"Alright, go ahead!"
Gu Yuan lightly nodded, indicating that he would wait for Xiao Ting to come out.
After saying that, he slightly raised his head and looked toward a certain point. He snorted coldly and released his powerful soul force.
Xiao Ting felt the pressure in front of him ease. He immediately used his flying technique to enter and merged with the void.
A flash of light appeared in Gu Yuan's eyes as he muttered, "This method is truly extraordinary."
Zhu Kun had told him that Xiao Ting possessed a special void escape technique — one that even the two of them, late-stage nine-star Dou Saints, would have found laughable if they hadn't prepared in advance.
Unexpectedly, it was real. Even when he fully released his God-realm soul force, he couldn't sense Xiao Ting's presence.
Of course, not being detectable didn't mean he couldn't be killed. It simply meant he had completely fused with the void.
With his power, he could completely shatter or even erase the space within a hundred-mile radius.
Even if Xiao Ting had completely fused with the void, he would still disappear along with it. Therefore, this method wasn't truly invincible.
However, if he hadn't known in advance that Xiao Ting was there, there was no way he would destroy the space within a hundred-mile radius without explanation.
Furthermore, he didn't know the range of Xiao Ting's teleportation. If he could move a thousand miles in an instant, then he would be completely lost.
The reason he was thinking so much wasn't because he wanted to attack Xiao Ting, but simply because he was genuinely impressed by the talent and quick thinking of his future son-in-law.
"Just as Brother Zhu Kun said. Instead of competing with him, we should work together to guide Xiao Ting to become a God."
"If Xiao Ting becomes a God, he will definitely find a way to make Xun Er and Zi Yan become a Gods as well. For Zhu Kun and me to become Gos will be inevitable."
Gu Yuan secretly made a plan and decided to focus on the spirit of the Heavenly Tomb.
He couldn't even sense Xiao Ting's presence, let alone the spirit of the Heavenly Tomb.
Moreover, according to Xiao Ting, Xiao Xuan would definitely help him in the Heavenly Tomb.
….
Meanwhile, Xiao Ting transformed into the void and continuously teleported toward the depths of the Heavenly Tomb. To avoid being detected by the spirit of the Heavenly Tomb, he slightly controlled his speed.
Even so, in less time than it took to drink half a cup of tea, he arrived at the bottom of the Heavenly Tomb and saw a lone tombstone standing there.
Although it looked weathered by the passage of time, it still exuded an indescribable aura.
It wasn't intense, but it still made Xiao Ting's half-step God-realm soul tremble.
This was a half-God aura that could be felt even more directly than the Yellow Spring Stone Tablet.
Xiao Ting arrived in front of the tombstone, revealed himself, cupped his hands, and saluted. "Xiao Ting, a descendant of the Xiao Clan, has come to pay respects to his ancestor."
Xiao Xuan, who had seemed to be sleeping inside the tombstone, suddenly opened his eyes, revealing an expression of surprise and joy.
With his power, he hadn't even noticed that Xiao Ting had entered the Heavenly Tomb until he spoke.
The peak of Dou Saint being five-star was already a very high level — far beyond his expectations and predictions.
The Xiao Clan had declined and its resources had dried up. In such difficult circumstances, the ancestor couldn't possibly be unhappy that a junior had achieved such success.
"Xiao Ting… What a wonderful name."
Under Xiao Ting's gaze, spatial ripples appeared on the tombstone in front of him.
Immediately after, a figure wearing a light blue robe emerged from within. He seemed like the embodiment of this world and carried an overwhelming pressure from heaven and earth.
Even Gu Yuan and Zhu Kun hadn't exuded such strong suppression!
"The power of a peak five-star Dou Saint truly far exceeds my expectations."
A look of surprise appeared on Xiao Xuan's ordinary yet uniquely charming face. "I thought the Gu clan hadn't fully kept their promise with me."
"Ancestor, the Gud clan did not fully keep their promise with you," Xiao Ting replied from the void. "Five years ago, our Xiao Clan had fallen to the point where the strongest among us was merely a Dou Grandmaster."
Xiao Xuan: ???
At this moment, Xiao Xuan suspected he might be hallucinating.
Even if the Gu Clan hadn't fully honored their agreement with the Xiao Clan, if they had given even a little help, they should have at least left one ordinary Dou Venerable for the Xiao Clan.
Even if they had allowed the Xiao Clan to have a Dou Ancestor who could rule a remote small empire, that would still be a sign that the Gu Clan held some goodwill toward the Xiao Clan.
But a Dou Grandmaster?
It would have been better if the Xiao Clan had been completely destroyed.
What shocked Xiao Xuan even more was that, according to Xiao Ting, it had only taken him five years to reach his current level!
"Ancestor Xiao Xuan, let us first invite another ancestor."
Xiao Ting saw through Xiao Xuan's thoughts. Instead of explaining, he raised his hand and summoned Purple Beast Flame, placing it inside Xiao Chen's strange flame space.
He had already met Xiao Chen and explained part of the Xiao Clan's situation to him. He had also removed the imprint of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame from Xiao Chen.
"Hmm?"
Xiao Xuan and Xiao Chen looked at each other.
Immediately after, both of them showed emotional expressions.
"Cousin!"
"Cousin!"
Xiao Chen and Xiao Xuan spoke one after another, their voices filled with excitement.
"You're still alive. That's great." A smile appeared on Xiao Xuan's face.
"Cousin, I have disappointed you." Xiao Chen knelt down. "I am a sinner of the Xiao Clan. If I hadn't gone to the Demon Flame Plains on my own, thinking I could suppress the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, only to be controlled by the demon flame and become a slave of fire, the Xiao Clan wouldn't have declined to its current state."
The Dou God bloodline of the Xiao Clan had almost been cut off. Back then, there was an extreme lack of successors.
Apart from Xiao Xuan, the Xiao Clan was no match for the Hun Clan or the Gu Clan. They were nothing more than an existence similar to the current Yao Clan. Although the old clan leader possessed power comparable to an eight-star Dou Saint, he was extremely old.
When the Dou God bloodline was depleted, the clan leader would be the first to be affected in terms of power and lifespan.
It was at that time that Xiao Xuan, who had inherited the divine bloodline, appeared and grew to the half-God level.
Back then, everyone in the Xiao Clan firmly believed that Xiao Xuan was born to shoulder the fate of the entire Xiao Clan and could reach the Dou God realm to bring new life to the Xiao Clan.
However, Xiao Xuan had not been blindly confident. Instead, considering that he might fail to break through to the Dou God realm, he had chosen Xiao Chen as the seed for the Xiao Clan.
According to Xiao Xuan's plan, if he failed to break through to the Dou God realm and unfortunately died due to the backlash, the last bloodline of the Xiao Clan would be passed on to Xiao Chen.
By that time, Xiao Chen's power would have grown to at least the seven-star Dou Saint level.
With the protection of Ancestor Burning Flame, the old clan leader, who was an eight-star Dou Saint, would be able to remain in the game for a while.
Although they weren't as powerful as the Hun Clan or the Gu Clan, they would at least not be at the bottom among the eight great ancient clans, and there would still be a chance for them to rise in the future.
However, Xiao Chen's disappearance, combined with Ancestor Burning Flame and the Xiao Clan elders searching for him, had severed this carefully prepared escape route.
Xiao Xuan's attempt to become a Dou God had been a desperate gamble and a harbinger of the Xiao Clan's eventual downfall.
As long as the old clan leader still controlled the formation of the remnant soul of the Xiao God in the Xiao Realm.
Ancestor Burning Flame had provided support from the sidelines.
Even if the Hun Clan had ten times the courage, they wouldn't have dared to launch a surprise attack.
"This isn't your fault. It was fate."
Xiao Xuan was very magnanimous. After all, everything had already happened, and there was no point in blaming anyone.
The existence of a junior like Xiao Ting showed that the fate of the Xiao Clan had not yet come to an end!
…