Chapter Forty-Two: The Tiandou Branch

“Would the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect truly go so far as to kill to sever someone’s inheritance?” Dugu Yan found it hard to believe. “I once accompanied my grandfather to meet their sect master, Ning Fengzhi. He treats everyone with such kindness—it’s hard to imagine him as that sort of person!”

“That’s only because no one has ever threatened his core interests,” Xiao Yu replied in a low voice. “He is the master of one of the Upper Three Sects. Without cunning and means, how could a man whose spirit power has been stuck at the seventy-ninth rank for life ever command the obedience of two such formidable Title Douluos as Sword Bone? The Clear Sky Sect has been in seclusion for many years, and now the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is expanding rapidly, its business sprawling across every corner of the continent. It’s already on track to become the number one sect under the heavens. Do you really think that as the helmsman of such a sect, he could possibly be a paragon of humility and courtesy?”

Seeing Dugu Yan still looked skeptical, Xiao Yu didn’t bother to explain further. He merely waved his hand. “Believe it or not, that’s up to you. But for the sake of your friendship with Lingling, and considering I helped resolve your family’s martial soul flaw, I hope you won’t breathe a word about Lingling’s martial soul transformation.”

“I swear on my martial soul, I’ll never speak a word of Lingling’s matter,” Dugu Yan promised immediately. Judging by the situation, it seemed Lingling herself shared Xiao Yu’s wishes. Out of sisterly affection, she would respect Lingling’s decision.

Xiao Yu then bent down to gently ruffle Ye Lingling’s clever little head. “Lingling, I still need to obtain my fourth spirit ring. Stay here and wait for me. The spirit energy here is abundant—cultivating here will benefit you far more than outside.”

“Alright.” Ye Lingling nodded, then reminded Xiao Yu, “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry!” Xiao Yu laughed heartily. Together with Milo and Aiolia, he left the Eyes of Ice and Fire, heading into the depths of Sunset Forest in search of a suitable spirit beast.

This time, Xiao Yu’s luck was good. They had walked for less than two hours before encountering a suitable spirit beast—a Tyrant Dragon over twelve thousand years old. Good fortune for Xiao Yu and his companions meant misfortune for the dragon. As a millennium-old king of Sunset Forest, the Tyrant Dragon was used to roaming unchallenged. How could it have expected two Title Douluo-level powerhouses to come knocking at its door? The poor creature was ruthlessly beaten by the two Titled Douluo, and as it lay dying, Xiao Yu ended its fate with a single sword thrust through its skull.

A black ring slowly appeared. Without hesitation, Xiao Yu immediately sat cross-legged and began to absorb the ten-thousand-year spirit ring under the guidance of his spirit power. The impact of a ten-thousand-year ring was indeed terrifying—even though Xiao Yu had prepared in advance, and his physical and spiritual strength far surpassed that of ordinary spirit masters, the pain was still excruciating.

Fortunately, with the support of the elixirs refined from several immortal herbs, Xiao Yu managed to remain conscious. The violent surge of the ten-thousand-year ring lasted nearly two hours before finally stabilizing. He knew the hardest part was over. Now came the process of absorbing the ring’s energy, strengthening his body, raising his spirit power, and forming a new spirit skill—a matter of course for Xiao Yu, completed in less than half an hour.

With the absorption of this ten-thousand-year ring and the accumulation from his recent cultivation at the Eyes of Ice and Fire, Xiao Yu broke through two major bottlenecks, reaching the forty-third rank in one leap. The fourth spirit ring granted him a powerful attack skill: Underworld Sword Thousand Strikes. Centered on the Sword of the Underworld, it unleashed countless sword lights within a ten-meter radius, their damage stacking upon his enemies.

After absorbing the spirit ring, Xiao Yu returned to the Eyes of Ice and Fire. Since this spiritual land had already been gifted to him by Dugu Bo, he naturally intended to make the most of it. Even after becoming a god, Tang San claimed it as his family’s private territory; Xiao Yu would not let such a treasure go to waste.

His plan was to use the location of the Eyes of Ice and Fire as his base, with Dugu Bo’s poison formation marking the outer boundary. He would establish a Nine Stars Hall branch in Heaven Dou City, modeled after the blacksmith sub-association in Gengxin City, with Yang Invincible as its initial overseer. Later, he would transfer one or two Title Douluos to guard it.

At present, the continent was still relatively peaceful, but Xiao Yu knew that in just over a decade, the Spirit Hall would begin its campaign to unify the land. When that day came, the continent would be plunged into turbulent chaos.

The Kingdom of Silvia was the least prominent of the four great kingdoms under the Heaven Dou Empire. Its remote location made it suitable for early covert growth, but not for later contests for dominance. Xiao Yu’s current strategy was to drive a wedge into Heaven Dou City. When Spirit Hall launched its hunt for spirit bones, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect suffered a grievous blow, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was exterminated, and Heaven Dou City was drawn into a maelstrom of power struggles, he would step in openly. With his foreknowledge and the resources he had accumulated, he would seize the opportunity to wrest control of the empire’s authority. He had no intention of allowing Tang San to profit from the empire’s million-strong army.

For now, Xiao Yu remained at the Eyes of Ice and Fire, cultivating and overseeing the construction of the Nine Stars Hall branch in the surrounding valley.

Why not build it directly within the Eyes of Ice and Fire? Although the spiritual energy there was abundant and cultivation speed several times faster than outside, the overwhelming energy fluctuations were not something every spirit master could withstand. At present, only Xiao Yu, who had taken the elixirs refined from the Fiery Apricot and the Eight-Petal Ice Grass, could maintain uninterrupted cultivation there for twenty-four hours. After a full day, the others—such as Zilong—had to leave the valley to recuperate before continuing.

As for Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, though they had also taken the elixirs, their bodies, being female, were naturally more delicate. Dugu Yan, as a battle spirit master, could barely endure half a day, while Ye Lingling, an auxiliary type, could only manage a few hours before needing to rest. Moreover, both were students at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, so they could only come by on their days off.

Additionally, the business partnership between Nine Hearts Begonia and Nine Stars Hall in spirit tools had been finalized. After Ye Renxin paid the deposit, Xiao Yu arranged for the purchased spirit tools to be delivered from headquarters. During this period, Eden and Ikki both broke through to the fortieth rank, and accompanied the transport team.

Upon arriving at the Eyes of Ice and Fire, with the aid of the immortal elixirs and their own formidable strength, they too achieved the fourth ten-thousand-year spirit ring, just like Xiao Yu. Not long after their advancement to the Spirit Ancestor realm, Zilong, not to be outdone, also broke through to the fortieth rank and absorbed a newly ten-thousand-year-old spirit ring through his own strength, becoming the fourth Spirit Ancestor of the team.