During the standoff with Medusa, Protector Liu let out a low sigh and suddenly waved his hand.
A pitch-black iron chain, shimmering with a deep luster, abruptly shot out from his hand.
The speed of the chain was terrifying, and it took a bizarre turn in mid-air, appearing near Xiao Xue almost instantly.
The tip of the chain was as sharp as a blade, even faintly glinting with a strangely cold light.
Medusa was greatly alarmed and instinctively turned back, wanting to block it.
In the moment Medusa hurriedly turned around, Protector Liu lashed out with another chain, aiming straight for the back of her head.
It had to be said that Protector Liu's combat experience was indeed rich, and every move he made was a killing blow.
If this strike hit Xiao Xue, it would likely crush her skull, killing her instantly.
If Xiao Xue died by his attack, Protector Liu could easily harvest her Soul and then focus entirely on dealing with Medusa.
At that point, even if Medusa was a Demonic Beast, he wouldn't fear a 1v1 situation at all.
Alternatively, if Medusa chose to save Xiao Xue and tanked the damage herself, she would definitely be severely wounded.
Either way, the situation would become much simpler.
Even with Medusa's reactions, she couldn't timely intercept a strike from an Eight-Star Dou Zong.
In just a split second of hesitation, the chain was already within arm's reach.
Medusa gritted her teeth, condensing seven-colored energy behind her, intending to rely on her Dou Qi and Physique to withstand it.
Then, she turned back and swung her spear fiercely toward the chain attacking Xiao Xue.
The chain was blasted away by Medusa's strike, but Xiao Xue was no longer behind her.
Medusa was slightly stunned and instinctively looked back.
The seven-colored energy had been pierced; the chain that should have hit her was now less than half a meter from the back of her head.
However, it was being held firmly by a fair, delicate hand that seemed soft and boneless.
As if teleporting, Xiao Xue appeared in front of Medusa, catching the chain thrown by the Eight-Star Dou Zong with a single hand.
Her hand seemed to have reached out directly from the Void Realm, without causing any ripples.
Though seemingly weak and powerless, she held the chain, which contained extremely powerful force, so tightly that it couldn't move at all.
This sudden turn of events stunned Medusa and Protector Liu, and even Yao Lao, who was hiding in the ring.
Suddenly, Medusa snapped back to her senses.
The strength of Xiao Xue's "trump card" had increased once again!
Xiao Xue slowly opened her eyes, looked at the bewildered Protector Liu in the air, and gave a long-lost crooked smile, overflowing with arrogance.
Then, she gave the chain in her hand a violent yank.
A surge of white flames rose from her hand, then rapidly traveled up the chain, burning toward Protector Liu.
As expected of a Heaven-Grade Protector, Protector Liu's reaction was extremely fast.
The black mist fluctuated violently as a surge of strangely dark energy erupted, clashing with the Bone Chilling Flame along the iron chain.
At the center of the chain, the Bone Chilling Flame and the black energy collided with a bang, and a ripple of violent wind exploded from the point of contact.
However, despite such a powerful blast, the iron chain showed no sign of breaking.
Clearly, this thing was no ordinary object.
Clang!
As the wind exploded, Xiao Xue suddenly released her grip.
With a clever application of force, the chain suddenly changed direction, turning into a blurred black line that shot toward Protector Liu in the air.
Swish!
The chain pierced right through the black mist surrounding Protector Liu, causing the mist to fluctuate rapidly.
At this moment, Protector Liu was actually injured by Xiao Xue using his own chain!
Clearly, no one present had expected such a development.
Ahri had long since woken up after consuming the spirit fruit, even recovering to the Nine-Star Dou Zong Early Stage.
Her Soul Power had also improved a bit, reaching the Spirit Realm Initial Stage Peak.
With the crushing advantage in Dou Qi and Soul Power, combined with the boost from the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire...
With Ahri here, Xiao Xue had nothing to fear below the level of Dou Venerate.
Furthermore, if she were given enough time to perform the Illusion Art...
Xiao Xue could even kill a newly advanced Dou Venerate.
As for why she didn't use the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, it was because Xiao Xue was still unwilling to expose Ahri's existence.
In today's situation, some trump cards couldn't be kept hidden, but revealing only a portion was perfectly fine.
By doing this now, she could completely shift the blame to the Bone Chilling Flame.
Because what she had swallowed was a complete Bone Chilling Flame.
Therefore, being able to briefly erupt with Nine-Star Dou Zong strength was quite reasonable.
Of course, although the Bone Chilling Flame's full eruption was comparable to a Peak Dou Zong...
The current Xiao Xue still couldn't unleash its full power.
Attempting to fully activate the Bone Chilling Flame with a Dou Wang's body would be like stuffing the energy of a Peak Dou Zong into a Dou Wang.
If you force it in when it doesn't fit, it would be strange if the body didn't break.
Under a full eruption of the Bone Chilling Flame, the first thing it would do is backlash against her.
Refining the complete Bone Chilling Flame only gave her a higher starting point for the future; its current power was just relatively stronger.
However, this didn't mean she could currently unleash its full power.
—Unless she was in a life-or-death situation.
But by letting Ahri fight in her stead, she could exert Nine-Star Dou Zong strength.
Moreover, refining a Heavenly Flame without using spirit storage was likely a first for the entire continent.
Using this as a ruse to deceive those around her should be no problem at all.
Only when she had a certain understanding of the Heavenly Fox race would she decide whether or not to reveal Ahri's existence to the outside world.
"Her life is mine; no one else is qualified to take it."
Staring at the pathetic Protector Liu in the air, Xiao Xue spoke indifferently.
"You..."
Her mouth twitched; Medusa never expected that Xiao Xue would actually step in to save her.
Could it be that after that incident, she really felt some complex emotions toward her?
Or had she already discovered the abnormality in her body and guessed something, which was why she was keeping her around?
While Medusa's mind was racing with thoughts, Xiao Xue gave her a faint glance.
"You're not dead, right? If you're not dead, then kill him for me."
"I'm only keeping you because you're still useful to me. Don't have any unrealistic fantasies."
After Xiao Xue finished speaking, her Aura suddenly plummeted, making her look as though she had withered after using a Secret Technique to briefly boost her strength.
When it came to fighting, if there was an underling nearby, there was no reason for the boss to take action.
Since there were no System rewards now, Xiao Xue was naturally too lazy to move a finger.
Besides, Yao Lao was still watching from the side; acting too much wasn't good, as it would be easy to slip up and blow her cover.
A normal Eight-Star Dou Zong was something that the Seven-Star level Medusa, with her Heavenly Flame Serpent Body, could completely handle.
Medusa: "..."
What else could she say? She had to fight.
Medusa gripped her Seven-Colored Long Spear and charged directly at Protector Liu high in the sky.
Xiao Xue's eyes turned crimson-gold as she used her Soul Power to assist from the side.
Although Protector Liu's Soul Power had also reached the Mortal Realm Great Perfection, it was still quite a distance from the Spirit Realm.
Therefore, he simply couldn't ignore Xiao Xue's Soul attacks and was significantly affected.
Protector Liu soon fell into an absolute disadvantage and was then run through the chest by Medusa's spear.
"Bring the body back," Xiao Xue transmitted to Medusa using Soul Power.
At the same time, she turned her head to look to the side and smiled slightly. "Abandoning your body to let a wisp of your Soul escape? I have to say, you're quite clever."
"Unfortunately, you met me."
A golden Soul Illusion Sword slashed down fiercely at an invisible Soul shadow!
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