Refinement Successful

"You silly girl."

Those few simple words reached Xun'er's dazed ears, yet they seemed to carry an unfathomable magic that instantly calmed her out-of-control state.

"If you keep crying, our little princess won't be pretty anymore."

Hearing that, Xun'er froze. Then she suddenly looked up, her tear-streaked face filled with disbelief.

The man before her still wore white robes, and his gaze was as gentle as ever, as though the entire world could sink into those eyes.

She stared blankly at Yun Xi, her little mouth slightly open and her lips trembling. She had countless things she wanted to say, but her throat quivered, and not a single sound came out.

"I'll explain later. First, steady your soul power. Don't get distracted. Guide this Heavenly Flame through your meridians, carefully search for its source, and then I'll help you control it."

She nodded stiffly and spread out her soul power. Seeing this, Yun Xi also blended his own soul power into hers.

Feeling the sudden influx of immense soul power, Xun'er shuddered. For some reason, Yun Xi's soul power seemed comparable to her father's—perhaps even slightly stronger.

Countless questions piled up in her mind. Xun'er thought, Once this succeeds, I'll definitely get to the bottom of every single question!

As the soul power entered her body, the flames within Xun'er gradually became docile. Outside, the Heavenly Flames that filled the sky slowly converged back into her body. Everything was developing in a better direction.

"The Heavenly Flames? They've dispersed..."

"Did... did it work?"

The robes of several Elders had been burned black as charcoal by the flames, and their once-kind faces were now darkened as well. Whenever they spoke, it seemed as if only rows of gleaming teeth could be seen moving...

Although they were all Dou Sheng, the uncontrolled Heavenly Flames still placed them under considerable pressure.

"Xun'er!" Gu Yuan rushed anxiously into the center of the ruined formation, but there was no sign of his daughter atop it.

He slowly released his perception and searched through the ruins. At last, in a shattered corner, he found Xun'er enveloped within a fiery barrier.

The barrier was wrapped in refined Heavenly Flames. Even with Gu Yuan's strength as a Nine Star Dou Sheng, he could not see through it.

Outside the ruins of the ancestral hall, the Gu Clan's Black Annihilation Army had formed up in full force. The eight commanders, four chief commanders, and both generations of Black Annihilation Kings had all arrived.

"Commander, we cannot detect how many enemies are inside the ancestral hall," a soldier reported.

"Understood. The Clan Chief and the Elders seem to be absent from the clan. Now that the ancestral hall has been destroyed, nearly half the mountain was almost flattened as well. If we fail to capture the enemy, what face will our Black Annihilation Army have left?!" one of the Black Annihilation Kings shouted sternly.

As the horns sounded, the Black Annihilation Army released their auras and pressed forward as one.

They took the lead in entering the ancestral hall, but the expected enemy attack was nowhere to be found. Only several elderly men in black robes stood facing one another.

"Who are you people? How dare you break into our Gu Clan Ancestral Hall!"

"Ahem, well, Xingchen, I'm the Second Elder. There's nothing for you to do here, so withdraw for now," the Second Elder said with a dry cough.

Upon looking more closely, they found that they truly were the Elders.

Gu Xingchen scratched his head. "Uh, are the Elders... having a barbecue? What elegant taste!... Ahem, well, Elders and Clan Chief, if there's nothing else, we'll be leaving first..." Seeing the Great Elder's expression grow increasingly grim, Gu Xingchen wisely found an excuse to flee.

With the Black Annihilation Army's departure, the entire ancestral hall became quiet once more.

"Elders, you may leave first. I alone am enough to guard Xun'er here," Gu Yuan said gently as he looked at them.

"Yes."

Space trembled, and the Elders vanished. Within the ruined ancestral hall, only Gu Yuan and the fiery barrier remained.

He gazed at the fiery barrier, lightly tapping his fingers. After a long while, his brows furrowed slightly as he murmured, "Why is the refinement taking so long? Could something have gone wrong? Father cannot help you with this. You can only rely on yourself."

After waiting for quite some time, the fiery barrier still showed no sign of dispersing. Gu Yuan's brows drew together even more deeply. After pondering for a moment, Dou Qi surged forth as he prepared to shatter the fiery barrier by force.

Just as he was about to act, energy ripples suddenly appeared across the surface of the previously silent fiery barrier, spreading from a single point outward like a stone dropped into water.

As the ripples grew larger, cracks began to appear in the barrier. They slowly spread like a spiderweb, gradually reaching every corner of its surface.

Crack.

The fiery barrier shattered, revealing the figure within. Xun'er sat cross-legged with her knees drawn up, while a cyclone slowly rotated within her Dantian.

Above the cyclone, two stars revolved around it, giving off an air of mystery.

"A Dou Qi Cyclone? Xun'er has become a Dou Zhe? I've never heard of refining Heavenly Flames directly increasing one's strength." Gu Yuan stared at the slowly spinning Dou Qi Cyclone in astonishment.

Inside Xun'er's body at that moment.

She stared fixedly at Yun Xi before her. Tears slid down her cheeks, and her pearly teeth bit down on her lips, yet she stubbornly remained silent.

Seeing Xun'er like this, Yun Xi felt utterly helpless. Even though he was a peak expert, when it came to this sort of thing, he knew absolutely nothing.

They looked at each other. Yun Xi slowly stepped closer, took Xun'er's little hand, and gave it a gentle tug, pulling her into his embrace. With her strength, struggling free was clearly impossible.

In Yun Xi's arms, feeling a warmth she had never experienced before, Xun'er gradually calmed down and savored this hard-won sense of happiness.

Woof! A sudden bark shattered the harmonious scene. Xun'er, her eyes still brimming with tears, lowered her head and saw a little dog beneath her feet whose entire body was formed from golden flames.

"Wow, what a cute little dog!" Seeing the little dog wrapped in golden flames, Xun'er's tears turned into a smile.

After all, she was still a child. She had absolutely no resistance to such adorable little things.

"This is your fire spirit. My arrival suppressed the original Golden Emperor Burning Flame. I thought I would be refined, but in the end, the Heavenly Flame's consciousness transformed into a spirit and willingly allowed itself to be refined by you, while I was rejected," Yun Xi said softly as he looked at the golden puppy.

"Oh~~~ I understand." Xun'er nodded, seeming to understand but not really.

Yun Xi: (ー_ー)!! You're doing it again...

Seeing Yun Xi at a loss for words, Xun'er happily said, "Oh, right! How about we give it a name?"

"Mm... whatever you like."

"Then I'll call it Xiao Xi," Xun'er said mischievously.

Yun Xi: (ー_ー)!!

"Alright, alright, Brother Yun Xi~~ And Xiao Xi too, I'm leaving first. Father and the others are still waiting for me. You have to wait for me to come back, okay~~" After saying that, Xun'er waved to Yun Xi, whose face was covered in black lines, and the little fiery dog. Her figure gradually became illusory.

"This little rascal!"

Within the ancestral hall, Xun'er's consciousness gradually cleared, and her eyes slowly regained their light.

Noticing that she had awakened, Gu Yuan hurried to her side and asked with some nervousness, "How was it? Nothing went wrong, did it?"

Xun'er merely smiled without answering. She moved her fingers slightly, and a little fiery dog emerged beside her.

"This? This is... a fire spirit?" Gu Yuan raised his brows, his voice carrying a trace of surprise.

As far as he knew, although many Heavenly Flames possessed fire spirits, they merely changed their forms. Only Heavenly Flames of exceptionally high quality could separate their fire spirits and allow them to exist independently.

Clearly, he was also shocked that the fourth-ranked Golden Emperor Burning Flame had produced an independent fire spirit.

Gu Yuan stared blankly at the golden puppy. Is this the God Grade Bloodline? To think it produced such a mutation...

Before he could think any further.

"Clan Chief, a 'guest' requests an audience."

Space twisted, and the Great Elder appeared before them. The man who had always been amiable now looked somewhat anxious.