Word Count: 4,155 Words
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A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. His keen perception had picked up traces of some residue on the ground, substances capable of attracting large numbers of energy bodies.
"Hun Ya and Hun Li did this. Only the Hun Clan has these things." Xun Er had also noticed something amiss. After examining the partially devoured traces on the ground, she immediately understood.
A smile soon spread across Xiao Yan's face as he surveyed the dozen or so figures that had quietly surrounded him. His Spiritual Strength also sensed other energy bodies closing in from afar. He spread his hands and said, "I was going to have to trouble myself hunting down energy bodies, but this works even better. Since those two sent me this gift, I'll gladly accept it."
A mere dozen energy bodies ranging from five to seven stars didn't even count as a warm-up for him.
Great Heaven Creation Palm!
He wasted no breath on further words. Meeting them head-on, he raised his hand and unleashed a Tian Class Dou Technique. A pitch-black halo, like a mysterious black hole, rapidly spread out from his palm. In the blink of an eye, it surged forward and swallowed the nearby energy bodies.
Buzz buzz buzz!!
For a situation like this, surrounded on all sides, the Great Heaven Creation Palm was simply the perfect choice.
Even though the energy bodies hastily put up their defenses, before Xiao Yan's Great Heaven Creation Palm they were still instantly obliterated. The moment the technique touched them, they were wiped out without the slightest chance to resist.
A series of clattering sounds rang out as over a dozen thumb-sized energy cores fell to the ground. A huge harvest right at the start!
"It seems Hun Ya and Hun Li really did send Xiao Yan ge-ge a gift. Those things should be what the Hun Clan gave them to quickly attract energy bodies and harvest their cores." Xun Er laughed softly. They had underestimated Xiao Yan far too much, thinking that luring over a few energy bodies would cause him trouble.
Xiao Yan swept up the cores with a wave of his hand. A faint smile curved his lips. "Not bad at all. When I find those two, I'll have to return the favor properly."
…
Meanwhile, deeper into the second layer, Hun Ya and Hun Li both frowned. They had each left imprints on those energy bodies, and now they sensed those marks vanishing simultaneously. Every one of those energy bodies had been destroyed by Xiao Yan.
"That guy's strength is truly terrifying. He actually wiped out so many energy bodies in an instant." Hun Li's expression grew grave.
As members of the Hun Clan, the last thing they wanted to see was the Xiao Clan rising again. Xiao Yan's current frightening strength left them deeply uneasy.
A savage, vicious gleam appeared in Hun Ya's eyes as he sneered coldly. "What's there to be afraid of? Our clan has already laid its methods on the third layer. The plan has changed somewhat, but once he reaches the third layer, Xiao Yan is as good as dead."
"Mm."
"Come. We'll head to the third layer first!"
This time, they had tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used as bait, wasting the very lure meant to attract energy bodies in the process.
…
"What a pity, it's gone."
Xiao Yan shook his head. The lure Hun Ya and Hun Li had left behind had lost its effectiveness, and he couldn't help feeling that was rather regrettable.
"Thirty-eight level-five energy cores, twenty-five level-six, six level-seven, and one level-eight," Xun Er tallied.
"Half each. Let's refine them first."
Xiao Yan didn't immediately rush toward the third layer. The most precious things in the Heavenly Tomb were precisely these energy cores. Having walked a path of poverty all the way here, he handled everything with meticulous thoroughness, letting not even a drop slip through his fingers.
The fear of poverty ran deep!
…
Several days later, a pleased gleam shone in his eyes after he finished refining the energy cores. The second layer's cores were indeed much purer than the first layer's. He hadn't expected that so soon after arriving, the second face of his Asura statue would already show signs of advancement. If his luck held and he encountered a few more level-nine energy cores, he might even push the second face close to the major level of mastery!
These energy cores had also loosened his cultivation bottleneck somewhat.
The second layer was clearly smaller than the first. Over the past few months of cultivation, he and Xun Er had occasionally run into members of the Shi and Lei Clans, but they hadn't interacted much. Although they all belonged to the ancient Dou God Clans, conflicts over resource distribution still existed between them. In a sense, they were competitors.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
A series of explosions echoed across the area.
Flame Splitting Tsunami!
Xiao Yan gripped the Heavy Xuan Ruler and cleaved a beam of ruler-light toward a distant figure. The enormous blade of light roared forth like something that could split the surrounding world apart and slammed into that shadowy form.
Boom!!
The Heavenly Flame erupted. The powerful figure finally couldn't endure it any longer and was incinerated completely, leaving behind only an energy core the size of a baby's fist.
"Phew." Xiao Yan exhaled deeply and gave his head a little shake. "This Heavenly Tomb really can't be underestimated."
He bent down and picked up the level-nine energy core. Dealing with a single level-nine energy body didn't faze him at all, even if the being it had been in life was a one-change or two-change Dou Venerate.
But continuous fighting was exhausting even for him and Xun Er. There was no such thing as rest here. It was like a game where, at any moment, an energy body could rush out from who-knew-where.
With combat at such high intensity, there was only one way to rest, and it was precisely what the two of them were doing now. One person would rest, using energy cores to recover Dou Qi and cultivate, while the other stood guard.
Still, this level of nonstop fighting had earned Xiao Yan a massive stash of energy cores. His storage was practically full.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge." Xun Er let out a soft breath and slowly rose to her feet.
Xiao Yan reached out and gently stroked her hair. He asked tenderly, "Why don't you rest a little longer?"
Xun Er wrapped her arms around him and lightly shook her head. "I've already recovered. It's Xiao Yan ge-ge's turn to rest now."
Xiao Yan didn't refuse. Over the past few days, he had obtained several level-nine energy cores. Level-nine cores provided tremendous help for cultivation, and the improvement they brought was obvious. The faster he raised his strength, the more confidence he would have when entering the third layer.
Yet some things were beyond human calculation.
After he absorbed two more energy cores, the entire Heavenly Tomb suddenly began to tremble violently, as if an earthquake had struck!
"Hm?! What's happening!" Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open and he looked toward the distance. His Spiritual Strength had detected something unusual. At the edge of the horizon, a brilliant line linking heaven and earth was rapidly spreading toward them.
Xun Er's expression changed at the sight of that surging energy tsunami on the horizon. "This is the Heavenly Tomb's great energy storm!"
Even without her explanation, his Heavenly State Spiritual Strength told him that this energy storm was something no Dou Venerate could possibly withstand!!
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, we have to get to the third layer! I'm afraid this energy storm will engulf the entire second layer."
"Mm."
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
Several figures shot across the sky from the horizon, flying desperately toward the third layer. They were experts of the other Dou God Clans. Xiao Yan even spotted Hun Ya and Hun Li among them, but he had no time to waste on them. The energy storm was so terrifying that even he didn't want to touch it.
With the storm's appearance, the number of energy bodies on the second layer suddenly multiplied severalfold. In a sense, this energy storm was the Heavenly Tomb's great cleansing.
The Heavenly Tomb, which had previously been quiet and orderly with everyone minding their own business, abruptly turned chaotic. The prodigies of the various Dou God Clans were drenched in sweat, not daring to conserve even a shred of Dou Qi as they fled with everything they had.
Xiao Yan swept Xun Er up in his arms. His Ancient Phoenix Wings unfurled behind him, and he shot forward at full speed toward the third layer, taking the lead. Huo Xuan could only shake his head in envy as he watched Xiao Yan soar away like an Ancient Heaven Phoenix, gradually pulling ahead.
This desperate flight continued for nearly half a day. During that time, Xiao Yan and the others maintained their peak speed almost the entire way. The consumption of Dou Qi was terrifying. Fortunately, over the past half year, they had accumulated a considerable number of energy cores, so they didn't have to worry about draining their reserves in the short term.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, the entrance to the third layer is close!" Xun Er suddenly called out after glancing into the distance.
Joy surged through Xiao Yan at her words. He extended his Spiritual Strength and carefully sensed ahead. Sure enough, in that far-off direction, he detected a familiar energy pressure spreading faintly through the air.
"Let's go. Pick up the pace!"
He held nothing back. The Ancient Phoenix Wings, fused with three kinds of Heavenly Flames, erupted with terrifying speed once more. From a distance, he was like a long trail of fire carving across the sky.
…
By this time, Gu Qing Yang and the other three had already reached the entrance to the third layer. They rose together from their meditation when they saw Xiao Yan flying over.
"It's Xun Er and Xiao Yan. Looks like people from the Yan Clan, Hun Clan, and others are also on their way," Gu Zhen said as he stared into the distance.
Gu Hua let out a wry laugh. "Gu Zhen, you're being a bit too calm, aren't you? That's an energy storm we're talking about. If we get caught up in it, I'm afraid none of us will survive."
"Hehe, it's not that I'm calm. Panicking just won't help. With First General Gu Qing Yang here, he won't let us die, right?" Gu Zhen replied with a slight smile.
"You brat..." Gu Qing Yang couldn't help but laugh as he opened his eyes and looked toward the horizon. "The energy light barrier here has already solidified. We can only force a passage open. But a task like this requires us to wait for the others."
Just as his voice faded, Xiao Yan was the first to arrive. He gently set Xun Er down, then lifted his gaze to face the barrier and immediately noticed the problem.
"This is?"
"The light barrier has solidified. It has to be broken through by force, so we were waiting for all of you," Gu Qing Yang said with a faint smile, sweeping his gaze over Xiao Yan. With Xiao Yan here, this light barrier should no longer pose any real threat.
Xiao Yan glanced at him. With his Spiritual Strength, he could easily tell that while the barrier was hard as steel, Gu Qing Yang was definitely capable of breaking it. However, doing so would require burning through a massive amount of Dou Qi and consuming energy cores for replenishment. There was no reason for him to take that loss alone.
He nodded once and stepped back to the side. He had no interest in suffering a disadvantage either!
Before long, the other Dou God Clan elites also arrived one after another. They had used Secret Techniques and activated their Clan Marks to wring out every last drop of speed. When they saw that the light barrier had solidified, all of their expressions grew increasingly grave.
"Everyone should already understand the current situation." Gu Qing Yang stepped forward. His gaze slowly swept over the crowd as he spoke in an even tone. "The energy light barrier to the third layer has solidified. We must break through it by force if we want to enter. This isn't something one person can accomplish alone. So if you want to live, join hands and break it. If we don't, when the storm arrives, we'll all die here together."
Faces changed slightly all around. After a brief moment of silence, everyone slowly nodded. No one who had made it this far was a fool. They all understood that there was only a single path left in front of them: enter the third layer, or die!
"You and Xiao Yan are so strong. The two of you could surely break through this barrier on your own," Hun Ya couldn't help but say.
Xiao Yan shot him a sidelong glance and replied coolly, "Why should I work for you? If you don't like it, you can get lost instead."
Everyone gave Hun Ya a look of open contempt. They all knew perfectly well what he was thinking: he wanted to use the crowd to morally pressure Xiao Yan into doing the heavy lifting. Unfortunately for him, no one here was buying it. No one was willing to offend a monster like Xiao Yan.
Hun Ya's face darkened under their gazes. He snorted coldly but held his tongue.
"Enough talk. The Heavenly Tomb is under my Gu Clan's management. We'll go first." Gu Qing Yang didn't bother with further words. He led Gu Hua, Gu Xing, and Gu Zhen forward, and the four of them pooled their Dou Qi.
Their terrifying energy took the shape of a massive drill, relentlessly boring open a path through the crystal layer.
After they had opened a length of about two hundred meters, the four stopped. Xiao Yan and Xun Er immediately stepped up to take over. Working together, their speed wasn't the least bit slower than the four Gu Clan members', and they quickly excavated another hundred meters.
Everyone tacitly understood the arrangement. Each pair or group would open a hundred meters in turn before rotating.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
Terrifying lightning-attribute Dou Qi surged forth as the Lei Clan pair took their turn. Though their speed didn't quite match Xiao Yan and Xun Er's, it was still impressive. By the time one full cycle had gone around, the slowest without a doubt were the Yao Clan's two members, whose cultivation was the lowest at only 7-star Dou Venerate.
"Has this light barrier always solidified like this?" Xiao Yan asked after he and Xun Er stepped back to rest.
"Mm. Every time we enter the third layer, we have to work together to open a path like this. We're just particularly unlucky this time, running into an energy storm on top of it," Xun Er explained helplessly. It seemed something always had to happen whenever Xiao Yan was involved. His special constitution was truly one of a kind.
After some time, a sudden thunderous boom rattled the entire passage.
"The energy storm is starting to sweep in!"
"Speed up! Anyone who doesn't want to die, stop holding back!"
The commotion made everyone's hearts clench. Although the energy crystal layer outside the tunnel blocked and weakened the storm, a portion of that destructive force still funneled in through the entrance.
No one dared hold anything back anymore. The speed at which they excavated the passage grew faster and faster.
'Hm? What's this?' After the tunnel had reached a certain depth, Xiao Yan's Heavenly State Spiritual Strength detected something strange within the crystal walls.
He reached out and pressed his hand against the freshly exposed wall. A moist sensation clung to his fingertips. His brows drew together. When he focused his Heavenly State Spiritual Strength to examine it more closely, what he saw made his heart jolt!
The others noticed his movements as well. Without his Heavenly State Spiritual Strength, they couldn't see what he had discovered and could only look on in confusion.
"Damn it! There are weird, tiny insects inside this energy crystal layer, constantly absorbing energy and secreting more of it!" Xiao Yan's expression changed drastically once he saw clearly.
!!!?
Everyone felt their scalps go numb. Were they inside a massive insect nest right now?!
"It's because of the energy storm!" In that instant, Xiao Yan understood. "These insects specialize in devouring the energy within the storm, then secreting these energy crystal layers. That's what solidified the light barrier! And the collision with the storm just now woke them all up!"
"They're repairing the crystal walls!" the two Shi Clan members at the front cried out shrilly. They had just realized something was off as well; the section of passage they were trying to open refused to expand!
"Could these be Ancient Devouring Insects? I thought they were supposed to have gone extinct long ago!" Gu Zhen suddenly exclaimed.
"Ancient Devouring Insects?"
Xiao Yan was slightly startled to hear Gu Qing Yang and the others murmuring the name.
"They're a type of tiny magical beast from ancient times," Xun Er explained softly. "Their bodies are extremely small, but their numbers are endless. As their name implies, they can devour energy and continuously secrete pure energy in turn. By all rights, these things should have vanished long ago. I never expected to encounter them here."
The energy storm spelled certain death for them, but for the Ancient Devouring Insects, it was the signal that dinner had been served!
"This won't do! More and more Ancient Devouring Insects are waking up. A portion of our Dou Qi is being devoured by them!" the Shi Clan experts at the front shouted the worst-possible news.
Very soon, everyone realized that the tunnel they had already opened was slowly beginning to heal behind them. That meant more and more Ancient Devouring Insects were awakening, devouring the energy from the storm and secreting new layers of crystal in its place!
"Let me try." Xiao Yan no longer wasted time on words. He shot forward in a blur and took the lead at the very front.
"What good is that? These Ancient Devouring Insects can devour Dou Qi!" Hun Ya snapped. His expression was as dark as the bottom of a pot. If he had known things would turn out this way, he would have entered alongside Gu Qing Yang's group from the beginning!
Xiao Yan ignored his impotent rage. With a flick of his finger, he sent out his merged Heavenly Flame.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
White smoke billowed as countless Ancient Devouring Insects were burned to ash on contact.
"Hm? They can't devour the Heavenly Flame!"
Everyone's spirits surged at the sight. On second thought, it made perfect sense. Heavenly Flames could incinerate all things. How could such tiny insects possibly devour them?
"Hurry, Xiao Yan, hurry up! The energy storm is about to crash in!!" Hun Ya screeched from behind like some old crone.
"You two, use your Heavenly Flames to stop the walls from closing in. I'll open the tunnel." Xiao Yan's expression was solemn to the extreme, as if every step they took was a sprint against death itself.
Huo Zhi and Human Medicine saw his expression and both nodded heavily. Without any objection, they each unleashed their Heavenly Flames: the Red Lotus Karmic Flame and the Nine Serene Wind Flame.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, let me help you," Xun Er said.
"Xun Er, stay behind me. If I can't hold on, then you take over." Xiao Yan patted the back of her hand, then shot her an extremely subtle look.
He then gathered a ball of Heavenly Flame in his palm and hurled it forward. The terrifying merged flame surged down the tunnel like a great dragon. Just as he had expected, once he deployed his Heavenly Flame, the passage became almost completely unobstructed. Their pace increased by several notches.
Everyone felt a wild joy at the terrifying power of Xiao Yan's flame. They were saved!
But—
No one knew that Xiao Yan's acting skills were every bit as extraordinary as his alchemy!
Outwardly, he gritted his teeth, his expression tight with tension, as if he were pushing himself to the very limit. Inwardly, he was ecstatic.
I've struck it rich! I've struck it rich!!!
A careful observer would have noticed that hidden within his terrifying flames was a cute little black cat.
~o(=∩ω∩=)m!
Mao Wu was curled up inside the Heavenly Flame as if she were feasting at a banquet. Her tiny paws dug nonstop at the energy crystal layers, shoveling chunks of crystal into her mouth. Countless pieces vanished between her teeth.
The Ancient Devouring Insects did possess the ability to devour energy, but compared to the Seed Flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame, they were like children playing house next to a master chef!
Who was devouring whom was very much an open question!
These pure energy crystal layers contained a tremendous amount of power, all of it condensed from the Heavenly Tomb's great storm. And now, every last bit of it was being devoured by Mao Wu!
The Heavenly Tomb opened once every twenty years, and time flowed six times faster within it. That meant one opening contained one hundred and twenty years' worth of accumulated storm energy! These energy crystal layers were the product of one hundred and twenty years of condensation!!
At this moment, Xiao Yan had only three words in his heart: This feels amazing!
His eyes flicked back and forth for a moment. Then his face suddenly went a little pale as he began to breathe in heavy, exaggerated gasps, putting on the perfect picture of someone whose Dou Qi was on the verge of running dry.
"Xiao Yan, are you alright?" Gu Qing Yang asked in alarm. Was the consumption of a Heavenly Flame really that great?!
Xiao Yan deliberately weakened his flames. "The Heavenly Flame drains me heavily. My Dou Qi is running low."
The moment the words left his mouth, Xun Er immediately understood what he was thinking.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge, take all my energy cores." Her face tense with feigned anxiety, she took out her entire stash and handed it to him. Xiao Yan had to forcibly press down the corners of his mouth to keep from grinning outright.
Truly worthy of being my Xiao Clan's daughter-in-law!
Seeing Xun Er's actions, everyone else knew exactly what Xiao Yan meant.
One after another, they tossed pouches of energy cores toward him.
Xiao Yan swept all the cores into his hands. While Mao Wu continued tunneling through and devouring the energy crystal layers, he quietly slipped the energy cores into his Nihility Space, all the while maintaining the façade of absorbing them to replenish himself.
With this 'replenishment,' the fire dragon he wielded roared even louder as it slammed against the crystalline wall. Charged with fresh 'strength,' Xiao Yan even broke into a jog as he advanced!
However, after running several kilometers, he deliberately slowed his pace. "I'm out of energy cores," he said in a low, grave tone.
Many people's faces twitched at that. He used them up that fast?!
Gu Qing Yang hesitated briefly, then quickly took out an especially brilliant core and handed it over. "This is a level-nine energy core. It's the only one we have."
Xiao Yan accepted it without the slightest hesitation and repeated his earlier performance.
"It's not enough."
He shook his head. In truth, he felt a flicker of regret. His Heavenly State Spiritual Strength told him they were nearly at the end. He had to seize this last chance to fleece them a bit more.
"I have one as well..." Huo Xuan wavered for a moment, then also produced a level-nine energy core.
"Give me four more," Xiao Yan said after exhaling heavily.
The members of the Yao, Lei, Hun, and Shi Clans instantly understood who he meant. Four cores, one from each of their Dou God Clans!
Level-nine energy cores were unimaginably precious to them, and parting with even a single one made their hearts ache.
"Sigh. If we die here, even the most valuable energy cores become worthless." The Lei Clan man muttered with a sigh. He flicked a core forward, and it shot into Xiao Yan's hand. The Shi Clan representative quickly followed suit.
Although Human Medicine and Hun Ya were filled with resentment, they had no choice. They had no idea how much farther they had to go. In the end, they each gritted their teeth and surrendered a level-nine energy core.
Xiao Yan's soul was practically splitting open with laughter. This time, he had truly made a killing!