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"That's the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame!" Xiao Yan's mouth fell open as he stared up at the enormous tornado over a hundred meters high, his face full of shock.
"It's just a sub-flame," Yao Lao's voice seemed calm, yet it still carried a faint hint of fluctuation.
"If even a sub-flame can unleash such power, then its main body must be at least ten times stronger than the Green Lotus Core Flame was at its peak!" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted, and his voice trembled slightly.
"That's for sure. However, this sub-flame itself isn't particularly strong—at most, it's at the mid Dou Huang level. The reason it's displaying such overwhelming strength is simply because the person using it is powerful," Yao Lao explained.
Then he added, "But if a sub-flame can exert this much force, I'd wager that the main body is at least at the Dou Zong level!"
"A sub-flame that can rival the peak power of the Green Lotus Core Flame, and the main body is even at the Dou Zong level?!" Xiao Yan was stunned and couldn't help but swallow hard.
"Yeah… What an incredible Wind and Thunder Fury Flame! In the desert, it can even stir up apocalyptic sandstorms that blot out the sun! Now that's a real natural disaster. And its wielder—within the desert—would experience more than just a simple boost in combat strength!" Yao Lao sighed deeply.
This was the marvel of nature's wondrous treasures—the mystery of Heavenly Flames.
A Heavenly Flame, when combined with the forces of nature, could unleash a power that ordinary people simply couldn't imagine.
"Wind and Thunder Fury Flame…" Xiao Yan muttered softly. His eyes shone with fiery anticipation, but there was also a trace of lingering fear.
Each Heavenly Flame they encountered seemed more powerful than the last.
"Strength…" Xiao Yan clenched his fists in frustration.
"Hmm… This is going to be a tough one…" Yao Lao frowned slightly, a rare look of worry crossing his face.
A Dou Zong-class Heavenly Flame—no need to even mention it—its price was summed up in a single word: expensive!
With Wei Yang's sly and cunning personality, how could he possibly let anyone take advantage of him?
Yao Lao and Xiao Yan had already spent nearly all their savings.
Moreover, given that the Wind and Thunder Fury Flame ranked eighteenth on the Heavenly Flame list and had grown to the Dou Zong level, it must have undergone a much longer evolution than the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Which meant, its spiritual intelligence…
This was a flame of extreme danger.
At least, to Xiao Yan right now, it was absolutely deadly!
"Master, Brother Wei, that gray-robed youth, and the mysterious Dou Zong—none of them are here," Xiao Yan said.
"These three Dou Huangs were clearly left behind to hold the rear—they've been abandoned. And now they're being surrounded and attacked by Hai Bodong and the other four. I doubt they'll make it out alive today. Tsk tsk, abandoning three high-level Dou Huangs just like that—what nerve!"
Yao Lao sighed. "No doubt the real target has already gone ahead. Heh… what an idiot. All that for a single Tier 6 pill formula—not only did he lose three high-level Dou Huang subordinates, but now he's being hounded by that cunning little fox Wei. I'd say the outcome doesn't look good for him… Honestly, what a fool, wouldn't you say?"
"Uh… yeah, pretty dumb," Xiao Yan chuckled awkwardly.
It really was hard to imagine what kind of mindset or intelligence it took to make such a ridiculous decision.
Was it really worth it?
Just a mere Tier 6 pill recipe. For someone who constantly referred to himself as this Venerable, with Dou Huang and Dou Zong level subordinates—was it that hard to acquire one?
At worst, he could've just made a deal.
Why insist on such… absurd methods?
"Xiao Yan, remember to use your head in the future. Don't always think that just because you've got some strength, you can do whatever you want.
And definitely don't emulate that so-called 'Venerable', understand?" Yao Lao said with earnest concern. "The world of cultivation isn't all about fighting and killing—there's also human relationships and worldly wisdom~"
"I understand," Xiao Yan nodded seriously.
Then he added, "Master."
"What, you want to go check on Brat Wei?" Yao Lao asked indifferently.
"Yeah," Xiao Yan nodded.
Although the battle between the seven high-level Dou Huangs was intense and rare to witness, he was far more interested in the fight involving a Dou Zong.
At that moment—
"You two have been rambling on forever. Are you done or not?" A pleasant but cold and impatient voice suddenly sounded out.
"Medusa?" Xiao Yan blinked in surprise and looked down warily at his sleeve.
Why had she suddenly woken up?
Whoosh~
"Hmph, by the time you two finish chatting, even dried flowers will have wilted. Useless," a cold snort rang out, followed by a streak of seven-colored light shooting out from Xiao Yan's sleeve. After a few rapid flashes, it vanished completely.
Its speed was so fast that it was nearly invisible to the naked eye—almost as if it had ignored the spatial constraints altogether.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan could only smile bitterly.
That woman—he really couldn't do anything about her. He didn't dare to control her, and couldn't even if he tried.
Shaking his head, Xiao Yan spread the wings on his back and veered around the battlefield, continuing forward.
Whoosh!
A figure completely shrouded in a black robe soared through the air, carrying with him a gray-robed youth who looked only sixteen or seventeen.
At the moment, the boy's youthful face was twisted with both heartache and cold fury.
"You made me lose three high-level Dou Huang subordinates. Very well, very well. This Venerable will remember all of you. Once I recover, I'll kill every last one of you!" the gray-robed youth snarled through gritted teeth.
Earlier, when he heard that the Jia Ma Empire had no Dou Zong experts, he was full of scorn.
He thought, What a backwater place—can't even muster a single Dou Zong?
So he swaggered in with his men, openly and arrogantly.
Originally, he had planned to bring his subordinates and barge in to snatch the pill formula by force. But due to his naturally cautious personality, and concerns over the Alchemist Association's influence, he hesitated slightly.
In the end, he chose a more diplomatic approach—by participating in the competition.
Originally, he had thought that with his soul realm and experience, competing with a bunch of little brats would be like a flying dragon landing face-first—there was simply no way he could lose. And he could even freeload a Tier 6 pill formula for free. How perfect.
But unexpectedly—
He lost. And not just once—he lost twice in a row!
Damn it!
If he had known it would turn out like this, why the hell did he bother in the first place?
Wasting two whole days playing games with a bunch of snot-nosed kids, only to end up losing—what a disgrace, what bad luck.
And also, damn those rumors—completely unreliable!
Who was the bastard that said the Jia Ma Empire was weak?
Sure, they didn't have any Dou Zong, but they weren't weak at all. They had a whole bunch of Dou Huang!
If he'd known this earlier, he definitely wouldn't have chosen such a braindead approach.
Wouldn't it have been better to just walk up to the front door and trade?
…
In truth—
What the gray-robed youth didn't know was that if he had gone straight to the capital and chosen to rob the Alchemist Association the moment he arrived, he actually would've succeeded.
Because back then, Wei Yang, Xiao Yan, Medusa, Hai Bodong, and the others hadn't arrived at the capital yet.
At that time, the only ones in the capital were Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma, those two peak Dou Huang. If the gray-robed youth had acted swiftly back then and retreated immediately, no one would've been able to stop him.
But his caution backfired. Instead, he chose to participate in the Alchemist Grand Meeting—and even dared to act arrogantly there.
What he didn't realize was that at this very meeting, aside from Jia Xingtian and Fa Ma, there were also Wei Yang, Xian'er, Du Jiao, Xiao Yan, Hai Bodong, Medusa, Yao Lao… and many others present.
With such a luxurious lineup, even a Dou Zong would be forced to kneel, no?
Ahem, more precisely, the gray-robed youth never should have come to the Jia Ma Empire just for a Tier 6 pill formula in the first place.
Because nowadays, the difficulty level of this particular "map instance" known as the Jia Ma Empire had unknowingly risen from normal mode to hell mode.
Anyone below Dou Zun who came now was basically guaranteed to die.
And in a few more years, it would be: anyone below Ban Sheng—come and die.
It was nothing more than a delivery service for EXP and loot.
…
"Master, someone is catching up from behind. His speed is very fast. Because I'm carrying you, I'm slightly slower than him," the Dou Zong, Di, said aloud.
"He's catching up? Already?!" The gray-robed youth's heart trembled. He quickly turned his head to look.
At the edge of the sky, a small black dot could be seen faintly flickering.
"Who is it?" the gray-robed youth narrowed his eyes and asked.
"It's that man called Master Wei," Di responded.
"Him!" The gray-robed youth's mind instantly conjured a handsome face.
"What's his strength level?" he frowned.
"I can't say for certain. But sensing his aura, he seems to be around mid-to-high level Dou Huang," Di said after carefully gauging it.
"You're saying… mid-to-high level Dou Huang?!" The gray-robed youth's voice warped in disbelief and became sharp.
"Yes, I am eighty percent confident," Di replied respectfully.
"Hah… Haha… Hahahaha." The gray-robed youth suddenly laughed, his expression unreadable. "You're telling me a mere mid-to-high Dou Huang has chased us for hundreds of li?"
"Yes," Di nodded.
"This is… simply outrageous!" The gray-robed youth clenched his fists, teeth gnashing. His rage erupted—his chest heaved violently, and even his face turned red.
When had he ever been so humiliated?
He roared, "Stop. Stop right now!"
Whoosh!
Di's figure halted abruptly.
The gray-robed youth stepped into the air and slowly turned around, eyes gazing into the distance. Then he raised a hand and pointed at the little black dot on the horizon, roaring, "Di—go, kill him!"
"Yes!" Di stepped forward. In a flash, his figure appeared several dozen meters away. Another step, and another several dozen meters.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
With a few strides, Di was rapidly approaching the incoming black dot.
The gray-robed youth crossed his arms. Behind him, his back trembled slightly—and a massive pair of wings formed from bluish-white flame unfurled.
He hovered in midair, gaze icy and cold, waiting for his subordinate to quickly eliminate the target and return.
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