'Never mind, let's wait a bit longer. Hai Bodong has been waiting this long anyway, a little more time won't hurt.' After careful consideration, Xiao Yan decided to put the old fox Hai Bodong aside for now and not break his seal yet, letting him feel empty, lonely, and cold for a while longer.
Far away in Desert City, Hai Bodong suddenly sneezed.
Xiao Yan turned his gaze toward the northwest, where Rock Desert City was located.
'I've been out for almost half a month now. It's time to head back.'
He set his direction and flew toward Rock Desert City using his Eagle Wings. For Xiao Yan now, having Qing Lin use her Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to control the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python was the top priority.
After the Flame Mantra evolved to a Di Class Qi Method, his speed with the Eagle Wings was almost comparable to a Dou King, since most Dou Kings didn't have Di Class Qi Methods.
If he added the burst power of three kinds of Heavenly Flames and the support of his 5th-tier alchemist's Spiritual Strength, his flying speed could even rival a Dou Emperor!
But even with his flying ability, it still took him a full day of intermittent travel to return to Rock Desert City.
The outline of a city that was several sizes smaller than Desert City finally appeared on the horizon.
His fiery wings sliced through the dark sky like a meteor as he flew directly into Rock Desert City.
'Huh? How come the flag is gone?' Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed as he noticed from a distance that the flag of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company that used to hang high above the tallest building was now missing.
A sudden sense of foreboding struck him. His Dou Qi circulated rapidly, and with a thunderous sound, he shattered the ground with a single step and instantly landed in front of the main gate.
'Something's happened!'
The front of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company compound was devastated. The entire main gate had been blasted to pieces, and even a large section of the surrounding walls had collapsed.
Xiao Yan swept his Spiritual Strength across the entire compound and immediately flashed over to the collapsed arena. He waved his hand and cleared away all the debris, revealing the barely breathing mercenary company members buried under the ruins.
"Hey, stay with me! What the hell happened! Where are Big Brother and Second Brother?"
Xiao Yan didn't show any stinginess. He directly took out a 4th-tier Great Blood Recovery Pill and placed it into the mouth of the heavily injured mercenary.
The Great Blood Recovery Pill transformed into a warm current that seeped into every wound on the mercenary's body. The originally pale-faced mercenary's complexion instantly regained some color.
Upon seeing Xiao Yan, the mercenary's eyes welled up with tears as he said. "Cough, cough, Third Leader?! Am I dead?"
"How could you see me if you were dead? Now tell me what happened!"
After being scolded by Xiao Yan, the mercenary realized he wasn't actually dead and hurriedly said, "Something terrible happened, Third Leader! Hurry to the former headquarters of the Sand Mercenary Company. We were attacked by the Mo Clan. The Company Leader and Second Company Leader led some people to the south to meet up with Luo Bu. I don't know what the situation is now."
"Go rescue the injured brothers. Leave the rest to me." Xiao Yan tossed a few bottles of pills to the mercenary. Then, with a grim expression on his face, flew south like a shooting star.
Someone actually dared to touch his reverse scale!
On the spacious training ground of the former Sand Mercenary Company, a sea of people was divided into two groups. One side had mocking smiles on their faces, while the other side, wearing the Desert Metal Mercenary Company's emblem, was filled with undisguised killing intent.
"Dark Demon Iron Staff!!" Luo Bu activated his Dou Qi Armor and Dou Qi surged from the long staff in his hand as he swept it horizontally.
"Haha, you call that Dou Qi worthy of a Dou Grandmaster? What trash Dou Techniques have you been cultivating? Compared to our Mo Clan's Xuan Class Dou Techniques, you're nothing but dog shit. Go to hell, all of you!" A yellow-clad figure from the Mo Clan laughed disdainfully as he faced Luo Bu's Dou Technique attack.
A massive fist condensed as yellow Dou Qi wildly converged upon it. The fist suddenly struck out with explosive force. Fierce winds mixed with violent energy directly collided with the sweeping iron staff.
A clang echoed as the metal staff was actually dented by the impact. The fist's force didn't diminish at all as it landed heavily on Luo Bu's chest.
The Dou Qi Armor shattered with a bang. Luo Bu spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying like a kite with its string cut.
He crashed into a building with a loud thud. Inside the main hall of the building, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were also seriously injured and sitting cross-legged to recover.
If it weren't for the medicinal pills Xiao Yan had left behind, they might not have even made it this far.
Although everyone was using Low Xuan Class Dou Techniques and had the cultivation of 1-star Dou Grandmasters, there were differences in their mastery levels and the grades of their Qi Methods. Luo Bu, after all, came from a mercenary background and had less time to cultivate compared to disciples born into a clan.
Moreover, Luo Bu was the only 1-star Dou Grandmaster in the mercenary company, whereas the Mo Clan had not only three Dou Grandmasters but also dozens of Dou Masters. The combat strength of the two sides was on completely different levels.
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for having a snake person with the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils. Our First Elder doesn't want certain things to be spread around. So you all have to become dead people who can't talk." The leading Mo Clan elder, Mo Tian, stroked his beard as he looked at Xiao Ding and the others with a cold smile.
Xiao Ding glared at the Mo Clan members with vicious eyes. He never imagined that Qing Lin's Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils would be discovered, let alone attract the attention of the Mo Clan from Yan City.
He forced himself to stand up and laughed coldly instead of getting angry. "The Mo Clan from Yan City, huh? Good, very good. I hope you can bear my Third Brother's wrath when the time comes."
Mo Yi, who had just sent Luo Bu flying, sneered disdainfully, "Your Third Brother? The so-called genius of your mercenary company? Haha, so what if he's a genius? No matter how amazing your Third Brother is, can he be more formidable than the Misty Cloud Sect? Our Mo Clan has the backing of the Misty Cloud Sect! Do you know the consequences of offending the Misty Cloud Sect?"
"Oh, so there are consequences? I offended them once three years ago, but nothing much seemed to happen."
Suddenly, a soft voice echoed from all directions, like a demonic whisper that directly penetrated the minds of everyone present.
Xiao Ding and Xiao Li heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this voice.
"You brat couldn't come a little earlier next time? You always have to show up at the last minute," Xiao Li relaxed and immediately started complaining to Xiao Yan.
A figure appeared at some point in the hall without anyone noticing.
Xiao Yan smiled, took out a few medicinal pills from his storage ring, and handed them to Xiao Ding and Xiao Li. He shrugged, "Just like in the stories, the hero always arrives just in time."
The Mo Clan members were all startled by Xiao Yan's sudden appearance. Mo Yi subtly motioned for everyone to slowly surround him.
"Are you the Third Leader of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company?"
Xiao Yan turned his back to Mo Yi and looked at the severely injured Luo Bu nearby. He tossed him a medicinal pill and smiled, "Leader Luo, congratulations on your promotion. You're still a leader, but now you're the Fourth Leader of the Desert Metal Mercenary Company."
Luo Bu stared at this smiling youth with a stunned expression. Coming back to his senses, he said, "Third Leader, be careful! They are all from the Mo Clan, and there are three Dou Grandmaster elders among them. They are very strong. I can't compete with them."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan finally turned around to look at the several dozen people behind him. He glanced sea of black figures and said in a calm, emotionless tone, "Not anymore."
Whoosh!! Suddenly, a massive wave of black flames surged out of the void and engulfed all the Mo Clan members like a tidal wave.
In less than half a second, the dozens of Mo Clan members were burned into nothingness by the Nihility Devouring Flame without even a chance to scream.