Kapitel 210: Chapter 212 - Emerging from Seclusion!
He only had a vague feeling, but at the moment his consciousness entered the chaotic light sphere, his body shuddered. In the next moment, boundless and vast chaotic energy surged toward him, transforming into a stream of chaotic light that slowly infused into his body through the crown of his head.
Boom!
As the vast energy poured in, Xiao Yan's body instinctively activated his cultivation method. Instantly, his flesh trembled, and, with the help of the celestial flame, it greedily devoured and refined all the energy that entered his body.
In just a few moments, Xiao Yan faintly felt that his cultivation had broken through a bottleneck.
Thus, Xiao Yan's consciousness remained motionless in the chaos for what seemed like decades. His body, like a boulder, stayed utterly still, and even his breathing gradually weakened until it was almost undetectable.
In the chaos, time seemed to stand still, with only the unending stream of chaotic light continuously pouring into the crown of Xiao Yan's head.
This state persisted until a certain moment when a change finally occurred.
One day, Xiao Yan's body, which had remained statue-like, suddenly trembled slightly. The next moment, his tightly closed eyes, which hadn't opened for an unknown amount of time, slowly creaked open.
Buzz!
As soon as his eyes opened, a sharp light shot out from them, a light so brilliant it pierced through the chaos before eventually dissipating within it.
Xiao Yan opened his eyes in bewilderment. As he slowly clenched his hand, he felt an indescribable surge of power within him. His body trembled slightly as though countless bolts of lightning were erupting inside him.
"What is going on?" Xiao Yan looked at his hand in shock. At this moment, he felt neither the joy of a typical power breakthrough nor the usual excitement; instead, a deep sense of fear and bewilderment surfaced in his heart.
The sudden surge in power was simply too astounding. Just a second ago, he had barely broken through to the Dou Saint tier by leveraging the bloodline power left behind by Xiao Xuan. In the next moment, he had directly advanced to a five-star Dou Saint, a leap of four stars. Moreover, his soul strength had also reached the pinnacle of the Heavenly Realm. All of this was exceedingly unusual.
"No good. What time is it now?" Suddenly, Xiao Yan snapped back to his senses. It had probably been a long time since his strength increased by four stars. Thus, he feared that significant events like those involving the Pill Tower, the Soul Clan, and the Ancient Clan might have happened during his absence.
Without further thought, he tore open a spatial rift and stepped through it, disappearing from the space.
Right after Xiao Yan left, the star beneath him began to collapse and disappear without a trace, as if it had never existed.
The massive stars that Xiao Yan had glimpsed earlier, which contained Heavenly-tier Dou Techniques, also slowly vanished. In an instant, the boundless starry sky disappeared, and the third layer of the library returned to its original state.
Compared to the second layer, the third layer was not very large and appeared rather empty at first glance.
In the four corners of this layer, dense light enveloped some objects, causing the surrounding space to distort, indicating that everything here was under special protection.
Dozens of legacy crystals hovered in mid-air around the room. At first glance, these crystals seemed filled with endless mysterious runes, appearing quite intriguing.
However, compared to the endless starry sky Xiao Yan had just seen, everything now seemed mundane.
In a grand hall within the Pill Tower, several powerful figures were seated. After a long silence, Yao Chen finally couldn't help but ask Xuan Kong Zi beside him, "Xuan Kong Zi, any news of Xiao Yan?"
"Since the day Xiao Yan entered the third layer of the library, for some reason, we haven't been able to get anywhere near it. Even the Old Ancestor is helpless," Xuan Kong Zi replied after a moment of silence, seeing the anxious look in Yao Chen's eyes.
"How can this be?" Yao Chen muttered, a dazed expression on his face.
"Don't worry, Yao Chen. Xiao Yan is blessed; he won't come to harm. The Old Ancestor also mentioned that Xiao Yan might have received some legacy from the predecessors, which may not be a bad thing," Xuan Yi said softly as she leaned closely against Yao Chen, showing an uncharacteristic tenderness.
A beautiful woman in green palace attire stood aside, her worried eyes also fixed on Yao Chen.
"If the time comes and Xiao Yan has yet to emerge, the Old Ancestor will intervene. For now, our priority is the alliance with the Imperial Clan and the imminent battle in the Soul Burial Mountain in seven days," the Grand Elder said after a moment of silence, scanning the room.
"Jiang Yun once returned to the Pill Tower and said that in the war between the four clans, Dou Saints are the main combat force. Hence, he suggests that the allied Dou Saints go to the four-clan battlefield while the remaining forces eliminate the remnants of the Soul Hall in Central Plains," Xuan Kong Zi suggested, a plan that brought a sense of relief to the others.
"This is a good suggestion. Saint-level battles are too dangerous for those below that level," Xuan Kong Zi's suggestion received widespread approval.
"Then it's decided. But who should we send to contact the Imperial Clan?" the Grand Elder asked, nodding in agreement.
A moment of silence fell over the hall. They had no particular relationship with the clans and were not eager to deal with their arrogant members.
"Let me—" Yao Chen began, but before he could finish, a clear, hearty laugh interrupted him, causing everyone in the hall to start.
"I'll handle the three clans," said a voice as everyone turned to see a slender figure slowly appear in the hall's entrance, bathed in sunlight.
"Xiao Yan!"
As soon as that figure appeared, Xuan Kong Zi, the Grand Elder, and others trembled intensely, their faces full of disbelief.
"Xiao Yan, he's Yao Chen's disciple and Xiao Xuan's descendant?" Fire Cloud Ancestor asked curiously. Recently, Jiang Yun and Yun Yi were the most famous heroes in Central Plains, but Xiao Yan, as Xiao Xuan's descendant, had been closely watched by the Fire Cloud Ancestor as well.
"Bang!"
Yao Chen's mouth opened slightly as he stared unblinkingly at the approaching figure. Due to his emotional turmoil, the vast Dou Qi within him erupted.
His eyes grew moist. Over the past month of Xiao Yan's absence, he had never ceased worrying.
Having led a life full of misery, Xiao Yan was the closest person to him. If anything happened to Xiao Yan, he didn't know what he'd do.
"Ha ha, it's good that you're back," Yao Chen said emotionally, patting Xiao Yan on the shoulder while repeating the phrase, "It's good that you're back."
"See, Yao Chen, Xiao Yan is blessed. Now you must believe it," Xuan Yi said softly, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Xiao Yan, your strength…?" The Grand Elder approached with a stunned expression, unable to contain his shock.
Seeing the Grand Elder's reaction, everyone was momentarily taken aback. They sized up Xiao Yan and were equally astonished.
"Did you really receive the Pill Tower Old Ancestor's legacy?" Yao Chen asked, assuming that Xiao Yan's long stay in the library's third layer was due to receiving this legacy.
Xiao Yan was taken aback, realizing they had misunderstood. They thought he had been receiving the Pill Tower Old Ancestor's legacy, but that wasn't the case. He had no idea how he gained such tremendous power inexplicably.
Facing everyone's curious gazes, he nodded slowly.
"You kid!" Seeing Xiao Yan admit it, everyone took a deep breath, exchanging glances filled with astonishment.
They all knew how extraordinary the Pill Tower Old Ancestor was, being the second strongest alchemist after Yao Di. Anyone would be envious of such a legacy.
"Let's set my situation aside for now. We have seven days until the decisive battle. I'll head to the Ancient Clan to discuss the alliance, and we should start preparations here," Xiao Yan said, breaking the silence.
"Alright, time is of the essence. You go to the Ancient Clan, and we'll organize the other factions and keep an eye on the Soul Hall in Central Plains," Yao Chen replied with a smile, nodding.
"Okay!"
In the Demon Flame Space, the heat was still intense. In the sky above the sea of lava, a giant crystal egg hovered in mid-air, its surface shimmering and occasionally sprouting tiny flames like little elves dancing with life.
Nearby, a girl in a green outfit gazed softly at the floating crystal egg, unaffected by the surrounding high temperatures, displaying her high cultivation level.
Finally, in the silence, a slight cracking sound was heard, drawing Qing Lin's attention.
A crack appeared on the surface of the crystal egg. As the crack expanded, more and more fissures spread across it until finally, a large piece of the shell broke off.
Boom!
Black and white beams of light shot out as the crystal egg cracked open, forming a radiant beam that poured down from the distant sky.
"Jiang Yun!" Qing Lin cried out with joy, her face lighting up as she saw the pillar of light.
"Qing Lin, I've kept you waiting." A hand suddenly reached out from the light, and Jiang Yun's figure slowly emerged, stretching lazily as the sound of cracking bones echoed like thunder in the sky.
"No matter how long it takes, Qing Lin will always wait for you, Jiang Yun." Qing Lin instantly moved to his side, speaking tenderly.
"Let's go. Everything is in place; it's time to prepare for the coming storm," Jiang Yun said, softly patting Qing Lin's forehead and smiling as she closed her eyes contentedly.
Qing Lin nodded gently. She thought Jiang Yun was talking about the imminent battle over the Ancient Emperor's Estate. The Void Ancient Dragon Clan would soon confront the victors among the three clans and the Soul Clan.
But Jiang Yun knew that the real battle was with the more terrifying foreign evil races, not the struggle for the Emperor's Estate.
Thinking about absorbing the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame, Jiang Yun's eyes flashed coldly.
Why were only the Nihility Devouring Flame and Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame sentient and able to transform into fire spirits on the Dou Qi Continent?
It was because these two originated from the continent's primal forces, distinct from other celestial flames. They were created from the fusion of the previous owner's body, the Eternally Unextinguished Fire, and the unique laws of the continent.
Thus, making the Nihility Devouring Flame and Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame unique, as the world's primal force would not create a second identical flame.
The so-called Emperor Flame required no absorption of both flames; collecting the remaining twenty-one celestial flames alone sufficed to forge an Emperor Flame, the number one on the celestial flames list on the Dou Qi Continent.
This uniqueness stemmed from these twenty-one flames being parts of a single entity, their combined power forming an unparalleled force.
Another reason Jiang Yun changed his approach was his newfound perception of the world spirit's choices. It seemed to prefer Xiao Yan, despite Jiang Yun absorbing the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame and gaining essential power. Like the ensouled world spirit in the Black-Corner Domain, it inherently repelled outsiders, favoring "native-born" Xiao Yan over an outsider like Jiang Yun.
This realization reminded Jiang Yun of the supreme ruler's strategies, showing no mercy to disobedience.
Although the world spirit believed it had deceived Jiang Yun and Xiao Yan, Jiang Yun had seen through it.
Since the world spirit chose Xiao Yan, it would have to face Jiang Yun's unconventional means.
Ready to cross the void, Jiang Yun's eyes briefly scanned the sky.
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