The "Soul-Devouring Town" on the border of the Soul Realm lay shrouded in black mist that never lifted. Lanterns along the streets burned with the Soul Clan's unique Yin Fire, casting a blue-gray pallor over people's faces. Xiao Feng and Xiao Yan wore bamboo hats and blended into the crowds, the stench of rotting weeds mingled with blood swirling beneath their noses—the smell of the Soul Clan refining secret arts from the souls of the living.
"Be careful." Xiao Feng lowered his voice. "There are three Dou Wang experts on the second floor of the teahouse ahead. Their auras belong to the Blood Soul Hall, a branch of the Soul Clan." He circulated Soul Movement Three Thousand, spreading his spiritual strength like a spiderweb. "The auction house in the center of town is heavily guarded. At least two Dou Zong experts are stationed there."
Flame Emperor Fire stirred in Xiao Yan's palm, but he forcibly suppressed it. "According to the tip, today's auction has a 'choice piece' as its grand finale. It must be one of our Xiao Clan members who was captured." His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. "Back then, my mother was refined into a medicinal catalyst by the Soul Clan using a Human Soul Cauldron..."
Xiao Feng gripped his younger brother's shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the Soul Clan Slave Tags hanging at the street corner. "We'll act according to the situation. I'll scout the alley behind the auction house. You mingle with the guests and look for an opening. Remember, don't let your Heavenly Flame aura show."
At the entrance to the auction house, Soul Clan guards were checking guests with Soul Sense Detectors. Xiao Yan took out the Aura Masking Talisman he had bought on the black market and passed inspection without a hitch. More than a hundred Soul Gathering Lamps, secret Soul Clan artifacts, hung upside down from the domed ceiling. Faces floated inside them—all captured cultivators, their eyes vacant and lifeless.
"Lot number 108: a collateral-branch member of the Xiao Clan, at the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi. Opening bid: three thousand soul crystals." The auctioneer struck the platform with a bone hammer, and bids rang out one after another. Xiao Yan clenched his fists, only to see a girl in a purple dress bid first. "Ten thousand soul crystals."
Beneath her veil, the girl's delicate chin showed. A Progenitor Ancient Jade pendant, unique to the Gu Clan, hung at her neck—she was none other than the Gu Clan heiress, Gu Xun'er! Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. A flash of green light passed across her fingertips, and the auctioneer actually carried the item over to her seat without being asked.
"The Gu Clan... so they really are secretly in league with the Soul Clan?" Xiao Yan murmured, slipping into the backstage area.
Meanwhile, Xiao Feng ran into three Blood Soul Hall assassins in the back alley. The leader held a Soul-Devouring Blade, its edge wrapped in twenty-three Soul-Devouring Insects. "Xiao Clan remnant, prepare to die!"
Xiao Feng remained unruffled. With a flick of his fingertips, a sword-qi strike from the Green Mist Art shot forth and incinerated every Soul-Devouring Insect. The assassins realized that the young man's aura was no stronger than the early stage of Dou Wang, yet he could easily break through the Soul Clan's secret arts. Just as they started to retreat, three-colored Heavenly Flames surged around Xiao Feng. It was the Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations!
"Your Soul Clan should get a taste of what it's like to burn." Xiao Feng sneered. The Heavenly Flames formed a Fire Lotus and slammed into the ground. The violent explosion blasted a crater into the alley. The assassins turned to ash before they could even scream.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. The danger of Emperor Flame backlash still lingered, and his all-out effort just now had caused his cultivation to drop by half a star. Frowning, Xiao Feng took a Rejuvenation Pill, then sent his spiritual strength back toward the auction house. To his surprise, Xiao Yan's aura overlapped with Gu Xun'er's location.
Inside the auction house, Gu Xun'er removed the blindfold from the auction item, revealing a boy's face covered in scars. It was Xiao Lin of the Xiao Clan's Third Branch. Green light flickered at her fingertips as she forcibly removed the Soul Clan Slave Seal from the boy's neck. "Don't be afraid. I'll take you home."
"Why are you saving me?" Xiao Yan suddenly appeared, the Heavy Xuan Ruler held across his chest. "The Gu Clan and the Soul Clan have always kept to their own sides."
Gu Xun'er turned around. A gust of air lifted the corner of her veil, revealing eyes like autumn waters. "Xiao Yan, my Gu Clan has old grievances with the Soul Clan. I came here this time also to..." Before she could finish, the auction house's domed ceiling suddenly exploded. Countless Soul Clan cultivators dropped from above, led by none other than Hun Feng!
"Xiao Clan brats, you really did come!" Hun Feng sneered. "Today, I'll have you buried alongside the Xiao Clan!" The Blood Sacrifice Jade Slip in his hand flared red. Most of the guests in the hall turned into Soul Clan dead soldiers, surrounding Xiao Yan and Gu Xun'er.
"Be careful! This is the Soul Clan's Dead Soldier Blood Pact!" Gu Xun'er flung out the Gu Clan's secret treasure, the Ancient Spirit Cold Flame Fan. Countless ice crystals flew from the unfurled fan. "They can no longer feel pain. The only way to kill them is to shatter the soul core in their hearts!"
Xiao Yan nodded. Flame Emperor Fire condensed into a spike in his palm, which he drove into the chest of the nearest dead soldier. Just as expected, black blood sprayed as the blood vessels in the soldier's eyes faded, and he collapsed. The two fought back to back, but the dead soldiers kept multiplying. Hun Feng seized the chance to approach the auction platform, reaching for Xiao Lin!
"Not so fast!" Xiao Feng burst through the wall, Emperor Flame turning into chains that wrapped around Hun Feng's ankle. "Hand over the Ancient Emperor Jade fragment, and I'll spare your life!"
Hun Feng was shocked. Though he was a five-star Dou Zong, he could barely move under the suppression of Xiao Feng's Emperor Flame. "You... how can your Heavenly Flame counter the Soul Clan?!"
"Because he's a descendant of Xiao Xuan and carries the bloodline of Emperor Flame!" Gu Xun'er seized the moment to throw out a jade slip. It was a secret alliance order between the Gu Clan and the Xiao Clan. "Hun Feng, do you dare make an enemy of the Gu Clan?"
Hun Feng's face turned ashen. He knew the Gu Clan's foundations ran deep; even Hun Tiandi wouldn't dare offend them lightly. After weighing his options, he crushed a teleportation talisman and fled. With their commander gone, the dead soldiers instantly dissolved into black smoke.
Xiao Lin weakly tugged at Xiao Yan's sleeve. "The clan leaders... are in the Ten Thousand Soul Cave, deep in the Soul Realm. They're feeding Soul-Devouring Insects with the bloodlines of Xiao Clan members..."
Xiao Feng's pupils contracted. He exchanged a glance with Gu Xun'er. "We have to stop them. Miss Xun'er, could we borrow the Gu Clan's teleportation array?"
Gu Xun'er nodded and took out a jade plaque engraved with the Gu Clan Emblem. "Follow me. But let me be clear: the Gu Clan is helping this time only to fight the Soul Clan together. I have just as much right to claim the Ancient Emperor Jade fragments."
Xiao Yan was about to speak, but Xiao Feng cut in first. "Agreed. Once the Soul Clan is destroyed, we can compete fairly for the fragments." He looked toward the black mist beyond the auction house as the patterns of his Emperor Scale lit up again. "For now, we save our people!"
The system prompt rang out:
Ding! Side quest "Rescue in the Soul Realm" triggered. Obtained the "Bloodline Sense" skill (can sense the whereabouts of Xiao Clan members). Warning! Hun Dan is reinforcing the Ten Thousand Soul Cave. The host is advised to advance to the middle stage of Dou Zong as soon as possible.
The three arrived deep in the Soul Realm through the teleportation array. The sight before them nearly made Xiao Yan drop the Heavy Xuan Ruler. Inside the Ten Thousand Soul Cave, hundreds of Xiao Clan members hung upside down from stone pillars. Their bloodlines flowed along chains into a giant hive in the center, where countless Soul-Devouring Insects writhed in pools of blood.
"Mother..." Xiao Yan murmured. He had seen the same patterns on the chains among his mother's belongings. "Hun Dan, I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Xiao Feng gripped his trembling shoulder and pointed to a stone door behind the hive. "The Ancient Emperor Jade fragment is in there. Xiao Yanzi, go save the others. Miss Xun'er and I will hold off the reinforcements."
Gu Xun'er unfurled the Ancient Spirit Cold Flame Fan. Ice crystals formed the image of Ice Mysterious Dragon Soar across its surface. "Be careful, Young Master Xiao. Deep in the Soul Realm lies the Soul Clan's Soul Burial Abyss. They say it can swallow even a Dou Sheng Expert..."
Before she could finish, the stone door exploded. Hun Dan emerged, black system energy coiling around him. He was several times stronger than he had been three months ago!
"Xiao Feng, Xiao Yan, you really did come." Hun Dan sneered. "Do you know why your systems are always one step behind mine? Because I'm the Destined Protagonist of this world—and you're nothing but clowns!"
Xiao Feng clenched his fists. Emperor Flame throbbed violently in his palm, yet he could feel Hun Dan's aura faintly suppressing his own. Only then did he realize that Hun Dan had advanced to the late stage of Dou Zong!
"System, check Hun Dan's cultivation!"
Ding! Parallel transmigrator Hun Dan's cultivation: late-stage Dou Zong. He has fused four types of Heavenly Flames and possesses the system item "Destiny Bestowal Talisman."
Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and swung his ruler. "Even if you're fate itself, I'll defy heaven and change my destiny!"
Hun Dan casually raised a hand. A beam of light formed from system energy, a Plot Kill, shot toward them and knocked Xiao Yan several yards back. Seeing this, Xiao Feng immediately stepped in front of his younger brother. Emperor Flame collided with the system energy, and the shockwave sent chunks of stone raining down from the ceiling of the Ten Thousand Soul Cave.
"Third Brother!" Xiao Yan cried out. Black blood trickled from the corner of Xiao Feng's mouth—Emperor Flame backlash had struck again, and his cultivation had fallen back to the early stage of Dou Wang!
Hun Dan laughed at the sight. "Die!" He gathered a System Finale beam at his fingertips and aimed it straight at Xiao Feng's brow. At the critical moment, Gu Xun'er suddenly hurled the Progenitor Ancient Jade. The jade plaque transformed into a shield and blocked the beam, but shattered in two.
"Go!" she shouted. "I'll hold them off!"
Xiao Feng gritted his teeth, hoisted Xiao Yan onto his back, and activated the Heavenly Demon Wings to break through toward the teleportation array. Gu Xun'er's muffled groan came from behind him. He didn't dare look back, afraid that if he saw her even once more, he would never be able to leave.
When the three finally returned to Soul-Devouring Town, Gu Xun'er had already fallen unconscious, her clothing over her chest scorched by system energy. Xiao Yan clasped her hand, determination flashing in his eyes. "Third Brother, we have to grow stronger as soon as possible. Next time, we absolutely cannot run!"
Xiao Feng gazed toward the Soul Realm. The patterns of his Emperor Scale shimmered faintly in the moonlight. "We're going to the Gu Clan," he said gravely. "Senior Gu Yuan was an old friend of our ancestor Xiao Xuan. Perhaps he can help us refine Emperor Flame and break through to Dou Zong!"
The system prompt rang out once more:
Ding! The host has gained an alliance with the Gu Clan. The "Ancient Emperor Inheritance" side quest has been unlocked.
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