Storage Ring in Hand, Old Yao Forced Out!

Xiao Yan's face twitched, his expression stiffening.

"Cousin Xiao Cang, I was too emotional just now. Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against me."

"If you can help me restore my talent, I... would be endlessly grateful!"

Xiao Yan lowered his head, speaking with humble respect and utmost sincerity.

To restore his talent, he no longer cared about his pride.

"Nephew Xiao Cang, Yan'er is still young. He was blinded by anger just now and said some irrational things. Please do not hold a child's mistakes against him and forgive his recklessness." Xiao Zhan also clasped his fists toward Xiao Cang, pleading on Xiao Yan's behalf.

Seeing this, Xiao Cang laughed aloud. "Heh heh, since Uncle Xiao Zhan has said so, I'll give you this face."

With that, Xiao Cang rose and walked over to Xiao Yan.

Standing a full head taller than Xiao Yan, he looked down at him and said calmly, "Cousin Xiao Yan, do you know why you suddenly lost all your talent and cultivation three years ago, why your cultivation has stagnated ever since, leaving you in your current state?"

"I don't..." Xiao Yan shook his head.

"The reason lies within this ring."

Xiao Cang grabbed Xiao Yan's wrist, and everyone's gaze instantly focused on the ancient, simple ring on his hand.

"The ring?"

"That's impossible. It's a keepsake my mother left me. How could it harm me?"

Xiao Yan's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly pulled back his arm.

"Yes, Nephew Xiao Cang. That ring was a keepsake from Yan'er's mother. How could it possibly harm Yan'er?" Xiao Zhan found it hard to believe as well.

Xiao Cang shook his head and stared into Xiao Yan's eyes. "Your mother naturally would not harm you. The problem is that she didn't know there was a Soul Body living inside the ring, one that survives by absorbing the cultivation of others!"

"What?!"

"A Soul Body?!"

The moment the words "Soul Body" were spoken, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Shock filled their faces.

With their meager cultivation, ranging from Dou Qi to Da Dou Shi, they were far from qualified to encounter existences on the level of Soul Bodies!

They did not even know what realm one had to reach to preserve a Soul Body. They only knew that anyone capable of retaining a Soul Body had to be an expert among experts!

"A... Soul Body..."

Xiao Yan was stunned, and his gaze visibly wavered.

"Then what should I do?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

Hooked!

The corner of Xiao Cang's mouth curled up.

From the moment he convened the family meeting, his purpose had not merely been to break off the engagement.

He also intended to seize Xiao Yan's fortune in a reasonable manner without offending Xiao Zhan!

After laying the groundwork step by step, he had finally reached this point.

Xiao Cang spread out his palm. "Give me the ring. I'll force the Soul Body out of it right now."

Xiao Yan had no second choice, so he removed the ring and placed it in Xiao Cang's palm.

Got it!

A flash of fervor flickered through Xiao Cang's eyes.

The Bone Spirit Cold Flame, the Soul Body of an Eighth-grade Alchemist, and Old Yao's countless treasures... all of them would belong to him!

"Good. Watch carefully!"

Xiao Cang clenched the ring in his palm. Golden Dou Qi flared up, wrapping around his hand before slowly pouring into the Storage Ring.

After only a few breaths, he sensed intense resistance coming from within the Storage Ring.

"Hmph! Stubborn fool!"

Xiao Cang snorted coldly, and dark green flames suddenly appeared in his hand.

The instant the flames appeared, the surrounding temperature rose rapidly. Everyone shuddered, their faces filled with horror.

"Merely casually controlling his Dou Qi makes me tremble uncontrollably, and even my cultivation technique is erupting beyond my control. The Might of a Dou King truly is terrifying!"

Xiao Zhan sucked in a sharp breath, inwardly shaken to the core.

Only now did he truly understand that Xiao Cang's willingness to sit down and discuss the broken engagement with him had given him tremendous face.

Otherwise, Xiao Cang would not have needed to do anything. Merely releasing the pressure of a Dou Wang would have been enough to make him agree to the broken engagement.

The others possessed even less cultivation than Xiao Zhan, so their fear was naturally even greater!

Xiao Yan, in particular, could barely endure the heat and pressure. He retreated several steps in rapid succession.

And that was with Xiao Cang protecting them.

Otherwise, the moment the Nether Poison Fire spread, the terrifying poison contained within it would have been enough to poison everyone present.

Those below the Da Dou Shi realm would likely have died on the spot!

With the addition of the Nether Poison Fire, the Storage Ring first erupted with even fiercer resistance, but Xiao Cang swiftly suppressed it.

The resistance that followed grew weaker and weaker.

Xiao Cang sneered inwardly.

Old Yao had only awakened not long ago. How much strength could he have gained from absorbing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi alone?

Without fighting to the death, Old Yao was currently only at the level of a Dou Ling. What could he possibly use to contend with Xiao Cang?

Sure enough, after only a few breaths, Old Yao could no longer withstand Xiao Cang's assault and suddenly flew out of the Storage Ring.

A transparent, illusory elderly Soul Body appeared before everyone's eyes.

"He forced it out!"

"Cousin Xiao Cang was telling the truth! There really is a Soul Body!"

"Retreat farther back, so we don't get caught up in this!"

The Xiao Family members erupted in an uproar. The younger generation rapidly retreated and widened the distance, terrified that they would be caught in the crossfire later.

The elites clenched their fists, ready to strike at any moment.

"Who are you?!"

Old Yao looked disheveled, his eyes filled with venom.

The poison of the Nether Poison Fire was terrifyingly tyrannical. Fortunately, he had the Bone Spirit Cold Flame protecting him. Otherwise, his Soul Body would likely have been scattered by the fierce poison.

"Who am I? Heh heh, that's what I should be asking you!"

"You absorbed the Dou Qi of the Xiao Family's prodigy, causing his cultivation to plummet and stagnate for three years while he suffered the humiliation of others. What are your intentions?!"

Xiao Cang snorted coldly and shouted with righteous indignation, though an imperceptible hint of mockery flashed through his eyes.

"So it was you, this damned soul, who absorbed three years of my cultivation?"

Old Yao was about to speak when Xiao Yan's teeth-gritted voice sounded from behind him.

Xiao Yan clenched his fists tightly, his face ashen, the veins at his temples bulging.

The culprit who had made him suffer three years of humiliation stood right before him, and fury blazed in his heart!

Xiao Zhan was no different.

Staring at Old Yao's Soul Body, he crushed the armrest beneath his palms with a bang.

A fiery-red lion-headed phantom formed from Dou Qi flickered around his body. If he had not been unsure of Old Yao's strength and thus dared not attack rashly, he would have wished to personally kill Old Yao right then and avenge Xiao Yan!

"Boy Xiao Yan, things are not as you think."

"This old man had no choice but to absorb your Dou Qi."

"Besides, I had already made up my mind. In a few days, I intended to reveal myself and accept you as my disciple. By then, I would repay the cultivation and dignity you lost over these three years a hundredfold, a thousandfold!"

Old Yao hurriedly explained.

But his explanation was undoubtedly an admission that he was indeed the culprit who had absorbed Xiao Yan's Dou Qi.

To Xiao Yan, everything else he said was merely an excuse.

"Shut up!"

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, stepped forward twice, and angrily threw a punch at Old Yao.

However, Xiao Cang casually waved his hand, blocking the punch with Dou Qi.

"Cousin Xiao Yan, this Soul Body has profound cultivation. It is not something you can handle."

"Leave the matter of avenging you to your elder cousin."

With that, Xiao Cang waved his hand again, using Dou Qi to send Xiao Yan to the side. Then he looked back at Old Yao, a fervent gleam flashing through his eyes.