The First Venerable of All Paths

"How is that possible?"

Looking at Lu Fa and Gu Tang, who had both been defeated, Bai Xuan's expression froze completely.

Those are two experts at the fifth level of the Divine Intent Realm. If they join forces, they can certainly hold their own against someone at the sixth level of the Divine Intent Realm, if not contend with them.

However, in such a short time, both of them were defeated.

Just how powerful is that demon emperor?

"Two pieces of trash dare to be so insolent before me, the Emperor?"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor coiled up its massive body, its eyes filled with disdain.

He glanced at Fang Xuan and chuckled, "You're not bad, kid. You crippled a body cultivator at the second level of the Divine Intent Realm. You've got some skill."

Fang Xuan ignored the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor and instead turned his gaze to the battlefield between Li Guanlan and Gu Can.

Fang Xuan shook his head helplessly after just one glance.

Although Gu Can had also advanced to the Divine Intent Realm, he was utterly powerless against Li Guanlan.

At this moment, Gu Can was completely dominated by Li Guanlan.

Whether it was his Dragon Fang Dagger weapon or his anti-air ability, he couldn't even last a single exchange against Li Guanlan, whose soul had broken through to the peak of the third rank and who had also given birth to a soul fire.

What puzzled Fang Xuan was that, given Li Guanlan's hatred for Gu Can, he should have killed him directly. Why did he seem to be toying with him and not kill him?

After observing for a while, Fang Xuan finally made a discovery.

Although Gu Can was always on the bottom and had no power to defend himself against Li Guanlan's attacks, there was always a strange, faint power entangled around him.

"This power..."

A glint flashed in Fang Xuan's eyes as he suddenly recalled the aura he had sensed when he removed the soul seal from Li Guanlan's body.

The two are extremely similar.

It's obvious that it was done by the same person.

"There is a person with extremely high cultivation behind Gu Can."

Fang Xuan pondered for a moment, then transmitted his voice to the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor: "We've already wasted too much time, let's deal with these three people first."

Since the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor was able to fight against Lu Fa and the other two, there was no reason to let them leave alive.

"That is exactly what I intend to do."

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor chuckled, and then his body swelled up again, doubling in size from before.

The enormous claws slammed down towards Lu Fa and Gu Tang.

Upon seeing this, Lu Fa turned deathly pale with fright.

He had previously fought with the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor and realized that the opponent's strength was extremely powerful, far beyond that of an ordinary demon emperor.

Even with Gu Tang's help, they couldn't hold out for long.

At this moment, the other party attacked again, clearly aiming to kill them.

"Fellow Daoist Gu Tang, if you don't want to die, then don't hold back!"

After saying that, Lu Fa spat out a mouthful of blood essence and sprinkled it on the Xuan Turtle's scales.

"Buzzing!"

A crimson light burst forth from the scales of the Xuan Turtle, transforming into a curtain of light that hung overhead.

"Mysterious Primal Barrier, guarding all directions!"

Spiritual energy surged and poured into the light screen.

In the shadows, a colossal black tortoise, its limbs touching the ground, its belly protecting Lu Fa and the other, its shell facing the giant claws of the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor.

"Lingxi's Eye!"

At the same time, Gu Tang also went all out.

All the spiritual power within his body began to circulate, first transforming into a tide of spiritual energy.

But in the center of the tide, an eye suddenly appeared.

His eyes suddenly opened, releasing a deep light that swept towards the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor's claws.

"Snap!"

The deep light, however, was as fragile as tofu before the sharp claws, crumbling at the slightest blow.

Its sharp claws fell with unstoppable force, smashing fiercely onto the tortoise shell.

"when!"

Countless mysterious runes appeared on the hard tortoise shell, barely blocking the sharp claws.

But the terrifying force shook the tortoise shell violently, and the mountain below collapsed with a loud crash.

Lu Fa, who was being protected below, immediately suffered a backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His eyes widened in terror, and without hesitation, he retracted the Xuan Turtle Scales and roared toward the entrance of the Valley of Death.

Its speed was so fast, like a sharp arrow, that it disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Fellow Daoist Lu Fa, you..."

Upon seeing this, Gu Tang's expression changed drastically.

Before Gu Tang could unleash a torrent of curses, another sharp claw slammed down again.

"How dare you, you beast!"

Enraged, Gu Tang used his spiritual energy to protect himself and tried to rush towards the entrance of the Valley of the Dead.

"Still trying to leave?"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor snorted coldly, and its claws suddenly became several times faster, directly shattering the spiritual energy shield on Gu Tang's body.

"Pfft!"

Gu Tang coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face as pale as paper.

The terrifying power of the claws tore Gu Tang's arm apart, then grabbed him and threw him into a gaping maw.

In the blink of an eye, Gu Tang, who was at the fifth level of the Divine Intent Realm, died.

"Snap!"

The sound of chewing rang out, and bright red blood appeared at the corner of the Crimson Scale Demon King's mouth.

"Excellent, excellent, a wonderful taste."

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor smiled sinisterly, then his figure flickered and transformed into a snake-shaped bracelet, which was then placed on Fang Xuan's wrist.

"Boy, I need to refine this power; the rest is up to you."

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor's voice reached Fang Xuan's ears, carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

"Furthermore, I have sensed a strange power here. Good luck to you."

Fang Xuan frowned.

Is the strange power that the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor spoke of the Valley of Death itself?

Or is there something else?

"Gu Tang is dead?"

Seeing Lu Fa escape and Gu Tang perish, Bai Xuan's expression suddenly changed drastically.

The last glimmer of hope in my heart vanished completely.

"escape!"

Of the two individuals at the fifth level of the Divine Intent Realm, one died and the other escaped. Furthermore, he was no match for Fang Xuan at all, so staying behind would only mean certain death.

Thinking of this, Bai Xuan turned around and prepared to escape into the air.

"Don't you think it's too late to leave now?"

As soon as Bai Xuan moved, he discovered that array patterns suddenly rose from the ground and transformed into a magic array that enveloped him.

"A formation?"

Bai Xuan's pupils contracted, and he asked in shock, "When was this set up?"

"And it's a sword formation!"

Bai Xuan's face grew increasingly pale, and he felt a chill run through his body.

He discovered that this sword formation was far more terrifying than any other formation he had ever encountered.

"Hiss hiss hiss!"

Within the formation, cyan and crimson sword energy swirled, carrying a sharp and fierce aura, sweeping towards Bai Xuan with overwhelming force.

This Guixu Sword Formation was created by Fang Xuan using both the Phoenix Cry Sword and the Azure Lotus Sword.

Its power has increased several times over.

"Fang Xuan, I am a member of the Lu family. Do you dare to kill me?"

Bai Xuan dodged the sword energy relentlessly, shouting fiercely, "If I die here, the Lu family and the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce will absolutely not let you off!"

"You don't need to worry about that."

Fang Xuan said calmly, "As I said before, I'm quite interested in that Dragon Eagle Flame."

"You want to take my flames? Don't even think about it!"

A mad glint appeared in Bai Xuan's eyes as he said, "I'd rather destroy this Dragon Eagle Flame than let you get away with it!"

Bai Xuan opened his palm, and a black flame appeared in his palm, with faint sounds of dragon roars and eagle cries emanating from it.

It is the original fire of the Dragon Eagle Flame.

"You little bastard, if you want to kill me, then let's fight to the death!"

Bai Xuan smiled coldly and blew a breath of spiritual energy into the primordial fire.

"call!"

The flames surged, transforming into a dragon-eagle that exploded, shattering the sword formation.

The two flying swords, Phoenix Cry and Azure Lotus, slashed towards Bai Xuan like twin dragons emerging from the water.

"laugh!"

In the blink of an eye, Bai Xuan was shattered by the sword energy.

Fang Xuan frowned slightly.

"Earth escape?"

He discovered that Bai Xuan had not perished, but had escaped quietly using the technique of earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magic or technique).

Even after a thorough scan, not a trace was left.

Looking at the dragon-eagle flame source suspended in mid-air, Fang Xuan couldn't help but admire Bai Xuan's decisiveness.

"That does show some courage."

If the opponent hadn't used the original power of the Dragon Eagle Flame to forcibly break through the sword formation, Bai Xuan would have had no chance of escaping and would have been killed by the sword formation.

Looking at the dragon-eagle flames in mid-air, Fang Xuan smiled calmly.

With a wave of his hand, the Undying Phoenix Flame appeared.

"Go, swallow it."

The Undying Phoenix Fire transformed into a fiery phoenix and pounced on the Dragon Eagle Flame Fire.

"Hey!"

Just as Long Ying Yan Huo was about to resist, he was smashed by a claw of the Flame Phoenix and swallowed whole.

"call!"

The phoenix of flames shimmered with light, its temperature growing ever hotter, as if it could incinerate the void.

The fiery phoenix coiled up, transforming into a flame, and entered Fang Xuan's body, slowly refining it in his dantian.

Although the Dragon Eagle Flame is merely a beast fire and cannot compare to the celestial fire like the Undying Phoenix Flame, for ordinary alchemists, being able to refine such a beast fire is already an incredible stroke of luck.

After refining it, the power of the Undying Phoenix Flame will definitely increase significantly.

After doing all this, Fang Xuan looked at Gu Can.

The other side also witnessed Gu Tang's death and Lu Fa and Bai Xuan's escape, and they became extremely anxious.

"Li Guanlan, are you really going to fight me to the death?"

Gu Can said sternly, "You should know that with just one word from me, the Li family will be wiped out. Can you really bear to watch the Li family be destroyed and their bloodline extinguished?"

"Extermination of the entire clan?"

Li Guanlan said coldly, "That would be best, as it would save me the trouble of taking action."

Li Guanlan had absolutely no good feelings towards the Li family.

It was even filled with hatred.

She dared to kill even her own father, let alone the entire Li family.

"you......"

Gu Can's voice faltered, and he said angrily, "Li Guanlan, how can you be so vicious?"

"When it comes to viciousness, who can compare to you, Gu Can?"

Li Guanlan formed hand seals and poured his divine soul power into the Soul-Controlling Hairpin, causing it to burn like flames.

"How many people have died at your hands over the years?"

Li Guanlan said expressionlessly, "I told you before, if you dare to target me again, you'll die!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Guanlan's mind stirred, and the Soul-Controlling Hairpin shot out with a whoosh, like a flaming sword, shattering the void and piercing towards Gu Can.

This attack was so powerful that it was enough to kill Gu Can.

Gu Can was aware of this as well.

"Master, please lend your disciple a hand!"

Gu Can let out a soft breath and crushed a jade pendant in his hand.

The jade pendant shattered and transformed into a vortex.

A large, withered, dark hand emerged from the vortex. It flicked its finger, sending the Soul-Controlling Hairpin flying, then grabbed Gu Can and dragged him into the vortex.

"Li Guanlan, and Fang Xuan, this matter is not over!"

Gu Can, caught in the vortex, swept his cold gaze over the two of them, filled with resentment and hatred.

"Next time we meet, I'll make you two scumbags wish you were dead!"

"laugh!"

A sharp sword aura swept in, slashing towards Gu Can in the vortex, but was blocked by a hidden force.

"Fang Xuan, I truly underestimated you."

Then a hoarse, deep voice came from the depths of the vortex.

"I hope you can leave the Valley of Death alive. After all, I'm quite interested in what's inside you."

As the sound faded, the vortex slowly closed, successfully carrying Gu Can away.

"That guy got away again."

Li Guanlan was somewhat disappointed.

"It's alright."

Fang Xuan comforted him, saying, "There will be plenty of opportunities in the future."

You're oversimplifying things.

Li Guanlan shook his head and said, "Now that he has made a move, it won't be easy for him to kill Gu Can in the future."

"Is Gu Can's master very strong?"

"What do you think of a powerful individual who broke through to the seventh level of the Divine Intent Realm more than a decade ago?"

Li Guanlan said, "Perhaps he is already at the eighth level of the Divine Intent Realm."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuan's expression immediately turned solemn.

A powerful expert at the eighth level of the Divine Intent Realm is not someone he can deal with at his current level.

Even the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor was no match for it.

"There's no point in thinking about this now."

Fang Xuan shook these thoughts out of his mind and said, "The most urgent thing is to leave this place first. I have a feeling of unease."

Li Guanlan nodded, and just as he was about to speak, the entire Burial Valley suddenly trembled violently.

The earth cracked open, and a chilling aura filled the sky.

One after another, eerie, skeletal tentacles suddenly emerged from the cracks, swirling across the sky.

As Fang Xuan's expression changed drastically, he suddenly saw a figure wrapped around two of the tentacles.

"That is..."

Fang Xuan's pupils contracted: "Tantai Caiyun? What's she doing here?!"