Chapter 309: Ling Clan

At the horizon, Xiao Yan and the others all drew a sharp breath at the sight, their hearts recoiling in horror—how many people had died to produce this sea of corpses and bones before them!

Xiao Yan carefully examined them and realized these countless corpses were not from recent times; from the remnants of clothing and adornments on the bones, they were clearly from an extremely ancient era.

Scanning with his Soul Force, Xiao Yan discovered that the spiritual souls and spiritflesh of these corpses had vanished—absorbed away. The corpses contained all manner of creatures: bizarrely shaped, gigantic beasts, and even snake tribe skeletal remains.

But the vast majority were humans—humans made up at least eighty percent of the corpses!

"This must number in the tens of millions! This is practically the annihilation of a small nation!" The Lion King stared, dumbfounded, muttering to himself.

A vast empire like Jia Ma Empire certainly had more than tens of millions of subjects, but a small nation like Mei Du Sha's SnakeTribe, composed of eight tribes, might have only tens of millions of dragon clan subordinate.

This sunken basin alone held such a number—it was a terrifying corpse sea; anyone who saw it could not help but feel a chill run down their spine!

No one knew why this sacred land within the Void Lock of the Poisonous Sage contained such a mountain of corpses—it was too sinister!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's eyes turned grave as he gazed downward at a cloud of swirling dust; as the dust slowly cleared, a figure wrapped in black light slowly emerged.

Xiao Yan's three-colored Fire Lotus had not killed the fake Poisonous Sage—the man had blocked most of the attack with a Defensive Dou Technique, but it had revealed his true face.

"A disciple of the Dou Emperor Family Ling Clan?" As the light membrane shattered, Xiao Yan recognized the Class Badge on the man's robes—he was a disciple of the Dou Emperor Family Ling Clan!

Xiao Yan had joined the Soul Sovereign and received the Soul Token; naturally, he had researched the Dou Emperor Families, especially after his battle with Ling Quan.

Hun Lao Gui's intelligence to Xiao Yan included not only the Yao Clan but also rumors of other Dou Emperor Families arriving here as a team.

"Xiao Yan, what's going on? Why are so many creatures dead here?!" Zi Yan couldn't help but feel her scalp tingle, her skin crawling with goosebumps—such a number was bound to be horrifying!

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, staring at the valley piled high with corpses, and said gravely: "If I'm not mistaken, the toxic miasma outside the Deep Abyss Gorge was placed by the Poisonous Sage to prevent entry—and the Space Lock's Flame Sealing was also meant to keep anyone from accidentally stumbling into this realm."

"This isn't the Ancestral Inheritance Site of the Poisonous Sage—it's likely a devil's feeding trap, discovered and sealed by the Poisonous Sage!"

When Xiao Yan saw the countless corpses, and remembered the persistent toxic miasma of the Deep Abyss Gorge, he understood.

These corpses had existed long before the Poisonous Sage arrived—they were already here. The Poisonous Sage had stopped the disaster from continuing and sealed the entrance.

"Hehe, you guessed right—but calling it a devil is disrespectful. This is the dining hall of the great Swallowing Spirit Clan Elder, Swallowing Grievance Elder. When he awakens, he will grant me Bloodline Power—my Dou Di Bloodline will ascend, and I won't just break past Seven-Grade Bloodline—I'll reach Eight-Grade, Nine-Grade, even Divine-Star Dou Di Bloodline!" The Ling Clan disciple spoke as if in a dream, entranced.

"Why do the Gu Clan and Soul Sovereign possess such powerful Dou Di Bloodlines, while my Ling Clan is so weak, nearly extinct? It's unfair! I will seize their Dou Di Bloodlines for myself!"

Xiao Yan frowned—he didn't know what this Swallowing Spirit Clan was, but from the Ling Clan disciple's words, he understood that the Swallowing Spirit Clan could steal others' Dou Di Bloodlines.

Xiao Yan had heard of the Ling Clan—it was the weakest among the seven remaining Dou Emperor Families, much like the Xiao Clan a thousand years ago, teetering on the brink of extinction.

Thus, Ling Clan disciples had long hidden themselves within their Ling Realm, fearing their Dou Di Bloodline would be devoured by other Dou Emperor Families—just as the Xiao Clan once had.

"Xiao Yan… look over there." Xiao Yixian gently tugged Xiao Yan's sleeve, pointing to a cliff face in the basin.

A pure, peerless orchid grew directly on the cliff wall—without doubt, it was the Soul-Cleansing Orchid Xiao Yixian sought—and other unknown Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures grew nearby!

"What a perfect feeding trap—projecting Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to lure in countless cultivators." Xiao Yan's heart sank—he never imagined he'd become bait himself.

"Soul-Cleansing Orchid? Hehehe, don't worry—you'll soon become its nourishment." Ling Tian, the Ling Clan disciple, revealed a cruel smile, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.

Suddenly, white mist rose from the entire sunken basin; in an instant, the strange mist filled the entire space.

At that moment, a terrifying sound echoed—out from beneath the mountain of corpses crawled countless ghostly white figures, each like a white demon rising from the earth, radiating a dreadful aura.

In an instant, tens of thousands of white ghostly figures crawled forth—each radiating formidable Spiritual Pressure; without doubt, these tens of thousands of spectral horrors were all extremely powerful.

This reminded Xiao Yan of the ghosts he'd encountered in the Shou Zhong.

At the forefront of these tens of thousands of white spirits, their leader was someone Xiao Yan recognized!

"That's Du Gu Tian Gao, the Sect Master of the Poison Sect?!"

"And Xie Shan, the Lord of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate!"

"The other three are all renowned warriors of Chu Yun Empire! What happened to them?!"

Some Chu Yun Empire warriors who rushed over upon hearing the commotion were instantly stunned—Xie Shan and the others now had vacant, soulless eyes, as if their spirits had been stolen.

Seeing this, the Chu Yun Empire warriors all drew sharp breaths—they too sensed something wrong, murmuring in dread: "Are they being controlled?!"

"We should leave here," Xiao Yixian said grimly. With Ling Tian here, there were already two Dou Zong—and these countless ghostly creatures were no weaklings; this force could crush the entire Jia Ma Empire!

"We might not even be able to leave—I just tried to establish a Soul Mark connection through Space to the outside, but it failed. Some force blocked it." Xiao Yan had already attempted using Void Swallowing Flame to create a temporary Space Wormhole, but a peculiar power had prevented Void Swallowing Flame from opening Space.

Hearing this, Zi Yan emitted a burst of Purple Light—but even she failed.

"A strange force is blocking us—it will take time to open Space," Zi Yan frowned.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan opened his left palm—a wisp of Black Flame appeared in his palm; he gently tossed it, and it transformed into a black cat perched on Zi Yan's shoulder.

"Zi Yan, go with it to open the Void Passage. I'll hold off these ghosts with Xiao Yixian—we'll grab the Soul-Cleansing Orchid and flee." Xiao Yan's eyes flashed with ruthless determination—the Soul-Cleansing Orchid could suppress the Eternal Calamity Poison in Xiao Yixian's body; even if it couldn't fully cure her, it would at least delay its progress, giving Xiao Yan more time to find the Seven Rank Magic Core of the Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon and Puti Huati Yan.

Sssss!! Countless white ghosts surged from the basin—but their targets weren't Xiao Yixian and the others; they were the cultivators in this realm!

Without doubt, the Swallowing Spirit Clan's feeding ritual had begun.

"Aaaah! What the hell are these things?!"

"Get away!"

The white ghosts, like demons, lunged at people, killing them and dragging their corpses into the valley, letting their spiritflesh seep into the ground.

The entire realm was filled with screams.

This mountain of countless corpses had been piled up this way!

One could imagine how many times such events had occurred here before!

Huuu!! A pair of massive, frost-white fire wings appeared behind Xiao Yan, freezing the white creatures that dared approach him—the temperature of the entire space plummeted!

It was fire, yet it emitted extreme cold—a strange phenomenon. Bone Spirit Cold Fire was Xiao Yan's strongest of all his Heavenly Flames.

"Lion King, you and Xiao Yixian go seize the Soul-Cleansing Orchid—be careful of those five. I'll hold off this madman. When Zi Yan opens the Void Passage, we leave immediately!" Xiao Yan's expression was grim.

If it were only these ghosts, Xiao Yan might have won using the power of the Heavenly Flame Master—but if he was right, something far stronger lay beneath the ground!

That thing—he could never defeat it. Now he could only buy time and draw attention.

Seeing Xiao Yan flying toward him, Ling Tian sneered coldly: "Hehehe, a lowly mortal from the lower realm, a Dou Wang—don't think possessing a Heavenly Flame makes you invincible. On the Dou Qi Continent, only Dou Di Bloodline is invincible!"

At that moment, Ling Tian chuckled darkly: "Heaven has a path, yet you refuse to walk it. Hell has no door, yet you force your way in! Today is your death day!"

"Is that so?" Xiao Yan merely smiled lightly—and instantly, a powerful Soul Force surged from his deep white ring; in an instant, his Cultivation Realm skyrocketed to Star Seven Dou Huang.

Xiao Yan didn't hold back—he pulled dozens of Elixirs from his ring, swallowing them all at once: healing, power-boosting, defense-enhancing, Spiritual Energy Restoration—layering every possible buff at once!

"Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes!" Xiao Yan roared in his heart; a terrifying force of Strange Fire spread through his entire body, and his Cultivation Realm began to surge upward.

But the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes only had the First Change, and Xiao Yan's current Cultivation Realm was far higher than before—even the Fused Strange Fire version of the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes could only reach Halfway to Dou Zong.

Yet, this was enough!

"This is the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes! How do you know that family's Secret Technique!" Ling Tian's expression changed drastically; every Dou Emperor Family knew the Heavenly Flame Three Profound Changes, for after the Xiao Clan's downfall, the other Dou Emperor Families had all discussed how to divide the Xiao Realm and assets and Dou Techniques of the Xiao Clan.

And the Secret Technique created by the last legendary Clan Leader, Xiao Xuan, was naturally copied by everyone.

"Eight Extremes Crush!" At this moment, Xiao Yan, hidden beneath the Soul Robe, wore a cold, fierce expression; he roared loudly, his fist imbued with terrifying force and Strange Fire, striking with the power of Halfway to Dou Zong.

This punch shook heaven and roared earth, shattering mountains, rivers, sun, and moon; the devastating fist wind swept across, its spiritual pressure sufficient to crush entire mountains.

Ling Tian snorted, his palm twisting space, and he swung out one palm, meeting Xiao Yan's fist head-on.

Boom!! The two powerful forces collided; eight layers of hidden force infused with Strange Fire erupted, hurling Ling Tian back several steps, scorch marks now visible on his palm.

But Xiao Yan gained no advantage either; Ling Tian's strength was far greater than Ling Quan's, and his Dou Di Bloodline was likely even higher, compounded by his own Cultivation Realm of Third-Star Dou Zong, which numbed Xiao Yan's right hand.

If not for the Burning Art evolving to Heaven Tier Low Grade and his Dou Qi becoming terrifying, this palm strike would have cost him dearly.

"This guy is much stronger than Elder Su Qian."

"Hmph!" Being pushed back by someone from the lower realm who had boosted his power through a Secret Technique was an insult to Ling Tian, who prided himself as a disciple of a Dou Emperor Family; he let out a furious roar that shattered the earth.

Ling Tian's entire body erupted in Spiritual Light, like a heavenly sun, instantly lunging forward with unstoppable might.

Seeing Ling Tian charge, Xiao Yan unleashed the Dragon Qi within him; his Dou Qi flowed along a special meridian pathway.

"Ancient Dragon Roar!"

Roar!! A terrifying Dragon Roar rang out; the monstrous sound wave surged like a colossal dragon toward the charging Ling Tian.

Crack! Crack! Crack!!! The Dragon Roar echoed, and the surrounding withered bones and corpses shattered one after another.

"Sound-based Dou Technique? Hmph! Spiritual Light Body Shield!" With a hum, Ling Tian's light flared, and he directly charged into Xiao Yan's sound wave.

The sound-based Dou Technique that had made Ling Quan and Han Feng tremble in their Spiritual Souls had failed! The Dragon Qi could not penetrate at all!

"Does the Ling Clan have such a trait?"

Just like the Soul Sovereign and Yao Clan, as disciples of Dou Emperor Families, they too were influenced by Dou Di Bloodline, manifesting certain "specializations."

His face darkened; Xiao Yan hastily pulled out the Xuan Heavy Ruler from his storage ring. Clang! Ling Tian's palm slammed onto the Xuan Heavy Ruler, transmitting an unimaginably powerful force through it.

Sssss!! Xiao Yan skidded dozens of meters across the ground; his internal blood surged violently—he had actually taken damage this time!

Hum! A beam of light slashed down; Xiao Yan's feet erupted with Thunder, and with a boom, the light sword split the ground open, cleaving the Thunder Clone of Xiao Yan cleanly in two.

"Light-element Dou Qi?" Xiao Yan's eyes fixed on the light sword formed by Ling Tian's Dou Qi—he had never seen light-element Dou Qi before!

"Our Ling Clan's Dou Emperor used light-element Dou Qi." Speaking of his own light-element Dou Qi, Ling Tian could not help but wear a look of pride; on the entire Dou Qi Continent, cultivators of light-element Dou Qi were virtually nonexistent—rarer than Alchemists.

Beneath the Soul Robe, Xiao Yan's lips curled upward; if that was the case, he would show no mercy.

Instantly, an immense Soul Force erupted from within Xiao Yan himself—this Soul Force belonged to him alone!

From the Soul Force surged a torrent of murderous intent!

"Asura Soul Severing Art—Pursue the Soul, Sever!"

(End of Chapter)