The Fall of the Gu Clan

"Zi Yan, was it worth it?!"

Gu Xun'er, standing in opposition to Zi Yan, could not help asking.

The Ancient Void Dragon Clan and the Gu Clan were both races left behind from ancient times. Whether in terms of foundation or strength, they were nearly equal. The Gu Clan could only barely withstand the Ancient Void Dragons' fierce assault by joining forces with other ancient races.

Yet the Ancient Void Dragons were not alone either. The Nine Nether Earth Python Clan, the renowned Heavenly Poison Sect of the continent, the Nine-Colored Heaven-Swallowing Python, and other ancient magical beasts had all joined this war.

This war launched by the Ancient Void Dragons against the Gu Clan had already lasted an entire year.

Both sides had been driven to the end of the road. Even Gu Yuan, the Gu Clan's patriarch, and the previous Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Void Dragons had both perished. Yet the Ancient Void Dragons still had no intention of stopping, as though they were determined to fight their enemy to the death.

Zi Yan answered Gu Xun'er with an even fiercer attack.

Gu Xun'er's hands formed intricate seals. It was one of the ancient Dou Techniques passed down by the Gu Clan, possessing the might to overturn heaven and earth.

"Emperor Seal Art! Mountain-Opening Seal! Sea-Turning Seal! Earth-Covering Seal! Heaven-Annihilating Seal! Ancient Emperor Seal!"

Zi Yan unleashed an energy blast of equal force. The purple giant dragon and the enormous emperor seal collided.

As the dust settled, Zi Yan sneered, "Gu Xun'er, I heard that your Brother Xiao Yan failed to break through to Dou Emperor not long ago. What a piece of trash!"

"Brother Xiao Yan is not trash!" Gu Xun'er immediately retorted.

"If he isn't trash, then what is he? He obtained so much Origin Qi and still failed. If that isn't trash, what is?!"

"Gu Xun'er, that was originally Xiao Fan's possession. So what if you stole it?"

"Let me show you the power of a true Dou Emperor!"

Zi Yan took out the Sugar Pill Xiao Fan had given her. The moment she saw it, the aura of royalty around her grew several degrees colder, yet she still swallowed it without hesitation.

After consuming the Emperor Pill, Zi Yan's eyes reddened slightly. "Liar... it doesn't taste like honey at all."

This Emperor Pill was bitter because Xiao Fan had not refined it. It was a gift Xiao Fan had prepared for Zi Yan long ago—a gift for her advancement to Dou Emperor!

An energy storm surged into Zi Yan's body like a vortex. With a year of tempering and accumulation, coupled with the Origin Qi contained within the Sugar Pill, Zi Yan successfully stepped into the ranks of Dou Emperor.

The Ancient Void Dragon Bloodlines across the battlefield erupted, and breakthroughs occurred one after another amid battle.

Gu Xun'er's beautiful eyes widened. She wanted to stop it, but it was already too late.

What awaited the Gu Clan would be complete annihilation...

Before the might of a Dou Emperor, Gu Xun'er could only crawl upon the ground and struggle to endure even the pressure alone.

Zi Yan did not kill Gu Xun'er outright. She merely lifted her up like a chick and brought her into a space.

"Does it look familiar?" Zi Yan asked Gu Xun'er.

Gu Xun'er was not foolish. She immediately understood where Zi Yan had brought her. It was the small space Xiao Fan had created back then, the very place where she had used a secret technique to kill Xiao Fan and seize the Origin Qi.

"So you know..."

"Don't worry, I won't kill you. You will spend eternity in this space regretting the past."

"Heh, I have nothing to regret!" Gu Xun'er's gaze only flickered for a moment before becoming still again.

Zi Yan struck with her palm. Gu Xun'er's Dou Saint-level Dou Qi instantly dispersed, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

"How pitiful..." Zi Yan looked down at Gu Xun'er, who lay prone upon the ground. The anger in her heart had not diminished in the slightest. What Xiao Fan had suffered back then was far worse than this.

"Gu Xun'er, I'm afraid even you never imagined that you had been deceived. From beginning to end, you were merely a pawn used by the Xiao Family."

"What did you say?! Don't slander Brother Xiao Yan!"

"Slander? Why would I slander him? This is the truth. Let me guess—did you first develop feelings for Xiao Yan because he helped ease your chaotic Heavenly Flames when you were young?"

"Every night, someone wearing a mask would come to your bedside and absorb the energy emitted by your Heavenly Flames."

Gu Xun'er's beautiful eyes widened sharply. She did not understand why Zi Yan knew about these matters. These things should have been known only to her and Brother Xiao Yan.

"What? Surprised that I know?"

Gu Xun'er glared at Zi Yan. Although her cultivation had been shattered, the pride in her bones remained.

But then Zi Yan spoke words Gu Xun'er utterly refused to believe. "Because that person was none other than Xiao Fan."

"How laughable. You would rather believe the one-sided words of Xiao Zhan and Xiao Yan than personally remove his mask."

"I really don't know whether your surname is Xiao or Gu."

With a mocking smile, Zi Yan took a Black Gilded Mask from her robes and showed it to Gu Xun'er.

"You! How do you have that mask?!" Gu Xun'er asked excitedly.

But Zi Yan offered no explanation. She placed the mask into her Storage Ring, tore open space, and left. Meanwhile, the Gu Clan was thoroughly torn apart beneath the now vastly strengthened Ancient Void Dragon Clan.

Within the space, Gu Xun'er blankly recalled everything that had just happened. As she connected it with the many memories of her childhood, she realized that there truly had been countless suspicious details back then.

Every one of them told her that Zi Yan had not lied to her, and that she herself had killed the man who had devoted himself to her.

She wanted to prove otherwise, yet there was nothing she could do. The entire space had been sealed. With no cultivation remaining, she could not escape at all.

She could only spend the long years in this space, passing the rest of her life amid doubt and self-reproach.

Zi Yan wanted Gu Xun'er to experience the loneliness Xiao Fan had felt back then—quietly waiting for death, without even a shred of hope.

"Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor, all resources have been collected, and the fleeing members of the Gu Clan are still being hunted."

Joy and excitement filled the elder's eyes as he looked at Zi Yan. The Ancient Void Dragon Clan had produced another Dou Emperor. Every Ancient Void Dragon was waiting for the Dragon Emperor's next command, perhaps even an order to unify the Dou Qi Continent.

Yet Zi Yan listened absentmindedly to the arguments of the other clansmen.

After a long while...

"Enough! All of you, withdraw."

Zi Yan waved her hand. The Ancient Void Dragon Clan understood their Dragon Emperor's impatience, and within moments, only the Great Elder remained.

"Great Elder, is there anything else?"

Facing the Dragon Emperor, the Great Elder still felt somewhat nervous, but he forced himself to say, "Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor has yet to marry. If you have direct descendants with a Dou Emperor Bloodline, they will surely soar to great heights. I ask Your Majesty to consider this carefully."

After a long silence, the Great Elder was already drenched in sweat. Beneath Zi Yan's invisible pressure, he did not even dare raise his head. At this moment, he deeply regretted saying those words.

"Great Elder, do not bring this matter up again. Otherwise, do not blame me for being merciless."

"Yes, Your Majesty the Dragon Emperor."

After the Great Elder left timidly, Zi Yan could no longer suppress the emotion in her heart and came to a cave somewhere on the continent.

"Oh? The little monkey actually broke through to an eighth-tier magical beast."

"Dragon Emperor!" The magical beast before her was both excited and afraid upon seeing her.

"Tch, boring." Zi Yan walked straight into the cave. Its furnishings were exceedingly simple: a straw mat, a pill furnace, and nothing else.

Yet this simple arrangement made Zi Yan feel unbearably irritated once more.

Whenever she felt irritated, Zi Yan would unconsciously swallow a medicinal pill. Perhaps she was the only one on the entire continent who dared eat them like this, since even the ones in her hand were made from medicinal ingredients or pills of at least the eighth tier.

A dignified Dou Emperor muttered to herself like a child.

"Xiao Fan, did you see that... I'm a Dou Emperor now..."

Zi Yan swallowed a honey-flavored Sugar Pill.

"A Dou Emperor, you know. The strongest on the whole continent. Strong enough to flatten Xiao Fan with one punch."

Zi Yan ate another honey-flavored Sugar Pill.

"It's my turn to protect you now, hehe."

Zi Yan dug out another Sugar Pill and swallowed it.

"Pah! It tastes awful!"

"Xiao Fan... I'm out of Sugar Pills. Make some for me."

Zi Yan habitually took out a pile of medicinal ingredients, but there was no one else around her.

"Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan... Xiao Fan is gone."

"Why... didn't you even leave behind your soul..."