Word Count: 2,904 Words
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Feng Qing Er stood trembling, terror filling her eyes and draining the color from her face. The immense pressure weighing on her was evident in every line of her posture, yet she completely failed to notice that Xiao Yan wasn't even truly looking at her.
She had misunderstood one crucial fact: the current Xiao Yan was worlds apart from the Xiao Yan of three months ago.
He had become a Dou Saint!
Not a Half-Saint, but a complete and genuine Dou Saint. A 1-star Dou Saint!
More importantly, he possessed the Heaven Seed Flame, his Flame Mantra had reached High Tian Class, he was a 9th-tier Treasure Pill Guru, and he had yet to even refine the Bodhisattva Heart. The trump cards Xiao Yan now held were so numerous that even he found it difficult to believe.
Xiao Yan indeed cared deeply about Zi Yan, and that remained true even now. He would never stand by and watch if she were in danger. However, times had changed. Previously, he would have been wary of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's four Dou Saints. He would have feared the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe's three great dragon islands, where the Dragon Kings were all 3-star Dou Saints.
Having reached the Dou Saint realm himself, that wariness had faded considerably. As a 9th-tier alchemist, there were countless things he could accomplish. Even in the Gu Clan, he would be an honored guest, a figure with the rallying power of a Dou Saint!
Even if the three Dragon Kings truly intended to move against Zi Yan, there was no longer any need for him to fear them.
The reason he had originally sought information about the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe from Feng Qing Er was precisely because he had been wary of the three Dragon Kings. He had feared they might secretly attack Zi Yan's Eastern Dragon Island while he had no way to stop them, hence his need for advance intelligence.
But now, he no longer needed it. He had the strength!
For a Dou Saint to fight above their level was extremely difficult because High Tian Class Qi Methods and Dou Techniques were incredibly rare across the entire Dou Qi Continent. The key to fighting above one's level lay in cultivating Qi Methods and Dou Techniques that surpassed those of one's peers.
Yet High Tian Class Qi Methods and Dou Techniques were exceedingly difficult to cultivate. Many low-level Dou Saints possessed only Low Tian Class techniques at best.
Mao Wu had devoured the Dou God's negative energy and refined the Dou God power within it. Originally, Xiao Yan had thought he would need to refine Hun Yu's Dou God Bloodline as well in order to elevate his own bloodline to Divine Grade. He had underestimated the weight of those two words, however: Dou God. That negative energy belonged to a true and genuine Dou God.
His Dou God Bloodline had already reached Divine Grade.
"You..." Xiao Yan glanced at Feng Qing Er. His black pearl eyes were as profound as an abyss.
That single glance frightened Feng Qing Er so badly she stumbled back two steps. Her legs went weak and she tripped, dropping onto the bed behind her with a dull thud.
"P-please don't kill me..." Under his gaze, her taut nerves snapped instantly. A line of clear tears slid from the corner of her eye.
Xiao Yan was a Dou Saint now! A single glance from him could determine life or death. Even though he hadn't deliberately released his Saint's might, after experiencing the Hundred Reincarnations, his eyes possessed an indescribable power that words alone could not capture.
He regarded Feng Qing Er trembling on the bed, her formerly noble and lovely face now drained of all color. He had done nothing, said only a single word, and she could no longer bear it.
Facing him, she truly was frightened to the extreme. Over the past few months, she had faintly sensed movements within her tribe. Elders had flown toward the Ancient Wasteland Region searching for news of Jiu Feng and the others. They had failed to discover anything only because magical beasts ran rampant through the region, preventing the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe from entering.
She herself had only managed to escape by relying on a soothing life aura the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree had released three months ago to calm the rampaging ferocious beasts.
Feng Qing Er understood perfectly well that Jiu Feng and the other Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe members were likely all dead, quite possibly by Xiao Yan's own hand.
She had spent three months mentally preparing herself. Yet a single glance still shattered her defenses. A magical beast's unique danger-sensing instinct had driven her to complete collapse.
With her face drained of color and tears flowing freely, Feng Qing Er truly was a pitiable sight.
"I just wanted to say your luck isn't bad." Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly, his voice light.
Feng Qing Er's heart leapt at these words. She raised her head, beautiful eyes filled with a trace of hope as she looked at him. She didn't even realize that a single sentence from Xiao Yan could determine whether her heart felt joy or sorrow.
"That old man lived a life of kindness. He wouldn't want me to commit senseless killing," Xiao Yan said slowly.
Naturally, he wouldn't take everything from the Hundred Reincarnations as reality, but having just emerged from it, he was inevitably influenced to some degree. In a sense, today's Xiao Yan was indeed feeling merciful.
Moreover, he harbored no resentment toward Feng Qing Er. He had controlled her only to obtain information about the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe's three Dragon Kings as a precaution. Now, that need no longer existed.
He would visit Dragon Island again sooner or later anyway.
"Speak. What do you know?" Xiao Yan asked calmly.
"Y-you agree?" Feng Qing Er probed cautiously.
Xiao Yan nodded.
Feng Qing Er's heart felt as if she had won the grand prize in a lottery. Her eyes filled with joy and disbelief. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she had just succeeded in a marriage proposal!
For a brief moment, her eyes curved with laughter, and a relieved smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She had forgotten how long it had been since she last smiled. Ever since receiving that slave seal, every day had been spent in constant fear, terrified of being discovered by her tribe's elite experts or suddenly erased by Xiao Yan.
Finally! She was finally going to be liberated!
Feng Qing Er's nose stung and she nearly broke down crying. She had endured too much. All this, just because she had once boasted shamelessly and challenged him. The price had been far too great!
"Speak." Xiao Yan rolled his eyes. Was it really that serious? He had always planned to remove the slave seal once he possessed sufficient strength regardless.
"Oh, oh." Feng Qing Er quickly composed herself. After thinking for a moment and organizing her thoughts, she said, "Some time ago, intelligence within the tribe indicated that many Ancient Void Dragon Tribe elders stationed outside had all returned to Eastern Dragon Island."
"Oh?" Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. 'Looks like that girl Zi Yan has completely refined the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit and broken through to Rank 9 to become the Dragon Emperor.'
He had originally planned to visit Eastern Dragon Island to check on Zi Yan after finishing the matters at hand. If she hadn't broken through to Rank 9, he would have helped her. Now, it seemed he'd been saved the trouble.
With a breakthrough to Rank 9, plus the suppression from the Dragon Emperor bloodline, Zi Yan shouldn't have any problem dealing with the three Dragon Kings whose bloodline strength is inferior to hers.
His fingers tapped lightly on the table as he sank into thought. Each soft tap made Feng Qing Er tense up all over again. Describing her as a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring would be perfectly apt.
Xiao Yan glanced at her. "Come here. I, Xiao Yan, am a man of my word. I'll remove your seal."
Nervousness filled Feng Qing Er's pretty face as she walked toward him step by step, her anxiety mounting with every one.
"Sit down."
The words barely left his mouth before Feng Qing Er dropped to her knees with a thud, head lowered, not daring to look directly at him.
Xiao Yan felt helpless. I told you to sit, not kneel!
Too exasperated to correct her, he slowly raised his hand and placed his palm on the crown of her head. Feeling that devil-like hand again, Feng Qing Er's heart pounded wildly, her body rigid with tension and fear. If Xiao Yan wanted to kill her, it would take less effort than lifting a finger!
"This will hurt a bit. Bear with it," Xiao Yan said.
Feng Qing Er's eyes went wide. You being this gentle feels so strange...
"Yes."
Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength surged instantly from his palm into her body. With a sharp pull, the Asura Slave Seal branded on Feng Qing Er's soul began peeling away, like tearing adhesive tape from her very spirit!
"Mngh..." The soul-tearing pain sent involuntary spasms through her body. She clenched her jaw, forcing herself to endure without crying out, releasing only muffled groans of agony.
After roughly five minutes, Xiao Yan finally tore the Asura Slave Seal away completely. The ordeal left Feng Qing Er drenched in sweat, her seven-colored dress soaked through and clinging to her skin, revealing a faint glimpse of snow-white flesh beneath.
Of course, with Xiao Yan's current mental state (and experience), this small flash of exposed skin was nowhere near enough to draw his gaze.
"This is a soul contract. As long as you don't speak of my affairs, nothing will happen." Using the Emperor Soul Technique, Xiao Yan wrote out a contract. It was an ordinary soul contract, meant only to prevent Feng Qing Er from revealing anything about the Hall of Souls.
Feng Qing Er raised her head. Without the slightest hesitation, she branded the contract with her Spiritual Strength. With a soft whoosh, the soul contract merged into her body. Even then, she still found it hard to believe she had truly regained her freedom.
Silence filled the air between them for a long moment.
Xiao Yan frowned. "Why are you still kneeling? Need me to help you up?"
Feng Qing Er's body jolted. She scrambled hastily to her feet, but everything still felt unreal. Looking at Xiao Yan sitting calmly in his chair, she stammered, "C-can I leave now?"
Xiao Yan let out a quiet laugh. "What, should I treat you to a meal first?"
Feng Qing Er shook her head frantically and fled the room as if granted amnesty. In a heartbeat she unfurled her Demon Phoenix Wings and shot toward the horizon, a streak of light carving across the sky. Only after flying well clear of Wasteland Town did she dare to stop.
She turned back slowly to look in the direction of the remote town. For a fleeting moment, a strange sense of loss stirred unexpectedly in her heart!
She shook her head hard, scattering every stray thought, then opened a spatial passage to return to the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe. She still had many things to handle. After all, with Jiu Feng dead, she was now the younger generation member with the highest bloodline purity in the tribe!
After sensing Feng Qing Er's complete departure, Xiao Yan pondered quietly, murmuring to himself. "Since Zi Yan has already broken through to Dragon Emperor, the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe's problems will naturally resolve themselves. The Purifying Lotus Demon Flame still has over two years before it appears. So my remaining issues are just the Profound Sky Sect and Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe, plus the Bodhisattva Heart and the Small Pill Tower's incomplete Di Tier pill recipe."
"The Profound Sky Sect and Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe aren't real problems. As for the Bodhisattva Heart, normal refinement would take considerable time. I'll need to find a suitable location, but it should raise my cultivation by another significant step."
"That means the biggest problem is still that incomplete Di Tier pill recipe from the Small Pill Tower... how am I supposed to get it?"
He needed the incomplete Di Tier pill recipe to exchange for the Emperor Soul Technique's second volume. He now possessed sufficient Dou God Bloodline and Spiritual State to cultivate it. The complete Emperor Soul Technique couldn't be exchanged with mere soul points. It was a High Tian Class Soul Training Method!
Xiao Yan suspected the true Emperor Soul Technique might even be a God Class Soul Training Method, created by Emperor Hun. Only Hun Tiandi could likely cultivate a Soul Training Method of that caliber.
With Emperor Hun gone, no one should be able to create another God Class Soul Training Method. Once Hun Tiandi cultivated it, that would be the end of it. Even if Xiao Yan wanted it, he would have no way to obtain it.
After organizing his thoughts, a fierce light flickered in his eyes. "Then I should first eliminate the Profound Sky Sect and Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe to prevent future troubles."
…
With his current cultivation, Xiao Yan needed only half a day to return to the Yan Alliance, arriving at Cai Lin's bedchamber.
"Are they asleep?" He walked slowly toward a yellow light barrier in one corner of the bedchamber. Inside, a little girl and a colorful Heaven Swallowing Python lay curled up in peaceful slumber.
Cai Lin watched their two daughters, her stunningly beautiful face filled with tenderness, suffused with a soft maternal glow.
"Mm. The First Start Pill's medicinal strength in Xiao Xiao's body needs slow refinement. Xiao Cai's Heaven Swallowing Python bloodline also hasn't fully stabilized," Cai Lin said softly. She slowly extended her jade-like hand to caress Xiao Xiao's cheek, and the little girl reflexively hugged her mother's finger tighter in her sleep.
Xiao Yan followed her lead, reaching out to pat Xiao Cai's small head. All he received in return, however, was a sudden, ferocious bite.
Hiss!! The bite sent Xiao Yan grimacing in pain. He hadn't used any Dou Qi for defense!
Even someone of Cai Lin's temperament couldn't help laughing at this foolish father. When that radiant smile bloomed across her face, it was like spring returning to the world, leaving Xiao Yan completely entranced.
She caught his unblinking stare and her cheeks flushed faintly. She rolled her beautiful eyes at him, the glance carrying a natural, smoldering charm.
That single look, overflowing with seductive appeal, sent a jolt through Xiao Yan's heart. The Medusa Race possessed innate allure. Coupled with the fact that Cai Lin was already a peerless beauty, and his wife besides, desire stirred in him at once.
What Hundred Reincarnations? What Bodhisattva Heart? One glance from Cai Lin shattered his composure completely!
He seized her jade-like hand and with a firm tug pulled the barely resisting Cai Lin straight into his arms. Her soft, curvaceous body pressed flush against his chest as a fragrance that belonged solely to her rushed into his lungs, sweet and intoxicating. Her full bosom pressed tightly against him, the warmth and yielding softness sending sparks racing through every nerve.
Her waist was slender beneath his palm, a perfect, supple curve that fit so neatly into his grip it might as well have been made for his hand alone. He tightened his hold almost greedily, as though he wanted to mold her into himself and never let go.
"Xiao Xiao and Xiao Cai are right here..." Cai Lin glanced up at him, but her protest came out soft as silk, warm with fragrance.
Xiao Yan waved his free hand. Spiritual Strength surged out, wrapping tightly around the light barrier and sealing off all perception.
Cai Lin was speechless. What kind of father behaves like this...
Xiao Yan's large hand slid along the line of her spine and lower still, following the graceful arc of her waist. He traced the narrow, sensitive dip of it through the thin fabric. From there, his palm moved down, cupping the soft, rounded curve of her rear without the least bit of shame, fingers sinking slightly into the springy flesh.
Cai Lin's breath hitched sharply. Heat rushed to her ears, turning them a vivid red. She caught his wandering hand and whispered, "You can't be a rogue—"
The protest had barely left her lips when Xiao Yan lowered his head and captured her mouth in a kiss. Her soft lips parted almost at once under his, and his tongue slipped in to tangle with hers. Her lungs filled with the taste of him, scorching and domineering.
Her body, pressed tight against his chest, shuddered lightly. The hand gripping his wrist gradually lost its strength, then slid up and around his neck instead, unconsciously pulling him closer.
Xiao Yan was no eunuch. He already had two daughters! This trip to the Ancient Wasteland Region had not only yielded the Bodhisattva Heart and Dou God energy but had also finally brought Xun Er and Cai Lin face to face.
Xun Er had tacitly accepted Cai Lin's existence. With that settled, what reservations did he have left!