Xiao Yan's revenge came sooner than many expected, including Chen Xiao.
The day after Xiao Yan returned to the Jia Ma Empire, a spectacular battle erupted at the Yun Lan Sect.
No one at the Yun Lan Sect had ever imagined that the young man from the Xiao Family, who had been beaten so badly by the former Sect Master Yun Shan two years ago that he couldn't fight back, would return with two Four-Star Dou Zongs.
The outcome left many stunned.
Two years had passed, and Yun Shan had reached Three-Star Dou Zong, only one star behind the two Elders of the Starfall Pavilion.
However, after the actual fight, everyone truly understood the vast difference between a Dou Zong from a major power and one who had broken through by sheer luck in a small place.
Despite only a one-star difference in cultivation, Yun Shan was completely outmatched and beaten by the two Starfall Pavilion Elders without any ability to retaliate.
Just as many believed the battle would end with Yun Shan's demise, an unexpected turn of events occurred.
A Soul Hall expert named Protector Wu appeared to help. Unfortunately, his strength was only comparable to the two Starfall Pavilion Elders. Although his appearance caused an uproar, it did not change the situation.
After Protector Wu appeared, he directly targeted Yao Chen, who was hidden within Xiao Yan. However, his strength was clearly not as impressive as his words. Not only did he fail to pose a threat to Xiao Yan and his teacher, but he was also in a precarious situation, being ganged up on by the two Starfall Pavilion Elders and Yao Chen.
With no other choice, Protector Wu had to resort to his ultimate move. In front of everyone, he activated a hidden contingency he had left at the Yun Lan Sect, and even swallowed the soul of the heavily injured Yun Shan, causing his strength to surge in a short period, reaching Six-Star Dou Zong!
With his boosted strength, Protector Wu finally broke through the encirclement and quickly fled towards the distant horizon.
"Teacher, what do we do now?"
Upon hearing Xiao Yan's question, Yao Chen glanced at the devastated Yun Lan Sect below.
Yun Shan was dead, but the Yun Lan Sect's fate had not yet been decided.
And as for Protector Wu...
"The Yun Lan Sect is no longer a threat. Pursue him! Chase Protector Wu first! His surge in strength won't last long. If he escapes, he'll spread my whereabouts, and it won't be easy for us to return to the Central State. It could even lead to the annihilation of the Starfall Pavilion!"
Without hesitation, Yao Chen made a swift decision and led the two Starfall Pavilion Elders in pursuit, not even bothering to wait for Xiao Yan.
The consequences of letting Protector Wu escape were too severe, and he couldn't bear them with his current strength!
Watching Yao Chen and the two Elders quickly depart, Xiao Yan dared not linger and immediately followed.
Without Yao Chen and the two Dou Zong Elders present, he didn't dare to stay at the Yun Lan Sect.
Tagor Desert.
As a Dou Zong expert, Cai Lin was not as fragile as ordinary people. Therefore, even though Little Yao was only ten days old, Cai Lin had already recovered.
Upon learning of Chen Xiao's plans, Cai Lin began to busy herself. She summoned the leaders of the eight major tribes and consulted with the Four Great Elders to prepare for the migration of the Snake-People Race.
In contrast, Chen Xiao, Little Fairy Doctor, and Qing Lin were exceptionally leisurely.
At this moment, Chen Xiao was strolling along the city walls of the Holy City, holding his daughter. He was filled with contentment and had no desire to join the excitement at the Yun Lan Sect.
Compared to the predictable excitement, Chen Xiao preferred to spend more time with Yao Yao.
However, even though Chen Xiao was not seeking trouble, it found him.
Chen Xiao suddenly sensed a rapidly approaching unfamiliar aura, causing his smile to falter slightly.
He released his soul perception and soon sensed the auras of Yao Chen and the two Starfall Pavilion Elders.
In this situation, Chen Xiao quickly deduced the cause of events with a little thought.
Swish! Swish!
Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lin suddenly appeared, clearly having also sensed the two parties chasing and fleeing.
"Young Master, should we intercept them?" Qing Lin asked casually, glancing at the distant horizon.
"Let them resolve it themselves. I don't want to kill anyone from the Soul Hall for now."
Although Chen Xiao said this, a dense array of rune seals appeared in his hand.
Without hesitation, Chen Xiao waved his hand, and the dense rune seals fell into the void, then quietly vanished as if they had never appeared.
Just as Chen Xiao finished, a small black dot suddenly appeared in the distant sky, heading towards Tagor at an extremely fast speed. To be precise, he intended to pass through Tagor and leave the Jia Ma Empire from this direction.
The black dot gradually enlarged in his vision, revealing a somewhat disheveled figure in black robes.
Following closely, under the gaze of many in the Holy City, the black-robed figure seemed to have entered a maze, spinning in place high in the sky.
Even more astonishingly, the black-robed figure maintained its high-speed flight, glancing back vigilantly from time to time, seemingly unaware of its abnormality.
Seeing this, the Snake-People soldiers on the city walls couldn't help but secretly glance at the young man holding the little princess with a doting expression.
The black-robed figure in the sky gave them a feeling no less than that of Her Majesty the Queen, yet this young man had merely casually dropped some rune seals they couldn't see, trapping the figure in a predicament without its knowledge.
Such a method was terrifying!
"Qing Lin, having more skills is never a burden. Spiritual formations and battle formations have some commonalities. You can start by understanding this spiritual formation. It will give you more reliance when you're out and about, and it will also lay a good foundation for the battle formations you want to learn. If you find relevant inheritances in the future, learning them will be much easier."
Ignoring Protector Wu, who was lost in the sky, Chen Xiao turned to Qing Lin and said.
This was the second time he had mentioned this to Qing Lin.
Besides, Chen Xiao had also been secretly teaching Cai Lin these past two days.
As he said before, having more skills is never a burden; mastering more methods is beneficial and harmless.
With more methods, one can sometimes create a diversion. You can casually use a small trick, and others will think you've used your ultimate move.
Take Chen Xiao, for example. Excluding the pre-payment in his mind, his true trump card now was a killing move that had taken shape many years ago and was later perfected through sudden enlightenment. He couldn't use it before due to limited conditions, but now, with the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, he could truly use it, yet he lacked opponents and opportunities.
Below this killing move were some killing formations from the spiritual formation inheritance, soul attacks, and other powerful techniques like the Emperor Seal Technique.
The next level down would be ordinary Earth Rank Dou Skills, Ice Soul Talismans, and so on.
Hearing Chen Xiao mention it again, Qing Lin no longer refused and nodded in agreement.
"Young Master, I'll learn!"
Chen Xiao had mentioned it twice, and Qing Lin didn't want to refuse his kindness anymore.
Furthermore, what Chen Xiao said earlier about commonalities and laying a foundation had truly moved Qing Lin.
"That's good. We are family. These methods might not be used, but they must be learned. That's my goal. When I see Xun Er, Zi Yan, and Ying Er in the future, I'll have them understand this too."
High in the sky.
From Protector Wu's perspective, he was still flying at high speed.
What was strange, however, was that this was not his first time passing through the Tagor Desert, but today he felt as if the desert had inexplicably expanded countless times. After flying for a long time, he still couldn't see the end, and even the Snake-People Race Holy City in the center of the desert had not been reached.
Protector Wu felt something was strange. While fleeing for his life at this moment, he didn't have time to ponder it carefully and could only grit his teeth and continue flying.
One minute, two minutes...
Not long passed before Protector Wu's heart sank.
He had already sensed that Yao Chen and the two Starfall Pavilion Elders were catching up from behind.
What he never expected was that after seeing him, the three of them froze in place as if they had seen a ghost, their faces filled with disbelief, instead of attacking immediately.
"Hehehe, Yao Chen, opportunity knocks but once. You might have caught up to me once, but there will never be a second time! Just wait. Once I report your matter, I will send you a great gift!"
Seeing the three stopped in the distance and not advancing, Protector Wu let out a strange laugh. Black mist surged around him, and his speed increased by another third.
He had already used a secret technique to escape.
However, as long as he could escape, it was all worth it. Finding Yao Chen was a great achievement, and he would surely receive rewards from the Soul Hall's Venerables!
Protector Wu was still indulging in his fantasies, unaware that his actions looked like a spinning top to Yao Chen and the others, making them find it laughable.
"Let's wait. When his strength declines, he might not even be able to maintain Four-Star Dou Zong strength. Then we'll make our move," Yao Chen said, looking at Protector Wu with murderous intent and speaking to the two accompanying Elders.
As he finished speaking, Yao Chen cupped his fists in a salute towards the direction of the Snake-People Race Holy City.
Protector Wu wouldn't be spinning in place for no reason. The current situation clearly indicated that someone was interfering.
And within Tagor, the only ones with such capabilities were Chen Xiao and the two others!
Therefore, Yao Chen could easily guess that Chen Xiao's side had made a move, which was why he bowed in thanks.
Moreover, he understood Chen Xiao's intentions. Helping to intercept Protector Wu was already doing him a great favor, and he would not help him eliminate Protector Wu further.
"This Medicine Venerable is quite sensible," Little Fairy Doctor said with a light laugh, noticing Yao Chen's action from the Holy City wall.
"Yao Chen is a decent person if his stance wasn't opposed to ours. Of course, that's irrelevant to us. The reason for helping him today is mainly because their master and disciple still have some use. As long as the Starfall Pavilion exists, the Soul Hall's attention will be drawn to them, making our actions more convenient once we reach the Central State."
Chen Xiao did not hide his thoughts; it was not something to be ashamed of.
Time ticked by, and a quarter of an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
Gradually, Protector Wu felt increasingly strange.
Under normal circumstances, he should have already passed the Holy City and left the Tagor range.
But until now, the distance between him and Yao Chen's group had not changed at all, and even the Snake-People Race Holy City in the distance seemed unreachable.
Something was wrong, very wrong!
Protector Wu's expression under his black robe grew increasingly grim, but before he could figure out the key issue, he sensed his aura beginning to plummet, like a deflating ball, dropping rapidly.
Six-Star Dou Zong, Five-Star Dou Zong...
In just a few breaths, his cultivation level dropped to Three-Star Dou Zong!
The surge in strength disappeared, and the price of using the secret technique manifested, turning Protector Wu into a lamb waiting for slaughter.
Yao Chen and the two Starfall Pavilion Elders' eyes flashed, sensing that the time had come.
"Protector Wu, your death day has arrived! Elders, attack together."
"Yes!"
"Flowing Light Starfall Blade!"
"Divine Halberd, Electric Sweep!"
The two Dou Zongs simultaneously unleashed their Dou Skills, while Yao Chen also used the Bone Spirit Cold Flame to assist.
Targeted by the three, even the peak Protector Wu had to fight desperately to cope, let alone in his current state.
Not daring to hold back, Protector Wu waved his sleeve, and streams of strange black mist quickly poured out from his body, finally condensing into dark clouds in the sky. Even the sunlight in the sky could not penetrate, and the sky above Tagor instantly turned gloomy.
Rustle~
A strange chain sound echoed from the black mist. The next moment, three black chains shot out like black pythons, heading towards the three respectively.
Bang bang bang!
Three consecutive collisions sounded. Yao Chen and the two Starfall Pavilion Elders remained unmoved, while Protector Wu's sky-obscuring black mist was scattered by the aftermath of the surging Dou Qi, revealing his tattered black-robed figure. His aura had weakened to the extreme.
From the ripped opening of the black robe, it was clear that beneath the black robe, there was no physical body, only a soul body clad in black robes!
"No wonder they wear black robes. So this is the true appearance of people from the Soul Hall," Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lin said in surprise on the Holy City wall.
Chen Xiao, however, was not surprised; he had expected it.
"Not all people in the Soul Hall are like this. Above the Soul Hall Protectors are Venerables, Heavenly Venerables, Hall Masters, Deputy Hall Masters, and other beings of higher strength and status. These people are almost all in normal states. Those at the Protector level are considered cannon fodder in the Soul Hall. If ten or a hundred are lost, the Soul Hall wouldn't feel heartbroken."
Watching the excitement delivered to his doorstep, Chen Xiao explained to the two women.
High in the sky, resisting the attack of the three was the limit of what Protector Wu could do.
When Yao Chen and the other two attacked again, the result was no surprise. He completely lost the ability to resist and was captured by Yao Chen, sealed in a jade bottle.
A Dou Zong level soul body was a considerable gain for Yao Chen at present.
Moreover, from Protector Wu, he might be able to extract some useful information, such as the whereabouts of Xiao Yan's father.
After storing the jade bottle in his storage ring, Yao Chen looked towards the Holy City and cupped his fists in a salute.
"Thank you for your assistance, Pavilion Master. There are still some follow-up matters at the Yun Lan Sect that need to be handled. I will visit to express my gratitude later."
Hearing Yao Chen's polite words, Chen Xiao waved his hand, signaling him to go about his business. Then, without paying attention to Yao Chen and the other two, he took Little Yao, along with Little Fairy Doctor and Qing Lin, and returned to the Divine Hall.
Late at night, Chen Xiao was imparting some knowledge of the Desire Immortal Sect to Cai Lin when he received news from the Yun Lan Sect.
At the Yun Lan Sect, all above Dou Wang, except for Yun Yun and her disciples, had perished!
Disciples below Dou Wang, dozens were killed, and the rest were disbanded on the spot.
Thus, the behemoth rooted in the Jia Ma Empire was completely annihilated!
Upon receiving the news, Chen Xiao's movements paused slightly.
The outcome for the Yun Lan Sect was much more tragic than in the original timeline.
Could it be that Xiao Yan and Yun Yun did not have any interaction in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?
Chen Xiao couldn't quite figure it out but didn't pay much attention to it, considering it an unintended butterfly effect.
"Hmm?" Cai Lin looked up.
"It's nothing. Let's continue," Chen Xiao shook his head and quickly dismissed his thoughts.
Sensing Chen Xiao resuming his teaching, Cai Lin finally relaxed her brow, her beautiful eyes slightly closed as she breathed softly.
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