Though there were some doubts in her heart, the young physician nodded slightly and spoke softly, "I'll secure you enough time..." Hearing this, Xiao Yan exhaled gently, then fixed a stern gaze on the Earth Demon old ghost, his bone wings vibrating as he slowly retreated. He was somewhat relieved that he had successfully crafted the Tian Yan Nine-Row Wings before this great battle—otherwise, he truly didn't think he could have withstood the Earth Demon's attacks for so long. Watching Xiao Yan retreat, the Earth Demon old ghost's eyes grew cold. With a sudden sweep of his sleeve, a dark, icy spear shot forth from within, blazing toward Xiao Yan. "Ssssh!" As the black ice spear traveled only a short distance, a thick, gray-purple aura of corrosive power surged forth and collided with it, producing a series of sharp hissing sounds before both were completely annihilated. "Your opponent is me..." The slender, graceful figure of Xiao Yixian floated in the sky, the gentle breeze brushing her snow-white hair that cascaded down to her hips, causing it to drift softly. She glanced at the Earth Demon elder with a gaze devoid of emotion, speaking slowly. Frowning slightly at the young healer before him, the Earth Demon elder coldly remarked, "Though I don't understand why your strength has suddenly surged so significantly, even now, you can at best match a Five-Star Battle Sect master. As for me, I have long since reached the Seven-Star Battle Sect level!" "Indeed..." Xiao Yixian's lips curled into a measured, slightly reserved smile. With a graceful gesture, she extended her long, delicate hand. A rich, gray-purple battle energy surged forth, climbing like a serpent along the sleeves, finally coiling around her palm. As it gently pulsed, it transformed into two massive, gray-purple serpents. The serpents' tongues flickered, emitting a hissing sound, and a faint, subtle scent of bloodiness drifted into the air. "Shh—" The gray-purple giant serpent, just emerging, immediately responded with remarkable agility under Xiao Yi Xian's command—sniffing and hissing as it probed the ancient earth demon. Then, with a swift tail flick, it transformed into two blurred gray streaks, darting toward the earth demon at lightning speed. Observing the swift assault of the gray-purple serpent, the earth demon emitted a cold snarl, bending his finger and launching a surge of black cold energy that rapidly coalesced into several sharp ice spears, each crackling with a whistling sound, and shot directly at the two gray streaks. "Plung!" The two gray streaks suddenly halted mid-flight, then two plumes of gray-purple venom erupted from the demon's formidable maw. The sharp ice spears were swiftly corroded into mere vapor, and seizing the moment, the streaks surged forward with renewed speed, arriving at the earth demon's side in an instant. With a wide opening of its massive mouth, two bursts of vivid crimson blood energy erupted forth, shooting out violently! Staring coldly at the two massive gray-purple serpents' attacks, the earth demon, Elder Ghost, swept his sleeve, and a surge of cold air rippled before him, ultimately solidifying into a smooth, mirror-like block of ice that fully absorbed the bloodish glow. "Shhh!" The blood spear touched the ice mirror, instantly releasing a dense white vapor. The thick mirror began to corrode rapidly, visibly at first. As the mirror corroded, the blood spear shrank swiftly. Just as the mirror seemed about to fully penetrate, the blood spear finally vanished entirely. Observing this final, futile outcome, the earth demon elder's scorn deepened. The ice mirror slowly melted, then transformed into a dark cold aura, which gradually receded into his body. With a firm grasp of his claws, two large clumps of black cold energy coalesced into massive ghost hands, seizing the two gray-purple giant serpents and twisting them sharply until they burst apart. Seeing the two serpents shattered, Xiao Yi's expression remained unchanged—indeed, a strange smile flickered across her eyes. With delicate hands, she swiftly formed a seal, her voice soft and composed: "My blood isn't exactly a pleasant thing. From now on, whenever any cold energy comes into contact with it, don't hesitate to let it go—don't be so stingy about returning it to your body." Hearing this, the earth demon elder's face subtly tightened. His lips trembled as a vast surge of cold energy erupted from within. Though powerful "I didn't expect your very blood to be toxic—especially so potent—but to me, this makes absolutely no difference!" A low, somber voice slowly emerged from the old earth demon. At this moment, his body was covered in black ice crystals, within which faint streaks of deep red could be seen, indicating that he was steadily forcing the toxic blood from his body with the strength of his powerful qi. Seeing that the old Earth Demon could gradually drive out the toxic blood, Xiao Yixian didn't find it surprising at all. She knew well that while toxic blood was often fatal to ordinary strong warriors, for beings of their level, driving it out of the body wasn't particularly difficult—only requiring a slight distraction. And that very distraction was exactly what she needed. She wanted to give Xiao Xin sufficient time, and with her own strength, achieving that had been challenging. But with the interference of the toxic blood, the task became much easier. At critical moments, time could not be wasted. With a gentle grasp of her hands, gray-purple qi surged swiftly from within her body. Then, she moved swiftly and appeared before the old Earth Demon, launching a powerful, sharp strike upward. At this moment, Xiao Yan had two flames floating above his palms—one a vivid green, the other intangible—emitting such intense heat that the ambient temperature of the air had risen tenfold. He gazed steadily at these two flames, then fixed his gaze with a piercing intensity upon the Earth Demon Elder, who was being tightly ensnared by Xiao Yixian. He knew that, while the fusion of these two unique flames into the Buddha's Wrath Lotus Fire was powerful, it still posed only moderate threat to a being of such strength. Staring solemnly at the three strange flames before him, Xiao Yan showed no hesitation. With a mere mental effort, he waved his hands, creating a series of fleeting shadows, while simultaneously guiding the three flames to collide directly with one another. Within the ice, a thick, slowly flowing blood was encased. As the ice shattered, the blood too became rigid and ultimately burst apart, vanishing into nothingness. Witnessing the venomous blood being so swiftly expelled from the Earth Demon elder's body, Xiao Yi's face slightly paled. Before she could retreat, a terrifying, eerie punch suddenly surged toward her, forcing her to firmly absorb it. "Pfft!" The powerful force poured through the point of contact like a flood, leaving Xiao Yi's face pale. Eventually, she could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, retreating several steps. Seeing the rushing blood heading toward him, the Earth Demon elder, having suffered a previous setback, quickly waved his sleeve, sending out a surge of cold air that instantly froze the blood into ice crystals before it even reached his body, which then shattered upon impact. "With your current strength, you still cannot hold me! Take one more chance—turn around and leave. I will not kill you!" "The Earth Demon old fellow sneered at Xiao Yi Xian. With a gentle wipe of the blood from her lips, Xiao Yi Xian's cheeks grew cold and pale; she said nothing, merely flickered and darted forward once more. 'You're dead!' Seeing that Xiao Yi Xian persisted in pursuing him without relent, the Earth Demon old fellow's eyes blazed with murderous intent, and he charged forward with full force. As their two figures collided, a powerful surge of energy erupted in the sky, booming like thunder. In the sky, the three-colored lotus of fire in Xiao Yan's hands gradually took shape. Gazing at this fiery bloom radiating immense energy, his eyes flickered slightly. The Buddha-angry fire lotus—formed by the fusion of the three distinct flames—was nearly his strongest power. In past battles, he had always felt confident in its strength. Yet now, that confidence wavered. The opponent was simply too formidable. A seven-star combat disciple—such a rank could be considered among the elite tier of the entire Qi Continent. And now, this earth-demon elder, even stronger than the former guardian who had once devoured the soul of Yunshan. "Pfft!" As Xiang Yan's mind flickered, the young physician who had been facing the Earth Demon elder head-on was once again knocked back, spitting out a stream of blood. Her cheeks were now growing increasingly pale. Between Douzong-level practitioners, each tier of advancement was already a formidable challenge—let alone the fact that the Earth Demon elder was several levels above her. Drawing in a deep breath of scorching air, Xiao Yan's eyes flashed with a fierce, wrathful intensity. If you, old fool, wish to see us die, then even at the cost of my life, I shall have you come first! With a surge of determination, Xiao Yan no longer hesitated. He focused his mind and gently transferred the gray-brown flame into the three-colored lotus of fire!