Chapter 188: The Gu Clan's Colossal Loss!
"Hmph!"
The crowd's mockery left Gu Nanhai powerless to retort. As things now appeared, Gu Xun'er's judgment truly was questionable. On this point, the entire Gu clan—from top to bottom—was likewise in firm opposition.
But who could have foreseen that Gu Xun'er would be so utterly, hopelessly devoted?!
He could only let out a cold snort and turn his head away, unwilling to watch such a vexing, heartbreaking scene.
"Elder Nanhai, since the whelps of your clan lack the ability—my Lei clan would be more than happy to welcome Miss Xun'er in marriage! Dong'er, for instance, is quite outstanding. Both possess divine-grade bloodlines. The union of the two would absolutely be a match made in heaven," Lei Chen said, observing the situation. He looked at Gu Nanhai with a face full of smiles.
"The princesses of my Gu clan have never, in all our history, been married off to other clans!" Hearing Lei Chen's words, Gu Nanhai's expression grew even more displeased. His reply was stiff and rigid.
Gu Xun'er was the sole possessor of a divine-grade bloodline in this generation of the Gu clan, and what was more, she was Gu Yuan's treasured pearl in his palm. She was being groomed to become the next clan leader. How could the Gu clan possibly allow her to be married off to another clan?!
"Speaking of which—between Dong'er and Miss Xun'er, there is indeed a thread of fate. Back then, our Clan Leader and Clan Leader Gu Yuan very nearly concluded a marriage contract. I firmly believe the two are destined for one another," Lei Chen said, displeased by Gu Nanhai's stiff, rigid reply, and once again spoke with a laugh.
"Eh—"
Just then, a middle-aged man among the group—whose skin was a pale, ashen gray and who bore the clan marking of a massive boulder on his forehead—let out a startled, puzzled sound: "That appears to be... the Xiao clan's Skyfire Three Mysterious Transformations???"
"What—"
"Skyfire Three Mysterious Transformations—"
Hearing the Shi clan elder's startled, puzzled exclamation, the crowd was immediately drawn to look. Turning their heads and seeing the scene unfolding in the field below, looks of undisguised astonishment surfaced in their eyes.
Though the Skyfire Three Mysterious Transformations was widely rumored in the outside world to be the ultimate technique of the Burning Flame Valley—how could they, of all people, not know better? It was unmistakably a secret amplification method created by that very man, one supremely suited to the Xiao clan's bloodline.
Now, Xiao Yan could also use the Skyfire Three Mysterious Transformations. And he was surnamed Xiao. How could there be such coincidence in this world?
But very quickly, looks of gloating schadenfreude appeared on their faces as they turned their gazes toward a figure clad entirely in black robes in a distant corner.
Down in the field, after Xiao Yan had just defeated several geniuses, he finally—quite 'unsurprisingly'—clashed with the members of the Hun clan.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A series of applause rang out. Then, what followed was Hun Ya's voice, tinged with a smile.
"So you're that descendant of the Xiao clan. I never imagined that the abandoned, withered bloodline could actually have allowed you to reach this point. However—your journey ends here!"
The space in the distance rippled and undulated. Then, Hun Ya, leading several black-robed figures, slowly strode through the air toward them. An eerie, sinister, chilling aura quietly pervaded the air.
"Xiao Yan gege, be careful..." Gu Xun'er watched the encircling Hun clan members. Turning her head toward Xiao Yan beside her, she spoke in a soft, hushed warning.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan's heart warmed. A confident smile on his face, he laughed, "Xun'er, I'm no longer the Xiao Yan of the past. We're all Dou Zongs here—who's inferior to whom?"
Hearing Xiao Yan's confident words, Gu Xun'er also gave a soft, gentle smile. Yet she still warned him: "Xiao Yan gege, the leader of the Hun clan this time is named Hun Ya. His reputation among the Hun clan's younger generation is far from small—he's extremely troublesome. It's said he could have advanced to Dou Zun long ago, but because of the restrictions the various clans placed on this Bodhi Ancient Tree event, he was forcibly awakened from seclusion. His strength is exceptionally terrifying!"
"Mm, I understand!" Xiao Yan nodded slightly. He could naturally feel the oppressive pressure emanating from the other man. Among the geniuses of the various clans present, this Hun Ya was likely the most fearsome.
The geniuses of these ancient clans, with their exceedingly long inheritances—each and every one of them indeed possessed true, genuine skill and substance. They were on an entirely different level compared to those worthless, useless 'geniuses' he had encountered before.
"Xiao Yan, if you had simply been an ordinary, common man, you likely would have avoided a great many troubles. This Central Plains—it is nothing like your Northwest Continent!" Though Hun Ya's face clearly bore a smile, his voice was saturated with an icy, sinister chill.
"Then what about Yun Yi?" Hearing the naked, blatant contempt in the other's words, Xiao Yan's eyes darted about. With a light laugh, he spoke.
"Y-you..." As expected—the very moment the name 'Yun Yi' was spoken, Hun Ya's body immediately, almost imperceptibly, trembled. For a moment, he was at a loss for words, unsure how to retort. In the end, he could only take a deep breath. A smile reappeared on his face. With profound, meaningful implication, he said, "Believe me... you would not want to meet him."
Seeing the deep, profound terror in Hun Ya's eyes, Xiao Yan and Gu Xun'er's hearts jolted. Once again, they raised their assessment of Yun Yi by several notches. For a mere mention of his name to provoke such a reaction from the other—it was clear what kind of deep, unforgettable impression Yun Yi had left upon them within the Hun clan.
"Ah, dear me—" Then, Hun Ya slapped his forehead, his face full of 'chagrin.' "Look at me—how could I have such a thought? Your journey ends right here, today. What chance would you ever have of meeting Yun Yi?"
"Then come and try it!" Hearing this, a cold sneer immediately surfaced on Xiao Yan's face as he retorted, giving tit for tat.
"As you wish." Hun Ya smiled faintly. A cold, sinister arc curled at the corner of his pale, ghastly face. "All together—kill them!"
"Jie, jie, jie..."
Hearing this, the black-robed men beside Hun Ya immediately let out sinister, chilling, strange cackles. Pair after pair of cold, indifferent, emotionless eyes fixed on Xiao Yan and Gu Xun'er, not a single ripple of emotion stirring within them.
"You lot—hold off Gu Xun'er! I'm going to personally drain the blood of that Xiao clan remnant!" With a sinister, icy laugh, Hun Ya's figure moved. His form shot toward Xiao Yan with lightning speed.
"Xiao Yan gege..." Seeing this, Gu Xun'er instinctively cried out. But she was immediately surrounded by several black-robed figures. A fist, permeated with a sinister, chilling cold, blasted straight toward Gu Xun'er's long, slender, jade-like neck without the slightest flourish or trickery.
Faced with the opponent's sharp, fierce assault, Gu Xun'er's gaze turned icy. Her jade-like hand, fast as lightning, pierced through the void of its own accord. Just as the opponent's fist had barely been launched, her palm heavily slammed forward to meet it.
"Boom!"
Fist and palm collided. The terrifying fierce wind directly blasted the giant boulder beneath the two's feet apart with a thunderous bang.
The black-robed figure staggered back several steps in rapid succession. Though he had been forced into a disadvantageous position, he still wore a sinister, icy, cold sneer on his face. In the very next moment, several more black silhouettes launched a furious, storm-like, encircling assault against Gu Xun'er.
"Xun'er..." Seeing Gu Xun'er fall into an encirclement, Xiao Yan subconsciously let out a startled cry. Yet the piercing, howling sound that reached his ears immediately gave him no attention to spare.
"Worry about yourself while you still have the time!"
A cold sneer rang out. In the next instant, clattering, clanging sounds rang forth. A pitch-black chain, permeated with a sinister, chilling cold, shot out from the void like a venomous snake, aimed directly at Xiao Yan's throat.
"Flame-Splitting Wave Ruler!"
Watching the incoming chain, Xiao Yan's expression grew solemn. The Heavy Xuan Ruler in his hand slashed down fiercely. A flame energy streak, a hundred zhang wide, abruptly erupted violently from the tip of the ruler.
"Mere trifling tricks! What use can a Dou Technique of this level of power possibly serve?!"
Faced with the flame energy streak—whose sheer momentum and presence were quite massive and imposing—Hun Ya merely sneered coldly. Opening his mouth, a pitch-black giant dragon surged forth violently from within, carrying a piercing, wretched dragon roar as it tore the Flame-Splitting Wave Ruler to shreds and hurtled fiercely toward Xiao Yan.
Looking closely, one could see that the surface of that pitch-black giant dragon was actually formed from countless entwined, writhing soul bodies.
"What a vicious, malevolent Dou Technique!"
Watching the pitch-black giant dragon hurtling toward him with violent ferocity, Xiao Yan's gaze turned icy. With a shift of his hand seals, they instantly began to transform with lightning speed.
Seeing the Dou Technique Xiao Yan was executing, the expressions of the surrounding Gu clan members who were locked in battle with the Hun clan all turned conflicted and pained.
At this point, the Gu clan members had long since learned that Gu Xun'er had taught Xiao Yan the Imperial Seal Art. But what could they do about it? With Gu Xun'er there—and without the Elder Council having formally spoken—they could only swallow their pride and accept it.
"Mountain Splitting Seal!"
With a cold shout in his heart, a seal of energy light surfaced in Xiao Yan's palm. Yet the moment this seal had just taken form, Xiao Yan's heart stirred. His hand seals did not come to a halt. Instead, they continued to transform at a dizzying, dazzling speed.
"Sea Overturning Seal!"
Yet another seal of energy light—smaller in size, but even more dazzlingly brilliant in energy—materialized in his palm. Then, it slowly fused with the Mountain Splitting Seal, ultimately converging and joining together.
As the two seals merged, the space before Xiao Yan instantly began to fluctuate violently. Tiny, minute fragments of space actually, at this very moment, fell from the void and then vanished into nothingness.
"Kill—"
Xiao Yan let out a cold, fierce roar. A trace of icy, chilling intent also flickered through his eyes. The crystalline seal in his palm streaked across space and ruthlessly slammed against that pitch-black giant dragon.
"Bang!"
A heaven-startling explosion, at this very moment, abruptly resounded. The ground beneath their feet, with a thunderous bang, burst apart into countless shattered fragments. A circle of terrifying force ripples spread outward at astonishing speed.
"The Imperial Seal Art?" Watching the Imperial Seal Art Xiao Yan had unleashed, a flicker of surprise passed through Hun Ya's eyes. But very quickly, a cold sneer appeared on his face. "You're still far too green!"
"Soul-Destroying Palm!"
Hun Ya sneered coldly. His hand seals successively transformed into one complex, intricate seal after another. The sinister, icy black Dou Qi within his body coalesced with lightning speed before him into a pitch-black palm seal—its color so deep, so dark, it struck terror into the heart.
Upon the palm seal, wretched, piercing screams rang out unceasingly. Faintly, the twisted, malevolent faces of souls surfaced upon it.
Accompanied by a furious roar, that pitch-black palm seal shot forth instantly, like rushing thunder, hurtling toward Xiao Yan.
"Skyfire Three Mysterious Transformations! First Transformation! Second Transformation! Third Transformation!"
Faced with the overwhelming, sky-covering energy palm seals hurtling toward him with violent ferocity, Xiao Yan's expression grew increasingly solemn. With a single thought, the Skyfire Three Mysterious Transformations were pushed to their absolute limit. And the Dou Qi within his body also skyrocketed and surged in that very instant—reaching the strength of a seven-star Dou Zong in the blink of an eye.
Feeling the skyrocketing, surging power within him, Xiao Yan gently clenched his palm. A faint, subtle arc slowly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Six Harmony Roaming Body Ruler!"
Clenching his palm, the pitch-black Heavy Xuan Ruler flashed into existence. Densely packed ruler shadows, layer after overlapping layer, emerged one after another. In but a few fleeting instants, the ten-zhang radius around Xiao Yan was completely filled with countless ruler shadows.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The numerous energy palm seals slammed ruthlessly against the defensive net of heavy ruler shadows, as if triggering a chain reaction of explosions. Fierce, violent waves of energy, like a howling, roaring flood, spread forth overwhelmingly, blanketing everything.
"Bang!"
In the field, an exceptionally loud, explosive bang abruptly rang out. A figure was sent flying backward from midair. Staggering back several steps with heavy thuds, he finally landed on the ground.
"Secret techniques to boost one's strength—you're not the only one who has them!" As the smoke and dust cleared, Hun Ya once again came charging to kill Xiao Yan. At this moment, a clan marking at the center of his forehead blazed brilliantly. His own strength had already broken through the bottleneck of the Dou Zong realm and reached the Dou Zun level.
"Xiao Yan... die!!!" Hun Ya's expression was icy cold. Frigid light surged within his eyes. Stomping fiercely against the void, his figure appeared above Xiao Yan's head as if by instantaneous teleportation. His hand formed a claw shape, permeated with a sinister, frigid black Dou Qi. With sharp, fierce precision, he clawed ruthlessly toward the top of Xiao Yan's head.
Faced with Hun Ya's such sharp, fierce assault, Xiao Yan remained cool and collected. Four heavenly flame forces entwined and coiled around the Heavy Xuan Ruler. With equally sharp, fierce precision, he swung the ruler, smashing it toward Hun Ya.
"Bang—"
The two's attacks, like blazing meteors colliding, erupted in that very instant with an earth-shaking, heaven-shattering, deafening roar. The ground beneath the two's feet also trembled and quaked at this moment. Fissures roughly a zhang wide spread outward at astonishing speed, like a spider's web.
"Pfft—"
In the end, the gap in strength was simply far too vast. Xiao Yan was sent flying horizontally for several hundred zhang like a kite with its string cut. His aura instantly wilted and withered.
"Xiao Yan gege..." In the midst of battle, Gu Xun'er saw Xiao Yan suffer this heavy blow and erupted explosively. The Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame within her surged forth violently. The Hun clan members besieging her—not a single sound of miserable screaming could even escape them before they were burned to ash.
The very instant she erupted, Gu Xun'er transformed into a streak of light and shot swiftly toward Hun Ya. At the same time, an icy, frigid voice issued from her lips: "Hun Ya—if anything happens to Xiao Yan gege, don't even think about leaving here alive!"
"Xiao Yan—meet your death!"
Gu Xun'er's threat clearly could not shake Hun Ya's resolve in the slightest. On his cold, indifferent face, a cold sneer also surfaced at this moment. Dou Qi condensed in his palm, ready to deliver the fatal, killing blow to Xiao Yan.
"Hun Ya—you're celebrating far too early!"
Just then, Xiao Yan, who had crashed to the ground, looked at Hun Ya and let out a clear, bright laugh. Pointing a single finger at Hun Ya, a look of mockery surfaced in his eyes.
Hun Ya immediately sensed something was wrong. Inwardly raising his guard, his soul power swept frantically in all directions. Finally—amidst the flames left behind by the earlier explosion—a tiny, exquisitely beautiful fire lotus, merely the size of a palm, was slowly, quietly rotating. Four tiny flame sprouts danced and leapt silently upon it!
A force of sheer annihilation quietly, silently seeped and spread!
"Not good—!" Cold sweat instantly streamed down Hun Ya's forehead. In his haste, he could only hurriedly raise a Dou Qi barrier outside his body.
"Boom!"
A great, thunderous sound resounded. The energy between heaven and earth instantly erupted into violent, seething chaos. A force of sheer annihilation, before the eyes of the members of all the clans, exploded forth in an instant.
"This Xiao Yan—he's a descendant of the Xiao clan, isn't he?" Watching the battle from the side, the Yan clan elder, Huo Jun, looked at Gu Nanhai and asked. Though it was phrased as a question, his tone was filled with absolute certainty.
"He is indeed of the Xiao clan," Gu Nanhai nodded, facing the gazes of the crowd. This matter could not withstand scrutiny in the first place—there was nothing to hide.
"So the Xiao clan truly still has descendants living in this world. But for your Gu clan's precious daughter to actually be acquainted with the young master of the Xiao clan... Gu Nanhai—your Gu clan has certainly played a fine, shrewd game!" Lei Chen sighed involuntarily upon hearing this. Then, his tone shifting, he stared at Gu Nanhai with burning intensity.
Lei Chen's words instantly made the gazes of the crowd turn subtle and deeply meaningful. What else could the Gu clan possibly still covet from the Xiao clan? There was only that one thing—the Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade.
They were all thousand-year-old foxes—who didn't know who?!
What could Gu Nanhai possibly answer? That the Gu clan also didn't know whether the Xiao clan still had the Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade, and had sent Xun'er from childhood to go undercover—only to gain nothing, and what was worse, end up losing herself in the process?
If he said that aloud, he feared the crowd would only see an even bigger, grander joke!
Utterly speechless and tongue-tied, Gu Nanhai could only silently watch Xiao Yan below. A complicated, tangled look flickered through the depths of his eyes.
Knowing full well they would get nothing out of Gu Nanhai on this matter, the crowd once again turned their attention back to the two sides locked in battle.
"That kid actually possesses four heavenly flames simultaneously?!"
The moment Xiao Yan's four heavenly flames appeared, even the Dou Shengs of the various clans could not suppress their startled exclamations. Throughout all history, from ancient times to the present, aside from the Dou Di—only two individuals had ever managed to keep different numbers of heavenly flames coexisting within their bodies.
One of them was Xiao Xuan, who had fused three heavenly flames simultaneously. The other was Yan Jin, who had only managed two heavenly flames. Yet the gap between those two and Xiao Yan in terms of raw strength was like the difference between heaven and earth.
And yet, Xiao Yan actually had four heavenly flames coexisting within him at the same time. It was utterly, completely inconceivable—a sheer fantasy!
"It should be due to his cultivation method," Huo Jun said, his eyes sharp and keenly perceptive—he had hit upon the guess in a single glance. Otherwise, he absolutely refused to believe that someone at the Dou Zong stage could accomplish having four heavenly flames coexist within a single body.
Hearing Huo Jun's words, everyone inwardly and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Presumably, that is what he has relied upon to reach this day," Lei Chen said quietly, gazing at Xiao Yan. Then, letting out several great laughs, he looked at Gu Nanhai and said, "This Xiao Yan is quite the lucky kid. Even this old man feels a bit of admiration. If your Gu clan doesn't want him—my Lei clan would be more than happy to welcome him."
"Old Lei—what kind of nonsense are you spouting?! Xiao Yan is a true expert of the path of fire. He's clearly far more suited to my Yan clan! What are you blindly stirring up trouble for?!" Before Gu Nanhai could even reply, Huo Jun had already retorted with some 'displeasure.'
"Thunder and fire are inseparably linked, don't you know?!"
"..."
Listening to the bickering and quarreling of Lei Chen and Huo Jun beside his ears, Gu Nanhai still found it as grating and jarring as ever. The shift in the two men's attitudes at this moment was, undoubtedly, partly due to seeing the potential Xiao Yan had now displayed.
What was more—four heavenly flames, and a possible, potentially existing Tuo She Ancient Emperor's Jade. If they truly managed to bring that into the clan—even if it cost them a precious daughter of the imperial clan with a seventh- or eighth-ranked bloodline, so what?!
Couldn't they see that Yao Wangui over there already had an expression as constipated as could be? All these countless years, just how many heavenly flames had the Yao clan even managed to pass down? They might not even have as many as Xiao Yan alone.
But, constrained by the other party's teacher, Yao Wangui simply couldn't bring himself to shed all face and argue with Huo Jun and Lei Chen. The sheer allure of heavenly flames was plainly evident. And of course, there was also that miraculous, wondrous cultivation method.
But they—they were in a different situation! Judging from the current state of affairs, the Gu clan had gained absolutely nothing—yet had already lost a divine-grade bloodline in the process.
"Hmph! This generation of the Hun clan's younger lot doesn't seem to amount to much after all!" Suddenly, Gu Nanhai caught sight of the scene—the Hun clan members burned to ash, Hun Ya blasted by the explosion. Delight instantly surged in his heart. Gazing at Hun Mie Sheng with a face full of gloating schadenfreude, he spoke.
At this moment, his favorable impression toward Xiao Yan was thoroughly, completely maxed out.
For a moment, the crowd's attention was, once again, thoroughly diverted!
Seeing that even Hun Ya had suffered a loss at Xiao Yan's hands, looks of astonishment immediately surfaced on everyone's faces one after another. It had to be known that although they detested the Hun clan... you simply had to admit—the other side's strength was indeed truly terrifying. The younger generation—heaven-blessed prodigies—emerged one after another in endless waves.
Hun Ya was also a figure who could rank among the top names across all the clans. To actually suffer a loss at Xiao Yan's hands—this kid was indeed not to be underestimated!
However, toward the schadenfreude-filled gazes of the crowd, Hun Mie Sheng remained as cold and indifferent as ever—as if the ones who had been killed were not members of his Hun clan at all, but complete strangers. He did not show the slightest trace of heartache or distress.
Such behavior sent deep chills into the hearts of everyone present.
Just then—Hun Mie Sheng's perpetually unchanging, stone-cold expression suddenly turned ashen and iron-gray. The aura of a four-star Dou Sheng erupted explosively. In that very instant, the sky abruptly darkened and grew overcast.
"Hun Mie Sheng! What do you think you're doing?!"
Sensing the sudden change in Hun Mie Sheng, the crowd was immediately put on high alert. The six of them simultaneously locked their auras onto Hun Mie Sheng. If the other so much as made a single abnormal move, the six of them would instantly join forces and take him down.
"Good... Very good!" Hun Mie Sheng still paid no attention to the crowd. Grinding his teeth, he let out a low, furious roar. Then, raising his head, he cast a single glance at the crowd—his gaze so icy and cold it seemed to freeze to the very bone. In an instant, he tore open a spatial rift and vanished from before everyone's eyes.
Watching Hun Mie Sheng leave as abruptly as he pleased—the crowd, for a moment, looked at one another in bewildered confusion. None of them had any idea what could have happened to provoke such towering, earth-shaking fury in the man.