Courting Death, Suppression

Time passed slowly. Talents emerged one after another across the Central Plains Continent, each displaying their own brilliance.

In the fifth year, after meditating beneath the Samsara Ancient Tree for many years, Xiao Wu finally broke through and officially advanced to a One-Star Dou Saint.

Within the Xiao Clan, quite a few Dou Zuns also advanced to Half-Saints.

Where there was success, there was naturally failure. Some had been too proud, comprehending samsara beneath the Ancient Tree and experiencing the myriad states of all living beings. In the end, they had simply gotten themselves killed.

The Ancient Tree was useful not only to Dou Zuns, but even to Dou Saints. Thus, some Dou Saints had also gotten themselves killed outright.

Fortunately, not every Dou Saint had been completely annihilated. Some were still sent into the Heavenly Tomb by Xiao Xuan.

Others succeeded. Some advanced on the spot, while others stood on the verge of advancing.

After this lesson, the Ancient Tree had practically become a forbidden treasure of the Xiao Clan.

What else could it be called when one possessed a treasure but could only stare at it without using it?

Anyone who wished to enter it in the future would have to proceed with utmost caution, carrying the resolve to die and the determination to succeed or perish.

In the tenth year, the Central Plains was shaken. The founder of Dan Tower, one of the continent's foremost experts, was severely injured by Pill Lightning while attempting to refine a Ninth-Rank Golden Pill once more, and perished.

The Golden Pill also took form, possessing the cultivation of a Seven-Star Peak Dou Saint, and took charge of Dan Tower.

Soon afterward, rumors spread that the ancestor of Fenyan Valley had failed in his closed-door attempt to break through to Dou Emperor, suffered grave injuries, and died.

With two Peak Dou Saints of the Central Plains falling in succession, the people of the Central Plains were thrown into panic.

Within the Ancient Emperor Hall of Ancient Saint City, Gu Yuan's gaze turned profound upon receiving the news. He muttered to himself.

"What a brilliant method, Xiao Xuan. Hun Tiandi... was it one of you?"

In the void of the Hun Realm, a middle-aged man in white stood quietly, as though nothing in the world could disturb his composure.

Before long, space rippled. Another existence at the Nine-Star Dou Saint level tossed two jade pieces over.

"Take them. These are the Ancient Emperor Jades you painstakingly plotted for.

I only hope you remember your promise and do not go back on your word to me."

When Hun Tiandi saw the two Ancient Jades, a trace of delight flashed across his otherwise impassive face.

Including the one held by the Hun Clan, he now had three in his possession.

"Rest assured, Xu Wu. So long as what you said is true and the First Heavenly Flame is within the Ancient Emperor Cave Abode, I will certainly help you devour it.

As for me, I only want the Emperor Pill that can help me advance to Dou Emperor."

Inside a Side Hall of the Eight Desolations Divine Hall, Xiao Li stood silently for a long while after hearing the news.

Then he sighed. "The victor becomes king, and the loser becomes a bandit.

What a pity. Even after establishing such an enormous foundation, they still fall far short of the ancient clans.

Hun Tiandi's methods truly are extraordinary."

In Sound Valley, Xiao Yao remained unmoved after hearing the news and continued doing what he had been doing.

Those two fellows had indeed grown arrogant. Over the years, they had targeted Sound Valley more than once.

Had Sound Valley not remained detached from worldly affairs, Shuobude might have had to step into the open himself.

Though this had nothing to do with him, once those two fully grew their wings, attacking the Xiao Clan would be inevitable.

Unless the Xiao Clan was willing to hand the Emperor Jade over to them.

Several hundred years later, Xiao Xuan returned to the Xiao Realm's secret realm and saw the Plane Embryo once again.

Although he had yet to become a Dou Emperor, with the support of his powerful soul, his strength might not have been inferior to a Dou Emperor's.

His Divine Soul tried to envelop the Plane Embryo. At first, he had no idea where to begin, but eventually, he gained something.

Streams of light spread from his body, their other ends sinking into the void.

Beneath the heavens, pitch-black tribulation clouds churned, obscuring the sea of stars. Endless scarlet lightning, carrying the aura of destruction, roiled within the secret realm's clouds, transforming into countless Divine Abilities that struck at Xiao Xuan. Scarlet lightning crashed against his body.

This fellow was truly audacious beyond measure. He actually deluded himself into wanting to refine the Plane Embryo and replace the Heavenly Dao with his own Dao.

Attempting to forcibly refine this world naturally provoked its frenzied backlash.

Scarlet lightning of destruction surged and transformed into blades of destruction, carrying supreme majesty as they sought to execute Xiao Xuan.

His body could still withstand them at first, but after some time, it was directly annihilated, leaving behind only his Immortal Divine Soul and Primordial Spirit.

Boom...

An invisible ripple spread throughout the universe. Every Dou Saint in the Xiao Realm, the Central Plains, and the various ancient clans felt an irresistible pressure. When they attempted to investigate, they coughed up blood, their auras withering as all their Divine Abilities were sealed.

Could it be a Dou Emperor? For a time, the major forces across the continent endlessly speculated.

Above a black ocean permeated by an aura that seemed to originate from the dawn of antiquity, terrifying lightning rose. Countless Universe Oceans formed and perished around him.

Buzz!

Brilliant light erupted from Xiao Xuan's Primordial Spirit. Boundless divine radiance surged, manifesting into a Faxiang that stretched for tens of thousands of miles. Wuji Dao Patterns emerged from his brow and spread across his entire body.

All divine light withdrew, leaving behind only pure Dao resonance—unyielding and relentless, refusing to rest until death.

One breath, two breaths...

The starry sky began to tremble violently. For a time, earth, water, wind, and fire fell into chaos, and the galaxy's course became erratic.

Terrifying spatial fissures spread through the starry sky, merging, spreading, merging, and deadlocking...

The deadlock lasted too long—so long that hundreds of years passed. During that stalemate, Xiao Xuan's Primordial Spirit received even greater tempering, becoming more refined and more powerful.

Though he had not refined the Plane Embryo, he had acquired its aura and seized one hundred-millionth of its control.

The rules of heaven and earth manifested beneath him, condensing into a golden lotus that supported his form. Behind his head, an Order Divine Wheel slowly turned, harmonizing with the Dao resonance fluctuations of the universe.

My Dao is the Heavenly Dao. He opened his eyes, his gaze flowing through the stars and landing upon the edge of the world, at the end of the great sea.

"Haha... Heaven is helping me!

So what if it's a Dou Emperor? I can still suppress it!

Urgh... fuck... Plane Embryo, how despicable!"

He had gotten too excited. Xiao was too greedy and was directly restrained and suppressed by the Plane Embryo.

In other words, unless he was rescued, his consciousness could only remain trapped in the depths of this void for thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of years.

The moment Xiao was suppressed, the two avatars that had been hiding outside both spat out blood and immediately began cursing.

This was what happened when one courted death. He had been living a carefree, invincible life, yet he just had to go seek death.

Why the hell didn't he just ascend to heaven? He actually dared set his sights on the Plane Embryo. Did he really think he was something special?

They had intended to risk everything to save him, but the main body's will immediately conveyed a message: wait and see.

Xiao Li could only sigh helplessly. He quietly left the Eight Desolations Divine Hall, returned to the Xiao Clan, and resumed his original appearance.

Using the spatial research of recent years, he opened a passage through the barriers of the Heavenly Tomb and retrieved the souls of those Xiao Clan elders who had passed away there.

"Patriarch? Has the time come?"

A five-star clan elder immediately asked, while the others also wore looks of delighted surprise.

Because the Patriarch had once said that when they met again, the time of death would arrive.

Xiao Li said, "The time has come. Within a hundred years, a new emperor of the Xiao Clan will emerge.

Go!

Samsara!"

As the Samsara Secret Art was unleashed, aided by the interference of that audacious main body, several clusters of souls vanished from the Xiao Realm and flew beyond it.