Chapter 808

"You do need to return to the Dou Qi Continent; without reaching the Heavenly Supreme, you won't be a match for Tuoshe Ancient Emperor."

At that moment, a voice suddenly emerged from Space, and the Black Flame passage instantly took human form—naturally, it was Void Swallowing Flame.

Seeing Void Swallowing Flame appear, Xiao Yan turned his head and asked: "Is Tuoshe Ancient Emperor the Heavenly Supreme ancestor of the Fire Spirit Clan?"

Xiao Yan certainly hadn't forgotten that when Void Swallowing Flame originally partnered with him, willingly giving all its power to Xiao Yan—even allowing Xiao Yan to refine it—was because Xiao Yan had promised Void Swallowing Flame that one day he would avenge him.

Void Swallowing Flame's alliance with Hun Tian Di wasn't to become an Emperor; or rather, becoming an Emperor was merely one step toward achieving his goal—his purpose was to avenge Tuoshe Ancient Emperor!

Void Swallowing Flame's eyes revealed a look of solemnity and hatred as he nodded heavily: "I won't forget that aura; though extremely faint, I sensed Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's presence on those two old bastards—and the Fire Spirit Clan's aura is remarkably similar to his!"

Fire Spirit Clan, Fire Spirit Clan, Spirit Flame. Tuoshe Ancient Emperor was originally a sentient, special Heavenly Flame!

At this moment, Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened as he studied Void Swallowing Flame, then suddenly smiled and said: "Void Swallowing Flame, if I'm not mistaken, your Heavenly Flames are actually the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional embryo."

!!!?

Xiao Yixian beside him couldn't help but freeze—Heavenly Flames are the dimensional embryo?

Even Void Swallowing Flame was slightly startled—he hadn't expected Xiao Yan to deduce this far.

"I only figured it out after acquiring the New Different Flame. In the Great Thousand World, Heavenly Flames don't have the trait of devouring each other—they don't instinctively crave to swallow any Heavenly Flame they encounter. Only you possess this trait." Xiao Yan summoned Star Gray Flame; Star Gray Flame showed zero reaction upon seeing Void Swallowing Flame, no instinctive urge to devour.

Xiao Yan smiled and continued: "That means the reason Heavenly Flames on the Dou Qi Continent instinctively devour each other isn't because they're Heavenly Flames—it's because they're more than just Heavenly Flames; they possess another trait that gives them a subconscious instinct to devour each other."

At first, Xiao Yan thought all Heavenly Flames naturally devoured each other—until he came to the Great Thousand World and discovered it wasn't true; the New Different Flame he'd just acquired had no such instinct.

Moreover, the fusion of the twenty-two Heavenly Flames produces Emperor Flame—the number one Heavenly Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

So here's the question: if the number one Heavenly Flame on the Ranking only appears after fusing twenty-two Heavenly Flames, then the Ranking shouldn't even have a "number one"—since the Heavenly Flames haven't fused yet, how could there be a first?

The number one Heavenly Flame requires the fusion of the other twenty-two to emerge, yet Void Swallowing Flame and Pure Lotus Demonic Flame are unique—even other Heavenly Flames rarely exist in duplicate.

So the only answer is: in ancient times, there weren't twenty-two Heavenly Flames. Originally, the Dou Qi Continent had only one Heavenly Flame—Emperor Flame. Something happened later, causing Emperor Flame to shatter into twenty-two, thus giving birth to the so-called Heavenly Flame Ranking.

This isn't a chicken-or-egg problem.

The Heavenly Flame Ranking originally recorded twenty-three, meaning the number one Emperor Flame once existed—and originally, there was no Ranking at all, only Emperor Flame. Only after Emperor Flame split did the Ranking emerge. This is cause and effect.

And since Heavenly Flames possess the instinct to devour each other, that means all Heavenly Flames were naturally meant to merge as one—their division into twenty-two was an accident!

And this accident wasn't caused by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor, because when Tuoshe Ancient Emperor fell to the Dou Qi Continent, the Heavenly Flames were already twenty-two. So Xiao Yan was certain the shattering occurred in ancient times.

After arriving in the Great Thousand World, Xiao Yan learned many things, and the most frequent topic was the dimensional embryo.

Originally, Xiao Yan had seen murals in Tian Dian depicting the most primitive era—how Xiao Potian fought step by step, ultimately defeating countless demons and powerful foes to become the first Dou Di and establish the Dou Qi cultivation system!

But now Xiao Yan must correct this: the battle between Xiao Potian and the Soul Emperor of the Soul Sovereign wasn't to seize Source Qi, nor to become an Emperor. Back then, the Dou Qi Continent surely had abundant Spiritual Energy and Source Qi—breaking through to Dou Di (Earth Supreme) didn't require competition.

What they fought for back then was the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional embryo!

Becoming a Heavenly Supreme doesn't require the dimensional embryo—but using it is always better, especially in a Lower Plane; possessing the dimensional embryo means you are the god of that Lower Plane—the Creator, the absolute sovereign!

Clearly, Xiao Potian emerged victorious, and based on his own cultivation method, he created the Dou Qi Continent's cultivation system: Dou Qi.

If Xiao Yan's guess is correct, the battle between Xiao Potian and the Soul Emperor was over the complete Emperor Flame—the dimensional embryo itself.

This also explains why the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark can be activated by Heavenly Flames—the Xiao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline is tied to Heavenly Flames, because the dimensional embryo Xiao Potian seized was Emperor Flame; his Dou Di Bloodline contained not only immense Dou Qi power but also Heavenly Flame power.

Although Xiao Xuan is powerful, he isn't powerful enough to alter the Xiao Clan's bloodline. He created Tian Huo San Xuan Bian, using it to strengthen the Xiao Clan's bloodline and refine the Clan Mark, because the Xiao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline already contained Heavenly Flame power.

Xiao Potian indeed obtained the dimensional embryo and became a Heavenly Supreme, eventually breaking through to the Domain Beyond.

But just as a supercontinent can regenerate a dimensional embryo, the Dou Qi Continent can continue absorbing cosmic energy to give birth to a new dimensional embryo—and this is why the Heavenly Flames split.

The twenty-two Heavenly Flames are naturally born of the Dou Qi Continent, possessing unique powers; their special abilities even allow them to manipulate the Dou Qi Continent's forces—for example, Phantom Poison Flame controls poison, Blue Lotus Earth Core Fire controls Earth Veins, Volcano Stone Flame controls volcanic eruptions, Sea Heart Flame controls seawater.

The combined power of the twenty-two Heavenly Flames equals the entire Dou Qi Continent's power.

After arriving in the Great Thousand World, the Heavenly Flames' power became useless—because the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional force cannot control the Great Thousand World.

Theoretically, Heavenly Flames have no inherent strength ranking; the Heavenly Flame Ranking's order merely reflects how much dimensional force each Heavenly Flame possesses.

Void Swallowing Flame and Pure Lotus Demonic Flame were born with vast dimensional force, hence they possessed sentience from the start—they are the Emperor Flames of the Heavenly Flames.

"Not entirely right," Void Swallowing Flame shook his head and explained: "The Emperor Flame formed by fusing the twenty-two Heavenly Flames does possess some dimensional force—like a continent's blessing. When Tuoshe Ancient Emperor absorbed us, he didn't just take our Heavenly Flame power—he absorbed the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional force too. That's why his breakthrough to Heavenly Supreme wasn't surprising."

"But the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional embryo isn't just Emperor Flame. Emperor Flame possesses the continent's dimensional force, yes—but we are merely the key to unlocking it."

"Key." Xiao Yan frowned, then suddenly remembered something and exclaimed: "The dimensional embryo is in the Earth Core? Beneath the Bodhi Ancient Tree?"

Void Swallowing Flame snorted but nodded: "Hmph. That's why Tuoshe Ancient Emperor placed the Heavenly Flame Square beneath the Sea of Fire—he too wanted to use the Heavenly Flame Square to open the Earth Core and seize the dimensional embryo."

Recalling past events, Void Swallowing Flame sneered: "But that bastard was never a native of the Dou Qi Continent—he could never gain the dimensional embryo's recognition. And without my consent and Pure Lotus's, no one can take the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional embryo."

The Dou Qi Continent was sealed for fifty thousand years—completely locked down, even Source Qi and Spiritual Energy purged—plenty of time for a new dimensional embryo to form.

Xiao Yixian and Xiao Yan both drew a sharp breath at these words—they hadn't expected such a hidden chapter.

But thinking about it, it made sense: if Tuoshe Ancient Emperor truly came from the Fire Spirit Clan of the Great Thousand World, why wouldn't he have seized the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional embryo? His failure to take it proves he couldn't.

"I never imagined such a secret existed," Xiao Yixian sighed.

Void Swallowing Flame continued: "That place isn't safe. Without Nine-Star Dou Di power, you'll die. That's why Tuoshe Ancient Emperor never dared to forcibly seize it."

Void Swallowing Flame told Xiao Yan all this because he'd witnessed Xiao Yan's recent battle strength—after cultivating the Dou Technique Body, Xiao Yan retained his Dou Qi without converting to Spiritual Energy, and his power had reached near Nine-Star Earth Supreme levels.

Thus, Xiao Yan naturally has the qualifications to obtain the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional embryo.

Of course, the more important reason is that Void Swallowing Flame needs Xiao Yan's power—he needs Xiao Yan to defeat Tuoshe Ancient Emperor, who has already reached Heavenly Supreme.

Xiao Yan's Buddha Fury Lotus is powerful, but it still can't defeat a Heavenly Supreme, let alone conquer the entire Fire Spirit Clan—so Void Swallowing Flame is willing to let Xiao Yan obtain the dimensional embryo.

And Xiao Yi is Xiao Yan and Xun Er's Fire Baby, his own daughter—how could he possibly oppose Xiao Yan obtaining the dimensional embryo? With both Guardian Flames agreeing, and Xiao Yan possessing Emperor Flame, it's as if the treasure vault's door has opened—the dimensional embryo is calling to him!

"Not a safe place? Does the Dou Qi Continent still have a location that threatens Dou Di?" Xiao Yan was startled—the Dou Qi Continent still had such a place? He'd once used Soul Force Perception to scan the entire continent and found nothing like it.

"You'll find out when you return," Void Swallowing Flame clearly refused to reveal more. Though Xiao Yan's upgraded Tian Huo San Xuan Bian could reach Nine-Star Dou Di, the Secret Technique was still second-rate—he wanted Xiao Yan's power to grow further.

Seeing Void Swallowing Flame's haughty expression, Xiao Yan smiled and said: "Thanks."

Void Swallowing Flame glanced at Xiao Yan, then reverted into a mass of Black Flame and flew back into the Supreme Sea: "Your current power still doesn't meet the requirement. You must raise your Cultivation Realm to at least early Nine-Star Earth Supreme—or you'll die."

Xiao Yan sighed helplessly; he bore no resentment toward Void Swallowing Flame's gentle threat.

"Dimensional embryo... the inevitable step to Heavenly Supreme." Xiao Yan's expression slowly grew solemn. No wonder he'd felt the Dou Qi Continent so weak back then—the number of Dou Sheng peak cultivators dwindling.

It was because Tuoshe Ancient Emperor used the Heavenly Flame Square to drain away some dimensional force, causing the twenty-two Heavenly Flames to continuously absorb the Dou Qi Continent's dimensional energy as they regenerated, weakening the continent's Dou Qi, reducing Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and causing the overall power to decline.

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yixian, who stood beside him with a hint of worry on her face, and smiled: "Don't worry, I have my limits. Besides, we've already obtained a realm embryo—if we can't get the Dou Qi Continent's realm embryo, the Five Elements Spirit Soil will do."

Xiao Yan pulled out the Spiritual Pupil; it had absorbed the power of a realm embryo. But honestly, Xiao Yan had no desire to use the Spiritual Pupil's power—it was, after all, from the Domain Beyond.

"Alright, I'll first consolidate the Eternal Calamity Poison Body, then head to Shang Zhi Da Lu," Xiao Yixian said.

Calculating the time, the auction on Shang Zhi Da Lu was still a month away—it seemed they could still make it.

Xiao Yixian sat in Space, formed a hand seal, and her hair instantly turned ashen white; streams of gray poison surged from her body, endless waves of Eternal Calamity Poison spreading out—seen from afar, she resembled a colossal Supreme form.

Xiao Yan's gaze fell on Xiao Yixian's lower abdomen, where a faint emerald-green flame glowed—naturally, the location of the Poison Pill.

"Ancestor Xiao Potian said even the creator of the original Eternal Calamity Poison Body could not fully suppress its growth. Relying solely on the cultivation method of the Eternal Calamity Poison Body isn't enough—the Poison Pill still requires further research," Xiao Yan knew he couldn't place all his hopes on the original form—he himself must also strive.

After watching for a while and confirming Xiao Yixian had entered cultivation, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged and began examining the object in his hand, which resembled an eyeball.

"The Soul Sovereign—technically, they entered the Great Thousand World fifty thousand years ago, and the Dou Qi Continent was sealed and exiled by the Emperors to avoid them. But why does the Soul Sovereign's Sword of Severing Souls have any connection to them?" Xiao Yan could not fathom it; logically, the Soul Sovereign had never invaded the Dou Qi Continent.

Never invaded, yet possessing a cultivation method of the Soul Sovereign???

"Could the Soul Sovereign have secretly infiltrated the Dou Qi Continent before?" Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, then shook his head, rejecting the hypothesis.

The reason was simple: if the Soul Sovereign had discovered the Dou Qi Continent, the outcome would have been identical to those Lower Planes they had invaded—a cataclysmic war.

But according to the Ancient Texts of the Dou Emperor Family, after all Dou Emperors vanished, the Dou Qi Continent suffered no invasions—only internal wars occurred, and there was never any record of the Soul Sovereign.

Though the Ling Clan could consume Dou Di Bloodline, they were not the Soul Sovereign.

If the Soul Sovereign never invaded the Dou Qi Continent, then why is the Sword of Severing Souls connected to them? Could the Soul Sovereign have been so bored they came, left behind a cultivation method, left no name, and silently departed?

Giving others roses leaves fragrance in one's hand? Could the Soul Sovereign truly be the type that teaches without discrimination—was the Great Thousand World merely slandering them?

Possible?

(End of Chapter)