Within the vortices, streaks of lightning flickered, and wisps of frigid energy were repeatedly refined, transforming into strange, gray motes of light.
Above the expanse of the Absolute Yin Plain, the accumulated celestial yin energy of many years, under the influence of the three vortices, began to show signs of being completely devoured.
Shi Yan’s expression was solemn, as if he had entered a marvelous state.
Directly above him, the strange gray motes of light suddenly leaked from the three vortices and surged violently into Shi Yan’s body.
Shi Yan’s body immediately generated a fierce suction force that anyone could perceive!
His body seemed to become a black hole, drawing in every gray mote of light pouring down from the heavens!
The gray motes of light flickered and danced, pouring into Shi Yan’s frame.
Shi Yan’s body took on a hazy, ashen sheen, and an aura of deep cold spread outward from him.
Anyone who drew near Shi Yan would feel their body involuntarily stiffen, the circulation of their vital essence would slow, and they would need to actively exert strength to resist the persistent influence of the dense yin energy.
Shi Yan had become like a monstrous entity, swallowing yin power!
He sat perfectly still, yet relying on the three vortices suspended overhead, he madly absorbed and transformed the yin energy of the Absolute Yin Plain, causing it to continually condense and purify into the most refined points of yin force, becoming nourishment for his cultivation.
On Shi Yan’s chest, the yin vortexes surrounding the Tianque, Shenque, and Yindu acupoints began to rapidly gather the incoming gray motes of light.
Each purified gray mote represented the most concentrated essence of celestial yin power. Large quantities of these motes poured into the yin vortexes, and under further refining, transformed into even purer yin power, finally flowing into the centers of the vortexes.
Unbeknownst to him, within the core of the three yin vortexes, three pearl-sized beads were slowly taking shape.
Upon sensing the condensation of the Yin Pearls, Shi Yan’s expression jolted.
He quietly used his spiritual sense to check his surroundings and, finding nothing amiss beside him, once again spurred the yin vortexes, continuing to devour more celestial yin energy in one determined effort.
“You don’t need to stop,” Xia Xinyan stepped up beside Shi Yan, her beautiful eyes shining with strange light. “I know what you are doing, and I know you can hear me. The Nine-Headed Serpent will arrive soon, but we will handle it. You can continue to absorb the celestial yin energy here.”
Shi Yan could indeed hear Xia Xinyan’s voice, but he was unable to reply.
“Miss Xia, if Shi Yan doesn't stop now, the Nine-Headed Serpent will attack him first,” Ku Long urged anxiously.
Zhua Qi and Chi Xiao also looked at Xia Xinyan with slight surprise, wondering about the deeper meaning behind her suggestion.
“The Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent has nine heads: three can spew fire, three can secrete venom, and the remaining three can manipulate the yin energy of the Absolute Yin Plain to launch various attacks.”
Xia Xinyan’s beautiful eyes flickered, and she explained solemnly, “The three heads that control the celestial yin energy are extremely troublesome, and dealing with them will strain us. But right now, we have an advantage. As long as Shi Yan keeps devouring the celestial yin energy like this, once the Nine-Headed Serpent arrives, any attempt it makes to use the yin energy for an attack will be immediately swallowed by the vortexes above Shi Yan’s head! This way, those three heads capable of commanding yin energy will have their power severely diminished!”
At these words, Zhua Qi and Chi Xiao’s eyes lit up, and they both nodded in agreement, praising, “Exactly!”
“With those three heads weakened, the Nine-Headed Serpent becomes much easier to handle. Zhua Qi isn't afraid of the Serpent’s venom, and you brought the Silver Gauze Curtain, so we only need to focus our energy on the three heads that spit fire. Thanks to Shi Yan, this battle will be much easier for us,” Xia Xinyan stated calmly.
Zhua Qi and Chi Xiao secretly nodded, all agreeing with Xia Xinyan’s proposal.
“Will my Young Master be alright?” Han Feng suddenly opened his eyes and looked coldly at Xia Xinyan. “While we care about the Heavenly Gate, my Young Master’s life is more important!”
“He is not bait. Just maintain the current state,” Xia Xinyan frowned, then added, “If he chooses to wake up, he can do so at any moment. However, gathering the celestial yin energy to this extent again will take considerably more time.”
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The earth-shattering roars grew steadily closer.
The ground trembled, and in the distance, a vague, terrifying figure slowly began to materialize.
“Prepare to fight!” Chi Xiao commanded sharply.
...
At another entrance to the Absolute Yin Valley.
Bei Ming Shang’s expression shifted slightly. Staring at the vortex that shot up into the sky like smoke plumes ten thousand meters away, a hint of confusion flashed in his cold eyes.
“Grandpa, are they already fighting?” Bei Ming Ce inquired.
He shook his head. “No. The celestial yin energy has undergone a strange change and is all converging towards Chi Xiao and the others. The Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent has also emerged from the Absolute Yin Valley and is rushing toward Chi Xiao’s location. I wonder what exactly is happening over there.”
“When should we go over?”
“Wait! Wait until the battle over there is nearly finished.”
...
Elsewhere, An Ming and his party stared in astonishment at the three vortices suspended in the void above Shi Yan, completely baffled by the situation.
“Master? It seems... it seems the celestial yin energy has changed, all gathering over there? Could it be that the Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent has already started its attack?” the unnervingly effeminate youth speculated.
“Although the Nine-Headed Serpent can also cultivate by borrowing celestial yin energy, it is not this overbearing. To force such a vast amount of celestial yin energy to surge into one spot—I doubt even the Nine-Headed Serpent could pull off such a grand maneuver. Moreover, these changes originate from outside the valley, clearly initiated by Chi Xiao and his group,” Lord Ming stated in a deep voice.
“Should we go take a look?”
“No need. Wait for news from Bei Ming Shang. We won’t move until he sends a signal. Your martial mother should have already gone over. If the Heavenly Gate truly manifests, she will send a signal. We don’t need to rush.”
“Understood.”
...
The three Yin Pearls continued their slow condensation. As more celestial yin energy poured in, the pearls became increasingly translucent.
The Yin Pearls spun rapidly at the center of the external yin vortexes surrounding the acupoints. Every time a wisp of gray yin essence entered, the pearl would immediately absorb the gray mote.
Shi Yan knew that only once the pearls were fully formed would they actively sink into the three acupoints. This knowledge—that Han Feng and Ku Long were deeply worried for him—still did not make him stop the rotation of the yin vortexes, even after hearing Xia Xinyan.
He had a premonition that the Yin Pearls were at a crucial juncture, perhaps on the verge of complete condensation and sinking into the acupoints.
The three colossal vortices emerging from above also startled him.
After those three mighty vortexes appeared and began ravenously consuming the celestial yin energy, Shi Yan became certain that the Profound Yin Art, labeled merely as Mortal Grade, was far from simple!
What Mortal Grade martial skill could cause such a massive disturbance during cultivation?
—He genuinely couldn't imagine.
“Howl! Howl! Howl!”
Terrifying roars, like thunderclaps, reverberated from the distance, echoing across the entire Absolute Yin Plain.
The Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent was a peak seventh-rank demonic beast, rumored to be an ancient hybrid born from the union of a Dragon and a Python. It possessed the ability to continuously evolve. Once it consumed enough yin energy, venom, and fire, the Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent could evolve again to the eighth or even ninth rank.
The reason this particular serpent forcibly occupied the Absolute Yin Plain was that it recognized the dense yin energy here, coupled with the surrounding miasma of poison fog from the edge of the Deathly Still Marsh. It seized this territory to cultivate using the poisonous vapors and yin energy.
Not long after, the immense serpent, its body piled like a mountain and bearing nine massive heads, finally emerged from the Absolute Yin Valley.
The Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent’s body resembled a mountain of flesh, covered in silver scales and spikes. Its nine heads were each over twenty meters long; every head was like a gigantic python, featuring ghastly white fangs, each one independently exhaling poison mist, yin energy, or fire.
“Attack!”
Zhua Qi’s expression hardened upon seeing it appear, and he charged forward first.
Streams of earth dragons violently burst forth from the center of the ground. Zhua Qi’s body flashed, and he merged himself into the body of one of the earth dragons.
As Zhua Qi burrowed into the earth dragon, its body became covered in hard earthen armor, its head vaguely resembled Zhua Qi’s own, and its bulk swelled by a factor of two.
“Zhua Qi is an eighth-rank demonic beast, a ‘Mud Marsh Jiao.’ He was born from a union between a Mud Marsh Jiao and a female human martial artist. The Mud Marsh Jiao was originally the true master of the Deathly Still Marsh and could take human form. It was the most formidable demonic beast to ever appear in our region. Legend says the original Mud Marsh Jiao was the King of Demonic Beasts here; no martial artist dared to violate its authority! The Mud Marsh Jiao was an eighth-rank beast, comparable to a warrior in the Spirit Connection Realm, but it died mysteriously in the Deathly Still Marsh a thousand years ago. Many years after its death, the Nine-Headed Serpent surfaced in the marsh, driving Zhua Qi to the outskirts and seizing the Absolute Yin Valley for its cultivation. This is why Zhua Qi harbors such deep hatred for it,” Chi Xiao quietly explained the history between Zhua Qi and the Nine-Headed Serpent as Zhua Qi, fused with the earth dragon, charged toward the serpent.
“Eighth-rank demonic beast!” Xia Xinyan’s expression also shifted slightly. “No wonder Zhua Qi inherently controls poisonous miasma and can move freely in the mud; he’s a hybrid of the Mud Marsh Jiao and a human.”
“If he couldn't control the poisonous miasma and the mud, the Nine-Headed Serpent would have killed him long ago. On the periphery of the Deathly Still Marsh, as long as Zhua Qi hides within the mire, no one can touch him—that’s what makes him so difficult to deal with.”
“You two! Is it time to act?”
Over there, Zhua Qi, transformed into the earth dragon, shouted loudly amidst the torrent of fire spat by the Nine-Headed Serpent, sounding somewhat desperate.
The Serpent’s three fire-spitting heads unleashed a dense, cloud-like deluge of flame. The fire burned fiercely, drying out many of the mud dragons and causing the earth dragon housing Zhua Qi to crackle audibly.
The Serpent’s other six heads did not release venom or yin energy, but instead opened their bloody maws, revealing rows of dense, ghastly white fangs, lunging directly to tear at the earth dragon housing Zhua Qi.
The sky was filled with the Nine-Headed Serpent’s coiling, writhing heads. Even without using venom or yin energy, the combined force of the nine heads pressed Zhua Qi down severely.
Zhua Qi was at an absolute disadvantage.
“Move!”
Chi Xiao notified Xia Xinyan, and thick smoke abruptly billowed from his body. Within the smoke, Chi Xiao’s form began to elongate, his body growing larger as the smoke thickened.
In just a few seconds, Chi Xiao’s body expanded countless times with the smoke, transforming into a towering giant, scarcely smaller than the Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent itself.
From within the cloud, Chi Xiao’s majestic, mountain-like physique suddenly charged toward the Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent. His two hands shone brilliantly as he pulled forth the Silver Gauze Curtain to shield himself.
Xia Xinyan took a deep breath and activated her Samsara Martial Soul.
The space and time in the heavens seemed to warp; multicolored motes of light shot out, and an ancient power from the river of history suddenly poured in through a rift in spacetime, directly infusing Xia Xinyan’s body.
Xia Xinyan, only at the Hundred Tribulations Triple Heaven Realm, suddenly soared toward the heavens like a deity and charged fiercely toward the Nine-Headed Celestial Serpent.