Word Count: 3,030 Words
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Xiao Yan's arrogant words went over even better with the Gu Clan. He already counted as half a Gu Clan member, so their support came as no surprise.
Besides, who didn't love a man with a little wild confidence? The moment he said it, an uproar swept through the arena. Black Submerged Army soldiers, the Gu Clan's descendant citizens, and its ordinary clansmen all broke into thunderous cheers.
"Hmph. Xiao Yan, don't get too full of yourself! Sometimes running your mouth does you no good." Black lightning flickered in Lei Dong's eyes. It was the first time in his life anyone had looked down on him so completely, and he was not pleased.
Xiao Yan spread his hands. "Whether I'm running my mouth or just telling the truth, the result will decide."
Lei Dong's frown deepened. He stared at the young man in crimson ceremonial robes, and a faint sense of danger stirred in his chest. He had once heard his Clan Head remark in passing that the finest of the younger generation on the Dou Qi Continent today was Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan!
He had not come to the Gu Clan to steal a bride. He had come for Xiao Yan. He wanted to see for himself what was so extraordinary about this man his own Clan Head praised, the man who had walked out of the Demon Flame Space alive.
Lei Dong loved battle by nature. For the sake of cultivation, he had shut out the whole world and endured five full years in the Lightning Demon Pool, suffering the agony of countless bolts devouring his body without pause. On top of that, the Lei Clan had poured vast resources into raising him. That was how he had reached his current level. Deep down, he could not bring himself to accept that all his hard-won achievements still fell short of someone from a fallen clan!
Boom!
Lei Dong's aura surged, and his face became as grave as it could possibly get. Xiao Yan's calm, unhurried manner put enormous pressure on him, but Lei Dong was also a decisive man.
A heartbeat later, his body became a streak of lightning and shot forward. He clenched his hand, and black lightning raced down his arm and quickly took shape in his palm as a black spear. Arcs of electricity crackled and danced along its shaft.
Whoosh!
Lei Dong was incredibly fast. In almost the blink of an eye, he stood before Xiao Yan, and spear shadows burst outward, sharp and dense, blanketing every vital point on Xiao Yan's body. At the tip of the spear, a single arc of exceptionally dark lightning flickered in and out of sight. Even a 3-star Dou Saint would end up with a bloody hole punched through his body if it so much as grazed him.
The spectators held their breath as the vicious storm of spear shadows bore down. The attack was so fierce and relentless that even watching it was suffocating. They could not imagine how they would handle such a blinding barrage if they were standing in Xiao Yan's place.
'This Lei Dong really does have some skill...'
Gu Qing Yang and the others could not help but nod as they watched. Even Gu Qing Yang would probably struggle to hold out against such an assault for long. Lei Dong was arrogant, but he had the strength to back it up.
Set against Xiao Yan, however, that strength was perhaps barely worth mentioning.
"Lei Dong's spear... it can't seem to touch Xiao Yan at all." Gu Xing stared at the arena, his voice shaken. Lei Dong was said to be a late-stage 3-star Dou Saint, and his mutated lightning Dou Qi raised his attack power to rival a 4-star Dou Saint's. Yet all that strength could not even graze Xiao Yan. What level had Xiao Yan reached?
Gu Zhen and the others nodded and exchanged glances, each seeing the same shock in the other's eyes. The elders watching from the void, Elder Tong Xuan among them, were even more stunned. When Xiao Yan first came to the Gu Clan, Tong Xuan had still been able to block a full-strength palm strike from him. Now, even Elder Gu Yang probably could not match him!
"Xiao Yan isn't using his full strength, but his true power should already be on the level of the Three Gu Immortals," Elder Gu Nanhai said in a low voice.
"The Three Gu Immortals?! That can't be..." Tong Xuan swallowed hard. The Three Gu Immortals were all high-level Dou Saints at the 7-star level. Xiao Yan was only in his thirties. How could he possibly have come so far?!
The onlookers could read the situation from outside, and Lei Dong, at the center of it, felt it even more sharply. The longer the fight went on, the more alarmed he grew. Xiao Yan was like a bottomless black hole. However fierce or relentless Lei Dong's attacks were, they disappeared without a trace and did not do the slightest damage.
"Demon Lightning Meteor!"
Lei Dong's face went taut, and a vicious gleam flashed in his eyes. The storm of spear shadows halted abruptly. He bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood shot through with flickering black lightning, and every drop landed on the spear tip and turned it utterly dark. He gave the shaft a shake, and his speed shot up to its absolute limit. Like lightning given form, he drove the spear straight at Xiao Yan's throat.
"So fast!"
The sudden burst of speed made many faces change. Even experts as strong as Gu Qing Yang could see only a flash of black light.
Snap!
Xiao Yan kept his left hand clasped behind his back and simply raised his right, catching the spear tip between his index and middle fingers. Lei Dong's killing blow stopped dead, caught with almost lazy ease.
"How is that possible...?" Terror filled Lei Dong's face. He had even used his Clan Mark!
And yet, never mind injuring or defeating Xiao Yan, Xiao Yan's wedding robes remained perfectly neat and spotless. Lei Dong's entire assault had been nothing more than a gentle breeze brushing past him.
What baffled Lei Dong even more was the fate of his Black Demon Lightning. The moment it entered Xiao Yan's body, it was snuffed out and did nothing at all!
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Xiao Yan said. "With your strength, you'd rank in the top three among the younger generation of the Dou God Clans."
There was an art to the way Xiao Yan put it. Top three really was top three, but in this case it meant third, and third place was nowhere near the first two.
Zzt zzt zzt!
A thread of golden lightning suddenly appeared between Xiao Yan's fingers. The instant it did, Lei Dong's Black Demon Lightning recoiled as though it had glimpsed something terrifying. The lightning spear fell apart on the spot. Every arc of Black Demon Lightning went limp, and all its ferocity vanished.
"Golden lightning! Could it be...?!"
When Xiao Yan said one move, he meant one move. He flicked his fingers, and a strand of Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning shot out like an arrow. Thunder roared through the air. Lei Dong hurriedly threw up a defensive Dou Technique, but the bolt blasted him away all the same, and the golden lightning clung to his body like demonic claws.
The terrifying Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning continued to eat away at Lei Dong's body, and he lay on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
Black Demon Lightning? What did that count for? Inside Xiao Yan's body was a Lightning Calamity Pill formed from Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning, and within it lay the only source essence of that lightning in existence. Xiao Yan had not refined it, but the golden lightning was naturally willing to lend him its power.
The gap between the two was the same as the gap between a Heavenly Flame and ordinary fire. It was the difference between a king and his subject.
Xiao Yan had beaten Lei Dong in one move without the slightest suspense. He brushed off his hands, glanced at a certain point in the void, and went on his way.
In that patch of void, Lei Clan Head Lei Ying's expression had turned grave.
He had known, of course, that his son Lei Dong was going to the Gu Clan for the wedding. He had even quietly allowed it.
What he had never expected was that Lei Dong, the genius the Lei Clan took such pride in, would be unable to withstand a single move from Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan had used neither a Heavenly Flame nor the pressure of superior cultivation, and still the result had been the same.
'Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning... This Xiao Yan has even mastered the Nine Mysterious Golden Lightning!' Lei Ying naturally recognized what Xiao Yan had used. He himself, a late-stage 8-star Dou Saint, had spent countless years relying on the Thunder Emperor True Technique left behind by his ancestors before finally mastering it.
And Xiao Yan had only reached the initial 6-star Dou Saint level. He was merely in his thirties!
This was no longer a question of whether he could become another Xiao Xuan. He was certain to surpass Xiao Xuan!
The battle had ended so quickly that everyone stood dumbstruck. In less than a minute, Lei Dong, the young clan leader of the Lei Clan, a late-stage 3-star Dou Saint whose combat strength rivaled a 4-star Dou Saint's, had been defeated in a single move. As for Xiao Yan, it had not even counted as a warm-up. He had not broken a sweat, and his clothes remained immaculate.
After that, the rest was much simpler. Xiao Yan passed unhindered through Gu Sacred City into the Gu Realm and arrived at a courtyard within.
Xun Er emerged slowly from the courtyard entrance under Gu Yuan's escort. She wore a beautiful crimson wedding dress, a red bridal veil draped over her head.
With Gu Yuan's strength, there was no hiding Xiao Yan's cultivation from him.
"Xiao Yan, I am entrusting my daughter to you now." Gu Yuan's voice was solemn, but pleading shone in his eyes. "I ask nothing else of you. I only ask that you keep her safe for the rest of her life."
Xiao Yan drew a deep breath and nodded firmly. "I, Xiao Yan, swear upon the Heavenly Flames that whatever the future brings, I will protect Xun Er all her life. I will guard her with my own life."
"Good." A gratified smile spread across Gu Yuan's face, and he slowly placed Xun Er's hand in Xiao Yan's. On her finger was the Pill Beast ring Xiao Yan had given her.
Xiao Yan accepted that soft, jade-like hand with great solemnity. Xun Er felt the warmth of his large hand close around hers, and the nervousness knotted in her chest slowly eased.
Xiao Yan bent down and lifted Xun Er onto his back with a smile. "Xun Er, let's go home."
"Mm." Under the red veil, Xun Er leaned shyly against his back and nodded. From this day on, she was Madam Xiao!
"Xiao Clan members, back to the estate!!"
"Ooooooh!!"
Festive music erupted across the entire realm in an instant. A spatial passage paved with Heavenly Flame blazed into existence, as though the Flame Emperor himself were taking a bride. Wherever he passed, all flames bowed in submission.
Guests came from every direction for Xiao Yan's wedding, so many that it felt as if every clan in the world had arrived at once. Setting aside the factions that had already joined the Yan Alliance, even the Lei Clan, the Yan Clan, and the Yao Clan sent disciples with gifts.
Even Hun Tiandi, Clan Head of the Hun Clan, sent Hun Mie Sheng with a huge quantity of medicinal ingredients. A great many of them were main ingredients for tier 9 pills.
Xiao Yan knew perfectly well what those ingredients meant. But today was his wedding day, and he had no wish to think about such things.
The banquet was lively and joyful, but for Xiao Yan, the most important part was naturally the wedding night!
A single spring night was worth a thousand pieces of gold.
He pushed open the doors of the bridal chamber. Xun Er sat quietly on the wedding bed with her face hidden beneath the red veil and her hands nervously twisted together in her lap.
This was not their first time together, but marriage was still marriage. The weight of it made both their hearts beat a little faster.
The moment Xiao Yan lifted the veil, his eyes fixed on the beautiful woman before him and would not move. Xun Er wore delicate, elegant makeup tonight, and her cheeks were softly flushed, her lips painted a deep, glossy red. When she glanced up at him with those gentle, captivating eyes, her usual otherworldly grace melted into a shy, breathtaking tenderness that was his alone.
"Xiao Yan ge-ge..."
That soft voice and those shining eyes made Xiao Yan's gaze grow hot. The younger generation of the Gu Clan worshiped this jade-like beauty as an untouchable goddess. When she showed such a sweet, coquettish, vulnerable side, no one could have resisted her.
No wonder some people enjoyed dressing up. In her crimson wedding gown, Xun Er had a completely different charm from their time in the Demon Flame Space.
Xun Er leaned gently into his arms and rested her slightly cool, slender fingers on his chest. Xiao Yan could hold back no longer. He bent his head and claimed her soft lips.
The kiss began slow and tender, then quickly turned hot and passionate. His hands traced the curve of her waist and pulled her flush against him. Xun Er's breathing grew ragged. Her eyelashes trembled, and her fingers curled helplessly into his robes.
Their lips parted, and Xiao Yan trailed hot kisses from the corner of her mouth down the elegant line of her fair neck. A soft, broken sound escaped her, and uncontrollable shivers ran through her body. Under the burn of his lips and the slow, deliberate sweep of his hands, the heavy layers of her crimson wedding gown slipped away one by one.
Piece by piece, the brilliant red silk fell to the floor until she wore nothing but a set of sheer, delicate lace underwear. The thin fabric barely contained the full, tempting swell of her breasts and the curve of her hips. In the soft, wavering candlelight, dark lace against snow-white skin was a sight that could drive any man mad.
Xiao Yan's blood boiled. He drew a ragged breath, swept her slender, pliant body into his arms, and carried her to the bed, laying her gently down on the soft mattress.
The red curtains fell, the candlelight flickered, and the heat of the spring night filled the room.
…
For the next few days, Xiao Yan was naturally immersed in the state of an 'emperor neglecting his morning court.' Fortunately, he was no actual emperor, only a very 'ordinary' alchemist.
Still, he did not stay sunk in the pleasures of the flesh for long. On the third day after the wedding, Xiao Yan brought several members of the Xiao Clan back to the Gu Clan, preparing to enter the Heavenly Tomb.
When he had come to marry Xun Er, he had already asked his eldest brother, Xiao Ding, to discuss the matter of entering the Heavenly Tomb with the Gu Clan. The tomb was not yet due to open on its own, but Xiao Yan had no intention of hunting energy bodies inside. He only needed to enter for a short while to pay his respects to Xiao Xuan.
The Gu Clan naturally agreed to this request.
Apart from Xiao Chen and the core upper echelon of the Xiao Clan, Cai Lin, Xun Er, and Little Fairy Doctor also accompanied them into the Heavenly Tomb.
After all, paying respects to the ancestors was a duty they could not shirk as Xiao Yan's wives. They needed to meet Xiao Xuan, the oldest ancestor of the Xiao Clan.
Deep in the Gu Clan's mountains, more than a dozen figures hovered in midair, all gazing toward the space above the mountain range.
"Xiao Yan, the Heavenly Tomb opens once every twenty years. You entered it last time, so going by the natural cycle, there is still quite some time before it opens again," Gu Yuan said, hands clasped behind his back as he shifted his gaze from that stretch of space. "However, I will forcibly tear open a rift in the Heavenly Tomb to let you inside. Once you are in, pass on my greetings to Xiao Xuan."
Xiao Yan cupped his hands toward Gu Yuan. "Then I must trouble you, Father-in-law."
"Hehe, a small matter." Gu Yuan smiled. A terrifying cultivation aura surged from his body, so overwhelming that even Xiao Yan's heart quaked.
'So this is one of the only two absolute peak existences remaining on the Dou Qi Continent!'
Gu Yuan let out a thunderous shout and tore his hands through the air, ripping open a crack in space. Xiao Yan and the others wasted no time and entered the rift at once.
The Heavenly Tomb.
Hazy mist shrouded the space, and solitude and silence seemed to be the only notes this world knew. Xiao Zhan, Xiao Xiao, and the others were still relatively weak in cultivation, but with Xiao Chen and Xiao Yan present, the Heavenly Tomb posed no threat to them whatsoever.
Xiao Yan's current speed, combined with the completely unobstructed path, meant it took barely an hour to reach the deepest region of the Heavenly Tomb.
Xiao Chen gazed at the distant tombstone. The moment he made out the two characters 'Xiao Xuan' carved upon it, his body began to tremble uncontrollably, and old tears slid down his face.
"Sigh, what is there to cry about? You're already a 5-star Dou Saint. How are you still sniveling like you used to?"