Were You Surprised?

"Who exactly are you?"

Faced with the mysterious figure's attack, Elder Hun Mo felt his scalp tingle. He quickly changed his hand seal, and a vast black cloud appeared overhead, accompanied by countless shrill cries of agony. Through the cloud, one could faintly see countless figures struggling within.

"Sky Demon Blood Insect, devour!" 

With a loud shout, the black cloud in the sky churned violently. Moments later, a vicious aura, unlike anything human, surged out. Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, a blinding red light tore through the black cloud like a bolt of lightning, charging fiercely at the purple-gold light seal.

"Boom!"

The red light collided with the purple-gold seal, causing an earth-shattering explosion.

"Squawk!"

The next moment, the red light was sent flying back several thousand meters, accompanied by a piercing wail. The blood-red figure was thrown into the magma sea below and disappeared.

Surprisingly, despite the terrifying strike, the creature within the red light didn't die. Moments later, it emerged from the scorching magma sea. Only then did the crowd see its true form- a toad-like creature, its body dark red, covered with numerous bulging lumps, each of which bore a grotesque human face!

"It's a Soul Curse Toad. Elder Hun Mo is truly ruthless…"

In the distance, Yao Wangui observed the monstrous blood frog with a grim expression. 

The Soul Curse Toad was infamous among the ancient clans. It was said to be forged by merging numerous souls, forcing them to fight each other, and then refining them with various materials to produce this creature. 

The toad was similar to a puppet but possessed some intelligence, though it was entirely driven by its murderous nature. Once released, it would go on a rampage, killing indiscriminately- even turning on its master eventually. 

Such a beast could only be created by someone extremely ruthless.

"Honored one, please spare our elder Hun Ji. The Hun Clan will offer great rewards in return!" 

Hun Mo no longer dared to attack and respectfully bowed to the mysterious figure.

"Bah! Who's your 'honored one'? You shameless old fool!" 

The mysterious figure didn't bother with courtesy, cursing him outright before lifting the hood off her head. 

To everyone's surprise, the figure was a beautiful young girl, completely different from what they had expected.

"She's so young?"

"Who is this powerful person? How come we've never heard of her before?"

Seeing the girl's appearance, the ancient clan members were taken aback.

"Gu Fei, were you surprised by my power?" 

The girl, completely unfazed by the strange looks, turned and flashed a playful smile in Gu Fei's direction- completely contrasting with her previous fierce demeanor. 

This girl was none other than Zi Yan.

After emerging from seclusion in the Ancient God's space, Zi Yan's strength had soared to six-star Dou Saint. She had initially gone to the Gu Realm but found Gu Fei had already left, so she had followed his trail, though she remained hidden.

"I'm definitely surprised!" 

Gu Fei smiled and nodded at the playful Zi Yan. He had only recently advanced to five-star Dou Saint, surpassing Zi Yan, but in just a few years, she had surpassed him once again.

"What is the relationship between this powerful figure and Young Master Gu Fei?"

The ancient clan members were stunned by Zi Yan's way of addressing Gu Fei. Judging by the situation, she seemed to be of the same generation, possibly even younger.

What kind of monstrous talent could reach six-star Dou Saint at such a young age?

"It's really her…"

Xun'er looked at Zi Yan's face, feeling a mix of emotions she couldn't describe. When Zi Yan first came to the Gu Realm, she was only a Dou Emperor, and Xun'er could still compete with her. But now, the gap between them had grown vastly.

"Haha, who would've thought that Miss Zi Yan would grow to such heights!" 

Beside Xun'er, Gu Nanhai smiled broadly. Zi Yan's presence wasn't a secret in the Gu Clan, especially to the elders. 

Back then, Zi Yan often snuck into the Clan's medicinal gardens to steal spirit fruits, and though she was caught by the elders, no one pursued the matter due to Gu Lie's intervention.

"Gu Fei, just sit back and watch. I'll take care of these Hun Clan members for you!" 

After exchanging greetings with Gu Fei, Zi Yan turned her gaze back to Hun Mo. With her six-star Dou Saint strength, none of them stood a chance against her.

"I'll give you one more strike. If you survive, it'll mean you have good luck!"

Zi Yan pointed at Elder Hun Mo and spoke casually, as if killing a five-star Dou Saint was no different from killing a chicken.

"Hmph, arrogant!" 

"Even if you are a six-star Dou Saint, you can't kill me with just one strike!"

Though his expression darkened, the Elder remained on high alert, circulating his vast Dou Qi rapidly, forming countless vortexes of energy around him.

"Hmph!" 

Zi Yan let out a cold laugh, her hands moving rapidly in a series of hand seals. A terrifying energy gathered, and soon, a purple-gold dragon figure shot out before her. The dragon even had a pair of golden wings on its back.

"Roar!" 

The dragon roared, leaving a vacuum trail in the sky, exuding a menacing killing intent.

"Is that the Ancient Void Dragon?"

"But when did they start looking like this?"

Seeing the dragon shadow in the sky, the heavily injured Hun Miesheng's eyes filled with confusion. Even with his knowledge, he didn't recognize the ancient Dragon-Phoenix hybrid.

"Whoosh!"

Elder Hun Mo, facing the approaching dragon, felt a wave of coldness. A sense of impending death crept up from the depths of his heart. However, he quickly suppressed his panic and his withered face took on a vicious look.

"I'll have to risk everything!" 

"Devour Insect!" 

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the Elder slammed his hand onto the head of the Soul Curse Toad. A flood of blood light surged forth as the toad let out a shrill cry.

Moments later, the massive body of the Soul Curse Toad began to dissolve at a visible rate, eventually turning into a pool of thick blood, which Elder Hun Mo swallowed in one gulp.

"Gurgle!" 

After consuming it, bulging blood clots started to appear on the Elder's face, making him look incredibly terrifying.