"What did you discover?!" Huo Yun Ancestor lightly tapped her ear.
"Ancestor, Brother Xiao Ting said he found the inheritance left behind by the Ancestor," Tang Huo Er stood beside him and answered sweetly.
"I'm not deaf, I can hear you!" Huo Yun Ancestor grinned.
He was a Dou Saint. If he wished, he could hear Xiao Ting's words from a hundred miles away.
He had only asked because he couldn't believe it.
Whether the founder of Burning Flame Valley had disappeared or left behind some inheritance was uncertain. In any case, even the people of Burning Flame Valley themselves didn't know. Yet Xiao Ting had come to Burning Flame Valley and uncovered the truth!
"This is truly a coincidence," Xiao Ting smiled and nodded at Tang Huo Er. "The inheritance left by the Burning Flame Ancestor originally belonged to my Xiao Clan. As long as one awakens the Xiao Clan's Dou God bloodline, they can sense it within a certain range."
"I recently mastered the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change and used the method left by my ancestor to awaken the clan mark."
As soon as Xiao Ting finished speaking, he activated the Xiao Clan's clan mark. With the seventh-rank clan mark, his cultivation instantly exploded to the early stage of nine-star Dou Venerable.
Huo Yun Ancestor: !
It seemed the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change was indeed a product of the Xiao Clan.
He had been somewhat skeptical at first, but after seeing Xiao Ting's extraordinary talent and the fact that the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change wasn't that much of a "secret," he readily accepted it.
Now it seemed the Xiao Clan and Burning Flame Valley were like brothers sharing the same pants.
"Where is the Ancestor's inheritance?" Huo Yun Ancestor asked.
"Below." Xiao Ting pointed to where he was standing.
Huo Yun Ancestor immediately released his soul force to investigate, but even after probing deep into the Lava World, he found nothing.
"Senior, the inheritance is inside the sacred stele at the bottom of the Lava World. However, if you go there, you can awaken it with your blood. Since you are a descendant of the Burning Flame Ancestor, there should be no problem," Xiao Ting reminded him.
"Understood." Huo Yun Ancestor waved his hand without hesitation and created a spatial barrier that enveloped Xiao Ting and Tang Huo Er before disappearing downward.
…
About fifteen minutes later, the three of them arrived at the deepest part of the Lava World.
This time, Huo Yun Ancestor finally sensed something. He pressed his hand against his chest and rushed forward.
Soon, a purple energy shield appeared before the three of them. At the very center of the energy shield was a stone stele entirely purple and engraved with flame patterns.
The moment Tang Huo Er and Huo Yun Ancestor laid eyes on the stele, they felt a blood connection.
Xiao Ting did not feel the same, but his clan mark naturally manifested and established a faint connection with the Burning Flame Saint Stele.
"This is truly the inheritance left by the Ancestor!"
Huo Yun Ancestor was extremely excited. He easily led Xiao Ting and Tang Huo Er through the purple barrier and arrived in front of the Burning Flame Saint Stele.
At that moment, three small flames wrapped in lightning appeared and entered the space between the three people's eyebrows, bringing some information.
These were the five methods for receiving the inheritance that Xiao Ting had obtained through Plane Blessing.
"Descendants of both the Xiao Clan and the Tang Clan of Burning Flame Valley are qualified to inherit. This sacred stele was actually made from materials provided by the Xiao Clan. I see…" A look of realization appeared in Huo Yun Ancestor's eyes.
The existence of this sacred stele could be said to be the joint effort of Burning Flame Valley and the Xiao Clan.
Although it was left behind by the Burning Flame Ancestor, both the Xiao Clan and the Tang Clan had the right to inherit it.
According to the will of the Burning Flame Ancestor, if the Xiao Clan's bloodline had not nearly dried up and its geniuses had not died one after another, the Tang Clan would have joined as a subordinate clan of the Xiao Realm.
However, because Ancestor Fang Yan possessed extraordinary talent and had reached the level of a high-rank Dou Saint, Xiao Xuan had wanted to prepare a backup plan and did not do so.
"I see." A look of understanding appeared in Xiao Ting's eyes.
The Burning Flame Ancestor had recorded some past events on the sacred stele, mainly regarding his own whereabouts, but it also revealed the situation of the Xiao Clan at that time.
It turned out that a thousand years ago, among the Eight Great Ancient Clans, the Xiao Clan's Dou God bloodline had been the first to begin declining. The strongest among them was only at the mid-stage of eight-star Dou Saint, which was inferior to the current Yan Clan and Lei Clan, but still stronger than the Shi Clan, Yao Clan, and Ling Clan.
The Xiao Clan had formed an alliance with the Gu Clan to oppose the Hun Clan, while the stances of the other clans kept shifting, with the main goal being to maintain balance.
At that time, Xiao Xuan, who was already two hundred years old, had begun to stand out and had risen to the late stage of nine-star Dou Saint.
He created the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change and simultaneously controlled three different Heavenly Flames, becoming the strongest existence in his domain.
The original purpose of Xiao Xuan creating the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change was to inherit the Dou God bloodline and engrave the Xiao Clan's clan mark.
However, apart from Xiao Xuan, the strongest in the Xiao Clan was only an aged eight-star Dou Saint, with only a few seven-star and six-star Dou Saints.
The situation of the Ancient Clans was similar to that of the Xiao Clan, but their bloodlines were still at their peak, and powerful nine-star Dou Saints in the late stage had also emerged from the Ancient Clans.
When he reached the barrier of the Dou God level, Xiao Xuan realized that the depletion of his bloodline could not be reversed by the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change method, and he understood that a new Dou God was needed.
He had taken a gamble, but it was not a reckless one. Rather, he had made preparations in advance.
First, the clan's resources were given priority to Xiao Chen, a younger cousin of the Xiao Clan who possessed talent second only to him and was still young.
If Xiao Chen could grow to the level of an eight-star Dou Saint, even if his bloodline was depleted, he would at least be able to protect the Xiao Clan and serve as a hidden force.
Second, he entrusted half of the Xiao Clan's greatest inheritance and resources to his sworn brother, Ancestor Fang Yan, so that he would take care of the Xiao Clan and raise Xiao Chen in the future.
This was the plan Xiao Xuan had made in advance, thinking that if he could not reach the Dou God realm, he might die.
There must have been other plans Xiao Xuan had, but Ancestor Fang Yan did not know about them.
However, before Xiao Xuan attempted to become a Dou God, something happened.
When the Pure Lotus Demon Flame appeared in the world, Xiao Chen, who had been highly anticipated, suddenly disappeared.
The Xiao Clan was extremely anxious. Since Xiao Xuan was also preparing to integrate the clan's Dou God bloodline, he ordered the aged clan leader, who was at the mid-stage of eight-star Dou Saint, and Ancestor Fang Yan to go search for Xiao Chen.
An unexpected event occurred during the search.
At the last moment, Ancestor Fang Yan could only send a soul message to the Burning Flame Saint Stele.
[A spatial rift appeared, opening a passage to a higher world. The descendants of Burning Flame Valley who could not escape the spatial storm should pass this news to the Xiao Clan.]
This message allowed Xiao Ting and Huo Yun Ancestor to understand why Ancestor Fang Yan had disappeared.
"Man proposes, but heaven disposes," Xiao Ting thought to himself.
This message had clearly never reached the Xiao Clan from Burning Flame Valley. Even if it had, it would have been meaningless, because the person who was both the Burning Flame Ancestor and the Xiao Clan's clan leader had clearly not returned.
So what situation had Xiao Xuan faced at that time?
The Xiao Clan's Dou God bloodline had begun to gather on him, and his advancement to Dou God was imminent.
Xiao Chen, whom they had raised in preparation for his death, had mysteriously disappeared, and this was related to the Pure Lotus Demon Flame.
Their most powerful external ally, the nine-star peak Dou Saint sworn brother whom they could entrust with half their resources, had mysteriously disappeared together with the eight-star clan leader.
At that time, would Xiao Xuan have suspected that Ancestor Fang Yan had taken the money and run?
This was probably one of the reasons the Hun Clan had been able to launch a surprise attack on Xiao Xuan without hesitation.
If Ancestor Fang Yan had still been alive, if the Xiao Clan still had an eight-star Dou Saint aged clan leader supporting them…
Unfortunately, Xiao Xuan had miscalculated!
…