The crimson rocks of the Star Fall Mountain Range gleamed like metal in the morning light. Xiao Zhan's Dou Qi boots crushed the fire thorn bushes along the roadside as his wary gaze swept over the heat haze rising in the distance. Xiao Feng followed close behind. The Elemental Analyzer in his palm showed intense fluctuations of Heavenly Flame energy ahead, resonating with the Fallen Heart Flame in his system space.
"Father, the entrance to the ancestral grounds is just ahead." He pointed to the faintly visible Xiao Clan crest on the mountainside. The markings on the parchment matched the terrain before them exactly. Xiao Zhan nodded and took a token etched with runes from his robes—the very clan leader's token Xiao Xuan had left behind all those years ago.
The moment the token slid into the stone wall, the mountain shook with a thunderous roar. Scarlet mist billowed out, gathering in midair to form a phantom image of Xiao Xuan. The ancient clan leader wore a tattered imperial robe, his gaze as sharp as lightning. When it swept over Xiao Feng, it suddenly paused.
"Wind and fire dual attributes... As expected, a sign of bloodline reversion." The phantom spoke, his voice ringing like a great bell. "My son, bring the descendants into the ancestral grounds. A great opportunity awaits within the heart of the ancestral grounds."
The stone door slowly opened, revealing stone steps spiraling downward. Soul lamps, long since extinguished, were embedded in the walls. Xiao Feng gathered "Soul Movement Three Thousand" at his fingertips and sent his soul power probing into the depths, but it bounced back when it touched a barrier—one of Dou Di rank.
"Be careful. The Nine-Turn Soul Killing Array is set up inside the ancestral grounds." Xiao Zhan gripped the Xiao Zhan Blade tightly. "Grandfather once said that only those of pure Xiao Clan blood could pass through."
As soon as the two of them stepped onto the third level of stairs, a rain of fire suddenly poured down from above. Xiao Feng raised his hand and summoned "Burning Heaven Purple Flame." The purplish-black flames formed a dome, stopping the attack—one on the level of the Fallen Heart Flame—in its tracks. Xiao Zhan stared at his son in shock. "This is... Heavenly Flame fusion? When did you...?"
"There's no time to explain!" Xiao Feng shouted, glancing at the Soul Clan incantation that had appeared on the stone wall. "This is a trap Hun Dan set. He tampered with the ancestral grounds' restrictions!"
The system's warning rang out:
Warning! Spacetime paradox energy detected. The original story's plot correction mechanism has been triggered ahead!
Xiao Feng's pupils contracted. At the end of the stairs stood a familiar figure: Gu Tianyi, one of the outstanding young members of the Gu Clan, gripping an ancient-looking battle blade as he sneered. According to the original story, he shouldn't have appeared in the Star Fall Mountain Range for another ten years. Clearly, Hun Dan had used his system to tamper with the timeline.
"Remnant of the Xiao Clan, die!" Gu Tianyi swung his blade, its light carrying the might of a Nine-Star Dou Ling. But Xiao Feng noticed the faint outline of a chip behind his ear. As expected, Hun Dan had used his system to control a Gu Clan disciple!
"Father, go on ahead!" Xiao Feng flung out three improved "Explosive Flame Pills." Amid the smoke of the explosions, he shoved Xiao Zhan forward and simultaneously used Snow-Treading Trace-less to circle behind Gu Tianyi. He deliberately left an opening, allowing the other man's blade to slice through his sleeve. But at the moment of contact, he drove the Elemental Analyzer's probe into the side of Gu Tianyi's neck.
"What was that?" Gu Tianyi recoiled in alarm, touching the tiny wound on his neck. Xiao Feng seized the chance to read the energy fluctuations within him. Sure enough, he detected a quantum signal unique to Hun Dan's system. That bastard had used nanobots to control the Gu Clan cultivators!
"System, reverse-engineer the control signal," he commanded silently. Blue light flashed through his mindscape as a string of gibberish gradually reassembled into readable code. At the same time, Gu Tianyi suddenly clutched his head and screamed. The nanobots turned to wisps of smoke beneath the scorching flames of Xiao Zhan.
"What did you do to me?" Gu Tianyi backed away in horror. The gloom in his eyes faded, and his gaze cleared. "I... How did I end up here?"
Before Xiao Feng could answer, the restriction deeper inside suddenly exploded. A purple figure strode through the flames, the word "Soul" glaring on the hem of his robes. It was Hun Dan himself! He wore VR goggles and toyed with a golden jade slip, a disdainful smile on his lips.
"Xiao Clan members really do love all this inheritance nonsense. What a shame..." He waved a hand, and the jade slip burst with blinding light. "I already activated Xiao Xuan's trap in advance!"
Xiao Zhan's pupils contracted. He recognized it as the Xiao Clan's secret "Blood Sacrifice Jade Slip"—a treasure that used the entire clan's bloodline as a catalyst to force open the inheritance. Xiao Feng felt his bloodline boiling within him. It dragged him toward the heart of the ancestral grounds against his will, while the system's alarm nearly shattered his mindscape:
Danger! The host's bloodline is being forcibly drawn away. The Soul Clan is stealing the Dou Emperor inheritance!
"Father, don't come any closer!" he shouted. But Xiao Zhan swung his blade at the jade slip, and its light clashed with Hun Dan's system energy, sending up a blinding shower of sparks. Xiao Zhan's blade shattered, and he was thrown several yards, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. "You... You're not from the Soul Clan! Who are you?"
Hun Dan removed his VR goggles, revealing the young face of an East Asian man. The smartwatch on his wrist displayed the words "Battle Through the Heavens System V9.9." "Clan Leader Xiao Zhan, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Hun Dan, and like your son, I came here from Earth. But..."
An energy sphere gathered at his fingertips. It was a "Pseudo-Emperor Flame," formed from the fusion of three Heavenly Flames. "I'm smarter than your son. I know how to use the original story to cheat the system. I'll take Xiao Xuan's inheritance, and I'll take the Xiao Clan's bloodline, too."
Xiao Feng felt his soul being torn from him and dragged toward the heart of the ancestral grounds. He glimpsed a crystal coffin suspended in its center. Inside lay a skeleton dressed in an imperial robe—that was Xiao Xuan's true body! Twenty-four jade slips, each carved with a different Dou Di art, floated around the coffin.
"System, think of something, quickly!" he roared in his mind. "We can't let Hun Dan get the inheritance!"
Ding! Emergency mode of the Devour System activated. The host may forcibly fuse with Xiao Xuan's bloodline.
Agony spread from Xiao Feng's heart through his whole body. It felt as if magma were surging through his veins. He watched as scales gradually covered his palms, and golden claws grew from his fingertips—the sign that his Dou Di Bloodline was awakening! Hun Dan's energy sphere struck his chest, but the scales deflected it, stirring an even more violent resonance within his bloodline.
"Impossible!" Hun Dan cried out. "How could you awaken the Emperor Scale at the Dou Huang Realm?"
Xiao Feng looked up. His pupils had become vertical slits, and his voice had taken on a metallic edge. "Because you forgot the greatest advantage of transmigrators..." He raised a hand and seized Hun Dan's jade slip. All twenty-four Dou Saint Experience Cards in his system space ignited at once. "We don't play by the rules!"
The crystal coffin exploded with a thunderous crash, and Xiao Xuan's skeleton turned into streams of light that poured into Xiao Feng. The system's notifications sounded one after another:
Ding! The host has fused with the remnant soul of Xiao Xuan. Acquired one fragment of the Dou Emperor Inheritance. Ding! Bloodline resonance triggered. Innate divine ability "Emperor Flame Control" unlocked. Ding! Energy irregularity from a parallel transmigrator detected. Hun Dan's system has developed a vulnerability.
Hun Dan backed away in terror. His system display was covered in red warnings, and the nanobots had gone out of control, swarming inside his body. Xiao Feng seized the opportunity to use "Soul Movement Three Thousand," sending his soul power stabbing into Hun Dan's mindscape. In an instant, he read the crucial information:
--Hun Dan's system depended on plot points from the original story. If reality deviated from the main plot, his program would crash.
--The reason he could level up so quickly was that he had devoured the system energy of countless transmigrators.
--The true secret of the Xiao Clan's ancestral grounds wasn't the Dou Emperor inheritance, but a portal to another plane.
"So that's it..." Xiao Feng murmured. The Emperor Scale gradually faded, and he returned to human form. "You're not afraid I'll get the inheritance. You're afraid I'll open the portal and expose the truth about how you tampered with the timeline."
Hun Dan's face turned deathly pale. He suddenly initiated his system's self-destruct sequence. "Even if I die, I'll take you with me!"
Xiao Feng had been prepared. He tossed out the "Space-Time Freezer" he'd exchanged for in the Plane Shop. Blue light flashed, and Hun Dan's figure froze in midair. The screen of his smartwatch displayed "System Error 404." Calmly, Xiao Feng walked to the remains of the crystal coffin and picked up a jade slip engraved with "Burning Technique Upgraded Version." The system notification rang out once again:
Ding! Hun Dan's system core fragment has been seized. Devour function triggered. Acquired one "Causality Modifier."
Xiao Zhan struggled to his feet. Seeing the jade slip in his son's hand, tears glimmered in his eyes. "Feng'er, you..."
"Father, let's go home." Xiao Feng supported Xiao Zhan as they headed for the stone door. A gentle wave of the Emperor Flame's embers in his palm burned Hun Dan's fading shadow to ashes. "From this day on, we'll write the Xiao Clan's fate ourselves."
Outside the mountain, Xiao Yan was kneeling in the Xiao Clan ancestral hall, holding the jade slip he had found in Xiao Zhan's study. Ancient writing appeared on the slip in his palm, and a blood-red fire lotus suddenly bloomed across the young man's back—the mark of the "Flame Emperor Bloodline" Xiao Xuan had left for the descendants of the main line.
Meanwhile, in a mysterious corner of the Douqi Continent, a massive bank of servers flashed with red lights. Among countless streams of data, the IDs "Xiao Feng" and "Hun Dan" clashed fiercely. A hooded figure chuckled and tapped at a keyboard.
"Interesting. At last, a variable has appeared that can break the plot lock. Perhaps the Xiao Clan's rise really can rewrite this world's ending..."
Before you continue