Maple City wasn't far from Pure Heaven Divine City. They could simply fly there directly, and with Wen Yan leading the group, they would arrive in no time.
Pure Heaven Divine City was essentially surrounded by four cities. To the north lay Maple City. To the south, Skeleton City. East was Black Seal City, and west was Black City. Black Seal City was the closest, followed by Skeleton City, then Maple City. Black City was the furthest.
Jia Nan Academy's city sat quite close to Maple City, which was exactly why Han Feng had been able to sense the Heavenly Flame. Maple City sat on the same mountain range that cradled the academy.
Demon Flame Valley, however, lay beyond Maple City. Reaching it required an even longer flight than the journey from Pure Heaven Divine City to Maple City. So this time, Xiao Tian planned to use his World Piercing Needle.
But as he considered it, his thoughts turned to wormholes. That was the signature power of a Dou Zun.
"Xian'er, can you construct a spatial wormhole now?"
"Yes, but it might take a while."
Xiao Yi Xian thought for a moment.
"How long?"
"If it were just me—from Maple City to Pure Heaven Divine City—maybe about a month. But since you're a high-level Dou Zong, if you and Old Wen assist me, we could finish in half a month."
She calculated, factoring in her own spatial power.
"Half a month… that's still quite time-consuming."
Xiao Tian mused. Even for such a short distance, it would take that long. No wonder so few wormholes led to the Central Plains. Though a large part of it was simply because the Northwest Continent held little value, and the people of the Central Plains couldn't be bothered to build them.
"We'll deal with that later. Now isn't the time."
Xiao Tian swept his hand, bringing everyone into the Pure Heaven Divine Realm. He then produced a one-time teleportation gate. The coordinates of Demon Flame Valley were no secret; he had obtained them long ago. He activated the gate and stepped through.
Space twisted around him. When it settled, Xiao Tian stood overlooking a mountain range. The entire range was a deep, oppressive black. At its heart lay an enormous valley, easily as large as Pure Heaven Divine City. People moved constantly within—mostly outer members of Demon Flame Valley and their families. Only a small fraction were inner disciples. It was this valley city that had fed Demon Flame Valley a steady stream of fresh blood, sustaining it to this day. Not to mention the protection of a Seven-Star Dou Zong, which kept most of the Black-Corner Region from daring to provoke them.
As Xiao Tian surveyed the scene, a figure shot out from the valley and stopped not far from him.
"Who are you? What are you doing at my Demon Flame Valley? Spying?"
The newcomer was an old man at the Dou Wang realm. He took one look at Xiao Tian, saw he wasn't from the valley, and barked out a cold challenge.
"You ask what I'm doing here? Go ask the King of Hell."
Xiao Tian stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze locked on the old man. The moment the words "King of Hell" left his lips, the old man exploded into a cloud of blood mist without making a single sound.
Xiao Tian immediately released the others and swiftly assigned their tasks. Xiao Yi Xian was to seal off the entire Demon Flame Valley. Not a single soul would escape.
Below, in a massive black palace wreathed in nearly invisible flames, a flame symbol blazed on the main gate. Inside sat four old men—Demon Flame Valley's First Elder, Second Elder, Third Elder, and Fifth Elder. The Fourth Elder, Old Eagle Claw, was already thoroughly dead.
"Big Brother, what do we do now? Fourth Brother died so tragically! We have to keep making those Pure Heaven Divine Palace and Jia Nan Academy bastards pay. I want them destroyed!"
The Third Elder roared at the top of his lungs.
"Is that so? No need to go through so much trouble. Since you miss him so dearly, you can just go join him."
Xiao Tian's voice echoed through the main hall. A giant energy palm, wreathed in violent lightning, descended upon the four of them. A deafening boom shook the earth, and the entire black palace was blasted into ruins.
Before the smoke could clear, three figures shot out of the wreckage. The top three elders of Demon Flame Valley. Their condition was wretched. Only the First Elder appeared relatively intact. Of the other two, one had lost an arm, the other a leg. All three were barely clinging to life.
The Fifth Elder—beyond dead, eyes frozen wide. He had been used as a human shield.
The three had also activated their "Transformation Fire," merging it with their bodies just in time to survive that single strike.
"Oh? That's a bit interesting. Is this the Transformation Fire from your Flame Manipulation Art?"
Xiao Tian had no interest in the modified Flame Manipulation Art, much less something with such glaring flaws. It harmed the user before it ever harmed the enemy—damaging the body when condensed, damaging it again when used. It had no real worth.
"Who are you, Your Excellency? How has my Demon Flame Valley offended you? We can discuss this civilly."
Fang Yan stared at Xiao Tian, hovering in the void before him, and his heart sank like a stone. Their Ancestor was absent. They themselves were gravely wounded. They couldn't possibly be his match. The other party could kill them as easily as wringing a chicken's neck.
"If we have offended you in some way, we can sit down and talk. We will certainly provide satisfactory compensation."
Faint screams drifted from other directions. The other party had not come alone. His heart bled. Was Demon Flame Valley truly to be destroyed this day?
"Who am I? Didn't you say earlier that you wanted revenge on us? Now that I'm here, suddenly you want to talk?"
Xiao Tian looked at the three men before him, his voice dripping with mockery.
"You… you are from Pure Heaven Divine Palace?"
Fang Yan's face twisted into something hideous. The other two looked as though they had swallowed dog filth, their faces green. They knew Jia Nan Academy's strength well enough—only a single Su Qian as a Dou Zong. The man before them was clearly not him. That left only one possibility: the far more mysterious Pure Heaven Divine Palace.
They cursed their intelligence gatherers silently. Those fools had claimed Pure Heaven Divine Palace possessed at most a low-level Dou Zong. But this man's aura was far stronger than even their own Ancestor's. They had boasted of destroying their enemies. Now it seemed they themselves would be destroyed. The boomerang had struck home.
"Don't get too arrogant. When our Ancestor returns, no matter how strong you are, you won't be his match. We'll be waiting for you down below, Pure Heaven Divine Palace. Hahaha!"
Fang Yan forced his broken body upright and laughed wildly at Xiao Tian, his faith in his Ancestor absolute.
Xiao Tian, as if possessed by the Crooked-Mouth Dragon King, held something in his hand and gazed at the cackling Fang Yan. As for the villain dying because he talked too much—that wouldn't happen to Xiao Tian. He was of the Chosen One faction. The ones across from him were the villains.
Fang Yan saw the object in Xiao Tian's hand. His laughter died instantly, like a rooster whose throat had just been squeezed. His voice cut off mid-cackle.