Bang—!
Fist and claw collided. A horrifying energy storm erupted, sweeping across the entire sky and radiating outward in violent waves.
Xuan Yi instantly scooped up the two little girls—their eyes wide with excitement as they stared at the battle—and retreated ten thousand feet in a flash.
When peak Nine Revolutions Dou Zuns fought, no one below that level dared linger within ten thousand feet. Even a low-level Dou Zun caught in those wild energy ripples would meet a miserable end.
Once the shockwaves faded, Xiao Jietian and the Third Celestial Venerable stood facing each other again.
Xiao Jietian remained tall and proud, five-colored lightning coursing endlessly over his body like a Thunder God come down to earth. His gaze on the black-robed figure was cold and indifferent.
Beneath the Third Celestial Venerable's hood, his expression had turned grim. His hand trembled faintly, the sleeve scorched black—he had clearly suffered a hidden injury in that clash.
Xiao Jietian didn't pause. He pressed the attack relentlessly. The Third Celestial Venerable could only meet him head-on in a furious exchange.
Deafening rumbles shook heaven and earth. Space shattered again and again around them, chaotic spatial power spilling in every direction.
The full destructive force of Dou Zun-level combat was on vivid display: a casual strike tore space apart, and the aftershocks alone could annihilate a large city.
"Ahh, it's so frustrating—I can't see clearly at all!" Xiao Meng pouted, looking crestfallen. The strength gap was too huge; she couldn't even track their movements. All she saw were streaks of five-colored light clashing wildly against roiling black mist.
"Same here. It's just two lines of light zipping back and forth," Xiao Ling grumbled, rubbing her eyes in irritation.
Xuan Yi heard the girls but ignored them completely. Her hands were clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. Her eyes remained locked on the battlefield—specifically on Xiao Jietian's figure.
Her heart thundered with worry, terrified he might get hurt. Yet at the same time, she was utterly shocked.
A Four-Star Revolutions Dou Zun… fighting evenly with a peak Nine Revolutions Dou Zun?
It was bad enough that he looked like an immortal descended to the mortal world, but his combat power was simply absurd, leaving no room for any other man to shine.
Everyone knew each revolution in Dou Zun represented an earth-shaking leap. Xiao Jietian's current strength could no longer be dismissed as mere "genius."
In all her life, Xuan Yi had never encountered such a terrifying existence.
Even so, while watching the fight, she never let her guard down around her. Ever since that near-fatal ambush, she had become hyper-vigilant of every possible threat.
The two figures clashed once more. This time, the black-robed figure was forced back several hundred meters.
"Impossible… This is impossible!"
The Third Celestial Venerable's face twisted with fury and disbelief. To be repelled by a Four-Star Dou Zun!
His withered hand slowly rose and patted a small pouch at his waist. Wisps of milky-white smoke drifted out.
He infused his black mist into the smoke, condensing and elongating it. In an instant, a three-foot-long black-and-white bone blade appeared in his grip—eerie and sinister to the extreme.
Countless tiny soul shadows flickered across its surface, emitting low, mournful wails that made one's soul tremble. It was no ordinary weapon; it hovered in a strange state between matter and pure energy.
The Third Celestial Venerable stared at the blade with visible pain. These were souls he had painstakingly gathered over countless missions—now all expended here.
"Though it's a waste… the souls of you four will more than compensate."
He fixed cold, greedy eyes on Xiao Jietian. Harvesting all four souls would earn him an unimaginable reward from the Hall.
"It's time to end this."
The Third Celestial Venerable sneered. His withered hand trembled slightly. The bone blade suddenly erupted with blinding light as an even vaster, colder, and purer power surged forth.
"Earth-tier High-grade Dou Technique: Nether Soul Devouring Slash!!"
The countless soul shadows twisted and howled in agony. Black, flame-like energy wrapped the blade, its terrifying aura silently dissolving the surrounding space.
With a flick of his hand, the bone blade shot forward like a streak of death straight toward Xiao Jietian.
Wherever it passed, space melted away quietly—like thin ice meeting scorching flames.
Xiao Jietian's expression grew solemn. He didn't dare underestimate the strike. Five-colored lightning flashed violently in his eyes.
In the next instant, pale black flames roared into existence around him— Eight Desolate Destruction Flame!
Behind him, massive Crimson wings unfurled, spanning the sky like shadows of annihilation. With a thought, he summoned a gigantic crimson fist that blotted out the heavens.
Xuan Yi's eyes widened in shock. "Eight Desolate Destruction Flame…!"
"Aunt Xuan, hurry—if we don't move now, it'll be too late!!" Xiao Meng tugged frantically at Xuan Yi's skirt.
Xuan Yi felt the apocalyptic power radiating from the clash. Without another word, she lifted both girls and retreated even farther.
Xiao Jietian directed the colossal Crimson fist—carrying world-ending might—straight down onto the incoming bone blade.
Within that illusory fist, faint phantoms flickered: shattered mountains and rivers, entire landscapes reduced to dust under the crushing power of the Eight Desolate Destruction Flame.
Wherever the fist passed, space was ripped in two, exposing the twisted, chaotic void behind it.
Fist met bone blade.
BOOM!!!
An earth-shattering explosion tore through the heavens. Terrifying energy ripples exploded outward from the point of impact in every direction.
Below, mountains, forests, and earth were all pulverized into fine dust by the sheer force.
Under the crushing impact, the bone blade let out a piercing, agonized wail. Spiderweb cracks spread rapidly across its black-and-white surface—it looked ready to shatter at any second.
As the crimson flames burned through it, screams echoed from within the blade. Amid the howls of torment, faint traces of… relief could be heard.
"Ahhh—!! Hold it together for me!!" The Third Celestial Venerable watched in horror as cracks continued to spread. He frantically poured more Dou Qi and black mist into the blade, desperately trying to prevent its destruction.
"Hmph. Time to end this."
Xiao Jietian echoed the Third Celestial Venerable's earlier words with perfect, mocking precision.
The black-robed man's face nearly turned green with rage, but he was too busy channeling everything he had into the blade to retort.
The crimson flames and lightning ground away at the trapped souls relentlessly. Finally, the bone blade could endure no more.
Amid roaring flames and cracking thunder, it shattered inch by inch—collapsing into black-and-white fragments that were quickly incinerated and ground to nothing beneath the massive fist.
"To last this long against me… You do have some ability."
Xiao Jietian looked at the Third Celestial Venerable, lips curling into a cold sneer.
"Now, you can return to nothingness."