Chapter 81

With a faint spatial ripple, a phantom figure slowly emerged from the Yin-Yang Twin Flames.

The pale blue figure had no terrifying aura, and even the aura that had just erupted earlier had already been withdrawn.

But when this phantom figure appeared, it seemed to have been born with the world, automatically becoming the center of this world, as if heaven and earth dimmed before it.

Although Xiao Yan had guessed something upon hearing the first words, when the other party's identity was fully confirmed, Xiao Yan still could not suppress his excitement.

He immediately bowed and said: "Junior descendant Xiao Yan pays respects to Ancestor Xiao Xuan!"

Due to the disappearance of the aura, everyone's bodies could now move.

The Golden Horn Thunder Tiger turned its head, its eyes constantly scanning between the phantom figure and Xiao Yan. No, Big Brother, if you had this connection, you should have said so earlier! We two don't need to fight—I'd just surrender to you directly!

Nalan Yanran gazed at the phantom figure in the Yin-Yang Twin Flames with a complex expression, her eyes filled with shock. Although the person before her was clearly deceased, just from that aura earlier, one could tell this person was stronger than anyone in the Yun Lan Sect in life! Xiao Yan's ancestors actually still had such a powerful figure!

As for those magic beasts that originally wanted to pounce over, they were already dead! Silently, not a single one remained!

"Xiao Yan, is this your name?" The phantom Xiao Yan's eyes gradually became lively, his gaze slowly falling onto Xiao Yan.

A trace of self-reproach flashed in his eyes, and Ancestor Xiao Xuan spoke: "Xiao Clan, how are you now?"

"This—" Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to speak the truth: "Junior lacks talent, that is—Xiao Clan's strongest now is just me."

Ancestor Xiao Xuan said nothing, but his originally faint phantom figure still trembled violently, clearly his heart was far from as calm as it appeared.

After a long time passed, Ancestor Xiao Xuan let out a long sigh of nothing, saying: "Is that so? Can you tell me more specifically?"

"Mm." Afterwards, Xiao Yan told Ancestor Xiao Xuan about the events of the Xiao Clan over these years that he knew. However, most of these were merely events from the past two or three hundred years, after all, events too ancient would not have left traces with the Xiao Clan's current strength, and no one would think the Xiao Clan fell from the Ancient Imperial Clan a thousand years ago to today without incident, right?

Thus, Xiao Yan continued speaking until the matter of the transaction with Gu Yuan, then he stopped, knelt down with a thud, and said: "Ancestor Xiao Xuan, handing over the Ancient Emperor Jade to the Ancient Clan was entirely my doing. If Ancestor blames me, I, Xiao Yan, will bear it alone!"

"Ah, child, get up." Ancestor Xiao Xuan sighed helplessly, pulling Xiao Yan up from the ground.

"Since the Ancient Clan has already sent people to our Xiao Clan, naturally they will not rest until they obtain the Emperor Jade. You being able to exchange for resources that could let the Xiao Clan rise again under this opportunity is already quite good. To be honest, if it weren't for my failed attempt to break through to Dou Emperor back then, how could there have been—"

"—today's affairs?"

"No, Ancestor's attempt to break through to Dou Emperor back then was truly a helpless move forced upon our Xiao Clan, so Ancestor is not to blame." Xiao Yan hurriedly comforted him.

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Nalan Yanran, who had been listening nearby, originally felt nothing was wrong, after all, the Xiao Clan had not had any remarkable experts in the past two or three hundred years, the strongest being only a Dou Huang, which she could still accept. As for the Ancient Clan, Xiao Yan had not mentioned their strength, after all, both he and his ancestor knew this implicitly. Only now, when the two suddenly brought up the topic of breaking through to Dou Emperor, did she suddenly feel something was off—was this topic jumping too abruptly? Moreover, breaking through to Dou Emperor was forced upon them?! Don't you listen to what you're saying! Nalan Yanran raged in her heart.

"Ah, alright, let's not talk about these anymore. Speaking of which, this girl here has been left aside for quite some time—you won't introduce me?" Perhaps not wanting to linger in that heavy atmosphere anymore, Ancestor Xiao Xuan actually initiated a joke, saying with a slight smile at the corner of his eyes.

"Oh! That's also true!" Xiao Yan quickly reacted, pulling Nalan Yanran into his embrace, his chest held straight, and said to Ancestor Xiao Xuan: "Let me introduce her to Ancestor—this is my fiancée."

"Mm!" Xiao Yan's move directly pulled Nalan Yanran out of her previous shock, and she lowered her head shyly.

Xiao Yan turned his head to the bowed Nalan Yanran and said: "Yanran, this is our Xiao Clan's Ancestral Ancestor from a thousand years ago, Xiao Xuan—he is a Nine-Star Dou Sheng, the Continent's Strongest, who once attempted to break through to Dou Emperor. If you don't pay respects now, and if Ancestor likes you, he might bestow some cultivation methods and Dou Techniques upon you, then you would have made it!"

"Dou Sheng! Nine-Star!" Nalan Yanran was so shocked by Xiao Yan's words that she could not speak, even discarding the shyness she felt when first meeting her boyfriend's parents. She stared in shock at Ancestor Xiao Xuan, then turned back, her face full of disbelief as she asked Xiao Yan: "What exactly was your Xiao Clan like a thousand years ago?"

"Well." Xiao Yan and Ancestor Xiao Xuan exchanged a glance, then patiently began explaining the story of the Xiao Clan back then—such as the Dou Emperor Bloodline, the grudges with the Soul Clan, the Ancient Emperor Ancestor, and so on. Occasionally, when Ancestor Xiao Xuan encountered something said incorrectly, he would supplement it with a sentence or two. Not only Nalan Yanran, but even Xiao Yan himself felt a sense of novelty.

"I never imagined your Xiao Clan still had such a glorious history. I thought what you said earlier—that a thousand years ago was already your Xiao Clan's most glorious time—but I never imagined that was merely the tail end of your Xiao Clan's glory, and that your clan's most prosperous era actually dates back to who knows how many tens of thousands of years ago, when the Xiao Clan's Dou Emperor still existed!" Nalan Yanran said with deep emotion.

"Speaking of which, your talent is so good—could it be that a part of the Dou Emperor Bloodline in your body has awakened?" Nalan Yanran gazed at Xiao Yan, somewhat curiously.

"Unfortunately, I do not have such a feeling." Xiao Yan shook his head, then turned to look at Ancestor Xiao Xuan: "Ancestor, what do you think?"

Only to see Ancestor Xiao Xuan also shake his head, saying: "I also do not sense any Dou Emperor Bloodline aura in you. However—"

"However what?" Ancestor Xiao Xuan suddenly sold a mystery, instantly drawing the attention of the two young people, who both turned and asked in unison.

Only to see Ancestor Xiao Xuan's lips curl into a smile, saying: "However, I have preserved a portion of the Xiao Clan's Dou Emperor Bloodline from back then!"

As he spoke, Ancestor Xiao Xuan's phantom body suddenly projected a dazzling colored silk ribbon!

At the moment that colored silk ribbon appeared, Xiao Yan's blood instantly boiled throughout his body, an endless longing surged from the deepest part of his soul, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the ribbon, and he unconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Ancestor Xiao Xuan, this is—" Xiao Yan forced himself to stabilize his mind, but still gazed at Ancestor Xiao Xuan with a face full of longing and hope.

Until now, Xiao Yan realized that with the appearance of this colored silk ribbon, Ancestor Xiao Xuan's phantom figure had become even more illusory, like a candle in the wind, a lamp in the rain.

"Ancestor Xiao Xuan!" Xiao Yan exclaimed in alarm.

"I'm fine!" Ancestor Xiao Xuan waved his hand, speaking very calmly: "This residual soul phantom of mine staying here is precisely to leave this thread of bloodline and this cluster of strange fire for the descendants of my Xiao Clan. Now that you are the only one of our Xiao Clan in a thousand years to come here, and also the current leading figure of our Xiao Clan, Ancestor naturally wishes to give it to you."

"However, you should not rejoice too early. The power of the Yin-Yang Twin Flames and my residual soul is limited, so the preserved thread of bloodline power is only of Six-Rank level. Given the talent you have shown so far, its help to you is actually not that great." Ancestor Xiao Xuan said sternly: "Moreover, I do not wish for you to rely solely on bloodline power—if you do, you will never become a truly strong person!"

"Understood, Ancestor!" Xiao Yan gradually withdrew his previous frenzied emotions, forcibly suppressing his body's longing for the Dou Emperor Bloodline, and promised Ancestor Xiao Xuan: "Ancestor, rest assured—I will surely strive to cultivate myself, rather than rely on the power of the Dou Emperor Bloodline!"

"Mm." Ancestor Xiao Xuan nodded approvingly. Although Xiao Yan only said it with his lips, forcibly suppressing his body's longing for the Dou Emperor Bloodline is no easy task—it feels like a drug addict in withdrawal forcibly refusing to look at the drugs right before their eyes, absolutely not something that can be done by mere words!

From this perspective, although Xiao Yan has always downplayed the hardship of his cultivation, how could forging such a resilient heart possibly be so simple?

"Excellent! Truly worthy of being my Xiao Clan's seed!" Ancestor Xiao Xuan said with great delight.

"Then, before passing on the Dou Emperor Bloodline to you, I will tell you about this world."

"This world?" Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, his expression turning solemn.

"Exactly! This world!"

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