Chapter 847: Sky-Filling Calamity Flame
Boom!
A golden flame domain blazed violently, bursting with dazzling golden light in the dark world.
With Xiao Yaohou's Golden Crow Flame unleashed at full power, the domain she spread could instantly cover a hundred-mile area. But within the dark world, the golden sea of fire only managed to stretch for a few miles before stopping its expansion. Even the initial blazing radiance began to dim at a visible rate.
Gradually, the flame domain that had just expanded started to shrink. The Golden Crow Flame Force that Xiao Yaohou was releasing with all her might seemed to be rapidly devoured by an invisible great mouth. No matter how she strained, she could not break free from the dark world's restraints. The flames extinguished layer by layer.
After a dozen breaths, her flame domain had been reduced to a single mile in radius, still contracting under the terrifyingly extreme suppression.
Xiao Yaohou's face remained expressionless, her cold gaze tinged with gloom. In the deathly silence, sweat poured from her body like rain.
She knew clearly that if she could not escape or break open this dark domain, then once her flames were completely devoured, she would vanish forever into this endless darkness.
But now, the dark profound force of Xuanyuan Wentian, who had manifested his demon sword, had suddenly surged to nearly double its already terrifying power. Under his dark domain, her strength was suppressed to the point where she had almost no chance to turn the tide.
The light of the Golden Crow Flame grew dimmer and dimmer. Endless darkness and biting cold surged in from the surrounding world, as if demon gods were about to engulf both her and her flames. A feeling of extreme agitation churned relentlessly in her soul. She forcibly suppressed it, but it would immediately surge up again even more violently.
Xiao Yaohou closed her eyes and completely held her breath. She would never allow her soul to be broken before her power. Gradually, the Golden Crow mark on her forehead dimmed another shade, and her flame domain had been suppressed to less than a hundred zhang in area.
Her body was still bathed in golden flames, but pain flickered continuously across her composed face.
"What magnificent flames, dazzling to the point of disgust."
Xuanyuan Wentian's sinister voice came from the darkness: "This is my demon god domain, named Eternal Night Without Light. It can devour everything in the world, living or dead, even space and light will be consumed entirely. It condenses my current most extreme power. No one in the world, no power can resist it—and that naturally includes you! However, the fact that you have held on for so long truly surprises me."
"Though your futile struggle, the sight of you gradually stepping into the abyss of darkness, is pleasing to the eye, I am far more eager to enjoy the joy of obtaining the Lunhui Jing! You, this sole obstacle, vanish completely in the deathly hell I have personally forged for you!"
In the darkness, a pitch-black sword beam shot through the darkness and arrived in an instant.
Within the dark domain, Xiao Yaohou's spiritual perception was severely limited. She only noticed this dark sword beam when it touched the edge of her flame domain.
The dark sword beam, upon touching the flame domain, was only momentarily blocked, then effortlessly tore through the golden flames, dragging a black trail straight toward Xiao Yaohou's heart.
Xiao Yaohou twisted her body sharply, and a deathly aura brushed past her. In almost the same instant, dozens of dark sword beams shot toward her from all directions, their air-splitting sounds overlapping like the wails of demons.
Although Xuanyuan Wentian possessed only a shallow demon body and demon arts, his own soul and original power had suffered no loss. He was recognized as the foremost sword master of the Tian Xuan Continent!
Each sword beam from Xuanyuan Wentian, infused with the power of the Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture and within his own domain, was enough to send Xiao Yaohou into the abyss of death.
As for Xiao Yaohou, almost all her strength was being used to forcibly sustain her flame domain, otherwise she would be completely swallowed by darkness. At the same time, her perception and movement were heavily restricted. These sword beams were nothing less than the reaper's hand for her, already on the verge of collapse!
Boom!!
The Golden Crow Flame churned violently as Xiao Yaohou forcibly pulled all the sword beams into her flame domain. However, these sword beams were not immediately extinguished by the Golden Crow Flame. Instead, they rampaged within the flame domain, piercing countless cracks into the already precarious domain.
The flame domain twisted sharply, then rapidly shrank amidst the distortion. Most of the dark sword beams were finally burned away by the Golden Crow Flame, but seven still pierced through the entire domain, pressing directly toward Xiao Yaohou...
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!!
Seven black beams exploded against Xiao Yaohou's chest and back. Her vision went dark, and her body shook violently, but she stubbornly refused to make a sound. A trail of crimson blood slowly trickled from the corner of her lips, slid down her neck, and stained her flawless colorful robes.
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." Xuanyuan Wentian laughed wildly. "What vivid blood! That is noble Golden Crow blood! Tsk... I am the only one in this world who can make you bleed, and the only one who can—no, the one who will soon destroy you!"
"This is only the beginning. Let me see how much longer you can struggle."
Several hundred miles away, crimson Phoenix Flame dispelled the terrifying darkness. But everyone's face was deathly pale. Even the weakest young lady of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace could clearly sense that Xiao Yaohou's aura had almost completely disappeared. To the south, all was pitch black, like a boundless black hole, with not even a glimmer of flame visible.
"No... impossible... this can't be real! Xiao Yaohou cannot be defeated!!" Tianxia Diyi's entire body trembled. His face was ashen, and his mind was on the verge of collapsing. Suddenly, he let out a roar and was about to charge out of the barrier. "No! I have to go help Xiao Yaohou... As the young patriarch of the Guardian Clans, how can I... how can I just watch Xiao Yaohou..."
"If I cannot rescue Xiao Yaohou, then I will use this useless, worthless body to be buried with her!"
Tianxia Diyi's eyes were bloodshot. He roared and charged forward. Xiao Yun did not stop him but gritted his teeth and said, "Fine! I'll go with you!"
"Wait!!" Feng Xue'er extended her arm, forming an invisible wall of energy that blocked both Tianxia Diyi and Xiao Yun. She looked north and said softly, "You stay here and protect everyone. I will go help Sister Xiao Yaohou."
Before anyone could respond, Feng Xue'er's body flashed with flame light and she shot out of the barrier, flying south into the endless darkness. But before she had flown too far, she suddenly stopped. Her eyes, which had been dim, suddenly burst with joyful light: "This is... it's Sister Xiao Yaohou!!"
She sensed with absolute clarity that the Golden Crow aura, which had been completely silent in the darkness, had suddenly revived and expanded at this moment, becoming incredibly intense...
More intense than at any moment before!
————————————
The surrounding dark space trembled wildly, as if countless evil spirits were mocking, or as if countless dark sword beams were coalescing. Xiao Yaohou opened her eyes. The golden flames in her pupils had become exceptionally dim. Her flame domain, on the verge of collapse, had been suppressed to the point where she could see its edge at a glance.
"Xuanyuan Wentian..." Xiao Yaohou's voice echoed lowly in the dark world. "I have sworn an oath... today, even if I turn to ashes and smoke, I will grind your bones to dust!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Xuanyuan Wentian let out a mocking laugh, obviously dismissing Xiao Yaohou's words as a meaningless joke. But before his taunting words could leave his mouth, his tone suddenly changed slightly: "Hm?"
"Pfft!"
A large spray of blood mist burst from Xiao Yaohou's lips. Instantly, a flash of flame blazed up. The dazzlingly intense firelight pierced nearly a hundred miles through the dark world in an instant, causing Xuanyuan Wentian's eyes to feel as if stabbed by needles, unable to open.
"What... is this!?"
Pure golden Golden Crow Flame burned quietly, using Xiao Yaohou's body as a vessel. The flame did not spread, but the golden firelight it radiated easily pierced through the dark world, reaching all the way to its edges. In an instant, the chaotic, dark world was riddled with thousands of holes pierced by countless dazzling beams of firelight.
"You..." Xuanyuan Wentian raised a hand to shield his eyes, momentarily not daring to look directly at the direction from which the firelight came. This was his own dark domain, yet it was as if a sun had suddenly been born within it!
A thin layer of golden flame burned on Xiao Yaohou's body, yet it emitted a golden radiance that pierced the entire dark domain. Xiao Yaohou's figure was also obscured by the firelight. The surrounding darkness was completely driven away, revealing an increasingly large vacuum.
Her expression could not be seen, nor could her gaze. Within the blinding golden light, she slowly raised both hands. The golden flames on her body condensed onto her hands with this movement, forming a half-zhang-long flame sword.
A flame only half a zhang long was as insignificant as the light of a firefly in this dark domain that submerged hundreds of miles. But it was like a poison thorn stuck in Xuanyuan Wentian's heart, causing him to let out a pained roar: "Aaaah... you... what have you done!?"
Xiao Yaohou did not answer, or perhaps she could no longer make a sound. All her strength was concentrated on the flame sword, and then she slowly slashed it down toward the dark world ahead...
This was the "Golden Annihilation," condensed from all her will and power, and it was also the most extreme Golden Crow Flame in the ten-thousand-year history of the Illusion Demon Imperial Clan!
Boom———————
A golden mark less than a zhang long was engraved at the center of the dark world. In an instant, it spread at an extreme speed, and in the blink of an eye, it had spanned the entire dark world.
From the position of Feng Xue'er and the others, a golden line, as blinding as the sun's rays, sliced the immense dark world cleanly in half from the very center.
"She burned her Golden Crow Source Blood... retreat quickly!" The demon sword in Xuanyuan Wentian's hand let out a terrified roar.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The Ice Extreme Snow Domain shook violently. The dark domain, sliced in two, collapsed as it disintegrated. The out-of-control thick black aura scattered wildly but was immediately swallowed by the golden flames that soared into the sky.
"Ugh... aaaaahhh!!"
All of Xuanyuan Wentian's power turned to defense, but the backlash from the violent collapse of the Eternal Night Without Light domain sent him falling into hell. The dark profound force on him had been acquired not long ago and was far from being perfectly controlled. Under the backlash, his dark profound force nearly went completely out of control, rampaging within his body. Outside, the sky-covering Golden Crow Flame completely engulfed him, burning his already scorched body once more.
The dark aura quickly faded, but the flames grew increasingly fierce. The entire sky was thoroughly dyed gold. All the ice and snow of the Ice Extreme Snow Domain completely melted. Even Feng Xue'er, who was several hundred miles away and possessed Phoenix Flame Force, was unable to approach due to the impact and could only use all her strength to construct another flame barrier to protect those in the barrier behind her.
Rumble rumble rumble...
The flames rolled, heat waves surged to the heavens. The ice and snow accumulated over countless years in the Ice Extreme Snow Domain might have all turned to nothing. The sky no longer snowed. The cold wind had long since become the most scorching calamitous gale.
At the same time, Xuanyuan Wentian's screams vanished... along with his dark aura.
Xiao Yaohou maintained the motion of her arms slashing down, standing quietly at the center of the golden sea of fire. She felt that besides the flames, everything else had disappeared... The dark domain was gone, and Xuanyuan Wentian's aura had completely vanished.
Burned into the most primal nothingness.
Xiao Yaohou slowly lowered her hands. Her eyes closed, devoid of spirit, and her small, delicate body quietly fell.
As she fell, the sky-filling flames rapidly settled and silently extinguished.