Yun Xi Battles Gu Yuan!

"Hehe, Yun Xi took me there."

Before she could finish, Xun'er realized something was wrong and quickly covered her mouth.

"Oh? Yun Xi?" Gu Yuan's expression gradually turned serious upon hearing the unfamiliar name.

Ling Ying, who had just been released from his restraints, narrowed his eyes slightly as well. Clearly, he had no favorable impression of this powerful stranger who had been taking Xun'er to dangerous places.

"No, no, no, I meant Little Gold! Little Gold!" Seeing the unfriendly looks on their faces, Xun'er panicked and immediately shoved the Dark Gold Bear, Little Gold, out from behind her.

"Roar?"

Little Gold had no idea what was happening. Its bear face was full of confusion.

"Oh? A Dark Gold Bear? Your pet?" Gu Yuan casually glanced at the magical beast Xun'er had pushed forward. "Not bad. It even possesses intelligence. Quite impressive. All right, you can go back now."

The moment he finished speaking, the Dark Gold Bear vanished from everyone's sight.

In a corner of the Dark Forest, space twisted, and a Third Order Magical Beast, the Dark Gold Bear, fell out of it. Its tiny eyes were filled with enormous confusion.

"Girl, who is Yun Xi?" After forcibly sending the Dark Gold Bear away, Gu Yuan immediately pressed the question.

In truth, Gu Yuan had long suspected that some mysterious person was assisting Xun'er: her rapidly increasing strength, her increasingly proficient Dou Techniques despite training alone. All of that should have been related to the mysterious person behind Xun'er.

Her trip to the Ancient World Forest, her suddenly masterful Dou Techniques, cultivation methods, and combat skills, the formidable strength she had displayed during the Clan Competition, and most importantly—the Ancient Halberd within Xun'er's Heavenly Flame!

Gu Yuan suddenly understood. His thoughts gradually became clear, and every mystery from before now had an answer.

Faced with Gu Yuan's questioning, Xun'er's little face was filled with panic as she stammered, "What Yun Xi... Father, you must have misheard."

"Girl, do you not trust your father?"

"That's not it... It's just that I can't tell you..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan finally confirmed that someone truly had been helping Xun'er in secret. He simply did not know that person's purpose. He had to find him, or there was no telling what harm he might bring to Xun'er.

"I..." Just as Xun'er was about to make another excuse, Yun Xi's figure slowly appeared.

"Sigh, there's no need to hide it anymore. It was only a matter of time before I was discovered. I should handle this myself."

Boom!

The moment Gu Yuan saw the figure that had suddenly appeared beside Xun'er, Dou Qi erupted from his body and instantly locked onto him.

"Who are you?" The pressure of a Dou Sheng made even space tremble. As Gu Yuan fully unleashed his strength, sounds of space shattering rang in their ears.

"Father!"

"Clan Chief Gu Yuan, there is no need to worry. My name is Yun Xi. I am Miss Xun'er's Strange Flame Guardian Spirit. I am currently residing within her body and mean her no harm." Facing the powerful Gu Yuan, Yun Xi remained rather calm, even speaking in a more refined manner.

"Oh? Yun Xi? A Guardian Spirit? Hahaha, if that is the case, why not reveal yourself sooner, sir? How about I, Gu Yuan, personally find you a place to live?" Though he said so, Gu Yuan did not withdraw even the slightest bit of his overwhelming pressure.

"Clan Chief Gu may have misunderstood. I am Miss Xun'er's Strange Flame Guardian Spirit. My duty is to protect her, so how could I leave her side?" Yun Xi said with a light smile.

He had once wanted to leave Xun'er's body immediately and find a way to be reborn on his own. But after spending so much time together, Yun Xi had grown attached to this clever, mischievous little girl.

Besides, because of Xun'er's refinement mark, he could only move about near her at most. Leaving her body was something Yun Xi wanted to do, but how could it be so easy?

"Heavenly Flame? Guardian Spirit?" Gu Yuan understood the former term, but the latter left him somewhat puzzled.

However, seeing the harmless smile on Yun Xi's face, Gu Yuan's wariness eased slightly.

Still, he was deeply shocked. He had only released his pressure upon Yun Xi, intending to give him a warning, yet that pressure had been utterly useless against Yun Xi, who was nothing more than a Soul Body.

Honestly, a peak Nine Star Dou Sheng's oppressive aura could not even intimidate a Soul Body. Who would believe it if word got out?

"You mean that you are the inherited Heavenly Flame within Xun'er's body—the Golden Emperor Burning Flame—taking human form?" Gu Yuan boldly voiced his guess.

Yun Xi had just called himself a Strange Flame Guardian Spirit, so Gu Yuan naturally thought of the Golden Emperor Burning Flame within Xun'er.

"That is more or less correct. Since the Heavenly Flame was refined by Xun'er, I was also branded with her mark and have been protecting her ever since." Feeling Gu Yuan gradually withdraw his pressure, Yun Xi patiently explained.

"I need proof."

"Does this count?" Yun Xi moved his finger lightly, and a streak of golden flame rose from his fingertip.

"The Golden Emperor Burning Flame?" Gu Yuan and Ling Ying exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

The Golden Emperor Burning Flame differed from other innate Heavenly Flames. Once other innate Heavenly Flames were taken away, they would regrow after a thousand years or so. But the Golden Emperor Burning Flame was passed down through a single lineage. Seeing the familiar aura on Yun Xi's finger, Gu Yuan already believed his words.

The surging Dou Qi was instantly withdrawn, the pressure filling heaven and earth gradually dissipated, and the shattered space slowly recovered. The wariness in Gu Yuan's gaze toward Yun Xi also gradually faded.

"If that is the case, why have you never shown yourself?" Gu Yuan asked the crucial question.

"Because I am not from this continent." Yun Xi smiled lightly, then briefly explained his origins to the two of them.

"I see." Gu Yuan cupped his hands slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Yun Xi, for teaching my daughter these past days."

Yun Xi had taught Xun'er so much in private and helped her cultivate. Those things alone were enough to earn Gu Yuan's thanks.

"It was only natural." Yun Xi smiled faintly at Gu Yuan's words of gratitude.

"May I ask how strong Guardian Spirit is? As Xun'er's father, I need to know the strength of the person protecting her."

"Words alone are useless. Clan Chief Gu may test me himself." The moment Yun Xi finished speaking, Gu Yuan appeared behind him like lightning, striking out with a palm imbued with the power of heaven and earth.

Puff!

Yun Xi turned around and casually slapped the palm imprint apart.

Emperor Seal Technique: Ancient Emperor Seal!

Seeing Yun Xi casually disperse his palm imprint, Gu Yuan directly unleashed the Gu Clan's high-grade Earth-class Dou Technique.

His hands moved, forming a strange palm seal. Its immense power made even Yun Xi cast it a second glance.

Universe: One Finger: Break!

Yun Xi raised his hand, barely drawing in the spiritual energy between heaven and earth and gathering it at his fingertip. Then he lightly pointed at the Ancient Emperor Seal Gu Yuan had condensed.

Crack!

The Ancient Emperor Seal was instantly pierced through, shattering bit by bit in the sky. By the time it reached Yun Xi, it had already turned into countless specks of light.

"What kind of Dou Technique is that?!"

Watching the Ancient Emperor Seal break apart, Gu Yuan's face filled with disbelief. A high-grade Earth-class Dou Technique possessed the power to destroy heaven and earth once unleashed, yet Yun Xi's seemingly weightless finger had shattered it directly without even producing an explosion. Such overwhelming destruction left him momentarily stunned.

In that instant of distraction, Ling Ying and Xun'er's voices rang out from the distance.

"Father!"

"Clan Chief, watch out!"