Chapter 612

A sudden thump of his heartbeat rang out; at these words, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, his blood boiling, his Dou Di bloodline nearly bursting forth uncontrollably.

This is the most basic instinct of humanity!

Xiao Yan couldn't control it—nor did he even want to.

Xun Er becoming a Demon Saint means she has inherited all the Gu Clan's legacies; her innate Divine Grade bloodline has fully matured, making her the Gu Clan's most perfect Divine Grade bloodline—this Dou Di bloodline is even more flawless than Gu Yuan's as Clan Leader!

In other words, Xun Er now faces no further restrictions.

At this moment, Xiao Yan's eyes were even slightly bloodshot, his breathing quickened!

Xun Er possesses such charm—even Xiao Yan, with Heaven Realm Great Perfection Soul Force, dual Divine Grade bloodlines, and countless life-or-death trials, could barely suppress his own impulses!

The Fallen Heart Flame—no, the Xuan Huang Flame—was beginning to rise slowly; for a moment, Xiao Yan felt the Pure Lotus Demon Flame wasn't so important—he could wait another thousand years and simply take Xun Er home and claim her right then and there!

Beside them, Gu Qingyang and the Gu Clan's Supreme Elder Gu Nanhai could only smile bitterly in helplessness—was this still the Xun Er they knew? That cold, composed, aloof Gu Clan princess, the most perfect holder of the Divine Grade bloodline?!

Some holders of high-grade Dou Di bloodlines from the Dou Emperor Families couldn't help but wear strange expressions; even Huo Zhi, veiled, felt her delicate cheeks flush slightly.

As high-grade Dou Di bloodline bearers, how could they not understand what Xun Er meant by "Demon Saint"? Though they didn't need to reach Demon Saint, they still needed to attain Dou Zun—or even Nine-Star Dou Zun bloodline—to fully stabilize and mature before they could engage in certain indescribable acts.

Beside them, Hun Feng let out a cold snort, his eyes flickering with envy; as another Divine Grade bloodline bearer, he naturally believed his counterpart must also be Divine Grade. Among all the Dou Emperor Families, only Xun Er was a female with Divine Grade bloodline—like Lei Dong, the Young Clan Leader of the Lei Clan, who had once proposed marriage to the Gu Clan.

Sensing Xiao Yan's accelerated heartbeat and breathing, Xun Er's cheeks burned crimson; she buried her head deep into Xiao Yan's chest and whispered, "Brother Xiao Yan, wait until the Demon Fire is over…"

Hearing Xun Er's words, Xiao Yan calmed slightly—indeed, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame was still important; tender comforts must wait until after the task was done. He nodded, then slowly parted from Xun Er.

"Wait? Wait for what? Are you hiding something from me!" At that moment, Zi Yan tilted her head, her face filled with confusion—she had no idea what Xun Er meant by "wait."

Qing Lin also shook her head, admitting she didn't understand. Cai Lin, who knew what was going on, instead turned her head to glance at Xiao Yixian; sensing Cai Lin's gaze, Xiao Yixian's eyes flickered with avoidance.

She too has become a Demon Saint!

By using the Heavenly Nether Toxin Scripture's formulas and absorbing vast quantities of Yellow Spring Blood Crystals' cold poison, she had fully reached Demon Saint power; even the Dan Beast within Xiao Yixian's body had broken through in cultivation—so now Xiao Yixian possessed three Dan Beasts, her strength no weaker than Qing Lin's Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake.

This confirmed that Xiao Yan's Eternal Calamity Demon Fire Poison Pill could indeed fully suppress the Eternal Calamity Poison—even at Demon Saint-level toxicity, no backlash occurred.

But Xiao Yixian's nature was well known—she never liked expressing herself openly, quietly standing behind Xiao Yan, offering support—she was passive by nature.

If Xiao Yixian were as proactive as Xun Er, she'd probably already have children!

"Brother Xiao Yan, this is Elder Gu Nanhai of the Gu Clan, who accompanied me to investigate the Pure Lotus Demon Flame." Xun Er smiled gently, pointing to the blue-robed elder behind her.

"Oh? So even the Gu Clan is interested in the Pure Lotus Demon Flame?" Xiao Yan gazed at the blue-robed elder, his heart tightening slightly—this elder gave him a sense of depth, though not as unfathomable as the Soul Sovereign's leader, his cultivation likely hovered at mid- or late Four-Star.

The Ancient Tribes truly had profound foundations.

"Hehe, I doubt anyone on the Dou Qi Continent isn't interested in a Supreme Treasure like the Pure Lotus Demon Flame. But obtaining it isn't simple—we've come merely hoping for luck."

Gu Nanhai smiled, not acting superior at all; his tone was as if speaking to an equal—calm, gentle, utterly unlike the old Gu Clan Elders who once deliberately harassed him.

Of course, this was mainly because Xiao Yan's current strength and status were no longer insignificant.

"In the past, the Pure Lotus Demon Flame has appeared before, but no one ever subdued or refined it. The space seal here was set by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint—extraordinarily ingenious. Even if the Pure Lotus Demon Flame briefly breaks it, once it pauses slightly, the seal automatically absorbs Heavenly Energy to repair itself and reseal it." Xun Er smiled faintly. "But… the Soul Sovereign has always been eyeing the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, arriving each time fully prepared. This time, I wonder what they plan."

As she spoke, Xun Er's beautiful eyes fixed deeply on Xiao Yan—she knew well of his dealings with the Soul Sovereign. But their relationship wouldn't be affected by his ties to the Soul Sovereign; Dou Emperor Families were all interconnected interest groups—today's enemy could be tomorrow's ally.

Just like now: Xiao Yan wants the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, and so do the Gu Clan and Yan Clan—or at least none want anyone else to get it. If everyone refuses it, then they're in conflict with Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan instantly understood: the Pure Lotus Demon Flame still hadn't been subdued—not only because of its terrifying power, but because no Dou Emperor Family could bear to let another succeed—they'd secretly sabotage each other.

Take the Yan Clan's delegation: Huo Zhi was a low-level Semi-Demon Saint, Huo Xuan a high-level Semi-Demon Saint, and Elder Huo Yao merely a Four-Star Demon Saint early stage—all three possessed Demon Flames, yet none could possibly obtain the Pure Lotus Demon Flame.

After all, not everyone has the Burning Scripture.

So the Yan Clan's sole purpose in entering the Demon Fire Space is to be a troublemaker—no one gets it; if necessary, they'll even throw out their own Demon Flames to trigger collisions and detonate the Demon Fire Space.

Meanwhile, the Gu Clan, Soul Sovereign, and Xiao Yan are the only ones truly determined to seize the Pure Lotus Demon Flame—hence their strongest warriors have been dispatched.

"Hehe, Elder Huo Yao, I didn't expect the Yan Clan would send you this time." Just as Xiao Yan pondered the current balance of power, Gu Nanhai suddenly turned his gaze toward Huo Xuan and the others—who had remained silent since their arrival—and smiled.

Hearing this, the purple-robed elder's brows twitched slightly; his eyes flickered with caution, then he replied coolly: "The Clan Leader ordered us to keep the Pure Lotus Demon Flame unclaimed—it's best for everyone."

At this, Gu Nanhai sighed and shook his head. "Elder Huo Yao, do you truly believe the Ling Clan's disappearance was our doing?"

Huo Yao fell silent; Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi exchanged glances but said nothing.

Even Xiao Yan and the others remained silent.

"This matter cannot be proven, but the Gu Clan and Soul Sovereign are the prime suspects. Caution is necessary—the Ling Clan's fate is not one the Yan Clan wishes to share." After a pause, Huo Yao finally spoke slowly, then waved his hand and turned away toward the side. Huo Xuan, seeing this, could only shrug helplessly at Xiao Yan and followed.

"Sigh."

Watching Huo Yao leave, Gu Nanhai sighed again, his brow furrowed.

"It seems the Ling Clan's disappearance has created deep rifts among the Ancient Tribes? Is this one of Hun Tian Di's schemes?"

Seeing this, Xiao Yan's mind turned thoughtful—he suspected the Soul Sovereign was behind the Ling Clan's disappearance, since they possessed Void Devouring Flame, capable of swallowing entire realms.

But who could say for sure? Did the Gu Clan's hidden depths really fall short of the Soul Sovereign's? Who knew what terrifying methods the Gu Clan concealed? Gu Yuan was among the strongest in the world—could the Gu Clan not do what the Soul Sovereign did?

Of course, it's also possible the weakest Ling Clan, with nearly extinct bloodline, chose to abandon the Ling Realm and hide with their people and Ancient Jade to avoid the fate of the Xiao Clan.

But who did it? Even Xiao Yan didn't know. Without evidence, no one could be certain. And the Soul Sovereign naturally cried foul.

Now the Dou Emperor Families were playing a real-life Werewolf game—no one knew who the wolf was. Though the Lei, Yan, Yao, and Stone Clans seemed incapable, their suspicion couldn't be fully ruled out—what if they'd acquired some artifact or power?

Even Xiao Yan's Yan Alliance is now under suspicion by the Dou Emperor Families—after all, the Xiao Clan was once a Dou Emperor Family, and at one point, the strongest. Though the Soul Sovereign destroyed the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan rose rapidly—hardly anyone could avoid suspecting the Xiao Clan left behind some hidden method.

After all, the Ling Clan had also shared in the Xiao Clan's legacy—so the Xiao Clan had motive to retaliate against the Ling Clan.

Of course, the Ling Clan possessed the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade—so any Dou Emperor Family had motive.

Dou Emperor status is motive enough.

"It seems the Soul Sovereign—no, Hun Tian Di—has bared his fangs, while the other Dou Emperor Families remain in infighting." Xiao Yan sighed inwardly. Though lacking evidence, motive and benefit pointed overwhelmingly to the Soul Sovereign.

After all, Xiao Yan was the Alchemist "invited" by Hun Tian Di—Hun Tian Di must gather all Ancient Jades to use him.

Waves of terrifying heat continuously spread from the ruptured space; the frequency of milky-white radiance grew ever more frequent. Eventually, the desert below grew viscous—the sand grains slowly began to melt.

As the desert gradually transformed into lava, the sound of rushing air grew increasingly frequent. More and more cultivators were drawn by the phenomenon. Within half an hour, the sky was thick with figures—but most halted far from the broken space; only true experts dared approach within a thousand zhang of the rupture, like Xiao Yan and the others.

During this wait, the Lei Clan and Stone Clan of the Ancient Eight Tribes also arrived. But upon seeing Xun Er and the Soul Sovereign's leader, they did not approach—instead, after hesitation, they withdrew slightly, clearly wary and cautious of the Gu Clan and Soul Sovereign due to the Ling Clan's disappearance.

For their reaction, Xun Er and the others could only shake their heads slightly. They had no proof the Soul Sovereign caused the Ling Clan's disappearance, so they were powerless against this sudden suspicion.

The Gu Clan protested innocence; the Soul Sovereign protested innocence too—what could they do? They couldn't prove their own innocence.

As time passed, about half an hour after the Lei Clan and Stone Clan arrived, a sound of wind tearing through the air once again echoed from the horizon, and faintly within that sound was the scent of medicinal fragrance.

"Yao Clan?"

Upon sensing this unique fluctuation, Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened slightly, and he gazed toward the distance—the relationship between the Yao Clan and Xiao Yan had indeed been convoluted and strange.

Xiao Yan's path as an Alchemist began because of Yao Chen, the discarded child cast out by the Yao Clan; his first Soul Body came from the Yao Clan. Though the Yao Clan left no visible mark on Xiao Yan's journey as an Alchemist, their shadow was everywhere.

Under Xiao Yan's gaze, the space ahead rippled, and three figures flashed forth, vanishing in a blink and appearing before all eyes in this realm.

What surprised Xiao Yan was that the Yao Clan's arrivals were three strangers—the man Ren Yaozi he had met during his journey to the Heavenly Tomb was not among them.

One man, one woman, one elder. The man wore an ornate brocade robe, his face handsome yet tinged with a faintly effeminate aura; his lips were thin, exuding coldness and sharpness. Beside him, the woman had long, azure hair and a delicate face, yet her expression was as icy as frost—like a cold mountain beauty. The elder wore the robes of an Alchemist, his hands tucked within his sleeves, his eyes half-lidded, occasionally flashing sharp, piercing glints.

Without introduction, Xiao Yan knew this man was Yao Tian, the most gifted young genius of the Yao Clan, famed for his ability to forge Nine-Treasure Pills.

Yet, compared to Yao Tian, it was the woman beside him who made Xiao Yan frown slightly—this woman stirred a flicker of wariness in him. This wariness did not stem from her cultivation, but from a strange power within her Spiritual Soul.

Moreover, among those present, apart from Xiao Yan, the strongest Soul Force belonged to the woman! She, like Xiao Yan, had reached Heaven Realm Great Perfection!

"A junior half-saint's Soul Force reached Heaven Realm Great Perfection?" Xiao Yan couldn't help but be stunned—her Soul Force cultivation surpassed even that of the Soul Sovereign!

Xun Er chuckled softly, then gently pinched Xiao Yan's waist with her jade finger. "Brother Xiao Yan mustn't be fickle."

(End of Chapter)