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The Ancient Eight Clans — the Flame Clan.
The territories of the ancient clans shared many similarities: endless mountain ranges, countless palace towers, and a concentration of heavenly and earthly Dou Qi several times denser than the outside world.
However, since the Flame Clan specialized in cultivating explosive-attribute Dou Qi, their clan realm was dotted with steaming, active volcanoes. Each crater churned with boiling magma, and Flame Clan disciples dressed in fiery red robes could be seen cultivating beside them.
Black mist rolled, dragon roars echoed, and the boundary of the Flame Clan realm shattered. Two overwhelmingly terrifying auras enveloped the entire region, prompting all of the Flame Clan's powerhouses to soar into the sky.
Among the Ancient Eight Clans, excluding the first to fall—the Xiao Clan—the Gu and Hun Clans were considered the strongest. Following closely were the Flame and Thunder Clans. Their bloodlines had never shown signs of depletion over the years, resulting in a wealth of talent. The number of Dou Saints within them was roughly two-thirds of what the Gu Clan had at its peak.
At the forefront stood the strongest of them all—the Flame Clan's leader, Yan Jin. He wore a crimson robe and appeared to be in his early forties, with a rugged face. His eyebrows burned bright red like twin flames, and surprisingly, even his eyes were completely red, resembling two embedded flame gemstones. With just a sweep of his gaze, the surrounding air seemed to rise in temperature.
High above the Flame Clan's territory stood Qian Renhan, with Ziyan by his side and the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan's army behind them.
"Void Devouring Flame, your Hun Clan has joined forces with this demon? You brought all these people here today—are you planning to exterminate my Flame Clan?" Yan Jin shouted furiously. As he opened his mouth, a golden-red flame blazed into his palm. The fire incinerated the surrounding spiritual energy and radiated an aura not inferior to the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.
"Yan Jin, your Flame Clan cannot be saved today. Of the Ancient Eight Clans, only yours remains," Qian Renhan said coldly. With a raise of his hand, seven pale green jade pieces floated from his palm. These were the seven fragments of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Jade. They buzzed and glowed as they automatically assembled into a nearly complete circular jade, with only one gap remaining.
"The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Jade… Even the Gu Clan has fallen!"
Yan Jin's face darkened immensely. He roared, "All Elders, follow my command—form the array! We shall defend the Flame Clan to the death!"
Before his words had even faded, blood splattered. At some unknown moment, space twisted before Yan Jin, and a blood-red longsword pierced through his heart. The sword's energy surged inside him, shredding all his meridians and organs to pieces.
"I've already seen the trump cards of the Gu, Yao, and Lei Clans. I have no interest in a fourth round."
Following this one-sided massacre, all Dou Saints and stronger members of the Flame Clan were annihilated. The Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan's Dou Saint elders tore through space, establishing a passage between the Flame and Hun Clan territories, and herded several million Flame Clan survivors into the Hun Clan's domain.
Hun Tiandi, being a scheming overlord of his era, was a master strategist. Once Void Devouring Flame lifted the bloodline seals from the Hun Clan army, he immediately led them into hiding rather than returning to their clan realm.
Gu Yuan, like a beaten dog, left the Gu Realm with Gu Xun'er but did not seek refuge with either the Thunder or Flame Clans. Though Gu Yuan was incompetent in some ways, he was not a fool—after all, reaching the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Saint level was no easy feat. Qian Renhan had already speculated where Gu Yuan might have fled, but he wasn't in a hurry to eliminate him yet. He had far greater ambitions.
Central Plains, Starfall Pavilion.
The space trembled slightly as a man and woman, both covered in blood, stepped into Starfall Pavilion's headquarters. Naturally, they were none other than Gu Yuan and Gu Xun'er, who had escaped from the Gu Realm.
Gu Yuan didn't bother concealing his aura. The moment he entered, Venerable Feng sensed it and appeared before them, fully alert.
"Who dares trespass into Starfall Pavilion… Senior!"
Venerable Feng's expression shifted from wariness and tension to utter shock. He recognized Gu Yuan—a man who could shatter Qian Renhan's attacks with a flick of his hand and force the entire Anti-Demon Alliance army to retreat with a single word. To see a being akin to a god now so bloodied and battered was beyond belief.
"Hurry, notify the Thunder and Flame Clans! The Hun Clan is going to strike—tell them to prepare quickly!" Gu Yuan urged, not even pausing to catch his breath. Based on his current information, he was still unaware that Void Devouring Flame had defected.
Venerable Feng looked embarrassed and replied, "Senior… I'm afraid I don't know the location of the Thunder and Flame Clans' territories. On top of that, because the Bodhi Ancient Tree has appeared, Yao Chen has gone to the Wild Ancient Region to protect Xiao Yan."
"Peak late-stage Nine-Star Dou Saint… The Thunder and Flame Clans have allowed me to walk this final leg of my journey. Ziyan, let's go—it's time to release Senior Zhukun."
Time flashed forward another half-year. In these six months, Qian Renhan not only advanced to the peak late-stage Nine-Star Dou Saint level, but also mastered all the Dou Techniques he needed from the Ancient Eight Clans. He even switched to the Shi Clan's body-refining technique, the Stone Emperor's Art, forging both the strongest sword and the strongest physique. Now, in terms of physical power, even Zhukun's true form might not gain the upper hand in a head-on clash with him.
Beside Qian Renhan, Ziyan clutched a jade bottle, endlessly munching on pills. From the fall of the Yao Clan to the great war and the final collapse of the Ancient Eight Clans, Ziyan had been practically starving for two years. For so long she could only look at pills, not eat them, and eventually all other food ran out. She had endured until now. After devouring a pile of eighth-tier pills and a few ninth-tier treasures, her cultivation naturally broke through to the Six-Star Dou Saint level. The rise was perfectly stable, with no need for suppression or worry of an unstable foundation. The Dragon-Phoenix bloodline was simply that overpowered.
After finishing, Ziyan tucked away the jade bottle, her expression turning solemn. "I understand. Besides my Royal Father, I also need to see the old man. I wonder how he's doing after all these years."
The "old man" she referred to was naturally Great Elder Su Qian of Canaan Academy. Even after so many years, he remained one of the people dearest to her.
"Looks like your closed-door cultivation paid off," Qian Renhan remarked, observing the strengthened aura of Void Devouring Flame, who had just emerged from seclusion.
"Heh, after devouring Yan Jin and Lei Ying, I finally broke through to the mid-stage Nine-Star Dou Saint level. It's just a pity that my soul is still at the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Realm," Void Devouring Flame said with a pointed tone.
Qian Renhan replied calmly, "I cannot give you the souls of Yan Jin and Lei Ying, which had reached the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Realm. However, once you break through to Dou Di, your soul realm will naturally catch up. Let's go. To the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion."
Central Plains, at the former site of the Soul Hall's Human Hall.
A thousand meters underground, Hun Tiandi and his forces remained hidden. The Soul Hall had long ago hollowed out this subterranean space to construct the Soul-Devouring Death Formation. Combined with the naturally dense Yin aura of the tomb-filled land above, the lingering corpse qi and death energy made it the perfect hiding spot.
"So, Qian Renhan and that traitor Void Devouring Flame are heading to the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion… Gu Yuan, even if you don't want to help me this time, I will make you lend me your strength," Hun Tiandi's voice echoed as he departed the subterranean world.
(End of Chapter)