Chapter 434: Catching the Mole
"Long time no see, Gu Yuan."
Xiao Xuan looked at Gu Yuan and spoke with a faint smile.
"You've… left the Heavenly Tomb?"
Gu Yuan's expression was full of disbelief.
"Thanks to my younger brother Yuan, I've been lucky enough to see the sun again."
Xiao Xuan placed a hand on Xiao Yuan's shoulder and grinned.
"Y-younger brother Yuan?"
The Gu Clan's high-ranking elders were stunned.
Xiao Xuan from the Heavenly Tomb was scary.
But Xiao Xuan who had left the tomb was terrifying.
And Xiao Xuan calling Xiao Yuan his "brother"? That was utterly terrifying!
"Alright, let's handle proper business first."
Xiao Xuan retracted his smile and swept his gaze across the gathered Gu Clan elders, then turned to Gu Yuan.
"Yuan told me that he sensed a chillingly hidden aura within your clan. It felt off—like something from the Soul Clan. Gu Yuan, where do you keep the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade? Still in the ancestral hall?"
To the Gu elders, Xiao Xuan's question sounded disjointed.
But Gu Yuan trusted him—especially on matters involving the Soul Clan. No one understood them better than Xiao Xuan.
"Yes, it's still in the ancestral hall. You suspect there's a Soul Clan agent hiding there?"
Gu Yuan asked with a frown.
"This kid's soul power had already reached the Heavenly tier before entering the tomb. It's not hard for him to detect anomalies. But if you want to do this quietly without alarming the Soul Clan, you're not capable of pulling it off."
Xiao Xuan said casually.
None of the Gu elders dared question his words.
Even without a physical body or a fully recovered soul, Xiao Xuan's current presence was enough to make someone like the Eight-Star Dou Sheng, Black Abyss King Gu Lie, stay fully alert.
This… was the aura of a man who once stood at the very peak of the continent!
Of course, actually fighting and suppressing an Eight-Star Dou Sheng was still a challenge for Xiao Xuan without a physical vessel. But borrowing Xiao Yuan's body and quasi-Emperor soul could let him reach the Emperor tier briefly—enough to take one on.
In the Heavenly Tomb, under its rules, even Gu Yuan wouldn't be able to beat Xiao Xuan.
"It seems Yuan came prepared. Still, it's a good thing you've returned to the continent. Judging from the current signs, the Spirit Clan is most likely finished. If anyone could wipe them out—it's the Soul Clan."
Gu Yuan glanced at Xiao Yuan as he spoke.
"Alright. You all wait here. Yuan and I will go investigate your ancestral hall."
With that, Xiao Xuan's soul flew into Xiao Yuan.
A crimson-golden glow lit up in Xiao Yuan's eyes.
That oppressive aura vanished instantly, and to the senses of others, Xiao Yuan once again appeared to be a perfectly ordinary peak Two-Star Dou Zun.
His figure blurred—and he appeared before the Gu Clan's ancestral hall, completely undetected.
"You all wait here. I'll take a look."
Gu Yuan left instructions and stealthily followed to the ancestral hall.
Xiao Yuan activated his Five Qi Palace Secret Art and began probing the inner space.
The aura he had sensed earlier was chaotic and impure—clearly an agent created by the Soul Clan using some secret method!
Found it.
Xiao Yuan's gaze locked onto a particular spot deep within the ancestral hall.
"I'll take over from here."
Xiao Xuan's voice echoed in Xiao Yuan's mind. A moment later, Xiao Yuan's gaze turned deep, and he nodded slightly toward Gu Yuan's hiding spot before vanishing.
This was where the Second Elder of the Gu Clan—Gu Yang—resided.
Xiao Yuan appeared openly before him.
"Who are you? How dare you enter the Gu Clan ancestral hall?!"
Gu Yang was startled but did not seem unfamiliar with Xiao Yuan's face.
"The stench of the Soul Clan… there's no mistake. It's you."
Xiao Yuan's eyes turned cold. He casually clenched his hand—and space around Gu Yang froze. His Dou Qi ceased to flow!
With Xiao Xuan possessing him and briefly restoring his Emperor-tier soul power, a mere late Five-Star Dou Sheng like Gu Yang was nothing.
Xiao Yuan changed his hand seal, summoning fiery chains of five-colored Heavenly Flames that pierced Gu Yang's body and dragged out his soul!
"Soul Binding Chains?! How do you know this technique?! You're not Xiao Yuan—who are you?!"
Gu Yang's soul twisted in pain as flickers of two alternating faces appeared on his expression.
"So, they fused souls. No wonder he could infiltrate the Gu Clan. The Soul Clan really put in effort."
Xiao Yuan smiled faintly and changed hand seals again.
Gu Yang screamed as his origin soul was extracted, transforming into a glowing soul orb.
"Using the Soul Clan's own methods against them… fitting, isn't it?"
Xiao Yuan remarked coldly.
"You think you can control me? In your dreams!"
Flames erupted across Gu Yang's soul as he tried to self-destruct.
"In my presence, you think you can do that?"
Xiao Yuan formed a new hand seal—a chaotic, multicolored soul seal.
Chaos Soul Suppression Seal!
With six-elemental Qi fused and Xiao Xuan's temporary Emperor-tier soul power, the seal shot into Gu Yang's body.
The self-destruction flames vanished instantly. Gu Yang's consciousness fell into slumber.
"A soul fusion with sealed memory to evade detection… I couldn't have handled this myself."
Gu Yuan finally emerged, speaking in a low tone.
"Nor could I. This was all thanks to Yuan. Here—see for yourself."
Xiao Xuan exited Xiao Yuan's body and summoned the extracted memory from the soul chains.
A glowing image unfolded before them.
It showed that over a hundred years ago, during a trip outside, Gu Yang had been captured by Soul Clan experts. Void Swallowing Flame helped fuse a Soul Clan member's soul into his.
Since then, Gu Yang rarely appeared in public—waiting for the day they could seize the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade.
"Incredible… the Soul Clan laid this trap a century ago."
Gu Yuan's face darkened after viewing the memory.
"If I'm right, the Spirit Clan has already been wiped out by now."
Xiao Yuan added.
"That seems unlikely. To force the Spirit Clan into hiding, the Soul Clan would have had to mobilize a massive force. We would've noticed. And why provoke them? They might have declined, but they're no weaklings."
"What's the Spirit Clan leader's strength?"
Xiao Yuan asked.
"Should be Ling Guang, a peak Six-Star Dou Sheng."
Gu Yuan replied.
"Then… could he withstand the Void Swallowing Flame?"
Xiao Xuan said quietly from the side.
"Void Swallowing Flame?!"
Gu Yuan's expression shifted.
"No wonder they vanished without a trace. The entire space might've been devoured."
Gu Yuan said grimly.
"If that's the case, the Stone and Medicine Clans might be next. They're not much stronger than the Spirit Clan and probably can't fend off Void Swallowing Flame either. Only you and Gu Lie can counter it in the Gu Clan."
"As for the Yan and Lei Clans, their leaders are in late Eight-Star Dou Sheng. The Soul Clan wouldn't dare attack them outright without alerting me."
"Then Yuan and I will check in on the Yan and Lei Clans soon. As for the Medicine and Stone Clans, the Soul Clan probably doesn't even care about them. Just keep an eye out."
Xiao Xuan nodded.
"Alright. I need to keep my eyes on Hun Tiandi. I can't leave the Gu Realm. I'll leave this to you."
Gu Yuan cupped his fists.
"Yuan, go back and rest. We'll leave after the Gu Realm opens tomorrow."
Xiao Xuan gestured.
"Alright. I'll head back first."
Xiao Yuan nodded and vanished in a flash.
"Without your help, could he really have entered and exited the Gu Clan's ancestral hall undetected?"
Gu Yuan frowned, unsettled by the lack of security.
He wondered if maybe he should carry the Ancient Emperor Jade himself…
"He carries the Dragon Phoenix bloodline."
Xiao Xuan smiled.
"No wonder…" Gu Yuan nodded, then froze. "Wait… Dragon Phoenix bloodline? But his mother was human, right?"
"You sure paid attention to the Xiao Clan… even sent your daughter to that remote town."
Xiao Xuan said meaningfully.
"Only because it benefited the Xiao Clan!"
Gu Yuan's face darkened.
"Haha, for Xun'er's sake, I'll overlook the arrogance of some of your clan members. But as clan leader, you should know—such pride will lead to disaster."
Xiao Xuan's tone grew serious.
"I know. If not for strength limitations, and because we didn't want to strain Xun'er and Xiao Yan's relationship, Yuan would've already killed a few of ours by now. By the way, why does he call you brother?"
Gu Yuan sighed, shaking his head. The Gu Clan, strong as it was, still had rotten roots like every other major clan.
"I'll tell you later. Something else just came to mind. Do you remember the Swallowing Spirit Clan from ancient times?"
Xiao Xuan asked.
"The Swallowing Spirit Clan!?"
Gu Yuan's eyes twitched.
"We all joined forces to exterminate them. But the last clan leader was slain by the Soul Clan."
Xiao Xuan said solemnly.
"You think… the Soul Clan inherited their power?"
Gu Yuan asked, visibly disturbed.
"Maybe Void Swallowing Flame devoured that last leader and absorbed the Swallowing Spirit Clan's power to devour other bloodlines—prolonging their own."
Xiao Xuan analyzed.
"That's… possible. And if it's true, then we're in big trouble."
Gu Yuan's face turned grim.
He realized they might have to gather their forces soon—better to strike first than wait.
—
The next morning, as the first rays of light bathed the vast mountain range, the once-silent space grew lively again. The air buzzed with flight.
Xiao Yan and Xun'er left their bamboo house and flew toward the mountain front. In the sky, several massive warships hovered in formation, rumbling ominously under dark clouds.
Scanning the area, Xiao Yan spotted many familiar figures—Ling Quan, Lin Xiu, and other elite juniors of the Gu Clan.
But when those youths saw him, their gazes shifted away in fear. Now a nine-star Dou Zun, Xiao Yan had completely surpassed them. Back when he was at five-star, he could already defeat someone like Gu Yao—now they stood no chance.
Only Xun'er, Gu Qingyang, and a few others could now contend with him.
Xiao Yuan appeared in the air without warning and joined Xiao Yan and Xun'er.
"Brother!"
"Brother Yuan!"
The two greeted him.
"You two seem well-rested."
Xiao Yuan chuckled teasingly.
Xun'er blushed slightly, and Xiao Yan scratched his head awkwardly.
They hadn't done anything inappropriate… but everything else? Pretty much done.
Woooo!
As more people gathered, horns blared from the airships—signaling it was time to leave the Gu Realm.
"Xun'er… it's time. I must go."
Xiao Yan turned to her softly.
"Take care."
Xun'er smiled gently.
"Don't worry—we'll meet again soon."
Xiao Yuan added with a grin. He tossed her a soul imprint, then left with Xiao Yan. Together, they became a beam of light and boarded one of the ships, vanishing from sight.
Xun'er sighed quietly as she watched Xiao Yan disappear.
If only… they didn't have to part.
(END CHAPTER)
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