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"How were you Parasitized by them? Where were you Parasitized?" Gu Yuan asked.
"Probably in Wu Tan City. I apologize, but I was extremely weak at the time and only conscious for limited periods, so I'm not sure exactly where," Yao Chen replied.
Gu Yuan nodded slightly, a thought flashing through his mind: This thing is most likely related to the Xiao Clan. They used it to control Yao Chen and influence Xiao Yan!
How did the Xiao Clan become so sinister and strange? This thing feels even more evil than those guys from the Soul Clan.
Parasitizing souls... this seems to be a characteristic specifically targeting the Soul Clan, targeting soul bodies.
How did this creature come about? Was it cultivated by the Xiao Clan to deal with the Soul Clan?
"Do you know anything else about them? Do they really remain completely inactive normally?" Gu Yuan asked.
Yao Chen responded: "They exert subtle influences, providing psychological suggestions that magnify the likelihood of you doing something.
"This influence is very covert and difficult to detect. Often, the Parasitized individual will mistake it for their own thoughts.
"I only discovered this through an accident, and only that one time was I certain I was influenced."
The more Xiao Yan listened, the more alarmed he became... No wonder Teacher told me not to completely trust him and to make my own judgments!
Gu Yuan's expression grew a few shades heavier. These Parasites were not powerful; they could even be called weak. However, their bizarre characteristics made their danger and difficulty reach an extremely terrifying level, especially for a clan.
Because the vast majority of a clan consists of its weakest, lowest-tier members, these Parasites might not be able to Parasitize powerful upper and middle-tier individuals. But if they spread among the lower-tier personnel, the consequences would be catastrophic.
He was able to relatively easily find them in Yao Chen's soul, not only because of his own powerful soul but also because Yao Chen was a soul body.
If Yao Chen had a physical body, it would have been much more troublesome. Gu Yuan wasn't even sure if he could tell at a glance whether a person with a physical body was Parasitized.
Yao Chen recalled carefully, remembering something he had almost forgotten, and said softly:
"When I was first Parasitized by them, they seemed to have uttered some gibberish-like sounds... they were searching for a place.
"They said 'send me back to the Great Thousand'... a place called 'Great Thousand.'"
"Great Thousand World!" Gu Yuan's pupils contracted, his mind greatly shaken.
Previously, when the second Nether Lotus Demon Flame was born, Gu Yuan and Soul Emperor had met and exchanged a few words.
Soul Emperor had mentioned this term!
He said Xiao Zhan told him it was a higher-level plane that the Dou Emperors went to!
Did these bugs come from the Great Thousand World?
A thousand years ago, the Xiao Clan had never displayed them, so they probably didn't exist then. They must have been encountered later.
Based on the available information and his own conjectures, Gu Yuan mentally sorted out the sequence of events:
A thousand years ago, Xiao Xuan gathered the strength of his entire clan to attempt to break through to Dou Emperor realm, but he was obstructed by Soul Emperor, failed, and died, and the Xiao Clan was also annihilated.
Before executing this plan, Xiao Xuan had considered the possibility of failure and made two preparations for such a situation.
One was to entrust a portion of his clansmen to me for protection. The second was to arrange in advance for another trustworthy and sufficiently strong person... most likely Xiao Chen... to lead another group of people into hiding.
The hidden lineage of the Xiao Clan discovered the strange bugs that had accidentally drifted to the Dou Qi Continent, exploited them, and continuously accumulated strength.
A thousand years passed, and the Soul Clan recuperated, recovered their vitality, and began to become active. The ambitious Soul Emperor, for revenge and even more for the ancient jade, sent people to attack the Xiao Family in Wu Tan City... This led to the discovery of traces of the hidden Xiao Clan.
This power, which had developed in secret for a thousand years, gradually surfaced.
Gu Yuan looked at Xiao Yan, his eyes flickering. There was one thing he hadn't understood before: Since Soul Emperor hadn't obtained the ancient jade, and Xiao Yan's location wasn't a secret to the Soul Hall, why didn't he send people to "invite" Xiao Yan to the Soul Clan?
He just had a flash of insight and thought of a possibility.
Xiao Zhan revealing information about the Xiao Clan and the Great Thousand World to Soul Emperor might not have been for self-preservation, but rather, on behalf of the Xiao Clan, to express a certain desire for cooperation with Soul Emperor?
But is that possible? The blood of those Xiao Family members in Wu Tan City had only just cooled. Or perhaps, the hidden Xiao Clan had become so cold blooded that they no longer cared about the lives of their own clansmen?
Or... those people were not true Xiao Clan members! They were merely substitute puppets!
Xiao Yan watched Gu Yuan's expression change repeatedly, not daring to breathe loudly. He was worried that he might accidentally disturb the other party's thoughts, and if Gu Yuan accidentally leaked a bit of his aura, it would directly crush him, a mere Dou Spirit.
Gu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing the turbulent thoughts in his mind. He said to Xiao Yan:
"The Xiao Clan behind you is very dangerous. I'm not clear about their attitude towards you. If you ever come into contact with them, you must remain cautious."
Xiao Yan nodded heavily: "I understand."
He thought for a moment, took out Qing Meng, and said, "Uncle, please look at this again... It also has a monocle. I suspect it's also Parasitized..."
Gu Yuan looked at Qing Meng, who wore a pointed soft hat, a classical robe, and a monocle over his right eye, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes:
"This is... a Fire Spirit? You're quite lucky to have such a rare item."
His family's Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame hadn't even given birth to a Fire Spirit! After so many years, it was still like an idiot.
Although based on Xiao Yan's description, the monocle seemed like a very evil thing, Gu Yuan hadn't experienced the oppressive feeling of monocles all around that Xiao Yan had felt. He wasn't deeply affected by it and could view it rationally with a normal mindset.
He swept his soul power over Qing Meng, shook his head, and said:
"This is just 'a' Heavenly Flame; there are no worms present. You can rest assured about that... The power of a Heavenly Flame can be said to be the most violent power between heaven and earth. Even the strange creatures from the Great Thousand World should not have the ability to Parasitize it."
Gu Yuan saw that Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flame was not an ordinary Heavenly Flame, but one formed by the fusion of multiple Heavenly Flames.
He was quite curious about this Dou Technique that could fuse Heavenly Flames, but it was only a little curious. After all, although this Dou Technique had miraculous effects, it was clear at a glance that it was extremely dangerous.
For a clan, the most important thing is stable inheritance and continuation. There's no need to gamble unless it's a crisis.
Their Gu Clan doesn't lack powerful and safe high-level Dou Techniques!
Upon hearing Gu Yuan's words, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Qing Meng was very important to him; both the activation of the "Buddha Fury Fire Lotus" and the independent cultivation of his Dou Technique required Qing Meng's assistance.
If he lost it, both his combat power and cultivation speed would drop significantly.
Gu Yuan also gained some information from Qing Meng.
Generally speaking, the form of a Heavenly Flame would have some relation to its owner; some Heavenly Flames would take on the form of their previous owner.
The Azure Lotus Core Flame having a monocle was most likely because its previous owner wore a monocle... So, it can be inferred that this was left for Xiao Yan by the Xiao Clan!
Gu Yuan had learned about some of Xiao Yan's deeds. He was almost certain that the Xiao Clan, through those strange bugs, influenced Yao Chen's decisions, guiding Xiao Yan to the Tager Desert to obtain this Heavenly Flame.
It seems that for the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yan, the Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Family, is also special and holds a not-insignificant position; otherwise, they wouldn't go to such great lengths to arrange Yao Chen as his teacher and arrange a Heavenly Flame for him.
Xiao Yan's specialness could only come from Xiao Zhan... that seemingly majestic and heroic middle-aged man doesn't seem as simple as he appears... Gu Yuan thought to himself.
Gu Yuan smiled and said to Xiao Yan, "Are there any other important people around you who wear monocles? I'll help you take a look at them all."
Xiao Yan already had this idea, but it was a bit difficult to bring up.
After all, his teacher and Qing Meng could be seen as concrete examples of "anomalous phenomena," so asking Gu Yuan for help to check and remove the Parasites was a side benefit.
But asking Gu Yuan to specifically rule out risks on other people was another matter entirely.
Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, "In Jia Nan Academy, there are two other suspicious individuals. One is Ape Lord, who taught me Dou Techniques.
"The other... I've only met a few times, and he's not an important friend, but he gives off a very strange feeling, so I'd like to ask Uncle for help to check him as well.
"His name is Zhou Mingrui."
"What? Zhou Mingrui!" Gu Yuan's expression changed slightly upon hearing that name, and he instantly vanished from his original spot.
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