Chapter 445

Upon hearing the soul message from the Heavenly Flame Sovereign, Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened slightly, revealing a piercing gleam.

It's no surprise the Soul Palace wants to destroy Sheng Dan Cheng—in fact, they've always wanted to destroy it, for there are too many Alchemists within the city, and their cultivation realms are exceptionally strong; only their Soul Bodies are valuable.

Now, due to the Pill Gathering, every powerful Alchemist on the continent has gathered in Sheng Dan Cheng. Even though the Pill Gathering has ended, the city remains in jubilation, with everyone discussing the event and debating who will ultimately claim the Three Thousand Yan Flame.

If the Soul Palace strikes now, triggering a great battle within Sheng Dan Cheng, they can harvest countless powerful Soul Bodies!

If they can wipe out every Alchemist in Sheng Dan Cheng, the Soul Palace's plan could be accelerated.

"What's wrong?" Cai Lin noticed Xiao Yan's change in expression and asked.

Xiao Yan sighed inwardly: "It seems I can't stay by your side and our child's any longer. Tomorrow, I must return to Sheng Dan Cheng. Alas, I thought I could stay a few more days."

There were still several days left before the Star Domain opened, but human plans cannot match heaven's design—I must return to Sheng Dan Cheng to find out what the Soul Palace's master truly intends.

After all, the Three Thousand Yan Flame is something Xiao Yan must have—no one will stand in my way.

"Leaving tomorrow?" Cai Lin's beautiful eyes revealed a trace of reluctance; for the past twenty-some days, Xiao Yan had fulfilled his duties as a father and husband, never leaving her side.

The paternity leave is over—the Flame Sovereign must return to work.

"Mm."

Xiao Yan nodded, gently teasing Xiao Xiao and Xiao Cai, who slept soundly in Cai Lin's broad embrace. Xiao Cai, still annoyed with him, swatted his fingers away with her tail.

Though Cai Lin wished to accompany Xiao Yan to Sheng Dan Cheng, she had only just recovered her vitality and was unfit for battle; more importantly, her cultivation realm still lingered at Half-Step Dou Zun—she needed time to catch up.

Xiao Yan saw the resentment in Cai Lin's eyes. She had once been the strongest female Emperor in the Yan Alliance, yet now she had been surpassed by Xiao Yixian, by the Heavenly Flame Sovereign, and even by Zi Yan and Qing Lin, whose power continued to rise.

Zi Yan possessed Royal Bloodline of the Ancient Dragon, wielding ancestral dragon power, while Qing Lin, with Xiao Yan's aid, had subdued a One Star Dou Zun Snake Slave.

Compared to them, Cai Lin's cultivation had fallen far behind—nearly stagnant for two and a half years.

"I'm sorry—for Xiao Xiao and Xiao Cai," Xiao Yan said, having lived with Cai Lin so long that he knew her past intimately; he understood she was a fiercely proud woman, with the bearing of an Empress.

Long ago, to evolve, she risked her life using Lotus Earth Core Fire and refused Gu He's Transformation Pill—clear proof of her lofty pride.

Falling behind in cultivation was the one thing she could not accept.

Cai Lin cast Xiao Yan a cold glance and said coldly: "They are my daughters too."

"I believe your Three-Flame Serpent Body, combined with the half-Sage blood you absorbed, will allow you to reach Dou Zun soon. I've left you some Elixirs. If I have time, I'll refine an eighth-rank Body-Enhancing Elixir and have Yao Lao deliver it to you." Xiao Yan gently brushed back Cai Lin's wind-tousled hair.

This departure, Xiao Yan knew, would mean a long absence.

Sensing Xiao Yan's reluctance, Cai Lin's beautiful eyes shimmered, then her teeth lightly bit her red lips, whispering softly: "Come to my chambers tonight."

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Xiao Yan's body stiffened instantly. No wonder she was Empress of the Mei Du Sha Clan—just seven simple words made his heart pound and his breath quicken.

They were already married—wasn't this normal?

Their wedding had merely been a meal—no bridal chamber had been consummated. And because Cai Lin was pregnant, their first time had been their last—until now.

Xiao Yan swallowed audibly. Cai Lin's cheeks glowed like ripe apples. Though she was naturally alluring and exquisitely charming, such a thing had happened only once before.

"Mm."

After dinner, night fell. After entrusting Xiao Xiao and Xiao Cai to Qing Lin and Ya Fei, Xiao Yan quietly slipped out of the Xiao Clan Courtyard.

Seeing Cai Lin and Xiao Yan leave almost simultaneously, Ya Fei, holding Xiao Xiao, glimpsed a faint shadow of melancholy and envy in her eyes.

Gazing at Xiao Xiao, who lay nestled against her chest, Ya Fei murmured: "A child… sigh."

This faint sorrow did not diminish her beauty—it only added a unique allure.

Some young Xiao Clan disciples, watching her, clenched their thighs tightly, afraid of embarrassing themselves.

Ya Fei looked barely thirty, her grace outstanding, her mature, noble charm unmistakable. Especially now, holding a baby, her faint sadness made her radiate the aura of a married woman.

This aura on Ya Fei was perfect—it stirred desire.

In appearance, Ya Fei was not peerless—she could not compare to Xun Er or Cai Lin.

Yet she possessed a uniquely captivating charm, like a newlywed wife—her grace stirred the soul.

Her robes were not tight, yet they revealed every curve of her body, beautiful and heart-stopping.

Her mature allure was like a ripe peach—juicy, tender, succulent.

Unfortunately, Ya Fei knew well: her gap with the Mei Du Sha Queen was too vast. Though she always called Xiao Yan "younger brother," and they addressed each other as siblings, Ya Fei was not content with this.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, unaware his clumsy behavior had already been noticed, used his powerful Soul Force to evade all Snake People guards, sneaking into Cai Lin's chambers just as he had once infiltrated the Snake Empire's Shen Cheng—fumbling like a thief.

"Do you really need to sneak in like this?" Cai Lin gave Xiao Yan a cold glance, as if they were carrying out an illicit affair.

Cai Lin sat on the bed's edge in a red nightgown; from afar, she looked as if dressed in a wedding robe. Up close, the gown revealed her perfect figure, her form half-visible beneath sheer silk.

Seeing Xiao Yan staring at her unblinkingly, even Cai Lin felt a touch of embarrassment.

If Xiao Yan showed no reaction now, he wasn't a man. He was certain—even if he became a Dou Di, he could not resist Cai Lin's allure.

This allure was displayed only for Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan stepped closer, each step bringing him nearer; Cai Lin felt as if a furnace approached, her heart tightening with nervousness.

Honestly, Xiao Yan had little experience with this—he could only trust his male instincts now!

Xiao Yan gently took Cai Lin's jade hand and said, his voice rich and magnetic: "Cai Lin, you are beautiful."

【Redacted】

With a sweep of his hand, his mid-stage Spirit Realm Soul Force sealed the entire Space; the Beast Spirit Flame ignited, beast blood boiled, and a Dragon Roar echoed!

The Flame Sovereign refuses to lose!

The next morning, as the sun rose, Hua She Er, one of Cai Lin's personal guards, softly knocked on the chamber door and whispered: "Your Majesty, it is time for morning court."

"Your Majesty?"

Hua She Er frowned, pushed the door open with a creak, and saw a chaotic scene: scorch marks from fire marred the vast chamber, vases overturned.

Seeing the Queen, covered in blankets, asleep with a look of peace and satisfaction on her face, Hua She Er knew: the Empress would not hold court today.

At that moment, Xiao Yan, having just left the chamber, looked weary.

"I must obtain the Three Thousand Yan Flame," Xiao Yan thought, his desire for it deepening—for legend said that whoever claimed the Three Thousand Yan Flame could continuously absorb starlight energy, granting recovery ability rivaling immortality.

The Flame Sovereign discovered the special use of Three Thousand Yan Flame.

Xiao Yan shook his head, burying all those tender memories deep within his heart—he had more important things to do now.

At the Soul Sovereign's temple of Yun Lan Sect, Xiao Yan, clad in a Soul Robe, entered the familiar Space Lock; along the way, countless Soul Envoys and Guardians in black robes knelt in reverence.

After all these years, under Xiao Li's management, this Soul Temple had gradually grown into a branch temple second only to Di Sha Temple.

Today, Xiao Yan had come to use the Spirit Offering Altar to ask Hun Xu Zi some questions.

He passed through without obstruction and reached the deepest part of the Soul Temple. Unlike at first, the Spirit Offering Altar was now shrouded in thick black mist, from which occasional wails and cries of resentment echoed.

One could imagine how many Soul Bodies this Soul Temple had collected over the years—enough to alter the Spirit Offering Altar itself!

Xiao Yan was no woman with tender feelings; in this world where the strong ruled, this was the norm. Moreover, the Yan Alliance was vast, its territories numerous, and naturally it had many enemies—such as the Wind and Thunder Pavilion, the Nine Underworld Daming Snake Clan, and even remnants of the Ice River Valley.

Even after Xiao Yan became Champion of the Pill Gathering, these factions would never court the Yan Alliance, and Xiao Yan trusted none of them.

Xiao Yan trusted his second brother would handle it well, using the Soul Temple's power to eliminate rivals.

With a hiss, Xiao Yan tossed the Soul Token into the Spirit Offering Altar; instantly, terrifying Soul Force surged in, activating the token.

Soon, the black mist around the altar twisted, and a terrifying Soul Force—so potent it startled Xiao Yan—emerged from the altar; a pitch-black Soul Path instantly appeared before him!

"Ji ji ji, shouldn't I first congratulate you on becoming Champion of the Pill Gathering?"

The familiar voice, the overwhelming power—the Soul Sovereign's Dan Saint, Hun Xu Zi!

This was his true body!

Seeing Hun Xu Zi's true body appear, Xiao Yan's gaze grew grave. He was certain—even the Dou Saint from the Dan Tower who monitored him was no match for Hun Xu Zi!

Even now, Xiao Yan still could not see through Hun Xu Zi's true strength.

But Xiao Yan roughly guessed: Hun Xu Zi's strength certainly surpassed ordinary Dou Saints, perhaps even high-level Dou Saints! And his Alchemy likely exceeded Nine-Treasure Pill Master—at minimum, Mystical Pill level; possibly even Golden Pill level!

"Save your congratulations," Xiao Yan said, his expression hardening as he looked Hun Xu Zi straight in the eye. "Let's talk about something real."

His cultivation realm, his faction, his Alchemy—all were far inferior to Hun Xu Zi's. Yet Xiao Yan still dared to meet his gaze, treating him as an equal!

This was why Xiao Yan looked down on Mu Gu—Mu Gu always spoke of "Great Lord, Great Lord." The Soul Sovereign needed an Alchemist whose strength matched Hun Xu Zi's—a second Hun Xu Zi—to jointly refine an Imperial Grade Pill surpassing Golden Pill!

Xiao Yan was now the sole candidate for the Imperial Pill Plan; he possessed sufficient value—he needed no groveling.

Now, it was the Soul Sovereign that needed him—and he needed the Soul Sovereign too!

Hun Xu Zi's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a grotesque smile as he let out a Gu Guai Xiao: "Ji ji ji, a fine Young Clan Leader of the Xiao Clan—you do resemble Xiao Xuan in some ways. It seems that even if the Xiao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline has withered, certain things still endure."

Xiao Yan shrugged indifferently. "Back to the point. I've won the Pill Gathering championship. What's the Pill Formula you want? Where in the Dan Tower?"

He hadn't forgotten: Hun Xu Zi had sent Xiao Yan into the Dan Tower to retrieve a Scroll of Pill Formula. When Hun Xu Zi had infiltrated the Dan Tower originally, besides learning Alchemy, his true goal was that very Scroll.

Xiao Yan was deeply curious—what kind of Pill Formula could make Hun Xu Zi—or the entire Soul Sovereign—willing to wage war against the Dan Tower?

Hun Xu Zi smiled, his eyes flashing a sharp gleam. "You've probably guessed already."

"The only Pill Formula our Soul Sovereign would care about so deeply is one."

Xiao Yan's expression turned grave. "Break Emperor Pill."

Pills with the word "Break" in their name—all function the same: to help cultivators better break through a certain realm.

The only one the Soul Sovereign would care about so intensely was the Dou Emperor!

The three essentials of Pill Alchemy: person, Medicinal Material, Pill Formula—none can be missing!

Xiao Yan didn't know where the Soul Sovereign obtained the Medicinal Material, and as for the person, there were two here—so clearly, the Soul Sovereign still lacked the Pill Formula.

"Perhaps," Hun Xu Zi said. "That Scroll has no name. More accurately, it's incomplete—the Pill Formula created by the Founder of the Dan Tower."

Xiao Yan frowned. "Before the Emperor An Era, there were many Dou Emperors on the Dou Qi Continent. Back then, the Yao Clan's Dou Emperor was still alive—didn't they leave behind a Pill Formula to help break through to Dou Emperor?"

As Xiao Yan grew, he gradually learned some secrets of the Dou Qi Continent—for example, Dou Emperors once existed, and Dou Emperor Families were far more numerous than today; no one knew why they suddenly vanished.

If so, then the Yao Clan, existing since ancient times, should have possessed a Pill Formula to help Dou Saints break into Dou Emperor.

Xiao Yan didn't believe ancient Dou Emperors all broke through on their own—there must have been such pills. How could the Yao Clan's Yao Emperor not have created a Pill Formula to help break through to Dou Emperor?

Hun Xu Zi glanced at Xiao Yan and smiled. This question was common knowledge among Dou Emperor Families—only because the Xiao Clan's lineage had been severed did Xiao Yan ask it.

"Simple reason: it was lost." Hun Xu Zi offered no concealment.

Xiao Yan's eyes widened, then he understood.

Whether it was a Pill Formula, a Dou Technique, or a Cultivation Method Scroll—all could be lost. To create a Scroll, the creator must have mastered the Pill, the Dou Technique, or the Cultivation Method perfectly—or be the original founder.

Dou Techniques are ranked: Beginner, Minor Mastery, Great Mastery, Perfection. Only when cultivated to Perfection can one create a Scroll. Otherwise, if you yourself haven't fully understood it, the Scroll you create will be flawed, distorted—and over time, it will be lost.

Like the Xiao Clan's Break Heaven—Xiao Yan suspected that was precisely why, by the time it reached Ancestor Xiao Xuan, it had diverged so greatly from the original that no one could ever master it.

The same applies to Pill Formulas—at minimum, you must have successfully refined a perfect-quality Pill before you can create an identical Formula. Thus, Pill Formulas are extremely precious, for refining a perfect-quality Pill is no easy feat.

Undoubtedly, after all Dou Emperors vanished and the Yao Emperor vanished, the Pill Formulas for Dou Emperor level naturally faded over time. Reading a Pill Formula consumes its Soul Information; even without reading, the Soul Information decays with time.

If no one in the Yao Clan ever refined a perfect Imperial Grade Pill, the Formula would be lost.

Forget Imperial Grade—even Nine-Treasure Golden Pill Formulas likely vanished long ago.

The cultivation system of the Dou Qi Continent is gradually collapsing.

Xiao Yan's eyes flashed, and he followed the thread: "Then why did the Soul Temple's leader order the destruction of Sheng Dan Cheng? Aren't you afraid of destroying the Pill Formula too?"

Hun Xu Zi smiled, unconcerned. "Hun Mie Sheng merely sought to create chaos to capture more Soul Bodies. Besides, that Pill Formula is hidden within Xiao Dan Ta—even if the entire Sheng Dan Cheng and the Dan Tower were destroyed, Xiao Dan Ta would remain untouched."

Just as Xiao Yan had guessed—the Dan Tower was far more complex than it appeared. There existed another place called Xiao Dan Ta—its true core.

And the Soul Temple's leader, Hun Mie Sheng, knew this well—his only goal was to create chaos to gather more Soul Bodies!

As if seeing through Xiao Yan, Hun Xu Zi let out a Gu Guai Xiao: "Ji ji ji, you want to devour Three Thousand Yan Flame to evolve your strange Cultivation Method?"

!?

Xiao Yan stepped back half a pace, instinctively raising a defensive posture.

Seeing Xiao Yan's futile resistance, Hun Xu Zi clasped his hands behind his back and sneered: "Below Emperor Cultivation, all is trash."

With a flick of his finger, the Soul Token on the Spirit Offering Altar flew into Hun Xu Zi's hand. He tapped it lightly; a terrifying Soul Force surged from his fingertip into the token, and on the upper-left corner of the "Sovereign" character radiating Dou Zun aura, a tiny "Heaven" character appeared!

Heaven Sovereign

"One year from now, come to Tian Gang Hall."

(End of chapter)