"The Family Head… is dead?"
Gazing from afar at the situation here, the grim-faced three Yang Family Elders already had their complexions turn deathly pale. If, at the beginning, they still held a sliver of hope for Yang Dingshan, who was swallowed by the dragon, all hope was lost after such a long time with no sign of life from him.
But for the life of them, the elders couldn't figure out how a mighty Origin Seeking Realm Early Stage powerhouse could be defeated by a young man in the late stage of the Qi Seeking Realm. This completely upended their long-held beliefs about cultivation.
In the Nine Dragons Continent, the reason there is a division into Great Ranks is to show the absolute difference between the ranks. Some ordinary cultivators can't even fight across a minor realm, let alone a major rank.
Yet the youth named Xingchen didn't just fight across ranks; he also managed to kill the head of the Yang Family, who was at the early stage of the Origin Seeking Realm. Such an outcome was never contemplated by the three elders of the Yang Family.
In fact, after seeing Yang Dingshan swallowed by the giant dragon, Yun Xiao couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and silently counted his lucky stars because, without activating the power of the Ancestor Vein, he was unsure if he could finish off Yang Dingshan.
After all, not only are the two parties separated by two or three minor realms, but there is also the watershed of a major rank. In such a case, even if Yun Xiao is heaven-defying, luck is needed.
First off, the Ice and Fire Giant Dragon summoned by Yun Xiao was utterly unexpected, and its contained power was far beyond anything ordinary cultivators had seen. It was only natural that Yang Dingshan was caught off guard.
Furthermore, this head of the Yang Family, Yang Dingshan, had only broken through to the early stage of the Origin Seeking Realm a few months ago with the help of elixirs provided by the Douling Commerce in Yuyang City.
Therefore, as Yang Dingshan's breakthrough was recent and his mastery over the Earth Element still somewhat crude, his combat strength paled in comparison to those veterans who had reached the Origin Seeking Realm early stage years or even decades ago.
All these reasons contributed to Yun Xiao's miraculous victory at this moment. He believed that Yang Dingshan, now devoured by the Ice and Fire Giant Dragon, was beyond salvation and would soon be completely consumed by the ice and fire powers.
"Run!"
While Yun Xiao was ruminating, the three great Yang Family Elders glanced at each other and, as if in silent consensus, scattered in three directions, dashing towards the outskirts of the Yang Family headquarters.
"Hmph, think you can run?"
Seeing this, Yun Xiao couldn't help snorting coldly. As the saying goes, "As long as the roots are not removed, the weeds will grow back when the spring breeze blows." Having already killed so many from the Yang Family, why spare these last three?
Yun Xiao was by no means a merciful soul. The Yang Family had exterminated the Hu Family; they were never good people to begin with. And with his cards played tonight, Yun Xiao didn't wish for these Yang Family Elders to leak his methods, attracting the powerful figures from the Douling Commerce in Yuyang City or the Douling Commerce headquarters' Special Envoy Xia Yong.
If Yun Xiao could barely manage to kill an Origin Seeking Realm Early Stage rookie like Yang Dingshan by going all out, facing Xu Huang, the experienced middle stage Origin Seeking Realm branch leader of Yuyang City Commerce, or the peak Origin Seeking Realm Xia Yong, would be another story.
Now that the Golden Snake Worm Xiao Wu was in deep slumber and Thunder Wings could not be truly activated, if Xia Yong were to catch up, Yun Xiao would indeed find no escape to heaven and no door into the earth.
Swoosh!
In the cover of night, a stealthy dark light flashed past, and one of the late-stage Qi Seeking Realm Yang Family Elders, preoccupied with escape, never anticipated calamity upon him. With his speed, how could he possibly be a match for the Dragon Taming Flying Sword?
Thus, the next moment, like the several other elders before him, this Yang Family Elder's head flew into the air. Seeing this scene from the corners of their eyes, the two other fleeing elders couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.
What they were thankful for was that they were not the first targeted by Xingchen's sword, giving them a slim chance to survive. Having escaped such a distance, surely the young man couldn't easily kill them too, right?
Boom!
However, just as one of the Yang Family Elders was inwardly rejoicing, a tremendous force suddenly erupted in the air before him, followed by searing heat that rushed towards him. He seemed to see his own chest being hit by a small flame.
"Ah!"
A shriek of anguish emanated from this Yang Family Elder amidst the darkness, starkly horrific, because the flame that had just hit him possessed an extremely terrifying burning power, instantly penetrating his clothing and searing into his skin.
Naturally, the one who suddenly appeared here and unleashed that blood-red flame was none other than the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan. After nearly two months of recuperation, the severe injuries he suffered from Xia Yong's attack had fully healed.
It is worth mentioning that, after recovering from his grave injuries, Chi Yan had unexpectedly advanced to the intermediate levels of the Seventh Rank. It seems that life-and-death battles were not only exceptionally beneficial for humans but provided strong boosts to these magically endowed, powerful Vein Demons as well.
Seventh Rank Intermediate Vein Demon, especially ancient mythical breeds like the Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan, probably possess battle power not much weaker than a Cultivator at the Late Stage of the Qi Seeking Realm, not to mention that Chi Yan was currently using his Lifebound Flame, Burning Flame.
This type of flame was something even Yun Xiao deeply dreaded, as it was extremely formidable. He believed that his own Ancestral Vein Fire might not necessarily be stronger than Chi Yan's Burning Flame. Thus, when the Elder of the Yang Family was unexpectedly struck, his fate was sealed.
Without paying attention to how the Yang Family Elder turned into a pile of ashes from the Burning Flame, another Yang Family Elder, upon seeing this, breathed a sigh of relief. Taking this opportunity, he had already fled outside the courtyard, which undoubtedly increased his chances of survival.
"Red Feather, leave that old fellow to you!"
Just as this Yang Family Elder who had escaped a distance outside the courtyard thought he was finally safe, an inexplicable voice suddenly emanated from the courtyard behind him, confusing him.
Red Feather? What was that?
Although this Yang Family Elder was completely puzzled, he didn't dare stop at this time. He only knew that the farther away he got from the demon called Starfall, the better, otherwise, the only outcome awaiting him was the extinction of his being.
Swoosh!
Just when this Yang Family Elder believed he was about to escape to safety, from that courtyard, a fiery-red shadow suddenly shot out. If he had dared to look back carefully, he would have discovered that the fiery-red shadow was in fact a little bird no larger than a palm.
However, this little bird was incredibly fast. In almost just two breaths' time, it had already caught up behind this Yang Family Elder and then brutally collided with the middle of his back.
Crack!
A faint cracking sound was heard, and the Yang Family Elder, who was running forward, came to an abrupt halt. With an incredulous look on his face, he lowered his head to see a small hole in his chest and the lingering intense heat.
That fiery-red little bird was naturally the fledgling Red Feather of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix. It had already reached the Seventh Rank Intermediate and, with its extremely fast speed and its remarkable Fire Attribute, coupled with the fact that the Yang Family Elder was only focusing on escaping without any defense, a lethal strike was a matter of course.
Penetrated from the front chest to the back by Red Feather, with even his heart shattered, the Yang Family Elder naturally couldn't survive. At the moment of his death, he seemed to have a premonition that the newly risen grand Yang Family was crumbling to dust under the hands of a young man named Starfall.
Reflecting on the past period, after the Yang Family had annihilated the Hu Family, their glory was unsurpassed. Unfortunately, this glory hadn't even lasted half a year before it vanished like smoke.
And all of this was because of a disrespectfully young man. Since that arena battle, it seemed as if the fate of the Yang Family had already been sealed.
Before these Yang Family Elders lost their vitality, perhaps they had complaints about the actions of their Family Head. Why provoke this calamity? Now the Yang Family was likely to be completely annihilated.
Regardless of whether these Yang Family Elders would blame Yang Dingshan, the Family Head, once in their graves, with the last of the Yang Family Elders also perished, all the high-end battle power of the Yang Family was annihilated and ceased to exist.
"Red Feather, Chi Yan, well done!"
Yun Xiao obviously didn't care too much about the deaths of the several Qi Seeking Realm Late Stage Yang Family Elders in the courtyard. In fact, even without Chi Yan and Red Feather's involvement, he would have been able to control the Dragon Taming Sword to decapitate them.
"I wonder if the Yang Family Head has anything valuable on him?"
After praising the two little ones, Yun Xiao's gaze turned to a light blue belt lying quietly underground. It wasn't an ordinary belt but the Waist Storage belonging to the Yang Family Head Yang Dingshan.
The material for forging a Waist Storage was extremely special, hence even if the Ice and Fire Giant Dragon had devoured all of Yang Dingshan's remains, the Waist Storage would still remain, sparking a fiery look in Yun Xiao's eyes.
Because Yun Xiao knew that places like Thunder King Valley and Thunder Mountain, even Yang Wanliu with his Origin Seeking Realm Middle Stage Cultivation wouldn't dare to venture into, perhaps the Yang Family Head had once taken a trip there, and it was very likely that Yang Dingshan had obtained the Thunder Wood.
"How much wealth did the Yang Family rake in from Ancient Moon City?"
With these thoughts whirling in his mind, Yun Xiao picked up the light blue Waist Storage. Without much effort, he sensed many items inside the now ownerless storage.
Aside from the mountains of Gold Coins, Yun Xiao also discovered some Earth Rank Cultivation Techniques and Meridian Techniques like the previous Meridian Qi Net and Meridian Qi Giant Hammer, and even two Earth Rank Middle Level Meridian Techniques.
But be it ordinary Gold Coins or those Earth Rank Cultivation Techniques and Meridian Techniques, they were all like chicken ribs to Yun Xiao. With the memories of his past life as the Long Xiao Battle God, he knew far beyond what a small Yang Family Head could compare with.
"Hm?"