Chapter 482: You Are Perfect for the Soul Palace (Early Update, Requesting Monthly Tickets and Subscriptions)

Xiao Yan sighed, and with that sigh, the entire little world suddenly cracked open, the earth splitting and shattering apart!

A despair-inducing Saint Might descended.

Boom—one sound, and the Sword Venerable and the Sound Valley Dou Zun outside both spat blood, their secret technique shattered and rebounding upon them.

"Venerable! Are you alright?!"

The Sword Venerable trembled all over, his hands shaking so violently he could no longer hold his sword.

"Dou Sheng!!!"

Just those two words—even though they had felt no Saint Might due to the little world's seal—made every disciple from the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion and Sound Valley turn pale, some even collapsing to the ground in weakness.

Someone had summoned a Dou Sheng!

They didn't know who it was, but the Sword Venerable knew for certain: a Dou Sheng had arrived!

But figuring out who summoned the Dou Sheng wasn't hard—just look at the outcome.

Whichever side emerged alive, and which side was reduced to scattered corpses, would be crystal clear.

"Let's go. Since a Dou Sheng has arrived, the outcome will be no surprise."

No one dared linger or peek—the Dou Sheng could crush them all with a single slap, leaving them utterly powerless to resist!

At this moment, within the underground little world of the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake, every face bore a look of despair and pallor.

Even the Nine-Star Peak Dou Zun, the demon hound, could not stop trembling, a wave of despair surging into his heart.

An old man slowly stepped out from behind Xiao Yan's space—not a space wormhole, for this elder did not warp space; he simply ignored it entirely!

Only a Dou Sheng could achieve such a feat.

"Half-Saint!" The demon hound's words plunged everyone present into deeper despair—why did the Yan Alliance have a Half-Saint?!

Though the word "half" is in it, a Half-Saint is still a Dou Sheng, still capable of ignoring spatial distance, appearing instantly before you!

"Jie jie jie, so you're the Ten Heavenly Elders? This truly opens my eyes!" The old man stepped out of space, and while the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Ruins intrigued him, what truly fascinated him was that Xiao Yan was the Ten Heavenly Elders!

After all, Xiao Yan was the Pill Gathering Champion! And yet he was also the Ten Heavenly Elders of the Soul Palace—this was deeply intriguing.

"So this is why you were chosen."

Xiao Yan glanced at Three Heavenly Venerable Ghost Ming, unconcerned by his blabbering—because the moment Ghost Ming was summoned, every Dou Zun from the Nine Underworld Ghost Serpent Clan, Snake Eight Heads, and the scattered cultivators present were already dead men.

Xiao Yan had only half-completed his Soul Barrier; Ghost Ming finished it instantly, sealing the place completely. At this moment, Xiao Yan understood: even a Half-Saint was incomparably stronger than a Dou Zun—hundreds of times over.

After all, above Nine-Star Peak Dou Zun came First-Transformation Dou Zun, Second-Transformation, and only after nine transformations could one break through to Dou Sheng!

The nine transformations were not complex: simply put, they were nine rounds of refinement and compression. When a Dou Zun at Peak Dou Zun reached fullness in their Qi and could no longer increase it, the nine transformations began. At this point, they must refine and compress all their internal Qi, until the once-full body created new empty space capable of holding fresh Qi.

And when the Qi became full again, refinement must continue!

Only after repeating this nine times does one reach perfect completion!

And the internal Qi, under such compression, undergoes a qualitative transformation, leaping across the immeasurable abyss, truly entering the Saint Realm!

One could imagine how much stronger Three Heavenly Venerable Ghost Ming was compared to an ordinary Nine-Star Peak Dou Zun—likely more than a hundred times stronger!

And this was Xiao Yan's first time using the Soul Token to summon a Soul Palace cultivator!

Even if the Nine Underworld Ghost Serpent Clan had a Dou Sheng, it was useless—because the demon hound lacked the Dou Sheng Jade Pendant!

Ghost Ming did not strike immediately; instead, he surveyed the heavens and earth. When he saw the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's Hai Shi below, his eyes narrowed slightly and he said: "Jie jie jie, the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Ruins—no wonder. This Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake was immensely powerful in life."

If even Ghost Ming called it powerful, then this Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake must have reached Nine Rank in life—not died from breakthrough failure.

Then Ghost Ming's gaze turned to Cai Lin, standing beside Xiao Yan. His gaze sent a chill through Cai Lin, instantly causing her Flame to surge violently.

"The Demon Saint's essence blood has some use for me too. Hand over that Magic Core." Ghost Ming revealed a greedy smile—even as a Half-Saint, the refined Demon Saint essence blood would significantly aid his cultivation.

Hearing Ghost Ming's words, the demon hound's eyes flickered with a glimmer of hope—was this man not allied with Xiao Yan?!

The demon hound hurriedly said: "Senior Brother! If you hand those two women over to me, the Nine Underworld Ghost Serpent Clan will repay you handsomely! Have you heard of the Yellow Spring Blood Crystal? My Nine Underworld—"

"Noise." Boom—one wave of Ghost Ming's hand, and a Dou Sheng's might effortlessly crushed the demon hound into severe injury, blood spurting from his mouth.

Only Xiao Yan remained calm, stepping forward to stand before Cai Lin, staring directly at Ghost Ming: "This authority was granted by the Palace Master. What, are you defying it?"

Ghost Ming's eyes narrowed, but Xiao Yan's words did not intimidate this ancient demon—he laughed: "Jie jie jie, don't try to use the Palace Master to pressure me. I'm only here to ensure your survival. As for others, I don't care—I won't take orders from you."

Hearing this unyielding reply explained why Xiao Yan never used the Soul Token to summon Soul Palace cultivators—these bastards were ungrateful wolves; they only acted when they saw the rabbit.

"One Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill." Xiao Yan calmly named a pill.

Upon hearing "Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill," Ghost Ming's eyes contracted sharply.

The Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill—an Eight Grade Peak Elixir that summons Nine Color Pill Thunder! Its effect is simple: only Dou Zun at Nine-Star Peak or higher can use it, and it raises one's cultivation by one transformation.

And the greatest strength of the Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill is that it doesn't just boost a Peak Dou Zun by one transformation—it can elevate a Half-Saint from early stage to mid-stage!

And Ghost Ming was an early-stage Half-Saint.

Pills that summon Black Demon Thunder are Ji Pin Dan Yao, but the gap between Eight Grade and Ji Pin is immense—like the gap between Dou Zun and Dou Sheng—so many subdivisions exist.

The Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill is classified as a quasi-Ji Pin Dan Yao—an Eight Grade Pill that at least summons Nine Color Pill Thunder, but cannot summon Black Demon Thunder, occupying the tier between Eight Grade Peak and Ji Pin Precious Pill.

"Jie jie jie, good!" Ghost Ming's eyes gleamed with delight, his laughter booming. When he learned Xiao Yan was the Pill Gathering Champion, he understood certain things.

Long ago, Hun Xu Zi had scoured the land for talented Alchemists—even sought out the previous Pill Gathering Champion, the Pill Venerable—and he knew of this.

But the Pill Venerable refused, so Mu Gu and Han Feng were brought into the Soul Palace—yet both later died.

Now Ghost Ming understood: they died because they lost their value.

Hearing Ghost Ming say "good," the demon hound turned deathly pale, screaming in terror: "Senior Brother! I am the Fourth Elder of the Nine Underworld Ghost Serpent Clan! Even if you're a Half-Saint, my Clan Leader Yao Xiao Tian is a true Dou Sheng!!"

Ghost Ming sneered: "Nine Underworld Ghost Serpent Clan? Such a pitiful race dares to be mentioned alongside the Soul Palace?!"

"Hmph. Vanish."

Ghost Ming's hand shot out, grasping toward everyone, instantly unleashing a Heavenly Rank Dou Technique—the power of this technique far surpassed the Five Wheel Flame Method!

A flash of white light—and the entire world returned to oblivion.

The Nine Underworld Ghost Serpent clan's minds held only one thought: Is Xiao Yan of the Soul Palace?!

Ghost Ming retracted his hand—all the Dou Zun cultivators were obliterated, their Soul Bodies seized in his palm.

The might of a Sage Emperor is terrifyingly so!

And this was merely an early-stage Half-Sage—the weakest kind of Half-Sage! Just one Heavenly Rank Dou Technique wiped out more than a dozen Dou Zun, including one at Nine Star Peak!

This scene terrified Qing Lin, making her body tremble as she hid behind Xiao Yan, gripping his clothes tightly.

Too terrifying!

After finishing, Gui Ming's body slowly vanished, leaving only these words: "Xiao Yan, you are perfect for the Soul Sect!"

"I hope the Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill comes sooner. Hehehe!"

Soon, the entire Little World fell utterly silent. This is why one must never provoke great Factions in Zhong Zhou—no one knows what ancient monsters lurk behind such Factions.

Just like the Burning Flame Valley—Xiao Yan knew the Burning Flame Valley had a Sage Emperor residing there, a true Sage Emperor!

Of course, most Sage Emperors usually close themselves off in cultivation or seek suitable resources, leaving no time for worldly affairs, so few can obtain a Sage Emperor's jade pendant to summon one.

Gui Ming said Xiao Yan was suited to the Soul Sect because Xiao Yan possessed sufficient allure to draw a Sage Emperor into action.

Alchemists are not invincible; their influence requires first that you be known to others.

When the Medic Sovereign was ambushed, he only sent a voice transmission to the Wind Sovereign and Xuan Yi and others—he didn't know other Dou Zun or Sage Emperors.

But the Soul Sect is different! The Soul Sect is a den of wolves—so long as you offer enough profit, you can summon many strong experts! Because the Soul Sect is a place that lures people with profit.

Xiao Yan patted Qing Lin's slightly cold small hand and said softly, "It's over, Qing Lin, don't be afraid. Go see if you can control those three unconscious Snake Race members. They've lost so much SpiritFlesh—their strength should have dropped."

Hearing this, Qing Lin exhaled in relief, looked down at the three Snake Race members who had been blasted back into their true forms and narrowly escaped death, then nodded and flew downward.

If Xiao Yan keeps helping like this, sooner or later Qing Lin will wave her hand and summon an army of Sea Giant Pythons!

Xiao Yan smiled at Cai Lin, whose brow bore a hint of worry, and said, "It's nothing—just helping to refine a Pill. Isn't that exactly how an Alchemist's influence is used?"

Cai Lin was unimpressed with Xiao Yan—this was bargaining with a tiger.

"Let's go see what else the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Ruins can offer us. That Nine-Stage Demon Core alone isn't enough—I've already lost an Eight Grade Peak Pill." Xiao Yan was somewhat annoyed, but he wouldn't truly lose—the Nine-Stage Demon Core was no worse than the Nine Revolution Heaven Changing Pill.

Moreover, Xiao Yan himself was an Alchemist—he made a fortune without any middleman taking a cut. Besides, Xiao Yan knew the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake still had a lingering Soul, though he didn't know what benefits that remnant Soul might bring him.

His Three Faces Asura still needed good things to feed on!

Walking to the pile of Hai Shi below, Xiao Yan and Cai Lin examined it thoroughly—inside the bones were still some un-hatched ancient parasitic eggs, all of which Xiao Yan burned clean.

"Rise!" Xiao Yan's Ancient Phoenix Wings flared violently—with a thunderous BOOM! —Cai Lin reverted to her true form, and together with all of Qing Lin's Snake Slaves, they finally pulled the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's bones up from the ground.

The instant the bones were lifted, the earth churned like the heavens and earth were collapsing—as if an entire Shan Mai had been uprooted, with countless soil cascading down.

With a hum, as the bones were raised, a red light flashed—the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's postmortem SpiritFlesh had indeed coalesced into a natural Blood Pool.

This Blood Pool was not made of Essence Blood—the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's Essence Blood had all been collected in the Magic Core—but the essence condensed from this SpiritFlesh was suitable for Magical Beasts' body tempering, similar to the Tian Feng Blood Pool.

"Indeed, the Soul is inside the bones. Looks like only Qing Lin can act."

Xiao Yan's Soul Force swept over it—he knew the Blood Pool held no Soul; the only place left where a Soul could hide was these white bones.

Qing Lin's Qi San Hua Tong could communicate with the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's lingering Soul—but such ancient relics' lingering Souls are rarely anything good!

With a thunderous BOOM, they hurled the mountain-sized bones aside.

"Young Master Yan, Qing Lin isn't afraid—I can do this." Qing Lin clenched her tiny fist, revealing a resolute gaze. She knew her current strength was insufficient to aid Xiao Yan—she wanted to grow stronger, to help him.

If Xiao Yan needed her to lure out the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul, she was willing to do it.

"Here's the Su Xin Pill—it's only Seven-Grade Mid-Level, but it will stabilize your spirit."

Seeing Xiao Yan and Cai Lin, Qing Lin smiled with relief, then walked to the edge of the bones.

Communicating with the Soul within these bones was like controlling Snake Slaves—it meant Qing Lin had to activate her Qi San Hua Tong to control this Snake Race body that had been dead for countless years!

Back then, the Green-eyed Snake Sage controlled dead Snake Slaves—once controlled by Qi San Hua Tong, even death became a luxury.

Xiao Yan and Cai Lin exchanged glances and both nodded, ready for battle at any moment.

The Su Xin Pill entered her throat—a coolness spread through her body, steadying her spirit. She took a deep breath, then suddenly opened her eyes, and a third Qi San Hua Tong appeared on her forehead.

A green light instantly shone upon the massive bones—WHIRRR! The green light rapidly spread across the entire giant skeleton, and the white Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake bones slowly turned green.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!!! The bones trembled—seen from above, it looked as if the skeleton was reviving.

At this moment, something within the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's bones seemed ready to emerge—a strange Soul Force surged forth.

"It's coming!"

Then Xiao Yan saw a black Sea Giant Python Soul with nine heads burst from the bones, spewing endless black mist!

SSSSS! As a serpent's hiss rang out, the giant Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake suddenly opened its eyes and stared at Qing Lin—Qing Lin's green aura began to dim, and her Qi San Hua Tong slowly turned from green to black.

Backlash!

"These dead things are never anything good!" Seeing this, Xiao Yan wasn't surprised—the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul was clearly trying to seize Qing Lin's Qi San Hua Tong and use it to reincarnate!

"Hmph!" Cai Lin let out a cold snort. If the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake were alive, all of them would be unable to escape—but this was a remnant Soul dead for thousands, even tens of thousands of years; to stir up trouble now was impossible.

A Seven-Colored Giant Python Soul emerged from Cai Lin's body and immediately bit down on the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's Soul Body.

SSSSS! Even after ten thousand years of death, the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake had been a powerful Nine-Rank Magical Beast—it shook violently, breaking free from the Seven-Colored Giant Python, then lunged toward Qing Lin.

"Seeking death! Soul Chain!"

WHIRRR! The Heavenly Realm Soul erupted—Xiao Yan focused his mind, and from beneath his feet, the Abyss's shadow shot out nine thick, pillar-like black Hun Chains.

The nine Hun Chains instantly locked onto the nine heads of the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul Body.

"A mere Soul Body dares to be arrogant!" Xiao Yan's eyes hardened—he activated the Emperor Soul Scripture, pouring terrifying Soul Force into the Three Heads Six Arms Asura Shadow!

The black demonic shadow suddenly opened its eyes—WHIRRRRRR! The Hun Chains erupted with terrifying power, dragging the massive Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul toward the Abyss, aiming to pull it into the depths.

Cai Lin's Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent suppressed it, while Xiao Yan's Asura Soul Severing Art crushed it—two forces jointly suppressed the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul Body.

Slowly, Qing Lin's Qi San Hua Tong gained the upper hand—three of the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul Body's eyes had already turned into Qi San Hua Tong.

SSSSS! BENG! The Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake suddenly let out a deafening roar, unleashing its Soul Force and biting down on one of the Hun Chains—snapping it clean in half.

"Just a Soul Body dead for countless years—it's time for me to reap the harvest!" Xiao Yan formed a hand seal, his eyes sharpening!

At that moment, a golden light shot skyward from Xiao Yan's Abyss shadow—a giant golden hand reached out and seized the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake Soul Body.

SSSSS! The instant the golden hand gripped its body, a powerful suction surged forth—Soul essence surged wildly along the golden hand, being absorbed.

A soft hum sounded, and a hazy golden shadow appeared behind Xiao Yan, that shadow exuding an aura of supreme holiness, as if it were a true deity; at the sight of this shadow, all living beings would kneel before it, even willing to offer their lives.

The Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's Soul Body writhed wildly, trying to break free from the Hun Chain's bindings, for the Golden Light was capable of stealing its Spiritual Soul's origin!

"Hehehe, if you were alive, I'd have no way against you—but as long as you're a Soul Body, you fall under my Hun Palace's jurisdiction!" Xiao Yan formed another hand seal, and the Shadow Shen Yuan extended another massive hand, pressing down firmly on the Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake's Soul Body.

Beast Souls are inherently weak, let alone one dead for countless years—even if it had once been a Nine-Headed Heavenly Snake, it was no match for a Heavenly Rank Advanced Grade Soul Technique.

Large masses of Spiritual Soul origin were continuously absorbed by the golden shadow; as more and more Spiritual Soul origin was drawn in, the golden shadow slowly solidified.

(End of Chapter)