Xuan Ge'er, Yuan Di

"A dream about me?"

Xiao Yuan looked bewildered, staring at Xiao Xuan's face, which held a complex mix of emotions within its smile, and was somewhat puzzled.

"Hehe, yes, about your dream, in the dream you were my own younger brother."

Xiao Xuan reached out and hooked his arm around Xiao Yuan's shoulder, saying with a smile.

"Ah?"

Xiao Yuan's eyes widened.

"My name is Xuan, and your name is Yuan. We're like brothers, aren't we?"

Xiao Xuan had a smile on his face.

"Ancestor, this is too offensive!"

Xiao Yuan was at a loss for words.

What happened today will shock him for centuries!

"Hehe, actually I have a good relationship with the Ancient Clan Chief, Gu Yuan. When I dreamed about a younger brother named Xiao Yuan, I was wondering if it was that guy."

A look of reminiscence appeared on Xiao Xuan's face.

"But later I realized I was wrong. My younger brother can't absorb Dou Qi at all!"

Xiao Xuan turned his gaze back to Xiao Yuan and said meaningfully.

"Ah?"

Xiao Yuan was completely speechless.

"Hmm, does this look the same as your situation? If it does, that's because you looked exactly like this in your dream!"

Xiao Xuan continued.

"Hehe, at the time, everyone in the clan felt that as the son of the previous clan leader, even if you weren't a genius, you should at least be able to advance to the Dou Zun level. But your inability to cultivate made things very difficult for the clan."

Later, the clan discovered that more and more of its members, that is, our next generation, and even the generation after that, were experiencing a weakening of their bloodline power and a decline in their talents. The clan elders finally realized that the Dou Emperor Bloodline of our Xiao Clan might be about to be exhausted! My talent is really good, just like yours, with a crimson-gold Clan Mark, and I'm even a little weaker than you.

After years of cultivation, I have reached the Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint and stand at the very top of the continent!

But at that time, you were unable to cultivate, and even if you took many longevity pills, your life had already come to an end.

I have no way to understand what you told me on your deathbed that you actually came from the Xiao Clan a long, long time in the future, but before you could finish speaking, you had already passed away.

After I personally buried you, my dear brother, an idea began to take root in my mind.

I'm going to break through to the Dou Di!

Only in that way can the bloodline of the Xiao Clan Dou Emperor Bloodline be continued! I know that this is really, really difficult.

But I have to try.

If we don't try, the Xiao Clan will inevitably decline. A family cannot be without outstanding young people!

I woke up the instant before I broke through to the Dou Di.

I don't know what the outcome will be, but I think I should leave a contingency plan for the Xiao Clan.

After transferring the bloodline of most of my clansmen into me using a secret technique, I chose to break through to the Dou Di.

Unsurprisingly, I failed.

But before my defeat, I had one foot in the Dou Emperor Realm.

In that instant, I separated the Tou She Ancient God Jade into two halves. Within one half lay that secret technique and a wisp of my most refined bloodline power from my peak moment.

After speaking, Xiao Xuan smiled and looked at Xiao Yuan.

"Ancestor."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan knelt down, his eyes filled with tears.

"If it weren't for the methods of our Ancestor, I would probably still be just an ordinary member of our clan. Xiao Yuan thanks our Ancestor!"

After saying this, Xiao Yuan bowed three times and kowtowed nine times to Xiao Xuan.

So, everything I have today is thanks to the efforts of my Ancestor Xiao Xuan! "Hehe, Brother Yuan, although we were brothers in a dream, seeing your achievements now, I think my efforts haven't been in vain. At least, what I couldn't do in a dream, I've accomplished in reality!"

Xiao Xuan chuckled, patted Xiao Yuan on the shoulder, and said softly.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan was speechless for a moment.

"Anyway, I don't know many people from the Xiao Clan anymore, and you're the closest to me. Call me Brother Xuan and let me hear it."

Seeing Xiao Yuan in tears, Xiao Xuan felt a pang of pity and immediately changed the subject, jokingly teasing him.

"Xuan Ge'er!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan couldn't help but chuckle. After a moment, he raised his head, wiped away his tears, and said with a smile.

"Hey! That's the taste! I knew it was impossible for anyone to look so alike. That dream must have some kind of destiny involved!"

Xiao Xuan's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He patted Xiao Yuan on the shoulder and said with a smile.

"But wouldn't that mess up the seniority system?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan scratched his head in slight distress.

"Hehe, we'll just talk things out then!" Xiao Xuan waved his hand and continued, "Most of the people I knew back then are probably dead. If I don't say anything, how many people would still recognize me? There's no need for formalities between us from now on."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan instinctively reached out to cup his hands, but under Xiao Xuan's gaze, he awkwardly withdrew his hands.

"Alright, enough nonsense. Here, this is the complete version of the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations, and it also has that final step. If you successfully cultivate it, you will be able to cultivate the Clan Mark. Combined with the power of your bloodline, you will be able to truly unleash the power of the Clan Mark to its fullest extent."

As Xiao Xuan spoke, a scroll painted with various flame patterns appeared in his hand.

Upon hearing what Xiao Xuan said, Xiao Yuan's gaze instantly fixed on the scroll, a burning desire surging in his eyes. This was great! He wouldn't have to worry about the side effects of the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations anymore!

Taking the scroll covered in flame patterns from Xiao Xuan's hand, Xiao Yuan didn't stand on ceremony. He sat cross-legged and placed the scroll between his eyebrows, absorbing all the information it contained into his mind. After absorbing it for a while, Xiao Yuan slowly opened his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then his expression became solemn.

"The Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations! First Transformation! Second Transformation! Third Transformation!"

Suddenly, Xiao Yuan's hands flashed out hand seals, and the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations were fully activated within a few seconds. At the same time, the aura within Xiao Yuan's body also surged dramatically!

The scorching and violent Dou Qi circulated rapidly within Xiao Yuan's body. Streams of intense heat slowly seeped out, eventually penetrating his blood vessels. With this high-temperature penetration, the blood flowing within his vessels suddenly accelerated. Thanks to his exceptional soul perception, Xiao Yuan could sense a strange power rapidly traversing his blood vessels, its destination clearly the space between his eyebrows! As this strange energy traversed Xiao Yuan's Xiao Yuan, a faint glow gradually appeared at the space between his eyebrows. A naturally formed pattern slowly emerged, and following closely behind, other patterns seemed to appear in quick succession!

"Laugh!"

When the sixth of these strange patterns appeared, a faint sound suddenly came from Xiao Yuan's body, and then the strange patterns that had just appeared gradually disappeared.

When the patterns disappeared, Xiao Yuan opened his eyes, his brows furrowed, and his eyes filled with confusion. He clearly did not understand why he had failed. "The Xiao Clan Mark consists of nine strokes. On your first attempt, you had already drawn six strokes." Xiao Xuan, standing beside him, nodded in satisfaction and said, "The final step of the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations is to draw the Clan Mark. Although the Clan Mark has always been within your body, you need to activate it. Drawing the Clan Mark requires an extremely large amount of Dou Qi and extremely precise control. Since this was your first time trying to draw the Clan Mark, you naturally could not yet achieve that level of control over your Dou Qi."

"Once you activate the Clan Mark, you will no longer need to consume such a large amount of Dou Qi to draw it. You will only need to turn your mind to be able to display the Clan Mark. As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. Activating the Clan Mark is the most difficult step." Xiao Xuan continued to explain, and then waved his hand and said, "Alright, continue. Being able to draw six strokes on the first time is already a good result. Calm your mind and concentrate, and perfectly control each stream of Dou Qi. Only then can you draw all nine strokes completely."

"Call"

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yuan quickly composed himself, calmed his mind, rested briefly, and began cultivating his Clan Mark again! "Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations!"

The difficulty of cultivating the Clan Mark was beyond Xiao Yuan's expectations. He originally thought it would be a piece of cake, but he didn't expect it to be so troublesome. The seemingly simple strokes required an incredibly demanding level of Dou Qi and control. Only then did Xiao Yuan realize how tragic it was for the Xiao Clan members compared to the Ancient Race like the Ancient Clan who were directly bestowed with Clan Mark by their elders. However, Xiao Yuan didn't care too much about this. In fact, as long as one cultivated the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations, the Clan Mark was already there. It just required one to actively outline and activate it. This method was probably used by Xiao Xuan to help the Xiao Clan members train their Dou Qi control. After all, before Xiao Xuan created the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations, the Xiao Clan's Clan Mark shouldn't have needed to be so complicated.

Fortunately, as a master alchemist, Xiao Yuan has extremely precise control over soul power and Heavenly Flames, so it is not difficult for him to precisely control his Dou Qi now!

Three days later.

In the ancient hall, a slender figure sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, his aura vast and powerful. At this moment, on the space between his brows, strange crimson-gold patterns appeared as if slowly drawn by an invisible brush. Upon closer inspection, the eighth stroke followed a perfect trajectory. Thus, a Clan Mark radiating strange energy was roughly taking shape beside Xiao Yuan. Xiao Xuan looked at the eight-stroke Clan Mark on his brow and nodded slowly. To be able to draw eight strokes of Clan Mark in about three days—such speed was a powerful talent that even within the Xiao Clan back then, it was on par with his own!

However, just as Xiao Xuan nodded, a small dot slowly reappeared on Xiao Yuan's brow.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Xuan was stunned for a moment, then a look of astonishment flashed in his eyes. "Is he trying to take advantage of the situation to draw the ninth stroke?"

As Xiao Xuan was astonished, the strange pattern between Xiao Yuan's eyebrows slowly but steadily descended along a trajectory without any pause, exuding a flowing and beautiful beauty.

"Now, you're even stronger than me! Great! Excellent!"

To Xiao Xuan's amazement, the final stroke of the pattern was finally completed slowly, and the Crimson-Gold Clan Crest appeared on Xiao Yuan's forehead!

"Buzz!"

The moment the Clan Mark took shape, the blood flow in Xiao Yuan's body suddenly accelerated, and a strange sound slowly emanated from his blood vessels and body.

"It was a success!"

Upon hearing the humming sound of the bloodline, a hint of joy flashed in Xiao Xuan's eyes.

"Call"

As the Clan Mark took shape, Xiao Yuan's tightly closed eyes suddenly opened, his eyes blazing with crimson-gold light. In an instant, his aura reached the peak of the Four-Revolution Dou Venerate. A moment later, the light gradually subsided, and the Clan Mark between his brows disappeared rapidly beneath his skin with a thought.

"Finally, it's successfully activated."

Xiao Yuan exhaled. Although the Clan Mark between his eyebrows had disappeared, he could still feel a strange energy light floating beneath his brow. With this Clan Mark secret technique, he would no longer need to activate the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Transformations. With just a thought, this Clan Mark would become the most perfect secret technique!

Seeing this, Xiao Xuan smiled with satisfaction. Suddenly, he made a gesture with his hand, and Xiao Yuan's Storage Ring trembled. A ball of light the size of a palm floated out and finally hovered in front of Xiao Xuan.

"Xuan Ge'er, I brought this out from the energy crystal wall leading to the third level."

Upon seeing this scene, Xiao Yuan also stood up, realizing that he had brought something extraordinary with him! Within the ball of light, a jade pupa the size of a fist floated, emanating a strange aura.

"Hmm, this is the Queen Worm of the Ancient Devouring Worms. Speaking of which, this Queen Worm has reached the level of a human Half-Saint. However, she is currently in a dormant period, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to pass through the energy barrier so easily."

Xiao Xuan smiled slightly and said.

"If you take this thing out, once the Queen Worm awakens, it will silently burrow into your body and secretly devour your Dou Qi. Unless Dou Sheng Expert intervenes, it will be impossible to find it inside your body."

Xiao Xuan laughed.

Hearing this, Xiao Yuan wasn't too flustered. After all, Yao Lao was there, and besides, his Ancestor was also there! "Then I'll trouble Xuan Ge'er to lend me a hand!"

Xiao Yuan didn't stand on ceremony with Xiao Xuan, after all, he was planning to give Xiao Xuan a big one later! "Hehe, this Queen Worm is indeed troublesome, but she is an excellent material for refining the Ancient Insect Emperor Armor."

This Ancient Insect Emperor Armor is actually a special defensive Dou Technique.

Queen Worm is refined using a secret method, it can transform into armor-like material that covers a person's body. This thing was extremely popular in ancient times. According to my prediction, if this queen Queen Worm is used to refine the Ancient Insect Emperor Armor, it would probably be able to withstand the attack of Half-Saint powerhouse without being destroyed."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuan simply nodded. He already possessed the Dragon Phoenix Ancient Armor, making his physical strength even stronger than that of an ordinary Ancient Void Dragon, so he didn't need this item. However, it would be of great use to Xiao Yan! "Don't worry, leave the crafting of this item to me."

Xiao Xuan could see through Xiao Yuan's thoughts and said with a smile.

"Xuan Ge'er, don't rush to refine it. There's still plenty of time. To be honest, I also came to the Heavenly Tomb prepared this time!"

Xiao Yuan stopped Xiao Xuan and said with a smile.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuan's face showed surprise.