The moment Xiao Yan uttered his exclamation, the old man who had been standing there in a daze seemed to be startled as well, slightly raising his eyelids to look at Xiao Yan.
"Shh!"
Seeing that Xiao Yan was about to speak again, the old man helplessly gestured for him to be quiet. Then, he turned his gaze back to the space above his palm, where a palm-sized ball of milky-white energy was slowly floating.
"That is..."
Upon seeing the ball of light, Xiao Yan was immediately alarmed. He recognized it at a glance as Xiao Xuan's remnant soul. But why was it in his hands? What did this guy want to do?
Thoughts raced through Xiao Yan's mind, and his expression gradually darkened.
"Little one, don't worry. I'm just a little curious and surprised. I spent my whole life trying to find the first volume of the Origin Return Art, but I never found it. I never thought that after being dead for nearly a thousand years, I would actually encounter it here. Hehe, it really is a matter of timing and fate."
Seemingly sensing Xiao Yan's emotional change, the old man sighed and shook his head, his eyes fixed on the remnant soul of Xiao Xuan in the air above his palm, a look of regret on his face.
Hearing the old man's words, Xiao Yan's emotions calmed down slightly, but his gaze towards the latter was still full of wariness.
Although this guy has been dead for nearly a thousand years, with this enormous Spiritual Strength, if Venerable Heavenly Severing wanted to do something, Xiao Yan probably wouldn't have much of a chance to resist. Therefore, to be on the safe side, he had to be extremely cautious.
"It's clear he's very important to you."
Without paying much attention to Xiao Yan's emotional changes, the old man continued talking to himself, while extending his palm, and the energy ball above his palm slowly floated towards Xiao Yan.
Upon seeing this, the latter quickly and carefully caught it in his arms, and only after confirming that the person in front of him hadn't done anything to it did he breathe a slight sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, I have no designs on him. After all, I'm from a thousand years ago. Even if I were reborn now, there's nothing to fight for. Besides, I've lived long enough. The reason I risked my life to break through to the Origin Return Realm was simply to find out if there was a way to break the Origin Return Art Technique. But unfortunately, I seem to have proven that there isn't."
At the end of his sentence, the old man shrugged helplessly, a self-deprecating look on his face.
Xiao Yan remained silent in response, because this was easy to understand.
The Origin Return Art allowed him to progress smoothly on his cultivation path, becoming an unparalleled powerhouse in just a century. However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. The Origin Return Art has two drawbacks: firstly, the three most difficult barriers to overcome; and secondly, the Origin Return Art itself is divided into three volumes. If one cannot cultivate each volume separately, then one is destined to never become a true powerhouse.
It can be said that the fate of Venerable Heavenly Severing was somewhat understandable. Of course, he himself had already considered this possibility back then. However, in order to pursue the path of the strong, he was willing to sacrifice his life.
Xiao Yan felt the same way.
Suddenly, the old man and the young man simultaneously raised their eyes and stared at each other.
"Ha ha ha ha..."
A few breaths later, laughter broke out. The two were of one mind. Although they were not from the same era, they were the same kind of people. If it weren't for the tricks of time, they would have become close friends despite their Suiyue difference.
"The little guy is quite good. You came here to save him, right?"
Without excessive digression, Venerable Heavenly Severing went straight to the point.
At this moment, Xiao Yan had already lowered his guard against the old man, smiled and nodded, stepped forward, respectfully cupped his hands to Venerable Heavenly Severing, and said:
"The resurrection of my ancestor requires the support of the power of the Soul Origin. Therefore, I implore you, senior, to save my ancestor!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan bowed even deeper, his expression one of utmost respect.
"Hehe, I am now just a remnant soul, and I won't be able to remain for much longer. Moreover, since your ancestor also cultivated the Origin Return Art, we can say that we are of the same lineage and origin. Furthermore, I deliberately left behind this power of my Soul Origin, intending to give it to a destined person. If my Soul Origin can truly revive your ancestor, that wouldn't be a bad thing, and..."
At the end, the old man fell silent. Xiao Yan didn't sense anything strange. Then, Xiao Xuan's remnant soul in his arms flew forward uncontrollably and returned to the old man's hands.
The old man formed a hand seal, and the surrounding milky white mist seemed to receive some kind of command, rapidly converging towards the milky white energy ball between his hands.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly, and he quickly said:
"Senior, my ancestor's remnant soul is currently too weak. I'm afraid your method of direct fusion might be..."
"Don't worry. If it were you forcibly fusing, you might have to consider this. But I'm giving him my Soul Origin willingly. Under my control, my Soul Origin won't have any backlash. As for your ancestor, in his current weakened state, I believe he can't resist my fusion. In this way, the fusion speed will be faster, and the Soul Origin power he receives will be more complete. This can only benefit your ancestor."
Venerable Heavenly Severing smiled, and at the same time, streams of immense Spiritual Strength continuously poured into Xiao Xuan's remnant soul.
As expected, the fusion process of the Soul Origin went exceptionally smoothly, even faster than when Xiao Yan had helped refine it before. This was probably because the two of them cultivated the same techniques.
In any case, with the support of the Soul Origin of the Venerable Heavenly Severing, Xiao Xuan's chances of reviving are likely to be much greater. Thinking of this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a little excited. After so many years, if he were to see his ancestor Xiao Xuan again, he wondered what kind of atmosphere it would be.
Inside the stone statue, a massive amount of Spiritual Strength was merging with Xiao Xuan's remnant soul at a visible speed. Xiao Yan, in order not to affect it, consciously withdrew from it. He believed that with Venerable Heavenly Severing personally in charge, Xiao Xuan would be safe.
Outside, upon seeing Xiao Yan open his eyes, Luo Ao frowned slightly, while Luo Jin beside him also turned his gaze to Xiao Yan.
"Absorption complete?"
Luo Ao frowned; he hadn't sensed any change in Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. He raised his gaze to the stone statue in front of him, and was about to speak when a powerful energy storm suddenly swept in from outside the hall. With just one strike, it cracked the outer wall of the hall, and countless cracks quickly filled its surface. Then, to Xiao Yan's astonishment, the powerful energy storm completely destroyed the entire wall!