Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, the Secret of the Eight Clans, the Projections of the Heavens Were About to Begin

"Is this the Beast Mound?"

After swallowing half a kilogram of pills to recover, Xiao Yan refreshed himself with a flick of his wrist.

Drug resistance was also a talent, and fortunately, his software and hardware talents were both invincible.

Once he had more or less recovered, Xiao Yan finally looked around.

It was obvious at a glance that this was a ruined space. Xiao Yan could see what seemed to be walls of air around him, beyond which lay a pitch-black abyss.

The main body of this space was a valley floating above the black abyss. The moment he entered, he was greeted by dense resentment and baleful energy. All he could see were different kinds of beast bones, some of which still radiated formidable auras.

Both the terrain and the aura of this place were exactly like that valley in the Beast Mountain Range, except this place was the source of it all.

His gaze lingered briefly on those beast skeletons that seemed to belong to seventh-tier Magical Beasts or even higher before Xiao Yan looked toward the depths of the ruins.

Those skeletons only looked frightening. In truth, all the energy within them had already been drained. If nothing unexpected had happened, they had been used as nourishment.

Ever since entering, Xiao Yan's body had felt as though it were burning. Even in his normal state, the energy in his body was boiling.

His entire being was unusually restless.

There was only one explanation for this.

The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

"A place where ten thousand beasts were buried. Kid, your opportunity has arrived." At some point, Yao Lao's figure had reappeared beside Xiao Yan. There was a faint trace of unease between his brows, but his tone was rather lighthearted.

"From what I can tell, this was originally an intact minor world, a Myriad Beasts Graveyard created by a saint of the beast race. But clearly, with the passage of time, this minor world has been damaged. It may have scattered through the turbulent void. What you triggered, reconnecting with the Dou Qi Continent, was only one fragment of it.

What a fine opportunity!"

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow at that.

Yet instead of following up on Yao Lao's words, he gave him an amused once-over.

"Teacher, does that guy blocking the entrance outside have some connection to you?"

Yao Lao froze, while Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes.

So his instincts had been right after all.

"How did you figure it out? Soul aura? Our cultivation methods share the same origin, so naturally there is some similarity." After a moment of silence, Yao Lao shook his head slightly.

"Actually, that wasn't it." Xiao Yan grinned.

"It's simply because you both have the surname Yao."

Yao Lao: "..."

"There are plenty of people in the world surnamed Xiao, but I've barely met anyone surnamed Yao. That surname is clearly unusual.

So, Teacher, are you from the same clan?" Xiao Yan smiled. His intuition told him so, so he chose to get some answers from Yao Lao.

It was not a blind guess either. In a world where strength reigned supreme, there should theoretically be some top-tier clans, right?

He had not considered it before. Apart from bloodlines, there could also be master-disciple inheritances. But since he had encountered someone surnamed Yao, then this peerless old geezer, Yao Lao, should belong to some top-ranking clan.

"..." Yao Lao fell silent.

He did not want to say much about the Yao Clan. It was a place toward which he felt no affection whatsoever. Though they shared the same blood, they had been unwilling to part with a few fifth- or sixth-grade medicinal ingredients, allowing his parents, who had fought for the clan, to die in vain!

His only obsession regarding the Yao Clan was fulfilling his parents' dream and having their names engraved upon the clan monument.

He wanted nothing to do with anything else.

"Oh? It seems your relationship with the Yao Clan isn't very good, Teacher." Xiao Yan's eyes lit up.

It seemed his teacher was not quite as popular as he had boasted before.

In that case, once he made it big, he could go collect some debts and shake them down without any psychological burden.

One less bond, ten times the gains.

"...Though it may still be too early, since you've come into contact with this, I'll tell you a little."

Yao Chen shook his head. Other than some members of the Yao Clan, not even Soul Hall knew of his origins. As for how Xiao Yan had guessed them, aside from stumbling into dumb luck, Yao Lao felt it might also have something to do with his lack of knowledge... Ahem.

"In this world, there are the so-called Ancient Eight Clans. The Hun Clan and Gu Clan are the strongest, followed by the Yan, Yao, Lei, Shi, and Ling Clans. As for the last clan, it has already perished." At this point, Yao Chen paused, while Xiao Yan was taken aback.

Why did all these clans sound so strange? Especially the Gu Clan. The other clans seemed to be related to elements.

Then, seeing Yao Lao's gaze, Xiao Yan immediately laughed.

"Teacher, don't tell me the vanished clan was surnamed Xiao."

Yao Lao smiled without saying a word.

Xiao Yan: (¬_¬)

Xiao Yan felt that he might have guessed correctly, but this trope was far too cliché.

"I don't sense any bloodline within you. You don't need to overthink it. There may not be many people in the world surnamed Yao, but there are truly countless people surnamed Xiao." Yao Lao shook his head with a smile.

Xiao Yan was half convinced and half doubtful.

Logically speaking, he really should not be a descendant of that Xiao Clan.

But from his experience, it was unlikely that he was not a Xiao Clan descendant.

Still, it was no big deal. Xiao Yan felt that when traveling the world, one's identity was self-assigned. He could be a flexible Xiao Clansman.

"That guy outside..." Having prepared himself to switch clans at any time, Xiao Yan jerked his chin toward the rear.

Later, he could ask Yao Lao which places were friendly with the Xiao Clan and which bore grudges against it, making it easier for him to navigate the martial world flexibly...

Ahem, this concerned whether the one committing murder and arson was Yan Xiao or Xiao Huohuo...

Come to think of it, could Xun'er also be related to those ancient surviving clans? Such a thought suddenly surfaced in Xiao Yan's mind.

Was it possible that Xiao Xun'er was the genuine descendant of the Xiao Clan?

Xiao Yan felt that it was not impossible, and his thoughts drifted farther and farther away.

Before his thoughts could grow any stranger, Yao Lao's words pulled him back.

"He carries the aura of an old acquaintance." Yao Lao's brows furrowed imperceptibly.

When he had been about Xiao Yan's age, he had been expelled from the clan because of that person's teacher outside. To put it simply, the higher-ups of the Yao Clan had reserved their quotas internally. They disliked a wild brat rising to prominence, so they switched the medicinal ingredients and set a trap.

They then found an excuse to frame him and brought someone in to give false testimony. When the Yao Clan's law enforcement elders wanted to deal with a collateral clansman who did not even possess a first-grade bloodline, the outcome was naturally never in doubt.

Yao Chen's mother had died as a result. She had exhausted herself and fallen ill from overwork. A few medicinal herbs that were not even precious within the Yao Clan could have saved her life, yet no one had been willing to save her...

After considering it, Yao Chen only gave a rough explanation, but Xiao Yan had already guessed most of it.

As always, after reading millions of words of webnovels, even if one could not write them, one could still guess the plot.

"Then leave that bastard outside to me." Xiao Yan patted his chest and walked deeper into the ruins as he spoke.

Yao Lao had just opened his mouth when Xiao Yan waved a hand.

"The previous generation's matters belong to the previous generation. This generation's matters naturally belong to this generation. That man wants to refine me, so he has already earned the right to die."

Quoting someone's famous words, Xiao Yan grinned and gave the slightly stunned Yao Lao a thumbs-up.

"I'll say this first: if that guy beats the younger one and an older one comes afterward, then I'll leave that to you, Teacher."

A moment later.

One man and one soul arrived at a vast open area.

This place resembled an altar, with countless enormous Magical Beast skeletons bowing around it in tribute.

Judging from the whole, this space seemed to be one-fifth of the complete Beast Mound, and this appeared to be the southern region of the complete Beast Mound.

"Something like an array core in the southern region?" Xiao Yan scratched his head and began releasing his soul force to investigate.

The altar was damaged, with only a little more than half remaining. The rear portion of its center had been replaced by a stretch of void.

Yet neither of them focused on the crimson flame in the center of the altar, which took the shape of countless beasts.

Instead, they stared in shock beyond the turbulent void.

"Is this real?" Xiao Yan's eyes widened.

"Probably..." Yao Chen was equally stunned.

Because of the cross-section, they could see that beneath this floating landmass, a black cliff fragment jutted straight into the void.

But upon closer inspection, it was not a cliff at all. It was a skeletal wing the size of a mountain!

Even after countless years, black light still flowed across the pitch-black bone wing, radiating a cold and gloomy aura.

"What a huge chicken wing tip!" Xiao Yan blurted out.

He had never heard of such an enormous Magical Beast!

This was not some prehistoric world from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, where there were Kunpeng too huge to fit in a single pot. This mountain-sized wing tip truly shocked Xiao Yan.

So the upper limit of the Dou Qi Continent was this high?

"This aura—even across layers of void and after countless years of erosion—it is at least at the Dou Sheng level or above!

To be honest, I've never seen a Magical Beast like this. Even the Sky Demon Phoenix is nothing like it."

Yao Lao was equally shocked.

If the two of them faced the pressure of that beast skeleton directly, he did not dare imagine what would happen.

Yao Chen had seen Dou Sheng-level Magical Beasts before, but he had truly never seen anything like this.

Could it be an ancient Magical Beast that stood a step above the three great top-tier Magical Beasts?

"It's probably an ancient race. It couldn't have fallen from the sky.

I can't do anything with it right now. Once my strength improves, I'll come back and investigate.

I really want to refine that thing into wings."

Recovering his senses, Xiao Yan stopped looking at the enormous remains.

Instead, he walked toward the center of the altar.

He had obtained a Dou Technique called Eagle Wing from the Poison Master's ruins. It contained ideas on using Magical Beast limbs to create Dou Techniques. Xiao Yan really wanted to try refining these ancient wings into a pair of wings, though he did not dare imagine how powerful they would be.

But clearly, he could not even approach them right now.

He should eat what had been delivered to him first.

At the center of the altar was a palm-sized cluster of crimson flame. As it burned, countless Magical Beast figures appeared and vanished within it.

Xiao Yan could recognize some of them. Aside from the Magical Beasts he had fought before, one resembled the Amethyst Winged Lion King Yao Lao had told him about.

"Be careful. Heavenly Flames cannot be touched directly. I have already prepared the means for you! You only need to..." Yao Lao took out from his Storage Ring the pills he had refined over the past month for Xiao Yan to refine the Heavenly Flame.

But before Xiao Yan could respond, Yao Chen stuffed those things back, his voice becoming exceptionally bold.

"There is no need for that!" As he spoke, Xiao Yan grabbed the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame and refined it in an instant!" Yao Chen's voice rose and fell dramatically, as though he were an old storyteller who had been performing for decades.

Xiao Yan: (눈_눈)

Listening to Yao Lao narrate like that, Xiao Yan's expression twisted, and ten thousand alpacas galloped through his heart. He had no idea where to begin complaining.

After a moment of silence, he rolled his eyes and raised an internationally friendly gesture, but his steps did not stop.

Though Yao Lao's train of thought seemed to have become especially bizarre, he had coincidentally gotten it right.

Step by step, Xiao Yan advanced. With every step, a flicker of pure white flame emerged from his body.

By the time he reached the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, which radiated the pressure of countless Magical Beasts and scorching heat.

Xiao Yan's body had already transformed into a pure white Dharma body.

In his Dharma body state, Xiao Yan's mana bar and health bar were shared. As long as he was not completely beaten to death, once he transformed back into his physical body, his health bar would still be full. At most, he would gain an exhaustion debuff.

Thanks to this state, even after directly clashing with a Dou Wang of the Ancient Eight Clans who had activated a Clan Mark, all that had happened was that his mana bar had been emptied.

The reason he had not come over immediately earlier, aside from how shocking that sight had been, was that Xiao Yan had deliberately let himself recover first.

The fire-devouring technique recorded in the Flame Mantra was still too wild. He needed to make some preparations.

The world energy in this place was exceptionally dense, making it an excellent place to cultivate. That polluted energy, which would severely harm others upon inhalation, had no effect whatsoever on Xiao Yan. He could easily expel all impurities and refine the purest energy.

"This is the only state that makes devouring a Heavenly Flame satisfying." His eyes grew slightly unfocused as he felt his entire body stir after approaching the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

Xiao Yan wore a blissful expression, then suddenly opened his eyes. His massive pure white hand seized the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame.

Flames scattered everywhere as the crimson Myriad Beast Spirit Flame collided with the pure white Samadhi True Fire, setting off waves of searing heat.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yan opened his mouth and swallowed the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame in a single bite!

Giving the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame no room to resist, Xiao Yan circulated the Flame Mantra with all his might. The Sea of Bitterness Secret Realm blazed with light as divine radiance emerged from every limb and bone.

One bite, instant refinement!!!

The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame only sputtered a few sparks inside Xiao Yan's body before it was swept up in a torrent of flames and circulated through his limbs and bones.

After several cycles, it was devoured bit by bit, while Xiao Yan's aura gained a few traces of primordial wildness.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The taste really is good. That old bastard Tou She Ancient God didn't lie to me."

A moment later, Xiao Yan opened his eyes again. His aura surged tremendously as he smacked his lips, savoring the flavor of devouring the flame.

The final pages of the Flame Mantra recorded what it felt like to devour Heavenly Flames. The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame was like a skewer of grilled meat made by taking the most delicious cut from hundreds of millions of rare beasts and combining their best qualities.

Xiao Yan had thought it was the author's dry humor.

But after eating it, it was actually true!

Just as he was about to boast properly, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. The perception deep within his soul told him that the mist obscuring the space had dispersed.

The next projection of the heavens could begin at any time!

Suppressing his eager heart for the moment, Xiao Yan smiled and wildly showed off the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame before Yao Lao.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Refining a Heavenly Flame truly was dangerous. I was only a tiny, tiny bit away from exploding to death."

"..." A black line appeared on Yao Chen's forehead as he stared at the animated Xiao Yan with dead fish eyes.

He had not even processed it yet, but Xiao Yan had somehow already finished. It left him with an indescribable feeling.

Comparisons truly made people furious. Refining the Bone Chilling Flame back then had not been like this for him!

This was not how one refined a Heavenly Flame! You were supposed to do this first, then this, and only at the end could you see the special success scene for refining a Heavenly Flame!