"You... you..." Ao Qing was at a loss for words, stammering without making any sense, clearly in utter shock.
"Are you wondering how I came to know about this matter? Is that it?" Xue An said casually.
Ao Qing didn’t speak, but her expression said it all.
Xue An stood up and walked to the window of the tea pavilion. Outside the window were the massive tombs, as vast as mountains, where the past Bai Kings were buried.
Looking up at these tombs, Xue An said slowly, "If I’m not mistaken, the so-called Holy Land’s origin is actually formed by the bloodlines of these past Bai Kings, isn’t it? After their death, their bloodlines and power didn’t dissipate, but instead returned here to become the Holy Land of the Dragon Clan!"
Ao Qing was at a loss for words, as was the Great Elder, who turned visibly pale.
For this was the Dragon Clan’s most closely guarded secret.
Now it was all revealed by Xue An in just one sentence; how could they not be appalled?
Xue An continued, "Don’t be surprised that I know these things, because from the moment I entered this space, I sensed something unusual here."
Saying this, Xue An raised his hand to point at the tombs, speaking in a deep voice, "These tombs... are clearly continuously dying!"
Tombs were dead to begin with, yet Xue An described them as "continuously dying."
Upon hearing these words, Ao Qing slowly bowed her head, a sorrowful expression on her face.
"Because the origin of the Holy Land is formed by these Bai King tombs, their demise would mean that the Holy Land’s origin is gradually disappearing. Am I right, Great Princess?"
Xue An turned around, his eyes piercing as he looked at Ao Qing.
Ao Qing remained silent for a while, then finally nodded with difficulty, "Yes, the power of the past kings is indeed continuously disappearing, and the origin of the Holy Land won’t last more than a few more years!"
"So you stay here to guard this realm, trying to slow down their death, even if... it means sacrificing your own life?"
If Xue An’s earlier words had left Ao Qing bewildered and shocked, these words now rendered her completely speechless.
She could hardly imagine how Xue An knew these things.
Clearly, she hadn’t told anyone about these secrets.
Not even the Great Elder knew about them.
Yet now Xue An had unveiled this secret.
She sat there, almost numb.
The Great Elder was the first to react and exclaimed, "Great Princess, Lord Red Lotus, is what you said true? Are you really sacrificing your own life to guard the Holy Land?"
At this point, there was no use in hiding, so Ao Qing slowly nodded.
"Yes!"
The Great Elder sat there pale, unable to speak.
Ao Shu immediately burst into tears.
She suddenly felt useless, for she had hidden in the secret realm over trifles, thinking she was quite capable.
But her elder sister was silently bearing all the burden.
Xue An sighed softly, "Is it really worth doing this?"
Ao Qing gave a slight, bitter smile, "What else can be done even if it’s not worth it? As you said, the spirits of the past kings are continuously dying, the origin of the Holy Land is accelerating its disappearance, and within a few years, this place will become barren, and the Dragon Clan’s Holy Land will cease to exist."
At this, a hardly discernible glint of tears appeared in Ao Qing’s eyes, "By that time, the Dragon Clan without the protection of the past kings will become a hopeless tribe, and such a tribe is doomed not to last. So for the continuity of the Dragon Clan, I’m willing to give up everything!"
"Even if it can only delay it a little?" Xue An asked.

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