Chapter 721 Divine Bloodline
"Om-"
In the instant the cracks in the star chart spread wildly like a spider web, a point of golden light suddenly broke free from the darkness in the deadly black area behind the ninth star, flickering faintly like the first rays of dawn.
The moment that fluorescent light appeared, the world seemed to be silenced. The exclamations in the square, the rustling of leaves in the mountain wind, and even the subtle aura emanating from the ancient clan elders who had concealed themselves in the sky all froze instantly.
Only a subtle, indescribable joy, like a gentle current, quietly spread through the silent crowd.
The golden fluorescence didn't linger; it expanded rapidly as soon as it appeared. In the blink of an eye, it grew from the size of a pinhead to the thickness of a thumb. Then, the fluorescence began to writhe violently, as if some kind of miracle was being conceived in the darkness.
A moment later, a star, its entire body enveloped in golden light, though bearing the dimness of a newly born star, yet unable to conceal its noble aura, finally revealed its outline amidst countless lingering gazes.
"boom!"
The moment the tenth golden star appeared, the astrolabe could no longer withstand this earth-shattering power and exploded into countless points of light.
At the same time, a dazzling golden beam of light shot out from Xun'er's jade hand covering the wreckage of the star chart, piercing straight into the sky.
A powerful pressure, far exceeding that of a ninth-grade bloodline, swept across the entire arena along the pillar of light.
The ancient clansmen in the square were horrified. They could see that the surging battle qi within their bodies had instantly stopped under this pressure, and they couldn't even move their fingertips.
Even more so, an uncontrollable surge of instinctive awe wells up from the depths of one's soul, as if facing not one's own kind, but an ancient supreme being overlooking all living beings.
This is ingrained in their blood—the absolute submission of the inferior to the superior.
"Ten stars...that's a divine-grade bloodline!!"
When those words exploded in the sky above the square, all the members of the ancient clans were struck as if by lightning. Their eyes were fixed on the golden pillar of light that pierced through the heavens and the earth, their pupils filled with extreme shock.
They all came from the ancient clan and shared the same lineage as Xun'er. Their perception of this oppressive aura was far stronger than that of outsiders. In an instant, most of the clan members could no longer hold on and fell to their knees with a "thud," their foreheads touching the bluestone ground. However, there was no trace of humiliation on their faces, only an almost pilgrimage-like fervor.
Xiao Ling stood quietly on his seat, his gaze sweeping over the kneeling crowd around him. Even a powerful Dou Zun like Ling Quan, who could dominate a region in Zhongzhou, had bowed his head.
Only a few elders with profound cultivation, such as Gu Shan and Gu Qian, and Gu Yao, whose face was still pale, could barely straighten their backs. However, they all bowed and nodded, not daring to look at the beautiful figure shrouded in golden light in the center of the square. It was as if looking at her for even a moment would be a desecration of the divine bloodline.
"Tsk tsk, what an amazing girl..." From his seat in the stands, Mang Tianchi gazed at the beam of light piercing the sky and couldn't help but sigh softly, his envy almost overflowing.
"A divine bloodline! Looking across the entire Dou Qi Continent, it might only appear once every thousand or even a hundred years among the ancient races. The ancient race has truly received an immense blessing this time."
As a member of the Thunder Clan, an ancient race, he knew better than anyone that the birth of a divine bloodline, if it could grow smoothly, would be enough to elevate the foundation of an ancient race to an entire level.
On the branches of the towering tree, the mountain wind swept golden rays across his clothes. Gu Qingyang squinted, gazing at the golden light that pierced the heavens and earth in the distance, a knowing smile playing on his lips, and slowly said, "Hehe, now you should know how terrifying Xun'er is, right?"
The silver-robed man and the burly man behind them were already dumbfounded. Upon hearing this, they exchanged a glance and felt a bitter taste in their mouths.
Although they had vaguely guessed before, when the truth of the "divine bloodline" was truly laid bare before them, the two still could not suppress the shock in their hearts. You must know that such a legendary bloodline had long existed only in ancient books in the ancient clan's thousand-year heritage.
Golden beams of light shot straight into the sky above the square, turning the clouds into a golden glow.
After a while, the beam of light slowly receded, transforming into a slender golden ray, like a butterfly returning to its nest, gently burrowing back into Xun'er's body.
She slowly opened her beautiful eyes, a trace of golden light still lingering in her clear eyes. Facing the deathly silence around her, she showed no surprise, but calmly looked at Elder Tongxuan, whose face was full of fanaticism and whose breathing was trembling.
Under Xun'er's clear gaze, Elder Tongxuan's lips moved slightly, and he said excitedly, "It truly is a divine bloodline..."
He rolled his tongue around twice before barely managing to suppress his surging emotions. He smiled gently at Xun'er, then his expression turned solemn. He extended his hands respectfully, almost in a pilgrimage-like gesture, and gently clasped them together in the air before him.
As he brought his fingertips together, a stream of seven-colored light suddenly converged, and a dragon pen, its entire body shrouded in a seven-colored halo, appeared out of thin air in his palm. The pen handle seemed to be forged from ancient dragon scales, flowing with a deep luster, and the pen tip was dipped in a faint glow of the sunset. Even before it was used, it exuded an awe-inspiring majesty.
The moment this seven-colored dragon pen appeared, the eyes of all the ancient clansmen in the square changed instantly. The previous shock turned into extreme reverence. Many people even subconsciously straightened their backs and stared intently at the pen, as if they were gazing at the heritage and glory of the entire ancient clan.
In a corner of the stands, Mang Tianchi gazed at the dazzling seven-colored light and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh, his voice filled with emotion.
"The Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor's Brush... This thing has been sealed in the ancient clan's treasure vault for a thousand years, and no one has ever been able to bring it out into the world. Now, it is finally going to be used again for this divine bloodline..."
Elder Tongxuan held the Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor Brush in both hands, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force. The excitement in his chest almost burst out of his chest. This treasure, sealed for thousands of years by the ancient clan and witnessing countless rises and falls, would finally be unsealed for the divine bloodline today.
"Xun'er." He gripped his pen tightly, his gaze solemnly fixed on the girl in the center of the square.
Xun'er raised her eyes to meet his gaze, then gently nodded, her long eyelashes drooping as she slowly closed her clear, beautiful eyes. Her aura was as calm as an ancient well, waiting for the mark to fall.
Seeing that Xun'er was ready, Elder Tongxuan's aura suddenly changed. A torrent of fighting spirit surged out from his body, causing his robes to flutter and rustle even without wind.
He suddenly tightened his grip on the Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor's Brush, his arm surging like a dragon gathering power. As the brush tip swept across the void, it left behind fine, fragmented seven-colored light trails, and mysterious trajectories rapidly formed in his palm.
As the brushstrokes rose and fell, seven-colored tribal patterns, imbued with ancient majesty, seemed to come alive, each stroke imprinted on Xun'er's smooth forehead.
With each formation of a pattern, the air in the world seemed to be stirred, and even the aura of powerful figures faintly appearing on the distant horizon couldn't help but fluctuate.
The seven colors of that clan crest were dazzling to the extreme, with flowing light swirling between the lines, as if incorporating the brilliance of the entire starry sky. Compared to the seven-colored luster on Gu Qingyang's forehead, it was hundreds of times more powerful. Divine grade and ninth grade, seemingly only one grade apart, were actually as different as clouds and mud. One was a supreme bloodline that looked down upon all living beings, while the other was merely a member of the clan's elite. The difference in their realms was like an insurmountable chasm.
As the seven-colored clan markings appeared stroke by stroke on Xun'er's forehead, Elder Tongxuan's expression grew increasingly solemn, and the hand holding the Heavenly Emperor's Brush trembled slightly uncontrollably.
His fighting spirit was rapidly depleting like a flood breaking through a dam. In just a few breaths, nearly half of the fighting spirit in his dantian had been consumed, and even his breathing began to become heavy.
"What a terrifying Heavenly Emperor's Brush..." Elder Tongxuan sighed inwardly, his expression darkening slightly. "No wonder no one has been qualified to use it for a thousand years. Just the speed at which it absorbs battle qi is enough to drain a person into a dried corpse in an instant if they do not have the cultivation level of a half-saint!"
The thought flashed through his mind, and he dared not be distracted in the slightest. He quickly focused his mind and concentrated all his attention on the brush tip, carefully controlling the trajectory of the strokes to ensure that every line was accurate.
The Seven-Colored Heavenly Emperor's Brush hovered half an inch above Xun'er's forehead, dancing in the air. As the brush tip swept across the void, it made a soft "hissing" sound. Seven-colored marks, like living things, continuously condensed and took shape on the girl's smooth forehead, eventually transforming into a continuous clan pattern that exuded a terrifying majesty.
Under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, the Elder Tongxuan continued drawing the clan emblem for nearly ten minutes.
When the final stroke landed on Xun'er's forehead, even someone as powerful as a half-saint had fine beads of cold sweat on his forehead, and his chest rose and fell slightly, clearly indicating that his battle qi had been exhausted to the extreme.
But there was no trace of fatigue in his eyes, only an irrepressible excitement, as if he were witnessing a grand ceremony of inheritance spanning a thousand years.
"Alright." Elder Tongxuan's voice was slightly hoarse, but it clearly reached Xun'er's ears.
Xun'er slowly opened her slightly closed eyes. The golden light had not yet faded from her clear eyes. The seven-colored clan mark that had just been drawn on her forehead suddenly burst forth. The dazzling seven-colored light spread like a tide, which was more majestic than the previous pillar of light. Even the surrounding space seemed to be dyed with a layer of glass color.
"Pfft!"
As soon as this light spread, many powerful members of the ancient clans in the square could no longer withstand it.
A profound sense of awe washed over them, and almost instinctively they knelt down, foreheads touching the ground, their faces filled with almost pious fervor, lacking even the courage to look up.
"Hehe, the seven-colored clan emblem... After a thousand years, it has finally reappeared in my ancient clan..."
Just as the seven-colored light was at its brightest, an old man's laughter came from the distant horizon.
The voice was extremely faint, as if it drifted from the depths of time, fleeting and impossible to detect unless one possessed profound cultivation and exceptional hearing.
Upon hearing this voice, Elder Tongxuan was slightly taken aback at first, then reacted and respectfully bowed towards a certain point in the sky, thinking to himself:
"I didn't expect even these elders to be alarmed... But they should have already guessed that Xun'er has a divine bloodline. It's not surprising that they came here today to secretly witness the awakening of her bloodline."
The seven-colored light on the square only lasted for a moment before receding like a tide, disappearing along Xun'er's smooth forehead and into the seven-colored clan mark.
The clan mark rippled slightly on the skin's surface before disappearing. This mark of divine bloodline is rarely revealed on ordinary days, only shining brightly again on the forehead when the master actively summons it.
On a towering tree in the distance, Gu Qingyang watched this scene with a faint smile, and said to the two people behind him,
"Let's go, there's nothing more to see. Given time, Xun'er will surely surpass everyone in the clan and reach a level comparable to the clan leader."
As soon as he finished speaking, he was about to turn and leave when his gaze suddenly stopped. He subconsciously looked towards a certain area of seats in the square, where Xiao Ling was looking in the direction of the three of them, a faint smile on his lips, and nodding slightly at him, clearly having already noticed their presence.
"Heh, so it was discovered a long time ago."
A knowing glint flashed in Gu Qingyang's eyes, and he nodded in response, thinking to himself...
"As expected of an alchemist who is proficient in soul perception, his soul power is indeed much stronger than when we met in Zhongzhou."
He didn't linger any longer. He lightly touched the treetop with his toes, and his figure drifted away like a willow catkin, disappearing into the depths of the forest in a few flashes.
Upon seeing this, the silver-robed man and the muscular man behind him glanced curiously in Xiao Ling's direction, then quickly followed in the direction Gu Qingyang had left, their figures instantly disappearing into the dense forest.
……
"Cousin, do you know those people?" Sitting at the table, Xiao Yan noticed that Xiao Ling beside him was looking into the distance. He curiously followed his gaze and caught a glimpse of the afterimages of Gu Qingyang and the other two rushing into the dense forest. He couldn't help but ask.
Xiao Ling slowly withdrew his gaze, his fingertips gently rubbing the corner of his sleeve, and nodded, saying, "Yes, the leader, Gu Qingyang, I met him a few times in Zhongzhou before. He is a good person. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will introduce you to him."
He paused, then added, "As I mentioned before, the Ancient Clan's Black Annihilation Army has four commanders. The ancient demon we just met is the 'Asura Commander.' The three people just now were the other three commanders. To be able to hold the position of commander, one's strength naturally far surpasses that of ordinary ancient clan experts. They are not characters to be easily provoked."
"This ancient clan is indeed full of powerful figures." Upon hearing Xiao Ling's explanation, Xiao Yan nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the direction of the dense forest, his tone full of emotion, "The bloodline inherited from the Dou Di is indeed an asset that others cannot envy."
His fingertips unconsciously tightened around the fabric, and he raised an eyebrow, recalling the three subtle auras he had sensed earlier.
"The oppressive aura emanating from those three was even stronger than that of the ancient demons. Such strength would make them giants in the outside world, but within the ancient clan they were merely commanders of the Black Annihilation Army, let alone the so-called Black Annihilation King. This shows how profound the foundation of the ancient clan is."
The discussions about the birth of divine bloodlines surged like a tide in the square, but no one noticed that in the shadows of a corner, a figure completely wrapped in a black robe stood motionless.
The edge of his black robe concealed his face, revealing only a pair of eyes that gleamed with an eerie light, fixed on Xun'er's departing figure. Deep within his eyes, a few glints of cold light flickered, like a lurking venomous snake.
“I never expected that an ancient clan could produce a divine bloodline…” The man in black robes murmured in a low voice, which was as hoarse as sandpaper rubbing. “This woman will surely become a great enemy of my Soul Clan in the future, and may even disrupt my clan’s grand plan.”
His fingertips slowly curled within his sleeve, a silent killing intent spreading: "It seems that after the Heavenly Tomb opens, I must secretly find an opportunity to eliminate her and Xiao Ling together, lest they leave any future troubles." (End of Chapter)
