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"Greetings, Ninth Celestial Sovereign." Elder Mu Gu slightly bowed to a person dressed in blue, surrounded by misty vapor.
"Mu Gu, is there something you need?" Ninth Celestial Sovereign Mo Yu asked calmly.
"Ninth Celestial Sovereign, regarding this mission to seize the Three Thousand Yan Flame Fire, I have a plan…"
Mu Gu organized his thoughts and said, "If we go by the standards of previous Dan Gathering participants, I am indeed confident in winning. However, this time, Pill Tower has given the top ten a chance to subdue the Three Thousand Yan Flame Fire, which will likely attract many Elders who previously disdained the Dan Gathering or felt their status was too high to participate…
"The Central Plains is full of talent, and I'm not sure if someone with stronger alchemy skills will appear. So, I suggest we act during the second stage of the Dan Gathering to eliminate as many competitors as possible.
"Moreover, this can also collect souls and, incidentally, strike at Pill Tower's prestige. After all, if too many people die at the Dan Gathering, Pill Tower won't be able to shirk responsibility."
Mo Yu nodded without much thought: "You arrange it."
He cultivated water-attribute techniques and had no great interest in exotic flames.
"Exotic flame, huh… I'm a bit interested too. Count me in… Heheheh." A chilling laugh echoed.
A figure in a black robe, shrouded in black mist, with an indistinguishable face, walked over.
"Although it can't compare to the Fallen Heart Flame, which speeds up cultivation, the Three Thousand Yan Flame Fire's ability to heal the body is also quite good."
Elder Mu Gu frowned slightly… Soul Hall's interest in the exotic flame was surely for the Alchemists within their hall.
Elder Mu Gu considered his alchemy skills to be good enough to compete, but who was this person, acting as if whatever they snatched would be theirs?
He looked at Mo Yu hesitantly, with a hint of inquiry in his gaze.
"You do your part, don't mind her." Mo Yu did not explain, responding thus.
Before the final alchemy stage on the platform, the Dan Gathering had two screening rounds. The first round, called the Illusion Stage, required passing through a special space covered by mist generated by a magical beast called "Phantom Spirit Beast." The internal space was layered, and one had to pass through within a certain time limit to succeed.
In the second round, each participant received a list of medicinal ingredients. Participants had to find all these ingredients in the "Dan Realm" and successfully exit through the designated exit to pass and qualify for the final competition.
The first two rounds tested some basic qualities of an Alchemist, such as soul ability, and the ability to find medicinal ingredients. However, not only Alchemists possessed these abilities, which gave Soul Hall the possibility of inserting a large number of their own people.
Although there was also an entry requirement of being a "Pill Tower-certified Fifth-Grade Alchemist," faking such a "certification" was not difficult for Soul Hall.
…
"Heheheh, so this is the Dan Realm? It's truly desolate and dilapidated, Pill Tower people don't even bother to fix it." Hun Xiao easily passed the first round and entered the Dan Realm.
"Don't mess around. I don't care how you act, but don't implicate us and cause the mission to fail, leading to punishment from above." Elder Mu Gu was very annoyed with this Protector Xiao who suddenly interfered.
"Punishment? Only you will be punished. Even if it fails, no one will punish me for this… Heheheh…"
People change. Hun Xiao was no longer the diligent Protector Xiao who had just joined Soul Hall. Now, she only wanted to slack off and, incidentally, use Soul Hall's intelligence network to gain some benefits for herself.
For the first time, Elder Mu Gu found the "heheheh" laughter so grating.
He snorted coldly and left with his subordinates.
Hun Xiao looked at the list in her hand and slapped it on the chest of a white-haired big man next to her: "A'Xiao, it's up to you. Help me find everything."
Frost Wolf A'Xiao's expression was strange, and he rumbled, "You're not really thinking of getting on stage to refine pills, are you? Can you even do it?"
"It's about participation…"
Hun Xiao removed her Soul Hall "uniform" and changed into a simple black outfit, adding heavy smoky eye makeup, then vanished in a flash.
A'Xiao revealed his Spirit Beast true form, transforming into a giant Frost Wolf, letting out an earth-shattering howl, and charged directly towards the strongest Spirit Beast in this Dan Realm, the Ancient Dragon Bear.
…
As if destined, some people naturally disliked others.
Chen Xian, the Young Sect Master of Xuanming Sect, still clashed with Xiao Yan as in the original story, though the reason was slightly different.
As a result, he was easily killed by Xiao Yan, and the two high-level Dou Ancestor bodyguards also met the same fate.
This time, Song Qing did not speak up to help Chen Xian. He knew that Xiao Yan was Yao Chen's disciple… The reputation of Medicine Saint was still very intimidating.
"Hi…" Hun Xiao, mingling in the crowd, enthusiastically waved at Xiao Yan, greeting him.
Perhaps it was her aura that kept people away; despite being a great beauty, few people lingered their gaze on her.
Most of the gazes directed at her were not filled with desire, but rather with caution or fear.
"Hun Guniang, you've also come to participate in the Dan Gathering." Xiao Yan's face showed a genuine smile.
The bright and pure smile made Hun Xiao's breath catch… Damn it, why do I think he's a bit handsome?
"What are you all gathered here for?" Xiao Yan looked at the increasingly large crowd, a hint of confusion on his face.
Among the participants who entered the Dan Realm, there was a competitive relationship, and others might have the medicinal ingredients needed for one's own mission. So, usually, when they met, it was either a fight or a chase, and it was rare to see such a large group of people coexisting peacefully.
Cao Ying, in a black dress, with a graceful figure, a lazy expression, and a hint of charm, took the initiative to explain:
"This is the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range. There are many Spirit Beasts, and inside there's an exceptionally powerful Spirit Beast that has claimed the mountain as its territory, moving many rare medicinal ingredients into its cave dwelling.
"Most of our mission lists contain one or two rare items. Besides the high probability of finding them here, trying our luck elsewhere, we don't know when we'd come across them."
Her eyes, like autumn water, constantly scrutinized Xiao Yan, with captivating glances.
Hun Xiao, gnawing on a braised pork hock, mumbled indistinctly, "Simply put, these people want to team up and attack that high-level Spirit Beast."
Although Song Qing did not approve of Hun Xiao's makeup, he could tell she was definitely a great beauty. Seeing her and Cao Ying both appearing very interested in Xiao Yan, a hint of jealousy arose in his heart.
However, due to Xiao Yan's identity, he suppressed this jealousy and feigned a refined demeanor, smiling faintly as he said, "Precisely. For any one of us alone, facing such a ferocious beast would be difficult, but by combining everyone's strength, the probability of success increases significantly."
"What rank is that Spirit Beast?"
"Eighth Rank."
Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly. If it was a newly entered Eighth Rank, he wouldn't fear it, but if it was one that had broken through long ago, he would have to run if he saw it.
Looking at the lineup present, besides the unfathomable Hun Xiao, he didn't think this group of people, even combined, had the qualifications to target an Eighth Rank Spirit Beast.
"Actually, there are two Eighth Rank Spirit Beasts. One is newly emerged, and the other is the original overlord. There was a great battle before, and the newly emerged Spirit Beast defeated and killed the original one. After the great battle, its condition must not be good, and this is our opportunity." Song Qing said confidently.
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow, deciding to follow and observe, acting according to the situation.
The group hurried towards the stone palace on the mountaintop. Along the way, strangely, no Spirit Beasts attacked them.
"This isn't right. High-level Spirit Beasts often have followers. How come there isn't even a single guard?" Cao Ying knitted her beautiful brows.
Song Qing speculated uncertainly: "The victor is that newly promoted Spirit Beast. Perhaps its original subordinates were all killed in battle, and now, due to its injuries, it hasn't gone to subdue the subordinates of the original Spirit Beast overlord."
"That's possible." Xiao Yan nodded slightly.
He glanced at Hun Xiao, finding her still gnawing on a pork hock, her cheeks bulging, already on who knew which one, seemingly not nervous at all.
In front of the stone palace was a huge plaza. The group landed on the plaza, looking forward in shock.
There were dismembered limbs everywhere, crimson blood staining the ground, and dozens of Sixth and Seventh Rank Spirit Beast corpses scattered across the plaza.
In the center of the plaza, a giant bear nearly a hundred meters tall lay prone, with a dragon tail about twenty meters long behind its butt.
Ancient Dragon Bear! Among Spirit Beasts, it was a notoriously fierce existence, with extremely powerful combat strength. That malevolent aura, even from a distance, could be clearly felt, making some weaker individuals tremble involuntarily.
Yet, such a terrifying beast lay motionless there, with several gruesome wounds on its body, its blood already blackened and congealed… This was a cold corpse.
Cao Ying's face turned pale, and she glared at Song Qing: "Didn't you say that the original Spirit Beast overlord wasn't strong? You call this not strong?"
Song Qing's face showed a hint of embarrassment, and he argued softly: "I thought it would be defeated by the newly promoted Eighth Rank Spirit Beast, so its strength wouldn't be that great…"
As the youngest Elder of Pill Tower, he knew some internal information and was aware that there was only one Eighth Rank Spirit Beast overlord in the Dan Realm, so he arbitrarily assumed that the newly emerged one had just broken through.
Xiao Yan gasped, looking at the scene in the plaza:
"This new Spirit Beast overlord has such immense killing intent!"
A chill spread from the stone palace ahead. Thin ice continuously expanded, freezing all the corpses on the plaza.
The crowd instinctively retreated a few steps.
Only Hun Xiao remained calm, still gnawing on her pig trotters.
"Bang!"
With a huge roar, the ice crystals at the entrance of the stone palace shattered. The fragmented ice crystals, propelled by immense force, shot out in all directions like sharp knives.
A light blue figure rushed out of the stone palace, letting out a "Wahhh-Wahhh" howl.
"A… A'Xiao?" Xiao Yan was stunned.
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