Chapter 669

Yao Dan hovered in the sky, gazing at the boundless Black Flame spreading across the heavens until the edge of vision; his expression grew deeply grim, for he sensed an utterly terrifying presence within it.

Even a Seven Star Dou Sheng like Yao Dan couldn't survive a single strike against it.

"All members of the Yao Clan, activate the Hua Tian Yao Formation!"

Yao Dan drew a deep breath, and his resolute, thunderous cry echoed through the air—this time, he felt a crisis unlike any before, a crisis that made him understand: the survival of the Yao Clan might rest upon this very day.

As Yao Dan's cry fell, every Yao Clan member trembled; the Hua Tian Yao Formation, the Yao Clan's ancestral protective array, had not been activated since ancient times—not even when the Dou Emperor vanished suddenly tens of thousands of years ago and the Dou Qi Continent plunged into chaos.

This revealed just how dire the threat facing the Yao Clan truly was.

"Wummm!"

All Yao Clan Elders swiftly launched beams of light into the Shan Mai, causing the mountains to shake; massive pillars of light erupted through the peaks, weaving together in the sky into a colossal, strange array. As the array took shape, every rare medicinal material within the mountains withered instantly, unleashing boundless energy that flooded entirely into the great array.

"Shhhhh!"

At that moment, nearly every Yao Clan member condensed their Dou Qi into beams of light, launching them en masse into the array; instantly, the array blazed with radiant light, and a terrifying pressure—like a dragon slumbering for tens of thousands of years—awoke silently. As this pressure spread, the entire Yao Realm's space shuddered violently, and vast energy surged endlessly toward the array's location.

"Such terrifying pressure."

Within the array, even Xiao Yan stared grimly at the brilliant, dazzling giant light array above, its pressure likely rivaling that of an Eight Star Dou Sheng!

The Yao Clan's depth was indeed extraordinary.

Xiao Yan gazed at the light array and murmured: "They say this array was created by the Yao Clan's Dou Emperor, who left behind a trace of his residual soul power. If activated, it might halt the Soul Sovereign." After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan still shook his head—the Hun Tian Di was no fool; if he dared attack the Yao Clan, surely he had accounted for this array.

In terms of depth, the Soul Sovereign's foundation was certainly no weaker than the Yao Clan's.

"Heh, so this is the Yao Clan's protective array? Its might is indeed far stronger than that of the Ling Clan or Stone Clan." Outside the array, Hun Xu Zi smiled as he gazed at the array below, its energy churning so violently it sent shivers through him; then, before countless eyes, he turned and bowed deeply toward the boundless Black Flame: "Lord Xuwu, this array may require your hand to break."

As Hun Xu Zi's reverent voice faded, the Black Flame behind him slowly writhed, coalescing into a human form that emerged under the gaze of countless eyes.

The figure was wreathed in Black Flame, its body covered in strange black Spiritual Energy Sealing Array Runes; its eyes resembled black holes, radiating a terrifying devouring force. Standing upon the Black Flame in the sky, its face was slightly obscured by the flames, yet as it appeared, an ancient and eerie aura slowly spread through the heavens and earth.

"Wuuu!"

With the appearance of this Black Flame figure, the vast sky of Void Swallowing Flame emitted strange wailing sounds, as if welcoming their master.

Xiao Yan's gaze fixed on the demon-god-like figure—he was no stranger to it. But this was the first time he had seen Void Swallowing Flame unleash its full power.

This time, the Yao Clan was likely doomed.

Under countless stunned gazes, the towering, demon-god-like figure slowly lowered its head, gazing at the array below, surging with boundless power; with a sweep of its sleeve, the boundless Black Flame above churned violently, transforming into a dense rain of black fire that rained down upon the array.

"Chiiii!"

As the black fire rained down, white mist erupted from the array; all could feel the array's energy being devoured by the fire.

"Yao Clan, surrender, and you may live—you still serve a purpose for us."

As the black fire poured down, the lush mountains turned yellow and barren in an instant, as if all life had been devoured; at the same time, a hoarse voice, one that made souls tremble, slowly emerged from the demon-god-like figure.

"To devour my Yao Clan? It won't be that simple!"

Yao Dan's face twisted with ferocity; with a thunderous cry, several beams of light erupted from Yao Mountain, shooting straight into the array. Xiao Yan's sharp eyes clearly saw that the beams contained countless pills—so many, their sheer number made him gasp; clearly, the Yao Clan had emptied every last reserve.

As the vast quantity of pills flooded into the array, Yao Dan's face hardened with resolve!

"Ten Thousand Pills Transform Heaven! In the Name of Pills, the Yao Emperor Returns!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Countless pills surged into the array, rapidly dissolving into potent energy; soon, the array's core became a sea of liquid energy, flowing with deep, thunderous rumbles.

Yao Dan's hands wove intricate seals, his face contorted, and he roared aloud.

As his cry echoed, a vortex appeared at the array's center, drawing in endless liquid energy; simultaneously, an ancient aura slowly spread from the vortex. The vortex spun rapidly, then quietly vanished—and from its dissolution emerged a phantom old man clad in coarse hemp robes.

"Wum!"

At the sight of the phantom old man, every Yao Clan member's Spiritual Soul trembled violently; a bloodline-based pressure instantly caused countless figures across the mountains to kneel.

"Ancestor!!"

Many Yao Clan Elders, tears streaming down their faces, gazed at the phantom figure with fanatic devotion; under the bloodline's pull, that figure was, in their hearts, a divine being, inviolable.

Seeing this figure, Xiao Yan's pupils contracted—this old man gave him the exact same feeling as the negative energy of the Bodhi Ancient Tree!

"The power of a Dou Emperor—the Yao Clan truly means to fight to the death!"

This wasn't even a true residual soul—merely a seal imprint left within the array, over tens of thousands of years old. Yet even so, this was still a Dou Emperor!

"Hmm… Yao Emperor?"

The Void Swallowing Flame's pupil-like eyes fixed on the phantom figure; after a moment, it let out a faint, enigmatic sigh.

"But pity—the supreme ruler of old is now merely a residual imprint clinging to the array."

"Yao Emperor, protect our Yao Clan!" Yao Dan knelt in the sky, bowing low and roaring respectfully.

"Yao Clan… my family."

Within the array, the old man in coarse hemp robes murmured softly; the passage of time had left his memories sparse and hazy, yet he still recalled the race he had founded. His ancient gaze slowly swept downward, finally settling into a whisper.

"Fallen so far…"

Hearing the phantom's whisper, Yao Dan's face flushed with shame; though the present could not compare to ancient times, he offered no excuse.

The phantom old man did not speak to any Yao Clan member. He slowly raised his head, gazing at the Black Flame that filled the heavens; his eyes flickered with confusion once more, then with a sweep of his sleeve, light surged from the array, forcibly shattering the Black Flame clinging to it and devouring its energy.

"No complete memory. No complete Spiritual Soul. Lost in oblivion, like a puppet. Even a great Yao Emperor has come to this. Very well—I shall claim this residual soul. At least it equals a million complete souls."

In the sky, Void Swallowing Flame smiled faintly, showing no trace of reverence; it extended its hand, and its fingers, covered in black Spiritual Energy Sealing Array Runes, pointed downward.

"Boom!"

As Void Swallowing Flame's finger pointed, the heavens and earth shattered; from the boundless Black Flame, a colossal black flame finger—nearly obscuring half the Shan Mai—descended from the sky, slamming down upon the array. The very space of this realm cracked apart beneath that finger.

Seeing the terrifying might of that finger, many faces turned pale.

The black finger descended—but as it neared the array, the old man in coarse hemp robes finally raised his hand. A cauldron, no smaller than the giant finger, appeared atop the array; its surface was engraved with strange patterns, appearing as solid as reality, radiating an ancient aura.

"Wum!"

The giant finger struck the giant cauldron, and a resonant hum echoed through the heavens and earth.

"Puch!"

Under that terrifying hum, some of the weaker ones spat out blood on the spot; others had their eardrums burst, blood continuously streaming from both ears, utterly gruesome.

The two collided, the giant finger dispersed, and the Alchemy Cauldron grew far more ethereal—even the old man's silhouette faded slightly, clearly depleted of much energy.

"A mere remnant soul—how many times can it block me?"

Though the first strike failed, the Swallowing Flame chuckled faintly, pressing its fingers against Space, causing the earth to tremble and mountains to shake; countless giant fingers descended from the sky, hammering relentlessly onto the giant cauldron.

"Whirrrr!"

With a deafening roar, numerous cracks suddenly split open across the surface of the giant cauldron.

"All Yao Clan members—channel all your Battle Qi and Bloodline Power into the Demonic Array!"

Seeing that the Swallowing Flame showed no fear even of the Ancestor's remnant soul, Yao Dan's face darkened again; he roared fiercely, then transformed his Battle Qi into a brilliant light column that shot straight into the Demonic Array. From other areas, countless light columns erupted as well—suddenly, the giant cauldron grew solid once more, and this time, it flew directly out of the Demonic Array, roaring toward the Swallowing Flame in the Sky.

Seeing the giant cauldron hurtling toward him, Hun Xu Zi's face changed; he hastily dodged behind the Swallowing Flame.

"You have Bloodline Power—I have it too."

The Swallowing Flame's tone remained calm; with a sweep of its sleeve, the entire Yao Realm trembled. Then, in horror, all present saw countless clusters of Black Flame rising from beyond the Demonic Array, merging into the Black Flame that filled the heavens—suddenly, countless agonized screams echoed across the land.

"Those are the Yao Clan's descendants!"

"Not just them—there are Stone Clan and Ling Clan descendants too!!"

Xiao Yan's face darkened slightly; the Soul Sovereign truly spared no cruelty—how heartless, to perform a Blood Sacrifice on hundreds of thousands, even millions of descendants.

Within each dense cluster of light were writhing human figures—these people were all descendants of the Yao, Stone, and Ling Clans; as they were sucked into the Black Flame clouds, Xiao Yan saw their bodies instantly turn to blood, then fully devoured.

"Soul Sovereign—I, the Yao Clan, swear eternal enmity with you!"

Yao Dan, sensing the chaos beyond the Demonic Array, his eyes nearly bursting with rage, let out a venomous, frenzied roar that echoed across the land.

Ignoring Yao Dan's roar, the Swallowing Flame clenched its palm—a blood orb coalesced, then swelled at an utterly terrifying speed; within the blood orb, the Yao Clan could clearly sense a familiar scent.

"Explode!"

When the blood orb swelled to nearly a thousand zhang, the Swallowing Flame swept its hand—the orb shot forth and slammed violently into the oncoming giant cauldron.

In an instant, bloodlight blotted out the sky; everyone's ears felt temporarily deaf, yet only the crimson red filling their vision confirmed that the cataclysmic collision was no illusion.

"Boom!"

An indescribably terrifying energy shockwave erupted wildly from the sky; the ancient giant cauldron cracked open along its surface the moment it made contact, and under the Swallowing Flame's voracious devouring, it finally dissolved completely—the remaining destructive shockwave surged downward and slammed hard into the Demonic Array.

"Thud!"

The Demonic Array shuddered violently under the onslaught; the liquid-like energy surging across its surface vanished at an astonishing rate.

Xiao Yan looked up at the Yao Clan's protective sect array, his heart filled with unknown emotion; he murmured to himself: "The array is breaking—the Yao Clan… is finished."

At this moment, Xiao Yan frowned; he still made no move, and the Swallowing Flame and Hun Xu Zi seemed to have forgotten him entirely—even glancing his way.

This time, Xiao Yan's identity was different—he was the Lord of the Soul Sect.

(End of Chapter)