The Ancient Clans all shared one failing.
They looked down on anyone who did not belong to an Ancient Clan.
Fan Tian was eighteen, a Five-Star Dou Zong.
Even a prodigy from an Emperor Clan would only be at that level.
Yet when Yao Wangui took Yao Ling away, he had not so much as batted an eyelid.
Likewise, in the Spirit Clan's eyes, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan was nothing more than a flock of mongrel birds.
The Ancient Heavenly Phoenix might have qualified for their respect, but the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan certainly did not.
Thus, under the combined assault of Gu You from the Hall of Souls and Huang Kun, the Spirit Clan's Dou Zun experts fell one after another in pools of blood. Only their Half-Saint remained, severely wounded and struggling against two opponents alone.
The Spirit Clan Half-Saint tried several times to crush a Spatial Jade Slip and summon help.
But each attempt was thwarted by the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan's secret art, which suppressed the surrounding space and prevented even the slightest spatial fluctuation from escaping.
"Bastards! You mongrel birds dare attack members of my Spirit Clan? One day, we will storm the Beast Region and slaughter every last one of you!"
"How arrogant!"
"Die!"
Caught between Huang Kun and Gu You, the Half-Saint ultimately detonated himself.
"Not good! His soul escaped!" Huang Kun exclaimed in alarm. As a magical beast, she was hardly adept at handling soul power.
"No matter, Elder Huang Kun. Our immediate priority is to notify your Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan's Clan Leader and supreme elders. After we killed their Half-Saint and so many Dou Zun, the Spirit Clan will never let this rest."
"Well..."
Huang Kun hesitated.
She had never wanted to get involved, but every member of the Spirit Clan walked around with their nostrils pointed at the sky, acting as though heaven ranked first and they ranked second. One disagreement, and they started threatening to kill!
Seemingly noticing Huang Kun's hesitation, Gu You continued, "Once an arrow leaves the bow, there is no calling it back. Don't forget, the Spirit Clan said they would storm the Beast Region and slaughter every last one of you mongrel birds!"
"Damn it! You so-called descendants of Emperor Clans are no different from us magical beasts in the end. Your cultivation talent depends on the grade of the bloodline in your bodies, too. And you still look down on us?"
"Hehe, you are absolutely right, Elder Huang Kun. The Hall of Souls is willing to ally with the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and fight shoulder to shoulder!"
Huang Kun's expression darkened, and she hurriedly waved her hand.
"Hehe, there's no rush. Once I return to the Beast Region, our Clan Leader and supreme elders can make that decision!"
Huang Kun knew perfectly well what sort of reputation the Hall of Souls had. In short, none of them were good birds.
Without waiting for Gu You's reply, Huang Kun tore open space with a wave of her hand, preparing to take her fellow birds away.
"Hmph! You killed members of our Spirit and Stone Clans, and now you think you can leave?"
A fierce shout rang out, and the Spatial Passage Huang Kun had torn open was disrupted.
"A Dou Sheng?"
Gu You's expression changed drastically. Dou Qi surged from him as he urgently shouted at Huang Kun, "What are you standing there for? Call for help!"
The Black-Corner Region.
Black Seal City.
After an intense bidding battle, the Heavenly Mansion's low-grade seventh-tier medicinal pill went to the Black Emperor Sect.
In exchange, the Black Emperor Sect offered a dried corpse measuring several dozen zhang in size.
The corpse's flesh and bones were thoroughly desiccated, but its enormous wings, already reduced to something resembling bare bone, immediately caught Fan Tian's eye.
The enormous wings were peculiar, resembling jade and giving off a faint luminescence.
Clearly, they still contained an astonishing amount of energy.
This must be that dried corpse from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan. Xiao Yan obtained it in the original novel, and those wings eventually brought him into conflict with Feng Qing'er!
Black Seal City's two-day auction came to an end, and everyone dispersed. Fan Tian tossed the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan's dried corpse to Cao Ying and Dan Chen for them to study carefully.
Sound Valley had no scrolls for creating Flying Dou Techniques, but the Spirit Clan did.
Fan Tian had obtained the Spirit Clan's young Clan Leader's Storage Ring, which contained a high-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique scroll for creating a Flying Dou Technique.
He had to admit that the Ancient Clans possessed truly rich legacies. Unfortunately, Fan Tian had not found a scroll for refining puppets.
The Bodhi Body-Transforming Saliva, the Six-Union Wandering Body Ruler, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map, secret arts for refining puppets-the Black-Corner Region certainly had no shortage of treasures.
"Mansion Lord, the Dou Wang we sent to the Jia Ma Empire a month ago has sent word back!" Yuan Yi said after finding Fan Tian.
Fan Tian perked up, invited Yuan Yi to sit, and motioned for him to continue.
"Mansion Lord, according to our investigation, the Xiao Clan's Third Young Master in Wutan City recently completed his Coming-of-Age Ceremony. He now appears to be training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range!"
Fan Tian nodded.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range held the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture and Xiao Yi Xian, as well as Yun Yun, that busty but brainless Dou Emperor from the Misty Cloud Sect.
The situation was still manageable. He only needed to reach the Tagor Desert before Xiao Yan seized the green lotus core flame.
Xiao Yan had many fortuitous opportunities, but their core amounted to his identity as an Alchemist and his heavenly flames.
Now, Fan Tian's report had left the Hun Clan battered and overwhelmed, with the whole world campaigning against them. Even if the Hun Clan did not lose, they could not possibly gather the Ancient Jade as quickly as they had in the original novel.
Next, he would suppress Xiao Yan, that favored son of fortune.
"Yuan Yi, continue recruiting experts from the Black-Corner Region. Expanding our strength is the Heavenly Mansion's most urgent task, but do not provoke conflicts with Jia Nan Academy, the Black Emperor Sect, Demon Flame Valley, or the Black Alliance!"
"The Black Alliance?" Yuan Yi frowned. "Mansion Lord, there doesn't seem to be any faction by that name in the Black-Corner Region!"
"Hehe, there soon will be!" Fan Tian tapped his fingertips lightly against the table.
Now that Jia Nan Academy had stopped accepting students, he did not know whether Yao Lao would still bring Xiao Yan to the Black-Corner Region. If they came...
The Jia Ma Empire.
The mountain behind the Misty Cloud Sect.
"Pfft!"
The former Misty Cloud Sect Master spat out a mouthful of blood, his aura dwindling.
"There is simply no path to follow in advancing to Dou Zong!"
His allotted lifespan was nearing its end. While his blood and vitality were still barely sufficient, he had finally given in to the urge to charge at that barrier.
Clearly, he had failed.
Had Gu He not prepared several sixth-tier healing pills for him, he would not even have retained his Peak Dou Emperor cultivation.
Yun Shan let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with desolation.
The man who had once commanded the winds and clouds of the Jia Ma Empire seemed to have already glimpsed his own end.
"If someone could help me break through to Dou Zong, I would give them even the Misty Cloud Sect's centuries-old foundation!"
Yun Shan thought of his beloved disciple. Her cultivation talent was decent, but she was busty and brainless. If she married the wrong man in the future, wouldn't the Misty Cloud Sect...
"I might as well settle Yun'er's marriage early, while this old man is still alive."
The next day.
News that Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect Master, was seeking a husband spread throughout the Jia Ma Empire until everyone knew.
The disciple had broken her engagement, while her teacher was seeking a husband. For a time, the rumors boiled over!
Of course, Fan Tian did not know that his report had triggered a whole series of butterfly effects.
Protector Wu, who should have gone to the Misty Cloud Sect, was instead in the Central Plains with Iron Protector, fleeing all over the place from the Spirit and Stone Clans' Dou Zong experts.
"Brother Iron, go ahead! I'll hold them off!" Protector Wu shouted urgently.
"No! If we leave, we leave together!" A fierce expression rose on Iron Protector's face.
Four Dou Zong stood opposite them.
Those Dou Zong wore enormous question marks on their faces.
Everyone said the people of the Hall of Souls forgot loyalty at the sight of profit. Apparently, rumors could not be trusted.
"Old Iron, how about this? I'll go get reinforcements first. Hold them off for a while!" Without so much as looking back, Protector Wu fled faster than a rabbit.
He left behind a stunned Iron Protector.
Alone, utterly disheveled in the wind.
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