Chapter 403: Yao Chen's Arrival

Yao Lao's sudden appearance caught Xiao Yan off guard. After all, Yao Lao had been in the Black-Corner Region of the Northwest Continent all this time!

Xiao Yan's surprised gaze was naturally noticed by Yao Lao in the sky. Yao Lao smiled slightly at Xiao Yan, letting him set his mind at ease for the time being.

Although he didn't know why Yao Lao had suddenly appeared at this Pill Tower, judging by Yao Lao's reaction, it didn't look like something had gone wrong at the World Association, so Xiao Yan didn't go up to ask. He would know in a while anyway.

Yao Lao's appearance not only made Xiao Yan feel suspicious, but those experts who had known Yao Lao before also felt somewhat surprised. After all, Yao Lao had disappeared for a long time, and rumors had it that he had fallen.

However, now that Yao Lao had suddenly appeared, this was a major event. After all, Yao Lao's alchemy skills had been extraordinary before, and after disappearing for so long, they were likely even more terrifying. It was very possible that he had become a ninth-grade alchemist.

Everyone knew the weight of a ninth-grade alchemist; this was an existence comparable to a Dou Sheng!

"Hehe, Yao Chen, is that the disciple you took in?" The white-haired old man beside Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan and asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Yao Lao smiled slightly, stroked his beard, and said, "Yes! This is the disciple I took in the Northwest Continent during my period of falling. My resurrection was also his credit."

"You took in a good disciple! I heard that in the assessment of the five great clans, this Xiao Yan took first place, pressing Ying'er so hard she couldn't even lift her head," the white-haired old man said with emotion.

"Uh... haha, my disciple is good at everything, but he just likes to be competitive," Yao Chen laughed upon hearing this. He and this white-haired old man had been rivals in the past, and now that they had each taken a disciple, they naturally had to compare them.

Seeing Yao Chen laughing until his mouth couldn't close, the white-haired old man's mouth twitched.

"You didn't join the Pill Tower back then and chose to wander around, only to be assassinated. Now that you've suffered such a big loss, you should have learned your lesson!" A beautiful woman in a cheongsam beside the white-haired old man looked at Yao Lao and said somewhat reproachfully.

Hearing this, Yao Lao sighed. Of his two disciples, one was raised by his own hands, only to assassinate him for the sake of the Burning Flame Art; the other had only helped a little, yet was wholeheartedly thinking about his resurrection. His heart felt somewhat bitter.

"Alright, say less! Since Yao Chen has resurrected, we naturally cannot let the Hall of Souls be so arrogant anymore," the white-haired old man said, then looked at the square.

"Hehe, I am Xuan Kong Zi, and I represent the Pill Tower in welcoming your arrival here." The white-haired old man took a step forward, walked out of the crowd, and said with a smile.

For a Pill Tower titan like Xuan Kong Zi, no one present did not respect him. They were all listening intently to his speech, including Xiao Yan. After all, Xuan Kong Zi's alchemy level was not much worse than Yao Lao's; he just wasn't as lucky as Yao Lao to possess an Exotic Fire.

"Everyone has come from afar, so I won't waste time with nonsense. The Pill Gathering is still divided into three rounds of assessment as before," Xuan Kong Zi looked at the crowd below and said with a smile: "The champion of this session will not only obtain a candidate spot for a Pill Tower titan but will also obtain an ancient soul cultivation method. Once this soul cultivation method is obtained, one will have the opportunity to step into the level of an eighth-grade or even ninth-grade alchemist in the future."

"Boom!"

Just as Xuan Kong Zi finished speaking, the square erupted into a boil. Those soul skills alone were already very rare, and a cultivation method was a hundred times more precious than a soul skill.

Although the soul skills Cao Ying and the others had displayed before were rare, as long as one had some connections, they could easily obtain them in this Pill Tower. But this cultivation method was different; this was something one relied on for survival.

Xiao Yan was naturally tempted as well. After all, once his soul level stepped into the Spirit Realm advanced level, its growth became incomparably slow. Soul cultivation mainly involved absorbing the scattered spiritual energy between heaven and earth. Previously, it was when the Exotic Fire actively swallowed energy that some spiritual energy was mixed in, causing Xiao Yan's soul power to grow.

But now, relying on the Exotic Fire was already very slow, far less fast than a specialized cultivation method. If he wanted to step into the Heavenly Soul level as soon as possible, he had to possess a cultivation method.

Xuan Kong Zi looked at the crowd below, whose gazes had become incomparably fiery because of his words, smiled slightly, then waved his sleeve. A burst of force shot out from his cuff into the void, and then a crisp bell sound rang out once again.

The originally noisy crowd heard this bell sound again, immediately became quiet, and looked up at Xuan Kong Zi in the sky.

Xuan Kong Zi saw the square become quiet again, pointed his finger at a somewhat distorted space, and said with a smile: "The time is about right. All contestants above the fifth grade, enter the first checkpoint, the Soul Illusion Realm!"

Following Xuan Kong Zi's voice, the flow of people in the square moved toward that distorted space like a tide.

Xiao Yan also entered the distorted space with the flow of people. The space was filled with dark gray gas, like a thick fog, with extremely low visibility. Moreover, this dark gray gas also had a suppressive effect on the soul.

Not only that, but this dark gray gas also had a hallucinogenic effect, which could make people have hallucinations, causing you to step into the environment involuntarily, and then bind you firmly.

Unfortunately, although these means were miraculous, they were nothing to Xiao Yan. In less than a moment, he walked out of the illusion and arrived at an open space.

Although this open space was spacious, the surrounding space was distorted, clearly a temporary resting place forcibly constructed by the Pill Tower experts.

Not long after Xiao Yan stepped into this open space, Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and the others also walked out of the Soul Illusion Realm.

Seeing Xiao Yan, Cao Ying walked directly to his side and said with a smile: "You are indeed the first!"

"Hehe, I just arrived as well!" As the saying goes, one does not hit a smiling face. Although Cao Ying had caused Xiao Yan quite a bit of trouble before, Xiao Yan had already taught her a lesson. To keep holding onto it would be somewhat ungenerous. Besides, Cao Ying's teacher was Xuan Kong Zi, and after the Pill Gathering ended, there would be no lack of exchanges with Xuan Kong Zi, so Xiao Yan did not want to make things too stiff.

"You are Xiao Yan?" A young man in black beside Cao Ying saw Cao Ying and Xiao Yan chatting and laughing, and his face immediately became gloomy. However, he still forcibly squeezed out a smile and asked.

Hearing this, Xiao Yan raised his eyes to look at this rather handsome young man, raised an eyebrow, and immediately understood in his heart. This was likely another "lick-dog," and he began to feel some sympathy, because for a woman like Cao Ying, only a strong person could conquer her. Although this young man's soul power was not weak, he was currently not as good as Cao Ying.

It was estimated that when Cao Ying was in a good mood, she could chat and laugh with him, but wanting to be together, it was estimated there was no chance.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 404 =====