Speedrun

The old man's mind was buzzing, and his vertical pupils were somewhat unfocused; he didn't know how to respond.

"Alright, such an important matter is not for you to decide. You should hurry back to your clan and find someone who can make the decision!"

Xiao Yan spoke again, and a sliver of clarity returned to the old man's mind.

After bowing to Xiao Yan, the old man immediately left the Skeleton Mountain Range and headed to the Nine Nether Nether Python Clan territory to hand over this crucial information concerning the survival of the race to the elders for them to consider.

"Xiao Yan, are you really going to help them temper their bloodlines?" Zi Yan asked, clinging to Xiao Yan's back.

Xiao Yan raised his hand and ruffled Zi Yan's hair, then smiled and said, "Don't worry! Once you become the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, I'll give the Ancient Void Dragon Clan double!"

In fact, Xiao Yan had already successfully helped Xiao Lan temper her bloodline, enabling Xiao Lan to break through to the Seventh Tier and activate the ancient Phoenix bloodline originating from the Black Flame Purple Cloud Sculpture. At the same time, she took the Form Transformation Pill, and breaking through to the Eighth Rank was just around the corner.

As for Zi Yan's pure Ancient Void Dragon Emperor Bloodline, no matter how hard Xiao Yan tries, her bloodline can't advance any further. If she wants to evolve, she can only refine the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit produced by the peak Ancient Void Dragon and the peak Heavenly Phoenix.

"Teacher, now that he's gone, should we hurry up and explore the Dou Sheng Ruins? There's been a new discovery recently; it seems there are Pill Beast within the ruins," Gu He whispered.

"No rush, let's wait until the ruins are fully opened before we talk about it."

The Nine Nether Nether Python Clan acted very quickly—just as Xiao Yan said, losing the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Fire prevented the Nine Nether Nether Python from tempering their bloodline, resulting in each generation being weaker than the last, making the bloodline issue an urgent matter.

The very next day, a Black-robed Man approached the camp without alerting anyone. After a brief assessment, he released a wisp of his aura toward the room where Xiao Yan was.

Before long, Xiao Yan appeared in front of the Black-robed Man, dressed in plain clothes.

"Yao Xiaotian, Patriarch the Nine Nether Nether Python Clan." The Black-robed Man spoke as gently as possible, but a chilling aura still lingered in his voice.

"Xiao Yan," Xiao Yan introduced himself.

Yao Xiaotian sized up Xiao Yan. When he heard the news, his first reaction was to capture him and take him to the Nine Nether Nether Python's territory, inject him with the Emperor Python Heart-Corroding Poison to control his life and death, and force him to work for the Nine Nether Nether Python.

However, even though Yao Xiaotian in the Beast Region, he still sensed the epic battle a year ago. Therefore, he did not dare to act rashly against someone with such an intimidating background.

"Hehe, I've also heard of Master Xiao's name, but I don't know why Master Xiao is willing to help my Nine Netherworld Python Clan temper its bloodline?" Yao Xiaotian chuckled.

"Of course, it's for the massive amounts of Beast Flame, Monster Beast Essence Blood, and Medicinal Herbs unique to the Beast Region —as far as I know, the Nine Netherworld Python Clan is the largest Magical Beast race."

Yao Xiaotian nodded, then breathed a sigh of relief.

Being able to temper one's bloodline is certainly desirable, but if the price is to become an enemy of the Soul Clan, then Yao Xiaotian would rather give it up— the Yan Clan can bully the Nine Nether Nether Python Clan at will, let alone the Soul Clan.

In fact, the Nine Nether Nether Emperor Python Nine Nether Nether Python Clan can't even find a single Two-star Dou Sheng, yet the Soul Hall can give them a real headache.

Separating the Beast Flame and Essence Blood would only deplete the Magical Beast's essence, which is worthwhile compared to tempering the bloodline.

Furthermore, the Nine Nether Nether Python Clan can use the Beast Flame and Essence Blood of those subordinate groups for trade without suffering any loss themselves.

"Then, I wish you a pleasant cooperation with Master Xiao. From today onwards, this Skeleton Mountain Range will be Master Xiao's territory, and I will send trusted confidants to help Master Xiao guard it."

Yao Xiaotian smiled with a sense of relief. Since his position was illegitimate, what he needed most was to do something big to win people's hearts, gain the approval of the elders, and make them obey his orders, rather than trying to find the "missing" previous Patriarch.

Having expressed their initial intention to cooperate, the specific details were naturally left to their subordinates. Yao Xiaotian and Xiao Yan were not going to engage in a heated debate to negotiate the price; they would simply wait for their subordinates to finish their negotiations before making the final decision.

In the days that followed, Xiao Yan chose a valley a little further away from the ruins and used the materials delivered by the Nine Nether Nether Python to set up Formation.

Not far away stood an old man with a crimson venomous snake coiled on his shoulder, leading a group of Nether Snake Guard to guard the area.

The old man who had previously argued fiercely with Gu He over the issue of the ruins has returned, and he is arguing fiercely with Gu He again over the price that needs to be paid to temper one's bloodline.

However, both sides had very low bottom lines. The old man's bottom line was not to give up the Essence Blood of the Nine Nether Nether Python, and he didn't care how many subordinate species he wanted; Gu He was even less concerned, as Xiao Yan didn't care at all how much Beast Flame and Essence Blood he could get.

After Xiao Yan set up the Formation and ignited a bright flame amidst the endless skeletons, the old man's tone softened considerably.

The accumulated Beast Power over countless years was gathered together by the great formation, becoming nourishment for the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. This Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, in turn, with its naturally powerful origin, tempered the bloodlines of the Magical Beast.

Of course, its effects are best for the younger generation, especially for fifth and sixth-tier Magical Beast —they are younger, their bloodlines are easier to improve, and they are weaker, so improving their bloodlines consumes less energy.

As for the Seventh Tier, it also has some effect, but one needs to endure the scorching heat of the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame for several months; the effect on the Eighth Rank, which is comparable to the Dou Zun, is even weaker, and it may take several years of seclusion to achieve some effect.

However, the future of any race depends on the younger generation, and the Nine Netherworld Python Clan had no complaints about this, only a slight sense of regret.

As time passed, the Space Seal of the Dou Sheng Ruins was finally completely broken. Accompanied by violent spatial fluctuations, a crimson palace the size of a small mountain appeared in a Bone Sea.

However, this Dou Sheng Ruins, which could drive countless Dou Zun crazy, now belongs entirely to Xiao Yan.

Even the old man with a crimson venomous snake coiled on his shoulder led a group of Nether Snake Guard to this Bone Sea, nodded to Xiao Yan, and guarded the Bone Sea, guarding against any powerful individuals who might be attracted by the spatial fluctuations.

Xiao Yan was only interested in the Dou Sheng Skeleton and the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit in the Dou Sheng Ruins, so he did not waste any time and relied on Zi Yan's perception to directly reach the dense forest where countless Medicinal Herbs grew.

At this time, Zi Yan had already Dou Zun Realm. Although refining the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit was somewhat difficult, with Xiao Yan's help, she only spent one day to begin refining the power of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.

When Zi Yan emerges from seclusion, she will be able to fully evolve into Dragon Phoenix, possessing the Dragon Emperor Body and the Heavenly Phoenix Wings, and break through to the Dou Sheng realm.

After settling Zi Yan in, Xiao Yan put away the Dou Sheng Skeleton, removed the three ribs containing the "Great Heaven Creation Palm" technique, separated them, and left the ruins.

I had originally written quite a bit, but after much thought, I realized the original text about the Dou Sheng Ruins was already very detailed and didn't contain anything Xiao Yan needed. So I simply deleted large sections and rewrote the earlier part about negotiating with the Nine Nether Nether Python.