Yao Clan Dou Wang? I'll Kill You Within Three Days

"Dou Qi cultivation isn't like this..." The resentful muttering of a lonely ghost lingered in the air.

Within the Beast Mountain Range, Xiao Yan's body was half-transformed into flames as he sped through the air thirty meters above the ground like a meteor.

Following the faint sensation guiding him, he fled toward the depths of the Beast Mountain Range.

He could clearly sense that his own aura seemed to have drawn forth some ruins—or perhaps something else into the world.

As Xiao Yan flew onward, Yao Lao's half-illusory face was somewhat dazed.

He felt as though he could no longer keep up with the times.

"Have I already fallen behind?" Yao Lao murmured softly, his voice still lingering beside Xiao Yan's ears like that of a wandering ghost.

Xiao Yan's meteoric progress had already made him question his entire life.

What did it mean for a Dou Master to casually kill a Dou Ling?

And what did it mean to cultivate an inheritance of a Dou Emperor and accidentally trigger an ancient ruin?

Wasn't the Flame Mantra supposed to require Heavenly Flames to cultivate? Never mind that he could cultivate a technique at the Dou Qi stage that ordinary people could only cultivate after becoming Dou Zhe—his talent and luck were...

After being lost in thought like a broken record for a moment, Yao Lao suddenly shook his head.

He looked at Xiao Yan as though he were looking at some kind of beast.

Godlike. Inhuman!

This was a divine monster!

"Tou She Ancient God was born before you. Putting aside whether kings can coexist, perhaps there truly was some sense in avoiding your edge..." Yao Chen sighed toward the sky.

Comparing people really could drive one mad!

Even if Xiao Yan one day truly found several hundred Dou Emperor caves scattered across the continent, just like the rumors Yao Chen had heard, he would not be surprised.

Xiao Yan was already cheating this hard. He might as well give him everything.

"Hehe, Teacher, I get the feeling you're thinking something very disrespectful." Within the enveloping flames, Xiao Yan raised a brow. Yao Lao's expression pleased him greatly.

They had already reached a relatively deep area of the Beast Mountain Range, where fifth- and sixth-tier magical beasts roamed. Seeing that he was not far from the strange space he sensed, Xiao Yan decisively transformed completely into his Dharma body. His speed surged again as he raced through the sky without any concealment.

Such brazen behavior immediately provoked countless furious roars. Fifth- and sixth-tier magical beasts were enough to rule their own territories, so naturally they were displeased by someone acting so arrogantly within their domains.

Yet by the time they reacted, Xiao Yan had already entered the territory of the next magical beast.

Xiao Yan did not care how they reacted. So long as he was not fatally injured, he could take a hit if he had to.

Ruins would not wait for anyone. Who knew what kind of secret realm he had triggered?

"Teacher, do you think this might be related to that fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame map I found?"

Recalling the map fragment he had obtained in the poison master's cave dwelling, Xiao Yan sent a message through his soul.

After Yao Lao had identified it, they learned that it was a map to the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, yet Yao Lao had not sensed any trace of fire aura from it.

Xiao Yan felt that the map could not be simple. Perhaps it was like a Dragon Ball—gather enough pieces, and one could summon the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame or something.

"..." After a moment of silence, Yao Chen's mouth twitched. "How could that be possible? Leaving aside what level of existence the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame is, we're in the Beast Mountain Range, in the northwestern corner of the continent. Even if a Heavenly Flame appeared here, it wouldn't be the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame."

"True."

Xiao Yan nodded heavily. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized that this was most likely related to some other Heavenly Flame.

After all, he had only just obtained one map fragment. No matter what, he had to find the remaining fragments before obtaining the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame. Otherwise, what was the point of the map?

If he had the luck to encounter the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame right now, Xiao Yan felt that he probably would not have found a map fragment at all. He would have found it directly.

And since he had found a map fragment, then according to Chekhov's gun, this map would definitely serve a purpose later on.

Xiao Yan understood everything.

"...Although I don't know what you understood, I have a feeling you understood it wrong." Yao Lao's mouth twitched. He still could not grasp the thought process of this divine monster of a disciple. Xiao Yan's thinking was too erratic, but that suited a genius. They said geniuses and madmen were separated by only a thin line.

Though when Xiao Yan lost his mind, he claimed to be the king of heaven himself...

"Then if this isn't the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, what could it be?"

The flames on Xiao Yan's body slowly faded, and he returned from his fiery state to human form.

He slowly descended and looked around. This was a silent valley.

It was deathly still, its baleful aura soaring into the heavens. Every rock within sight was black with faint traces of blood-red light, while countless weathered fragments of tiny beast bones lay scattered everywhere.

Ancient, sorrowful, desolate.

Even without spreading out his soul power, Xiao Yan could sense that countless remnants of magical beast souls seemed to linger here.

Though the aura was not particularly dense, combined with the scene before him, this was undoubtedly the burial ground of countless magical beasts.

It sounded terrifying, but after being eroded by time, Xiao Yan estimated that even ordinary Dou Masters or Dou Zhe could enter and explore this place.

No matter how terrifying the magical beasts that had once died here were, before the erosion of time, everything would eventually fade into ordinary dust.

"Then it can only be the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame." Yao Chen narrowed his eyes.

"The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame?" Xiao Yan blinked.

He recalled the information on the Heavenly Flame Ranking that Yao Lao had shown him, along with the various rumors circulating in the world.

Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. It was born in places where countless beasts gathered, condensing the souls of myriad beasts and combining the bloodlines of myriad beasts, faintly taking on the forms of myriad beasts.

If this Heavenly Flame were to appear anywhere on the entire Dou Qi Continent, then a place where magical beasts gathered, like the Beast Mountain Range, would be the most likely location.

This was also one of the reasons Xiao Yan and Yao Lao had decided to come to the Beast Mountain Range to cultivate first.

The continent was so vast. How could finding Heavenly Flames be easy? Passing through a place where Heavenly Flames might appear and trying their luck was entirely beneficial with no downside.

That was what Xiao Yan thought, but Yao Lao had a different idea. He had already been completely convinced by Xiao Yan's luck and even had an absurd fantasy: as long as there was even the slightest possibility, could Xiao Yan's luck turn that possibility into reality?

"Come to think of it, doesn't this thing have grades too?" As he strode toward the depths of the valley, Xiao Yan felt that he had discovered a blind spot.

Since this Heavenly Flame absorbed the essence of myriad beasts, then theoretically, its strength and abilities should be related to the magical beasts that served as nourishment. There was no reason for a Myriad Beast Spirit Flame born from a pile of low-tier magical beast bones to possess the same strength as one born from the bones of top-tier magical beasts.

"There are rumors that the upper and lower limits of the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame are both quite low. There isn't just one of them, and apparently, two Myriad Beast Spirit Flames have even appeared at the same time before. But their strengths were worlds apart.

"And it seems that this thing can grow." Yao Chen stroked his beard.

The information was not guaranteed to be true, but it was said that powerful figures from the Yao Clan and Yan Clan had once each possessed a Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. One had found his in some forgotten corner, while the other had seemingly found his in an ancient magical beast battlefield dominated by Sky Demon Phoenixes and Ancient Void Dragons.

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. Making the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame his first Heavenly Flame seemed like an extremely wise decision.

The deeper he went, the more clearly he could feel that fluctuation.

Only then did Xiao Yan roughly understand why this valley looked so extraordinary, yet no magical beasts had settled nearby.

As he went deeper, Xiao Yan gradually discovered that the auras of those beast souls within the valley were basically all seeping out from the depths. The remnants that had originally remained outside had long since been worn away by time.

Only that separate space he had stirred into activity still retained its aura.

Before long, Xiao Yan stopped in front of a cave.

There was a stone door before the cave, yet the door itself was solid. Countless patterns resembling various magical beasts covered its surface.

There did not seem to be any path inside.

Even when he and Yao Lao probed it with soul power, its interior was nothing but solid mountain rock, without the slightest hint of anything unusual.

"Then I roughly understand..." Recalling the state he had entered when he resonated with this place, Xiao Yan began moving his body.

He closed his eyes slightly, then opened them again. Xiao Yan's body transformed into pure white flames, and divine light shone brilliantly in his eyes.

In this state, Xiao Yan could clearly sense the mystery of the door.

Within his vision, the originally thick stone door vanished, replaced by a translucent skeleton wreathed in flames.

Xiao Yan tentatively reached out his hand. As expected, it passed through with ease. Yet even though his essence, energy, and spirit were united in his current state, once his hand crossed through, he could no longer sense the world beyond the door.

Beyond it seemed to be an independent separate space.

"There should be a small world behind this, though it's more likely to be a broken separate space." Upon hearing Xiao Yan's description, Yao Chen's eyelids twitched.

Could the upper limit of these ruins actually be related to the Dou Saint level?

However, Yao Chen also understood that whatever lay inside could not be at that level. While Dou Saints could open small worlds, given the actual circumstances, this place that seemed to be a true beast graveyard was most likely only a broken space.

Even so, it shocked Yao Chen somewhat.

There could not possibly be few treasures within a broken space that had been severed from the Dou Qi Continent.

It might even connect to a complete small world beyond!

More importantly, Xiao Yan alone could enjoy these ruins!

"Although I can roughly guess what you're thinking, Teacher, I don't think that's very likely. An uninvited guest has arrived."

Xiao Yan scratched the flames burning atop his head.

He truly wanted to monopolize these ruins as well, but whether according to classic tropes or reality, it was clear that the part where people fought over secret realm treasures was unavoidable.

He turned back and looked toward the horizon. At some point, a black dot had appeared at the end of his vision.

The black dot rapidly grew larger at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within only a few breaths, a figure clad in green Dou Qi wings came clearly into view.

Transforming Dou Qi into wings to fly—this was the exclusive ability of a Dou Wang!

At this realm, one could already begin borrowing the power of heaven and earth to increase one's strength. It was a watershed compared to the earlier realms.

Within the Jia Ma Empire, Dou Wang were already peak experts. Every one of them possessed great prestige and fame.

A Dou Wang-level expert...

The flames in Xiao Yan's eyes grew increasingly intense, and his face was filled with eagerness.

He could kill fourth-tier magical beasts comparable to Dou Ling with a wave of his hand. If he went all out, what would happen if he faced a Dou Wang?

Xiao Yan greatly wanted to test his current combat strength.

But before that, he should consume everything edible first.

With that thought, flames erupted around Xiao Yan. Boundless Samadhi True Fire swept through the entire valley in an instant, refining all the residual essence within the beast bones and soul remnants before devouring it all into himself.

Yet this scene caused the figure in the sky to burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha! An unknown Heavenly Flame spirit!? And it's actually this weak? Heaven is truly helping me, Yao Nuo!!!"

In the sky, the middle-aged man in green robes froze for a moment. Then intense ecstasy and greed flashed in his eyes as his voice, carried by Dou Qi, spread clearly throughout the entire valley.

To him, Xiao Yan below, whose entire body was formed from white flames, was undoubtedly a supreme opportunity bestowed by heaven and earth!

He had long heard from the elders of his clan that Heavenly Flames possessed intelligence, but he had truly never seen one that was both so weak and so intelligent!

As he suddenly accelerated, Dou Qi frantically gathered in his hand. Once he got close, he intended to deliver Xiao Yan a devastating blow.

Yao Chen, who had returned to the Ancient Ring in advance after sensing that something was wrong, narrowed his eyes.

It was actually someone from the Yao Clan?!

And that Dou Technique... Memories of the past flooded into Yao Chen's mind in an instant, leaving him somewhat dazed.

"Oh? You actually want to refine me?" Feeling the terrifying fluctuations as the worldly energy above gathered frantically, Xiao Yan raised a brow, and light blazed in his eyes.

His aura soared in an instant, ascending to its utmost peak. Blazing flames condensed from thin air in his hand into an ancient ruler. The surrounding air was scorched until it distorted, while the worldly energy throughout the valley was frantically drawn in and gathered together!

One above and one below, one in heaven and one on earth—centered around the two of them, the worldly energy was frantically pulled, torn apart, gathered, and collided!

Several explosive sounds rang out from within his body. After activating secret techniques such as the Eight Gates, Xiao Yan's combat strength was fully unleashed.

From below upward, gathering all the strength in his body, he swung his ruler!

Mighty flames shot straight into the heavens! Like a phoenix soaring through clouds, they rushed toward Yao Nuo's body.

In the sky, Yao Nuo panicked for a moment. He had not expected Xiao Yan, whom he had regarded as easy prey, to erupt with such terrifying power in an instant.

But he quickly forced himself to calm down. This was how a Heavenly Flame should be!

And unlike those useless trash outside!

A vicious gleam flashed in Yao Nuo's eyes. Though he was useless within the clan, just like his teacher Yao Yun, who had once committed perjury and driven Yao Chen, the continent's number one alchemist, out of the clan, he was merely an inferior collateral descendant.

But in the outside world, he was a lofty descendant of the ancient eight clans!

A strange green pattern appeared between Yao Nuo's brows. A medicinal fragrance immediately spread out, and the cyan-green radiance in his palm grew increasingly rich.

He possessed a fourth-grade bloodline—though it was merely a false fourth-grade bloodline—just barely enough to inscribe a Clan Mark. His aptitude was abysmally poor, but to the outside world, it was already an overwhelming advantage!

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!!!

The two mighty Dou Techniques collided, and for a moment, neither could overpower the other. However, as a smile flashed across Xiao Yan's eyes, the enormous ruler phantom detonated a second time, and pale flames instantly swallowed the entire sky.

"Damn it! I'll refine you ruthlessly!!!"

With a shrill scream, Yao Nuo barely drove out the Samadhi True Fire with the soul power strengthened by his Clan Mark. Yet his entire body was already charred black, and his soul had suffered severe damage.

But just as his fury reached its peak, Xiao Yan's figure vanished from the valley. Yao Nuo widened his eyes and stepped closer, only to discover that the stone door at the end of the valley had somehow become transparent.

Xiao Yan's figure was clearly visible within it.

"Trash will always be trash. Even when I give you a chance, you're useless. Wash your neck and wait for me, kid. I'll kill you within three days!"

Xiao Yan gave Yao Nuo, who was raging helplessly and unable to enter, the middle finger. Then he strode deeper inside with arrogant swagger as the transparent stone door gradually returned to normal.

"Ahhhhh!!!!" Yao Nuo's eyes turned blood-red. In his rage, he could not say anything beyond roaring. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He blasted half the valley into collapse, then stopped caring about anything else. With a flip of his hand, he took out a jade talisman and viciously crushed it.

Though he feared that his teacher would steal his opportunity, he could no longer care about that now!