The laughter had barely faded when ripples spread through the empty space before Ming Cheng and the others. Hun Tiandi's group furrowed their brows, their expressions solemn, while Ming Cheng and the others felt their hearts lighten with relief.
The spatial fluctuations surged outward, unveiling a vast lake nestled within a forest woven from living lightning. At its heart stood an immense umbrella-like tree, tranquil yet majestic, its roots absorb the Heaven and Earth's natural lightning essence.
Atop the ancient tree sat a lone figure, cross-legged, eyes closed in profound meditation.
What seized every gaze, however, were the four pairs of colossal wings unfurled from his back—each pair gleaming with a different hue, vast enough to blot out the sky. The very energies of Heaven and Earth stirred violently beneath their presence, as if compelled to bow.
The young man's still figure, serene amidst boundless power, struck awe into every soul watching. Recognition came swiftly—how could they not know him?
His portrait had long been etched across the Central Plains since the day he brought down the Wind Lightning Pavilion.
That youth was none other than Xiao Hua, Mansion Master of the Moonlit Chaos Mansion!
A heartbeat later, Xiao Hua's eyes snapped open. Lightning streaks and fiery embers shot forth, revealing his heterochromatic gaze—crimson in the left, cyan in the right. Rising smoothly, he took a single step forward.
Hong!
The titanic wings behind him trembled, and his figure vanished. In the next instant, he reappeared before Ming Cheng and the others, standing like a wall of heaven between them and Hun Tiandi's experts.
With a single glance, his spiritual sense swept over his comrades, probing their injuries. Relief flickered in his eyes—though their wounds were not fatal, he detected traces of Phoenix Breath Pill lingering within them. Clearly, their condition had been far graver before this.
"We are fine." Mei Ling understood Xiao Hua's gaze and answered with a faint smile. Lifting her eyes, she fixed a deep stare upon Hun Tiandi's group before warning softly, "Be cautious. The one at the front is Hun Clan's Clan Head—Hun Tiandi."
"Though you've likely already noticed, the one behind him is the Nihility Devouring Flame, and those four standing a step behind are the Four Demon Saints," Li Mei added, her expression solemn.
Ming Cheng, Xin Yu, and Wei Jie remained silent, their Dou Qi circulating quietly within their meridians. None of them worried for Xiao Hua—in their hearts, his strength was unquestionable.
They believed firmly that he could force Hun Tiandi's group to retreat. Their only concern was whether the enemies might strike at them instead, and so they prepared themselves to respond without hesitation.
Xiao Hua gave a slight nod, a faint smile brushing his lips before his expression hardened to ice. His gaze locked upon Hun Tiandi's group. Though they had brought an army of Dou Sheng elites, he showed neither fear nor concern.
A cold glint surged within his eyes as a killing intent like a boundless ocean burst forth. His aura erupted violently, shaking heaven and earth as natural energy surged madly toward him. Sky and land connected in his presence, as though the world itself bowed to his will. From a distance, it appeared like a vast, rolling tide of energy, crashing with an endless roar.
Normally, such a tide of energy could only be seen when the heavens birthed an unnatural phenomenon—something beyond human grasp, a vision that might not appear even once in a hundred years. Yet now, this overwhelming spectacle had been conjured from nothing by Xiao Hua's thought alone.
The tide surged ceaselessly, endless waves of energy crashing against existence itself. The pressure it carried swept forward, bearing down upon all. Even the Nihility Devouring Flame and the Four Demon Saints, who stood proudly behind Hun Tiandi, felt their expressions grow solemn beneath that terrifying weight. Yet beneath that solemness, shock and disbelief flickered more vividly in their eyes.
Even Hun Tiandi felt the same. More than anyone, he understood what stood before him—the young man was a genuine Nine-Star Dou Sheng with a Di State Soul!
"Unbelievable… the information was true." Hun Tiandi muttered in shock, his senses locked on Xiao Hua's unfathomable strength.
Truth be told, they had harbored doubts about the reports gathered from the Moonlit Chaos Mansion. While they could not claim to know everything, they still believed they understood enough to deem such reports far-fetched.
For Xiao Hua to training a Qi Method capable of bypassing countless realms, leaping directly into the Dou Sheng stage while simultaneously forging a Di State Soul… it bordered on the impossible.
Yet unease had gnawed at Hun Tiandi from the very moment he heard those reports. The seed of doubt took root only because of one irrefutable fact—Xiao Hua had already accomplished the impossible once. As a mere Dou Zong, he had successfully refined a Tier 9 Treasure Pill, a feat unheard of in all of Hun Tiandi's long existence.
Since Xiao Hua had once defied reason and precedent, who could guarantee that the rumors about his heaven-defying Qi Method were false?
"I would have never thought you possessed such a unique method to reach the peak of the Dou Sheng class," Hun Tiandi chuckled softly, a faint smile curling on his lips as he regained his composure.
"And I would have never thought you would maneuver such a vast army based on nothing more than a vague information," Xiao Hua replied with a slight nod, his gaze steady. "Even I must admit, I underestimated the cautiousness of an old thing like you."
"I suppose I should congratulate you," Hun Tiandi continued, entirely unbothered by Xiao Hua's words. "To reach this height at a little over twenty… even I find it remarkable."
"Haha," Xiao Hua laughed lightly, though his voice carried a biting chill that made one's heart tremble. "Unlike those old things standing behind you, I am fortunate to have reached this level before you could slaughter my mansion."
Hun Tiandi's eyes locked onto Xiao Hua as he said, "Perhaps you should be thanking us. Had we not ordered Hun Mie Sheng to mend the holes in the Hall of Soul's ranking, you would not have been granted such leisure. If we had allowed him to act as recklessly as he pleased, this so-called accident of yours would have never come to pass…"
"Rest assured, this young man will remember such a great favor."
Xiao Hua's lips curved into a soft smile, yet the sight sent a piercing chill into the hearts of those watching. A ferocious look could be frightening—but far more terrifying was a man who smiled calmly while murderous intent surged endlessly within his heart.
Hun Tiandi's smile slowly faded, his expression turning grim. In the current situation, gaining the upper hand was no longer easy. He knew that his appearance here would inevitably draw the other Eight Ancient Clans to demand an explanation—especially now that Xiao Hua had advanced to such a height.
Drawing in a deep breath, Hun Tiandi forced a faint smile and said, "Xiao Hua, both the Hall of Souls and Moonlit Chaos Mansion have suffered greatly in this war. Why don't we take a step back, before more needless deaths occur?"
"Ha ha!" Xiao Hua burst into laughter, his voice booming across the mountain range like rolling thunder. The deafening echoes shook the hearts of those present, some even reeling with dizziness.
"You ask me to step back?" His voice grew sharper, colder. "After capturing and torturing the elders outside to extract information about me? After slaughtering countless of my disciples and elders in this war for the sake of your ambition?!"
His laughter abruptly ceased, replaced by a roar that shook heaven and earth. "If I don't make any of you suffer today, how could I, as Mansion Master of the Moonlit Chaos Mansion, still face the hearts of my disciples and elders?!"
His voice carried searing fury and boundless hatred. Xiao Hua had long since heard of the vile torment Hun Tiandi inflicted on his captured elders, and his rage burned like a storm. Over time, he had grown attached to the Mansion—handling affairs with the elders, offering guidance to disciples, sharing moments of camaraderie.
Yet now, as his eyes fell upon the battered, bloodied figures of his elders, and the weary, fallen bodies of disciples who had died for the Mansion, guilt gnawed at his heart. He knew all of this stemmed from himself.
Thus, his resolve hardened. No matter what, the Hun Clan would pay a heavy price today. If he failed to make them bleed, he would no longer have the face to meet the eyes of his disciples and elders—nor the right to call himself their Mansion Master!
"Brat, don't be arrogant!" Nihility Devouring Flame sneered, laughter thick with mockery. "So what if you've advanced to a 9-Star Dou Sheng? Do you really believe you alone can stop all of us? Hmph! Let me see if you still dare to spout such words when we slaughter your disciples and elders before your very eyes!"
Though Xiao Hua's fury shook the skies, Nihility Devouring Flame dismissed it as nothing more than empty noise. In his heart, he believed Xiao Hua lacked the strength to back his words, much less to turn the tide of this war.
The truth was simple: the only reason they even considered retreat was because of the looming interference of the other Eight Ancient Clans. Nihility Devouring Flame also thirsted to erase the Moonlit Chaos Mansion entirely.
Yet, should they act rashly, the other seven clans would demand an explanation. If they failed to provide one, it could provoke a united front against the Hun Clan—an outcome they could not afford.
Their preparations were not yet complete. Time was still needed before the Hun Clan could enact their true ambition: the extermination of the other seven Ancient Clans and obtain the fragment of Tou She Ancient God's Jade in their hand.
"Nihility, there is something I need to correct." Xiao Hua's soft laughter carried a razor-edge of coldness. "The Moonlit Chaos Mansion does not have only one 9-Star Dou Sheng… it has three."
As his final words echoed, Xiao Hua's eyes erupted with a dazzling radiance—five flames of different hues flickered within his crimson eye, while five bolts of lightning in varying colors surged from his cyan eye. Two opposing forces burst forth from his body, splitting his aura into two terrifying extremes.
On one side blazed a scorching might of flame—Yang and extreme heat intertwined. The temperature in the heavens spiked sharply, as though half of his body had become a five-colored sun, burning to its utmost limit.
On the other side roared the destructive force of lightning—stormy arcs raged wildly, each crackling thunderbolt carrying the power to split the sky itself. That half of his body had become a living tempest, a thunderclap in human form.
In the next breath, Xiao Hua's figure trembled. The two glows separated, one veering left, the other right. As the radiance dispersed, two figures were revealed.
One had crimson hair flowing behind him, draped in a black robe embroidered with silver and gold. The other bore silver hair, robed in white with intricate red and gold patterns.
Gasps erupted across the battlefield. Every pair of eyes widened in disbelief, as if they had seen ghosts. For the two silhouettes standing to Xiao Hua's left and right bore the exact same face as him—and their auras carried the same terrifying strength of a Nine-Star Dou Sheng!
More shocking still, their fluctuations were not false imitations, nor hollow clones born of Spiritual Strength or secret techniques. They were genuine bodies, as real as Xiao Hua himself.
At that moment, commotion burst forth. If the two were real, then the Moonlit Chaos Mansion indeed possessed not one—but three Nine-Star Dou Sheng experts!
This was the fourth technique of the Four Mysterious Bodies, Four Divine Phoenix!
Unfortunately, Xiao Hua neither had the resources nor the time to cultivate the remaining two. Still, he had already resolved that once matters here and in the Jia Ma Empire were settled, he would begin creating the other two without delay.
"This… How is this possible?!" The Nihility Devouring Flame's face twisted with disbelief, his voice trembling before it erupted into a furious roar.
Even Hun Tiandi's expression shifted. For one who had lived several millennia, to witness such a scene was almost inconceivable. In all his years, he had never once encountered a technique so unfathomable.
"Nihility," Xiao Hua's voice cut through the air, calm yet razor-sharp. "I shall answer your question with one of my own—can you, Hun Tiandi, and the other so-called experts of the Hall of Souls truly prevent us from keeping you here… forever?"
The crimson-haired Xiao Hua laughed as he stepped forward. Nine-colored flames blazed in his eyes, his voice dripping with mockery and unrestrained arrogance.
"Forever? Hah, they won't last long enough to know what forever feels like." His entire being radiated wildness, as though a sun ready to scorch the heavens.
Beside him, the silver-haired Xiao Hua stood like a blade drawn from its sheath. His golden-red eyes gleamed with an icy sharpness, each glance carrying enough killing intent to suffocate.
"Enough chatter. Those who dare stand before me… will be erased." His aura surged, domineering and merciless, leaving no room for compromise.
At the center stood the true Xiao Hua, his calm demeanor unshaken amidst the storm of his other selves. His gaze swept across Hun Tiandi, Nihility, and the gathered Hall of Souls experts. "I'll deal with Hun Tiandi. Flame—you take Nihility, capture him if possible. Thunder—you'll slaughter the rest."
The crimson-haired Xiao Hua smirked and rolled his shoulders, firelight dancing wildly around him. "Capture? Easy enough. Though, I'll make him beg to be spared."
The silver-haired Xiao Hua merely narrowed his eyes, lightning crackling faintly along his arms. His voice was cold, cutting, and final. "They will all die."
Without hesitation, both of them surged forward. They were Xiao Hua as well—but each carried a different personality, yet same desire. Together, they would not allow the Hun Clan to escape without drowning in blood.
Immediately, their figures shot forth, rushing toward their chosen foes. Their auras erupted like raging storms, causing heaven and earth to churn violently.
Hun Tiandi's eyes narrowed as he prepared to step forward—yet in that instant, the world around him shifted. Without warning, he had entered another realm. Standing before him was Xiao Hua, his black hair flowing, a cold smile etched upon his face. In his hand rested a black spear adorned with crimson and silver patterns, its presence exuding both majesty and dread.
"Hun Tiandi," Xiao Hua's voice rang out, cold and scornful, "it has not been long since I broke through to 9-Star Dou Sheng. I thought it only fitting to seek some pointers from an elder such as yourself. If you are generous enough… you may offer me your life as well."
"Xiao Hua, do you truly wish to fight me?" Hun Tiandi's voice was calm, yet it carried a chilling depth, like a frozen abyss.
"What do you think?" Xiao Hua replied with a soft laugh, utterly unmoved by the other's tone.
Without wasting further words, Xiao Hua stepped forward, spear in hand. At once, a torrent of five-colored flame and thunder surged from his body, spreading outward in vast, oppressive waves that shook the very void.
With a sharp thrust, the black spear pierced forward. Flames and thunders, interwoven in five dazzling colors, swirled around its shaft, slicing through layers of space and obliterating every obstruction as it drove straight for Hun Tiandi's life.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort burst from Hun Tiandi as his hand lifted. Sinister black Dou Qi erupted, surging to meet the incoming strike head-on.
Bang!
The moment they clashed, an earsplitting sound tore through the realm. Black cracks spiderwebbed outward in every direction, stretching endlessly into the void as heaven and earth quivered under the might of their collision.
Astonishingly, the void collapsed, revealing that the two were already a thousand meters away from the Brightmoon Mountain Range.
Xiao Hua's mastery over space was profound—so profound that even the Ancient Void Dragon could not compare. To shift an entire battlefield elsewhere was nothing more than a simple effort for him.
Yet neither he nor Hun Tiandi paid the slightest heed to this change. Their battle raged on, each exchange fierce and unrelenting. From the initial clash, neither could gain the upper hand. Should the fight continue, no one could predict who would emerge victorious in the end.
At the same time, crimson-haired Xiao Hua appeared directly before the Nihility Devouring Flame. His fist clenched tightly, nine-colored flames roared to life around it, burning with world-destroying might. Without hesitation, he hurled his fist forward, aiming straight at the flame's face.
Sensing the danger, the Nihility Devouring Flame reacted instantly. His palm shot out, wrapped in coiling black fire that radiated an all-consuming, devouring power.
Bang!
Fist and palm collided in a frontal clash.
The impact shook the void, yet it was the Nihility Devouring Flame who faltered. His body trembled violently before he was forced several steps backward, retreating under the force of the blow. The black flames around him flickered unsteadily—clear proof that he had suffered a loss in this simple exchange.
"Bastard!" The Nihility Devouring Flame roared, his eyes burning with boundless killing intent as he glared at Xiao Hua.
"Didn't you boast about devouring the flames of my elder brother and sister? Very well—allow me to let you taste their power for yourself." The crimson-haired Xiao Hua laughed coldly, his figure surging forward without pause.
The Nihility Devouring Flame's body trembled faintly. From a single exchange, he had already sensed it—the flames wielded by this crimson-haired Xiao Hua completely suppressed his own. If this continued, he would undoubtedly be the one to suffer defeat.
The thought of retreat flickered in his mind, yet escape was not something the other party would easily allow. Grinding his teeth, he steeled himself, preparing to fight on until Hun Tiandi could intervene.
Meanwhile, the battlefield elsewhere was equally fierce. The Four Demon Saints and the experts of the Hun Clan were locked in combat—but each of them found themselves utterly suppressed by the silver-haired Xiao Hua.
Though he stood alone, his might was shocking, showing indomitable and unmatched in strength. Every strike he unleashed was like heaven's judgment, slaughtering weaker Dou Sheng experts with merciless precision, while simultaneously pummeling the Four Demon Saints into defeat.
Though each of them was a Dou Sheng in their own right, none could withstand the tyrannical power of the silver-haired Xiao Hua. Every clash left them suffering grievous losses, their numbers dwindling, their strength collapsing beneath his overwhelming might.
Everyone watching—whether from the Moonlit Chaos Mansion, Burning Flame Valley, Pill Tower, or even those who had only come to spectate—could no longer maintain calm.
Without exception, their expressions changed. The invincible air with which Hun Tiandi and his forces had arrived had once left them trembling, while some could only pity Xiao Hua for facing such overwhelming might.
Yet now, that very "invincibility" was shattered. Before their eyes, Xiao Hua not only stood unshaken but revealed a mysterious method to manifest two bodies—neither illusion nor copy, but both genuine and original.
How could they not be shaken by such a scene? No one had imagined this outcome when Xiao Hua first appeared.
They had thought that he would be forced to swallow his pride and allow Hun Tiandi's group to depart unharmed. Even the disciples and elders of the Moonlit Chaos Mansion had resigned themselves to such a result, and none would have faulted him for it—after all, the situation was dire.
Yet against all expectation, Xiao Hua alone had turned the heavens upside down. Now, Hun Tiandi and the others could neither escape nor prevail; instead, they were being thoroughly suppressed.
This reversal was more astonishing than anything they could have dreamed. The disciples exchanged glances, joy and pride welling within their hearts. Though their Mansion Master was known for his fiery temper, they were elated—if anyone dared provoke them, he would ensure their enemies met with a miserable fate.
Now, all they could do was remain silent and observe. This was a battle far beyond their ability to interfere with. They could only hope their Mansion Master would thoroughly defeat the Hun Clan experts, crushing them so utterly that they would never again dare to set foot against the Moonlit Chaos Mansion.
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