Fighting: Practice makes it real, start with a poisonous body.

Faced with Gu Yuan's questioning, Xiao Xuan fell into a brief silence. His hands, hanging at his sides, clenched quietly.

Gu Yuan, that old fox, is cunning as a fox and has been good at scheming all his life. But today, when Xiao Xuan carefully studied Gu Yuan's words about resurrecting the Pure Lotus Demon Saint, he surprisingly could not find a single flaw.

The strength of the Dragon and Phoenix Son needs no further explanation; he has long surpassed the level of experts of the same realm. Ordinary experts below the Dou Di level would probably not even be a match for him.

Not to mention, the Dragon and Phoenix Son also controls the remnant soul of the Medicine Emperor. Looking at the entire Dou Qi Continent, there are probably no more than five people who can directly block an attack from the remnant soul of the Medicine Emperor.

Xiao Xuan's gaze swept over the shadows deep within the cave, his heart heavy with melancholy.

The current situation has deteriorated to an extreme degree.

The Soul Clan, relying on the Soul Realm to activate the clan's protective formation, is like a venomous snake hiding in its shell, lying in wait to watch the world's affairs change, clearly intending to reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

The hope of the Xiao clan and the human clan is Bai, who is still in seclusion trying to break through to a higher realm and cannot come out to help in the short term.

As a result, there was no one left in the entire Dou Qi Continent who could directly stop the Dragon-Phoenix Child's advance!
To be fair, Gu Yuan's method of reviving the Pure Lotus Demon Saint seems to be the only way to break the deadlock at present.

The Pure Lotus Demon Saint once roamed the continent with great prestige. If he could be successfully resurrected, he would surely be able to restrain the Dragon-Phoenix Son and fight for a chance of survival for the Dou Qi Continent.

However, the condition for the resurrection of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint is that a soul at the Emperor Realm is required as a catalyst.

Clearly, this person is none other than Xiao Xuan!

At this moment, Xiao Xuan had a vague understanding and instantly realized the deeper meaning behind Gu Yuan's previous series of actions.

Gu Yuan had previously gone to the Pill Domain, where he clearly had the opportunity to directly seize the three fragments of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint Ancient Map, but he chose not to. Instead, he proactively told them the coordinates of the last fragment...

From the very beginning, his plan was to make himself willingly sacrifice his Emperor-level soul for the resurrection of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint!

But he had not yet witnessed the Xiao clan's resurgence, nor had he seen Ji Bai successfully emerge from seclusion...

He truly didn't want to die like this! He still had so many wishes unfulfilled!

"What? Xiao Xuan, you don't dare to agree?"

Seeing Xiao Xuan remain silent, Gu Yuan sneered, "Xiao Xuan, it seems you are not a perfect person after all, just a coward who fears death!"

"enough!"

Xiao Yan stepped forward, blocking Xiao Xuan's path. His fighting spirit surged, and he said angrily, "We will decide this matter ourselves. We don't need you to come here and pretend to be a good guy!"

Xiao Yan wasn't stupid either; he could easily see through Gu Yuan's elaborate scheme.

His face was cold, and his tone was icy: "Even if our ancestors were willing to sacrifice themselves, so what? There are no ninth-grade golden cores in the Dou Qi Continent now!"
Without a ninth-grade golden elixir, the so-called resurrection of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint is utter nonsense!

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Gu Yuan not only did not panic at all, but instead snorted coldly, revealing a confident expression on his face.

"Xiao Yan, the Xiao clan has been in decline for a thousand years, long forgetting the glory of an imperial clan and the profound heritage that an imperial clan should possess. But my ancient clan is different; with a thousand years of heritage, our foundation remains incredibly deep!"
You don't need to worry about the Golden Elixir.

I already knew that the old ancestor of the Pill Tower was a piece of trash who wasted countless resources and still failed to break through.

"But rest assured, my ancient clan possesses unique secret techniques that can assist him in reaching the Golden Core realm."

"what!"

Xiao Yan's face suddenly turned extremely ugly, and Xiao Xuan behind him also frowned deeply.

The fourth fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint Ancient Map is in Gu Yuan's hands, and now even the key method for the Pill Tower Ancestor to advance to the ninth-grade Golden Core is controlled by the Ancient Clan? How could such a coincidence exist in this world...?

A storm raged in Xiao Yan's heart, and a strong sense of unease surged up within him.

The final pieces of the puzzle all ended up in the hands of that despicable and shameless Gu Yuan! Does this mean they're completely being led by the nose by Gu Yuan?

"All right."

Just as Xiao Yan was caught up in his emotions, Xiao Xuan took a deep breath and slowly spoke. He looked calmly at Gu Yuan and said, "This matter is of great importance and involves many aspects. We cannot make a decision immediately. We need to return to the Pill Tower and discuss it with the Pill Tower Ancestor in person before making a final decision."

"Ancestor!"

Xiao Yan's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock. His ancestor's words clearly indicated that he was already interested!

"Hahaha! Xiao Xuan, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

Upon seeing this, Gu Yuan immediately burst into laughter.

Xiao Xuan ignored Gu Yuan's smugness, looked at him coldly, and said in a deep voice, "Move aside and let us go back."

Gu Yuan's smile vanished, replaced by a hint of greed and coldness.

He stepped forward, blocking the way into the cave, and said coldly, "I have told you such a vital secret, how can you leave empty-handed? Give me those three fragments of the Ancient Map of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint!"

The Ancient Map of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint is of paramount importance; it is safest only in my hands!

A chilling killing intent flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Dream on!"
In my opinion, you should be the one handing over the last fragment of the map to us!
And the corpse of the Pure Lotus Demon Saint is also in your hands, isn't it?

"Insatiable!"

Gu Yuan's face darkened, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes. "I led you here and told you the secret of resurrecting the Pure Lotus Demon Saint. That is enough to show my sincerity!"

"If you know what's good for you, hand over the remaining map right now, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

Gu Yuan's aura grew increasingly dangerous, and his terrifying pressure descended as if it were a tangible force, causing the temperature in the entire cave to drop sharply.

"I knew you had ulterior motives! From the very beginning, you were after the incomplete map we had!"

Xiao Yan sneered, "To tell you the truth, before coming here, I left those three fragments of the map in the Pill Domain and entrusted them to Senior Shennong for safekeeping."

Even if you kill us here, you won't get those three fragments of the map!

"You little beast, how dare you try to outsmart me!"

Gu Yuan's expression instantly turned extremely ugly.

If we were to kill Xiao Yan and imprison Xiao Xuan here, we could certainly vent our anger, but it would also inevitably lead to a complete falling out with the Pill Tower.

If we can't get our hands on the fragment, the plan to revive the Pure Lotus Demon Saint will also fail!
After weighing the pros and cons, Gu Yuan finally suppressed his anger, snorted coldly, and said in a gloomy tone, "You can leave now!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan maintained a cold and unyielding expression on the surface, but secretly he breathed a long sigh of relief, his back already drenched in cold sweat.

His words, while somewhat confident, also carried an element of gambling.

If Gu Yuan really goes all out, given his and his ancestor's current state, they might not be able to escape from Gu Yuan's clutches.

"Ancestor, let's go." Xiao Yan composed himself and said to Xiao Xuan in a low voice.

"Hmm." Xiao Xuan nodded, his expression calm, but a complex emotion was hidden deep in his eyes.

Without a moment's hesitation, the two turned around and walked cautiously toward the cave entrance.

Soon, the two walked up to Gu Yuan and were about to pass him by.

Just then, Gu Yuan suddenly moved, a faint, enigmatic smile appearing on his lips.

"Xiao Yan, is Xun'er with you?"

Xiao Yan abruptly stopped, his body tensing instantly. He turned his head sharply, his eyes filled with vigilance: "What do you want to do!"

Gu Yuan didn't answer his question directly, but simply looked at him and said calmly, "It's nothing, just take good care of her... make sure nothing happens to her." (End of Chapter)