163: The Dragon Emperor's wrath, blood for blood.

Zi Yan's arrival was like a stabilizing force, instantly dispelling the gloom and despair in Li Ao's heart. Her majestic Dragon Emperor's might not only intimidated potential enemies but also brought a glimmer of hope and confidence for revenge.

"Zi Yan, how did you find this place?" Li Ao looked at the enraged little Dragon Emperor, wreathed in dragon flames, feeling both gratitude and confusion.

Zi Yan pouted, waved her small hand, and a purple-gold barrier enveloped everyone, isolating them from external probes. Then, she huffed, "This King was bored staying in the Ancient World, and I sensed that the Dragon Scale you gave me earlier suddenly became extremely faint, carrying a scent of deathly stillness. I knew something must have happened to you! I followed the sensation all the way here and just happened to stumble upon these Hun Clan scoundrels lurking nearby!"

She pointed at the corpses of the Soul Clan Venerables on the ground, her small face full of disgust. Then, her gaze fell upon Medusa, who was unconscious on Li Ao's back, and a hint of worry flashed in her purple-gold Dragon eyes: "What happened to Sister Medusa? Is she badly hurt?"

"Her Bloodline is burning, and her Soul is injured. She needs rest and special heaven and earth spiritual objects," Li Ao said in a low voice, carefully setting Medusa down so she could lean against the rock wall.

Zi Yan stepped forward to examine her, her brows tightly furrowed: "Such severe injuries... but with the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python Bloodline supporting her, her life is not in immediate danger. After we return, this King will use Dragon Emperor's essence blood to nourish her, and she will definitely recover!"

Hearing that Zi Yan had a way to save Medusa, Li Ao felt a little relieved and said gratefully, "Thank you!"

"Thank me for what!" Zi Yan waved her small hand, full of domineering (dominance), "You are this Emperor's friends. Harming you is slapping this King's face! This debt must be settled!"

Her gaze turned cold again as she looked at Gu Hua: "You said that old man Lei Gang was also ambushed by those Hun Clan bastards? In the Myriad Thunder Mountain Range?"

Gu Hua quickly recounted the details of the ambush by Soul Yan, his voice choking when he mentioned that Elder Lei Gang might have met a terrible fate while covering their escape.

"Soul Yan... one of the Hun Clan Four Demon Saints..." A cold light flickered in Zi Yan's eyes. "Very good! They even dare to touch the people of the Lei Clan. The Hun Clan is increasingly disregarding us!"

She looked at Li Ao, her tone decisive: "Li Ao, you come with this King to the Myriad Thunder Mountain Range first! Let's get that old man Lei Gang out. If he's gone, this King will dismantle a few Hall of Souls branch halls as his burial! Then we'll go to your so-called Flame Abyss and drag out the scoundrel who injured Sister Medusa and... and Sister Xiao Yi Xian, and burn him to ashes!"

When Xiao Yi Xian was mentioned, Li Ao's heart ached violently, and the killing intent in his eyes surged again. He nodded heavily: "Good! Let's go to the Myriad Thunder Mountain Range first!"

Although he desperately wanted to return to the Flame Abyss immediately, he also knew that Lei Gang, as a core Elder of the Lei Clan, would be crucial to the Alliance if rescued. Moreover, with Zi Yan, the powerful Dragon Emperor, assisting, the chances of rescue were much higher.

"You few," Zi Yan pointed at Gu Hua and the other injured Gu Clan disciples, "Follow this river downstream. About a hundred miles away, there's a hidden exit. After you leave, immediately contact the Gu Clan and report the situation here."

"Yes, Dragon Emperor Your Majesty!" Gu Hua and the others respectfully accepted the order, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

With arrangements made, Zi Yan no longer dawdled. Her figure flickered, and she directly manifested a portion of her true form—a Void Ancient Dragon hundreds of feet long, covered in purple-gold Dragon Scales, radiating endless majesty! Although not her complete form, her vast Dragon might already made the entire underground space tremble.

"Come up!" Zi Yan's massive Dragon head lowered, her voice like thunder.

Li Ao carried Medusa on his back and leaped onto the Dragon's back. The purple-gold Dragon Scales were cool and hard, emanating powerful energy fluctuations.

"Hold on tight!" Zi Yan swung her Dragon tail, directly smashing through the rock layers above, breaking through the earth, and transforming into a purple-gold stream of light, soaring into the sky, tearing through space towards the Myriad Thunder Mountain Range!

How terrifying was the speed of a Saint-Grade Void Ancient Dragon traveling at full power! It was almost like shrinking the ground into an inch, Transmigration through the Void Realm!

Feeling the spatial turbulence whistling past his ears and the boundless power of Zi Yan beneath him, Li Ao tightly protected Medusa, the flames of revenge burning fiercely in his heart. This time, he was no longer facing despair alone!

...The Myriad Thunder Mountain Range, located in the northwest region of Central Plains, was perpetually shrouded in violent thunder and was the outer perimeter of the Lei Clan's sphere of influence.

At this moment, the depths of the mountain range were in ruins. Countless peaks had been flattened, and the ground was covered with huge craters and charred marks. The air still lingered with violent thunder power and chilling Death Qi, indicating how tragic the great battle that had erupted here not long ago must have been.

Beneath a collapsed cliff, Lei Gang knelt on the ground, his clothes tattered, blood almost staining him completely. His iron-tower-like body was covered in deep, bone-visible wounds, especially a pitch-black palm print on his chest that continuously eroded his vitality, emitting the unique sinister aura of Soul Yan. His aura was extremely weak, making it difficult even to stand.

Around him, several Lei Clan disciples and the body of Gu Zhen lay scattered, all having perished. Only Gu Zhen, relying on a Gu Clan protective treasure, still had a faint trace of Qi, but he too was unconscious.

In the air in front of Lei Gang, several figures shrouded in black robes stood suspended, like reapers looking down on ants. The leader, a phantom-like figure that seemed to merge with the shadows at any moment, exuded a terrifying, suffocating pressure. He was one of the Hun Clan Four Demon Saints—Soul Yan! Behind him were three Soul Clan Venerables, watching the desperate Lei Gang below with mocking eyes.

"Lei Gang, why resist stubbornly?" Soul Yan's voice was hoarse and ethereal, carrying the playful tone of a cat toying with a mouse. "Hand over the clues to the Lei Clan's ancient jade, and this saint might grant you a swift death."

Lei Gang suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Soul Yan, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Bah! Hun Clan scoundrels, if you want the ancient jade, you'll have to step over this old man's corpse!"

"Stubborn," Soul Yan shook his head, his ethereal finger gently raised, and a wisp of deep, black-hole-like Death Qi condensed at his fingertip. "Since that's the case, then... be on your way."

Just as that wisp of Death Qi was about to shoot out—

"Roar—!!!"

A Dragon's roar, as if from ancient primordial times, filled with endless majesty and fury, like thunder from the Nine Heavens, suddenly exploded over the Myriad Thunder Mountain Range! The terrifying power contained in the Dragon's roar directly dispersed the thunderclouds gathered in the sky, even causing the Death Qi condensed at Soul Yan's fingertip to dissipate!

"Who is it?!" Soul Yan's expression changed slightly, and he looked up sharply!

In the sky, space was forcibly torn apart, and an incomparably massive purple-gold Ancient Dragon, carrying Dragon flames that could incinerate all directions and the mighty power to shatter stars, crashed down like a falling meteor towards their location!

Dragon might like a prison, enveloping all directions!

"Void Ancient Dragon?! It's Dragon Emperor Zi Yan!" The Soul Clan Venerable behind Soul Yan shrieked in terror.

A trace of solemnity and disbelief also flashed in Soul Yan's eyes. How could the Ancient Void Dragon Clan suddenly intervene? And it was the newly ascended Dragon Emperor!

"Harming my allies, Hun Clan scoundrels, die for this King!"

Zi Yan roared, her Dragon mouth opening, and a purple-gold Dragon Emperor's breath, more than a hundred zhang in diameter, poured down like a celestial river, imbued with ultimate power and destruction, showering down on Soul Yan and the others! Wherever the breath passed, space collapsed inch by inch, and all things returned to nothingness!

"Joint defense!" Soul Yan roared, no longer caring about Lei Gang below. He and the three Soul Clan Venerables fully unleashed their Nirvana Dou Qi, condensing it into a giant black skeleton shield, blocking above!

"Boom!—!!!"

The Dragon Emperor's breath slammed into the skeleton shield! A terrifying explosion echoed through heaven and earth, and an energy storm swept out, once again leveling the surrounding mountains by several zhang!

The shield, which combined the power of Soul Yan and the three Soul Clan Venerables, only lasted for a few breaths before the Dragon Emperor's breath, then emitted an unbearable cracking sound and exploded!

"Puff!"

The three Soul Clan Venerables bore the brunt, directly engulfed by the aftermath of the breath. They turned into flying ash without even being able to scream! Soul Yan also grunted, his figure retreating several hundred zhang, his phantom body solidifying slightly, clearly having suffered no small loss!

The power of a single strike was terrifying!

On the Dragon's back, Li Ao had already seized the opportunity. The moment the breath descended, he flew down with Medusa on his back, landing beside the severely injured Lei Gang.

"Senior Lei Gang!" Li Ao quickly took out a Medicinal Pill for healing and put it into his mouth, and used Nirvana Dou Qi to temporarily suppress the Soul Yan palm print that was eroding his vitality on his chest.

Lei Gang saw Li Ao, then looked at the peerlessly powerful Zi Yan in the sky, and an unbelievable light burst forth from his cloudy eyes: "Little friend Li Ao... Dragon Emperor... you..."

"Senior, don't speak yet, healing is paramount," Li Ao said in a deep voice, dragging the unconscious Gu Zhen to his side as well.

In the sky, Zi Yan, having landed a successful blow, her massive Dragon eyes coldly locked onto the grim-faced Soul Yan.

"Soul Yan, you dare to touch this King's people, leave your life here today!"

She swung her Dragon tail, shattering the Void Realm, and with endless killing intent, pounced on Soul Yan again!

Soul Yan's eyes were extremely gloomy. He hadn't expected Zi Yan's strength to be so formidable. In a one-on-one fight, he was absolutely no match for her!

"Retreat!"

He made a decisive decision, tearing through space without hesitation, about to flee. Facing an enraged Dragon Emperor, staying to fight was definitely not a wise move.

"Trying to leave? Did you ask this King first?!" Zi Yan roared, her Dragon claws extended, directly grabbing at the distorted space, intending to forcefully keep Soul Yan!

A Saint-Grade chase suddenly unfolded over the Myriad Thunder Mountain Range!

Below, Li Ao looked at the fleeing Soul Yan, a cold light flashing in his eyes. He gently put Medusa down and said to the slightly more stable Lei Gang: "Senior, please look after them."

Before his words finished, his figure had already transformed into a grey line, merging into the shadows, silently pursuing in the direction Soul Yan had fled!

Facing a Dou Saint head-on, he might still be lacking in strength. But taking advantage of Soul Yan being chased by Zi Yan and in disarray, with his current Three-Star Dou Zun cultivation and deeper control over Nirvana Origin, he might just be able to... leave him with a profound lesson!

Blood debts must be paid with blood! Soul Yan, since you've come, leave something behind!