Word Count: 2,536 Words
******
Xiao Yan had never doubted the power of the God Seal Technique. Not because he cultivated it himself, but because Xun Er had given it to him.
Xun Er always gave him the very best.
This was the first time he had seen the true Ancient God Seal unleashed in full. A Dou Technique personally created by a Dou God, it stood fundamentally apart from any ordinary High Tian Class Dou Technique. It actually carried a trace of Imperial Might!
Xiao Yan was no stranger to a Dou God's might. Within the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree's Spirit Space, through the tree's memories, he had all but stood before such power himself. He had even refined a portion of that Dou God's negative emotions, and Mao Wu had absorbed a faint wisp of that same Dou God's strength, shattering its own limits to ascend into a Heaven Seed Flame!
Now, drawing on her Divine Grade Bloodline and her cultivation, Xun Er unleashed the full might of the Ancient God Seal, and a trace of Imperial Might bled freely into the air.
The foundations of a Dou God Clan were terrifying to this extent!
Xiao Yan smiled faintly. The Flame Mantra within his body began to circulate, and the fearsome power of his Heavenly Flame surged from the Flame God Seal in his palm. A vortex of flame turned slowly at its heart.
The Flame God Seal was not a Dou Technique created by the Xiao Clan's Dou God. The clan's Divine Grade Bloodline could not draw Imperial Might from it. But this was a High Tian Class Dou Technique of Xiao Yan's own making. He was its founder!
In the instant those two 'God Seals' appeared, even the surrounding space rippled in subtle response.
The mysterious axe-wielding man clearly sensed how terrifying the Dou Techniques Xiao Yan and Xun Er were unleashing. For the first time, astonishment cracked that icy, expressionless face.
High Tian Class Dou Techniques were trump cards even at the Dou Saint level. Even the Clan Heads of the Dou God Clans cultivated nothing higher. Yet this young couple could already wield them!
As if provoked by what they had unleashed, the man let loose a thunderous bellow from the depths of his throat.
Mad, scorching heat rushed into the blood-axe figure's indifferent eyes, and a flash of battle intent flickered there. A low growl rumbled from his throat. Brilliant light erupted from the center of his brows, and within that radiance, a rune slowly took shape. The instant it appeared, his aura skyrocketed.
Xiao Yan's gaze locked onto the strange rune at once. A heartbeat later, shock struck him like a thunderbolt. He stood frozen, his expression blank.
'This... this is the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark?!'
The rune burning on the blood-axe figure's forehead was unmistakably the unique Clan Mark of the Xiao Clan!
How could this man possibly possess the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark?!
Xiao Yan stared dumbly at the mark on the axe-wielding figure's brow, his heart heaving like a storm-tossed sea. By all reason, in the Xiao Clan as it stood today, only he should possess this Clan Mark. Why had it suddenly appeared on this mysterious man?
"The Xiao Clan's Clan Mark?"
Xun Er had noticed as well. Her startled gaze swung to Xiao Yan. Even if she could not recognize the Clan Mark by name, apart from its color, the rune on the man's forehead was almost identical to the one that surfaced on Xiao Yan's brow. It could only be the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark!
The aura and power radiating from it carried the same distinctive flavor as Xiao Yan's mark. The moment it appeared, the axe-wielding figure's cultivation soared. The boost was not as monstrous as Xiao Yan's, but his strength still climbed to the late stage of 4-star Dou Saint, half a step into 5-star!
'Could he be a senior of my Xiao Clan?'
The thought rose unbidden. The war between the Xiao Clan and the Hun Clan had been only a thousand years past, and a Demon Flame surfaced once every thousand years. The last descent of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame should have come not long before that great war.
Xiao Yan's heart shook violently. If the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame truly had captured a Xiao Clan expert during its previous emergence, that was far from impossible.
A flash of joy stirred in his chest, but it sank almost as soon as it rose. The gaunt man before him already seemed to be a Fire Slave of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, his mind seized and bound.
"Senior! Can you hear me? I am Xiao Yan, the current Little Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan!" Xiao Yan's voice carried a peculiar fluctuation, threaded with a trace of Yellow Spring Divine Anger. The sound pierced the blockade of the Nightmare Heavenly Fog and rang deep within the giant-axe man's soul.
"Xiao Clan..." As expected, when that voice laced with Yellow Spring Divine Anger reached the depths of his soul, a look of struggle passed across the giant-axe man's face.
Ripples stirred in his indifferent eyes. He looked at Xiao Yan, and gradually, a strange sense of connection swelled within him. That familiar pull was the call of shared bloodline.
"You... you're of the Xiao Clan?" His lips parted, and at last, a hoarse voice scraped free.
Xiao Yan nodded at once. Judging by this reaction, the mysterious man truly did share a deep bond with the Xiao Clan. "Senior, what is your name? Why are you here?"
"Who am I... I am called Xiao Chen."
Shock flashed across Xun Er's face at the name. "Xiao Chen! Could it be Senior Xiao Xuan's cousin, Blood Axe Xiao Chen?"
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, after we left the Heavenly Tomb, I once asked Father about Senior Xiao Xuan. He told me that besides Senior Xiao Xuan, the Xiao Clan of old produced another figure of breathtaking brilliance. His signature weapon was an enormous blood axe, and his name was Xiao Chen."
Xun Er's voice dropped lower. "Xiao Chen's talent was astonishing, but he disliked restraint and was mercurial by nature. Before he made his name, countless experts had already fallen beneath his axe. Later, he vanished without a trace. No matter how the Xiao Clan searched, they could find no sign of him. I never imagined he had come to the Demon Flame Space to contend for the Demon Flame, only to be taken captive."
"Ancestor Xiao Xuan's cousin..." Xiao Yan paused, brows knitting. In that case, this man counted as one of his own ancestors as well.
"Ahhhh!" Xiao Chen suddenly let out a shrill, agonized scream. Endless milky-white Demon Flames poured from his body, then twisted into thin wisps of white mist that bored straight into his soul.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, that is the Nightmare Heavenly Fog! Senior Xiao Chen is still being controlled by the Nightmare Heavenly Fog that the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame cast on him." Xun Er's beautiful eyes narrowed, her voice low and steady. "Xiao Yan ge-ge, perhaps my Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame can burn the Nightmare Heavenly Fog Dou Technique out of Senior Xiao Chen's body."
The Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame was reputed to be a fearsome Heavenly Flame that could burn away any Dou Technique. Legend held that its first owner had once reduced a space created by a Dou Saint to absolute nothingness with a single application of the flame.
"Mm." Xiao Yan nodded heavily. The Dou Technique seals in their palms flared with light once more.
"Ahhhh! Sky-Splitting Blood Axe!" Xiao Chen's eyes turned pure white as he roared. Overwhelming blood-red Dou Qi poured into the blood axe, as though he meant to cleave this realm apart in a single swing. Both hands gripped the haft, and he hurled the weapon down at Xiao Yan and Xun Er with all his might.
BOOM BOOM!!
A blood-red scar tore through space, as if the entire platform had been cleaved open by that single stroke. The momentum did not falter.
Xiao Yan and Xun Er did not retreat before that world-rending blow. The two moved in perfect synchrony, stepping onto the void together and driving their palms forward as one.
"Ancient God Seal."
"Flame God Seal!"
Xiao Chen's Sky-Splitting Blood Axe carried staggering momentum, its force truly worthy of a strike that could sunder the sky, and his cultivation ran higher than theirs. But both Xun Er and Xiao Yan possessed Divine Grade Bloodlines. The Dou Techniques they wielded were High Tian Class, and both commanded fearsome Heavenly Flames of their own.
Working together in such perfect concert, the power they unleashed could not be measured by cultivation alone.
The twin God Seals blasted forward. In that instant, the surrounding Purifying Lotus Demon Flames went still, their radiance dimming to nothing. Against High Tian Class Dou Techniques, nothing could stand. Techniques worthy of bearing the title 'God' suppressed all before them in a single breath.
A deafening boom tore through the space. The twin seals slammed into the blood axe, and the collision annihilated everything between them. Terrifying radiance engulfed all.
Xiao Chen was not in his complete state. He was a Fire Slave under another's control, and deep down he had no desire to fight Xiao Yan. He simply could not bring his full power to bear.
Their Heavenly Flames struck true. Blood sprayed from his lips as he was blown backward, and in that instant, a wisp of golden Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame slipped into his body.
"Burn." Xun Er formed a hand seal. The Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame erupted within Xiao Chen, burning every last trace of the Nightmare Heavenly Fog's white mist inside him to ash.
"Ahhh!" The golden flame ignited in an instant, and the terrifying agony that followed left Xiao Chen writhing.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, be careful," Xun Er called out anxiously from the side.
Xiao Yan merely waved a hand. He strode to Xiao Chen's side and clapped a palm down firmly on the man's shoulder. The moment his hand landed, the Fallen Heart Flame surged into Xiao Chen's body. His trembling frame stilled at once, eerily abrupt, and clarity slowly returned to his eyes.
"Hu..."
Xiao Chen panted heavily, drawing several rough breaths. Only after a long moment did he lift his head. His gaze lingered, complicated, on the Clan Mark at Xiao Yan's brow, for he could sense Xiao Xuan's power within it. Then his eyes moved deeper, studying Xiao Yan himself. Naturally, he could tell that the Hun Clan's Dou God Bloodline coursed through this junior's body, and that it was extremely powerful.
"How... is the Xiao Clan now?" His voice was hoarse and rough.
Xiao Yan met his eyes. After a moment of silence, he let out a sigh. "Ancestor Xiao Xuan fell a thousand years ago. He now exists only in a special state within the Heavenly Tomb. The Xiao Clan of old... is no more."
He briefly recounted the Xiao Clan's current circumstances. From start to finish, Xiao Chen did not speak. But blood slowly dripped from his tightly clenched fists, beading scarlet against his skin. Only after a long time did he look at Xiao Yan again, a trace of desolation in his gaze.
Xiao Yan had not concealed the Xiao Clan's annihilation at the hands of the Hun Clan.
Xiao Chen's palm came down heavily on Xiao Yan's shoulder. "To have restored the Xiao Clan this far... it must not have been easy on you."
"This is the Demon Flame Space. Ancestor Xiao Chen, please take us to where the Demon Flame's Essence Flame lies." Xiao Yan did not dwell on the matter and went straight to the point.
"Even with the two of you together, you are no match for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame." Xiao Chen shook his head, his voice still hoarse.
"We came precisely for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, and our helpers are more than just the two of us." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, light glinting in his eyes. "Let's go take a look first."
"Then follow me." Xiao Chen held Xiao Yan's gaze for a moment longer. Finally, he slowly rose to his feet, turned, and walked toward the last palace door.
Xiao Yan and Xun Er followed silently behind him, watching as he pushed open the giant door. Beyond it, a staircase stretched into the distance. At the far end, a massive altar-like stone platform was faintly visible.
Xiao Yan gazed at the distant altar, shook his head, and allowed himself a faint smile.
He stepped onto the stone stairs first, ascending toward the end one step at a time. Behind him, Xiao Chen and Xun Er hesitated only briefly before quickly following.
Roughly ten minutes later, they finally drew close to the altar. Xiao Yan looked up. Atop the altar, a gigantic throne stood in silence. Upon that throne sat a white-robed figure, cross-legged and motionless. Wisps of milky-white flame coiled around his body, constantly shifting into different shapes.
The white-robed figure merely sat there quietly. Not the slightest hint of aura leaked from him. Yet in the eyes of Xiao Yan and the others, that still figure was unspeakably eerie.
When their footsteps reached the altar, the white-robed figure finally opened his eyes. On that handsome face, a smile so stunning it could steal one's breath bloomed into being.
"Defeat me, and you will obtain the Demon Flame's Essence Flame, as well as my inheritance. Otherwise, you will remain here forever and become my Fire Slaves." His voice was soft and gentle, yet as the words spread, even the surrounding space seemed to tremble.
Purifying Lotus Demon Flame?!
Silence held for a moment. Xiao Yan let out a sigh and shook his head helplessly. "Purifying Lotus Demon Flame... it seems you've thoroughly obtained all of the Purifying Lotus Demon Saint's inheritance. Otherwise, you could not have cultivated the Nightmare Heavenly Fog to this level. I have to admit, the illusion you've woven is even more lifelike than the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree's. It can even reach the point of using reality to weave falsehood."
"However, no matter how lifelike an illusion may be, in the end it remains an illusion. And in all your careful planning, you made one oversight."
Xiao Yan's low voice echoed quietly across the altar. The gentle smile on the handsome man's face slowly froze.
Meow!
A cry rang out from the empty air, and a strange black cat slipped proudly from the void. Its black-pearl pupils, identical to Xiao Yan's, narrowed into vertical slits as it hissed at the 'Purifying Lotus Demon Flame' before it.
This is fake!
Mao Wu was only a Heaven Seed Flame, not the Nihility Devouring Flame, and far inferior to the true Purifying Lotus Demon Flame. Even so, a counterfeit Purifying Lotus Demon Flame still could not compare to it.
'The Nightmare Heavenly Fog truly is formidable, using reality to weave falsehood.'
A weight settled in Xiao Yan's chest despite himself. Xun Er and Xiao Chen here were real, and this space was real as well. Yet it was also false, like a nightmare!