Secret ** Return

As the years flowed by, year after year, beneath the Ancient Tree on a deep-sea island, a figure resembling a dried corpse remained completely still.

It was Xiao Xuan. His consciousness reincarnated again and again beneath the Ancient Tree's Dao aura.

He did not know how many times he had reincarnated. He had forgotten. Nor did he know how much time had passed outside.

With each cycle of reincarnation, his soul grew more condensed. His Emperor-Realm Soul had improved, but he did not know to what extent.

This was an unexpected delight. Yet his primary purpose in coming here was not to improve his soul realm. He harbored a far greater ambition: to comprehend a trace of Samsara's Divine Ability and its wondrous applications.

That was his ambition—to undergo countless cycles of conscious reincarnation, personally comprehend Samsara, experience Samsara, and glimpse a trace of how it could be used.

In the end, he would use that trace of application on those Dou Saints of the Xiao Clan whose lifespans were nearly exhausted or who were gravely wounded and on the brink of death.

He did not know whether it would succeed, but what if it did?

If his mad idea became known to the clan, other clans, or even the people of the Central Plains, they would have no idea how to mock his reckless disregard for his own life.

Naturally, he held no such hopes for the weak. Their souls were far too feeble.

However, among the clan's Dou Saints, quite a few possessed Spirit Realm souls, and some even possessed Heavenly Realm souls.

If he could glimpse a trace of its application, the chances of success would not be small.

After all, there had been precedents of Spirit Realm and Heavenly Realm souls possessing another body and being reborn when left with no other choice.

Fifty years after Xiao Xuan vanished, the major elders of the Xiao Realm were deeply worried. Could something have happened to their Patriarch?

A hundred years later, with no other choice, Xiao Feng could only take up the position of Patriarch once more.

As time passed, more and more people in the clan believed that Xiao Xuan had likely died in an accident.

Over those years, Dou Saints of the Xiao Clan occasionally fell in conflicts with outsiders, yet not a single new Dou Saint was born.

Fortunately, Xiao Xiong and Xiao Chen had already become Six-Star Dou Saints, while Xiao Lan and Xiao Yun were also Three-Star Dou Saints. They were considered the youngest Dou Saints in the Xiao Clan, though they were already several hundred years old.

Until five hundred years later...

Within the Xiao Clan, Xiao Gong, Xiao Chen, Xiao Yu, Xiao Jing, Xiao Kong, and others knew that their final days were approaching. Things should not have come to this.

Unfortunately, over the past several centuries, the Hun Clan had grown increasingly brazen. They had suffered more or less some injuries during conflicts with outsiders.

That day, an existence they had never expected arrived in the Xiao Realm.

Xiao Yao, the founder of Sound Valley. He had largely secluded himself in the Central Plains, never involving himself in the affairs of the Central Plains or interfering in the matters of these ancient clans.

"May I ask who you are?"

Facing a Nine-Star Dou Saint, Xiao Feng and the others did not dare let down their guard.

A Nine-Star Dou Saint might not be able to destroy the Xiao Realm, but he could still severely wound members of the Xiao Clan. Moreover, they were not confident they could keep him after paying such a price.

Xiao Yao smiled. "No need to be nervous. Xiao Xuan and I are on good terms.

"As for my identity, I founded a force called Sound Valley in the Central Plains during my spare time.

"I came to tell you that Xiao Xuan is safe, and he is close to succeeding.

"Once he succeeds, he may not be able to activate the Xiao Clan's Dou Emperor Bloodline, but he will be able to grant new life to the clan elders whose lifespans are nearly exhausted.

"If the day comes when you have no choice but to pass away in meditation, you may go to the Heavenly Tomb.

"The Heavenly Tomb is special. It can allow your souls to continue existing.

"Once Xiao Xuan succeeds, you will have a chance to be reborn.

"Of course, this applies only to those whose soul realm is at least the Spirit Realm."

"What... the Patriarch is still alive? That's wonderful!"

"Be reborn!"

"Haha, I knew the Patriarch would be fine."

"With the Patriarch's talent, even he needed such a long time.

"I truly wonder what earth-shattering Divine Ability he is researching."

"Thank you, Valley Master, for informing us. Otherwise, we would still have been kept in the dark."

With a sweep of his Divine Sense, Xiao Yao found that although the Xiao Clan's number of Dou Saints had only decreased, the number of Dou Zuns and Dou Zongs had increased considerably.

Especially Xiao Ruoruo. Not only had she advanced to become a Ninth Grade Treasure Pill Grandmaster, but her cultivation had also broken through. She now possessed the strength of a Five-Star Dou Saint.

Among Xiao Xuan's generation, the only Dou Saints were Xiao Xiong, Xiao Lan, Xiao Yun, Xiao Chen, and Xiao Ruo.

Among the younger generation that followed, not a single Dou Saint had emerged.

It was worth mentioning that although Xiao Wu's aptitude was lacking, he had continued to cultivate bitterly and gain experience in the Central Plains over the years, with Xiao Feng and the others secretly protecting him.

Still, his perseverance was undeniably astonishing. He had now reached the Half-Saint level and was even an Advanced Half-Saint.

As for Xiao Wu's descendants, they had long since multiplied through who knew how many generations.

Unfortunately, the highest any of them had cultivated to was Dou Zong. They all stopped at Dou Zong and died after exhausting their lifespans.

Among his descendants now, there were Dou Emperors, but not a single Dou Zong.

He had even become the Valley Master of Sound Valley, his reputation shaking the Central Plains.

After advancing to Dou Saint, Luo Tianyin had remained at the One-Star level. She had stepped down and gone into seclusion to cultivate.

Xiao Wu becoming the Valley Master of Sound Valley was also due to his accidental entry after being severely injured back then.

He had developed many ties with Sound Valley. Along with the successive deaths of descendants close to him, he left that place of sorrow—the clan—and joined Sound Valley.

After Xiao Yao returned from the Xiao Realm, music echoed throughout the valley. Xiao Wu was in the Back Mountain.

"Patriarch!"

As soon as he appeared at the mountain gate of Sound Valley, he did not conceal his aura. Before long, the music stopped, and Xiao Wu appeared outside the gate, respectfully greeting him.

Seeing this fellow who looked to be fifty or sixty years old, Xiao Yao's mouth twitched. He himself looked more like the man's son.

"Ahem, not bad. Half-Saint peak. Strive to break through to the Saint Level.

"Your aptitude is poor, kid, but your perseverance is the greatest I have ever seen.

"So many people with exceptional talent fall far short of you."

"Thank you, Patriarch. This disciple will not give up easily!"

Xiao Wu's expression was resolute. Though he did not know what realm this expert before him had reached, he was undoubtedly Saint Level, and he had traveled quite far along the path of Dou Saints.

"This is the Void Record. My research over the years has not focused on combat techniques, but on the application of spatial traversal!

"Study it when you have time. It is very convenient for traveling."

His centuries of research into space surged in one burst along with a ball of light into Xiao Wu's Sea of Consciousness.

"Thank you, Patriarch!"

After Xiao Yao departed, Xiao Wu began examining the contents within his Sea of Consciousness.

The Void Record was entirely about the various applications of space.

Even without reaching Dou Zun, a Dou Zong could perform short-distance spatial traversal so long as their comprehension was sufficient.

The more he read, the more he felt the technique's inconceivability. It had no rank, yet its wondrous applications were entirely different from other cultivation techniques and combat techniques.

On the deep-sea island, after five hundred years of vast changes, Xiao Xuan had finally gained something.

Moreover, his gains were considerable. One Qi Transforms into Three Purities had finally reached Great Perfection in the Three-Part Realm. He had begun cultivating the Three-Unity Realm and attempting to merge his two incarnations back into himself, uniting the three as one to raise his own cultivation realm.

The Samsara Secret Art had also achieved some success. It was not some Divine Ability, merely a method to protect another's soul, keeping it intact with its memories preserved as it entered a mother's womb, where it would begin forming, developing, and being born from an embryo that had yet to develop intelligence.