Ancient Heavenly Snake Ruins
Did he remember something?
Seeing the change in Mo Xuan's expression, Xiao Xuan looked at him with anticipation.
If there was a lead, perhaps the mystery from back then could be unraveled.
"No, I didn't remember anything, and I don't know anything either."
"Yun Yangtian should know something, but he didn't tell me a thing, so I still don't know anything."
Mo Xuan spoke with absolute certainty.
"Then what are you so excited about? Are you asking for a beating?" Xiao Xuan could hardly restrain himself, showing no respect for his elders.
Mo Xuan looked awkward after the retort, but he still stubbornly insisted, "Don't be in such a hurry. I have another lead."
"A very important one!"
Mo Xuan stressed the words for emphasis. After all, Xiao Xuan had just treated him so badly.
"Speak!"
This thing had probably only barely possessed the strength of a two- or Three-Star Dou Sheng back then! If a Dou Di or Yun Yangtian truly wanted to conceal something, was Mo Xuan qualified to know it?
"The fact that I don't know proves that what's hidden behind this is important. And it very likely means that some of my memories were sealed, or even erased outright."
"Tell me, is that important or not?!"
Mo Xuan's conjecture was not plucked from thin air.
It was just that Xiao Xuan had already understood all of this.
As if I needed you to remind me!
"You've spouted a whole load of nonsense. How could I not know that? I'm asking whether you have any concrete leads. Tell me if you remember anything later."
Xiao Xuan was utterly blunt.
"What was going on in the Heavenly Snake Empire's territory in the past?"
Pointing at the vast expanse of territory ahead, Xiao Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
That region seemed to have always been under the Heavenly Snake Mansion's control.
Though not every generation had a Dou Zun, it could at least ensure a steady succession of High-Rank Dou Zong, keeping its foundations from falling into decline. Whenever a Dou Zun appeared, it returned to its peak.
Xiao Xuan had not paid much attention to it before. After all, so-called Dou Zun experts were a dime a dozen in the Central Plains.
What room was there for the northwestern region to stand out? Of course, powerful experts emerged there one after another as well.
It was just that no one could say whose turn it would be to produce a Dou Zun.
The Heavenly Snake Mansion's enduring prosperity was partly due to its geographical advantage, and the number of powerful experts was not particularly large.
But what faction could keep going all this time without a few tricks up its sleeve?
A glint flashed in Xiao Xuan's eyes.
Heavenly Snake?
Could the ruins of an Ancient Heavenly Snake be hidden there?
Only the inheritance of a magical beast could be so reliable.
It was no wonder Xiao Xuan thought so. After all, the power of a bloodline was the surest way to produce powerful experts generation after generation. Though ordinary humans could not inherit bloodlines and strength as effectively as magical beasts through reproduction,
if the source of the bloodline was powerful enough and successive generations of humans went in to receive its baptism,
then, as long as they took care not to drain the pond to catch every fish,
it was not hard to understand how the Heavenly Snake Mansion had remained strong for thousands of years.
By comparison, keeping it secret was even more important than producing exceptional talents.
Keep a low profile!
No wonder that, despite the Heavenly Snake Mansion's reliable inheritance and its steady supply of Dou Zun throughout the generations, they were rarely seen in the Central Plains. At most, they went around the nearby empires and places like the Black-Corner Region.
Xiao Xuan's guess was close to the mark.
He had to make some preparations for his little disciple, and Xiao Xuan had never been softhearted about such things.
Seizing the source of another sect's inheritance at the drop of a hat was indeed despicable.
But in the face of absolute power, who could say no?
Besides, there was considerable doubt as to whether the Heavenly Snake Mansion had been the original owner of this place in the first place.
Heavenly Snake City.
It was essentially the heart of both the Heavenly Snake Empire and the Heavenly Snake Mansion.
Even the sect itself was housed within the city.
Beside him, Mo Xuan was still racking his brains when Xiao Xuan interrupted him. "Don't force that nearly senile brain of yours to work. We'll just ask the youngsters below."
"If there really are Ancient Heavenly Snake ruins, this trip won't have been for nothing."
Xiao Xuan swooped down, heading straight for the Heavenly Snake Hall.
It was the grandest place in Heavenly Snake City, and the presence of a Dou Zun cultivating in seclusion could be sensed within.
But the presence was too faint. Either he was gravely injured, or his lifespan was nearly at its end.
"Elder Snake, how about another trip into the forbidden land? Perhaps you'll gain something and make another breakthrough?"
The master of the Heavenly Snake Mansion stood below him, exceedingly respectful.
The figure in the depths of the hall was Old Man Snake, the oldest and most powerful person in the Heavenly Snake Mansion. He had ruled the northwest for an entire era and won the Heavenly Snake Mansion countless glories.
The outside world respectfully called him Venerable Snake!
"Cough, cough. I know my own condition. Even among Dou Zun, my lifespan is among the longest, but everyone must die eventually."
Venerable Snake's expression was calm. He had lived so long that he had weathered every kind of storm.
It was just a pity that, after him, none of the Heavenly Snake Mansion's younger generation had the aptitude to become a Dou Zun.
Once he passed away, the mansion would likely have to contract its influence again and lie low.
Venerable Snake showed little sign of distress, however. That was how things had always gone through the generations. Once a somewhat talented junior appeared, the Heavenly Snake Mansion could return to its former glory.
But another trip into the forbidden land?
Venerable Snake shook his head. He was truly exhausted.
Time had long since worn away his fighting spirit. Now he was merely clinging to life so that the Heavenly Snake Mansion's glory could last a little longer.
But if he truly fought with his life on the line?
There would probably be only one outcome.
A lonely death!
"Leave the opportunity to the younger generation! Tighten the guards around the forbidden land and limit the number of times the younger generation enters until another Dou Zun appears."
There was a touch of indifference on Venerable Snake's face. It was not that he had never given the younger generation a chance, but after presiding over so many openings of the forbidden land, all the younger disciples had brought him was disappointment.
Does the Heavenly Snake Mansion lack sufficient fortune?
Can it only support one living Dou Zun, or is there some secret in the forbidden land?
Venerable Snake let out a sorrowful sigh. Whatever the case, he could no longer do anything about it.
Besides, it would probably take a legendary Dou Sheng to truly accomplish anything in the forbidden land!
The Heavenly Snake Mansion had indeed made the secret of the Ancient Heavenly Snake the core of its sect's inheritance through the generations.
Yet it had risen because of it, and it had also fallen because of it.
Perhaps they had been tainted by too much of the Heavenly Snake's presence, but the cultivation aptitude of the sect's younger generation could only be called utterly ordinary.
Even if they cultivated at an astonishing pace outside, they would be inexplicably suppressed once they entered the Heavenly Snake Mansion's territory.
Was it a conflict between magical beasts and humans?
But this also benefited the Heavenly Snake Mansion: wars from outside rarely spread into its territory. With that obstacle in place, there was little to be gained even by taking it over.
Alas!
He could only hope that a sufficiently brilliant junior would appear and use the Ancient Heavenly Snake to reach the summit of the continent in one leap.
Idle fantasies were good sometimes, too.
"You may leave!"
The moment Venerable Snake finished speaking, he noticed a Space Wormhole opening before him.
Were there really people who did not fear death, barging in so brazenly without even waiting for him to die?
The Heavenly Snake Mansion would not permit them to run wild.
As it happened, he could drag a few of the sect's great enemies down with him before he died.
Originally, Venerable Snake had not wanted the sect to become entangled in more karma because of him.
But since they had come to attack his doorstep, Venerable Snake could no longer keep a low profile.
"How dare you!"
"You dare attack the Heavenly Snake Mansion while I'm still alive? You'll break a few teeth trying!"
Venerable Snake was gathering an immensely powerful Dou Technique in his hand.