"Do you truly believe victory is already yours?"
Soul Emperor sneered coldly. In that instant, the aura within his body erupted. Crimson light surged and flickered as the power of his blood essence surged forth. Beneath his feet, the grand formation pulsed with blinding brilliance—an awe-inspiring blood array was activated at last.
A suffocating pressure engulfed the heavens and earth. The formation beneath him shimmered with a deep red glow, rising in waves like a tide of dread.
Void Swallowing Flame's gaze sharpened. Looking down, he saw that several of his Dou Saints were now entangled in threads of crimson blood, unable to move.
From those threads, Void Swallowing Flame sensed Soul Emperor's aura, and his expression changed in shock.
"When did he…?"
An ominous feeling crept into his heart. Though Soul Emperor's aura wasn't overwhelming at this moment, the array beneath his feet had already been fully activated.
That soul-stirring and reverent pressure emanating from the array relentlessly suppressed Void Swallowing Flame's presence.
Realizing the truth, he finally understood—he had underestimated the power of this formation. Beyond merely amplifying blood essence, the array held deeper, undisclosed capabilities Soul Emperor had not revealed.
But what puzzled him most was—if the emperor could have activated it earlier, why wait until now?
"It's time to end this."
Soul Emperor spoke calmly, offering no explanation—dead men have no need for answers.
The array surged violently as blood-colored mist spiraled upward. In a single breath, the bound Dou Saints were consumed by a macabre dance of crimson, their bodies reduced to pure energy that flooded into Soul Emperor.
Absorbing the essence of several powerful Dou Saints, his strength surged back. With the support of the blood array, even the silver light pulsing at his abdomen was momentarily suppressed by the crimson glow.
In a blink, Soul Emperor's power returned to its peak.
A terrifying aura swept outwards. Suspended in the sky, Void Swallowing Flame paled in alarm. Staring at the fully restored emperor, a flicker of hesitation crossed his eyes.
Soul Emperor's strength now far exceeded his own. There was no point in forcing a confrontation. The array's boost would eventually wane—if he could just stall long enough, Soul Emperor would exhaust himself. Victory would still be his.
With this thought, flames danced in his eyes. Casting a cold glance at the emperor, he turned to flee into the distance.
"Hmph. Do you think you can escape now?"
Soul Emperor sneered. Within the rising blood mist, several tendrils of black flame danced ominously—blood-essence energy sealing the void and locking escape routes.
The array roared as its energy boiled over. Chains forged of blood-essence surged forth, sealing the heavens and earth.
The terrifying pressure mounted as the array became a prison, cutting off all contact with the outside world.
Inside the formation, Void Swallowing Flame panicked. He thrust his arms outward and tried to tear open space—but the array surged and instantly suppressed his efforts.
"Damn it!"
He cursed aloud. Realization dawned as he stared at the imprisoned black flames below. He had finally understood Soul Emperor's true intention:
To prevent his escape.
"You've lost."
Soul Emperor stepped forward, standing before the flickering black flame. He had not struck earlier because he wasn't fully confident in his ability to subdue Void Swallowing Flame.
So he had waited—waited for the one strike that would ensure total victory.
His eyes flicked down to the silver glow pulsing from his abdomen, steeled with resolve. He extended his hand and grasped the black flame in front of him.
Hiss… Hiss…
The flames quivered violently. Without hesitation, he struck his own wound, forcing the silver light to converge toward the black flame.
The array pulsed again. Inside his body, blood-essence energy compressed the silver light, driving it steadily toward the flame.
The moment the silver radiance touched the flame, the black fire shrieked in fear, trembling as if it had encountered an unspeakable horror.
Hovering in mid-air, Void Swallowing Flame felt a strange, instinctual dread surge from his very bloodline—a form of suppression.
Zzzzz—!
As the silver light made contact, the black flame was extinguished in an instant, vanishing into nothingness. Soul Emperor's eyes brightened with triumph. As the flame vanished, the silver light it had touched dissipated with it.
Without delay, he slapped several remaining black flames into his body, using them to further weaken the invasive silver glow.
"Whew… Void, I'll give you one last chance."
Seeing the silver light within him dim further, Soul Emperor wore a faint smile as he looked to Void Swallowing Flame in the sky.
"Devour these, and I'll spare your life."
As the words fell, the fear in Void Swallowing Flame's eyes subsided. But his answer was swift and unequivocal:
No.
Even without considering whether Soul Emperor would truly let him go—the dread emanating from that silver light alone made it clear. If he consumed it, death would be certain.
"Heh… so you've chosen death."
Since words had failed, Soul Emperor no longer wasted time. In a flash, he launched himself at Void Swallowing Flame.
With his strength temporarily restored and the array empowering him, Void Swallowing Flame stood no chance. In moments, he was captured.
Staring defiantly, with the look of one ready to die, Void Swallowing Flame faced the emperor without fear. But Soul Emperor showed no mercy—he forcibly guided the silver light from his wound into Void Swallowing Flame's body.
Within the blood array, anguished screams echoed across the entire Soul Realm.
...
Meanwhile.
While Soul Emperor was focused on regaining his strength, on the other side of the continent, Chen Xiaoming and Xiao Xun'er, after a leisurely journey through the mountains, returned to the Titled Palace of the Star Realm.
There, Chen Xiaoming began his secluded cultivation.
Time passed—five years slipped by.
In that span, much had changed across the Central Plains. But the most dazzling of all was the meteoric rise of a young man—Xiao Yan!
In nearly six years, Xiao Yan had advanced from Dou Ancestor to the level of Dou Saint, a rise so rapid it defied belief. Relying on his formidable alchemy skills and unmatched talent, he established a powerful force of his own in the Central Plains.
Yet, dazzling as he was, to Gu Yuan, Chen Xiaoming, and others—this feat was trivial.
They were all waiting.
Waiting for the reemergence of one man—
Hun Tiandi, the Soul Emperor.
Since that day five years ago, he had gone silent. The Soul Clan was too quiet—eerily so.
Gu Yuan and the others had once broken into the Soul Realm, but were ultimately repelled by the Soul Emperor himself.
Even with the combined might of the three great clans, none dared to press the Soul Clan too hard.
There was simply no helping it. By rights, with the power of Chen Xiaoming and Gu Yuan, they should have been able to crush the Soul Clan with ease. But Chen Xiaoming had entered closed-door cultivation and had yet to emerge.
This left Gu Yuan and the others to sigh helplessly—there was nothing they could do about the situation.
While five turbulent years passed on the Central Plains, the Star Realm remained unusually tranquil.
That is, until today—when a lone figure appeared at the border of the Heavenly Star Mountain Range.
"Whew... The day has finally come."
Stepping through the sky, the figure took a deep breath. Gazing at the space ahead, he activated the Dou Qi within his body and shouted with sudden force:
"Xiao Yan of the Sky Mansion, answering the summons!"
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