"The power of the Long Phoenix bloodline?" Hearing Xiao Xuan's astonishment, Xun'er also paused slightly, then asked with some confusion, "What exactly is this?" The Long Phoenix had appeared only infrequently throughout the history of the Spirit Continent, so even though Xun'er belonged to an ancient lineage, she found the term quite unfamiliar. Xiao Xuan, too, stared in amazement at Xiao Yan in the blood pool, finding it hard to imagine that such a rare entity could reside within him—after all, he himself had never personally witnessed a Long Phoenix. "The Long Phoenix is a mysterious being possessing the bloodlines of the Supreme Ancient Dragon and the Ancient Celestial Phoenix, considered the true sovereign of the Beast Kingdom. Yet, such beings have appeared only sparingly—even I have never personally seen one." Xiao Xuan said slowly. "A mysterious being possessing the bloodlines of the Supreme Ancient Dragon and the Ancient Celestial Phoenix?" "Xun'er's brows slightly furrowed. She did know that Zǐ Yán's true form was the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon, but she had never heard of how Xiao Yan had ever established any connection with the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix—a creature seemingly long extinct. 'I also don't know where Xiao Yan acquired this Dragon-Phoenix bloodline energy,' said Xiao Xuan, somewhat helpless. 'It appears that the recent purification of his blood did not fully eliminate this Dragon-Phoenix bloodline energy. Now, as more and more Xiao Clan bloodline energies flow into Xiao Yan's body, the pressure exerted on the Dragon-Phoenix bloodline energy is finally forcing it to erupt.' 'Will this have any effect on Xiao Yan?' Xun'er asked, her brows still furrowed. 'Should the Dragon-Phoenix bloodline energy be unable to be suppressed, the Xiao Clan bloodline energies will be unable to integrate into Xiao Yan's body. The resulting forced collision will only severely injure him.' Xiao Xuan also furrowed his brows, slightly troubled. The Long-Phoenix bloodline power was equally formidable, capable of rivaling true Battle Emperor bloodlines. Though the current amount within Xiao Yan's body was not vast, it was far from negligible. "What shall we do?" Xun'er asked, expressing her concern. Xiao Xuan pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to Xun'er, saying, "Little one, would you be willing to help me—or help Xiao Yan?" "Please tell me where you need it, Master Xiao Xuan—whenever and wherever you require it," Xun'er replied, her eyes sparkling with confidence, showing no hesitation. "I would like to obtain the bloodline powers of the ancient clans!" Xiao Xuan fixed his gaze on Xun'er, his eyes now glowing with a touch of fervor. He said, "I know that the bloodline strengths of the two clans will inevitably struggle to merge—this has been personally tested by me during my earlier years. It was precisely through this experience that I came to understand the reasons for the failure. Two equally powerful bloodlines are inherently difficult to harmonize. But now, the situation has changed. The Long-Phoenix bloodline is no less potent than the Battle Emperor bloodline. If we use it as the medium for harmonization, we may achieve a complete fusion of the ancient bloodlines of our two clans—and furthermore, we may resolve some of the complications brought by the Long-Phoenix bloodline." "I know this idea sounds crazy—back in my day, I had already planned something similar. I believe that while the Emperor Bloodline certainly grants descendants extraordinary talents beyond the ordinary, there must inevitably be certain losses or shortcomings in its transmission. And precisely because of that, among these ancient races, the number of true Emperors who reach the peak has grown steadily rarer and harder to achieve over time." Xiao Xuan, as if sensing Xu'er's thoughts, shook his head and said. "I once experimented with this, but ultimately failed. After that, I never spoke of it again. Yet now—perhaps this could be the turning point." Gazing at Xiao Xuan's weathered face and then at Xiao Yan, whose eyes were closed and immersed in the blood pool, Xu'er hesitated for a while before finally sighing softly and asking, "Master Xiao Xuan, are you truly certain?" "Eight out of ten!" Xiao Xuan replied firmly. Hearing this, Xun'er hesitated again, lightly biting her silver teeth before nodding. "Then it shall be as Master Xiao Xuan has requested," she said. "On behalf of Xiao Yan and the entire Xiao clan, I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude." Master Xiao Xuan bowed solemnly to Xun'er and spoke in a serious tone. Taking a gentle breath, Xun quickly formed several unusual hand seals. Then, with her fingertips lightly tracing over the pale, jade-like wrist, a streak of blood appeared, and one by one, drops of blood slowly dripped from her jade palm, eventually falling entirely into the pool of blood. As one drop after another of blood fell into the blood pool, the ripples within it gradually subsided. A spacious area, roughly half a zhang in size, swiftly separated from the rest. Within this open region, the blood that had slipped from Xu'er Yu's fingers did not spread out but instead continuously gathered, eventually coalescing into a blood orb about the size of half a clenched fist, hovering suspended in the pool. Xiao Xuan bowed again to Xun'er. As former chieftain of the Xiao clan, he naturally understood that Xun'er had to make a tremendous sacrifice in drawing upon the ancient lineage's power to bestow it upon Xiao Yan—though the amount of power seemed modest, Xun'er would need at least two years of dedicated cultivation to fully replenish it. This gesture was truly profound. Xun'er gently shook her head, her beautiful eyes fixed upon Xiao Yan, who lay in the blood pool with closed eyes, a soft, gentle smile playing on her lips, yet she said nothing. "Rest well first. I'll take care of everything from here. Rest assured, I'll return to you a brother Xiao Yan more complete than when you first met him." Xiao Xuan smiled, stroking his snowy white beard, then turned his gaze to the blood pool, swiftly forming a series of hand seals while murmuring, "Converge!" As Xiao Xuan's commanding roar settled, the blood pool instantly began to spin at high speed, emitting a continuous rushing sound, yet no droplets of water splashed out. Xiao Yan stood precisely at the center of the vortex, his body as rigid as carved stone, motionless. As the rotation of the pool intensified, the purple-gold glow spreading over Xiao Yan's body gradually dimmed under pressure. At the very instant the blood cells merged with Xiao Yan's chest, his body suddenly began to tremble violently. Fine streams of blood continuously erupted from his skin, quickly turning him into a near-blood-covered figure. Seeing Xiao Yan undergo such a transformation, Xun'er's cheeks instantly paled. Yet Xiao Xuan took a deep breath, changed his hand seal once more, and as the blood pool rapidly spun, it formed cascading streams of blood that continuously struck Xiao Yan's body. Each time they made contact, the blood streams mysteriously seeped into Xiao Yan's flesh. As the dual Imperial bloodline energies mutually eroded each other, the latent Long-Phoenix bloodline energy hidden within Xiao Yan's body surged forth under Xiao Xuan's stimulation, resonating with a subtly profound roar of dragon and phoenix voices that echoed throughout. The third wave of Long-Huang bloodline energy directly entered the two conflicting Imperial Duel bloodlines as an external observer. With the convergence of these three bloodline energies and Xiao Xuan's flawless control, the gradual erosion that had once seemed irreconcilable began to weaken. Under Xiao Xuan's guidance, the three bloodline energies formed a circular flow of tri-colored blood. As this unusual circle continuously rotated, the three bloodlines gradually began to show signs of fusion. This fusion process was remarkably slow, lasting nearly a full month. When the one-month period came to a close, the rotation of the circle suddenly ceased, and a slender, unusual stream of deep purple-red blood slowly flowed out from within the circle. This new blood—this unique bloodline energy—was a harmonious blend of the two Imperial Duel bloodlines and the Long-Huang bloodline.