"Do your mother!" A portal tore open directly in front of Medusa, and a voice boiling with fury roared from within.
Before the words had fully faded, a figure wreathed in five-colored lightning burst from the portal. A sword forged of pure lightning was already in his hand, slashing straight at the old man.
The blood-haired old man spun, an ice shield crystallizing in front of him just in time. Lightning blade met frozen barrier.
Boom!
Lightning and shattered ice exploded outward in all directions. The old man, caught off guard, was hurled backward through the air.
The one who had arrived was Xiao Tian. At this moment, his aura had climbed to the peak of Dou Huang.
With his other arm, he held Medusa close, now returned to her human form. Her face was deathly pale, and a dark trickle of blood stained the corner of her mouth.
"Why didn't you call for help the moment you met a strong enemy? If I had arrived even a moment later, you would have been gravely wounded." Xiao Tian wiped the blood from her lips, his eyes full of pain.
A sixth-grade healing pill appeared in his hand, and he pressed it gently into her mouth. As the medicine took hold, color slowly returned to Medusa's cheeks.
"Hmph. Even if I'm not his match, I still have my methods of escape." Medusa gave a soft snort, stubbornness and pride still flickering in her eyes.
But even as she spoke, a quiet warmth stirred in her heart. Xiao Tian had appeared at the most critical, most desperate moment. He had come for her.
"Ah, yes, yes. You are truly the most remarkable. So tell me — just now, why didn't you use that escape method of yours?" Xiao Tian couldn't suppress the amused tilt of his lips as he watched her.
Medusa was caught off guard by the question. A flash of embarrassment crossed her eyes, but she swiftly buried it. "I hadn't gotten around to it yet."
"Of course. You are, after all, the best." He shook his head, still smiling, and gave her smooth cheek a gentle pinch.
"Who asked you to fuss over me!" Medusa glared at him, but she made no move to push his hand away. Instead, she stood obediently behind him, focusing on circulating her energy to heal.
Xiao Tian turned his attention to the old man. Blood-red hair. Seven-Star Dou Zong. Advanced age. The faint trace of poison laced within his ice-attribute Dou Qi. There was only one person in the entire Black-Corner Region who matched such a description: Earth Demon Old Ghost of Demon Flame Valley.
The old man steadied himself in the air but did not attack recklessly. Instead, he studied Xiao Tian with narrowed eyes.
"Boy, you're just a peak Dou Huang, and you wish to play the hero saving the beauty? Be careful you don't throw away your life here. Today, let me teach you a proper lesson."
Earth Demon Old Ghost raised his hand, and an enormous black palm condensed above him, poised to strike.
"Coincidentally," Xiao Tian said, his voice dripping with arrogance, "I was planning to teach you a lesson today as well."
Medusa raised her head, curious despite herself, wondering what Xiao Tian intended to do.
Then Xiao Tian made a decision that left her utterly dumbfounded. He did not attack. Instead, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted into the empty sky, "Xian'er! Someone is trying to bully your husband! Come kill him for me!"
Dark lines immediately traced across Medusa's forehead. Even the old man's hand faltered midair. Then he let out a derisive laugh. "Brat, even calling for your daddy won't help you now."
"Really? How very brave of you. Come, then. Let me see this bravery for myself."
A clear, pleasant voice chimed through the air. The instant it sounded, the space right in front of the old man shattered, and the giant black palm in his hand vanished like smoke. The old man stared in shock at Xiao Yi Xian, who was now standing calmly before Xiao Tian. "You… you are a Dou Zun?!"
"Earth Demon Old Ghost, today's lesson is this: when you walk the world, what matters is group fights. Who bothers with one-on-one duels anymore?" Xiao Tian's lips curved into a mocking smile. He looked so insufferably pleased that even the Dragon King would have been forced to call him "Big Brother."
"You see… this is all a misunderstanding. I must have mistaken you for someone else. I am willing to offer compensation." Earth Demon Old Ghost spoke even as his eyes darted frantically, searching for an escape route.
But before he could find one, an aura of an Eight-Star Dou Zong materialized behind him. His body froze solid.
Trapped. Surrounded. Suddenly, Earth Demon Old Ghost understood exactly what Xiao Tian meant by "group fight." Regret gnawed at his heart. For a small profit, he had chosen to emerge from seclusion, thinking that with his strength, crushing a newly risen force would be effortless. He had never imagined he would end up ambushed by three Dou Zongs and one Dou Zun. This level of power could sweep across the entire Black-Corner Region without breaking a sweat. And that Dou Zun expert — the pressure she radiated was simply overwhelming.
He swallowed hard, his lips gone dry. "This old man will take his leave now. I will have someone send compensation afterward. Name your price."
He began to edge backward, slowly, cautiously — only to realize his body could no longer move.
"Leave? If you leave now, won't others say our Pure Heaven Divine Palace doesn't know how to treat its guests?" Xiao Tian said, his smile never wavering, his voice smooth and unhurried.
After Xiao Tian's words fell, Wen Yan, who had been waiting silently behind Earth Demon Old Ghost, shot forward and delivered a palm strike directly to his back. Though the old man managed to twist and defend, the blow still sent him hurtling through the air.
Xiao Yi Xian watched Earth Demon Old Ghost fly toward her. She also saw the black Dou Qi he was stealthily condensing in his hand. A cold smile touched her lips. As expected of an old viper — he was still plotting a sneak attack, even now.
She extended her slender hand forward. Then clenched it. "Spatial Shredding."
Spatial cracks erupted around Earth Demon Old Ghost's body. He reacted instantly. "Blood-Chilling Extreme Freeze Heaven!" The Dou Qi in his hand expanded rapidly, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive black cloud tens of meters wide. His figure was swallowed by the dark, roiling mist. Under the force of his technique, the surrounding air turned bitterly cold.
Xiao Yi Xian's hand clenched again. Spatial rifts tore through the black cloud, one after another, accompanied by the sound of space itself shattering. Amidst those sounds, Earth Demon Old Ghost's screams rang out.
When the black cloud finally dissipated, his figure reappeared in the air. But both of his arms were gone. He had intended to use the self-destruction of his arms to create the illusion of being shredded into a blood mist, hiding himself within the folds of space to escape. But he found the entire space locked and controlled. There was nowhere to hide.
Earth Demon Old Ghost stared at Xiao Tian and the others, his eyes filled with regret and despair. It seemed today, he was truly fated to die.