"But..."
Xia Yong was actually somewhat bewildered.
What Ling Xiao said indeed made sense, but he felt something wasn't quite right.
"Ancestor, that Xia Sheng is vicious and ruthless! He used an extremely malicious technique to steal my son's fortune! If not for that, our Xia Clan would surely have produced a new Emperor, or even... a Venerable Realm expert!"
"Oh? Is that so! To be so malicious? Come, open your mind and consciousness, let me see for myself how he stole your son's fortune!" Ling Xiao's face turned cold, and it seemed as if thunderclouds pressed down upon the world along with him.
Faintly, Xia Yong felt flames suddenly burning in the air, great winds howling, lightning snaking, darkness descending!!
Under a single thought from the ancestor, this stretch of heaven and earth actually showed signs of shattering!!
Heavenly wrath!!
The ancestor's heavenly wrath!!!
Open his mind and consciousness?
Hmm! Right!
How could my words fully describe the evil deeds of Xia Sheng and his son? I must let the ancestor witness their malice with his own eyes. Only then will he believe that Chuan'er is the hope for the Xia Clan's resurgence!!
But...
"Ancestor... your descent to the lower realm this time..."
"My main body sensed the change in the Xia family's fortune and heard your pleas in my heart, so I sent down an incarnation to investigate. I never expected it was one of our own stealing fortune from another! Utterly shameful!" Ling Xiao shouted coldly. The void above him instantly had vast thunder descending, scaring Xia Yong so much he nearly died of shame on the spot.
What do people do when in despair?
Of course, they pray to immortals, worship Buddhas, and offer sacrifices to ancestors.
"The ancestor truly heard! Correct! Ever since being driven to the ancestral land, your descendant has burned incense and made offerings daily, hoping the ancestor would bestow a decree to punish those traitors! Ancestor!! Come! Probe my Soul Sea, see if I'm speaking falsely!"
Xia Yong spread his arms, closed his eyes, striking a pose like greeting the sun in the morning.
Ling Xiao simply smiled faintly, the soul light in his eyes suddenly blazing. He directly used the Soul-Devouring Ghost Pearl to completely devour Xia Yong's soul.
Of course, under normal circumstances, even with the Ghost Pearl's sinister nature, devouring a Divine Emperor's soul was absolutely not something Ling Xiao in his current state could accomplish.
But right now, Xia Yong had practically offered his body and soul to Ling Xiao.
If he didn't eat, wouldn't it be ungrateful to his sincere devotion?
"Huh? Ancestor... you... what are you doing?" At the moment of death, Xia Yong looked blankly at the blood-red space before him.
For some reason, he felt... he really was about to perish?
"The Xia Clan's rivers and mountains, I will personally take back. As for the Xia Clan's true dragon, Xia Chen, hehe, he is already dead. So, you can go to the netherworld to follow him." Ling Xiao's lips curved slightly. Xia Yong's soul ultimately couldn't utter a single word of rebuttal before completely turning into vast soul power, building upon Ling Xiao's Soul Palace.
"Bzzz!"
The ancient black hall rose several dozen zhang more, like a heavenly palace, exuding supremacy.
Divine Emperor second grade.
Ling Xiao swung his blade, beheaded Xia Yong, stored the head in his ring, and after draining the flesh and blood, stepped towards the depths of the ancient hall.
The great change in the Xia Palace that day, he had seen it all.
That move, the Black Jiao Devouring the Dragon, was truly sinister.
But...
While Xia Yong couldn't figure it out, he had some conjectures.
The prophets and astrologers of this world might not be able to deduce Xia Chuan's birth or see his fortune, but there was one type of person who could.
He just didn't know when exactly that Xia Feng had returned, and whether he knew some... secrets he shouldn't know?
Interesting.
Stealing others' fortune—he was doing it, and those Sons of Fate were doing it too.
But Xia Feng's methods were truly... profound and unfathomable.
As for the so-called true dragon prince...
Now that his fortune had been devoured, what need was there for him to live?
Turning the tables against the odds was too slow; why bother with the trouble?
True dragon or fake dragon, ultimately, none could escape his grasp.
You can rest in peace and perish; I will avenge you.
Ling Xiao smiled faintly, his figure flickering, instantly vanishing from the spot.
At the same time.
Deep within the Xia Palace, in an ancient stone hall.
Xia Chuan, with a grave expression, bowed respectfully to a stone statue enshrined within the hall.
"Ancestor, today your descendant enters the ancestral grounds of our Xia Clan, hoping to receive your protection, break through the blood seal, and achieve the body of a true dragon!"
Xia Chuan kowtowed once, then again, finally walking before the sculpture and gently activating the blue stone at its feet.
"Bzzz!"
A buzzing sound echoed as the space before the statue suddenly rippled. Xia Chuan's figure instantly vanished from the spot.
Not far away, Ling Xiao walked unhurriedly from outside the hall, glanced at the blue stone statue before him, and nodded slightly.
"Not bad, it really is Xia Chen."
But at this moment, Ling Xiao wasn't in a hurry to enter the Xia Clan's ancestral grounds. Instead, he pondered for a moment before summoning Die Ying.
"Master!" The aura on Die Ying had clearly reached the second grade of Divine King. She bowed respectfully to Ling Xiao.
"Disguise yourself as the Xia Emperor and go handle a matter." Ling Xiao sent a mental message. Die Ying immediately nodded with a light smile, then vanished on the spot.
A fallen minor dynasty, its strongest only around the second or third grade of Divine Emperor—with Die Ying's methods, she shouldn't be exposed.
Even if exposed, if she wanted to leave, an ordinary Divine Emperor couldn't stop her.
"Should be about time now." Calculating the time, Xia Chuan had been inside for half an hour.
Since this secret realm was left by Xia Chen for his descendants, he would naturally have set up some safeguards to prevent others from seizing it.
Bloodline activation was the most common.
Although Ling Xiao had the Dragon Talisman, he wasn't a true Xia Clan descendant.
And that Ninth Prince was probably equivalent to... the sacrificial livestock needed to open the secret realm.
"Bzzz!"
Ling Xiao's palm pressed down fiercely. Space rippled again.
His figure likewise vanished from the spot.
What appeared before Ling Xiao now was a lush, verdant valley.
The spiritual energy in the valley was terrifyingly dense, with spiritual grasses and flowers visible everywhere, giving a feeling of a world apart.
From Xia Yong's memories, Ling Xiao already knew this secret realm was precisely where Xia Chen had proven his Dao back in the day.
It was said to seal an Ancient Dragon Vein, the foundation of the Xia Clan.
Of course, such a terrifying opportunity, once revealed to the world, would inevitably attract endless conflict.
So, this secret was only known to the successive Great Xia Emperors.
Now that Xia Yong and his son were driven out of the imperial capital, as a last resort, they could only place all their hopes on this Ancient Dragon Vein.
Indeed!
At the end of his line of sight, a white-clad figure sat quietly cross-legged, a sinister light seeming to flicker on his chest.
Behind him, a golden dragon silhouette gradually coiled out, seemingly entirely forged from spiritual energy.
The vast, majestic fluctuation of spiritual power was so immense that even Ling Xiao felt a shock.
Truly worthy of an Ancient Dragon Vein. This one was far more terrifying than the one in the Yuan Yue Holy Land.
Back then, Xia Chen could ascend relying on it, not because he didn't want to take it with him, but because he lacked the capability.
And with Ling Xiao's methods, capturing it probably wouldn't be simple either.
But...
Since Xia Chuan was the true dragon of the Xia Clan, even if his fortune was stolen by evil arts now, his inherent setting was that of a Son of Fate in this era of great contention.
The current predicament might just be a trial.
Or perhaps a setup by the Heavenly Dao, pushing him to stake everything on coming here to merge with this Ancient Dragon Vein.
Otherwise, if he had smooth sailing, favorable winds, and smooth dragon fortune, ascending the throne, conquering the Western Frontier to achieve supreme honor, why would he risk bodily explosion from the dragon vein to do something so dangerous?
Believe me, the higher one stands, the more restraints one has.
Only those with nothing left... act without restraint!
So... he would probably, perilously and tortuously, but ultimately successfully, merge this Ancient Dragon Vein into his body.
But in that case, wouldn't he become the perfect vessel?
Was this the so-called... human something flourishing?
Hehehe.
Capturing the dragon is difficult, but capturing you? That's as easy as reaching out.