Returning! Taking Everything Along

Ancient times really had buried countless secrets!

Xiao Xuan had nearly twisted the little snake in his hands into three hundred and sixty different positions, yet he still hadn't found anything.

If he hadn't watched the entire process of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python's evolution from beginning to end this time, he might not even have noticed its connection to ancient times.

Forget it. He'd leave it at that!

Even if this little snake was that Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python from ancient times, transformed in the present day, so what? Enough time had passed to sweep everything away, not to mention the state of the world itself.

If it had truly been monstrous enough, it wouldn't have failed to break through to Dou Di back in ancient times.

Even if such a mediocrity reached Peak Dou Sheng now, it would be no better than the likes of Gu Yuan at most.

Its greatest reliance was its bloodline power; in every other respect, it was utterly ordinary.

Xiao Xuan shook his head. He looked down on such a being, which had not only wasted its talent but also consumed limited resources.

"Green Lotus Core Flame!"

His gaze fell on the Heavenly Flame not far away, its violent colors blazing once more. Pleasantly surprised, Xiao Xuan put it away. Now he had a first meeting gift for Little Yanzi.

As for the resources he'd said he would collect when he set out, he could gather them along the way back.

Given the Xiao Clan's current strength, there was no need for him to travel so far as to scour the entire continent.

Besides, once he became a Dou Di, the Xiao Clan's strength would naturally rise.

"Let's go! We've almost finished everything we came to do, and you've had your fill of the show, haven't you?"

After asking his little disciples for their thoughts, Xiao Xuan laughed heartily and set off on the return journey at three times the speed he'd traveled on the way here.

Let me see how far the little fellows in the clan have gotten with their cultivation.

"This little thing bites?"

"Xiao Yi Xian, take it and play with it."

Partway back, Xiao Xuan decided Little Qi was no good and casually tossed the snake to his little disciple.

Yes, Little Qi! That was the new name Xiao Xuan had given the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python.

"Huh? Junior sister, you take it!"

Xiao Yi Xian might play with poisons, but that didn't mean she liked every snake, insect, rat, and ant, all right? Even if the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python did look cute.

Xiao Yi Xian still preferred stroking Little Zi's child, Little Little Zi!

"All right, senior sister!"

Qing Lin was obedient as ever.

Compared with how empty-handed he'd been on the way here, Xiao Xuan was truly returning with a full load.

Wherever he went, not a blade of grass remained.

Useful or useless, owned or unowned, Xiao Xuan swept up whatever caught his eye and took it back with him.

Countless heavenly and earthly treasures!

Even so, that was all they were. Xiao Xuan only dared do something so beneath his dignity now because he'd fallen on hard times.

Taking those things was already giving their owners face.

At worst, once the Xiao Clan ruled the northwest, he could give them a little more favorable treatment.

Xiao Xuan wasn't exaggerating in the least. Originally, even a choice region of the Dou Qi Continent like the Central Plains had been the Xiao Clan's for the taking; they'd simply had a better option in their small world.

But they didn't have that option now, did they?

Unfortunately, the Xiao Realm originally created by the Emperor Ancestor should have fallen into ruin by now as well.

There was absolutely no chance of the Hun Clan or the Gu Clan taking advantage of it.

That required not only the bloodline's innate recognition but also a long period of nurturing. Without the strength of a High-Level Dou Sheng, a world belonging exclusively to an ancient imperial clan like the Xiao Clan wouldn't pay them any heed at all.

So all they could do was plunder its resources, treasures, and accumulated foundation.

Once his strength had fully recovered, there wouldn't be a single person on the Dou Qi Continent he needed to take seriously.

When that time comes... heh, heh!

A thousand years ago, Xiao Xuan hadn't been particularly magnanimous. His so-called grand bearing had only been for mediocre weaklings to see. If anyone dared reach their claws toward him...

He'd beat them to death.

The Hun Clan had the honor of being recorded in Xiao Xuan's little notebook, although their name had already been there.

"We're here!"

"Wutan City!"

Xiao Xuan gave a brief introduction. There really wasn't much to say about the place. A thousand years ago, never mind stationing themselves in a rundown place like this, the clan would have considered its people unqualified even to offer them tribute.

But times had changed. Though they would soon be prosperous again, they couldn't forget their roots, could they?

Building Wutan City up a little and making it the prosperous heart of the northwest would at least do justice to the ties they'd formed here over the years.

First, though, they had to take the surrounding area. He wondered whether that brat Xiao Zhan had gotten things done efficiently.

There had only been a few Da Dou Shi here before, right?

He'd raised Xiao Zhan to Dou Ling before leaving. The boy shouldn't be that useless.

The group landed on the mountain behind the Xiao Clan estate. Xiao Xuan intended to make it his permanent residence and would have Xiao Zhan designate it a forbidden area later.

"Come here!"

After a brief soul transmission to give Xiao Zhan a moment to prepare himself, Xiao Xuan directly pulled him over.

"You're a Dou Wang now?"

"Not bad. It seems you haven't neglected your daily cultivation either."

Although Xiao Xuan had given him some preferential treatment, the Dou Qi Seed he'd given him was much the same as the others. Yet Xiao Zhan had swiftly cultivated to the Dou Wang level, and the Qi around him didn't seem unstable.

Clearly, he'd put in a great deal of hard work, so naturally he deserved some praise.

"It was all thanks to your grace, Ancestor."

"Ancestor, our Xiao Clan is now preparing to take several major cities around Wutan City, then expand and rebuild them. What do you think?"

Xiao Zhan spoke with the utmost respect. He'd long been itching to act. After all, with his own strength growing so rapidly, he had long since stopped taking Wutan City's other clans seriously.

But without the Ancestor's instructions, even Xiao Zhan, as the Xiao Clan's patriarch, didn't dare act rashly.

It wouldn't do to hold up the Ancestor's affairs.

Xiao Xuan's expression quickly darkened.

So that brat had done absolutely nothing all this time!

Did he have to ask Xiao Xuan about such a trivial matter? What was the point of raising his strength?

Smack!

"Go back and face the wall to reflect on your mistakes!"

He placed a soul restriction directly on Xiao Zhan. It would refine and compress his Dou Qi, further solidifying his foundation.

Of course, the method had a drawback: it was rather painful.

A little punishment and a little lesson!

"Once you come out! Immediately! Take Wutan City for me!"

His voice had a hint of gritted teeth in it. Since when did he have to give his personal approval for such petty business?

He really didn't have many capable people at his disposal!

Surely the Xiao Clan hadn't been completely wiped out before?

He found himself missing the Xiao Clan of old. Though the present Xiao Clan still shared a considerable blood connection with him, it was less familiar to him in the end.

Come to think of it, the Xiao Clan's previous strategy had worked fairly well: even a branch of the direct bloodline had survived.

It was just a pity that the other clansmen should all have perished.

At the thought, Xiao Xuan fell silent for a moment.

Life and death were simply ordinary affairs!

Putting those feelings aside, Xiao Xuan summoned Yao Chen and Xiao Yan.

He'd managed to obtain something as rare as a Heavenly Flame in a single trip, so naturally he had to show it off first. It would also win that fellow Little Yanzi's loyalty.

I'm putting this much care into you. If you repay kindness with ingratitude in the future, I'll beat you to death!

"Why did you bring that girl called Xun'er over?"

A look of surprise suddenly appeared on Xiao Xuan's face.

That girl really was bold.

She had courage!