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The arrival of the Gu Clan immediately drew all attention, especially the appearance of Gu Xun'er. Her flawless, fairy-like beauty—infused with the essence of heaven and earth—radiated an aura of regal nobility between her brows. The two men beside her resembled personal bodyguards, while the rest of the young men clearly served as her protectors.
The Gu Clan entourage arrived at the center of the Skeleton Mountain Range, a basin littered with countless corpses.
An elder said, "Miss, the relic won't open for a little while longer. Would you like Elder Mu and me to tear open the space and send you inside?"
Both elders were high-level Half-Saints. Given enough time, they could ascend to the Dou Saint realm. Breaking the seal and tearing open the spatial barrier together wouldn't pose much difficulty.
Gu Xun'er replied calmly, "Father sent me out to train. If it's just the few of us, how can this count as true experience? Break the seal—but you two should stay here. Only then will there be real challenges, and it gives me a reason to step outside the clan."
"Elder Mu, Elder Hammer, rest assured. No matter what happens in the relic, I, Ling Quan, will protect Miss with my life," said a strikingly handsome man in a purple-black robe. He cupped his fists respectfully toward the two Gu Clan elders and Gu Xun'er. As his gaze flickered back and forth, it briefly and discreetly landed on Gu Xun'er's stunning face, his eyes burning with intensity.
To this, Gu Xun'er merely nodded faintly. The two elders said nothing more, and the rest pretended not to notice anything.
At the Xingyun Pavilion campsite, the Little Medical Fairy observed Xiao Yan, who hadn't looked away since the Gu Clan's arrival—in fact, he hadn't even blinked while staring at Gu Xun'er. A strange, indescribable emotion surged in her chest, making her feel deeply unsettled.
Boom!
Suddenly, the air trembled slightly. Countless eyes turned sharply toward the sea of bones. The space there began to ripple, energy building layer by layer, until it finally erupted like a volcano.
The seal had broken. The Dou Saint Relic was open.
Inside the ancient forest of the relic, the soil was scattered with remnants of medicinal herbs and the corpses of fallen magical beasts. Zi Yan's palm-sized stomach seemed like a bottomless pit—it was stuffed with countless herbs, yet showed no signs of swelling.
At that moment, powerful Dou Zun-level auras surged into the forest from the entrance. The number of intruders continued to increase.
"The ancient relic shouldn't be opening this quickly, should it?"
Qian Renhan turned to look at the crowd scrambling to snatch herbs. When he saw a graceful figure in green, more mature than before, the frown on his face eased. So it's you. I didn't expect the Gu Clan to show up too. The butterfly effect really does cause unexpected shifts.
"Zi Yan's gone."
Still chewing wildly on a pile of herbs, Zi Yan looked up and blinked. "I'm not full yet."
"If you're not full, you can eat later. Try sensing if your kin are nearby," Qian Renhan said, grabbing her by the back of her collar and soaring over the mountain of herbs.
Zi Yan, still holding two lingzhi mushrooms, munched on them and grumbled, "How could my kin be here? Put me down already! I'm not a dog!"
"Focus. I don't have time to joke around."
Hearing that, Zi Yan quickly swallowed both mushrooms, then grew serious. A moment later, she pointed in a certain direction, her eyes filled with confusion and longing. "Something... over there feels like it's calling me."
As they stepped into a particular zone, Qian Renhan sensed that all surrounding energy had vanished. His eyes locked on an empty stretch of air just a few feet away. He raised his hand and released a streak of black Dou Qi—suddenly, a beam of golden light shimmered into view.
It was shaped like an inverted bowl, round on the top and wide at the bottom, spanning a radius of several dozen feet. Although the golden light was dazzling, it was hidden beneath layers of dense forest. One wouldn't notice it without being very close.
"This is a Beast Spirit Barrier. Only magical beasts with extremely powerful strength can form this upon death," Zi Yan said softly as she walked forward, her small hand gently caressing the barrier. A faint sorrow appeared on her delicate face. "This kind of barrier can only be opened by one of the same bloodline. Forcing it open will destroy the remains of the Ancient Void Dragon inside."
Hearing this, Qian Renhan withdrew the Dou Qi from his hand and said, "Then open it."
Zi Yan nodded slightly, then bit her slender finger. A drop of golden blood appeared at the tip. She lightly touched the barrier and drew a golden bloodline rune across it.
The moment they stepped inside the Beast Spirit Barrier, the scenery changed instantly. The lush forest vanished, replaced by a desolate plain.
The plain stretched far and wide, covered in crimson sand, as though stained by blood. Amid the red were streaks of chalky white, like bone dust. In the center stood a towering altar made of ancient stone, over a hundred feet tall. A subtle yet potent sense of majesty radiated from it.
"Even in death, it emits such pressure... This Ancient Void Dragon must've been at least Half-Saint or maybe even Dou Saint level in life."
Qian Renhan led Zi Yan to the ancient altar. Her eyes were locked at the top of the stone steps, the call she felt growing stronger.
As Qian Renhan stepped up onto the altar again, Zi Yan's face suddenly changed with shock. In the center of the altar lay a golden-purple stone platform. At its heart was a half-foot-wide indentation, from which a tiny sapling was growing.
The sapling, no thicker than a thumb, was coiled like a dragon. At its top hung a single fruit.
The fruit was about the size of a palm, glowing with intertwined hues of gold and purple. Upon closer inspection, one could clearly see that the golden half was coiled and twisted into the miniature form of an Ancient Void Dragon. The purple half, on the other hand, vividly resembled a Phoenix—wings spread wide in flight. A... Demon Phoenix?
Zi Yan was visibly shocked. "Th-That's the Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit!"
"Zi Yan, take it. Only those of the Ancient Void Dragon or Heavenly Demon Phoenix bloodlines can pluck it."
Zi Yan nodded seriously. She turned to look at Qian Renhan, whose expression had remained unchanged throughout. A trace of doubt flickered in her eyes. He had brought her to the Dou Saint Relic, then urged her to sense the presence of her kin, then again prompted her to unlock the Beast Spirit Barrier—now they had come face to face with the Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit. Could it be that Qian Renhan had known all along that this fruit would be here?
Stepping up to the Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit, Zi Yan smeared her hands with her own blood before carefully reaching out to touch the fruit.
Just then, the space around them rippled violently. Multiple powerful auras surged into the area all at once. The Ancient Sky Phoenix had perished long ago—aside from the Ancient Void Dragons, only members of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan could enter this place.
"Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit?!"
A sharp cry of utter disbelief pierced the air.
"Quiet."
Qian Renhan pressed his palm down. A massive handprint descended from the sky, slamming the entire group of Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan members to the ground. If not for his concern about damaging the altar and affecting the fruit, he would've reduced them all to mush. But even so, among the intruders—excluding Feng Qing'er, whose physical strength and vitality far exceeded that of ordinary humans due to her Phoenix bloodline—the rest, though Dou Sect-level, were crushed into piles of mangled flesh.
"That strength... At least a Seven-Star Dou Venerate!" Elder Lei spat out a mouthful of blood, several of his bones clearly shattered. "Elder Huang Xuan... What should we do?"
Huang Xuan raised his head with difficulty and said, "The Dragon-Phoenix Origin Fruit... Our clan must obtain it. Summon the Clan Ancestor."
In the very next second, both Huang Xuan and Feng Qing'er crushed their spatial talismans. A swirling vortex appeared above the Beast Spirit Barrier, unleashing an overwhelming pressure that swept across the ancient forest. All those who were scavenging for herbs turned their eyes toward the forest's center, expressions twisting into fear.
Within the ancient forest, even the wild magical beasts that had been attacking and robbing outsiders abruptly stopped, falling flat on the ground like obedient pets.
A new fissure cracked open in the Beast Spirit Barrier. An old man dressed in a pitch-black robe stepped onto the altar.
Qian Renhan was stunned for a moment—but not because of the man's power. A mid-stage One-Star Dou Saint... the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clan had actually dispatched someone of this caliber? In the original timeline, during their battle with Xiao Yan's group over this very relic, they didn't send anyone at all. After losing, they just fled in disgrace. Why was there such an enormous difference now?
As for the notion that they dared not confront the Ancient Void Dragon clan—such reasoning made no sense. The very fact that they had arrived at this altar meant the other party had to be a member of the Ancient Void Dragon bloodline.
At that moment, Qian Renhan finally understood something—this world did have so-called "Children of Destiny"… and something else as well: the aura of lowered intelligence.
(End of Chapter)