The Tian Yao Kui stood before Xiao Yan, its body deep purple, with subtle flows of golden light visible beneath the hue. This Tian Yao Kui was naturally one that Xiao Yan had personally crafted. Even before undergoing the refining in the Void Thunder Pool, it possessed the strength of approximately a four-star Douzun. After the enhancement from the pool, its power reached its peak. As Xiao Yan had anticipated, the refinement in the pool had elevated this Tian Yao Kui's strength to match that of a six-star Douzun. Now, after absorbing the power of ten Tian Yao Kui units at the Douzun level through the array, its strength had surged far beyond Xiao Yan's expectations. Far off, dense black clouds surged forth, carrying an overwhelming chill. The clouds roiled violently, and suddenly a sharp cry echoed through the air. Then, a massive black palm print—so huge it resembled a small mountain—burst forth from the clouds and slammed down with fierce force upon Xiao Yan. Where the palm print passed, space crumbled, giving way to dark voids, and countless spatial fissures spread out like a web, radiating across the void. Feeling the terrifying pressure descending upon him from above, a sense of gravity passed through Xiao Yan's eyes. The Houn Li, strengthened by the clan's seal, had undoubtedly surpassed him in strength—should the two truly engage in a direct confrontation, Xiao Yan's chances of victory would likely be only around fifty percent, and even that would be extremely precarious. After all, while facing an Eight-Star Douzun, Xiao Yan could still put up a determined fight, the current Houn Li had already subtly reached the Nine-Star level, widening the gap even further. This kind of distance would likely be very difficult to bridge, even with a Heavenly-Class Dou Technique—given the formidable strength of the Houn Clan, the Houn Li and others probably possessed powerful Heavenly-Class Dou Techniques akin to those of ancient beasts, though they would never readily deploy them until the very final moments. "Perfect—let's put this one to the test, to see what the power of the Heavenly Demon Puppet reaches when pushed to its absolute limit..." With his dark pupils rapidly expanding the palm seal, Xiao Yan slowly exhaled, and a command formed within his mind. As Xiao Yan's thoughts shifted, the Heavenly Demon Puppet before him—standing like a statue—slowly advanced one step. Golden light rippled through its otherwise blank, impassive eyes. With a solid stomp of its foot upon the void, it surged forward as a beam of deep purple light, soaring skyward. Then, in a manner that was nothing short of breathtaking, it collided head-on with the massive palm seal. "Boom!" The impact sent a powerful gust of wind sweeping across the heavens, creating a thunderous roar that was clearly audible throughout a hundred-mile radius. "Crack!" Under the force of the wind, fine cracks began to appear on the massive palm seal. As these cracks spread, the energy seal eventually shattered with a sharp "crack," bursting apart suddenly. "Clang—clang—" The Celestial Demon Puppet collided fiercely with the seal imprint, its powerful force shaking it back ten or more steps through the void. With each step, a deep black footprint appeared upon the sky. When its final step landed, it surged forward like a bowshot arrow, directly plunging into the dense black mist. "Hmm?" The Celestial Demon Puppet entered the mist, and the spirit's aura also gasped in surprise. Immediately, all sounds vanished. Yet, moments later, a continuous series of thunderous crackling sounds—caused by the powerful impacts of fists—emerged from within the black cloud. Thud. Thud. One after another, exceptionally powerful gusts surged forth from within the black clouds, accompanied by urgent, piercing soul cries. Under the relentless pressure, the black clouds rapidly thinned out... Xiang Yan fixed his gaze upon the black clouds, where brilliant golden light continuously erupted—so intense that even the clouds themselves could no longer fully conceal it. Having undergone numerous enhancements, the Tian Yao Gui had truly reached its peak. This level of power would likely be sufficient to stand a strong challenge even against a Nine-Star Battle Sovereign. As the fierce combat raged within the black clouds, Xiang Yan turned his attention to another battlefield—where Xun'er was fighting against Huncai. However, given the clear dominance Huncai had lost, Xiang Yan's concerns seemed entirely unnecessary. From this situation, it appeared that if Xun'er was granted sufficient time, she could very well defeat Huncai on the spot. "Xun's strength has likely reached the level of Nine-Star Soul Sovereign. Hong Cliffs might be at the peak of Eight-Star Soul Sovereign, and since both are members of the ancient race, their cultivation techniques and combat skills must be quite similar..." "Hmph. If possible, I'd like to eliminate these two right here. After all, they're both rising stars of the Hun Clan. Their sudden disappearance will surely be a blow to the Clan—especially considering they're such accomplished young talents." Xiao Yan's eyes flashed a cold smile. He and Xun had pursued these two for nearly a month, engaging in several indirect battles during that time—each side had won some victories. Yet these two were as cunning as foxes, refusing to face them head-on. Now, with this opportunity at hand, they absolutely wouldn't let them go without a fight. "Boom!" As Xiang Yan mentally resolved to completely subdue these two, a sudden, thunderous explosion erupted within the black cloud. A powerful wave of force surged outward, tearing the cold, dense black cloud apart—golden light and dark energy shot forth, weaving together in a magnificent display of fireworks across the sky... "Crack!" The black cloud shattered. The two figures were launched backward from within, retreating on the void, stepping steadily backward for nearly a hundred meters before finally steadying themselves. As soon as these two appeared, Xiang Yan's gaze immediately shifted to them. His eyes slightly narrowed. Visible palm imprints were now evident on the body of the Tian Yao Puppet, indicating that it had endured numerous powerful blows from Hun Li during the earlier battle. Fortunately, the Tian Yao Puppet had grown significantly stronger over time; otherwise, its body would have already collapsed under the strain. The Tian Yao Puppet sustained some damage, but the Huilí clearly appeared to be in a much more disadvantaged position—his hair was disheveled, his garments torn and splintered in half, and a faint streak of blood glistened at his lip. This time, the Huilí had clearly taken a significant beating. In the Huilí clan, he was renowned for his fiercely determined combat style, which often proved effective against other powerful beings. Yet, against this puppet—lacking sensation and merely following Xiao Yan’s commands—the intensity of his efforts proved utterly ineffective. From one exchange of palms to another, one a living being and the other a mechanical construct, it was clear that the living combatant was steadily being outmatched. "Stubborn fool! How does this puppet possess such formidable strength?" Hun Li was gasping heavily, his eyes filled with shock and anger as he stared at the celestial demon puppet retreating steadily in the distance. He had never expected that Xiao Yan possessed such a thing. After their earlier encounter, he realized that although he had activated his clan's seal, enabling him to stand firm against the puppet, the latter remained as unyielding as a turtle shell—unaffected by his attacks regardless of how fierce they were. What was even more frustrating was that while the puppet remained indifferent to these elements, Hun Li could not ignore its assaults. The battle had left him feeling increasingly frustrated. "Go!" From afar, Xiao Yan smiled gently at Hun Li's shifting expressions, stretched lazily, and with a simple flick of his fingers, the celestial demon puppet launched forth once again, charging fiercely toward Hun Li. The overwhelming momentum and intensity of the assault only deepened Hun Li's growing displeasure. "What a stroke of bad luck—right from the start, I've encountered the great storm of the Heavenly Tomb!" "Rush! If the storm catches up, even a peak-tier Battle Sovereign will meet his end here!" As the momentum of the battle gradually shifted toward Xiao Yan and his companion, several figures stationed far overhead surged forth like lightning. Behind them, at the far horizon, a powerful surge of energy roared in, eventually triggering a cascading chain reaction that swiftly formed a formidable energy storm across the heavens. Staring at the terrifying energy storm filling the heavens, Xun's eyes widened suddenly, and she instantly halted her movement, turning sharply to urgently shout to Xiao Yan, "Xiao Yan, hurry!" Hearing Xun's cry, Xiao Yan was momentarily startled, then turned to gaze toward the horizon, taking a deep breath as he swiftly summoned the Sky Demon Puppet with a wave of his hand. With a swift motion, he appeared beside Xun, and then, in the astonished eyes of Hun and Huan, darted like a lightning flash toward the entrance to the third level. "That... an energy storm?" Wiping the blood from his lips, Huan turned as well, his mouth trembling. Ignoring Xiao Yan's two formidable companions ahead, he locked eyes with Huan Li and then broke into a panicked run—while fighting them still offered a chance of survival, but being caught in the storm meant certain death!