"You want to leave? Have you asked for my permission?"
A charming voice echoed from in front of Xie Biyan. Queen Medusa, having transformed from a seven-colored serpent, swiftly maneuvered back into her human form. She unleashed a palm strike, blocking Xie Biyan's path forward.
"Yan Luotian, your good days are over."
With Xie Biyan momentarily blocked, the situation on Yan Luotian's side instantly took a turn for the worse. Yun Shan, who had been prepared all along, flicked his sleeves. The moment the three old men of Mulan perished, he launched a surprise attack. While Yan Luotian was questioning him, Yun Shan locked his hands, pinning the two of them together.
"No—"
Yan Luotian's wings behind him spread, ready to release countless feathered arrows to break free from Yun Shan's grip. But who would have thought that a figure would suddenly shoot out from among the Jia Ma Empire's strong fighters, who had been entangled with the experts of the Luo Yan Empire? The aura of deadly threat made him scream in panic.
Peng… Peng Peng Peng…
A heavy punch landed on Yan Luotian's back, followed by three more powerful, consecutive strikes. Like the beating of a drum, the Earth-attributed internal energy invaded Yan Luotian's body, shattering his internal organs. The resonance of the Earth's Pulse took his life instantly.
"Jia—Jia Xingtian, you old dog, you too, ugh—"
Before Yan Luotian could finish his words, Yun Shan's right hand, which had slipped out of his sleeve, grabbed his throat. The leader of the Golden Goose Sect, who had once dominated the Luo Yan, fell silent.
Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with joy. Yun Shan then tossed Yan Luotian's corpse towards Yan Qingshan, who was collecting the bodies of the three Mulan elders. The two of them then flew towards Xie Biyan, who was still entangled with Queen Medusa and unable to escape.
"Xie Shan, quickly lead the elite troops of the Ten Thousand Scorpions gate in a retreat. They will surely not let me go. I'll cover your retreat and buy you some time."
Xie Biyan made a decisive choice. He knew in his heart that he had missed the best opportunity to leave. With the three Dou Ancestor powerhouses having finished off the three Mulan elders and Yan Luotian, there was no way they would let him escape.
"Old Ancestor!"
Xie Shan cried out in sorrow, but Xie Biyan threw him out. With a full-powered strike, Xie Biyan blasted a path through one of the two tall mountains of the Black Mountain Fortress, creating a way out for the Ten Thousand Scorpions Gate's experts and the elites from the other three empires.
However, after doing all of this, Xie Biyan was now surrounded and locked down by three Dou Ancestor powerhouses: Queen Medusa, Yun Shan, and Jia Xingtian. Although none of the three had a cultivation level that surpassed his, with the three of them working together and the pressure of their combined auras, he was at a distinct disadvantage.
Generally speaking, at the Dou Ancestor level, one's ability to survive is quite strong. Even a peak Dou Ancestor would find it very difficult to finish off a newly breakthrough Dou Ancestor, as the latter would simply flee if the situation looked bad.
It was just like during the chaotic battle in the Black-Corner Region. The Old Ground Demon Ghost was confident against Han Feng or the Gold and Silver Elders, but he wasn't as sure when facing Mo Tianxing, as he wasn't confident that he could actually kill his opponent.
The Old Ying Shan nearly raided his lair; the two of them ran into each other in the Demon Flame Valley's treasure room, but the Old Ground Demon Ghost still let him get away with his life. It wasn't because he didn't want to kill him, but because a Dou Ancestor is simply too difficult to kill.
Just like a moment ago, if Yan Luotian hadn't been pinned by Yun Shan's hands, if he had broken free and created a ten-step distance from Yun Shan, almost none of the strong fighters present would have been able to stop him.
But now, Xie Biyan's situation was even more dangerous. On one hand, he had misjudged the situation when Medusa first appeared. Had she appeared and he had chosen not to interfere or to leave with his men, this entrapment would have never worked against him.
However, the moment Medusa appeared, he did not choose to flee, but instead wanted to protect Yan Luotian. With the two of them, two Dou Ancestors, they could have countered the alliance of Yun Shan and Queen Medusa.
Unfortunately, he misjudged the situation, not realizing that the Jia Ma Empire had not two, but three Dou Ancestor powerhouses fighting together. Medusa's actions did prevent her from ambushing Yan Luotian with Yun Shan, but the sudden appearance of Jia Xingtian killed Yan Luotian instead.
Once Yan Luotian was dead, Xie Biyan, due to his entanglement with Queen Medusa, missed the best opportunity. Since he was not a speed-oriented fighter, he had now lost his chance to escape. Now, it was a question of what their plan was. In any case, if he really couldn't escape, he would have to take one of them down with him before he died.
"Queen Medusa, if I'm not mistaken, your Snake People clan lives in the Tager Desert. You have had many years of deep-seated grievances with the Jia Ma Empire. Now you choose to ally with them, aren't you afraid they'll go back on their word afterward?"
Xie Biyan glanced at Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian, who were approaching from the left and right. His eyes darted to Queen Medusa, "I don't know what kind of agreement your Snake People clan and the Jia Ma Empire have reached.
"But the terms that the Jia Ma Empire can offer, my Chu Yun Empire can too. Furthermore, your Snake People clan and my Chu Yun Empire have no prior grudges. We can coexist peacefully. Consider this: we can work together and benefit even more."
"Xie Biyan, you don't need to say any more useless words. Today, not only will the Ten Thousand Scorpions Gate be dealt with, but no one who has come here from the Chu Yun, Luo Yan, and Mulan Empires will be able to escape."
A young voice came from not far away. Xie Biyan's eyes shifted, and he unconsciously clenched his fists. The purple twin wings on Yan Qingshan's back flapped, and he approached at a great speed.
In Yan Qingshan's hand, he held a corpse. It was Xie Shan, who had been sent away by him earlier. The leader of the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect, a formidable Dou Emperor, had perished shortly after being sent away.
This suggested that the elite forces of the Ten Thousand Scorpions Sect who had left with him had likely met the same fate.
"You brat, you've got guts."
Xie Biyan's voice was frigid, his eyes flashing with a cold light. He heavily slammed his cane against the empty space. His hunched back slowly straightened. As his back straightened, an aura even more sinister than Medusa's permeated the area.
"Old man, this isn't the time for you to be showing off."
Queen Medusa stood in front of Yan Qingshan, her savage aura, not much weaker than his, completely absorbing Xie Biyan's imposing aura. Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian also burst forth with their own auras, with all three of them locking on to Xie Biyan.
"You think that with three people working together, you can stop me, Xie Biyan? I've been dominating Chu Yun for a hundred years, and I'm not someone to be trifled with."
A cold glint flashed in Xie Biyan's eyes. A strange, fragrant crimson energy burst forth. He let out a furious laugh and slammed his cane heavily against the empty space, tearing his robes open.
With Xie Biyan's robes torn, a crimson scorpion tattoo appeared on his chest. The phantom of a four-winged heavenly demon scorpion emerged, making it clear that this was not merely a tattoo.
"Blood Demon Scorpion Emperor?"
Queen Medusa's eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the crimson tattoo phantom, which didn't look much different from a regular scorpion. Her expression then changed slightly. Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian also showed serious, even wary, expressions.
"Hehe… Not long after I advanced to Dou Ancestor, I was fortunate enough to encounter a Blood Demon Scorpion Emperor that was severely wounded and on the verge of breaking through to the Dou Ancestor level."
Xie Biyan's body began to undergo an unusual transformation. He chuckled coldly and said in a cold voice, "After exhausting all my efforts to kill it, I absorbed its flesh and blood and sealed its soul within my body.
"Over the years, before I came out of seclusion, I had already begun refining it. Today, let the few of you try the power of my Ten Thousand Scorpions Gate's 'Blood Soul Art'."
As Xie Biyan sneered, the hand seals he made changed suddenly. The crimson scorpion tattoo on his body began to writhe. Then, threads of crimson energy drilled into his body.
With the power of the crimson tattoo entering his body, Xie Biyan's body changed significantly. First, he grew horizontally. His hands became extremely twisted, and white bones broke through his skin. After some wriggling, the two white bone claws transformed into two crimson giant pincers.
Xie Biyan's transformation continued, and his aura became more and more savage and fierce. Finally, he turned into a half-human, half-scorpion monster, covered in blood, with a brutal, murderous aura soaring to the heavens.
"This old man's secret art is truly extraordinary. Now he probably has the strength of a four-star Dou Ancestor."
Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian both frowned in wariness. At this moment, Xie Biyan could probably rival a four-star Dou Ancestor. The two of them were only at the one-star Dou Ancestor level. If they were the only ones present today, Xie Biyan might really be able to turn the tables.
"You bastards, today you will all become sacrifices for my Blood Soul Art."
Xie Biyan's aged face showed a ferocious look. Perhaps this secret technique of fusing with a magical beast made it easy for one to develop an animalistic nature, as even his voice became a sharp, ferocious screech.
"Die for me!"
Xie Biyan's figure flickered, and the next moment, he appeared directly in front of Medusa, swinging his crimson giant pincers to launch a surprise attack.
Medusa's hand seals changed, and a seven-colored snake-shaped longsword appeared in her palm. She slashed the sword at the crimson giant pincers, causing a blinding shower of sparks. However, it did not cause any substantial damage to her opponent.
"Hehe…"
Xie Biyan let out a cold laugh. He used both pincers to clamp the sword's sharp edge and twisted them in a strange manner. Then, he squeezed them tightly. With a sharp clang, Medusa's sword was twisted into a hundred-degree angle. If not for its good resilience, it would have been shattered into pieces.
"Wind Kill Annihilation Gale!"
Since Xie Biyan was attacking Medusa, Yun Shan and Jia Xingtian naturally wouldn't just stand by. Yun Shan roared, and a Dou Qi longsword appeared above his head. With the roar, a particularly mournful sword cry echoed across the sky.
The Dou Qi longsword above Yun Shan's head began to spin wildly, and that strange, sharp cry came from it.
"Yun Shan, die for me."
This attack from Yun Shan was a clear threat to Xie Biyan. He roared as he released Medusa's sword and raised his pair of scorpion legs high, charging straight at Yun Shan.
Rumble…
Yun Shan brought his hands together and chopped downwards. The Dou Qi sword above his head also slashed down, hitting the pair of crimson scorpion legs that Xie Biyan had raised. An explosive, thunder-like sound resounded across the entire area, causing many people's ears to ring and even their vision to become slightly blurred.
Waves of energy that were almost tangible surged violently. Even the space itself became distorted under such a terrifying energy collision, showing just how frightening a full-powered battle between Dou Ancestors was.
—------------------------------------------------------------
Support me get up to 40 chapter advanced chapter in: www.patreon.com/Yullain