After using the Dragon Phoenix Art on Qing Yanjing, Xiao Yan could clearly feel that his spiritual energy had grown tremendously. Based on his own assessment, he had now reached the true peak of the Earth Sovereign level, even faintly touching the threshold of the Heavenly Sovereign level. With a period of seclusion and the aid of the Plane Spirit's energy, stepping into the Heavenly Sovereign realm shouldn't be a problem.
However, Xiao Yan had no intention of making that breakthrough for now. Not to mention that he still had Qing Yanjing tagging along, more importantly, breaking through within the Ancient Sacred Abyss would risk triggering a time-space storm. If that happened and he were swept into the territory of the Extraterritorial Evil Race, it would be disastrous.
Still, though his cultivation couldn't advance for the time being, his progress in other aspects was considerable. After acquiring Qing Yanjing's knowledge of spiritual arrays and the inheritance of the Elder of Heavenly Arrays, Xiao Yan's comprehension of spiritual formations had deepened significantly. If he had once been a mere novice formation master, now he could be considered a true high-grade spiritual array grandmaster.
As he studied formations, Xiao Yan continued journeying through the Sacred Abyss with Qing Yanjing in tow. Along the way, they passed through several gathering points, collecting many valuable pieces of information. Yet the same intel was available to others, and by the time they arrived at the mentioned ruins, every one of them had already been looted clean—leaving them not even a scrap of soup to taste.
"These guys move way too fast..." Xiao Yan muttered with a sigh after exiting yet another empty ruin. Though he hadn't set his hopes too high on those ruins, items useless to him could still benefit the Endless Fire Domain. He had hoped to do a little raiding and bring something back, but it seemed even that was too much to ask for.
"Judging by the time, this trip to the Ancient Sacred Abyss should be coming to an end soon..." Xiao Yan calculated silently. Though he had already resolved his formation bottleneck by receiving the Elder's inheritance, he wasn't the type to be satisfied so easily. If another chance at a Heavenly Sovereign inheritance appeared, he would definitely go for it.
Qing Yanjing, walking beside him, was also quietly calculating. Once she left the Sacred Abyss, she could contact other powerhouses from the Buddha Clan. This thought lifted her spirits a little. Though she still had to endure being forced to dual cultivate with Xiao Yan daily, she believed this nightmare would end soon.
"Seems like our last bet lies with that place." Xiao Yan ignored her inner turmoil and pulled out a map. His gaze fell on a crimson skull symbol—according to their gathered information, this was the final ruin still unsearched. And its name was... the Heavenly Tomb.
While the world had many similarly named locations—like the Profound Heaven Hall he found in the Tianxuan Continent, which coincided with a faction in the Tianluo Continent—Xiao Yan had a strong intuition. This Heavenly Tomb seemed somehow connected to the one he'd encountered back on the Dou Qi Continent. And this connection stirred a question that had long haunted him: Why had all the Dou Di of the Dou Qi Continent vanished?
At first, Xiao Yan thought they had ascended to the Great Thousand World. But after thinking carefully, that explanation didn't add up. He had ascended himself, and when he did, the dimensional passage opened by the Plane Spirit had brought in a surge of origin energy. Yet the Dou Qi Continent had been without origin energy for tens of thousands of years.
In his past life, Xiao Yan had scoured the continent seeking to break through to the Dou Di level, consulting countless ancient texts. But none ever mentioned Dou Di ascending. Even Xiao Xuan—known as the one with the deepest knowledge of that realm—had been clueless. The only consistent phrase across all books was: "They vanished overnight." Beyond that, nothing.
When Xiao Yan had ascended, the commotion was large enough to shake the continent. If all those Dou Di had truly ascended overnight, it was impossible that no records remained. After learning more about the Great Thousand World's history, Xiao Yan began to suspect a different truth.
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Great Thousand World had suffered a massive war against the Extraterritorial Evil Race. The time of that war matched perfectly with the Dou Di disappearance on the Dou Qi Continent. It was possible… those Dou Di had come to the Great Thousand World to fight. And perhaps the reason the Dou Qi Continent had no origin energy was because all its Dou Di had died in that war—leaving no one behind to reopen the passage.
That thought made Xiao Yan sigh softly. He had experienced how difficult life was upon entering the Great Thousand World. He'd been lucky to meet the Nine Nether Sparrow Clan's Clan Leader right away. Without that fortune, he might still be fumbling in the dark. The Dou Di of old, however, had ascended only to immediately face the Extraterritorial Evil Race—possibly without even finishing their transformation into spiritual energy. That scenario... was hell incarnate.
"You want to go to the Heavenly Tomb? That place doesn't have anything good." Qing Yanjing had also glanced at his map. Seeing him stare at the crimson skull emblem, she spoke up coldly.
"You've been there?" Xiao Yan paused and looked over.
"No. But others from the Buddha Clan who entered the Sacred Abyss have. It's just a burial ground for some ordinary Sovereigns. Nothing worth going for. If you're looking for opportunities, try somewhere else," she replied.
"That's strange. Given your attitude toward me, shouldn't you be thrilled if I found nothing? Why the kind warning?" Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes.
"You think only you need a stroke of fortune? I do too, alright?" Qing Yanjing looked at him with a hint of exasperation. She had her own purpose in coming to the Sacred Abyss. Though she was currently bound to Xiao Yan, if he went to search for Heavenly Sovereign relics, she might get the chance to gain something too. So of course she didn't want him wasting time in a place with no value.
"In that case, go find your own opportunities." Xiao Yan spoke plainly.
"You'd let me go?" Qing Yanjing was taken aback. "Aren't you afraid I won't come back?"
"Of course not. Don't you want revenge?" Xiao Yan smiled calmly. "You dream about chopping me into pieces. So obviously, you'll come back on your own. What do I have to worry about?"
(End of Chapter)
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