A tremendous haul

"Good. You haven't disappointed me. You have the makings of a true powerhouse.

"In that case, I shall honor our agreement and give you all my cultivation!"

Inside the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Secret Realm, before the Treasure Pavilion.

Huang Jiuji already seemed impatient to pass his lifetime of cultivation to Xiao Tian Ce.

Rather than growing excited, Xiao Tian Ce looked at Huang Jiuji with gratitude and asked, "Senior, is there truly no pill on the Dou Qi Continent that could restore your body?

"If there is, please tell me. I will spare no effort to find it for you and help you return to your peak."

It would be such a pity for a powerhouse at the Peak Eight-Star Dou Sheng level to perish like this. If there really was a way to save him, Xiao Tian Ce would gain another trump card.

That way, perhaps the Xiao Clan could continue to remain openly in the Xiao Realm even after Xiao Xuan failed.

As though seeing through Xiao Tian Ce's thoughts, Huang Jiuji smiled faintly and said with easy acceptance, "Young Tian Ce, I have witnessed both the Heavenly Phoenix Clan's glory and its decline. This life has been enough.

"Besides, the main reason I used a formation to tether my life back then was that I had found no one to whom I could entrust my descendants.

"Now that you have entered this Heavenly Phoenix Secret Realm and promised to help the two members of my Heavenly Phoenix Clan emerge into the world, I have no regrets left."

Sadness welled up in Xiao Tian Ce as he listened. He had grown rather fond of this old man. Although Huang Jiuji's scheming had led them into the Heavenly Phoenix Secret Realm through a seeming stroke of chance, the old man had treated them with such sincerity. Xiao Tian Ce was no cold-hearted soul either.

If there really was a way, then regardless of whether Huang Jiuji became his trump card, befriending a powerhouse like him would be enough.

"Senior, you are the Heavenly Huang Clan's only living member now. How could we let you simply fade from this world?"

"In my opinion, even if we cannot preserve your body, you could still exist as a soul. As far as I know, there is a secret method to resurrect a Soul Body, though we cannot carry it out just yet," Xiao Tian Ce explained.

"Hahaha! I truly did not misjudge you. Young Tian Ce, what is this method? If it really exists, what harm is there in clinging to life as a Soul Body?" Huang Jiuji was deeply heartened.

Everyone knew that a miserable life was better than a good death. If there truly was a way to resurrect a Soul Body, he was unwilling to simply fade away.

"Senior, have you heard of the Flame Mantra?" Xiao Tian Ce asked.

"The Flame Mantra? I seem to have heard of it, but I can't remember. What is it?" Huang Jiuji searched his memories. The name sounded familiar, but he had forgotten when he had heard it.

"It is a cultivation method that can evolve, advancing by absorbing the world's flames until it eventually reaches the Heaven tier. Its most remarkable feature is that it can forcibly accommodate multiple heavenly flames. Gathering just three heavenly flames fulfills the requirement for resurrecting a Soul Body.

"Once we find the Flame Mantra, the remaining requirements are very simple.

"First, we need the corpse of a powerhouse at Dou Zong or above. Second, we need a pill called the Heavenly Blood Bone-Growing Pill or the Bone-Growing Blood-Melting Pill. Third, we need the essence of the bones and blood of a magical beast of the seventh rank or higher.

"The only difficulty now is finding the Flame Mantra. As for everything else, I could gather it for you immediately, even now," Xiao Tian Ce explained patiently.

Seeing how precise his explanation was, with nothing to suggest a lie, Huang Jiuji was overjoyed. "Is that so? Then that is wonderful! Before our clan's powerhouses passed away, they would preserve their magic cores, blood essence, and anything else useful to their descendants. We have quite a few even of the ninth rank."

"So, Senior, please preserve your life for now. I promise you that even if we cannot find it at present, we will certainly find it in the future," Xiao Tian Ce said happily.

"Good. Then I'll have to trouble you with that from now on.

"But my body is almost at its limit. I will pass my cultivation to you, then give you this body as well. I believe it will be of great help to you." Huang Jiuji deliberately bowed slightly to Xiao Tian Ce.

Xiao Tian Ce no longer refused. Instead, he nodded and asked, "Senior, if I accept your cultivation, how many stars would I reach as a Dou Sheng?"

Huang Jiuji paused, then considered the question. "I am at the Peak Eight-Star Dou Saint level. If you can accept it all, you should at least reach Early Eight-Star Dou Saint."

"Then what if you passed it to my niece instead?" Xiao Tian Ce asked.

"If it is her, the dou qi within her body is not as condensed as yours. She should be able to reach Peak Seven-Star Dou Saint. However, her mental fortitude is not as strong as yours, so she will likely need a long time to adapt."

"In that case, please pass your cultivation to my niece, Senior. From now on, you will be her master, and finding the Flame Mantra will become one of her main goals as well!" Xiao Tian Ce said with a smile.

"You are truly willing to give it up? You should know that when I willingly impart my cultivation, there will be no drawbacks!" Huang Jiuji was somewhat astonished.

"Third Uncle, you are the one who most needs to increase your strength right now. I hope you will accept Senior Huang's cultivation," Xiao Qing said, immediately dropping to one knee.

"Hahaha! Qing, there is no need to refuse. Even without Senior Huang imparting his cultivation, I doubt it will take me more than a few years to reach Eight-Star Dou Sheng."

"Rather than that, we should raise your cultivation first. Then you will be able to do more for the clan.

"Enough. It is settled. As clan head, I order you to accept!" Xiao Tian Ce laughed heartily. After explaining, he feared Xiao Qing would still refuse, so he invoked his authority as clan head.

"I understand. Thank you, Clan Head!"

Xiao Qing bowed respectfully, then turned to Huang Jiuji, knelt on both knees, and kowtowed. "Your disciple, Xiao Qing of the Xiao Clan, pays her respects to Master!"

"Hahaha! Good, good, good! With you uncle and niece, I am certain the Xiao Clan, an Emperor Clan, will flourish for ten thousand years!"

As he spoke, he helped Xiao Qing up and said cheerfully, "Rise, Qing!"

"Thank you, Master!"

After Xiao Qing rose, Huang Jiuji looked very satisfied. He turned to Xiao Tian Ce and said, "There is no need for you to keep exploring this Heavenly Phoenix Secret Realm. Once I have passed all my cultivation to Qing, I will take everything away."

"I understand. Senior, how long will it take to impart your cultivation?"

"Three days will suffice!"

With that, he grabbed Xiao Qing's arm, and they vanished in an instant.

After the two left, Xiao Tian Ce felt thoroughly at ease and could not help exclaiming, "This journey has truly yielded a tremendous haul! Not only did I obtain the two heavenly flames, Du Ming and the golden emperor burning heaven flame, but I also gained an entire Treasure Pavilion. Most importantly, I gained a living fossil like Senior Huang. With him around, the future holds immense promise!"

Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.

Boom!

A powerful shock wave suddenly erupted from the distant space, and the entire Heavenly Phoenix Secret Realm began to collapse.

"They must have succeeded!"

Seeing this, Xiao Tian Ce hurriedly activated his spatial Storage Ring and swept the entire Treasure Pavilion into it.

A moment later, Xiao Qing swiftly appeared, radiating the power of a peak Seven-Star Dou Saint. Then Huang Jiuji's Soul Body quietly emerged from her Storage Ring.

"The secret realm is about to collapse. I have collected all the good things inside. Young Tian Ce, Qing, let's go!"

"All right!"

Here is yesterday's update.