Chapter 196: My father, could it be that he was captured by your Ancient Clan?

"I..."

Gu Fei's abrupt question seemed to carry a special kind of pressure for Xiao Yan, who had just told a lie.

For a moment, it caused Xiao Yan to let the nervousness in his heart show on his face.

Seeing Xiao Yan hesitate, Gu Nanhai and the other old veterans could naturally tell that Xiao Yan had just been lying.

"Xiao Yan, have you thought it through? Do you really not have any special Ancient Jade?"

There was a hint of displeasure in Gu Nanhai's tone.

Invisibly, he carried the pressure of a Dou Sheng, a pressure so strong that even Yao Chen, who had recovered to the strength of a Dou Zun, felt it was terrifying.

"Little Yanzi, I remember that when you left the Xiao Clan, the Great Elder seemed to have given you a Patriarch Inheritance Jade Tablet..."

"Perhaps the Ancient Jade the few seniors of the Ancient Clan are talking about is that very thing!"

While Xiao Yan was still hesitating, Yao Chen, acting as his teacher, worried that something might happen to Xiao Yan, so he answered on his behalf.

Because he knew the power of the Ancient Clan; if they deceived a Dou Sheng of the Ancient Clan, there was no telling what the Ancient Clan might do next.

Admitting it voluntarily was clearly safer than having it searched out by the people of the Ancient Clan.

"Seniors, this piece of jade is merely an heirloom of our Xiao Clan's Patriarch; it is very ordinary, so it shouldn't be what you are looking for, right!"

Xiao Yan understood that Yao Lao was worried about him, and since things had reached this point, he could no longer hide it. A verdant jade shard appeared in his hand; in the center of this jade shard, a speck of light was slowly wandering.

Xiao Yan carefully stroked the jade shard. Every time he saw that the speck of light inside the jade shard was still there, Xiao Yan would heave a sigh of relief, because that speck of light was the Soul Imprint left behind by his father.

If Xiao Zhan had died, this wandering speck of light would have dissipated, and seeing that the soul light left behind by Xiao Zhan remained strong meant that there was no danger to his life.

"Ancient Jade, it really is the Ancient Jade!"

"Haha, I never expected that this Ancient Jade would actually be in the hands of this branch of the Xiao Clan!"

Seeing the jade shard Xiao Yan took out, looks of excitement immediately appeared on the faces of Gu Nanhai and the others.

"Xiao Yan, hand this jade shard over to our Ancient Clan; name any conditions you want!"

Gu Nanhai did not directly resort to seizing it, but instead proposed a trade to Xiao Yan.

"No, only with this thing can I know whether my father is still alive in this world! It must absolutely not be handed over to anyone else!"

Hearing Gu Nanhai's words, Xiao Yan shook his head in refusal almost without hesitation, and gripped that piece of Ancient Jade tightly in his hand.

"Junior, do not be ungrateful!"

Seeing this, the few old men beside Gu Nanhai immediately showed displeasure, their voices filled with threats.

The Ancient Clan had been eyeing the Xiao Clan Ancient Jade for many years.

This time, since the people of the Xiao Clan had delivered the Ancient Jade to their doorstep, how could they easily let it go?

"What, is the Ancient Clan, which has always had a good reputation on the continent, planning to seize it by force?"

At this moment, threatened by the Gu Clan Elder, Xiao Yan actually braced himself and retorted.

"Little Swallow!"

Just as Xiao Yan finished speaking, Yao Chen shouted sternly: "Do not be rude!"

A Dou Zong daring to directly retort to a Dou Sheng—what a suicidal act.

It was fortunate that it was the Ancient Clan; if it had been any other powerful faction, Xiao Yan would likely have been crushed into a pulp of flesh by now.

"Teacher!"

Scolded by Yao Chen, Xiao Yan's eyes turned red, and a strong sense of unwillingness welled up.

"Sigh!"

Yao Chen sighed.

He felt a pang of heartache for Xiao Yan.

What was most likable about this disciple was his spirit of being neither humble nor pushy, never bowing his head when encountering the strong, and never willing to admit defeat.

Unfortunately, the one they were facing today was the Ancient Clan, which they, as master and disciple, could not resist no matter what. If they truly angered the Ancient Clan, they might not be able to leave this mountain peak today.

With the strength of the Ancient Clan, if they killed the three of them, who in the world would dare to utter a word of criticism?

"Little Swallow, since your father is currently safe and sound and should be fine for the short term, why not just lend this Ancient Jade to these seniors to study for a while today..."

Yao Chen gently persuaded Xiao Yan; he did not want Xiao Yan to lose his life at such a young age because of this.

"But... this is proof that my father is still alive..." Xiao Yan also understood his teacher's good intentions, but his personality was such that if he lost the Ancient Jade today, he would rather die.

"If what you are concerned about is only your father's Soul Imprint, that is very simple!"

"I can just extract your father's Soul Imprint from the Ancient Jade!"

In the pavilion, Gu Fei had been silently watching all of this, and at this moment, he spoke again.

As his calm voice fell, Gu Fei's vast soul power surged out from between his brows.

It then flowed directly into the jade shard that Xiao Yan was clutching tightly in his hand.

Inside the jade shard, the wandering speck of light was quickly drawn out by Gu Fei's soul power.

It was then re-implanted by Gu Fei into an ordinary piece of white jade.

"Such terrifying soul power... it must have reached the Heavenly Realm Great Perfection, right?"

"This child is not even thirty years old, right? He is simply a monster!"

At this moment, Yao Chen, having recovered his strength, truly felt Gu Fei's soul pressure and was incomparably shocked in his heart; such a monster had never even been seen in the Yao Clan, which was famous for alchemy.

"Not bad, Gu Fei kid still has a way!"

Watching this scene, the eyes of Gu Nanhai and the others were full of admiration.

And now, Xiao Yan's previous reason for refusing to hand over the Ancient Jade had also been blocked.

"Xiao Clan junior, I will say it again: as long as you hand over the jade shard, you can name any condition you want!"

Gu Nanhai's gaze was fixed on Xiao Yan, waiting for him to make his final decision.

If Xiao Yan refused again this time, they would no longer have the patience.

"This junior is willing to hand over the jade piece!"

Xiao Yan glanced at Gu Fei, who had just acted to transfer his father's Soul Imprint.

There seemed to be some gratitude in his gaze, as this could be considered giving him a way out.

"However, may I ask you seniors, could you tell this junior what the origin of this jade piece is?"

Xiao Yan suddenly asked as he handed over the jade piece.

"This..."

Gu Nanhai took the jade piece, hesitated slightly, and then shook his head, saying: "This matter is of great importance; knowing it would do you no good!"

"Do you have any other requests?"

"This junior has not thought of any for the time being!"

Xiao Yan's thoughts were very chaotic at this moment.

Seeing how much these Gu Clan Elders cared about this jade piece made a trace of suspicion arise in Xiao Yan's heart; perhaps his father's disappearance was related to this Ancient Jade.

"Could it be that my father's disappearance was the work of the Ancient Clan?"

A guess sprouted in Xiao Yan's heart.

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The promised extra update is a bit late, but fortunately, it is finished... Thank you all for your support!

(End of this chapter)