Zi Yan's expression carried faint sorrow, likely influenced by the fall of one of her kin here. When Liu Xi and Qing Lin turned to her, she explained softly, "The Beast Spiritual Barrier is a protective shell formed after a powerful Magical Beast dies. It manifests from the beast's remaining energy, preserving its bones from being devoured by others."
To form such a barrier, the beast must have at least reached the Dou Saint realm—only existences of that level or higher possessed such heaven-defying power. Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, beasts of that caliber were exceedingly rare, let alone those who had witnessed one die.
Even Zi Yan had only learned this after returning to the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe, when Elder Zhu Li had drilled her on beast lore—one of the many reasons she had fled afterward.
"Don't dwell on it," Liu Xi said gently. "Let's take a look. If possible, we'll bring this senior of the Ancient Void Dragons back to East Dragon Island—let him return to his roots."
Once they finished the matter of the Dou Saint's relic, Zi Yan would indeed return to East Dragon Island to absorb the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit's twin bloodline powers of dragon and phoenix. Liu Xi himself also planned to find a quiet place to refine his gains. He had decided—he wouldn't appear again until he had reached the Half Saint realm.
'Ah… Half Saint! Such experts were few across the continent, yet after the Hun Clan's invasions, even Half Saints had become cannon fodder, hardly worth mentioning. The balance of power had grown absurd.' Liu Xi sighed—who else could he blame but the author for making the power levels so insane?
The trio glided through the air toward the barrier. From afar it looked like an enormous jade bowl; up close, it loomed like a grand hall.
"This…" Qing Lin's eyes widened in surprise. As they neared, the Ancient Heaven Serpent sealed within her seemed to awaken. A violent surge of killing intent erupted, flooding into her body and mind—an instinctive urge to slaughter.
'Kill… kill… kill!'
Unprepared, a faint crimson hue flickered in Qing Lin's eyes, her aura twisting with murderous energy that seemed to seep from her very pores.
Sensing her sudden stillness and the chilling pressure radiating from her, Liu Xi's expression darkened. Of course—the aura of the Ancient Void Dragon and the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix nearby must have provoked the Heaven Serpent's hostility.
"Qing Lin!" His sharp voice boomed, laced with Spiritual Power that rang like a divine bell inside her soul.
Her body trembled. "Young Master, I…"
Clarity returned to her gaze as the red faded away. Liu Xi and Zi Yan both watched her intently.
"Calm yourself," Liu Xi ordered. "Suppress the serpent's malice. It's only reacting instinctively to the dragons' aura."
Qing Lin nodded, activating the Jade Snake Three-Flower Pupils. Under that mystical light, the Heaven Serpent's murderous aura was forcibly quelled, though she herself looked pale and drained—her 2-Star Dou Zun strength reduced by more than half.
Liu Xi frowned. This rebellious serpent would need a firm hand soon. If it dared harm its host again, he would teach it obedience one way or another.
When the brief disturbance passed, the group descended beneath the massive barrier. Qing Lin followed reluctantly, keeping the Heaven Serpent suppressed with difficulty.
"Hm?" Zi Yan suddenly frowned, sniffing the air before her purple eyes narrowed with disgust. "There's phoenix bloodline energy on this barrier—but it's purer and far older than that of the Heaven Demon Phoenix."
"We'll know once we go inside," Liu Xi replied.
"True." Zi Yan nodded and extended a delicate hand. With a small cut across her palm, a trace of golden-purple blood welled up. She pressed it against the barrier, and the solid surface rippled before opening a man-sized passage.
"The Beast Spiritual Barrier can only be opened by blood of the same lineage," Zi Yan explained as she stepped through. "To force it open would require a being of equal rank."
Without hesitation, Liu Xi followed her inside. Qing Lin hesitated, afraid the Heaven Serpent might stir again, but finally gritted her teeth and entered.
Inside, the scenery was even bleaker than outside—the ground faintly tinged with dried crimson. It was clear this was once a battlefield where two ancient beasts had fallen.
At the plain's center stood a towering altar a hundred meters high, stained with ancient blood and exuding a savage, primeval aura. Around it lay two colossal skeletons, their tails entwined around the altar like guardians of eternity.
"Ancient Void Dragon… and Ancient Heavenly Phoenix?" Zi Yan gasped, stunned. No wonder she had sensed phoenix blood earlier—this wasn't an ordinary Heaven Demon Phoenix at all but the ancestor itself, an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix!
But Liu Xi's gaze was fixed upon the altar. There, at its heart, rested a gold-and-violet stone dais, upon which grew a slender sapling.
The small tree, no thicker than a thumb, coiled like a miniature dragon. At its tip hung a single fruit, palm-sized, glowing with intertwined gold and violet light.
Looking closely, the golden half formed the shape of a coiled miniature dragon, while the violet half shimmered like a phoenix spreading its wings. From it emanated a terrifying dual aura—an oppressive presence as if both an Ancient Void Dragon and an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix were staring down upon them.
"Zi Yan," Liu Xi said calmly, "look at that fruit on the altar. It seems to carry both dragon and phoenix shadows. Do you recognize it?"
Hearing his words, Zi Yan tore her gaze from the skeletons and looked up. The moment she saw it, her breath caught—her purple eyes ignited with fervor and disbelief.
"That's the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit! It only exists in the oldest records of the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe. Such a fruit forms when an Ancient Void Dragon and an Ancient Heavenly Phoenix perish together, their life forces merging into one seed. Even then, the chance of it taking form is less than ten percent!"
She trembled with excitement, voice filled with awe. "Throughout the history of our tribe, only five such fruits have ever appeared. This… this is the sixth!"
"If a Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit is consumed by an Ancient Void Dragon or a Heaven Demon Phoenix, it can give birth to a true Supreme Magical Beast—a being above all others!"
Neither she nor Liu Xi noticed the change in Qing Lin. In her jade-green eyes, a faint crimson glow began to flicker once more. Deep within her soul, the Ancient Heaven Serpent stirred violently—its hunger fixed upon that sacred fruit, a desire born from ancient blood rivalry.
(End of Chapter)
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