Chapter 683

Immediately, Xiao Yan turned to Huo Xuan and the masked Huo Zhi.

Seeing Xiao Yan look at her, Huo Zhi's face beneath her veil flushed faintly pink, clearly remembering something.

Xiao Yan had no intention of revisiting old matters—Cai Lin was right beside him.

Xiao Yan gave Huo Xuan a knowing smile and said, "Brother Huo Xuan, your Huo Zhi has already given me an Infernal Flame and exchanged certain promises. Even if Eight Wilderness Annihilation Flame is your ancestor Xiao Xuan's Infernal Flame, your Nine Underworld Golden Ancestor Fire and Volcano Stone Flame are your Yan Clan's inherited flames passed down for thousands of years—I cannot accept them."

Lei Dong is the Young Clan Leader of the Lei Clan, and Huo Xuan is the most outstanding among the Yan Clan's young generation—Xiao Yan doesn't believe Huo Xuan doesn't know what's happening now.

And given Huo Xuan's intelligence, he should have guessed at least some of it.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Huo Xuan sighed, shaking his head with a bitter smile.

Hearing Xiao Yan hadn't put on airs, Huo Xuan spoke directly: "Since Brother Xiao Yan still considers me a friend, I'll speak plainly."

"The Yan Clan hopes Brother Xiao Yan will preserve our lineage."

Just like the Yao Clan—keeping some bloodline is acceptable, since the Dou Di bloodline will inevitably wither away soon enough, and they'll become an ordinary family.

But Hun Tian Di will never allow the Yan Clan, Lei Clan, or Gu Clan's lineage to survive. The only thing Hun Tian Di will accept is what the Xiao Clan is now: bloodline withered, lineage severed.

As no one expected, Xiao Yan directly shook his head and refused: "Sorry, both of you should take your things back."

Hearing Xiao Yan's unsurprising refusal, Huo Xuan and Huo Zhi exchanged glances; finally, Huo Xuan did not reclaim the scripture, only gently closed the Fire Emperor Mystery Scripture and placed it on the table.

Seeing Huo Xuan still left behind the Fire Emperor Mystery Scripture and the Infernal Flames, Xiao Yan glanced once, then waved his hand: "Qing Lin, show these guests to the Guest Room."

"Yes, Young Master Xiao Yan." Qing Lin, who had been pouring tea nearby, nodded and pointed: "This way, please."

Knowing Xiao Yan was subtly urging them to leave, Huo Xuan and the others did not linger and departed.

Cai Lin naturally understood the terror of the Burning Scripture—even without an Infernal Flame, it's just a pathetic Yellow Class Cultivation Method, but with an Infernal Flame, it can grow infinitely stronger!

"Xiao Yan, if you wish to become a Dou Di, I will help you," Cai Lin said firmly, her jade hand slowly tightening.

Looking at Cai Lin's enchanting face, her eyes filled with unwavering resolve to brave fire and water for him, Xiao Yan's heart softened slightly; he gently kissed the back of her hand and said: "Don't be foolish—you've said that, how could I still let you risk yourself for me? My goal has never been to become an Emperor—I only want my clan to live in peace."

Feeling Xiao Yan's tenderness, Cai Lin relaxed, leaning against his shoulder, and asked: "Then what about these Infernal Flames?"

"Refine them. These are all Infernal Flames already refined—only their cores remain. As long as I don't swallow extra energy, my cultivation realm won't rise, and the Soul Sovereign won't target me."

Hun Tian Di's power was overwhelming; Xiao Yan knew well that if his strength increased further, he'd be dragged into this conflict whether he wanted to or not.

Fortunately, refining Infernal Flame cores wouldn't raise his cultivation realm—and this time, Xiao Yan had no intention of raising it at all.

Refining Eight Wilderness Annihilation Flame was the smoothest—it was already the legacy of the Xiao Clan, or rather, Xiao Xuan's. Having received Xiao Xuan's legacy and mark, Eight Wilderness Annihilation Flame submitted to Xiao Yan without resistance.

Although Nine Underworld Golden Ancestor Fire and Volcano Stone Flame weren't Xiao Xuan's inherited flames, for Xiao Yan now, both were effortlessly refined.

Even though Infernal Flame cores wouldn't boost his power, refining three Infernal Flames at once—especially since Nine Underworld Golden Ancestor Fire and Volcano Stone Flame still contained some Yan Jin's Dou Qi—caused Xiao Yan's cultivation realm to rise slightly, reaching Star Eight Mid-Stage.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh bitterly—others desperately sought cultivation boosts, while he desperately wanted none.

The Heavenly Flame Ranking has twenty-two Infernal Flames; Xiao Yan now possessed twenty-one!

After leaving the cultivation chamber, Xiao Yan calculated the time and murmured: "Wu Xu Swallowing Flame should be recovering soon."

Both Xiao Yan and Wu Xu Swallowing Flame already knew the location of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion—it was beneath the Sky Burning Refining Qi Tower, in the Sea of Fire at the birthplace of the Fallen Heart Flame!!

Clearly, Wu Xu Swallowing Flame had not told Hun Tian Di this information.

"The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion is at the birthplace of the Fallen Heart Flame—and two Fallen Heart Flames just happened to be born there too? Could it really be that coincidental?"

At this moment, within Wu Xu Swallowing Flame's Void Space, on a mountain range in the Soul Realm, Wu Xu Swallowing Flame, wrapped entirely in Black Flame, absorbed Spiritual Soul essence to heal his wounds. Suddenly, with a hum, Wu Xu Swallowing Flame snapped open his eyes, and a terrifying aura stronger than Xiao Yan's erupted from his body.

The aura's ripple shook the entire Soul Realm—Wu Xu Swallowing Flame's wounds were fully healed.

"Your wounds are healed too. It seems time to locate the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion," said Hun Tian Di, stepping out of Space in white robes, his eyes gleaming with fervor.

He had finally reached this moment!

Hearing Hun Tian Di's words, Wu Xu Swallowing Flame nodded, smiling. Clearly, in the end, Xiao Yan had refused Wu Xu Swallowing Flame and had no intention of becoming an Emperor.

"When you open the cave mansion and obtain the embryonic Emperor Pill, you'll use its power to break through the level no one has reached in fifty thousand years and become the true strongest being in this world," Wu Xu Swallowing Flame licked his lips, then added with a grin: "But don't forget—there's also something inside the cave mansion that I need. That was our agreement."

"Rest assured, you're inseparable from my Soul Sovereign—I would never deceive you. If what you say is true and the cave mansion holds what you seek, once I become a Dou Di, I'll fulfill your wish," Hun Tian Di smiled.

Wu Xu Swallowing Flame finally nodded in satisfaction. The Soul Sovereign had survived to this day because of him—he had done far too much for them, so naturally, he had his own conditions and demands; otherwise, even Hun Tian Di's power could never force him to serve the Soul Sovereign.

"Hmph, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor…"

A cold sneer crossed Wu Xu Swallowing Flame's face, then vanished; he turned his gaze to Hun Tian Di, who swept his sleeve—and eight Ancient Jades floated slowly from his sleeve.

The Ancient Jades hovered above Hun Tian Di's head, emitting faint light; their mutual reflections created a dazzling display, and faintly, strange ripples seemed to ripple outward.

Hun Tian Di's eyes gleamed as he glanced at the eight jades, then suddenly bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, which landed upon the Ancient Jades.

"Hummm!"

Once stained with the essence blood, the eight jades, which had originally only emitted a faint luster, actually emitted a faint humming sound, and the glow grew increasingly intense, with strange patterns flowing faintly across the surface of the ancient jades.

"Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade has been scattered for years—now, I shall gather them for you!"

Watching the phenomenon in the sky, Hun Tian Di laughed, then clenched his hand toward the Ancient Jades.

"Ssshh!"

As Hun Tian Di's hand clenched, the eight Ancient Jades fused completely—yet they did not shatter; instead, their lights interwove, subtly drawing together.

"Hummm!"

The Ancient Jades drew closer, the humming growing louder—until, with a series of sharp clicks, the eight pieces snapped together into one. Instantly, light blazed forth—a single, complete Ancient Jade, slightly larger than a palm, appeared in the sky.

As the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade was fully assembled, an ancient, primordial aura slowly spread from within the jade.

As that ancient aura spread, faint light mist rose from the jade, forming above it a faint, illusory old man's silhouette.

The old man wore a Black Robe, his hair shimmering in multiple colors, each hue resembling flames rising—strange beyond measure.

His face was ordinary, plain—but his eyes, deep as the cosmos, seemed like the sovereigns of heaven and earth; under their gaze, even Hun Tian Di, a supreme force, felt his Spiritual Soul tremble slightly.

Tuoshe Ancient Emperor!

In this world, only a legendary Dou Di could evoke such emotion in Hun Tian Di—and this old man was clearly the last Dou Di of the Dou Qi Continent, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor!

"Hmph, putting on a show. Just an illusion—and still pretending to be mysterious."

Hun Tian Di's expression darkened slightly, for the aura emitted by the image was even stronger than his own.

Clearly, this power towering above him stirred a flicker of anger; his gaze turned icy as he glanced at the shadow, then suddenly shot out a palm to grasp it.

Boom!

Hun Tian Di's sharp palm wind slammed hard against the shadow—but at the moment of contact, his expression twisted in shock; an utterly terrifying force instantly rebounded, pouring entirely onto his body and blasting him back hundreds of zhang.

"Be careful," said Void Swallowing Flame in a low voice, his eyes coldly fixed on the shadow as he involuntarily clenched his teeth, his gaze tinged with complexity.

Even a mere image had rendered Hun Tian Di powerless—if one were not a Dou Emperor, it was absolutely impossible to achieve its purpose.

Hun Tian Di swept back, his face darkening as he frowned: "How do we get rid of this shadow?"

"Why the rush?" Void Swallowing Flame rolled his eyes, then said: "The location of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion is hidden within the shadow's eyes."

"Oh?" Hun Tian Di blinked in surprise, fixing his gaze on the shadow's eyes. After a moment, his expression grew increasingly grave—he truly saw a faint image, though it was unclear.

"What a clever Tuoshe Ancient Emperor—he still has such tricks. Even if ordinary people gathered all eight Ancient Jades, they'd find it nearly impossible to discover the cave's location without knowing the secret." Hun Tian Di exclaimed in awe; even with his strength, he couldn't help but nod in admiration.

Void Swallowing Flame's pupils suddenly turned pure black; two fine beams of light shot from his eyes and pierced the shadow's eyes. Light refracted, black radiance bounced back to the sky—and instantly, an image expanded countless times across the heavens.

A vast, unfamiliar Earth Domain appeared.

The image swept over the mountain ranges surrounding this strange land, then suddenly plunged downward, diving deep into the earth—where a boundless Sea of Fire erupted into view: an endless Magma Sea.

"Where is this place?" Hun Tian Di frowned. Judging from the image, the Magma Sea lay beneath the ground—but even this wasn't enough to pinpoint its exact location.

The image plunged deeper into the Magma Sea, and suddenly, a strange creature appeared—resembling a lizard, its eyes radiating cruelty.

After this lizard-like creature appeared, deep within the magma world, an ancient Stone Gate slowly surfaced, its top inscribed with four characters.

Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion!

Crack!

As Hun Tian Di's gaze locked onto those four blurred Ancient Characters, the image abruptly cut off. He slowly exhaled, the fire in his eyes burning even brighter.

"What do you think? This place feels unfamiliar to me," Void Swallowing Flame said, glancing at Hun Tian Di with a hint of doubt.

"It's unfamiliar to me too."

Hun Tian Di frowned. The Dou Qi Continent was vast. Though the image revealed a huge region, pinpointing the exact spot wouldn't be easy anytime soon.

He fell into thought, then waved his hand—a spiritual soul image appeared. Instantly, the Four Soul Sage Emperors of the Soul Sovereign flashed forward. Hun Tian Di glanced at them and said coolly: "Memorize every detail of this terrain, every mountain feature. Mobilize all your strength. Search every location, one by one. Confirm this terrain. If you fail, don't come back."

Hearing this, the Four Soul Sage Emperors hurriedly bowed in reverence, then swiftly withdrew to issue orders.

"Gu Yuan and the others won't give up so easily. If we send out large numbers of strong cultivators, he'll surely notice," said Void Swallowing Flame.

"No problem. First, confirm the terrain. Then, I'll have my own methods," Hun Tian Di nodded, then clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the glowing Ancient Jade hovering in the sky, murmuring to himself:

"I've gone to such great lengths to gather you—yet I still refuse to believe I can't find the cave's location!"

Seeing Hun Tian Di begin his search, Void Swallowing Flame's eyes flickered slightly—but he ultimately revealed nothing about the true location.

Meanwhile, in the Black Horn Region, outside Jia Nan Academy, in Xiao City.

Xiao City was still bustling, packed with crowds—undoubtedly the strongest City in the Black Horn Region.

(End of Chapter)