It was an enormous Devil Beast. Standing on its hind legs, it was actually as tall as Lin Hao.

It was covered in fiery red fur, with a gaping maw, bulging eyes, sharp fangs, and pricked ears. It even had two faint golden dragon horns!

Lin Hao had seen this creature before when he was forging his bloodline. It was one of the nine sons of the dragon—the Suanni!

The Suanni’s eyes were crimson, locked onto Lin Hao as its entire body radiated an incredibly terrifying aura.

Seeing it, a realization dawned on Lin Hao. ’The other Devil Beasts must have been driven by this one.’

"Listen, I am not your enemy," Lin Hao said slowly, his nerves stretched to their limit.

As he spoke, Lin Hao activated his Imperial Art, attempting to simulate the Suanni’s aura.

Back when he forged his bloodline, Lin Hao had not only witnessed the formation of the nine sons of the dragon, but had also seen an Ink Dragon at the very end. For a moment then, he had hesitated, wanting to take a dragon as his Divine Soul.

But he had rejected the idea, for he discovered that with his True Self as his Divine Soul, he could manifest all things!

It was just a flash of inspiration at the time, one he had never put into practice.

Now, facing this Suanni with absolutely no chance of victory, Lin Hao could only try to manifest the creature’s aura.

Though he called it manifesting the Suanni’s aura, what he was actually doing was manifesting a Divine Soul.

A Divine Soul was something that should only appear when a Martial Artist advanced from the Elemental Realm to the Soul Gathering Realm. Anyone else, no matter if they were a monstrous talent or a peerless prodigy, couldn’t hope to manifest one even if given a hundred years.

But Lin Hao was different. He had done things in reverse; when he forged his bloodline, he had already gained a Divine Soul, even if his True Self Divine Soul couldn’t yet be truly used by him.

Normally, a Martial Artist at the Peak of Elemental Realm would use their True Essence to activate their bloodline, causing their Divine Soul to manifest and thus enter the Soul Gathering Realm.

The Divine Soul and the bloodline were two sides of the same coin. Lin Hao already possessed a Divine Soul, but his repeated attempts to communicate with his True Self had been ignored. Only in moments of true danger would it reveal itself.

’Drawing out my True Self is impossible right now.’ Lin Hao instead mobilized his True Essence and began to stir his bloodline.

Although he had forged a bloodline, his True Blood was still only red, the lowest tier for a special constitution.

As he stirred his bloodline, the image of the Suanni’s formation—the one he had witnessed when forging his own bloodline—appeared in his mind...

The Suanni before Lin Hao was just about to rip the human to shreds with a single swipe of its claw when, abruptly, all the fur on its body bristled.

It sensed a terrifying aura emanating from the human before it.

A flicker of confusion crossed its eyes, and then it saw a massive, illusory figure appear behind the human.

BOOM!

A loud crash echoed, shattering the illusory figure Lin Hao had painstakingly managed to form.

But Lin Hao’s face showed not a hint of panic.

On the contrary, after a moment of surprise, a smile spread across his face.

The loud noise had come from the Suanni dropping to its knees.

It was now kneeling like a human, its head bowed to the ground.

Not only that, but its entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Hao then noticed that this Suanni was different from the one he had seen when forging his bloodline.

After a moment of observation, Lin Hao chuckled in spite of himself.

’This isn’t a true Suanni. Who knows how many generations have passed, but its bloodline is far from pure.’

The Suanni Lin Hao had just manifested was based on his memory of the purest-blooded one. Upon seeing it, this Suanni naturally reacted with utmost reverence.

And just like that, Lin Hao had easily defused a crisis.

"Hey, big fella. Where do you live? Can you take me there?" An idea struck Lin Hao, and he spoke to the Suanni.

’Even if its bloodline is impure, it’s definitely the overlord of this region. It would be much safer to have its protection.’

To his surprise, the Suanni nodded, its eyes holding a hint of wary respect as it looked at Lin Hao.

"Lead the way!" Lin Hao declared with a grand wave of his hand, full of confidence.

The Suanni led the way. Even though it had already slowed down, its pace was still incredibly fast.

At first, it kept looking back, worried that Lin Hao couldn’t keep up. But when it saw that he was maintaining the same distance without fail, it couldn’t help but pick up the pace.

After they had bounded across several peaks in the mountain range, the Suanni finally came to a stop.

It then entered a massive cave.

Needless to say, they had arrived at its lair.

As Lin Hao followed it inside, his body suddenly went rigid. An aura had locked onto him.

ROAR!

Then, Lin Hao heard the Suanni ahead let out a low growl, and the threatening aura vanished.

WHIMPER...

A soft whimpering sound followed.

Lin Hao looked up and saw a tiny Suanni. It was hairless, its body charred black, and its two paws were badly swollen.

It was holding its paws out to the larger Suanni.

At that moment, Lin Hao finally understood why those Devil Beasts had charged the Sanqing Sect.

The little Suanni must have playfully wandered off and gotten burned. The elder Suanni, enraged, had then driven all the Devil Beasts from the surrounding peaks to attack...

The thought made Lin Hao break out in a cold sweat.

The elder Suanni’s power was at least equivalent to the Soul Gathering Realm, perhaps even the Spirit Transformation Realm.

’Good thing I could manifest the Suanni’s aura,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, there wouldn’t even be bones left of me.’

The two Suanni communicated in their own way. Then, Lin Hao saw the little one give a soft cry in his direction, as if it were both an apology and a gesture of goodwill.

Lin Hao smiled and nodded.

The little Suanni hopped down and scurried deeper into the cave. It reappeared a moment later holding a red fruit in its paws.

Lin Hao accepted it with a smile and took a hearty bite, finding it sweet and fragrant.

"Let me see, little one," Lin Hao said, looking at the cub’s badly swollen paws.

Though young, the little Suanni could understand his words.

Even with their impure bloodline, they were far more fortunate than other Devil Beasts.

Lin Hao held out his hand. The little Suanni extended its paw and placed it in his palm.

Lin Hao began to channel his Imperial Art.

On the summit of Forbidden God Mountain, his Imperial Art had been able to heal a massive hole a lightning strike had blasted in a turtle egg. The little Suanni’s injury was child’s play in comparison.

And so, as Lin Hao channeled his Imperial Art, the swelling in the little Suanni’s paws began to recede at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Before long, its paws were completely healed, but Lin Hao didn’t stop. He continued to channel his Imperial Art.

Next, its charred, blackened body also began to transform.

Finally, the charred skin sloughed off, revealing the little Suanni’s body, as tender as a newborn’s.

"Thank you, Ancestor."

Just then, a tiny, childlike voice, like that of a two or three-year-old toddler, suddenly echoed in Lin Hao’s mind.

It was the little Suanni, communicating with him telepathically.

An idea sparked in Lin Hao’s mind. He sent a telepathic reply: "I will impart a technique to you. Do not be distracted."

With that, Lin Hao transmitted the vision he had witnessed when forging his bloodline—the complete formation of the Suanni.

’A Martial Artist can forge a bloodline by observing the formation of the nine sons of the dragon,’ he mused. ’This little Suanni is their descendant. If I let it observe the process, could it undergo atavism and purify its bloodline?’

The bold idea suddenly arose in his mind, and he immediately put it into action.

The little Suanni, true to its word, remained perfectly still, receiving the technique Lin Hao was imparting.

When Lin Hao withdrew his power, the little Suanni’s eyes remained tightly shut, still savoring the experience.

"Thank you, Ancestor." Just then, another voice—that of a trembling, middle-aged woman—rang in Lin Hao’s mind, thick with emotion.

He then saw the elder Suanni making a gesture of a deep bow toward him.

Lin Hao mentally broke into a sweat.

’All I did was manifest a Suanni, and they’re already treating me like their ancestor.’

Still, the identity was far too advantageous to give up, so he had no intention of correcting them. In response, Lin Hao simply sent a telepathic grunt of acknowledgment.

’An ancestor should act like an ancestor, shouldn’t they?’

Looking at the little Suanni, which had yet to awaken, a strange light glinted in Lin Hao’s eyes.

He had ambitions, ambitions an ordinary person could never even conceive of.

His ambitions had been born the moment the Nine Dragon God Refining Pill had come into existence.

He was going to create gods!

’With the nine sons of the dragon as their Divine Souls, their future accomplishments will be anything but low.’

’Perhaps they could become Saints, or even achieve something greater.’

Already, Lin Tian, Lin Yuan, Shenshan, Yang Peng, and Yu Mengqing had forged their bloodlines with his help.

But Lin Hao wasn’t satisfied. He had already refined the remaining Nine Dragon Flowers into Nine Dragon God Refining Pills, ready to continue his work whenever he found suitable candidates.

Now, encountering this impure-blooded Suanni in the Celestial Break Mountain Range, Lin Hao’s ambition flared once more.

If this little Suanni could successfully undergo atavism, then he would seek out the young of the other legendary beasts.

If he succeeded, it would be another world-shaking power under his command!

The Carefree Divine Monarch, though not versed in the martial path, possessed a heaven-defying Array Pattern Skill and could annihilate thousands of foes with a wave of his hand.

The Heaven Monarch Chu Tian possessed power that shook the heavens and the earth, striking fear into both gods and demons.

They were all peerless prodigies, yet they ultimately perished.

Lin Hao had long ago understood a simple truth: no matter how powerful an individual becomes, they cannot stand against a great power.

In the Divine Demon Destruction Domain, ten thousand races vied for supremacy amidst countless ancient and superior kingdoms. Even if you could contend with one faction, there were thousands upon thousands of other unimaginable powers waiting.

Therefore, Lin Hao had long been cultivating a power of his own.

For those whose bloodlines he had forged, for the Heaven-Stepping Sect, and even for the Lin family—Lin Hao had long-term plans for them all.

"Ancestor! Ancestor! I remember it now!" A voice suddenly rang out in Lin Hao’s mind, startling him from his thoughts.

Looking down, he saw the little Suanni hopping and bouncing on the ground in excitement.

"Mm, very good," Lin Hao replied telepathically, maintaining his ancestral airs.

Who would have thought the little Suanni wasn’t afraid of him at all? With a SWOOSH, it leaped onto Lin Hao’s shoulder.

"Ancestor, Ancestor! You’re so amazing, can you give me a name? Mommy was never willing to give me one," the little Suanni’s voice echoed in his head.

It was still too young to understand what the word "Ancestor" truly meant. Moreover, it hadn’t seen Lin Hao manifest the Suanni’s form, so it naturally felt no awe toward him.

On the contrary, because Lin Hao had healed its injuries, it felt a natural fondness for him.

A young Suanni was as pure and simple as a newborn babe. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Are you a ma—a boy or a girl?" Lin Hao had started to ask if it was male or female, but since the little Suanni wanted a name, it was clearly thinking of itself as a person. He quickly corrected himself.

"Ancestor, Ancestor, what’s a boy? What’s a girl? Mommy always combs my fur, so does that mean I’m a little girl?"

The little Suanni blinked its pure, innocent eyes, twisting its paws together in a gesture of charming naivety.

Seeing it, Lin Hao’s mood brightened considerably. He laughed and said, "There is a line of poetry: ’The phoenix gates open to a crimson dawn; from the beast censer, violet mists arise.’ In that spirit, your name shall be Ni Ziyun."