Chapter 651

Xiao Yan telling Xiao Yixian that his success rate for refining a regular Nine Grade Profound Pill was only thirty to forty percent was far too modest—his actual success rate was at least seventy percent, even higher!

A continuous stream of Nine Profound Golden Thunder energy began to be refined, and this scene persisted for nearly a month; after a month passed, all scattered Nine Profound Golden Thunder had been fully refined!

By now, Xiao Yan had spent about one and a half months refining from start to finish; when all Nine Profound Golden Thunder had been refined and merged into the Bodhi Ancient Tree, Xiao Yan, whose eyes had been tightly closed, slowly opened them, gazed at the Bodhi Ancient Tree radiating brilliant golden light, and smiled.

He succeeded! He failed not once!

Success wasn't just in pill refining—he had created an alchemy technique of his own! This alchemy technique was immensely powerful!

Then, Xiao Yan looked at the Nine Profound Golden Thunder Origin nearby and said: "You still have a chance to regret—should the pill fusion fail, I cannot guarantee what will happen to you."

"Even if the fusion succeeds, I cannot guarantee what form you will take, or whether you will become a 'living being' like the Dan Tower's Ancestor."

Xiao Yan was now only one step away—the final pill fusion. At this point, it could already be said the Nine Grade Profound Pill was complete; Xiao Yan was now a Nine Grade Profound Pill Alchemist.

Even if the Nine Profound Golden Thunder Origin rejected Xiao Yan, he could still proceed with the fusion—only then would the result be an ordinary Thunder Tribulation Pill.

The Alchemist who originally created the Dan Tower Ancestor sacrificed himself, throwing his body into the Alchemy Furnace to complete his evolution.

With a hiss, the Nine Profound Golden Thunder merely glanced at Xiao Yan, then without hesitation transformed into a golden lightning bolt and shot into the Bodhi Ancient Tree.

After watching for so long, even if the Nine Profound Golden Thunder had no spirit, it still possessed wisdom—it wasn't foolish; could it not see this was a peerless opportunity?!

"Good!" Xiao Yan revealed a confident smile, then changed his hand seals—the Dual Clan Mark erupted, Xiao Yan's Cultivation Realm instantly surged to Late Six Star Dou Sheng, and his Soul Force shot up to the Emperor Grade!

Terrifying Soul Power and Dou Qi surged like a storm, even pushing back the surrounding Black Demon Thunder; the Void Thunder Pool churned once more.

"Hundred Worlds Pill Fusion Method—Fuse the Pill!"

Xiao Yan roared, the Burning Scripture spinning wildly; the Emperor Grade Burning Scripture generated Dou Qi that flooded into Xiao Yan's Bodhi Heart. The Refining Heaven Ancient Formation rotated, its speed faster than ever before, wild energy ravaging Space, powerful Space Turbulence tearing through everything.

Thump-thump-thump—the sound of heartbeats echoed.

At this moment, the Nine Profound Golden Thunder Origin was inside the main trunk of the Bodhi Ancient Tree, just as Xiao Yan had once experienced Hundred Lifetimes Reincarnation.

Although Xiao Yan could not, like the Bodhi Ancient Tree, allow others to enter Hundred Lifetimes Reincarnation, he had drawn inspiration from it, integrating it into his alchemy technique as the final step of pill fusion!

Hum! Golden leaves on the Bodhi Ancient Tree began to fall, leaves returning to roots—Hundred Worlds Pill Fusion!

Boom-boom-boom!! The Refining Heaven Ancient Formation spun wildly, terrifying demonic flames like an ocean drowning everything within the formation; the Bodhi Ancient Tree emitted terrifying energy fluctuations.

Boom! A beam of golden light shot skyward, piercing straight into Space.

"What's happening?!!"

"It's coming from the Void Thunder Pool!"

"Could it be Master Xiao Yan? He's been inside the Void Thunder Pool for nearly three months already!"

At this moment, countless eyes on Dragon Island turned toward the Void Thunder Pool—this astonishing pillar of light naturally drew attention from the island.

Zi Yan, standing elegantly in royal robes, stepped out from the palace; seeing the sky-piercing light, she sniffed, blinked her eyes, then thought: "This is a pill—and it's probably a Nine Grade Profound Pill!"

The pill fusion lasted seven full days before the golden light slowly faded.

Finally, Xiao Yan disbanded the Refining Heaven Ancient Formation and reclaimed all demonic flames. When the demonic flames receded, golden light filled the air—the Bodhi Ancient Tree was gone, the Nine Profound Golden Thunder was gone; in the center where the Bodhi Ancient Tree had stood, a pill the size of a fist, radiant as pure gold, floated quietly, golden thunder constantly seeping from its surface, emitting a rumbling sound.

Seeing the pill appear, even Xiao Yan now revealed an excited expression.

Nine Grade Profound Pill, Thunder Tribulation Pill—finally successfully refined!

Xiao Yan waved his hand; the Thunder Tribulation Pill obediently flew to his front. He examined it carefully, then nodded—the Nine Profound Golden Thunder was still asleep, not yet awakened.

With a flick of his hand, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire enveloped the Thunder Tribulation Pill, which Xiao Yan then stored within his body, nurturing it with the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire.

The Dan Tower Ancestor? From now on, this pill is the Ancestor! But not called the Dan Tower Ancestor—it's the Yan Alliance Ancestor!

"Six Star Dou Sheng," Xiao Yan sensed it—he had unintentionally absorbed some Nine Profound Golden Thunder energy through Mao Wu while refining the Nine Profound Golden Thunder, and without realizing it, he had shattered his barrier and entered the Early Six Star Dou Sheng realm.

"I've refined a Nine Grade Profound Pill—participating in the Pill Gathering, winning the Champion should be no problem." Xiao Yan wore a smug smile; this time, the Pill Champion was his for sure.

After refining this Thunder Tribulation Pill, Xiao Yan found himself looking forward to the Pill Gathering even more.

If the Dan Tower's Pill Gathering selects the most talented young Alchemists, then the Pill Champion represents the greatest Alchemist of this era on the Dou Qi Continent.

Xiao Yan's desire for the Dou Emperor title wasn't great, but he was very eager for the title of Pill Emperor—after all, his first exposure to alchemy was Yao Chen's path.

Since age four, when he unlocked his storage ring, Xiao Yan had begun studying the medicinal materials and notes left by Yao Chen.

If he could win the Pill Champion, Hun Tian Di would honor his promise and mobilize the entire Soul Sovereign's strength to help Xiao Yan break through to the Emperor Grade Soul Force; with Emperor Grade Soul Power, his strength would rise another level.

So for Xiao Yan, rather than wandering in search of dangerous Secret Realms, it was safer and more convenient to focus on refining his alchemy and trading resources with the Soul Sovereign.

Now that he had reached his current realm, Xiao Yan was beginning to understand Hun Tian Di's mindset.

Because Xiao Yan himself now felt the world's bottleneck—he felt he could no longer improve. Once, he thought the Dou Qi Continent was vast, boundless, impossible to traverse in a lifetime.

But now, Xiao Yan could cross the entire Dou Qi Continent in less than half a day.

The ways left for him to increase his strength were now few and far between.

If even Xiao Yan felt this way, how much more so Hun Tian Di, who had reached the limit of cultivation? His obsession with becoming an Emperor was perfectly natural.

Because it was the only thing he could still do—the only goal left.

"I've been away long enough—it's time to return to Dragon Island."

Xiao Yan's mind stirred; his Ancient Phoenix Wings unfurled, then flapped once—he shot forward like a meteor, swift as lightning, racing toward the edge of nothingness.

When Xiao Yan returned to Dragon Island, he was startled and bewildered—the massive island, now as vast as a continent, had been utterly transformed. Towering peaks rose like ten thousand pillars, wreathed in mist; occasionally, enormous Ancient Dragons flew past, their deep Dragon Roars echoing endlessly across the island.

The current Dragon Island was formed by the union of the Four Great Dragon Islands; not only was its area immense, but the number of clan members gathered here was the highest in thousands of years—previously, clan members had been scattered across the four islands, rarely all appearing in one place.

Although the North Dragon Island tragedy had greatly weakened the Ancient Dragon Clan's strength, it was still many times stronger than the original East Dragon Island.

"No wonder the Ancient Dragon Clan—even now, no longer at its peak—remains formidable. It seems the saying that during its golden age, the Ancient Dragon Clan could rival the Gu Clan and Soul Sovereign is no exaggeration." Xiao Yan nodded in admiration. Among the Four Great Dragon Islands, there had always been many strong warriors; though they had suffered losses in the great upheaval, when he had seen Zi Yan wield the Dragon Sword, some elders from the Three Great Dragon Islands had chosen to submit to her and left the three islands.

These wise warriors had luckily escaped disaster; now that the Four Great Dragon Islands were unified, these warriors had all pledged allegiance to Zi Yan, making their ranks formidable.

Merely with this force, the Ancient Dragon Clan's reputation as the top beast clan on the continent would still remain unchallenged.

The Ancient Dragon Clan retaining such strength filled Xiao Yan with great joy; given his relationship with Zi Yan, the Yan Alliance's bond with the Ancient Dragon Clan was now extremely solid.

Add to that his own Six Star Dou Sheng status—no longer could the Dan Tower Ancestor match him; the Yan Alliance was unquestionably the strongest Faction on the continent!

Above Dragon Island, defenses were far stricter than before; squads of Dragon Wing Guards with dragon wings flapping patrolled in cross formations. Xiao Yan, hovering in the sky, marveling at the island's transformation, was detected by them; instantly, a dozen figures rushed toward him—but when they recognized his identity, their wariness melted into reverence. They bowed respectfully from afar, then dispersed.

This scene made Xiao Yan smile; he moved his body, darting into Dragon Island, flickering a few times until he appeared in a quiet courtyard.

"Xiao Yan."

The sudden appearance of the figure startled Cai Lin and Zi Yan in the courtyard, but they quickly recovered, their voices tinged with slight delight.

Besides discussing arrangements for certain Secret Realms in Shou Yu with Zi Yan, Cai Lin also worried about this fellow, Xiao Yan.

Zi Yan now stood in her grown form, purple hair flowing, slender and graceful, clad in the Dragon Phoenix Imperial Robe, radiating regal authority. Cai Lin, too, was a sovereign of her realm; together, the two empresses presented a sight beyond description.

Each possessed her own beauty.

"In less than two months, Dragon Island has changed so dramatically—you truly have some ability, Dragon Emperor," Xiao Yan said, smiling at Zi Yan.

"Pfft, you vanished again for nearly three months—if you hadn't returned, we'd have sent people to the Void Thunder Pool to find you," Zi Yan pouted; before Xiao Yan, she showed not a trace of the Dragon Emperor's dignity—her tone was identical to when she was a little girl.

"Your strength has improved again?" Cai Lin, perceptive as ever, sensed something different about Xiao Yan the moment she saw him, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Just entered Sixth-Star Sage Emperor," Xiao Yan smiled, brushing off his advancement as trivial—what truly delighted him was his ability to refine the Nine Grade Profound Pill.

Seeing Xiao Yan nod in confirmation, Cai Lin and Zi Yan could only exchange bitter smiles. In less than three months, Xiao Yan had broken through to Sixth-Star Sage Emperor—as if shattering barriers were child's play. Such speed was truly terrifying.

Aware of their thoughts, Xiao Yan merely grinned smugly. Since acquiring Xuan Huang Flame, his Qi Circulation had indeed been favorable.

"Now that the Ancient Dragon Clan has stabilized, and I've broken through, I think it's time we return to the Yan Alliance," Xiao Yan said, turning his gaze to Zi Yan.

"Going back already?" At this, Zi Yan furrowed her brow, then her expression darkened with reluctance.

Seeing Zi Yan's expression, Cai Lin's eyes flickered with something unusual. "I'll wait outside. You two talk."

With those words, Cai Lin cast one long look at Xiao Yan, then flew beyond Dragon Island to give them space.

Xiao Yan looked at Zi Yan's gloomy face and said, "The Dou Qi Continent is now rife with hidden currents. The Ancient Dragon Clan has just achieved unification—this is precisely the time to rest and recover. You must remain on Ancient Dragon Island to preside over affairs."

"The Ancient Dragon Clan has always repaid kindness. You saved our clan twice in moments of peril—every clan member will remember this debt. No matter what trouble you face, the Ancient Dragon Clan will aid you without hesitation. And you are also the Dragon Emperor of the Ancient Dragon Clan," Zi Yan said, her beautiful eyes fixed on Xiao Yan—words that left him utterly stunned.

Hearing Zi Yan's words, Xiao Yan's thick skin flushed red—he recalled how, long ago, Zi Yan had refused to become Dragon Emperor and proposed marrying him, intending to hand the Ancient Dragon Clan over to him.

"Cough, cough—the Dragon Emperor must be you. I'm just a human," Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, smiling wryly.

Zi Yan looked earnestly into Xiao Yan's eyes, then couldn't help but blush slightly. "Actually... all the Elders in the clan agree."

Xiao Yan instantly drew a sharp breath. "I think... this isn't something we should be considering right now. The Ancient Dragon Clan isn't fully stable yet, and the Dou Qi Continent is still turbulent. This isn't urgent—we can think about it later, once peace returns to the Dou Qi Continent."

Xiao Yan immediately unfurled the Ancient Phoenix Wings and fled from Ancient Dragon Island as if escaping.

It's become something else!

(End of Chapter)