A black mist surged, and gradually, a hunched figure resembling dry bones appeared in Xiao Yan's vision. Dressed in a dark robe, the old man's face was profoundly withered, his eyes sunken, glowing with two flickering spirits like ghost flames—strangely eerie. "The legendary Grand Sovereign of the Soul Palace, you've finally decided to make an appearance," Xiao Yan said, smiling gently as he gazed at the aged figure. The old man slowly raised his head. Under the light, his withered face seemed even more terrifying. The ghost flames in his eyes flickered softly, and his voice, rough and haunting, murmured, "Xiao Yan, I never expected you to have the courage to come here on your own. The clan had originally decided to let you live longer, but since you've come of your own accord, I shall have to claim this life of yours first!" "Who's claiming whom, I suppose, remains to be seen." Xiao Yan smiled, yet his eyes were unusually cold as they fixed upon the withered elder. Back when he had defeated Bone Yuu, this old man had secretly intervened and saved the latter. If he had appeared then, Xiao Yan might not have easily overcome him. But now, that's another matter entirely. With his current insight, Xiao Yan could clearly perceive the elder's strength—a mid-stage Two-Star Battle Saint, still slightly superior to his own, even after his own significant growth. Yet for Xiao Yan, this gap was far from insurmountable. "Brother, why keep talking to this young upstart? Just kill him and extract his soul. Hah! The soul of a half-Saint-level master is worth more than the combined souls collected over ninety years in one of our branch palaces!" "The Bone-Yu Saint's eyes flashed with fierce intensity. That day, Xiao Yan had suffered a major setback, an injury he had never stopped dwelling over. Yet, due to Xiao Yan's strength, he had always hesitated to confront him directly. Now, with Xiao Yan daring to enter the Soul Palace on his own, he would surely have to pay a heavy price! 'Hmph, Bone-Yu old fool, you're talking far too much. Let me silence you right here!' As soon as the Bone-Yu Saint finished speaking, the space before him warped, and the figure of Yao Long slowly emerged. He gazed at his opponent with a smile, his eyes betraying a certain ill will. 'Yao Chen!' Upon seeing Yao Long, the Bone-Yu's expression darkened. He had just been about to deliver a mocking remark when he suddenly sensed the growing pressure radiating from within Yao Long's body. His face immediately grew stern. 'You've actually reached the level of Battle Saint?' Gazing at Buoy's slightly trembling face, the Medicine Elder smiled gently and said, "It's all luck. Last time you ambushed me, now repay that debt—let's settle it." "Hmph! Don't think that once I've reached the rank of Battle Sage, I'll be afraid of you. I'm still just one step away from that rank!" Buoy scoffed, yet showed little fear. Here was their home ground, where his combat strength had significantly enhanced. With a firm press of his palms, a surging tide of black energy erupted from within him. The numerous massive chains surrounding the grand hall trembled violently, and waves of black energy surged forth, eventually flowing back into his body. "Medicine Dust," Buoy declared, "today I'd like to see just what grounds you have to come to my Soul Palace demanding repayment. Last time, my Soul Palace captured you. This time, I'll have you seized once more—captured again, and held within these walls!" A thick black mist surged forth. Bone-Yu rose like a celestial demon, roaring skyward. The sound of clanging rang out as countless black chains, each carrying piercing screams, surged forth from the mist and swept violently toward the herb elder. The sheer force of the assault was astonishing. Seeing this, the herb elder smiled calmly, neither retreating nor yielding. His aura surged into a flash of lightning, directly colliding with Bone-Yu in a powerful impact. … As the Medicine Elder and the Bone Sage engaged in combat, Xiao Yan also stopped speaking to the Great Deity, merely glanced at the powerful figures of the Soul Palace, and then turned to smile at the young Healer and Qing Lin, saying, “The others—leave them to you.” Though the Hall of the Deities was well-defended and boasted many Great Deities, given the current strength of the young Healer and Qing Lin, even half-Saint level warriors could stand against them. They certainly wouldn’t be intimidated by their numbers. Moreover, with Qing Lin’s Azure Serpent’s Three-Flower Gaze, it would be hard to predict who would ultimately gain the upper hand in terms of numbers. “Hmph!” Seeing this, the Great Deity’s expression grew slightly cold, and he swiftly formed a seal with his hand in his sleeve. “Shhh!” As soon as the seal was completed, ripples surged throughout the space around Xiao Yan, and numerous white silhouettes appeared in his vision. The previously empty space suddenly erupted into countless sharp white bones, which swiftly and like lightning, stabbed toward his body. “A mere little trick. "Yet, for this lightning-fast bone spear assault, Xiao Yan merely smiled, lightly waving his sleeve, and a powerful surge of flame erupted from within him. The intense heat nearly melted the bone spears in an instant. 'Bone Emperor, Shatter the Heavens!' As the bone spears began to dissipate, the unusually cold, resonant voice of the Supreme Sovereign suddenly rang out. Immediately, the space above Xiao Yan's head rippled violently, and a massive bone blade, radiating an eerie aura, pierced through the void and descended toward him. 'Whoosh!' As the strange bone blade swept down, an unusual ripple spread outward, swiftly converging upon Xiao Yan. 'This... is a soul attack,' Xiao Yan murmured, slightly startled. He hadn't expected the Supreme Sovereign to possess such a technique. However, he had never been intimidated by soul-based attacks before! 'Shatter!' Xiao Yan clenched his fists, his expression calm. With a straightforward punch, he delivered no flourish nor any fluctuation of ki. As he swung his arm, the spiritual power at the center of his forehead surged forth powerfully. "Boom!" An intangible spiritual wind erupted from the palm of Xiao Yan, colliding mid-air with the waves of the bone blade, and both forces were then utterly annihilated. Witnessing the soul waves easily shattered by Xiao Yan, the Great Heavenly Sovereign flashed into position beneath the colossal bone blade, stretching over a hundred zhang in height. Black mist surged from his palms, forming a massive hand that grasped the hilt firmly. With a cold command, the bone blade tore through the space, instantly reaching Xiao Yan's head, bearing an intensely formidable and sharp force, and then slashing down in fury. "That bone blade seems peculiar—it appears capable of wounding the soul..." The massive bone blade rapidly expanded in Xiao Yan's field of vision. With a sudden press of his palms against the void, the ground beneath instantly rose, and nearly a hundred towering columns of molten rock erupted violently, crashing headlong into the blade! "Hmph!" The assault stalled. The Great Immortal emitted a cold exhalation. With a gentle stroke of the bone blade, the hundreds of colossal molten columns burst apart—so violently that even the restless fiery energies deep beneath the earth were effectively suppressed. "Xiao Yan," the Great Immortal said, slightly tilting his bone blade with a solemn tone, "this blade was forged from the bones of ten thousand beings. Within it, countless souls have been sacrificed to the blade. As long as its wind touches your body, you shall suffer the agony of a thousand souls devouring you. Today, I shall use it to claim your life—this, I consider a mark of respect!" "A mere trick." Xiao Yan sneered. He trusted his unique fire to protect his soul—how could any blade's aura harm it? With a swift motion of his hand, five flames materialized before him. Combined with the sea-heart flame he had just refined, there now stood five genuine unique fires. "Since you're so confident in this broken-bone blade, let me shatter it!" Xiao Yan's hand seals flashed rapidly. As each seal changed, the five flames before him swelled, transforming within moments into massive fire spirits—wolves, leopards, serpents, and others—floating in the sky and interconnecting swiftly to form a vast, towering flame array. The Five-Ring Departing Fire Technique, originally composed of four unique fires, already possessed power comparable to a celestial-tier combat skill. Now, Xiao Yan had fully refined it, using unique fires for all five components, bringing the technique to its absolute peak. "Wooosh!" "Five Fire Spirits swiftly fused, and in an instant, they coalesced into a massive fire wheel hundreds of zhang in diameter. The wheel spun wildly, collapsing the very space around it—dark and gaping, like the jaws of a monstrous beast. 'Hmph! So arrogant!' The Great Immortal smiled coldly, black energy surging violently within him, manifesting as numerous grim, wailing souls that surged into the bone blade. As these souls poured in, subtle streaks of deep crimson began to appear on the otherwise pale surface of the blade, like faint traces of blood... 'Venusian Soul-Cutting Strike!' As the strange blood-like streaks emerged on the blade, the Great Immortal's expression grew serious. With a sudden, powerful wave of his hand, he drove the massive bone blade down, cleaving through the blazing fire wheel suspended in the sky. 'Break it!' "The Great Sovereign's face flushed with warmth. Where the bone blade passed, space itself collapsed, and the ground thousands of zhang beneath was severed into a deep gash hundreds of zhang wide. 'Rotate!' Feeling the ferocity of the Great Sovereign's strike, Xiao Yan altered his hand seal, causing the fire wheel to suddenly turn and spin wildly. It then surged forth like a vast, horizontal blade spanning the heavens, roaring with wind and speed, finally meeting the massive bone blade with unyielding force. 'Clang!'