Xiao Long returned to his courtyard. A moment later, the Snake Talisman's power surged forth, rendering him invisible. The Tou She Ancient God Jade in his hand likewise vanished from sight.
The Snake Talisman could turn people and objects invisible along with him. Although he did not know whether anyone was lurking near the Xiao Clan,
at least this added another layer of protection.
Still, that probably was not necessary. As far as certain forces watching the Xiao Clan were concerned, the Tou She Ancient God Jade had likely been lost long ago.
Xiao Xun'er was probably just an idle piece the Gu Clan had placed on the board. Even a force as small as the Xiao Clan had several competing factions within it.
That went doubly for an ancient imperial clan like the Gu Clan, with a legacy stretching back ten thousand years.
The saying "a small temple breeds fierce demonic winds; a shallow pond teems with turtles" mocked how even a tiny force could be riddled with factions.
But at its root, that was because competing factions truly did exist within great powers.
Within Xiao Long's mind, the Sheep Talisman on Shendu, who looked like a coiled pile of shit, flashed.
Instantly.
Xiao Long sensed a trace of spiritual awareness within the Tou She Ancient God Jade, making him raise an eyebrow.
"Could Tou She Ancient God have left this behind?"
Xiao Long pondered it. It could only have been left by Tou She Ancient God, considering he was the last Dou Di.
Even a Dou Sheng could not possibly tamper with something he had left behind. Otherwise, Hun Tiandi would not have gone to such great lengths to collect the Tou She Ancient God Jade.
"Then I really have to get a taste of it."
Even Xiao Long grew excited. After all, this was something connected to a Dou Di.
As the Sheep Talisman activated, his consciousness sank into the Tou She Ancient God Jade in his hand.
The next moment.
The world before his eyes abruptly transformed.
A figure appeared before him.
He looked like an old man in black robes. Faint flames rose from his brilliantly colored hair, displaying twenty-one hues in an exceptionally strange sight.
His face was ordinary and unremarkable, yet his eyes, as deep as the starry sky, seemed to belong to the ruler of heaven and earth.
"Tou She Ancient God?"
Xiao Long had not expected to actually meet Tou She Ancient God.
In an instant, Tou She Ancient God's eyes met Xiao Long's.
While Xiao Long stood stunned, he suddenly discovered that his surroundings were changing again.
Flames and magma filled the world. He was rooted in that magma, and his perspective began to shift.
Xiao Long could not control any of it. Time kept accelerating, and from his perspective, he was constantly devouring magma and flames.
But Xiao Long knew that he was now a mass of flame.
Until one day, he encountered a dark-yellow flame, and a fierce battle erupted between the two flames.
His "self" completely devoured that dark-yellow flame, becoming stronger and freer.
He left the flame-filled underground and began appearing in all sorts of places, searching for things like the dark-yellow flame he had devoured.
Xiao Long now knew who he was.
He was Tou She Ancient God's flame, experiencing its growth from the weakest Heavenly Flame to the strongest.
Yin-Yang twin flames, myriad beast spirit flame, netherworld poison flame...
He continuously devoured flames filled with unique powers. He also encountered many enemies who wanted to refine him or destroy him.
But he defeated every one of them.
Yet Xiao Long felt as though a membrane separated him from these experiences. The same was true of certain flames. Only with the myriad beast spirit flame and green lotus core flame,
along with the golden emperor burning heaven flame and nine nether wind flame-those four flames-did he feel as though he had experienced the entire process.
When the other flames were devoured, it was as though he watched through a pane of glass.
In other words.
He had experienced those four firsthand, while the rest felt more like watching a movie.
Time continued to pass. Through devouring flames and fighting battles, Tou She Ancient God finally reached the Dou Di realm. Before ascending, he made numerous copies of his cultivation method, the Flame Mantra, and scattered them among many ruins.
At the same time, he sealed his abode, using a piece of jade as the key to his inheritance. Both the Flame Mantra and the Tou She Ancient God Jade had to be present.
Only then could his inheritance be fully unlocked. Otherwise, all anyone could obtain was an embryonic Emperor Pill.
Finally, Tou She Ancient God released the Heavenly Flames he had devoured. He no longer needed them.
But he discovered that the nihility devouring flame and purifying lotus demon flame had actually developed intelligence within him because he had used them so extensively.
Heavenly Flames were inherently destructive. Even after developing intelligence, they remained filled with a desire for destruction.
Thus, Tou She Ancient God imprisoned them within the Heavenly Flame Plaza he had refined. He did not seal the other Heavenly Flames; once he left this place, they would reappear across the Dou Qi Continent one by one.
The next moment.
The view before Xiao Long's eyes shifted again, and the interior of his room reappeared before him.
"Whew..."
So I experienced Tou She Ancient God's life firsthand-or rather, one-eighth of it? Xiao Long mused.
Some of those experiences had felt just as he had sensed them: covered by a layer of frosted glass. He could only watch, without truly feeling anything.
Yet even that one-eighth had brought him extraordinary gains.
"Two Heaven-tier cultivation methods, four Heaven-tier Dou Techniques, and a special alchemy art that uses nothing but flames to refine pills."
"And the complete Flame Mantra..."
Xiao Long had not expected obtaining the Tou She Ancient God Jade to also resolve his greatest problem.
A cultivation method.
During Tou She Ancient God's era, the Dou Qi Continent had still been fairly prosperous. In fact, when he was born, there had still been Dou Di alive in the world.
Thus, Heaven-tier cultivation methods and Heaven-tier Dou Techniques could only be considered uncommon, not scarce. Tou She Ancient God had acquired many as he grew.
There was also the special alchemy art Tou She Ancient God had devised himself, using only flames to sense medicinal ingredients. He had refined that embryonic Emperor Pill himself.
He had the body of a Heavenly Flame, so naturally, he could not possess a wood attribute.
Most importantly.
There was also the complete Flame Mantra. That was what truly surprised Xiao Long.
"The locations of those four flames..."
Xiao Long faintly sensed that he could now pinpoint the locations of the four Heavenly Flames whose devouring he seemed to have experienced firsthand.
Naturally, the closest one was right nearby.
The golden emperor burning heaven flame.
"And the myriad beast spirit flame?"
Xiao Long frowned slightly. The second closest was actually the myriad beast spirit flame. He also recognized the direction he sensed: it lay in a place he often visited.
The Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"Well, damn."
Xiao Long rubbed his chin. He had not expected the myriad beast spirit flame to be so close. In truth, his desire for Heavenly Flames was not particularly strong.
But if he wanted to resolve Xiao Yi Xian's condition, setting aside whether the bittersweet tree could actually help,
he did not know the specifics of the Poison Pill Method, but he did know it required at least three Heavenly Flames.
"Then should I cultivate the Flame Mantra?"
Xiao Long was torn. He certainly knew where many Heavenly Flames were, and with his Shendu template, he possessed an innate power to suppress flames.
Devouring Heavenly Flames would not be nearly as agonizing for him as it was for Little Yanzi. He could arguably have the easiest time cultivating the Flame Mantra.
Soon, Xiao Long made his decision.
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