Gu Yuan (Please Bookmark, Recommend, and Invest)

As time passed, the sky gradually darkened. Then, rolling black clouds swept across the heavens. Within them, countless bolts of lightning coiled and writhed like Thunder Dragons, radiating an astonishing might of heaven and earth.

Boom! Lightning flashed, illuminating all of Salt City and even most of the eastern Jia Ma Empire as brightly as day. The energy throughout heaven and earth began to boil at this moment.

At this moment, every expert in the Jia Ma Empire stared gravely at the turmoil in the sky, their eyelids twitching slightly. A thunderstorm of this scale could probably reduce even a legendary Dou Zong to ashes in an instant.

Countless people gazed at the sky in terror, then hurriedly retreated to places where they could take shelter. Their faces were filled with shock. Under such terrifying heavenly might, human strength seemed especially insignificant.

Rumble! The thunder grew increasingly urgent, and the brilliant lightning seemed as though it could no longer be concealed even by the black clouds. It was like the momentum before an army of a million charged, making even heaven and earth tremble. The gathering lightning finally reached its peak, yet at that instant, the thunder strangely fell silent.

However, that silence lasted only a moment before everyone watched, their pupils suddenly contracting, as the thunderclouds in the sky were violently torn apart.

Heaven-shaking thunder erupted, and the dazzling lightning obscured every other light in the world. Countless enormous bolts of lightning, each tens of thousands of feet long, surged from the thunderclouds above like clawing Thunder Dragons. They then formed a Lightning Lava Waterfall that descended from the heavens, charging straight toward Salt City.

This sight drained countless faces of color. The Thunder Dragons swept down across the sky, and within only a few breaths, they had reached a thousand feet above Salt City. At that moment, many people noticed by the light of the lightning that a figure had somehow appeared beneath the Thunder Dragons.

That figure looked up at the incoming lightning. His burly body appeared especially tiny beneath it, yet the moment they saw him, the fear in their hearts instantly vanished.

Countless Thunder Dragons began to converge. With howling roars, they surged forth like a boundless sea of lightning, carrying the power to destroy the world.

The sea of lightning was reflected in Xiao Chen's eyes. Then his body moved, and he appeared directly in the sky, allowing the terrifying sea of lightning to engulf him.

Cries of alarm erupted from below, but they quickly fell silent. The descending sea of lightning suddenly stopped when it was still a hundred feet away from Salt City. At such a distance, they could clearly sense the destructive power contained within it.

Then, the Thunder Dragons within the sea of lightning were tossed by Xiao Chen into a space he had created, like children.

Xiao Chen had not expected that merely comprehending the power of life and death reincarnation contained within the Life and Death Reincarnation Pill would cause such a huge commotion.

"Come out, Gu Yuan."

After sealing the sea of lightning into the space he had created, Xiao Chen frowned and looked toward the Xiao Family residence below in Salt City.

"It has been a long time, Xiao Chen."

Before Xiao Chen's words had faded, a figure appeared a hundred feet before him.

The man looked to be around forty. He appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged man, dressed in plain linen clothes, with a slight smile on his face that made others feel somewhat at ease.

Gu Yuan, the Ancient Clan's patriarch, was one of the Dou Qi Continent's two peak experts. At the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Saint realm, he could even be said to have one foot in the Dou Emperor realm.

After Gu Yuan appeared, a sense of mortal danger enveloped Xiao Chen's heart.

Although he had entered the Nine-Star Dou Saint realm, he could still sense danger from Gu Yuan.

Xiao Chen could guarantee that without using the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint experience card provided by the system, he would not last ten moves against Gu Yuan. If the two fought to the death and he did not flee, he would undoubtedly die within a hundred moves.

"How long has it been?"

Xiao Chen frowned and asked.

"One month. If the commotion had not been so great, Xun'er would not have informed me."

Gu Yuan said.

"You actually came in person. You truly give this Saint face."

Xiao Chen curled his lip, looking displeased.

"Xiao Chen, after a thousand years apart, your temperament has changed quite a bit."

If it had been the Xiao Chen of old, there was an eighty or ninety percent chance that he would have swung an axe at Gu Yuan without another word.

The Xiao Family's madman was known throughout the ancient clans.

Other than Xiao Xuan, who could suppress him, everyone else got only one word from him—fight.

"Fine. Since you're here, take your daughter away while you're at it. My Xiao Family has no habit of raising other people's daughters."

"Don't tell me you wanted to give your daughter a complete childhood. You know exactly what your purpose was."

Xiao Chen did not bother with any polite pretense and spoke bluntly.

After all, that was Xiao Chen's established character.

"You..."

Gu Yuan was not embarrassed at having his thoughts exposed. He merely pointed at Xiao Chen with a helpless, amused smile.

"Since that's the case, I'll take Xun'er with me."

Even if Xiao Chen had not said so, he would have taken Xiao Xun'er away. No, she should be called Gu Xun'er.

After all, a Xiao Family with Xiao Chen and a Xiao Family without Xiao Chen were completely different situations.

He could wipe out the latter with a wave of his hand, but the former was somewhat beyond his control.

Gu Yuan saw through Xiao Chen's realm at a glance: early Nine-Star Dou Saint. His progress over a thousand years could not be called slow.

After all, Xiao Chen did not possess a God-Grade Bloodline.

After breaking through to the Dou Saint realm, Xiao Chen's bloodline potential had already been exhausted. To advance any further, he could only cultivate bitterly like other Dou Saint experts.

Gu Yuan remembered that before Xiao Chen vanished, he had reached the late stage of the Three-Star Dou Saint realm.

In a thousand years, he had advanced by more than five stars. That speed could not be called slow.

However, having reached this stage, taking even one more step forward was simply too difficult—far too difficult.

In the original story, even Nihility Devouring Flame had needed a thousand years with the Soul Clan's help.

"Good. In that case, this Saint will not see you off."

"After all, this commotion was not small. I still need to make some arrangements."

"Oh, and leave the Soul Clan to you. I believe my elder brother signed an agreement with you back then. I hope you will not violate it."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

Before the decisive battle between the Xiao Clan and the Soul Clan, Xiao Xuan had indeed entered into an agreement with him.

The agreement had been made through an oath sworn upon their respective bloodlines, with restrictions placed upon each of them. Should either violate it, their bloodline would be damaged at best and disappear at worst.

As payment, Xiao Xuan had given more than half of the Xiao Clan's accumulated wealth to the Ancient Clan.

"It seems your disappearance was also part of Xiao Xuan's plan."

Xiao Xuan could be said to be the only person Gu Yuan both admired and greatly feared.

Among those of the same generation, whether it was Gu Yuan, Hun Tiandi, or the Ancestor of Blazing Flame Valley, all had once been suppressed by Xiao Xuan to the point that they could barely breathe.

Hun Tiandi had it somewhat better, as he could rely on the Soul Clan's foundation to contend with Xiao Xuan to some extent.

But Gu Yuan and the Ancestor of Blazing Flame Valley had each been defeated by Xiao Xuan more than once.