Chapter 209: The Xiao Clan

Xiao Yan slowly turned, his eyes clear as he gazed at the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames before him.

Xiao Yan had also tried detonating Infernal Flames; when detonated, the Infernal Flames did not perish, but merely exhausted all energy within their seeds. Xiao Xuan's detonation was far more thorough than Xiao Yan's own collision and fusion of Infernal Flames.

If Xiao Yan had not guessed wrong, Xiao Xuan had deliberately detonated the Infernal Flames—to prevent the Soul Sovereign from detecting it, secretly sending the Infernal Flames away and leaving a glimmer of hope for his descendants.

【I do not know your name, but since you can see this image and hear my voice, you must be a descendant of my Xiao Clan.】

【Heaven has not doomed my Xiao Clan—good.】

A voice entered Xiao Yan's Spiritual Soul.

Though the voice was extremely hoarse and even somewhat fragmented, Xiao Yan recognized it—it was the voice of Xiao Xuan, the last Clan Leader of the Dou Emperor Family, the Xiao Clan.

This was not Xiao Xuan himself, but his voice, preserved within the seed of the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames during his final battle, transmitted across countless years to Xiao Yan's ears.

【I failed to break through to Dou Emperor, ultimately causing my family's Dou Di Bloodline to wither completely—I am ashamed before my ancestors.】

【Though I am dead, I concealed the last faint trace of my clan's Dou Di Bloodline within the living flame of the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames, preserving it.】

Xiao Yan's heart jolted! He had heard of Dou Di Bloodline before, but never imagined his ancestor had left such a secret!

Knowing he would fail, he deliberately hid the last trace of Dou Di Bloodline within the Infernal Flames before self-detonating them to send this flame of hope forth!

【I fear my clan has now utterly declined, and all our cultivation methods and Dou Techniques have been lost. With my final Soul Force, I imprinted a secret technique created by my clan's Dou Emperor into the dead flame.】

"A secret technique created by a Dou Emperor?!" Xiao Yan's pupils dilated in shock, his throat involuntarily swallowing.

A secret technique created by a Dou Emperor—what level would that be? Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade?

【This technique resembles a Cultivation Method and yet also a Dou Technique; due to its extreme antiquity, its completeness cannot even be verified. I could only comprehend one or two tenths of it. If my descendants can unravel this technique, even at the Sage Emperor realm, they will be invincible within their own rank.】

Xiao Yan's expression changed as he stared at the black-and-white Infernal Flames before him—he had never imagined these were the legacy left by his Xiao Clan ancestors!

【The Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame was a secret technique co-created by me and my closest friend, Tang Fen, the Ancestor of the Burning Flame Valley. You should have already learned the First Change. I once made a pact with Tang Fen: my clan's descendants may go to the Burning Flame Valley to obtain the remaining techniques.】

【The true power of this technique lies in its ability to combine with my clan's Clan Mark, drawing upon the power of the heavens through Infernal Flames, supplementing weak Dou Di Bloodline and temporarily compensating for its insufficiency.】

【Remember: the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame can only unleash its true power with Infernal Flame energy. Besides the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames, you need two more Infernal Flames. The Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames will help you locate the other two Infernal Flames I sent away during my self-detonation.】

【After obtaining the Three Infernal Flames, come to the Heavenly Tomb!】

【Remember: beware the Soul Sovereign!】

【I hope you will restore the Xiao Clan and accomplish what I could not!】

When the voice vanished completely, the black-and-white Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames slowly shifted shape, separating into two golden koi fish that swam through the air, their movement resembling the Yin-Yang Taiji—exquisitely beautiful.

Xiao Yan slowly closed his eyes, digesting all this information—its volume was simply too great, and even he, brilliant as he was, needed time to absorb it.

"Ah, no wonder the Black Jade of the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame was in the Soul Sovereign's Treasure Hall—it was a Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade secret technique."

"So the Black Jade of the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame appearing in a remote place like the Jia Ma Empire was no coincidence—it was deliberately arranged by Xiao Xuan."

Xiao Yan finally connected all the dots—why he had felt that bloodline-igniting pulse when encountering the Black Jade of the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Xuan was a man of great wisdom—he must have long ago prepared contingency plans.

Such an ultimate secret technique—he concealed its most vital part and left it in the Burning Flame Valley.

Because Xiao Xuan knew the Soul Sovereign would surely purge every member of the Xiao Clan and seize all their resources.

And from Xiao Yan's experience, it wasn't just the Soul Sovereign that divided the Xiao Clan's spoils. The other six clans claimed to despise the Soul Sovereign, but when meat was on the table, they arrived even faster.

Once the Xiao Clan's bloodline withered completely and Xiao Xuan perished, they would devour the Xiao Clan down to the last crumb—perhaps even more thoroughly than the Soul Sovereign.

Xiao Xuan had foreseen this scenario long ago, refusing to rely on the other clans; instead, he abandoned all clan resources and had his people hide in this remote northwestern region.

To deceive the Soul Sovereign and the other clans, Xiao Xuan split the true legacy of the Xiao Clan into several parts. If Xiao Yan's guess was correct, there must be many copies of the Black Jade of the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Xuan had been waiting—for a genius to emerge from the withered Xiao Clan, for that person to begin cultivation and discover the Black Jade, and to learn the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Yan even suspected that Yun Potian, a Dou Zun, had not gone to Zhong Zhou to establish a legacy, but instead founded the Yun Lan Sect in this remote northwestern region because he had accidentally discovered the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames and received some of Xiao Xuan's pre-planned legacy.

It was even possible that the message from the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames had directly inspired Yun Potian to establish the Yun Lan Sect!

If my family truly produced a cultivation genius, he would naturally join a powerful nearby Sect to study and cultivate—and thus inevitably uncover the secret of the Life and Death Gate!

He could then avoid the Soul Sovereign's gaze, travel to the Burning Flame Valley to learn the Three Transformations of Heavenly Flame, and finally reach the Heavenly Tomb for the last legacy.

All this that seemed like coincidence was in fact bound by inevitable connections!

"A scheme that disguises inevitability as coincidence…"

"Of course—otherwise, how could it possibly evade the Soul Sovereign's search? Everything connected to the Xiao Clan must have been turned upside down by them."

Xiao Yan looked at the Yin-Yang Twin Infernal Flames before him and admired: "Truly worthy of the Clan Leader—great wisdom indeed. Too bad, his Qi Circulation was just a bit lacking."

"By the way, am I now defecting?"

Xiao Yan scratched his head—he seemed to be working for the Soul Sovereign now. Though it was mutual exploitation—he hadn't joined the Soul Sovereign, only joined the company they ran.

"So Xun Er's purpose in coming to the Xiao Clan was the Tuoshe Ancient Jade?"

"Ancestor, you've truly left me a massive problem—I'm under so much pressure I'm going to lose all my hair." Xiao Yan sighed deeply—this was a weighty charge!

To ensure the Xiao Clan's peaceful prosperity was no problem for Xiao Yan's current abilities, but restoring it to its former glory was an immense challenge.

The Xiao Clan has not drawn the Soul Sovereign's attention because it is too weak—there is no way the Soul Sovereign could suspect this is the terrifying Dou Emperor Family, the Xiao Clan.

If Xiao Yan had not seen those records, the current Xiao Clan and the one in the vision—where even ordinary people wielded world-shattering power—are entirely different things!

Aside from Xiao Yan, the current Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan is Xiao Zhan, a Great Dou Shi!

And Xiao Xuan was a Half Step Dou Emperor!

And most importantly, if the Xiao Clan suddenly reappeared and began growing strong, not only the Soul Sovereign, but the other six Dou Emperor Families might not be willing to see anyone come to snatch their food or seize their territory.

(End of Chapter)