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In an ancient and mysterious forest, towering ancient trees rose from the ground, their lush canopies like giant arms, completely obscuring the sky.
These colossal trees, hundreds of feet tall, seemed to be guardians that had stood there since ancient times, their bark covered with cracks of age, recounting thousands of years of vicissitudes.
The depths of the forest were shrouded in a heart-pounding darkness. As far as the eye could see, there was only a bottomless, profound shadow, as if even light had been completely devoured. Occasionally, a series of fierce beast roars, deep and resonant, came from the darkness, sending chills down one's spine.
This was the widely known desolate land of the entire continent—the Barren Ancient Domain.
This land seemed forgotten by time, still retaining the primitive features of ancient times. Fierce beasts, remnants from ancient times, lived in the forest; though they lacked the intelligence of magical beasts, they were no less powerful, and even surpassed them.
These fierce beasts were all bloodthirsty, and because of their existence, the entire Barren Ancient Domain became a forbidden zone. Even Dou Venerate experts had a considerable chance of perishing if they entered.
Crack—
A black leather boot lightly snapped a dry branch on the ground, the crisp breaking sound particularly jarring in the silent forest. The rustling of footsteps followed, echoing through the woods.
A young man, wearing a pointed soft hat, a black classical robe, and a monocle embedded in his right eye, walked forward leisurely.
His steps were not fast, but distance seemed to be stolen; each small step forward would cover a very long distance.
"Tsk, it's really hard to find the Bodhi Ancient Tree in advance. That thing is proficient in illusions, and its size far exceeds that of an ordinary Nine-Star Dou Saint," Amon muttered as he walked.
He casually surveyed his surroundings; the darkness in the forest seemed to have no effect on him, and the fierce beast roars also failed to attract his attention.
A giant python, hundreds of feet long, coiled down from a colossal tree. Its body was pitch black, without scales, its surface smooth, and what was most striking was that its head was not a snake's head, but a human face.
Upon seeing Amon, the human face revealed a strange smile, its mouth slightly parted, revealing a long, bloody red tongue.
It smiled at Amon, and Amon politely returned the smile.
A starlight lit up, and a monocle appeared on the human-faced giant snake's right eye.
Amon was not disappointed that his search for the Bodhi Ancient Tree was fruitless. In any case, it would eventually appear, and the time for its emergence, as in the original work, was already not far off.
Amon's series of actions had caused many things to change, creating a huge butterfly effect. By now, the plot in the original work was almost unrecognizable… and this was still a result of his intentional maintenance.
However, these butterfly effects would not affect the Bodhi Ancient Tree, which was buried deep underground. If there were no accidents, it would still appear at the original time and original place.
"Hmm, but since I'm already here, I can't just wait around. Before the main course, let's have some appetizers first."
A faint glow lit up around Amon, and illusory shadows spread out overwhelmingly.
He dispersed his avatars, letting them freely hunt and devour the fierce beasts in the Barren Ancient Domain, just as he had done in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Perhaps killing people on a large scale would still have a tiny impact on his few remaining human traits, but he had no psychological burden whatsoever in slaughtering these fierce beasts.
"After all, I'm not an animal protectionist…"
The illusory figures were like specters, attaching themselves to the fierce beasts. In front of Amon's avatars, they had no power to resist.
Even if some had special abilities to counterattack and kill one or two avatars, they were quickly Parasitized by stronger avatars formed through Convergence.
Some fierce beasts sensed the danger and instinctively fled in all directions. But danger was everywhere, because Amon had already permeated the air; every breath they took only intensified the mark on them.
After a period of commotion, the Barren Ancient Domain suddenly fell into an eerie silence. This desolate land, which was constantly embroiled in slaughter, experienced peace for the first time.
The scattered Amon avatars used some fierce beasts with burrowing abilities to search underground, but the effect was not ideal. Perhaps the Bodhi Ancient Tree was hidden too deep, or perhaps it was not in this area at the moment. After a search, it was still fruitless.
Amon could only wait patiently there.
…
Inside the Heavenly Tomb, Xiao Yan's face was slightly pale. Although the aura emanating from him was unprecedentedly powerful, his body appeared extremely weak, as if he had contracted a serious illness, and his whole being exuded a sickly aura.
Xun'er keenly noticed the hint of weakness hidden beneath Xiao Yan's powerful aura, her eyes filled with concern, and she softly asked, "Xiao Yan Ge-ge, what's wrong with you? Did forcefully breaking through leave some hidden trouble?"
Xiao Xuan's gaze fell on Xiao Yan, and with a brief scan, he understood his condition, sighing, "As expected, it was too hasty… An overly powerful spirit power will put pressure on the body. The stronger the soul, the stronger the physical body needed to bear it. Xiao Yan's current situation is that his spirit power far exceeds his body's capacity, causing his body to be overwhelmed."
"Then what should be done?" Xun'er heard of this situation for the first time, and her face showed surprise and worry.
Xiao Yan coughed twice, his voice a little hoarse, but still firm: "As long as I can break through to Dou Saint, no, even a Half-Saint, this situation will be greatly alleviated."
Xiao Xuan nodded, his tone gentle but with a hint of solemnity: "That's right, breaking through the realm is the most direct method. In addition, you can also reduce the pressure of spirit power on your body by improving your control over spirit power.
"However, this can only temporarily alleviate it and cannot cure it completely. The most fundamental thing is that you need to quickly improve your strength to balance your physical body and soul."
At this point, Xiao Xuan's eyes flickered slightly, glancing at Gu Xun'er, then he whispered to Xiao Yan, "Come with me, I still have some things to tell you."
Xiao Yan nodded and followed Xiao Xuan into the tombstone space. His eyes narrowed slightly, understanding in his heart that Xiao Xuan deliberately avoided Xun'er, clearly indicating that the upcoming matters were not suitable for her to know.
After entering the space, Xiao Xuan's expression became serious:
"I have already met with the clansmen of the Xiao Clan, and I learned a piece of news from him—the Hun Tiandi has already begun collecting the Tuoshe ancient emperor jade and has started acting against other ancient clans."
Xiao Yan's pupils suddenly constricted, and he said in a deep voice, "So, it was indeed the Soul Clan that attacked the Yao Clan…"
"That's right." Xiao Xuan nodded slightly, "Time is running out. You must become strong enough to contend with the Hun Tiandi in the shortest possible time."
Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "It's easy to say, but as difficult as ascending to heaven to do… At this realm, every step forward is extremely difficult. Without special opportunities, it would be hard to make any significant breakthrough within a year or two."
"Yes, it's very difficult." Xiao Xuan's eyes held a hint of expectation, "But I believe you can do it. So, this is my final gift. I hope you can make good use of it."
Saying that, Xiao Xuan took out a dark ring from his embrace and handed it to Xiao Yan. The ring was simple and unadorned, yet exceptionally sturdy. Xiao Yan could feel that a powerful Sealed Artifact was attached to the ring, but at this moment, the Sealed Artifact had not been activated, and the inside of the ring was empty.
A hint of doubt flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes, and he asked in a low voice, "Ancestor, this is…"
"This is my final resting place." Xiao Xuan smiled faintly, his tone carrying a hint of relief, "Although it's not as good as my peak period, I consumed too much dealing with the Soul of the Heavenly Tomb before… but it should still bring you considerable assistance."
Before his words finished, cracks suddenly appeared on Xiao Xuan's body. The cracks spread rapidly, eventually covering his entire body. His body gradually disintegrated into specks of light before Xiao Yan's shocked gaze, leaving behind an energy core emitting a terrifying aura.
The energy core transformed into a beam of light and merged into the dark ring. The entire process was so fast that it caught people off guard. By the time Xiao Yan reacted, Xiao Xuan's figure had already dissipated, leaving only an energy core quietly suspended within the ring.
"Ancestor…" Xiao Yan held the ring in a daze, an indescribable sorrow welling up in his heart.
He felt both admiration for Xiao Xuan's selfless sacrifice for the clan and deep sadness for the passing of such a kind and amiable elder.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions, then took one last look at the stone hall where Xiao Xuan had resided, and turned to walk out of the tombstone space.
Standing before the tombstone, Xiao Yan knelt down and kowtowed three times, saying in a low, firm voice:
"Ancestor, rest assured, Xiao Yan vows here and now that I will surely revitalize the Xiao Clan and never fail your expectations!"
His voice echoed, as if to engrave this vow between heaven and earth.
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