"Hun Tiandi, do you really think none of the other seven clans can see the ravenous ambitions of you and your Hun Clan? Today, you're just using slick words to deceive us into handing over the 'Tou She Ancient God's Jade'. And as for your arrival here, isn't it solely to stop my advancement? Why bother with all the roundabout talk?" Xiao Xuan made no attempt to hide his disgust toward Hun Tiandi and the entire Hun Clan.
Hun Tiandi was not angered by Xiao Xuan laying bare his intentions. Instead, he smiled calmly and said, "In this world, only five of us 9-star Dou Saints stand at that final threshold before the Dou God realm. Among us, you, Xiao Xuan, have the highest talent and stand the greatest chance of reaching Dou God. Today, my Hun Clan shall wipe out your entire Xiao Clan."
"Only I can become a Dou God!"
Before the echo of his words faded, a thunderous boom erupted from the outer perimeter of the Heavenly Tomb. The intense tremor caused the ground beneath them to quake. Clearly, the battle had already begun outside.
"The Gu Clan has been blocked! Now, heed my command—exterminate the Xiao Clan!"
At that roar, the hundreds of Hun Clan members behind Hun Tiandi scattered, encircling Xiao Xuan along with their leader. With this formation, they intended to join forces to kill him and seize the 'Tou She Ancient God's Jade.'
Xiao Yan watched this grim scene with a solemn expression.
This battle could no longer be described as merely tragic; it was heroic and cruel.
Watching these scenes made Xiao Yan fully grasp the brutal truth of 'survival of the fittest' on the Dou Qi Continent.
Within these images, some fought to become Dou Gods, while others fought to protect their clans. Countless elite experts perished in this colossal struggle, as if thrown into a giant meat grinder. One Tian Class Dou Technique after another ripped through the world, wiping out innumerable powerful individuals in the surging waves of Dou Qi.
Most shocking of all was the fight between the two strongest experts, Xiao Xuan and Hun Tiandi, who battled until the very sky and land seemed on the verge of collapse, with the gruesome scene stained red.
Though Xiao Yan was merely a spectator standing on the ground, and these were just images from the past that he couldn't truly feel, he still witnessed this battle that was fought until the land was shattered and the sun and moon lost their light.
Xiao Xuan and Hun Tiandi were evenly matched, locked in a furious stalemate.
"Skyfire Three Mysterious Change!!"
With a thunderous shout, Xiao Xuan's body simultaneously erupted into three different kinds of flame.
Xiao Yan frowned as he scrutinized those flames. He could confirm that one of them, a mixture of black and white, was the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame, and the other two were definitely Heavenly Flames as well.
'So he used Heavenly Flames to preserve these memory scenes… then left them behind.'
Xiao Yan looked at the other two kinds of flames. One was a purple flame, while the other was a crimson flame.
'A crimson Heavenly Flame... The Ten Thousand Beast Flame isn't it; its color is based on the spirits of ten thousand beasts and isn't necessarily red. It should be the Fire Mountain Rock Flame or the Red Lotus Karmic Flame.'
'The purple one is strange. The Three Thousand Burning Flame is purple-black, not this kind of pure purple. Could it be one of those Heavenly Flames without a fixed color?'
In the projection, even Hun Tiandi's face turned grim the moment Xiao Xuan unleashed his Skyfire Three Mysterious Change.
Hun Tiandi immediately performed his own Secret Technique. A boundless sea of blood exploded into the sky, staining the horizon. As he took a single, forceful step forward, the crimson hue in his eyes intensified.
A deafening crash resounded. The entire world seemed to quiver at that heavy step. The surging sea of blood began to churn wildly, congealing into a massive, surging blood wave tens of thousands of feet high, bearing down to engulf Xiao Xuan.
Xiao Xuan looked as minute as an ant beneath the towering wave.
He lifted his palm, and with one forceful punch, a fire phoenix shot forward, letting out a piercing cry before clashing with the towering blood wave.
In that instant of collision, the world seemed to fall eerily silent for a heartbeat. Then a violent shock ripped through the world. The giant blood wave was shredded into a downpour of crimson droplets that rolled back in reverse.
Xiao Yan turned his head to look at the battlefield on the other side. The battle between the Hun Clan and the Xiao Clan was almost entirely one-sided. From Xiao Xuan's words, he could tell that the Xiao Clan had reached the end of the road. The Dou God Bloodline had long since withered, leaving them no choice but to fight with their backs against the wall.
Under such circumstances, it was impossible for them to prevail over the might of the Hun Clan.
With disparities in both numbers and strength, the Xiao Clan retreated step by step as they suffered heavy casualties.
As the Xiao Clan steadily lost ground, more and more Hun Clan experts threw caution to the wind, launching suicidal assaults on Xiao Xuan. Although Xiao Xuan had initially held a slight advantage, wounds soon began to appear all over his body.
Facing the Hun Clan experts' desperate assaults, a strange pattern appeared on Xiao Xuan's forehead.
In an instant, raging flames surged forth as if intending to incinerate the very scenery around them. The blaze formed a boundless sea of fire, sweeping toward the Hun Clan's forces.
By harnessing the three Heavenly Flames, Xiao Xuan temporarily staved off the Hun Clan's army.
"Clan Head, quickly begin the advancement ceremony! If we delay any further, our clan will be doomed." the Grand Elder said gravely.
Xiao Xuan hesitated, his gaze lingering on the Xiao Clan members locked in fierce combat. He shook his head. "I'll take all of you away. We can discuss the advancement later."
"Clan Head, the advancement formation has been prepared. How can we discuss it later? The Hun Clan has come in full force this time. Our Xiao Clan has already suffered severe losses. If we don't fight for it now, how can we face those clan members who have died in battle?" Xiao Kong wiped the blood from his face and anxiously urged.
Xiao Xuan glanced over the blood-soaked figures of his kin, and tears tinged with blood silently slid down his cheek.
"Clan Head, don't worry about us. For the sake of the Xiao Clan's future… advance to Dou God!"
"Advance to Dou God!"
Xiao Xuan slowly closed his eyes. When he reopened them, all traces of indecision had vanished.
"Secret Technique, activate!"
With a flurry of mysterious hand seals, an ancient incantation was cast.
At that moment, a golden glow ignited within every member of the Xiao Clan.
The golden radiance formed the Xiao Clan's distinctive Clan Mark. The golden Clan Marks floated out from the bodies of the clan members and hovered in the hazy sky. Although some of these golden marks were faint, while others were bright, once they gathered together, they brightly lit up the entire sky!
The cultivation levels of the Xiao Clan members began to plummet wildly as their bloodline power was drawn away. Some could not endure the strain and directly exploded.
All the accumulated power converged within Xiao Xuan, sweeping out in a terrifying surge.
"Dou God!"
Hun Tiandi's eyes turned blood-red. "How is this possible? How is this possible?!"
Xiao Yan quietly observed these scenes, his expression calm as he watched how his clan's former glory met its twilight.
And the final outcome was indeed as he had anticipated. In the end, Xiao Xuan still couldn't break through that final barrier.
With a clenched palm, Xiao Xuan tore open a spatial passage and, with a sweep of his sleeve, sent the remaining Xiao Clan members inside.
"Take the Tou She Ancient God's Jade and go!"
Xiao Xuan stood alone before the spatial passage, confronting a tide of Hun Clan experts and Hun Tiandi himself. This was the tragic final stand of a hero.
Not once did Xiao Xuan turn his back on his enemies.
"Heavenly Flames, explode!"
When his strength was utterly spent, Xiao Xuan self-detonated his Heavenly Flames, killing swathes of the Hun Clan's elites. In the end, the Yin-Yang Twin Flame also detonated, and the scene came to an abrupt halt at that moment.
In the blink of an eye, the room returned to its original expanse of white.
After a few moments of silence, Xiao Yan murmured, "So that's how it is. All of this was left behind by Xiao Xuan, the last Clan Head of the Dou God Xiao Clan—a final backup plan."
He turned around, and behind him floated a swirl of black-and-white flames. The outline of the flame vaguely resembled a human figure.