Chapter 33: Blaming the Soul Palace

After killing Xiao Yan, Jiang Xing first stored Xiao Yan's body in his storage ring and then probed his soul power into Xiao Yan's storage ring. He wanted to see what other valuable items might be inside.

As his soul power delved into the ring, Jiang Xing began his search. After a while, he indeed found several items.

First and foremost, what caught Jiang Xing's attention was a piece of ancient jade with a light green hue.

"Fragment of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade!"

That's right, this was a fragment of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade! Jiang Xing recognized it because one side of the ancient jade was clearly different from the others, showing marks of a forced cut.

This fragment of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade is connected to the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave beneath Nakanaan Academy. Inside the cave lies an emperor-grade embryo pill, along with the inheritance of a strange fire on the Strange Fire Square. Both of these items can allow a peak Dou Saint to ascend to the rank of Dou Emperor.

However, to open the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave, a complete Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade is required. Each fragment of the jade is worth a fortune, and one piece is held by each of the eight ancient clans. Jiang Xing wasn't sure why the jade was divided into eight pieces, but he knew that Emperor Hun Tian had spent a thousand years scheming to obtain the fragments from the other clans.

Holding the ancient jade, Jiang Xing hesitated. This piece of jade was a hot potato. Without sufficient strength, possessing it would only bring disaster. The fate of the Spirit Clan, Stone Clan, and Medicine Clan were clear examples. If even the ancient Dou Di clans couldn't safeguard the jade, what chance did he have?

Jiang Xing feared keeping the jade, but he also couldn't just hand it over to the Soul Clan or other ancient Dou Di clans. If he gave it to the Soul Clan, they would gather all the fragments ahead of schedule and open the cave. If he handed it to another clan, his secret—killing Xiao Yan—would likely be exposed, and those clans might not be able to protect the jade either.

Jiang Xing couldn't understand why the ancient Dou Di clans didn't have their clan leaders carry such an important relic. Instead, they left it in ancestral halls guarded by Dou Saint elders, wasting manpower and giving the Soul Clan's spies opportunities to steal it. Jiang Xing believed that if Gu Yuan, the ancient clan leader, personally safeguarded the jade, not even Emperor Hun Tian could steal it from him.

With this in mind, Jiang Xing realized he couldn't keep the jade. He needed to find a place to dispose of it, somewhere it wouldn't be discovered by the ancient Dou Di clans.

"Oh, right, the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Cave!"

Even the Soul Clan needed all eight fragments to find the cave. If he threw this fragment there, it would remain hidden. Without all the fragments, even Emperor Hun Tian and Gu Yuan would be stuck at the late stage of Nine-Star Dou Saint, giving Jiang Xing time to catch up!

"Ahahaha, I'm a genius," Jiang Xing couldn't help but admire his own intelligence.

The second item he found was a broken piece of jade. Jiang Xing suspected it contained the first volume of the Three Mysterious Transformations of Heavenly Fire. However, it wasn't convenient to take it out now, so Jiang Xing decided to set it aside for later examination.

The third item was two volumes of a fighting skill called the "Emperor Seal," which Gu Xun'er had given to Xiao Yan. The "Emperor Seal" was a secret fighting skill of the ancient clan, an advanced earth-level technique divided into five seals: the Mountain-Splitting Seal, Sea-Overturning Seal, Earth-Covering Seal, Sky-Annihilating Seal, and Ancient Emperor Seal. The combined power of the five seals was comparable to a heaven-level fighting skill.

Jiang Xing's grandfather was a six-star Dou Saint. While he didn't have many heaven-level fighting skills, he certainly had a fair share. Moreover, Jiang Xing wasn't particularly interested in the "Emperor Seal's" power since only the first two volumes were present. What intrigued him was the potential to use the "Emperor Seal" to impersonate a member of the ancient clan, allowing him to commit deeds like the one he just carried out.

Aside from these three items, everything else in the storage ring was useless to Jiang Xing.

After finishing his search, Jiang Xing turned his attention to the strange fire separated from Xiao Yan's body. The flame was golden-red, resembling the Wind Fury Dragon Flame but not quite. After peeling away the outer flames, their true nature was revealed.

In Jiang Xing's left hand was an ochre-colored flame: the Wind Fury Dragon Flame. Ranked eighteenth among strange fires, the Wind Fury Dragon Flame was a fusion of wind and fire, resembling a giant roaring fire dragon that turned everything in its path into a sea of flames. Its attributes matched Jiang Xing's perfectly, but its low ranking disappointed him. Jiang Xing doubted it would significantly enhance his power.

In his right hand was a golden flame, which left Jiang Xing momentarily stunned. He recognized it as the Golden Emperor's Burning Sky Flame—or rather, a sub-fire of it. Without a doubt, this sub-fire had been given to Xiao Yan by Gu Xun'er.

"You're really devoted!" Jiang Xing remarked.

Even as a sub-fire, the Golden Emperor's Burning Sky Flame's power surpassed that of the Wind Fury Dragon Flame in his left hand. However, Jiang Xing couldn't and didn't dare to absorb it. Absorbing the flame would alert Gu Xun'er, rendering his disguise useless. If Gu Xun'er tracked him down, he'd be in grave danger.

Additionally, he feared that using the Golden Emperor's Burning Sky Flame against Gu Xun'er's main flame would backfire.

After storing the two flames, Jiang Xing made his way to the Soul Palace. He felt that framing the ancient clan's Dou Zong wasn't enough; he needed to forge more evidence to thoroughly incriminate the Soul Palace for Xiao Yan's murder and the theft of the ancient jade!

Upon arriving at the Soul Palace's branch hall, Jiang Xing was met with a massive black palace. The enormous structure, dark gray in color, exuded an oppressive aura. Jiang Xing couldn't help but note how fitting the environment was for the Soul Palace, an organization known for its villainy.

In such a bleak and eerie place, where outsiders rarely ventured, Jiang Xing tossed Xiao Yan's body near the entrance of the hall. He then placed the sub-fire of the Golden Emperor's Burning Sky Flame beside the corpse.

"Now this is a perfect crime!" Jiang Xing thought with satisfaction.

Now, aside from the Soul Clan, other ancient families would believe that the ancient jade had fallen into the Soul Clan's hands! Jiang Xing recalled that each branch hall had an elder, and not wanting to be spotted, he quickly fled the scene.