As Xiang Shaoyun forced himself to withstand the dragon phantom's attacks, he wildly absorbed the draconic aura. As he did so, his strength started rising rapidly.

67 percent draconic aura…

67.5 percent draconic aura…

68 percent draconic aura...

The draconic aura from the dragon phantom was too pure. Absorbing it was akin to absorbing a large amount of dragon liquid, allowing his strength to grow madly. He felt like he had returned to the Blood Dragon Pool, or to be precise, he felt even better.

But due to excessive energy absorption, his meridians and flesh started aching. He wailed in pain, causing the hair of all onlookers to stand on end.

When the draconic aura accumulation reached a critical point, Xiang Shaoyun abruptly unleashed them, taking the opportunity to break through to the next stage. He shouted, "Break through!"

Instantly, the astonishing sight of a dragon soaring into the starry sky appeared. That was a 70 percent draconic aura, a level where the dragon had taken on an even more solid form, looking incredibly lifelike as it displayed the might of a late-stage Emperor.

Xiang Shaoyun's aura spread everywhere as a rich amount of spiritual energy converged around him. Even the many disciples in the gorge sensed what was happening.

"Xiang Shaoyun has actually broken through by absorbing the dragon-shaped battle aura? How is this possible?" shouted someone.

"Look, the dragon phantom is withering. It's not as powerful anymore. Let's try and see if we can absorb some as well," suggested someone else.

Among the disciples, the one most envious of Xiang Shaoyun was Huang Tianji. With his Royal War Aura, he was the most suited to absorb pure draconic aura like this. He gave up on fighting over the five jade cases and charged the dragon-shaped battle aura instead. As he circulated his cultivation method, he started absorbing the dragon phantom's draconic aura as well.

With Huang Tianji's actions, many more joined in. But upon absorbing the draconic aura, they found that they had no way of withstanding the vicious energy. All of them suffered a backlash, and wails started resounding in the air.

Unlike Xiang Shaoyun, Huang Tianji had no way of refining vicious energy. However, the energy he cultivated was capable of purifying the vicious energy, allowing him to benefit from the dragon phantom as well. As his strength started growing, he roared with laughter, "Don't think that this draconic aura can be easily absorbed. It is deadly fatal, hahaha!"

The others finally realized that the dragon-shaped battle aura couldn't be absorbed easily, but they were unwilling to miss such a good opportunity to increase their strength. Thus, they stubbornly kept trying.

The dragon phantom was no pushover. It kept flailing about, sending even Huang Tianji flying away. Even so, this level of damage was still acceptable for him.

Having stabilized his own condition, Xiang Shaoyun raked out with his palms, clawing several clumps of draconic aura from the dragon phantom before quickly sealing them away. He kept the clumps in his astral cosmos sea and proceeded to ignore the dragon phantom.

For him, the draconic aura might be precious, but it couldn't compare to the five jade cases. The restrictions surrounding the five cases had been smashed apart, and an intense battle was going on among the disciples as they fought over the treasures.

Baili Yixiao's sword was ethereal and unpredictable. After grabbing one of the jade cases, he quickly withdrew. He possessed unparalleled swordsmanship, but there was also no doubting that he had a kind heart. He decided to leave after grabbing only one jade case since he wanted to leave some for the others.

Zhan Wushuang charged in overbearingly and grabbed a jade case for himself as well. When he was about to grab his second chest, Lei Bao grabbed it before him. A fight broke out between them. The two had overbearing combat styles and never liked each other. They had been itching to fight and decide a victor between them.

As for Yu Ziyang, he relied on his unparalleled flame energy to burn his surroundings. Nobody dared to approach him, and he was able to smoothly grab a jade case for himself.

That left the final jade case that Ye Linshan nearly took but was eventually interrupted by Gui Mochou and Xiao Xie. The impact from their clashes sent the jade case flying into the midst of the Devil Sovereign puppets.

Ouyang Chuanqi and Han Chenfei ignored their surroundings and started charging toward the jade case, but Mo Xiaoqing of the local faction and another eighth-stage Dragon Ascension Realm cultivator intervened, foiling their attempts.

Eventually, the jade case landed near Long Shi. His gaze became burning as he reached out for it. Right this moment, an overbearing figure rushed over and grabbed the jade case before him. When Long Shi got a clear look at the newcomer, he cried out in fury, "Xiang Shaoyun, hand over the jade case!"

That's right. The newcomer was none other than Xiang Shaoyun, who had just entered the seventh stage. The jade case had been stowed into his astral cosmos sea.

"Come take it if you can," challenged Xiang Shaoyun as he pointed at Long Shi with the Overlord Skyslaying Saber.

Before this, Long Shi could still somehow match Xiang Shaoyun in a fight. But now, Xiang Shaoyun no longer viewed him as a worthy opponent.

"Fine. Taste my sword!" Long Shi roared and poured his astral energy into his sword. Instantly, a vicious and bloody aura erupted.

Demon Slaying Devil Disintegration Slash!

The slash was simple and unassuming, yet it exuded an overbearing sensation, as though it would advance unendingly and crush any devil and demon in its path. It was powerful enough to defeat a regular Sovereign.

Clearly, Long Shi was intending to finish Xiang Shaoyun with a single hit. He wouldn't have any chance to snatch the jade case otherwise.

Xiang Shaoyun was strong enough to take Long Shi on with brute strength, but he did not intend to face someone on what the opponent was good at since he considered that a waste of time. Using the Overlord's Nine Nether Steps, he avoided the slash. He reappeared beside Long Shi and launched a furious Lightning Bolt Fist forward.

The Lightning Bolt Fist was much stronger than before. Even without summoning any lightning bolts, the punch alone was enough to turn regular peak Emperors into mincemeat. Long Shi was clad in high-tier armor, but he was still sent flying away like an artillery shell.

It was now evident that Long Shi was no longer Xiang Shaoyun's match. With his speed superiority, Xiang Shaoyun held the absolute advantage. Long Shi stood no chance against him.

Xiang Shaoyun wanted to keep pushing against Long Shi, but more Devil Sovereign puppets poured in to disturb him. At the same time, Mo Xiaoqing was also sneaking in an attack from behind him, trying to take advantage of the chaos.

"Xiang Shaoyun, die!" Mo Xiaoqing aimed his sword at the back of Xiang Shaoyun's head when he saw that Xiang Shaoyun was busy dealing with a Devil Sovereign puppet.

His sword was incomparably sharp, completely comparable to Long Shi's attack. Moreover, this particular stab was fast and came from a tricky angle.

Just as the sword was about to land, Xiang Shaoyun shifted away like a specter and dodged the attack as though he had a pair of eyes on the back of his head.

"Die!" Xiang Shaoyun roared as he counterattacked, his killing intent soaring.