dead of night, a figure clad in a Soul Robe silently infiltrated the pavilion hidden within the mist.

Though the battle had passed, strangely, the aerial pavilion where Yun Yun resided had not departed—it still lingered hidden within Space, as if awaiting someone.

The black-robed figure stood before the small building, surveying the surroundings. There were two rooms total; Nalan Yanran was in the left room, cultivating and recovering—but the black-robed figure's target was not Nalan Yanran.

With a creak, the black-robed figure opened Yun Yun's room and saw Yun Yun standing there, dressed in a plain dress, her unique aura evident—as if she had already known and was waiting.

The black-robed figure slowly closed the door; a Shielding Array activated. Then, she removed her Hood—without doubt, it was Feng Qing'er'er.

But now, Feng Qing'er'er's hair was disheveled, with traces of blood visible on her body; the noble elegance of her earlier self was gone, replaced by a touch of battle-worn beauty.

"You deliberately used the wager to lure me here—what do you want?" Feng Qing'er'er's beautiful eyes fixed intently on the stunning, noble woman before her.

She had heard Yun Yun's name many times; rumors even claimed that when Xiao Yan founded the Yan Alliance, it was for this very woman—to help her through her trials.

Others might envy her, but for Feng Qing'er'er, anyone closely tied to Xiao Yan—she avoided them as much as possible!!

(End of Chapter)