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"Xiao Xuan, please save the Gu Clan!" Gu Yuan shouted with all his might. His voice, thunderous and deafening, echoed across thousands of miles. He could feel the familiar bloodline aura of his people fading one after another. The Gu Clan was being massacred by the Soul Clan, or worse, having their Dou Di bloodline forcefully extracted by the Void Swallowing Flame. The three immense and familiar auras—those of the three immortals of the Gu Clan—had all been annihilated by the Soul Clan army.
"Xiao Xuan!"
At the mention of that name, Soul Heaven Emperor, the Void Swallowing Flame, the four undead of the Soul Clan, and the four Demon Saints all shuddered involuntarily.
"This is the Heavenly Tomb."
Behind Soul Heaven Emperor, the four undead followed closely. As they looked at the lifeless and utterly silent Heavenly Tomb, their eyes narrowed slightly.
"Sigh... Gu Yuan, if you had known this would happen, why act the way you did back then?" A sigh echoed as a young man's spectral image in green robes appeared from the space torn open by Gu Yuan. Furrowing his brows, the figure spoke coldly, "Hun Yuan Tian, Hun Sheng Tian, Hun Yao... I distinctly remember killing you all. This vitality you're showing—it's clearly the result of forcing your bodies into motion with energy. Undead puppets, huh? It seems the Soul Clan has been quite busy these past thousand years."
"Xiao Xuan!" ×4
Terror filled the faces of the four undead Soul Clan members. They instinctively stepped back, haunted by the fear Xiao Xuan once instilled in them. When he was alive, the Xiao Clan stood unrivaled at the top of the Eight Ancient Clans. With unmatched brilliance, Xiao Xuan had suppressed the other seven clans so thoroughly they couldn't even raise their heads. At the moment of his death, he self-destructed and severely wounded the Soul Heaven Emperor, who needed a millennium to recover. In that explosion, he also killed all four of their eight-star Dou Saints, decimating the Soul Clan's top fighting force.
"It's just a projection, Xiao Xuan. A thousand years have passed, and to think we'd meet again," Soul Heaven Emperor said with a calm smile, as if reminiscing with an old friend.
"Soul Heaven Emperor, even after a thousand years, your personality hasn't changed a bit. What surprises me more is that we actually have the chance to face each other once again after all this time." Xiao Xuan also smiled faintly, though a murderous glint flickered in his eyes.
Hearing this, Soul Heaven Emperor's expression turned cold as he replied, "Xiao Xuan, your tomb palace only allows you to leave once every ten years, and even then, only within the confines of the Heavenly Tomb. Based on the timeline, your soul shouldn't be able to leave yet. Do you really think a mere projection can fight me?"
"Hahaha! Soul Heaven Emperor, back then, I failed to break through to Dou Di and only became a Half-Emperor. Due to severe injuries, I never displayed my full strength. But this time... I'll show you the true might of a Half-Emperor."
As his voice faded, Xiao Xuan's projection vanished, and a terrifying surge of energy exploded from within the Heavenly Tomb. A giant flame-formed palm burst through the ancient tomb, striking toward Soul Heaven Emperor. Before this flaming palm, space itself crumbled like fragile foam.
"Gu Yuan, consider this our final act of friendship." Xiao Xuan's weak voice echoed beside Gu Yuan's ears. As a mere energy body, his power was limited. This attack was his limit—it would take another ten years before he could exit the tomb again and recover by killing other energy beings to replenish himself.
"Xiao Xuan... thank you," Gu Yuan said with great difficulty, then fled the Gu Realm with Gu Xun'er in tow.
"Damn you, Xiao Xuan! Even in death, you won't let me go!"
Soul Heaven Emperor's eyes turned blood-red. Ignoring his still-unhealed injuries, he unleashed his full strength. Behind him, a vast sea of blood surged forward, colliding with the flaming palm. The four undead of the Soul Clan activated the Gate of Death simultaneously.
The two forces clashed violently. The sky above the Gu Realm shattered. The Gate of Death was destroyed, and Soul Heaven Emperor's sea of blood was completely incinerated. He coughed up blood due to the backlash of his technique. Eyes flashing with ruthless fury, he teleported behind the four undead and said coldly, "Time to contribute your final value!"
As he spoke, black mist surged around Soul Heaven Emperor's palm. With a mighty strike, he slammed his hand onto the backs of the four undead, sending them flying toward the flaming giant palm. Their eyes widened in terror and disbelief, expressions twisted with fear and hatred. "Clan Leader—(Soul Heaven Emperor)!"
BOOM——
A deafening explosion followed. Most of the Ancient Holy Mountain Range was obliterated, and half of the Gu Realm turned into a sea of fire. The shockwave sent Soul Heaven Emperor flying backward.
"Emperor!"
"Clan Leader!" ×N
Void Swallowing Flame's figure flashed forward. With a burst of Dou Qi, he caught the falling Soul Heaven Emperor.
Coughing lightly, Soul Heaven Emperor swallowed the blood rising in his throat. Despite his injuries, there was no relaxation in his expression. He ordered coldly, "Void Swallowing Flame, take two Demon Saints and exterminate the Yan Clan."
"I understand."
Just as he finished speaking, a flash of blood gleamed. Soul Heaven Emperor's expression froze, his pupils dilated with a blood-red glow, then twisted into a snarl. His right hand—more precisely, the finger wearing the storage ring—had been severed. The ring was now in Void Swallowing Flame's possession.
"Lord Void, what are you doing?!" The Soul Clan members were dumbfounded. Their faces were full of disbelief—Void Swallowing Flame had ambushed their leader and cut off his finger.
"Void Swallowing Flame!" Soul Heaven Emperor shouted coldly, his gaze brimming with killing intent as he stared at the now-distant black flame figure wearing a twisted grin.
"Hahaha, Soul Heaven Emperor, you didn't see this coming, did you? I've known all along that you've been wary of me. That's why you delayed letting me ascend to Emperor-level soul strength—afraid I'd stab you in the back one day without you noticing."
"You're right. With only peak Heavenly Realm soul strength, I didn't dare stab you in the back. But severing a finger? That, I can do." Void Swallowing Flame chuckled. With a flicker of light from the ring taken from Soul Heaven Emperor, four pieces of the Tou She Ancient Emperor Jade appeared in his hand.
"You must be wondering why I betrayed you now, of all times. That's because I found a better partner."
Upon hearing that, Soul Heaven Emperor instantly deduced who it was. "That brat... That injury from six months ago—it was all an act, wasn't it? You and that brat staged the whole thing!"
"Exactly. Honestly, I was surprised myself. I never imagined Xiao Xuan, even as a soul remnant, could unleash such a devastating attack and wipe out those four. If not for that, I probably wouldn't have chosen to betray you just yet."
Void Swallowing Flame sighed. As they say, no plan survives contact with reality. Adaptability is key. Originally, he planned to wait until the Soul Clan had wiped out the Yan and Lei Clans, and Soul Heaven Emperor had fully recovered, before joining forces with Qian Renhan to initiate their scheme.
But now, there was no need. The four eight-star undead were completely annihilated. Soul Heaven Emperor was critically injured, Gu Yuan was badly wounded, and the Gu Clan had been wiped out. Next, he would team up with Qian Renhan to destroy the Lei and Yan Clans, using their resources to reach the peak of cultivation and enter the Ancient Emperor's Cave Mansion.
As for the Soul Clan—they were already his.
(End of Chapter)