Lightning speed doesn't even begin to describe the speed at this moment. To rush to his aid as quickly as possible, Chen Guan even summoned his puppet, commanding it to tear through space and use a temporary spatial wormhole to travel.
Fortunately, this puppet was unusual and intelligent, otherwise it wouldn't have been up to the task.
"Chen Guan, I can grow larger and take you there. I'll be even faster than this one."
Seeing Chen Guan's expression grow frightening, Zi Yan swallowed her temper and quietly suggested, huddled in her arms.
"No, it won't be much different."
Chen Guan shook his head in denial. No matter how powerful the Taixu Ancient Dragon was, it needed the strength to back it up. Without it, nothing mattered. The previous encounter with the Phantom Poison Monster was clear evidence of this.
With Zi Yan's current strength, even at full power, she wasn't much faster than the puppet.
Furthermore, his grim expression wasn't entirely due to concern for Cao Ying, but more so to a sense of self-blame.
This time, he had truly been careless.
Knowing that his meddling had distorted the original plot of the Dou Qi Continent, he subconsciously chose to trust the original trajectory, thanks to the Soul Palace's repeated, mindless manipulations.
Today, the Soul Palace felt as if it had suddenly grown a brain, catching him off guard...
Learning from every failure, reflecting on himself along the way, Chen Guan leaped out of the spatial wormhole, Zi Yan in his arms.
"Luckily, the direction is correct! There's movement over here!"
Glancing at the mountain range that matched the landmark on the map, Chen Guan breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, his soul perception surged, and within moments, he detected movement.
...
The exit of the Dan Realm, over a hundred miles to the east.
A mere hundred miles would take even a Dou Huang a leisurely stroll of three to five minutes.
Yet, that short distance became an insurmountable barrier for Cao Ying and Dan Chen.
High in the sky, the black-clad man, his face full of playfulness, stood like a mountain blocking their path. His looming aura made it incredibly difficult for the two women to even raise their heads. The soul barrier he cast was hopelessly
strong. This man must be a Dou Zun!
"Among the alchemists recorded in Danta, only seventy have reached the Spirit Realm. There's not a single one of your age, neither above the top nor below. Clearly, you've concealed your true appearance. In all of Zhongzhou, only the shady Soul Palace is so secretive. They've actually sent a respected elder to disrupt the Alchemy Conference. It's surprising."
Cao Ying's pretty face was calm, with a hint of sarcasm. She protected the bunny-like Dan Chen behind her, deliberately stalling for time while making preparations. While
the Zun may be arrogant, she's not invincible. As a disciple of a Danta master and the renowned Cao family siren, she's not completely defenseless.
It's just that some tactics require time.
"Very well, very well-founded. With your talent in alchemy, you are certainly qualified to speak so. However, rashly angering a venerable being is not a wise decision. You are not the first genius I have slain, nor will you be the last!"
The black-clothed man sneered, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
It seemed as if the intelligence of every soul in the Soul Palace was focused on him today. Without giving the two women time to struggle, he spread his hands, and two flames, one bright and one dim, ignited. The black flame in his left hand, in particular, caused space to shatter and reorganize. Countless energies from heaven and earth converged on the flames, but like a stone thrown into the sea, not a single ripple was created.
"You are so proud of yourself for dying at the hands of Lord Xuwu!"
Overwhelming spiritual power surged from his brows. The black-clothed man shouted, and the two flames in his hands suddenly surged with the wind. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into two fiery dragons that raged towards Cao Ying and Dan Chen.
Wherever the dragons passed, space shattered, leaving two dark streaks in the sky.
"Danchen, give me a hand!"
Cao Ying's expression changed slightly. With a delicate cry, a glass-like shuttle shot forth from her brow.
Behind her, Danchen, without hesitation, placed her white jade hand on Cao Ying's shoulder, inches apart, exerting all her might.
Instantly, the shuttle split into three, two of which met the fire dragon, while the final one, like lightning, darted towards the soul barrier blocking the area.
"Puff!"
With a muffled thud, the bright fire dragon was instantly decapitated, disintegrating into a shower of sparks.
However, the man in black remained unfazed, for the other two shuttles had no effect. The soul barrier remained rock-solid, and the black fire dragon, like a bonfire fueled by added fuel, was even more terrifying.
This black flame was truly eerie!
"Danchen, go!"
Cao Ying's eyes were filled with resentment. If they could stall for just one more minute, pushing the Soul-Breaking Shuttle to its full potential, they would surely be able to pierce the soul barrier.
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Unfortunately...
now that things had come to this, she had no other options. She grabbed the weakened Danchen and flung him away, fleeing in the opposite direction.
She'd done her best, leaving the rest to fate.
Fleeing together would mean certain death. Splitting up and leaving it to the enemy to decide might buy her another half minute.
"Naive,"
the black-clad man scoffed.
Without a broken soul barrier, no matter how the two women tried to escape, they would be trapped.
With a muttered thought, the black-clad man immediately controlled the fire dragon to pursue Danchen, while he himself charged towards Cao Ying.
Only children make choices!
Dozens of feet passed in the blink of an eye. The unrestrained aura of a venerable master suffocated Cao Ying, shattering countless bones and gushing blood. She couldn't even muster any resistance.
In that moment of death, images flashed through Cao Ying's mind. A touch of regret, but more relief.
At this critical moment, Cao Ying heard a 'whoosh' sound as a brilliant beam of light descended from the sky, striking the back of the black-clad man's head.
Locked in by the intense murderous intent, the black-clad man was forced to abandon Cao Ying and hastily turned to meet the attack.
This strategic tactic of surrounding Wei to save Zhao allowed Cao Ying to escape. Enduring the excruciating pain, she retreated until she was swept into a warm embrace.
"Junior Brother!"
Without even looking, Cao Ying recognized the reinforcement by their presence. Looking up, a smile bloomed, only the pale face and bloodshot at the corners of her mouth added a touch of poignancy to the smile.
"Sorry, Senior Sister, I'm late."
Chen Guan embraced Cao Ying's swaying body with one hand, then, with his left hand, pulled out a life-saving pill and thrust it into her mouth without hesitation.
The soft touch of his fingertips stirred her heart, but this was far from a romantic moment, and neither of them showed any sign of abnormality.
The Life-Returning Pill's proven effectiveness was more than enough to heal Cao Ying's current injuries.
"Senior Sister, rest for a moment. Send a message to the elders at the exit. Leave the rest to me."
Chen Guan released Cao Ying, drew his crimson longsword, and locked eyes with the terrified man in black in the distance.
Cao Ying glanced toward Dan Chen and saw a puppet standing before him, blocking a fatal blow. Reassured, she channeled her Dou Qi into a rope, pulling Dan Chen to her side. Together, they retreated several hundred feet away.
Suddenly, only two people remained in the arena,
along with a puppet with a deeply collapsed chest.
The man in black, recognizing the situation, didn't stop Cao Ying and Dan Chen. He spread his palm, revealing a deep wound, glaring to the bone. Wisps of cobalt-blue flames raged through it like maggots on the tarsal bone. Even with his strength, he felt a significant threat.
As a last resort, he summoned black flames to devour the wound completely, and the wound began to heal at a visible rate.
"A soul at the perfect spiritual realm, an unheard-of strange fire, and a puppet rivaling the might of a Dou Zun. It turns out you, Chen Guan, from the northwest, are the most formidable."
The black-clad man's gaze burned, intent on seeing through the young man.
The puppet itself was one thing, but the soul's far-superhuman strength, coupled with the seemingly fused strange fire, fueled his greed.
Back in the Black Horn Region, he'd secretly heard that a man who betrayed his master and ancestors seemed to possess the ability to fuse strange fires. Unfortunately, his death was so mysterious that he couldn't pinpoint the culprit after years of investigation.
Now, the outcome seemed self-evident.
Chen Guan hadn't known the other party was thinking so far ahead, but since he'd mentioned the northwest frontier...
this day was going to be tough!
Glancing at the eroded depression in the puppet's chest, Chen Guan's Dou Qi surged, his mental strength focused as never before, his energy and spirit reaching peak levels.
Solemn, yet fearless!
"Old Mu Gu, you don't need to remind me."
"I always remember that I come from a humble background, so I treat everyone with courtesy."
"I always remember that I come from a humble background, so when I meet an enemy... I will kill them all!"