Chapter 518

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Gazing at the enormous gate before him, Xiao Yan's eyes burned with fervor.

He was just a poor boy; unlike Xun Er, Zi Yan, and Feng Qing'er—who were all prodigies from great clans and spent their days vying for scarce entries into their clan's secret realms—how could they possibly understand Xiao Yan's plight? He had received only one inheritance from the Xiao Clan, and even that was only one-third of it, filled with unbearable pain.

If we don't count the good fortune left behind by the Ancestor in the Burning Flame Valley, the Xiao Clan's legacy amounted to nothing more than the black shard Xiao Yan had bought at the Jia Ma Empire's Alchemist fair—triggered by his Xiao Clan bloodline—which granted him the Heavenly Flame Three Mysteries Transformation and led him to the Life and Death Gate; that was the entirety of the Xiao Clan's inheritance.

Even the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame and the Heavenly Flame Three Mysteries Transformation were only one-third of the full legacy—the complete version still needed to be found. How miserable could it get?

So Xiao Yan was filled with anticipation for this journey to the Heavenly Tomb.

"I hope my Heavenly Realm Soul Force can conceal the Soul Sovereign's Dou Di Bloodline," Xiao Yan silently prayed.

Xiao Yan had buried the Soul Sovereign's Dou Di Bloodline deep within the Three Faces Asura, then tightly wrapped it in his Heavenly Realm Soul Force—even the Soul Robe and Soul Token he had left behind, all stored outside the Ancient Realm.

As a transmigrator, Xiao Yan felt little connection to the thousand-year feud between the Xiao Clan and the Soul Sovereign; after all, it was a millennium ago, and the Xiao Clan itself had left no record of that history.

Even his father, Clan Leader Xiao Zhan, knew nothing of this past—only his two elder brothers, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li, had learned fragments of it.

If a clan had lost its inheritance and history, Xiao Yan couldn't even judge whether today's Xiao Clan was truly the same as the one from a thousand years ago. But he didn't care much now—he only wanted the Xiao Clan to rise to greatness again; everything else, let fate decide.

"Everyone, you should know the rules for entering the Heavenly Tomb: each clan is granted two slots—no more than that," said Elder Tong Xuan, his aged figure appearing in the sky, his gaze sweeping over the figures around him.

Hearing this, the prodigies of each clan nodded slightly; the rules for entering the Heavenly Tomb had always been this way. Though many clans sent multiple people, they had long pre-arranged slots internally, with others serving only as backups, just in case.

Due to the Xiao Clan's status, the Gu Clan had always been granted four slots—exactly matching the four Commanders.

Even though this year added Xiao Yan and Xun Er, since the Ling Clan didn't come, the Gu Clan still retained four slots. Technically, even though Xun Er hadn't formally married into the Xiao Clan, she was already considered a Xiao Clan daughter-in-law—so assigning her slot to the Xiao Clan wasn't unreasonable.

"Brother Xiao Yan, if we enter separately, we'll be randomly teleported apart—so let's enter together," Xun Er softly took Xiao Yan's hand in her jade one, turning her head to smile at him.

"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded. With Xun Er guiding him, it was certainly better.

Though Xun Er had never entered the Heavenly Tomb, she had lived in the Gu Clan and knew far more than Xiao Yan ever could—no one from the Xiao Clan had ever told him anything about the Heavenly Tomb's precautions!

Boom—

As Xiao Yan and Xun Er laughed and chatted like a loving couple, the ancient gate within the space rift above them suddenly erupted in a thunderous roar, then slowly cracked open a fissure, blinding light bursting forth and illuminating the entire land and sky.

The Heavenly Tomb's gate had fully opened!

"Clans that have already allocated their slots may enter the Heavenly Tomb now. Remember—you may stay inside for only three years. After three years, the Heavenly Tomb will automatically expel you," Elder Tong Xuan said again, his voice deep and solemn, watching the slowly opening ancient gate.

"Three years equals half a year in the outside world," Xiao Yan knew well—the Heavenly Tomb was incredibly miraculous; three years inside equaled only half a year outside, meaning a sixfold acceleration for cultivators!

Seeing the gate open, Hun Ya and Hun Li of the Soul Sovereign surged forward instantly, activating their Body Techniques and dashing into the Heavenly Tomb, as if afraid someone else would beat them to it.

Following them, the Lei Clan, Stone Clan, and Yao Clan also activated their Body Techniques and entered the Heavenly Tomb.

"Brother Xiao Yan, we'll go ahead," Huo Xuan bowed to Xiao Yan, then flew into the Heavenly Tomb with Huo Zhi.

Xiao Yan returned the bow, when suddenly several sharp whistling sounds pierced the air—four figures shot across the sky like lightning, arriving beside Xun Er and Xiao Yan before the eyes of all: it was the Gu Clan.

"Huh? Gu Yao didn't enter—instead, it's you, Gu Zhen, going into the Heavenly Tomb?!" Xiao Yan blinked in surprise. With the Gu Clan's methods, even if Gu Yao had been severely injured by the Heavenly Flame two days ago, he should've recovered by now.

The lead figure was Gu Qingyang; beside him stood Second Commander Gu Hua and Third Commander Gu Xing; the last one was none other than Gu Zhen—the very one who had spoken with Xiao Yan.

Gu Zhen smiled slightly and replied politely: "I owe you a great deal this time. Gu Yao's injuries haven't fully healed, and I heard he voluntarily gave up entering the Heavenly Tomb to enter seclusion and refine his Dao Heart."

Xiao Yan shrugged. Gu Yao's Dao Heart was unstable.

"If he can't even bear this failure, he'll never progress further," Xiao Yan said coolly, shaking his head. Didn't Gu Qingyang lose to him too? Yet he hadn't become despondent.

On the contrary, it had ignited Gu Qingyang's competitive spirit. Someone with Gu Yao's mindset would find it difficult to truly break through to Dou Zun and reach Dou Sheng—he'd likely end up like Tong Xuan, stuck at Half-Sage.

Xun Er nodded, then smiled brightly: "Shall we go?"

Xiao Yan took Xun Er's jade hand, and the two shot forward as streaks of light into the Heavenly Tomb; immediately after, Gu Qingyang and the other three followed them in.

Generally, in the first and second layers of the Heavenly Tomb, it was best to enter in pairs—first, for mutual support; second, because resources within weren't infinite, and too many people would lead to conflict—unnecessary.

Once everyone had entered, the Heavenly Tomb's gate slowly closed, vanishing into Space.

A dizzying whirl of rotation—Xiao Yan tightened his grip on Xun Er's jade hand, and soon they were randomly teleported to the first layer of the Heavenly Tomb.

A mist-shrouded, strange land, where eerie flames flickered faintly in the distance, then vanished instantly; a deathly silence blanketed this alien earth.

The silent earth twisted suddenly—two figures, hand in hand, stepped slowly out of the distorted space. The moment they appeared, their Dou Qi flared simultaneously, their gazes alertly scanning the surroundings; Xiao Yan's Heavenly Realm Soul Force swept through.

After detecting no anomalies, Xiao Yan finally exhaled slightly, his eyes curiously studying the surroundings: "Is this the Heavenly Tomb?"

"Mm," Xun Er smiled and nodded. The Heavenly Tomb's area was vast; the Sealing Array randomly scattered entrants to prevent resource competition.

After all, the Heavenly Tomb was meant for clan prodigies to cultivate and enhance their Cultivation Realm—not to fight. Whether they'd meet others? No one could say.

"The energy here is incredibly dense—even stronger than in the Ancient Realm," Xiao Yan grabbed a handful of the misty air before him—it was all Heavenly Energy, and extremely pure. Here, even if he did nothing else, just cultivating would be three to four times faster than outside.

With a secret realm like this, even if the Gu Clan's Commanders were pigs, they'd eventually become enlightened!

Seeing Xiao Yan's amazement, Xun Er smiled brightly, tilting her head slightly at him: "Brother Xiao Yan, are you planning to head to the third layer?"

"Not yet—it's still early. We have three years. Let's see if the Heavenly Tomb has any surprises for us," Xiao Yan mused, then smiled.

Xun Er chuckled softly, then turned her head, her beautiful eyes flashing with unusual light as she gazed at the mist to the right. Her jade hand gathered Dou Qi, slowly raised, then clenched sharply.

As Xun Er's hand clenched, the energy in that area rapidly condensed—in the blink of an eye, the mist vanished, revealing a faint, ethereal figure emerging in Xiao Yan's vision.

"This is… the special energy entity you mentioned?" Xiao Yan stared, startled.

"Mm. They can hide within the energy mist, approaching silently and striking without warning," Xun Er nodded, flicking a finger—the ethereal figure twisted violently, then burst with a soft *puff*, a thumb-sized streak of light shooting toward her, which she caught in her palm.

"This is an Energy Core—it stores extremely pure energy," Xun Er opened her palm, revealing a diamond-shaped crystal, about the size of a thumb, radiating faint luminescence and dense energy mist.

"Generally, Energy Cores in the Heavenly Tomb are ranked nine levels. This one in my hand is barely level two—not very good. Here, Brother Xiao Yan, try it first? Hold it in your palm and activate your Cultivation Method to absorb it." With that, she flicked her finger, sending the Energy Core toward Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan caught it, curiously fiddled with it, sensing its pure energy. Following Xun Er's instructions, he gripped it in his palm and activated his Cultivation Method.

As his Burning Decree activated, his palm turned icy cold—then, to his shock, a torrent of pure, warm energy surged from the Energy Core like a tide, flooding into his body. And this energy required almost no refining—just circulating once through his Meridians, it gradually dispersed into his limbs and organs, transforming into Dou Qi.

"Huh? This is…" Xiao Yan's heart jolted—he had just felt the Three Faces Asura of the Asura Soul Severing Technique react, sending a greedy thought through him!

"This thing can rapidly refine the Asura Image?!" Knowing this, Xiao Yan's eyes burned with fervor.

His Asura Soul Severing Technique had advanced far too slowly—even with the Emperor Soul Scripture, advancing a Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade Soul Technique was no easy feat.

If he could reach its peak and achieve true unity of the Three Faces, he wouldn't have needed to go through so much trouble against Gu Qingyang!

This was a Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade Soul Technique!

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, he licked his lips—never had he imagined that the unique energy cores from this Heavenly Tomb could accelerate his cultivation of the Asura Soul-Cutting Technique!

This news was something Xiao Yan had never dreamed of.

"Heh, cough cough, heh heh, Xun Er, we haven't sparred in a long time," Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Xun Er froze, recalling how back at Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Yan had taken her to the Black Horn Region to rob others—truly a bad influence!

Xun Er covered her mouth and giggled: "Then, Brother Xiao Yan, let's see who gathers more energy cores in these three years?"

In this lifeless, utterly silent place, two figures darted like streaks of light—whoosh whoosh whoosh—swift and agile, each strike snatching a hidden spirit body from the mist, then purifying it with Dou Qi to extract the energy core.

Whether Xun Er or Xiao Yan, both possessed immense strength; though Xun Er's Cultivation Realm was only Nine-Star Peak Dou Zun, her actual power was extraordinarily strong.

In this first layer, the two moved like tigers descending the mountain—wherever they went, all special Soul Bodies fell into their hands.

Moments later, all energy bodies in that space were captured by Xiao Yan and Xun Er.

"I've got twelve," Xiao Yan opened his palm and grinned.

"Fifteen," Xun Er unfolded her Jade Hand, fifteen tiny, prism-like energy cores resting gently in her palm.

"You're still stronger, Xun Er," Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly.

Xun Er chuckled softly: "No, Brother Xiao Yan—you're the one. Your energy cores are far more advanced; in total energy, yours far surpasses mine."

Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and didn't deny it—he'd deliberately targeted the larger ones.

"Brother Xiao Yan, absorb your energy cores first—I'll guard you," Xun Er placed all the cores into his hands, her voice gentle.

Xiao Yan didn't refuse her kindness; he slowly sat cross-legged and began channeling the Emperor Soul Scripture to absorb the cores. As he activated the Emperor Soul Scripture, special abilities within the cores dissolved into wisps of qi, flowing into the Three-Faced Asura Statue.

Hummm!! The sacred face hidden within Xiao Yan's Spiritual Soul grew increasingly radiant—once emitting only a faint golden glow, it now blazed like solid gold, brilliant and dazzling.

Though there was still a long road ahead before it fully solidified and completed cultivation, only two months had passed—and Xiao Yan had already gained the equivalent of years of external cultivation!

Indeed, without any stroke of fortune, cultivating a Heavenly Rank Advanced Battle Art was like a madman's dream—the time required was simply too long!

Watching Xiao Yan cultivate, Xun Er's beautiful eyes softened; she sat gently beside him, brushed aside a strand of black hair from her forehead, hugged her knees, and quietly gazed at the man before her.

More precisely—she gazed at her husband.

Since entering the Heavenly Tomb, over two months had passed; during this time, the two had walked side by side across this vast land, turning every energy body they encountered into energy cores in their hands.

In this dead world, cultivation was immensely beneficial, yet required enduring boredom several times greater than the outside world—but fortunately, they had each other. For Xiao Yan and Xun Er, these days in the Heavenly Tomb were like their pre-wedding honeymoon.

Cultivating while chatting, they were like celestial lovers, utterly carefree and joyful.

It was as if they meant to make up for every moment lost since Jia Nan Academy—endless topics, never weary, their bond growing ever deeper.

"Huh."

Xiao Yan exhaled slowly and smiled at Xun Er beside him: "Girl, why are you staring at me so much?"

"I… I…" As Xiao Yan's head slowly leaned closer, Xun Er's voice faded, then she herself leaned in, pressing her lips warmly against his.

Had it not been for Xun Er's Bloodline, Xiao Yan—the big lecher—would've devoured her completely long ago in the Heavenly Tomb.

After the passionate kiss, Xiao Yan asked: "How long until we reach the entrance to the second layer?"

Xun Er's cheeks flushed; she stretched lazily, her graceful curves unmistakable—her posture left Xiao Yan spellbound, her voice tinged with seductive languor: "About another month or so—normally it takes four months to reach the second layer's entrance."

Xiao Yan nodded—the energy cores in the second layer would be more advanced, so cultivation speed would naturally increase.

With his current strength, Xiao Yan faced no challenge against Eight-Star or Nine-Star Dou Zun energy bodies.

Time flew swiftly; another month passed, and Xiao Yan had now been in the Heavenly Tomb for nearly four months.

When Xiao Yan and Xun Er finally traversed the vast expanse of the Heavenly Tomb and saw before them, at the horizon's end, a wall of energy light, they couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

Xiao Yan scanned the surroundings—regretfully, he encountered not a single member of the Yao Clan or the Soul Sovereign.

Seeing Xiao Yan's disappointed expression, Xun Er smiled: "The Soul Sovereign probably fled to the second layer long ago."

Xiao Yan sighed—it wasn't surprising. Hun Ya and Hun Li were both Eight-Star Peak Dou Zun; perhaps they thought themselves stronger than Gu Yao, but to believe they surpassed Xiao Yan? They must've taken too many pills.

If he met those two, Xiao Yan wouldn't mind showing loyalty to his Ancestor by shouting: "I'm a Xiao!"

Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly, stood up, gazed at the distant energy curtain, and smiled: "Let's go—now we should see what kind of dangers the second layer of the Heavenly Tomb holds."

As his words ended, Xiao Yan stomped on a massive rock and shot toward the curtain; behind him, Xun Er smiled faintly and swiftly followed.

The first layer had already granted Xiao Yan such great gains—solidifying the second face of the Three-Faced Asura significantly, barely entering minor mastery. If fortune favored him, these days in the Heavenly Tomb might even bring the second face to full mastery—or perfection!

Xiao Yan himself didn't know how powerful the second face truly was—he only hoped it wouldn't disappoint him.

As they drew closer to the massive energy curtain, an extraordinarily potent energy pressure radiated from within—unimaginable who had created this Heavenly Tomb.

"Such immense energy pressure—if your strength isn't sufficient, you'll be crushed into powder," Xiao Yan shook his head; though the pressure meant little to him, he was still slightly astonished by its intensity.

No wonder entering the Heavenly Tomb required at least Eight-Star Dou Zun strength—if Xiao Yan guessed right, the suppression in the third layer would make even Eight-Star Dou Zun struggle.

"For Brother Xiao Yan, these aren't problems, right?" Xun Er smiled gently.

"That's true, but my goal is the deepest part of the third layer—it won't be easy to reach," Xiao Yan frowned slightly.

"I know Brother Xiao Yan can do it."

"Let's go—thinking too much won't help. We'll deal with the third layer entrance when we get there," Xiao Yan shook his head, gazed at the curtain before him, then extended his palm to Xun Er and smiled: "Together."

"Mm," Xun Er nodded tenderly, placed her Jade Hand in his, letting him lead her slowly into the massive energy curtain.

As their steps advanced into the curtain, golden flames fused with six Strange Fires slowly emerged from their bodies, fully resisting the overwhelming pressure from the curtain.

The energy curtain stretched several hundred zhang; Xiao Yan and Xun Er walked through it for nearly ten minutes before feeling the energy pressure gradually weaken.

"We're almost out…"

Xiao Yan squinted at the distant energy curtain, exhaled in relief, suddenly quickened his pace, and pulled Xun Er through the thick curtain.

As they emerged, the all-encompassing energy pressure vanished instantly—Xun Er's slightly breathless voice rang urgently in his ear: "Watch out!"

Xiao Yan had already sensed the ambush; lightning flashed beneath his feet, his body trembled, and a phantom image appeared in his original spot.

"Boom!"

The moment the phantom image formed, several razor-sharp energy blasts shot forth like lightning, violently tearing the image into shreds within an instant.

More than ten meters behind the phantom, Xiao Yan's true form reappeared, frowning as he surveyed his surroundings—dozens of energy bodies hovered in midair, their hollow, cold gazes locked firmly onto him.

"Energy bodies—and these energy bodies can even retain their appearances from life!"

In the first level, Xiao Yan had encountered such energy bodies; all energy bodies above Five-Star Dou Zun could retain their original forms and perform simple Dou Techniques.

But in the first level, they were rarely encountered only after venturing very deep—yet Xiao Yan had just arrived and already encountered not just one or two, but over a dozen!

(End of Chapter)