[Returning to the Southern Region of the Central Plains, you followed your memories back to the Heavenly Phoenix Small World.
After more than a hundred years, you had finally returned. Your heart held no wistful sentiments, only surging killing intent.
Your mother had died after every last trace of her bloodline was forcibly extracted, and your father had been skinned, his tendons ripped out and his bones crushed. Both your closest kin had died horribly. All you wanted now was to repay the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan in kind.
You revealed yourself, appearing in the skies above the Heavenly Phoenix Small World.
The Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan was shaken. Numerous elders attacked you, yet they could not even break through your Dragon Phoenix Armor.
You waved your hand, and towering Beast Flames rained down over the entire Heavenly Phoenix Clan. Your goal was plain: extermination!
The Heavenly Phoenix Clan's Dou Sheng elders were terrified. Some turned and fled upon witnessing your terrifying power, only for you to catch them in the blink of an eye, pierce their chests, and swallow them into your belly.
Others resisted to the death, only to fall to your Space Strangulation, likewise unable to escape being devoured.
Just as you were feasting to your heart's content, your maternal grandfather, a late-stage nine-star Dou Sheng Ancient Heavenly Phoenix, appeared.
The gulf between a nine-star Dou Sheng and an eight-star Dou Sheng was unimaginably vast, but the terror of a Dragon Phoenix far exceeded his imagination. He felt that he might even die at your hands.
For this reason, he brought out his final trump card.
Just like the Gu Clan's Ancient Emperor Mirror, the Hun Clan's Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade, and the Ancient Void Dragon Clan's Dragon Slaying Sword, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan had its own supreme clan-protecting treasure: the Phoenix Flame Fan.
It was a feather fan forged from twelve thick feathers in total, representing the twelve pinnacle experts who had once emerged from the Heavenly Phoenix Clan.
The moment the Phoenix Flame Fan appeared, you sensed danger approaching. Without the slightest hesitation, you turned and left.
Your Ancient Heavenly Phoenix grandfather immediately activated the Phoenix Flame Fan. More than half his vitality was drained as he swung out a flaming slash.
You dodged in time, and the slash struck only your waist and abdomen. Even so, that single slash inflicted injuries more severe than any you had ever suffered.
Your Dragon Phoenix Armor was instantly broken, your flesh was worn away, and your bones were cut most of the way through, with only a tiny portion still connecting them.
At the same time, the flames carried by the slash would never go out, seeking to follow the wound and burn you to ashes.
Using Heavenly Phoenix Extreme Speed and the Ancient Void Dragon's spatial traversal, you swiftly escaped the Heavenly Phoenix Small World. No one could catch you. Your Ancient Heavenly Phoenix grandfather was consumed with rage. He knew that if he failed to keep you here this time, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan would truly be in danger.
After leaving the Heavenly Phoenix Small World, you did not return to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan to heal. You did not trust them.
You went to the small cave in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains where you had once hidden from pursuing enemies, and began recovering from your injuries.
You cut away the entire area scorched by the flames. You lost a great deal of blood essence, but your wounds finally began to heal.
You began digesting the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes you had swallowed. There were seven in total, all Dou Sheng elders of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan, its true pillars of support.
Magical Beast races had long lifespans. Although they rarely produced a Dou Di, their numbers of Dou Sheng far surpassed those of the human Emperor Clans.
Even after your two rounds of devouring, the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan still had three Dou Sheng elders left. That alone offered a glimpse of their strength.]
[Year 115: You fully absorbed all the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes within your body. Not only did your injuries heal completely, but you also broke through to early-stage nine-star Dou Sheng in one leap, greatly increasing your strength.
Having crossed the enormous threshold of nine-star Dou Sheng, your strength increased several times over. You could easily suppress your former self. Even your Ancient Heavenly Phoenix grandfather wielding the Phoenix Flame Fan would never last ten exchanges against you.
Your confidence soared, but you did not immediately head to the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan for revenge.
You still had room to grow. You could still become stronger.
This time, you would make certain nothing could go wrong.
You left the cave and began your hunt.
The vassals of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan became your primary targets.
The Heavenly Eagle Clan, the Firebird Clan, the Profound Luan Clan...
These clans varied in strength. In some, the strongest were merely Dou Zun, while others had reached Dou Sheng.
You feared none of them and devoured every one of these clans, leaving not a single survivor. The entire Beast Region descended into utter chaos, for not a single member of the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan stepped forward.]
[Year 117: You hunted nearly all the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes' subordinate races to extinction. Only a few remained in the world, and even those survived only as scattered individuals.
Devouring these subordinate races brought your cultivation somewhat closer to the middle stage of nine-star Dou Sheng, but you were still a little short.
On a new day, you went out to hunt and devour Magical Beasts, only to be suddenly blocked by a nine-colored figure.
The Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python had appeared, one of the current Beast Realm's overlords alongside your paternal and maternal grandfathers.
It had come to warn you not to drain the pond to catch all the fish like this. Otherwise, even with the Ancient Void Dragon Clan backing you, it would absolutely kill you on the spot.
You found it laughable and replied, "It seems the Beast Realm no longer has a proper understanding of the Dragon Phoenix.
A mere worm dares spout such arrogant words before me!"
You immediately attacked. The Heavenly Phoenix's extreme speed gave you the fastest opening strike, while the Ancient Void Dragon's spatial power gave you the ability to breach any creature's defenses.
Your sharp claws swept out, wrapped in spatial power. A single blow gravely injured the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, nearly severing its body in two, with only a sliver of flesh and skin still connecting it.
Terrified, the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python spat a beam of nine-colored light at you before fleeing into the distance.
The nine-colored light struck your Dragon Phoenix Armor, leaving faint white marks that vanished in the blink of an eye.
You raised your hand, instantly reaching across a thousand miles to seize the entire Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python in your grasp.
The Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python struggled in your palm. You stuffed it alive into your mouth, tore it into shreds with your teeth, and swallowed it into your belly.
Word of this scene spread through the Magical Beast clans of the Southern Region, and the Dragon Phoenix's terrifying, vicious reputation spread once again.
Your cruelty terrified every Magical Beast, but you did not care.
Had you been bound by morality, you would not have devoured all the Ancient Heavenly Phoenixes' subordinate races to extinction without distinction.]
[Year 118: You completely devoured the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, leaving only some blood essence.
Your cultivation broke through smoothly, reaching the middle stage of nine-star Dou Sheng, and your strength surged.
Now, even if that Dou Di of the Stone Clan took action, you would not fear him.
You prepared to act, but before that, you returned to the Northwest Continent.
You reopened the inheritance, placed the Nine-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python blood essence you had saved inside, and added some resources you had acquired over the years. You thought they might be useful to your future self.
You sealed the inheritance back within the desert and reinforced the seal with even stronger spatial power, ensuring that the energy inside dissipated as slowly as possible.
After finishing all this, you left the Northwest Continent and returned to the Southern Region, charging straight into the Heavenly Phoenix Small World.
The Heavenly Phoenix Small World was terrifyingly quiet.
Your maternal grandfather appeared soon after your arrival. Looking at you, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He took out a token bearing the character for "stone" and shouted toward the heavens, "I respectfully beseech the Stone Emperor to descend!"]