Chapter 858: The Killer

As the saying goes, tall trees attract wind; now that the Dou Qi Continent has broken its sealing and opened a passage to the Great Thousand World, they had mentally prepared for attracting much attention—but they never expected that not only super-factions from the Great Thousand World had arrived, but even the Domain Beyond's demonic race had come!

"Those aren't members of the Domain Beyond's demonic race."

Nalan Yanran, still wearing her Yun Lan Sect robe, slowly stepped out of Space, gazing up at the fleet above, her eyes like sharp swords piercing through the layers of dark mist behind the fleet, seeing clearly what lay at its core.

Within the Life and Death Gate, after more than a year, Nalan Yanran was the first to emerge.

Xiao Yan's Soul Force had already reached the Earth Supreme level; naturally, he could twist time just like the master of the Heavenly Tomb, so while Nalan Yanran spent one year inside the Life and Death Gate, she actually cultivated for ten years.

After Nalan Yanran passed the Trial and transformed her Spiritual Energy, Xiao Yan didn't just leave her a fine Ruins legacy—he also left hundreds of millions of Supreme Spirit Liquid and one Spirit-version Emperor Pill.

This allowed Nalan Yanran's Cultivation Realm to smoothly break through to Earth Supreme.

"Not the Domain Beyond's demonic race?!" Hearing Nalan Yanran's words, Hai Bodong couldn't help but scrutinize the sky-darkening darkness above—its ominous aura clearly matched the Demon Qi Xiao Yan had described as belonging to the Domain Beyond's demonic race.

Nalan Yanran's voice carried a chill: "No. That darkness resembles Domain Beyond Demon Qi, but Domain Beyond Demon Qi corrupts other energies into a special force, turning those who absorb it into mindless, corpse-like monsters. The dark energy in the heavens clearly lacks this trait."

It wasn't strange that Nalan Yanran recognized Domain Beyond Demon Qi, because the Trial Xiao Yan left her was tied to the Domain Beyond's demonic race—he required her to slay the residual soul of a minor Demon King.

The Remnant Continent had been destroyed by the Domain Beyond's demonic race, and among its fragments were many corrupted by Demon Qi; Xiao Yan deliberately left such Ruins for Nalan Yanran to hone her.

Of course, if Nalan Yanran knew that everyone else received their legacy without any Domain Beyond demonic interference, she'd probably be too furious to sleep.

Yao Lao and the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King both shook their heads—they naturally couldn't detect any difference, even though both had completed their Spiritual Energy transformation and reached the Supreme level. But now, Nalan Yanran was the strongest, even surpassing Gu Qingyang, Yan Jin, Lei Ying, and other current Gu Clan Clan Leaders.

It wasn't that Gu Qingyang and the others lacked talent—they simply lacked resources.

Xun Er had brought back some resources for the family, but they were all from the Great Thousand World and required conversion into Spiritual Energy before use; yet Gu Qingyang and other Dou Emperor Family Clan Leaders had no intention of converting Spiritual Energy—or even leaving the Dou Qi Continent—and chose to remain on it.

They planned to follow the old path: slowly gathering Source Qi from the heavens, then breaking through to Dou Emperor.

Having abandoned the Spiritual Energy path, the resources Xiao Yan and others brought back from the Great Thousand World became unsuitable.

"So it seems these are all Great Thousand World factions, deliberately disguising themselves as the Domain Beyond's demonic race to plunder resources and the World Seed." Xiao Li's eyes narrowed slightly, a flash of sharp red light flickering within.

"What a despicable act—if you want to seize the World Seed, do it openly."

Once a Lower Plane is discovered, the consequences are unimaginable—especially for those that have birthed a World Seed. The lucky ones encounter super-factions willing to offer Cultivation Methods and Divine Techniques to recruit talent, fostering mutual growth and even strengthening the Lower Plane.

The unlucky ones encounter tyrannical super-factions—similar to encountering the Domain Beyond's demonic race—and are stripped of resources, conquered entirely, and turned into vassal continents, endlessly bled dry.

When a powerful faction discovers a weak one, misfortune follows—no matter the world.

The sudden arrival of the Domain Beyond's demonic army beyond the Dou Qi Continent naturally caused great turmoil, and the news spread instantly.

Leaders of every Dou Emperor Family, Dan Tower, and other major factions gathered within the Xiao Realm—after all, the Xiao Realm was now unquestionably the strongest family on the Dou Qi Continent.

Gazing at the overwhelmingly oppressive army above, Gu Qingyang's expression grew grim—he had no capacity to resist such a force. Once, Nine Star Dou Sheng had been the ceiling of the Dou Qi Continent; now, after the sealing was broken and Heavenly Energy became far denser, breaking through to Dou Sheng had become much easier.

But this wasn't entirely good—now, even a Dou Emperor could no longer control everything.

"Sigh, I once thought the sudden disappearance of Source Qi and inability to break through to Dou Emperor was a bad thing—but now I see it wasn't all bad." Yan Jin sighed helplessly; truly, beyond every person is another, beyond every sky lies another.

"Where's Xiao Yan? Hasn't he emerged yet?" Lei Ying scanned the surroundings—Xiao Yan was nowhere to be seen, nor were Xun Er, Cai Lin, or Xiao Yixian.

Xiao Ding's expression was filled with helplessness—whenever something like this happened, Xiao Yan was always absent. He didn't know why!

Xiao Ding explained: "Three months ago, the Void Ancient Dragon Clan underwent a transformation. After Cai Lin returned from visiting them, she left a letter for Xiao Yan, saying she would take Zi Yan to the Shen Shou Continent and then departed."

"And Xiao Yixian and Xun Er were taken away by Xiao Yan's black cat Flame a month ago—it said it would bring them into the deepest layer of the Dou Qi Continent's Space for a World Purification."

For a moment, everyone exchanged glances—just at this moment!

"Sigh, we're used to it. Hope that kid times it right."

"All clan members, form the War Array! Delay them until Xiao Yan emerges!" Gu Qingyang roared.

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

As everyone prepared for the "wait for Xiao Yan's emergence" phase, Nalan Yanran suddenly smiled, a black-and-white flame mark appearing on her forehead, her eyes revealing a rare tenderness as she softly said: "No need this time—he's here."

As Nalan Yanran spoke, the temperature of the entire Dou Qi Continent suddenly rose several degrees. A strand of darkness threaded with multicolored starlight appeared out of nowhere—like countless differently colored stars within a vast universe, a unique Flame.

"I've just emerged and already have so many people welcoming me—how generous of you to show me such respect."

A voice with a faint smile drifted from within the flames, and a man clad in black robes, his lips always curled in a smile, stepped out.

Without doubt, the man was Xiao Yan!

Seeing Xiao Yan appear, Hai Bodong and the others stared in stunned disbelief.

"Third brother, you've changed." Xiao Li couldn't help but comment.

Sweep the critical point, return to yourself!

Hearing this, Xiao Yan's expression nearly cracked—he chuckled helplessly: "Second brother, I already emerged a month ago."

Xiao Yan had already emerged a month ago, which was why he sent Mao Wu to bring Xun Er and Xiao Yixian to the space where the World Seed had been. Though the World Seed was gone, that space had accumulated immense World Power over fifty thousand years—he intended to leave it for them.

Even though the Dou Qi Continent isn't a super-continent, this World Power is far more precious than ordinary World Purification—it won't let them break through to Heaven Supreme, but will lay a solid foundation for future breakthroughs.

Once both women reach full-circle Earth Supreme, breaking through to Heaven Supreme will become much easier.

During this past month, Xiao Yan primarily focused on Pill Alchemy; that space had abundant Heavenly Energy and perfect silence—ideal for pill refining.

Xiao Yan glanced at Nalan Yanran beside him and smiled: "Not bad—you're the first to break through. I thought you'd be the last."

Among the three most precious legacies in the Life and Death Gate were the Ruins Continents belonging to Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun, and Qing Lin—these three Ruins Continents not only held Earth Supreme legacies, but Xiao Yan also left sufficient Spiritual Spirit Liquid and Supreme Spirit Liquid to break through to Earth Supreme.

Originally, Xiao Yan estimated Qing Lin—with her Qi San Hua Tong—would break through fastest, since Qi San Hua Tong was so powerful; if she mastered War Array techniques, gathering a million battle runes wouldn't be difficult.

Yet the one with the weakest cultivation, Nalan Yanran, broke through to Earth Supreme first!

"You!" Nalan Yanran clenched her tiny fists, glaring at Xiao Yan: "Hmph, my talent isn't bad—don't underestimate me!"

"Yes, yes, yes—I misjudged you. Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—maybe you'll become The Great Overlord someday." Xiao Yan teased lightly, utterly unconcerned by the army now encircling the entire Dou Qi Continent.

"Cough, third brother, you and your wife can play around later—first deal with the fleet above and drive them away. The entire Dou Qi Continent is in panic." Brother Xiao Ding cleared his throat.

The enemy army is at the gates, and you're still teasing your wife—isn't that excessive?!

!! Hearing this, Nalan Yanran's cheeks flushed pink. She huffed and turned her head away—but secretly, she was delighted.

Xiao Yan smiled, nodded, then instantly stilled his expression. He stepped across the heavens, arriving in the heavens above the Dou Qi Continent, facing the densely packed "Domain Beyond's demonic race" shrouded in darkness.

Xiao Yan possessed the Saint Pupil—he could instantly tell whether these were truly Domain Beyond's demonic race.

Clearly, they were impostors—and the Domain Beyond's demonic race would never send beings of Demon Emperor rank to occupy a Lower Plane. Through his Soul Force Perception, Xiao Yan sensed three Spirit-level Heaven Supremes hidden within the darkness.

"Stop pretending—when has the Domain Beyond ever appeared so brazenly?" Xiao Yan stood in Space, his eyes slightly narrowing; without waiting for any reaction from the other side, he swept his hand, and a staggering aura surged into a gale that shattered the opponent's Shielding Spirit Array in an instant.

Boom—the might of a Supreme was unleashed; boundless darkness scattered like ash, the Sealing Array broke apart, revealing their true forms.

"Supreme!"

"He refined the Planar Embryo in such a short time?!"

At this moment, the Supreme's aura surged like Heavenly Might—in an instant, the power of a Supreme erupted from Xiao Yan's body, crushing the cosmos, forcing everyone to collapse to the ground; even the petty rats hiding nearby, hoping to scavenge scraps from the battle, trembled in their legs and could no longer stand.

Under Xiao Yan's Supreme intimidation, these petty rats were utterly suppressed, prostrate upon the ground.

"Oh, so it's you Jing'an Palace again." Xiao Yan's gaze pierced through Space, spotting the hidden disciples of Jing'an Palace deep within the void—he sneered coldly.

Besides Jing'an Palace, two other super Factions whose identities Xiao Yan did not recognize were also present—three super Factions altogether!

Boom! Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, and an invisible Soul Slash shot forth; this formless, shapeless Soul Slash cleaved through the heavens, splitting the sky open and exposing the three Factions hiding behind the demonic bone tribe's warriors.

It was clear now—the demonic bone tribe was fake; the true masterminds were Jing'an Palace and the other two super Factions.

Space shattered; Xiao Yan let out a cold laugh, his deep voice brimming with lethal intent, echoing thunderously across the entire Dou Qi Continent.

"Since you Jing'an Palace are so fond of my homeland, from now on, stay here—don't leave. Dig yourselves a grave."

This scene came too swiftly; when the Hidden Space shattered, every gaze—whether from countless warriors on the Dou Qi Continent or those projected from all directions—froze in place.

"Kuang! That's Jing'an Palace, Green Serpent City, and Purple Eagle Hall—three super Factions pretending to be Domain Beyond demons to plunder the Lower Plane's Planar Embryo and resources?!"

"Hey, you don't really think all those plundered Lower Planes were the work of Domain Beyond demons, do you? Lower Planes are untouched Treasures—not just the Domain Beyond wants them; many Factions crave these resources."

"Survival of the fittest. The Great Thousand World has countless continents and super continents—think of how many were once Lower Planes. Have you heard of Sage Abyss Continent? That continent in the far western reaches of the Great Thousand World was born from a Lower Plane, a unique space connecting to the Great Thousand World—it's one of the ancient Battlefields."

"Young people are always so full of fire."

"You've broken through to Supreme at such a young age—we arrived too late. You've already refined the Planar Embryo."

"Hmph. Just newly entered Supreme."

Three vast, boundless voices echoed as if from beyond nothingness, filling heaven and earth; simultaneously, three indescribable powers pierced through the void, breaking Xiao Yan's Supreme suppression and freeing the disciples who had been crushed to the ground.

Master of Jing'an Palace, Jing'an Immortal Elder.

Lord of Green Serpent City, Green Serpent Sage Emperor.

Lord of Purple Eagle Hall, Sky Eagle Great Emperor.

Three Supremes!

Seeing the three Supreme figures appear, Xiao Yan cracked his neck, stretched lazily, and smiled faintly: "Three Spirit-grade Supreme beginners—mere clowns on par with Xuan Shi Great Emperor. Who gave you the courage to provoke me?"

Huh?!

"Xuan Shi Great Emperor?" Jing'an Immortal Elder frowned, suddenly sensing something deeper—he asked grimly: "Xuan Shi Great Emperor vanished two years ago entering the Domain Beyond. Who are you to him?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan furrowed his brow, thought for a long while, then said uncertainly: "I suppose I'm the murderer?"