"Are you from the Xiao clan?" The ghost-headed great sword, thick with a strong scent of blood, halted abruptly at half a span above Xiao Yan's head. The blood-sword sage stared in growing fear at the spot on Xiao Yan's forehead, his voice tinged with genuine astonishment. Xiao Yan's rapidly forming Great Heavenly Transformation Palm also paused momentarily due to the sage's unusual reaction. Frowning slightly, he lightly tapped the ground with his foot and swiftly stepped back, asking, "How did you know?" The blood-sword sage fixed his gaze intently on the center of Xiao Yan's brow—where a faint, barely visible clan emblem had previously appeared and now had completely vanished. Yet in his heart, he knew this emblem well, for in his distant memories, it had always haunted him, as if it were a nightmare come to life. "The Xiao clan members—aren't they all gone now?" the Blood-Scythe Saint murmured, his gaze involuntarily sweeping toward the depths of the Heavenly Tomb as he spoke, a deep sense of fear flickering across his eyes. "What's going on?" Ancient Qingyang, Xun'er, and the others had suddenly stepped away from Xiao Yan, glancing at the Blood-Scythe Saint who had inexplicably halted his attack, each of them expressing quiet bewilderment. "I don't know..." Xiao Yan shook his head, yet remained vigilant. The strength of a half-Saint was simply too formidable; even with all of them working together, the battle had been so difficult. A single misstep could easily result in their entire group being defeated. Upon hearing this, Ancient Qingyang and the others furrowed their brows. Though the Blood-Scythe Saint was now merely an energy form, he still retained his wisdom and memories from life. What could have caused him to be so visibly cautious? "This youngster is actually from the Xiao clan... With that person's boundless abilities, he must have sensed our arrival the moment he entered this area. If I kill him now, I'll surely face his wrath later on." The Blood-Scythe Sage's eyes flashed rapidly. After a moment, the intense, pervasive bloodiness that had been radiating from his body gradually subsided. With a flick of his hand, his ghost-headed great sword vanished. He glanced at Xiao Yan and the others, his expression somewhat reluctant, and said, "Then let's go. This time, I suppose it's just good fortune for you all!" Seeing this, Xiao Yan and the others were taken aback, exchanging puzzled glances, unsure of how the man had suddenly changed his mind. "Head west from here. This narrow pass is where many powerful beings converge. By passing through it, you should be able to avoid obstruction from others and eventually reach your destination." Noticing the group's hesitation, the Blood-Scythe Sage grew slightly impatient. "Thank you, elder." Xiao Yan and the others exchanged glances, then hurriedly bowed respectfully to the Blood-Scythe Saint. Following this, they slowly retreated, their inner qi remaining poised and ready to erupt at any moment. Only when they had stepped back over a hundred meters and saw the Blood-Scythe Saint making no further movements did they ease their tension, quickly turning around to head toward the fleeing direction. "Every time your breath surges, a Xiao clan emblem appears on your forehead. He was once one of the top-tier强者—how could he possibly fail to recognize it?" Gu Qingyang smiled. "What?" Hearing this, Xiao Yan's body suddenly stiffened, and he turned around with a look of astonishment, asking, "Do I have any clan emblem?" "Didn't you know?" Seeing Xiao Yan's expression as puzzled as theirs, Gu Qingyang and the others were equally confused, adding, "By the way, this emblem seems to appear only briefly before fading away. Moreover, according to what we understand, you shouldn't even possess one—clan emblems are activated by bloodline power. Yet the Xiao clan's bloodline power has been nearly entirely depleted." Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. He couldn't possibly be unaware of this himself. His forehead bore only a single mark of flame, and this mark had gradually faded as he successfully absorbed the bone-spirit cold fire—ever since then. As for any other ancestral patterns, they had never appeared before. "When my breath surged, I was channeling the Heavenly Fire Triple Transformation. Yet, what connection could this have with the ancestral patterns of my Xiao clan?" One after another, riddles flashed through Xiao Yan's mind, yet none offered a clear answer, causing his brows to grow ever more furrowed. "Clearly, the Blood-Clay Saint had no fear of the Xiao clan's ancestral patterns—these patterns held no tangible power at all..." Xiao Yan's thoughts raced through his mind: "Therefore, the reason he spared us must lie elsewhere, and that something else should also be connected to the ancestral patterns of the Xiao clan." But what exactly was this Heavenly Tomb—something tied to the Xiao clan's ancestral patterns, capable of intimidating even a half-Saint like the Blood-Clay Saint? "It must be Xiao Xuan!" "At the same time, Xun'er suddenly spoke softly, 'The moment she said this, Xiao Yan remained composed, but Gu Qingyang and the others felt a wave of coldness seep through their very feet. Xiao Xuan had already fallen for over a decade—how could a Blood Blade Saint be so afraid of him?' Xun'er said gently. 'The Heavenly Tomb is truly unique. If even a half-Saint like the Blood Blade Saint can survive in a different way, retaining his pre-death wisdom, then surely, a master who once reached the pinnacle of the Battle Saint rank—Xiao Xuan—should still be able to remain in some form.' Gu Qingyang and the others remained speechless. They then turned their gaze toward Xiao Yan. Though his face remained calm, they clearly sensed a significant shift in his inner state. "Let's go," Xiao Yin said softly, his pace suddenly accelerating as he transformed into a blurred streak of black, rushing forward into the faint energy mist. Behind him, Xun and the others exchanged a glance and quickly followed. … Throughout the journey, Xiao Yan and his companions followed precisely what the Blood-Blade Saint had described. Along the way, the energy entities they sensed grew stronger—some even surpassing the Blood-Blade Saint himself. Fortunately, amidst the dense fields of these powerful energy beings, Xiao Yan and his party managed to evade the keen observations of the elites, encountering no obstacles or interruptions at any point. "Indeed, the Tianmu is one of the most perilous places—these surrounding energy beings are truly terrifying, to the point that even nine-star energy beings can only serve as guards... " Gu Huah chuckled, speaking with a sense of weariness. Amidst such a dense concentration of powerful beings, their own relative weakness became evident. Among the younger generation of the ancient realm, they were once considered beacons of excellence, admired by many young clans. Yet here, they felt like ants—speaking required careful restraint. Others could only offer a helpless smile at his words, for this place was never meant to be their destination. To have reached here at all was already an unexpected triumph. "Given our current pace, we should be able to reach the XIAO XUAN's ancestral estate as recorded in the ancient texts within a relatively short time," Xun'er said softly, gazing at Xiao Yan. "The journey has been fairly smooth, and the Blood-Scythe Saint has indeed done a great favor. Still, this place is truly perilous, so we should start early and move swiftly..." Xiao Yan nodded slightly, then urged them on. "Agreed," the others readily agreed, rising promptly. As they prepared to resume their final stretch of travel, a faint rustling of the wind suddenly came from ahead, and then two figures in black materialized slowly upon a massive stone, gazing down upon the group with a certain cat-like amusement. "Xiao Yan, your pace has been rather sluggish," the cold voice remarked. At the sound of this, Xiao Yan and his companions' faces instantly tightened. They swiftly looked up, their expressions growing serious as they gazed at the two figures in the distance. "Hun Cliff! Hun Li!" "Hah! I was just wondering who it was—there you are, the two last-minute escapees! What, now you've the courage to show yourselves?" "Seeing the two of them, Gu Hu was no longer sparing in his sharp remarks. As Gu Hu spoke, the gloomy Xiao Yan subtly gestured—these two from the Soul Cliff had been avoiding them all along. With their combined strength, how could they have the courage to appear openly before them? Unusual circumstances often signal something unusual; and since they had dared to show themselves, they must surely have some backing behind them." "Rest assured, this time you'll be the ones who turn into a desperate, last-resort team..." In response to Gu Hu's criticism, the Soul Cliff figure gave a strangely serene smile, then slowly stepped back with his companion, Houn Li. As they retreated, two elderly figures in gray robes, their faces shadowed and solemn, materialized like ghosts before them. "A Battle Saint?" As these two gray-robed elders appeared, an indescribable sense of danger instantly surged in the hearts of Xiao Yan and the others!