Chapter 386: Xiao Yan: I Feel Like Someone's Plotting Against Me!
In the ruins of the Soul Hall's Earthly Fiend branch in the Chai Ji Marshlands, the once damp and stifling swamp teeming with mosquitoes had been completely transformed. The air was now dry and refreshing, and the ground, once muddy and soft, had been scorched into blackened powder. A strange smell lingered in the air, carried by the wind.
Swish, swish, swish!
Three figures, hands clasped behind their backs, strode through the void as if on a leisurely stroll. Though their pace seemed unhurried, they moved with startling speed, quickly arriving at the ruins of the Earthly Fiend Hall.
"It's been destroyed again. How many of these Earthly Fiend Halls has this happened to?!" A middle aged man in a black robe spoke through gritted teeth, his face as dark as a storm. His eyes blazed with rage, like a volcano trembling on the verge of eruption.
"The fifteenth hall…" A woman in a black dress, her voice crisp and elegant, replied in a calm tone. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly as her beautiful eyes gleamed with black light, waves of powerful energy radiating faintly from her figure.
"Elder Hun Ju, this is no small matter. We must report this to the clan," the woman, addressed as Hun Mei, said with an icy smile.
"Uh… Lady Hun Mei, since this is a matter concerning Soul Hall, I believe we should first report to the Hall Master," the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign of Soul Hall interjected hesitantly.
Hun Mei raised a brow, a mocking glint flashing in her eyes. However, she said nothing further.
From what she knew, each branch of the Soul Hall contained a cache of soul origins extracted over the course of a millennium. For such invaluable resources to be plundered fifteen times already… if the Hall Master learned of this, wouldn't he personally execute the incompetent fools responsible?
On the other side, the black robed elder, Hun Ju, gently tapped a finger against the scorched ground. A faint black glow flickered at his fingertip, and his face darkened even further.
Each Soul Hall branch was more than just a repository for soul origins. From the very moment of their construction, these branches were designed to host specific formations.
Although Hun Ju didn't fully understand the purpose of these formations, he knew the order came from Lord Hun Qian Mo, a figure of far greater authority than even the Hall Master, Hun Miesheng.
Of course, it was also possible that the command originated from an even higher source though his status was far too low to inquire further. For him, Hun Qian Mo represented the uppermost echelon of power.
"Fire elemental traces… all fifteen destroyed branches bear this fiery residue…" Hun Ju murmured, frowning deeply.
"Don't waste your time, Elder Hun Ju. The traces have been thoroughly wiped. You won't find anything meaningful," Hun Mei said nonchalantly. She brushed her slender fingers over a large boulder, only to have them come away covered in a layer of unpleasant black and gray dust.
"Heh… ashes. The ones who destroyed our branches were certainly meticulous," Hun Mei remarked coldly, a sneer forming on her otherwise exquisite face.
"That's not entirely true," Hun Ju replied, a faint gleam of insight flashing in his eyes. "At the very least, we can confirm that all fifteen branches were destroyed by the same individual or group."
With a wave of his hand, his storage ring gleamed, and five or six fragmented corpses appeared on the ruins of the Earthly Fiend Hall.
The bodies were in varying states of mutilation some were charred by fire, others encased in ice, and still others smashed into pieces as if by sheer brute force.
"What do you mean by this, Elder Hun Ju?" Hun Mei asked, her brow furrowing slightly as she observed the macabre display.
The Fifth Heavenly Sovereign of Soul Hall also looked puzzled, though he remained silent. His cultivation was far below that of the two Soul Clan elites before him, and it wasn't his place to question them.
"These corpses share a peculiar similarity…" Hun Ju said solemnly, staring at the scattered remains.
Hun Mei's delicate brows arched as she bent down to examine the fragments more closely. Despite her delicate appearance, she displayed no fear or aversion to the corpses, her expression instead brimming with interest.
Even the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign, standing nearby, couldn't help but feel uneasy. This seemingly frail and beautiful woman showed no trace of discomfort as she studied the mangled bodies.
"There is indeed something…" Hun Mei murmured. Her slender fingers traced a wide, deep groove left on one of the corpses, the mark as if carved by a blunt, heavy weapon. Measuring roughly four or five centimeters in width, she deduced:
"It looks like the mark left by a blunt heavy sword… or perhaps a massive ruler."
"A blunt heavy sword or ruler, an attacker at least at the level of a Nine Star Dou Zun or Half Saint, and someone clearly knowledgeable about Soul Hall's secret caches of soul origins," Hun Mei summarized, her soft voice calm yet chilling.
"Don't forget: proficient in fire based Dou Qi," Hun Ju added with a faint smirk.
"I can think of two people who fit that description!" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign interjected gravely.
"Speak!" Hun Mei's eyes sharpened, her voice carrying a cold, commanding tone.
Even Hun Ju turned his attention to the Heavenly Sovereign. As expected of someone personally recruited by Hun Miesheng, this man had indeed proven resourceful.
"Yao Chen and Xiao Yan!" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign declared with a firm, steady voice.
"The former is the only individual who has ever escaped Soul Hall after having his soul origin extracted. The latter has destroyed three of our branches in succession!"
"And in each case, the scenario was the same as here: the hall's guards and elders were slaughtered, its soul origins stolen, and all that remained was an empty ruin."
Hearing this, both Hun Mei and Hun Ju grew visibly tense, their eyes narrowing.
"It's highly plausible," Hun Mei remarked. "Xiao Yan is an Eight Star Dou Zun at the peak of his power. His combat strength is exceptional even a Nine Star Dou Zun, or possibly even a Half Saint, might not be his match. Don't forget, this man possesses Xiao Xuan's legacy, and his bloodline has been fully restored."
"Moreover… Xiao Yan's weapon is none other than a black heavy ruler," she added.
The pieces fit all too well. Both Yao Chen and Xiao Yan were alchemists, proficient in fire based Dou Qi. Xiao Yan, in particular, wielded four different Heavenly Flames, a terrifying advantage.
"Well done, Yao Chen. Well done, Xiao Yan," Hun Ju and Hun Mei sneered coldly in unison.
"But aren't Yao Chen and Xiao Yan still in the Star Realm?" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign hesitated, but as the words left his lips, he quickly fell silent.
Both were Eighth Tier alchemists. Obtaining a soul splitting technique was trivial for them, and Yao Chen was a Half Saint on top of that.
"What do we do now?" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign asked, his brow furrowed.
"Destroy the Starfall Pavilion!" Hun Ju said with a sinister smile. "When has Soul Hall ever suffered such humiliation? Let's go find Bone Ghost and rally our forces against Starfall Pavilion!"
"This time, we'll leave no one alive!"
"Let's move!"
Hun Ju barked as his figure flickered, leading the group away.
Deep within the marshlands, hidden within the dense canopy of trees, a motionless figure silently observed the departing Soul Hall elites.
"Heh… as expected of Elder Lu Bu. He's managed to single handedly tie down three of Soul Hall's Half Saints," Qiu Mao murmured with admiration. These three were powerful enough to wreak havoc on any battlefield, and without Lu Bu, they could have broken through Pill Tower's defenses with ease.
"Hehe… Elder Qiu Mao flatters me. It's about time we regrouped with the rest of the Pill Tower forces," Lu Bu's light voice came from another treetop.
"Indeed. Let's go," Qiu Mao replied with a nod.
…
"Achoo!"
On a mountaintop in the Star Realm, Xiao Yan suddenly sneezed violently. A strange chill ran through him, sending a shiver down his spine.
Boom!
Caught off guard, the dark red flames in his cauldron wavered for a moment, causing the cauldron to tremble before abruptly falling silent.
"Focus!" Yao Chen said sternly from the side. "The materials for this Wu Lian Pill are extremely precious. We've nearly emptied our reserves just to refine six of them!"
"Teacher, I can't help but feel like someone is plotting against me!" Xiao Yan replied with a serious expression, clearly not joking.
This feeling was oddly familiar. The last time he had felt this way was back when he was still at the Dou Huang stage, and if he wasn't mistaken, that incident had been Lu Bu's doing. It had to be that guy causing trouble again!
Yao Chen's mouth twitched slightly, unsure of what to say. Somehow, this scene felt eerily familiar…
At that moment, the sound of rushing wind came from the horizon as Feng Zun zhe's figure streaked through the sky like lightning.
"How is the recruitment of reinforcements coming along?" Yao Chen asked. The awkward situation he'd faced previously, where he was forced to shoulder everything alone, must never happen again.
"A total of five Dou Zun transition experts have accepted our terms," Feng Zun zhe replied gravely. "The strongest is at the Six Turn level, and the weakest at the One Turn level."
"That's reasonable…" Yao Chen nodded. Without the allure of the Wu Lian Pill, he wouldn't have been able to recruit so many Dou Zun transition experts. Turning to Xiao Yan, he said, "Disciple, put in your best effort and let's refine the last two Wu Lian Pills together!"
"Yes, Teacher!" Xiao Yan replied, suppressing his earlier unease. Whether it was Lu Bu stirring up trouble again or just his imagination, the priority now was refining the pills.
…
Yan Shan City
Elder Cao furrowed his brows as he held a scroll in his hand, his expression grim. "What is Soul Hall up to?"
"The enemies we're facing Nine Heavenly Sovereign with six Heavenly Lords and five Elders have all suddenly withdrawn, leaving behind only a group of Dou Zong Protectors and the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign."
"On the other side, their forces are also being pulled away. This is truly strange… Could Soul Hall be planning some kind of scheme?"
"Ha! Cao Ye, that doesn't matter. All you need to know is that today, you're doomed!"
Suddenly, a manic laugh echoed through the air. Elder Cao and Tian Huo Zun zhe's faces darkened. Their figures flickered and instantly appeared in the skies above Yan Shan City.
High above, a vicious elder with dark red eyebrows and an aura of scorching ferocity stood arrogantly, facing the entire city alone.
"Hmph… Fifth Heavenly Sovereign, have you come here to admit your defeat and beg for mercy?" Elder Cao sneered. His strength was evenly matched with the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign, and their multiple battles in the past had always ended in stalemates.
"Kehehe… No, I've come to annihilate all of you!" The Fifth Heavenly Sovereign replied with a sinister laugh.
"How dare a defeated general act so arrogantly?" Tian Huo Zun zhe sneered, a deep yellow flame flickering around him. The terrifying heat distorted the surrounding space.
Hearing this, the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign's eye twitched, and rage burned in his gaze. Not long ago, he had indeed been injured by this very Tian Huo Zun zhe, and if not for the intervention of a clan envoy, he would likely have perished.
"Attack!"
Behind Elder Cao and Tian Huo Zun zhe, more than ten Dou Zun experts roared in unison. Their Dou Qi surged, intertwining in the air to form a massive formation. A sharp and oppressive aura swept out, locking onto the lone figure of the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign.
"Since you've come, stay here forever!" Elder Cao sneered. "Tell us what Soul Hall is plotting, and I might consider sparing your life."
"Kehehe… Oh, Cao Ye, you're one of the Eight Great Elders of Pill Tower, and yet you're so foolish!" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign scoffed coldly. "Do you think I came here alone without a plan? None of you will escape today!"
Hearing this, Elder Cao and Tian Huo Zun zhe's faces changed slightly. Could this madman have summoned reinforcements from Soul Hall?
"Hahaha… Senior, please lend a hand!" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign shouted with laughter.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura swept across the sky, scorching winds raging violently as countless faces paled in fear.
Boom!
A deafening explosion erupted as the massive formation formed by the ten Dou Zun experts was shattered in an instant. The Dou Zun experts let out cries of pain, vomiting blood as they plummeted from the sky, severely injured and on the brink of death.
"Heh… That's much quieter," a voice said calmly. Di Xiezi appeared, brushing his sleeves nonchalantly. Breaking a formation set up by ten ordinary Dou Zun experts was an effortless task for him.
"Di Xiezi?!" Elder Cao's pupils contracted sharply, his voice trembling with shock. "Didn't you self destruct?!"
"Di Xiezi?" Tian Huo Zun zhe's expression turned grim. He had heard about this man from Lu Bu a member of the Xie Mo Three Ghosts. The eldest, Tian Xiezi, was formidable; the second, Di Xiezi, stood before them now; and the third, Ren Xiezi, had been killed by Zhu Li in one strike after Tian Huo Zun zhe had initially failed to defeat him.
This Di Xiezi, however, had grudges against both Lu Bu and Tian Huo Zun zhe.
"Heh… If Yao Chen can rebuild his body after becoming a disembodied soul, why can't I?" Di Xiezi sneered. As an Eight Tier Peak Alchemist, he was no less skilled in alchemy than Yao Chen himself.
Elder Cao remained silent, his face darkening. Di Xiezi wasn't to be underestimated. Before his self destruction, he had been a Nine Turn Dou Zun whose strength rivaled that of the Three Presidents. Now that his body was restored, who knew how much stronger he had become?
Beside him, Tian Huo Zun zhe tensed up, his muscles taut with readiness. This situation could become troublesome.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you immediately…" Di Xiezi sneered, his five fingers clenching as flames coiled around his hand. With a flick of his sleeve, a fiery whirlwind roared toward them.
"Careful!"
Elder Cao's pupils shrank as he shouted a warning, retreating swiftly. Beside him, Tian Huo Zun zhe's expression darkened as he dodged with all his might.
But it was too late!
As the two had just begun to move, the fiery surge shot toward them like a thunderbolt, leaving them no room to escape.
Realizing they couldn't evade it, both Elder Cao and Tian Huo Zun zhe gritted their teeth, gathering their Dou Qi and striking out with a combined blow.
Boom!
The explosion reverberated through the sky as both Elder Cao and Tian Huo Zun zhe let out muffled groans, stumbling backward. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths, and their faces grew paler by the second.
"Kehehe… Cao Ye, how does it feel to be in this position?" the Fifth Heavenly Sovereign taunted with a sinister laugh.
"Don't get cocky, you wretch!" Elder Cao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, responding with an icy sneer.
"Is that so?" The Fifth Heavenly Sovereign chuckled darkly. "I hear you have a granddaughter named Cao Ying, don't you? Quite the beauty, known throughout Pill Tower as a rare gem. A true stunner, isn't she?"
"Oh?" Di Xiezi's eyes lit up. "Is that so? Hahaha… Interesting, very interesting!"
"Hahaha… If Brother Di Xiezi could enjoy her company, wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"Hahaha… Indeed!" Di Xiezi laughed heartily, his eyes burning with excitement. After all, the three Xie Mo brothers had a notorious penchant for beautiful women.
"Kehehe… Di Xiezi, I didn't expect to find you here…"
Suddenly, a cold chuckle rang out as the space distorted. Lu Bu emerged from the void, accompanied by Qing Lin.
"It's you?!" Di Xiezi's expression darkened, his arrogance vanishing in an instant.
(Chapter Ends)
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