Crack!
Just as Xiao Yan was about to turn and leave, the entire cavern suddenly began to tremble violently. The ground where the artifact-refining altar had been located split open with a deafening crack, and from the darkness surged two points of eerie crimson light, floating directly toward Xiao Yan.
"What a strange flame!" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted slightly. With a flip of his palm, a five-colored fire lotus rapidly condensed and was flung toward the source of the red lights. But at that moment, a pale skeletal claw shot out of the crevice, seizing the fire lotus mid-air and crushing it instantly.
"What terrifying strength!" Xiao Yan was startled as he watched his fire lotus, formed with considerable power, get crushed like paper. The next instant, a massive dragon-shaped skeleton slowly rose from the ground. It looked similar to the Dragonbone Guards he had faced before—except this one was far larger. The two crimson lights were, in fact, soul flames burning in its eye sockets.
"Another Dragonbone Guard? How is it this strong?!" Xiao Yan's expression grew grim. The ones he'd fought earlier had only possessed the strength of lower-tier Earthly Sovereigns. But this one… its power was clearly at the peak of the Earthly Sovereign realm. A puppet this terrifying—how could it exist?
"Living being… flesh and blood…" The skeletal dragon rasped in a hoarse voice. Its gaze locked onto Xiao Yan like a predator spotting its prey, releasing an excited, bone-chilling screech.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath and instantly activated his clan mark, causing his aura to surge once more. Not only that, he invoked the Great Desolation Scripture he had acquired from the Great Desolation Tablet, crazily drawing energy from the ground beneath him. Against an opponent of this caliber, only going all-out could offer the faintest hope of survival.
After multiple amplifications, Xiao Yan's strength was now nearing the Earthly Sovereign level—but the gap between him and a peak Earthly Sovereign remained vast. The skeletal dragon slammed a claw into the ground and instantly became a blur, appearing before Xiao Yan like a ghost. A claw struck down toward him.
"Six Harmonies Wandering Ruler!"
Xiao Yan summoned his recently strengthened Heavy Xuan Ruler, forming a dense barrage of ruler shadows around him. However, they shattered the moment they collided with the bone claw. The next moment, the claw struck squarely against Xiao Yan's chest.
Crack!
A clear shattering sound echoed as Xiao Yan's body was sent flying. Before he could stabilize himself, blood spurted from his mouth. Looking down, he saw the black armor under his robes shattered into countless fragments. That was the Nine Nether Divine Armor he'd received when he joined the Nine Nether Enforcement Division—an upper-tier divine artifact. And yet, it had been destroyed in a single exchange.
Of course, relying solely on one divine armor wasn't enough to resist an attack from a peak Earthly Sovereign. Xiao Yan had also summoned his Dragon Phoenix Ancient Armor and was operating his Eternal Void Demon Body at full force—only barely managing to withstand the blow. Still, he could clearly feel internal injuries spreading within his body.
He quickly swallowed a Blood Jade Heaven Mending Pill and focused on healing while also searching for a way to escape. But the skeletal dragon gave him no chance—it lunged again, clearly intent on finishing him off.
Xiao Yan didn't dare hesitate. With a swift hand seal, he summoned both his soul avatar and nascent spirit avatar to confront the skeletal dragon together.
Flames formed by soul fire burst into countless dragons, while the Heaven Mystic Divine Seal released its Imperial Imprint Art. At the same time, the Ancestral Stone Spirit and other divine tools appeared, forming layers of barriers to block the skeletal dragon's advance.
But those barriers and attacks were like paper before the skeletal dragon—shattering instantly. Of course, Xiao Yan never expected them to stop it. He only needed to buy a little time—to prepare his most powerful technique: Annihilation of All Life.
It was his strongest trump card, capable of slaying enemies across realms. But previously, he had enhanced it to such a terrifying level that he couldn't even activate it. Now, however, his strength had improved considerably, and with so many boosts, he could be considered a pseudo-Earthly Sovereign. It was time to try invoking it.
Even if using Annihilation of All Life would leave him completely drained—and death would be certain if the opponent had even a sliver of energy left—Xiao Yan had no other choice. Only this technique could threaten an opponent like this.
"Xiao Yan! Wait!"
Just as he was about to unleash his full power, the voice of the Plane Spirit suddenly echoed in his mind.
Hearing it, Xiao Yan couldn't help but sneer. "Oh? So you're still alive?"
Since arriving in the Great Thousand World, the Plane Spirit had gone completely silent. If not for the lingering power of the Plane Seed within him, Xiao Yan would have assumed the damn thing had been destroyed. So now, hearing it finally speak again, he couldn't resist a jab.
"Spare the sarcasm. I'll tell you a way to defeat that thing," the Plane Spirit said urgently. "Though it's powerful, there's a unique energy core inside its body. If you can destroy it, it'll be rendered completely immobile."
Xiao Yan's brows furrowed slightly. He immediately used his soul perception to scan the skeletal dragon—and indeed, he sensed a powerful energy signature in its chest. It was likely something akin to a magic core. However, it was sealed deep within layers of bone, which was why he hadn't detected it earlier.
Still, discovering its weakness didn't bring him much relief. To destroy the energy core, he would have to get close. And this thing had the power of a peak Earthly Sovereign. A single careless move had already nearly killed him and destroyed an upper-tier defensive artifact. Xiao Yan wanted nothing more than to stay far away from it—charging in would be suicide.
But this was his best shot. If he failed, his only option would be to gamble everything on Annihilation of All Life.
(End of Chapter)
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