Word Count: 2,947 Words
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Xiao Yan had crossed blows with Nalan Yanran only three days ago, and the encounter had prompted him to update his sense of the 'combat power unit.' Following Xiao Yan around really was like eating nine meals a day.
The insight she had gained beneath the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree truly lived up to its name. Of the Bodhisattva Three Treasures, the Bodhisattva Seed, the Bodhisattva Heart, and the enlightenment beneath the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree itself, that single session of comprehension had raised Nalan Yanran's understanding of the sword path by an entire tier.
Even without Xiao Yan's help, relying on the Nine-Change cultivation method alone, she would inevitably break through to the Half-Saint realm and become a true Sword Saint!
Yun Yun was proficient in all manner of Dou Techniques; the sword was merely one of her many tools. She knew agility techniques, formations, and more. Nalan Yanran, by contrast, knew only the sword.
Xiao Yan slowly rose to his feet. The shift of weight as he lifted himself from Yun Yun's lap sent a lingering warmth brushing across her chest. Her breath hitched. Color flooded her cheeks in a rush of heat, and her lips parted on a sound she barely managed to swallow back. She shot him a fierce, flustered glare from beneath her lashes, cursing him inwardly as a lecher who loved to take advantage.
Xiao Yan swallowed his chuckle, but he did not linger in gentleness for long. The world was still far from peaceful. He still had a long road of effort ahead.
A single step carried him out of the pavilion. He let his Spiritual Strength veil his presence and stood amid the clouds and mist, looking down at the battle below.
For the moment, Nalan Yanran clearly held the upper hand. The Cloud Slaying Black Sword in her hand swept out streak after streak of pitch-black sword qi. Every casual swing carved a ferocious rift into the void that refused to heal for a long time.
Feng Qing Er was absolutely no pushover either, however. The seven-colored ribbon condensed from her own feathers could advance to attack or retreat to defend. Its hardness blocked sword slashes head-on; when she cracked it like a whip or swept it like a blade, the versatility was formidable. As a magical beast, her physical strength also somewhat exceeded Nalan Yanran's.
Xiao Yan watched the exchange below with a calm gaze. Feng Qing Er coming alone was itself a signal, a gesture just barely sufficient for him to believe she had never truly considered betraying him.
Even so, the matter of unifying Dragon Island had to be absolutely foolproof.
He rubbed his chin, fell silent for a moment, then sent a sound transmission to Nalan Yanran. "Deliberately show Feng Qing Er a few openings. I want to see how she responds."
Down on the battlefield, Nalan Yanran almost choked at the words. To deal with an opponent whose strength was not beneath her own and still be told to show openings... Are you trying to get me killed?!
She did not know what Xiao Yan was planning, but she did not refuse.
The next instant, she suddenly appeared as though she had unleashed too many Dou Techniques in succession and was running low on Dou Qi. The technique in her hands jerked, its release slowing by half a beat.
To ordinary people, half a second might mean nothing. In a battle at this level, half a second was a massive mistake. Fatal!
"Hm?!"
Even Feng Qing Er's eyes flashed with astonishment, but she immediately seized the chance. The ribbon in her hand darted out like a nimble venomous snake, carrying tyrannical Dou Qi as it battered through Nalan Yanran's sword qi and wrapped itself around the Cloud Slaying Black Sword with a series of sharp whistles.
Clang!
Feng Qing Er gave a savage tug and locked down Nalan Yanran's sword, preventing her from freely executing any sword techniques.
With the black sword suddenly bound, Nalan Yanran hastily circulated her Dou Qi to shatter the ribbon. But how could Feng Qing Er possibly let such a 'once-in-a-thousand-years' opportunity slip away? She unleashed the Three Thousand Lightning Illusionary Body. In an instant, two Feng Qing Ers appeared, flanking Nalan Yanran from both sides.
Wind and lightning surged together, and with the Demon Phoenix Holy Statue lending its might, Nalan Yanran gradually began to lose ground.
Roars shook the sky. Deafening beast cries rolled across the entire plain in a wave of exultant cheers.
"How did Sect Leader Nalan suddenly fall behind? Wasn't she suppressing Feng Qing Er just now?" a young human cultivator asked nervously, his face tight with worry.
"Her Dou Qi's running low. Ordinary high-level Dou Venerates have a chance at obtaining Tian Class Dou Techniques, but Tian Class Qi Methods are far too difficult to come by. Even a Half-Saint might not possess one. Sect Leader Nalan's attack just now stalled because she ran short on Dou Qi," an older-generation expert 'saw through it' and said gravely.
"That's the advantage magical beasts enjoy. Their bodies are powerful. Even without Dou Qi, they can still fight on sheer physical strength alone."
Thunder rumbled overhead once more. The battle between the two women was unimaginably fierce. To say the heavens collapsed and the earth split was almost an understatement. Thousand-foot-wide Dou Technique attacks bloomed one after another without end.
Yet just as the magical beasts of the Beast Region were certain Feng Qing Er was about to claim victory, another dramatic turn occurred.
This time, it was Feng Qing Er's Dou Qi that suddenly stalled, leaving an opening!!
Even Xiao Yan could not help but laugh at the sight.
Two people fighting a fake match.
Beside him, a puzzled sort of surprise flickered across Yun Yun's exquisite features. Her beautiful eyes slid sideways to Xiao Yan, who was trying and failing to contain his amusement. "This Feng Qing Er..." Her tone carried a clear implication.
Like Nalan Yanran, Yun Yun naturally did not know the truth of Feng Qing Er's situation. Aside from Cai Lin, Zi Yan and Little Fairy Doctor, no one in the Yan Alliance was aware that Feng Qing Er had already fallen into the clutches of the Tenth Tianzun.
'The acting skills of these two little Dou Venerate actresses are far too clumsy. At this level, they actually want to fool someone like Huang Tian?' Xiao Yan did his best to hold in his laughter, but this sort of wooden performance could not even fool Yun Yun, who was standing right beside him.
"Leave it at that. Feng Qing Er has at least learned to be obedient this time. She should come looking for you tonight." He shook his head, glancing at the two women still 'fighting fiercely' below. He did not particularly care about the result.
If one had to talk about the result, he had already exchanged blows with Nalan Yanran three days prior and knew exactly how strong she was now.
Unless Feng Qing Er's bloodline underwent ancestral reversion and evolved into an Ancient Heaven Phoenix, she had no way of defeating Nalan Yanran, who had undergone comprehension beneath the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree.
"No need to put on a show anymore. For the rest, whether you win or lose is entirely up to you," Xiao Yan transmitted to Nalan Yanran.
The purpose of this arranged duel was very simple. First, to give Feng Qing Er a perfectly proper excuse to leave the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe. Second, to see where her heart truly stood.
Just now, Xiao Yan had seen very clearly that Feng Qing Er had even considered deliberately losing. At the very least, she did not want to stand openly on the opposite side of the Yan Alliance. That much was certain.
Nalan Yanran's eyes lit up the instant she heard those words. Her Dou Qi erupted in a surge, and a wisp of black-and-white Heavenly Flame rose from her sword, completely burning away Feng Qing Er's ribbon.
"A Heavenly Flame?!" Feng Qing Er's heart jolted the moment she saw the Yin-Yang Twin Flame. She did not recognize the black-and-white fire as the Yin-Yang Twin Flame, but she had once 'tasted' the pain of a Heavenly Flame firsthand.
She could tell at a single glance that this was no ordinary fire!
A smug smile curved Nalan Yanran's lips at the sight of Feng Qing Er's stunned expression. Naturally, this was not the Yin-Yang Twin Flame's Essence. It was merely a trace of Heavenly Flame that Xiao Yan had left behind back when he helped her break through at the Flower Sect, carefully sealed away inside the black sword.
"Let's see how you break this move!"
She smiled, though she could not help grumbling inwardly that this fellow Xiao Yan had been dragging her down the whole time. She stepped forward. With a heavy boom, the earth itself shuddered beneath her foot. The instant her terrifying Dou Qi flared, it suppressed the surrounding space and crushed everything in its path!
In that moment, an aura that made the very ground tremble erupted from Nalan Yanran's entire body. The terrifying heat distorted the air until the surrounding space seemed to melt, as if the sky itself were being burned through. When a Heavenly Flame appeared, the void melted!
Although it was only a single wisp of the Yin-Yang Twin Flame, the power of a Heavenly Flame still manifested fully in Nalan Yanran's hands. And this was far from merely 'using a Heavenly Flame.'
"Yin-Yang Sword Peak!" Nalan Yanran slashed down. The stroke was simple and unadorned, only a single sword. Under this strike, the Heavenly Flame instantly merged into the sword qi, separating black and white, distinguishing Yin and Yang, cleaving heaven and earth apart!!
With the Yin-Yang Twin Flame added in, this sword actually bore more than a passing resemblance to the Flame Splitting Tsunami!!
Yet its power was definitely not as simple as a mere Di Class Dou Technique!
Once locked onto by this sword, there was nowhere to run. The world might be vast, but all of it lay beneath this single stroke!
It was not just Venerable Jian and the other sword-wielding Dou Venerates whose faces changed drastically. Up in the void, watching the battle alone, even Huo Zhi's expression shifted sharply beneath her veil, shock surfacing across her hidden features.
Her gaze did not settle on the sword stroke itself but on the Heavenly Flame wrapped around Nalan Yanran's blade. She had never crossed hands with Nalan Yanran, and her current cultivation had already reached the formidable high-level Half-Saint realm, far stronger than Nalan Yanran's.
Ever since the Demon Flame Space incident, she had been quietly following every movement the Yan Alliance made.
'Yin-Yang Twin Flame... That's Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flame.' Huo Zhi's face beneath the veil went slightly pale. Back in the Demon Flame Space, the Yan Clan had clashed fiercely with Xiao Yan.
Even the sixteenth-ranked Fire Cloud Water Flame had ultimately been sealed by that mysterious black flame of his, costing the Yan Clan an entire Heavenly Flame.
Afterward, some within the Yan Clan had suggested retaliating against the Yan Alliance, but Xiao Chen had cowed them into silence. Everyone present back then had seen for themselves just how terrifying Xiao Chen's combat power was.
Even if the agreement among the Dou God Clans had ceased to exist, truly dealing with the massive Yan Alliance would demand a heavy price. Xiao Chen alone was enough to inflict grievous casualties on the Yan Clan, to say nothing of Medusa and the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe's Dragon Emperor.
In the current situation, the Yan Clan could not afford to create trouble on the side. Moreover, the Gu Clan was tied to both Xiao Yan and the Xiao Clan; there was no way they would sit back and watch the Yan Alliance be destroyed.
'Even if this isn't the Yin-Yang Twin Flame's Essence, only a wisp hidden in the sword... for the Yan Alliance to suddenly challenge Feng Qing Er at a time like this...' Huo Zhi's heart sank as a terrifying thought surfaced in her mind.
Below, the Cloud Slaying Black Sword in Nalan Yanran's hand swept out. The terrifying heat of the Heavenly Flame and ferocious sword qi blasted in all directions. As the saying went, wind fed the fire's fury, and flame sharpened the sword's edge. Her Dou Qi was originally of the wind attribute, and beneath that wind attribute Dou Qi, the Yin-Yang Twin Flame billowed into an even more ferocious blaze.
"Demon Phoenix Descent, Eternity Severing Wings!" Feng Qing Er spat out a mouthful of essence blood. The demon phoenix behind her flared with fierce light, its wings rolling up black lightning and a howling hurricane.
The titanic wings of the Demon Phoenix Holy Statue swept out, shearing through the sky as black thunder and black wind exploded forth.
Clang!
Nalan Yanran's single sword cut across the firmament in a merciless, absolute kill. Everywhere the blade-light passed was slashed apart and incinerated. Even a Half-Saint would have to shed blood under this stroke.
BOOM!
A deafening crash rang out as the two attacks slammed together. Deep cracks fractured the earth in every direction. Feng Qing Er's entire body was hurled away by that single sword. Even with her Wind-Lightning Physique, she could not withstand a strike that had fused with a Heavenly Flame!
BOOM!!
She tumbled across the sky for a thousand miles and smashed through a distant mountain peak. Blood sprayed from her lips. The bright-red droplets spattered across her black dress, shockingly vivid.
Nalan Yanran stood with her sword planted before her, her expression indifferent. "You've lost. According to the agreement, the territory of the Yellow Springs Mountain Range once again belongs to my Yan Alliance."
Standing there with her sword, she spoke with unhurried calm. There was an indescribable air of free and easy grace about her, like a female Sword Saint, decisive in slaughter, never dragging things out. The entire crowd of spectators fell silent all at once.
Even the descendants of the Dou God Clans walking the continent could only stare in speechless silence after witnessing that battle.
So a Dou God Bloodline truly was not necessarily invincible. There were still geniuses in this world who could match or even surpass their thin Dou God Bloodlines. A bloodline only raised one's innate talent; it did not grant absolute invincibility.
Talent without effort would still be surpassed.
That final sword was something even many Grade 8 Dou God Bloodline holders would struggle to produce, and could only accept with bitter defeat. As for Grade 9 and above... how many people even possessed such a bloodline?
The battle ended, and the news swept through the entire Central Plains like a storm.
[Unbelievable! Yan Alliance's Nalan Yanran Defeats the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's Saintess! The Yan Alliance's Momentum Is Unstoppable!]
[Shocking! Misty Cloud Sect Leader Fells Her Foe with a Single Sword at the Final Moment, Displays Saint Might! May Become the Yan Alliance's Next Saint!]
[Breaking: Dou God Clan Descendant Vows to Set Up an Arena and Challenge Misty Cloud Sect Disciples to Display the Might of the Ancient Clans!]
For a time, thanks to this one battle, the Yan Alliance was once again thrust onto the crest of the storm. Every manner of faction scrambled to 'ride the wave,' attaching themselves to the topic in every way they could.
Of course, the Yan Alliance's upper echelons had neither the time nor the interest to bother with such things. Not long ago, Xiao Yan had already returned.
This entire duel had been orchestrated by him from start to finish. For the high-level members who had learned the news before anyone else, everything was already clear in their hearts.
The truly major event was still to come.
…
After the duel between Nalan Yanran and Feng Qing Er, late that night, a figure draped in a Soul Robe quietly slipped into the pavilion hidden amid the clouds and mist.
Although the battle was over, Yun Yun's sky pavilion had not departed. It remained concealed in the void, as if waiting for someone.
The black-robed figure stood before the small building and swept their gaze around. There were two rooms here. Nalan Yanran was in the left room, cultivating and recovering. The black-robed figure's target, however, was not her.
With a soft creak, the figure pushed open Yun Yun's door. Inside, Yun Yun stood in a plain dress, her bearing uniquely elegant, as if she had long known someone would come and was simply waiting.
The figure slowly closed the door behind them. A shielding formation activated with a low hum. Then she reached up and drew back her hood.
Feng Qing Er, without a doubt.
Only the current Feng Qing Er's hair was somewhat disheveled, and traces of blood still clung to her body. The noble aura she had displayed at the start of the day was gone, replaced instead by a kind of battle-worn beauty.
"You deliberately used that wager to call me here. What do you want?" Feng Qing Er's beautiful eyes locked gravely onto the stunning woman before her.
She had heard Yun Yun's name many times. There were even rumors that when Xiao Yan first founded the Yan Alliance, it had been entirely for the sake of this woman, to help her through a crisis.
Others might well feel envious. But for Feng Qing Er, anyone who had a deep relationship with Xiao Yan was someone she would avoid if she could, avoid as far as humanly possible!!
All of them were devils!