Nalan Yanran's Dou Crystal was almost completely drained of Dou Qi.
But now, holding a high-grade, tier-three magical weapon, she could once again unleash an attack at the Da Dou Shi level—and one with the might of a high-level Da Dou Shi at that!
Of course, the continuous attacks powered by a magical weapon's monster core were only comparable to the ordinary attacks of a practitioner at the same level, without the use of a Dou Skill. It was pure energy output.
The resulting power was considerably weaker than the Dou Skills the two had used earlier. Therefore, relying on this alone to defeat Xiao Yan, who was greatly exhausted but largely uninjured, was far from a sure thing.
However, the true power of a magical weapon did not end there.
Beyond sustained energy consumption, a magical weapon had another function: an all-out burst.
This so-called burst involved unleashing all the energy within the monster core in a single, explosive instant. This would push the weapon's inscriptions to their absolute limit, or even overload them, to deliver an attack comparable to a full-power strike from a practitioner of the same tier.
For example, if the high-grade, tier-three magical weapon in Nalan Yanran's hand were to unleash its monster core's energy all at once, the resulting attack would be nearly equivalent to a seven or eight-star Da Dou Shi using their full strength to execute a low-level Xuan Rank Dou Skill.
This was even more terrifying than the Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler, a technique that Xiao Yan, as a low-level Da Dou Shi, could not fully master!
As one of the few people on the Dou Qi continent with extensive knowledge of magical weapons, Xiao Yan understood them better than anyone. His expression turned exceptionally grim.
Xiao Yan did not choose to rush forward and interrupt Nalan Yanran's charge. This wasn't like casting a spell that would simply dissipate if interrupted. On the contrary, if Nalan Yanran chose to endure his attack, he would expose a weakness, creating the perfect opening for her.
At that moment, even if the magical weapon's full power wasn't unleashed, it would still be a devastating blow to him in his current state.
"It seems I have no choice but to use that technique..."
Xiao Yan took a deep breath. The Heavy Xuan Ruler in his hand vanished, and he retrieved two pills from his Storage Ring—one green, one purple—and tossed them into his mouth.
After swallowing the pills, the recovery rate of the Dou Qi in his body increased dramatically. At the same time, he opened his mouth and spat out a ball of purple flame, which landed in his right palm.
The moment the purple flame appeared, it drew numerous gazes.
"That flame..."
Fa Ma, who wore a massive cauldron as a hat, was momentarily stunned, muttering to himself. Especially after seeing Xiao Yan's familiar fire-spitting motion, his eyes filled with even greater suspicion.
"Could this young man be..."
It wasn't just him; everyone else who had watched the Alchemist Grand Meeting had the same thought. A single guess surfaced in all their minds.
Zhou Changqing, however, felt no such confusion. He knew exactly what Xiao Yan was about to do. He had to admit, for Xiao Yan to concoct a Purple Fire Pill without the saliva of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, the boy was truly a genius.
If Jia Xing Tian and the others were merely speculating, not yet certain, then Xiao Yan's next move undoubtedly confirmed their suspicions.
After spitting out the purple flame, Xiao Yan didn't stop. He clenched his left fist, and a cluster of green flames erupted from his palm!
The instant the green flame appeared, the purple flame, which had been radiating intense heat, was immediately suppressed. Its flames even seemed to lean towards the green fire, as if in a posture of submission.
"Xiao Yan... is Yan Xiao!"
Jia Xing Tian and the others paled slightly at the sight.
An endless wave of regret washed over Nalan Jie. He understood the terrifying implications of Yan Xiao being Xiao Yan. It meant that not only did Xiao Yan possess cultivation talent surpassing his granddaughter, but his skill in alchemy also surpassed the entire younger generation of the Jia Ma Empire!
The significance of these two talents combined was self-evident. If not for the whole affair with the annulment, his Nalan clan would have had an exceptional son-in-law capable of one day surpassing the pinnacle of the Jia Ma Empire.
Nalan Yanran, who had been channeling her energy, saw this and her mind went blank.
"Yan Xiao... Xiao Yan... Yan Xiao... Xiao Yan..."
Her beautiful eyes shimmered with disbelief. She stared intently at Xiao Yan's face, which was completely different from Yan Xiao's, finding it difficult to accept.
Fortunately, her mental fortitude was strong. Knowing what was most important at this moment, she forced herself to calm her turbulent mind and continue channeling her power.
After summoning the two flames, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, and he slammed his hands together.
"What is he doing?!"
This insane act made Jia Xing Tian and the others leap to their feet. Fa Ma, the president of the Alchemist Association, was especially shocked, his eyes, previously hidden beneath his thick white eyebrows, now wide open. He knew better than anyone the danger of bringing two different flames together, let alone when one of them was a Heavenly Flame!
If anything went wrong, the terrifying energy contained within would boil over and cause a catastrophic explosion.
However, the scene they anticipated never occurred. Instead, the moment the two flames touched, they were fiercely suppressed by Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength. His remaining Dou Qi was consumed at an alarming rate, far faster than the Qi Returning Pills could replenish it.
But under this rapid consumption and precise spiritual control, the two flames slowly merged and compressed. Before long, a palm-sized, translucent, purple-and-green lotus of fire appeared in Xiao Yan's hand.
At that very instant, the energy channeled into Nalan Yanran's magical weapon reached its peak.
The process seemed long, but in reality, less than ten seconds had passed.
"Swish!"
Nalan Yanran held her breath and, with a focused slash of her sword, unleashed her attack. A terrifying, crescent-shaped blade of highly condensed, deep green energy shot forth from her sword, hurtling straight toward Xiao Yan.
The moment the half-meter-long blade of sword energy appeared, it erupted in a brilliant green light. Even from a great distance, one could feel the hair-raising sharpness it contained. The ground in its path was carved with a deep scar, as if a hot knife were slicing through butter.
At the same time, Xiao Yan pushed the fire lotus forward.
"Go, Angry Buddha Fire Lotus!"
Initially, the fire lotus moved slowly. But not even half a second after leaving his hand, it abruptly accelerated, then accelerated again, rocketing toward the incoming blade of sword energy.
"BOOM!"
As the two attacks collided, a sound even more deafening than their previous exchange of Dou Skills echoed across the peak of the Yunlan Sect's mountain.
A powerful shockwave from the explosion, carrying a tri-colored torrent of energy, erupted outwards, sweeping across the entire plaza. The ground cracked and shattered under the terrifying impact, sending rubble flying as a cloud of dust and smoke enveloped the arena.
In that instant, the plaza trembled slightly. A massive, translucent, purple-and-green lotus blossomed, consuming more than half of the arena.
The terrifying power of the blast wave did not stop there. The protective shield formed by the Yunlan Sect disciples held for only a few seconds before countless cracks spiderwebbed across its surface and it shattered completely.