Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

Behind her, besides the always serious and cautious Gu Qingyang, there was also an old man dressed in the robes of an ancient clan elder, whose aura was so powerful that it reached the level of a Dou Sheng!

"Hehe, let me introduce you!"

Xun'er affectionately took Cao Ying's arm and pointed at the old man, saying with a smile, "This is Elder Gu Nanhai, an elder of our clan's Law Enforcement Hall!"

Cao Ying and Xiao Yu were startled and quickly composed themselves, bowing respectfully: "Greetings, Elder Gu!"

Gu Nanhai's eyes were sharp. He first swept over Cao Ying, then lingered on Xiao Yu for a moment. A hint of appreciation flashed in his eyes. He nodded and said, "No need for formalities. You two are very outstanding. It seems that Mr. Su's teaching is indeed extraordinary, especially for young friend Cao Ying. If it weren't for the limitations of her bloodline, her achievements would probably be even greater than they are now."

At this point, he suddenly changed the subject, lightly tapped Xun'er's forehead with his finger, and said in a serious tone, "Unlike a certain little girl, who clearly possesses the strongest talent of the ancient clan in a thousand years, but is always lazy and playful, and does not cultivate properly."

"Grandpa Hai!" Xun'er blushed slightly and grabbed Gu Nanhai's arm, shaking it playfully.

"I've been diligently cultivating in seclusion every day, okay! And I'm already at the late stage of the Two-Star Dou Sheng realm, isn't that serious enough?"

"I didn't say it was you, why are you in such a hurry?" Gu Nanhai laughed heartily, letting his young lady act coquettishly, his eyes full of doting affection.

"Hmph, I'm ignoring you bunch of bad guys!"

Xun'er stomped her foot angrily, pulled Cao Ying and Xiao Yu aside, and complained in a low voice, "They just keep comparing me to you guys, I'm so annoyed."

Cao Ying felt the intense and domineering aura of strange fire emanating from Xun'er and covered her lips in surprise: "Xun'er, you...you refined the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame?"

"Of course!" Xun'er raised her chin, looking proud.

"Not only did I refine it, but my cultivation also successfully broke through to the late stage of the Two-Star Dou Sheng realm. How about that, impressive, right?"

Cao Ying immediately cast an envious glance at her.

"I'm so envious... I still have to work hard to find the strange fire myself, unlike your ancient clan, who can just casually take out the fourth-ranked fire seed on the Strange Fire Ranking."

Xiao Yu, standing to the side, looked at these two "rich heiresses" from prominent families with endless resources and silently rolled her eyes elegantly.

Ha, you two are evenly matched, neither of you should criticize the other.

One is backed by the omnipotent master, Mr. Su, and has everything she could want; the other is a favored daughter of heaven who controls the resources of an ancient clan and eats exotic flames like candy.

And me? I'm just a wild girl who ran away from some backwater in Wutan City, without even a decent backer.

[You guys were comparing whose strange fire was more luxurious, what did I say? Saying anything just brings tears to my eyes...]

Xiao Yu was internally ranting, but on the surface she remained aloof, though the slight twitching of her lips betrayed her true feelings.

Meanwhile, Gu Nanhai, who was standing not far away, seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, but in reality, his senses had already spread throughout the entire area.

He looked at the three girls laughing and joking, shook his head helplessly, and let out a barely audible sigh.

"Hey……"

What else can we do? We've spoiled our little darling for years, and she's become like this. We can only indulge her.

However, when Gu Nanhai turned his gaze to the other teams from the eight ancient clans in the distance, that gentleness vanished instantly, replaced by a deep solemnity and helplessness.

His gaze swept over the camps of the Thunder Clan, Flame Clan, Medicine Clan, and others, keenly catching the subtle distance and wariness.

In fact, some gazes, when sweeping over the group of ancient people, were clearly filled with scrutiny and apprehension.

The Spirit Race was silently wiped out; it was most likely the Soul Race who did it.

Unfortunately, the current evidence is vague, which has led these people to begin to doubt our ancient race.

[Chieftain, oh chieftain, the things you did back then, though for the sake of development, have now brought immense suffering to our ancient clan!]

Look at the reputation of the ancient clans among the various imperial clans now; they've practically become the target of everyone's ire.

Gu Nanhai felt bitter.

The Spirit Clan was wiped out silently. Only the Soul Clan, the Ancient Clan, and the Ancient Dragon Clan of the Void possess this ability.

However, the Ancient Dragon of the Void has always been detached from worldly affairs, making him the least suspicious; while the Soul Clan is ruthless in its actions, and the Ancient Clan also had a bad reputation after squeezing the Xiao Clan dry.

At this critical juncture, the ancient tribe was unable to defend themselves.

Faced with the other imperial clans' aloofness and even their covert wariness, Gu Nanhai felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

This invisible isolation is often more deadly than open warfare.

"Alas, it's fate, it's destiny!"

The old man sighed softly, withdrew his gaze, and looked again at the demonic fire space that was about to open.

No matter how turbulent the outside world may be, at this moment, protecting the hope of our tribe is of paramount importance.

Chapter 361 Demonic Flame Space! The weakened Su Baichen!

Outside the Demon Flame Space, on various mountains, all forces had already occupied advantageous positions, standing hundreds of feet apart, warily confronting each other.

The air was thick with tension and anxiety, as if a single spark could ignite this long-simmering undercurrent.

The three members of the Soul Clan stood silently in the void. Soul Extinction's black robe fluttered in the wind, and his face, shrouded in shadow, was difficult to discern. Only the occasional glint of his eyes sent chills down one's spine.

Hunfeng stood beside him, dressed in a magnificent purple robe, gently swaying a folding fan in his hand. He appeared relaxed, but his gaze constantly swept around, revealing an undisguised arrogance and ambition.

The last low-level Dou Sheng stood with his hands at his sides, his aura restrained, like the most loyal shadow.

"The ancient clans have all come this time." Hunfeng chuckled, his fan obscuring half his face, a deep meaning flashing in his eyes.

Hun Miesheng did not respond, but silently spread out his soul power like a spider web, trying to find out what was happening on the ancient clan's side.

The three members of the ancient clan, Cao Ying and Xiao Yu, stood together.

Gu Nanhai stood with his hands behind his back, his beard and hair flowing, his gaze fixed intently on the spatial rift.

Gu Qingyang stood guard beside Xun'er, his expression respectful and his aura as steady as a mountain.

"Elder of the South Sea, the fluctuations in this crack seem to be becoming increasingly unstable," Xun'er said softly, glancing at the two figures beside her, then revealing a sly smile.

"Hey, Sister Cao Ying, is it really just you two who came this time?" Xun'er floated over, suddenly leaned close to Cao Ying's ear, and asked mysteriously in a low voice, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Cao Ying rolled her eyes at her, her red lips parted slightly, and her voice, though not loud, was clear enough: "My master is not interested in the Pure Lotus Demon Flame!"

She paused, glancing at the black-robed figure on the east side out of the corner of her eye, and deliberately raised her voice slightly as she continued, "But my master loves me dearly and was afraid that some rats might be unruly, so he specially prepared some little gadgets for me to protect myself!"

Before she could finish speaking, Cao Ying suddenly turned her head, her gaze piercing like a blade in the direction of Hun Miesheng, her clear voice exploding across the plain.

"What are you eavesdropping on? I'm talking to you!"

In an instant, all eyes on the plain turned to Cao Ying and Hun Miesheng, scanning back and forth between the two.

The expressions of the members of the Medicine Clan, Flame Clan, and Stone Clan varied, ranging from surprise and amusement to deep apprehension.

Hun Miesheng was publicly exposed, but he showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He merely frowned slightly and gave Cao Ying a deep look.

His mind raced—this woman was able to sense his probing of his perfected Heavenly Realm soul power; could it be that she had also reached that level?

"Insolence!" Hun Feng's face darkened, his folding fan snapped shut, and he stepped forward, his Dou Sheng-level aura emanating from him.

"How dare a mere junior be so disrespectful to the Soul Clan?"

"Young Clan Leader." Hun Miesheng raised his hand in a gesture of obstruction, his voice low.

"The Pure Lotus Demon Flame is the key to this trip; there's no need to create unnecessary complications."

He had his own plans. Even the Soul Clan couldn't fathom the depths of Su Baichen, who was behind Cao Ying.

The scene of the five-star Dou Sheng puppet appearing and causing trouble last time is still fresh in our minds. If we get entangled now, and the puppet is the last one, the situation will be difficult to control.

Hunfeng snorted coldly, but stopped making any moves. His gaze toward Cao Ying grew even colder.

When everyone saw that Hun Miesheng was actually holding back, their gazes toward Cao Ying changed instantly.

What kind of powerful figure stands behind the Soul Hall Master who is so feared?

"Sister Cao Ying, you're so amazing!" Xun'er blinked, her pretty face full of sincere admiration.

"She can even detect the spying of the Soul Extinction Technique. It seems that her soul realm has improved again."

Cao Ying waved her hand, a rare hint of embarrassment on her face: "It's nothing special, just a coincidence."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yu, who was standing to the side, smiled almost imperceptibly.

Her gaze swept over Cao Ying, and she instantly understood—the one who could sense the probing soul of a Great Perfection Soul Extinction Realm cultivator was never Cao Ying herself, but rather…

"Boom—!"

At that moment, the spatial rift suddenly trembled violently!

The eerie white flames gushed out like a waterfall, scattering countless sparks and instantly scorching the ground, creating a dense network of blackened pits.

The temperature soared again, and even the air began to distort and vaporize. Some of those with weaker cultivation levels had to frantically activate their battle qi to resist.

Deep within the rift, the eerie white light grew stronger and stronger, eventually coalescing into a slowly rotating spatial passage.

Flames surged along the edge of the passage, as if countless demonic lotuses were blooming and annihilating within them, exuding an alluring yet dangerous ancient aura.

"The Demon Flame Space has been opened!"

Suddenly, someone shouted, and the oppressive atmosphere on the plain was instantly ignited.

"go!"

Hun Miesheng acted decisively, his figure transforming into a wisp of black smoke as he charged towards the passage.

Hun Feng and the low-level Dou Sheng followed closely behind, the three of them disappearing into the demonic white flames in the blink of an eye like three black lightning bolts.

"Let's go in too!"

With a roar, Huo Yao of the Yan Clan caused the three of them to burst into flames, like three crimson meteors crashing into the passage.

Not to be outdone, the Medicine Clan, the Stone Clan, and other forces from the Central Plains rushed in, their various lights gleaming, fearing that they would miss out on the strange fire if they were a step too slow.

"Xun'er, let's go too." Gu Nanhai said in a deep voice, his body surrounded by golden battle aura, forming a spherical shield that enveloped the three of them.

"Mm." Xun'er nodded gently, but her gaze involuntarily drifted towards Cao Ying.

Cao Ying and Xiao Yu exchanged a glance, tacitly conveying their understanding.

"Stay close to Xun'er," Cao Ying whispered. The two of them swayed and followed the golden light of the ancient clan into the eerie and mysterious fiery passage.

Upon entering the Demon Flame Space, a strange, milky-white sea of ​​fire came into view.

Before Cao Ying could even observe, she felt a surge of restlessness and heat in her heart, and wisps of pale flames had quietly invaded her meridians.

"trouble."

With a slight thought, the myriad fiery green lotuses within her dantian suddenly burst forth with a clear radiance.