Chapter 704

When sunlight streamed through the window, it was the next day.

With Xiao Yan's cultivation realm and physique, he was naturally refreshed and alert, while Ya Fei was still fast asleep. Xiao Yan gazed at her quietly, admiring her flower-like beauty and peaceful expression; the sunlight outside the window fell upon her, making her appear even more tender and captivating.

Xiao Yan gently reached out and stroked Ya Fei's cheek, feeling her warmth. Ya Fei lay in Xiao Yan's arms, breathing evenly, her exhales fragrant like orchids, emitting a faint scent; Xiao Yan's arm encircled her waist, making her feel safe and comfortable.

"Xiao Yan brother."

Ya Fei awoke with Xiao Yan's movement, slowly opening her eyes; when she felt his body heat, her heart sweetened—thankfully, it wasn't a dream. Her gaze was slightly hazy, as if not yet fully awake, yet a blissful smile appeared on her face.

"Did I wake you?"

Ya Fei shook her head gently, her body shifting subtly beneath the sheets, pressing tightly against Xiao Yan's, her cheek resting on his chest as she listened to his strong heartbeat; one jade hand gripped Xiao Yan's large hand, their fingers interlocked.

After a moment of silence, Ya Fei whispered, "Xiao Yan brother, you came to ask me for help with something?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan felt awkward—he suddenly felt like a scoundrel who only showed up when he needed something! He appeared only when he had a request, vanished otherwise!

Xiao Yan instinctively reached to rub his nose to ease the awkwardness, but one hand was wrapped around Ya Fei's slender waist, the other held fast by her—his hands were both sealed!

As if sensing Xiao Yan's heartbeat quicken, Ya Fei smiled, lifted her head to look at him, released her grip, and gently stroked his cheek, saying, "I'm glad I can help you."

"Thank you, Ya Fei sister." Xiao Yan raised his hand and placed her jade hand in his palm.

Ya Fei's eyes softened; she knew matters of importance came first, and slowly sat up, stretching languidly, letting her long hair fall gently behind her shoulders—every gesture exuded profound femininity.

Sunlight streamed through the window, once again revealing Ya Fei's exquisite form before Xiao Yan's eyes.

Ya Fei cast Xiao Yan a sultry glance, her jade finger lightly tapping his nose, saying, "Didn't you get enough of me yesterday?"

Seeing this scene of the beauty rising, Xiao Yan's blood surged again—this time, Xuan Huang Flame began to rise!

Xiao Yan reached out with his large hand, flipped over to take control, and grinned, "Hehe, how could Ya Fei sister ever grow tired of me?"

Feeling Xiao Yan's passion and scorching warmth again, Ya Fei leaned close and whispered in his ear, "Xiao Yan brother, we must attend to serious matters."

Though she spoke thus, her two jade arms clung tightly to Xiao Yan, fingers gripping his broad back and muscular waist, unwilling to let go.

Clever.

"Take a day off."

"Your humble servant obeys His Majesty."

Several days later, the Miter Guild spread a message across the entire Dou Qi Continent: Dou Emperor Xiao Yan had issued a massive reward for lost history.

The Miter Guild would pay high prices in Yan Yuan for any ancient texts, murals, oral accounts, or anything bearing the words "Shen Shou Continent" or "Great Thousand World." The older the item, the higher the value.

This "imperial decree" instantly shook the entire Dou Qi Continent. Recall that only twenty Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade cultivation methods and Dou Techniques had appeared at the recent auction; when Xiao Yan and his companions entered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion, the glowing orbs swirling around the statue numbered over a hundred!

That meant even if Xiao Yan kept some for the Xiao Clan, there would still be plenty left for the next auction. Without exaggeration, Yan Yuan had now become an extremely valuable resource on the Dou Qi Continent—possessing Yan Yuan meant you could trade with a Dou Emperor!

Thus, shortly after Ya Fei issued the decree, everyone on the Dou Qi Continent—from the Dan Tower's Elders and Soul Sovereign's Heavenly Lords to top faction elites and ordinary commoners—began rummaging through chests, even digging up the ground three feet deep to search for ancient ruins.

Perhaps the tattered scraps left by ancestors contained valuable information—once found, instant wealth was no fantasy!

Sometimes strength isn't absolute. For ordinary people, whether Xiao Yan or Hun Tian Di became a Dou Emperor made no difference. For ordinary cultivators, a Dou Emperor and a Dou Zun were equally invincible—no one would work for you without benefit.

"Shen Shou Continent? What's that?" Many who saw the Miter Guild's reward stared at each other in confusion.

"Who knows? Xiao Yan is a Dou Emperor—whatever he seeks can't be ordinary."

"Sigh, I've rummaged through everything these past few days, found some old things, but none matched."

"Hehe, why not add something? Maybe you'll get the reward."

"Hah, do you think no one thought of that? The Miter Guild headquarters has a special array to detect fakes." Someone countered, warning against forgery.

"It's just an array—there must be loopholes."

"True. I heard a Dou Sage used a special secret technique to forge an Ancient Map and fooled the array—but when he presented it to Miss Ya Fei for inspection, a brown-yellow flame appeared and instantly exposed his deception. The Dou Sage didn't even react before the map and he himself were burned into nothingness." A well-informed wanderer spoke gravely.

Hearing this, those with deceitful intentions swallowed hard, their faces turning pale.

"Think carefully—you're deceiving a Dou Emperor!"

After all, we're searching for events five ten thousand years ago—time erases too much. During Di An's era, when all Dou Emperors vanished, they also destroyed countless records, burying nearly all knowledge of Dou Emperors to prevent Dou Qi Continent cultivators from breaking through to Dou Emperor.

Beyond Dou Emperor Families, even scattered cultivators on the Dou Qi Continent didn't know they needed Source Qi to break through—they had to discover it themselves.

Even though Ya Fei had issued the reward across the entire Dou Qi Continent, the information received about Dou Emperors remained scarce, let alone anything about the Great Thousand World or Shen Shou Continent—neither term was known even to Clan Leaders like Gu Yuan.

"Shen Shou Continent… I've never heard of such a place," Zhu Kun stroked his beard, his eyes heavy with concern.

Zhu Kun was the longest-lived being on the Dou Qi Continent today—far older than Gu Yuan, Hun Tian Di, and Shen Nong the Elder, a monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years.

But Di An's era occurred fifty thousand years ago, its exact date lost to time; even Zhu Kun knew little of the Dou Emperor era.

Xiao Yan shrugged—he'd only come to ask if anyone had clues, without much hope. After becoming a Dou Emperor and defeating Tuoshe Ancient Emperor, Xiao Yan had begun searching for information about the Great Thousand World, and the Void Ancient Dragons had long since combed through ancient texts.

The Void Ancient Dragons, like the Soul Sovereign and Gu Clan, were among the oldest families with unbroken lineages.

Now, though a clue about Shen Shou Continent had emerged, unfortunately, the Void Ancient Dragons had no records of it.

"Sigh, the one who once managed the Void Ancient Dragons' treasure vault was the North Dragon King's line… many precious transmissions and ancient texts were destroyed in that war." Elder Zhu Li sighed; the civil war had cost the Void Ancient Dragons dearly—the entire North Dragon Island had nearly been obliterated.

"Damn it!" Zhu Kun slammed his fist on the table, then his expression darkened. "It's my fault—I was greedy back then. Had I not entered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion, this might never have happened."

Xiao Yan shook his head. "It's not necessarily your fault, Uncle Zhu Kun. Tuoshe Ancient Emperor may have foreseen this and deliberately lured you into the cave mansion to trap you as its guardian."

According to the Imperial Grade Embryonic Pill and Void Swallowing Flame, shortly after the Imperial Grade Embryonic Pill helped Void Swallowing Flame and Pure Lotus Demon Fire escape, Zhu Kun tore open space and entered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion—then the spatial rift sealed itself automatically, trapping Zhu Kun inside for thousands of years.

At the time, the Imperial Grade Embryonic Pill believed its aid to Void Swallowing Flame and Pure Lotus Demon Fire had created a flaw in the cave mansion's sealing, allowing Zhu Kun to slip in.

But now, reflecting as a Dou Emperor, Xiao Yan no longer believed Zhu Kun had the power to tear open the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion's barrier. Not even Zhu Kun—let alone Zi Yan, whose Dragon Phoenix Bloodline was even higher than Zhu Kun's—could have sneaked in.

The Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion's sealing was cast by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor himself. Even as Dragon Emperor, Zhu Kun could never have entered. And yet he did enter—and couldn't leave.

Clearly, Tuoshe Ancient Emperor deliberately let Void Swallowing Flame and Pure Lotus Demon Fire escape, then somehow guided Zhu Kun into the cave mansion, sealing him inside.

In the end, Zhu Kun became the greatest oversight in Hun Tian Di's plan to become a Dou Emperor, causing his entire scheme to collapse.

Now, looking back, too many coincidences defied explanation—the only logical conclusion was that Tuoshe Ancient Emperor foresaw events and deliberately sealed away the immensely powerful Zhu Kun.

Hearing this, Zhu Kun's eyes blazed with fury—he had always believed his own greed led him to sneak into the cave mansion and become trapped, causing the Void Ancient Dragons to nearly be wiped out and leaving Zi Yan abandoned in the forest outside the Inner Court, nearly dying as a child to beasts.

He never imagined it had all been orchestrated by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor!

"Tuoshe Ancient Emperor!" Zhu Kun's eyes hardened, teeth clenched, the surrounding space beginning to warp.

"Hmm, perhaps there's one place we've overlooked—there might be some records from the ancient Battle Emperor era there." At this moment, the Grand Elder Zhuhuo suddenly woke up, delighted.

"What place?"

"The Manhuang Ancient Domain—once the site of a battle among divine beasts, where countless demonic beasts perished in ancient times; there might be some clues there."

(End of Chapter)