Amon held Xiao Meng's soul and said, "I'll take her soul for now; I'll deal with it later. The cost to save her won't be too high, but if you want to take her away and give her freedom, what you'll need to pay will be unimaginably heavy.
Xiao Meng is, after all, a member of the Amon Clan. A dead Xiao Meng is nothing to the Amon Clan, but a living Xiao Meng, completely separated from the clan, is something no Amon, including myself, wishes to see.
If you truly want to give her freedom, then work hard to stand at the peak of the Great Thousand, and then pay this price."
Xiao Yan nodded solemnly, "I will. No matter the cost, I will save Xiao Meng and give her freedom!"
Amon curled his lips into a smile, "I also look forward to the day you can give me what I want... After this, I'll be busy with some other things, so I won't be paying too much attention to your side.
If you have any tricky problems that are difficult to solve, you can also contact me...
Of course, payment will be required. It can be something you possess now, or it can be an overdraft of the future. In the latter case, you will need to pay more.
I know most of what you've done along the way, and I'm quite optimistic about your potential. What I've given you in the past was a small investment, but you've gradually grown now, and the period of free gifts has passed. I will treat you as an ally."
Amon suddenly extended his hand towards the cluster of soul light in the sky. Pure light burst forth from his monocle. Under the light's illumination, wisps of black smoke rose from the light cluster, as if the screams of souls echoed.
Then, starlight shone, transforming into layers of overlapping doors that surrounded the light cluster. The light cluster gradually shrunk, becoming only the size of a human fist.
Amon gently flicked, and the small, starlit ball entered Xiao Yan's chest.
"I've purified the soul origin once; it's now pure enough to be directly absorbed. This Sealed Artifact can last for half a year. Take the Space Fire as well; this is something she left for you," Amon said with a smile.
As his voice faded, the Space Fire also slowly floated to Xiao Yan's forehead, entering his glabella and transforming into a silver flame symbol.
Xiao Yan looked down at his chest, then subconsciously touched his forehead, asking, "Aren't you taking it? Is this the final gift?"
Amon smiled, "No, I told you, this is something Xiao Meng left for you. Since I have already reached an agreement with you and recognized Xiao Meng's actions, then her act of giving these to you is naturally also recognized.
Of course, my recognition doesn't mean our clan leader also recognizes it. On this matter, my attitude and his are completely different.
However, due to some other reasons, he probably won't act against you, so feel free to use it boldly. The Space Fire is the clan leader's natal fire; its essence is no lower than that of an abnormal fire."
This last sentence made Xiao Yan even more certain that the Amon Clan had some connection with the Xiao Clan.
Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Can I ask you a question?"
"Hm?"
"What is your purpose?"
"My purpose, huh..." Amon pinched his crystal monocle, paused for a moment, then replied, "In the short term, I want to replace that fool and become the new clan leader of the Amon Clan. Well, as long as I take over the Amon Clan and make our clan stronger, then this aligns with the fundamental goal of 'strengthening the clan,' and it meets the expectations of all Amon, including the clan leader himself, who wouldn't object.
Looking further ahead... you've probably already guessed that I come from the Great Thousand. My inherited memories tell me that the Great Thousand World is a fiercely competitive World, with myriad clans standing, and disputes and battles never cease. Moreover, the Extraterritorial Evil Clan is eyeing it covetously.
I think you are suitable to be my ally. This way, when I return to the Great Thousand, I won't be isolated and helpless...
Likewise, I am also your ally. Having ascended from the same plane, we naturally have the potential for cooperation.
As for the ultimate goal, you'll know when you stand at the pinnacle of this World."
Amon's figure gradually faded, becoming transparent.
"How do I contact you if something happens?" Xiao Yan quickly asked before he completely disappeared.
"Just call out my Honorific name. My Honorific name is:
"The Shadow that Roams the Heavens;
"The Black Hand that Manipulates Destiny;
"The Secret Other Half of the Great Thousand's Ruler."
The voice echoed in Xiao Yan's ears, then quickly subsided.
Xiao Yan silently repeated it once, firmly committing the words to memory.
With Amon's departure, the surrounding space and time returned to normal, the frozen state was lifted, and the other people regained their ability to move.
The Honored Elder of the Soul Hall and the guest elders of Starcloud Pavilion realized what had just happened, and their eyes widened in horror as they looked around. Although they had been in a state where they couldn't do anything, see anything, or hear anything... their consciousness was still active, and they could perceive the flow of time, knowing they had just been imprisoned.
What kind of bizarre ability was this? What kind of expert could do such a thing?
When they saw their companions and enemies also showing bewildered and frightened expressions, they realized that they were not the only ones affected.
They couldn't help but gasp.
However, the Soul Hall Protectors did not realize this. They had been even more thoroughly confined, their consciousness frozen. To them, it just felt like they had been momentarily dazed.
The Soul Hall Protector who had been reaching for Xiao Yan suddenly found himself without a target. As he was wondering why, he saw a fist wrapped in purple-black flames rapidly enlarging before his eyes.
Bang!
The Soul Hall Protector, whose head was split open by the punch, fell to the ground, twitched twice, and then fell silent.
"What's going on? How did he suddenly seem like a different person?"
The Soul Hall Protectors were confused. In their perception, Xiao Yan had been in excruciating pain a second ago, on the verge of mental collapse, almost anyone could have gotten him easily, but now he had suddenly become cold, his eyes revealing icy killing intent, as if he had put on a mask.
Then they saw that the Honored Elders had all stopped their movements, so they retreated a bit, waiting for developments.
In the void, Yao Chen and the Soul Hall Deputy Hall Master faced each other.
They did not continue fighting, but instead spread their spirit power, searching for the whereabouts of that mysterious master.
However, their search was destined to be fruitless.
Yao Chen noticed that the soul origin and Xiao Meng were gone, and he frowned slightly.
Xiao Yan glanced at the shallow human imprint left after Xiao Meng's corpse naturally turned to ash, took a deep breath, and ordered, "Retreat!"
Yao Chen kept an eye on the evacuation below while staring at the Soul Hall Deputy Hall Master.
After hesitating for two seconds, he quickly retreated, covering Xiao Yan and the others as they left the Soul Hall.