Chapter 748: Dan God Clan and Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland (4000 Characters)

"It seems that being a scammer is a guaranteed hot job no matter which continent you're on." Xiao Yan was speechless—these scammers preyed on those hoping for a lucky find.

Only someone chasing a lucky find would fall for this; a moment's thought would reveal that if a divine beast's bone with divine beast blood truly appeared on Ning Tian Continent, it would be a monumental event.

"What if you actually did get lucky?" Xiao Yixian covered her mouth and chuckled softly—she knew well that Xiao Yan had once found something precious with her in a small cave: the most valuable residual map of the demonic flame.

"Probably unlikely." Xiao Yan shrugged. With his Emperor-grade Soul Force, even if he couldn't fully unleash it in the Great Thousand World, dealing with these petty merchants was still easy.

He did want to find a lucky find, but along the way, his Soul Force had scanned every item—there were plenty of scammers, but not a single real leak.

Yet Xiao Yan wasn't empty-handed—he had acquired a large number of Spiritual Artifacts, ranging from Inferior Spiritual Artifacts to Ultimate Spiritual Artifacts, plus six Inferior Divine Weapons, belonging to the six Supreme beings.

Xiao Yan exchanged all these Spiritual Artifacts for Medicinal Materials, Elixirs, and four low-grade Pill Formulas. To avoid detection as stolen goods, he deliberately wandered every alley and street of Western Region City, trading with lone Cultivators who were small vendors.

"I didn't expect Pill Formulas in the Great Thousand World to be this precious." Xiao Yan frowned at the formulas in his hand—four in total: two were Common Four-Grade, one Common Five-Grade, one Common Eight-Grade, and all without exception were Ancient Pill Formulas, excavated from Ruins.

In the Dou Qi Continent, although Alchemists were rare and hard to become, Pill Formulas could still be found; especially low-grade ones, you could simply trade for them at the Alchemist Guild.

But when Xiao Yan asked, he learned that the Great Thousand World had no such thing as an Alchemist Guild!

In the Great Thousand World, there were two colossal Alchemist factions: the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland and the Dan God Clan.

These two factions monopolized all Elixirs in the Great Thousand World because they controlled the Pill Formulas—obtaining a Formula meant either approaching one of these two factions, creating your own, or excavating fragments of ancient ones.

The vast majority of Alchemists in the Great Thousand World belonged to one of these two factions. The Dan God Clan, like the Yao Clan, restricted all Pill Refining Inheritance to clan members alone, building a vast Alchemist family bound by lineage and bloodline.

The Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland differed from the Dan God Clan—it was a faction alliance, not a single clan or sect. "Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland" was not the name of a faction or a family—it was a continent. Though small in area, it was rich in Medicinal Materials; every family and faction within it was an Alchemist faction.

All these Alchemist families and factions united together formed the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland.

The Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland appeared similar to the Dan Tower, but in truth was entirely different. Like the Dan God Clan, its Pill Refining Inheritance, Pill Formulas, and Methods were all top secrets—Scattered Alchemists in the Great Thousand World could not obtain them, except that their bond was not bloodline but the continent itself.

Alchemists in the Great Thousand World had only two choices to obtain good Pill Formulas and Inheritance: either marry into the Dan God Clan and become a vassal family, or enter the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland, join its alliance, and establish a faction within it.

This explained why the Pill Formulas Xiao Yan obtained were so bizarre—ratios wildly unbalanced, Pill Refining Methods strange. At first, Xiao Yan thought the Alchemists who made them had poor talent; now he saw it was because they lacked proper Inheritance, piecing together scattered fragments of ancient Alchemist teachings.

Xiao Yan himself was an Alchemist—he knew better than anyone how vital a good teacher was. Solid foundations led to greater achievements; otherwise, it was a castle in the air, growing more wrong with every step.

The reason for this state in the Great Thousand World was simple: there was no Soul Sovereign.

The Dan Tower was founded to oppose the Soul Sovereign, to protect themselves—so they united all Alchemists across the continent, forming the Alchemist Guild to strengthen Alchemists, expand the Dan Tower, and fight their common enemy.

Because of this shared enemy, the Dan Tower had selflessly donated, funded nations beyond Zhong Zhou, hosted Alchemist Conventions, and organized Pill Gatherings to distribute resources.

Even Xiao Yan had benefited from the Dan Tower's policies, receiving much aid—so before leaving, he left behind many Alchemist artifacts and founded the Master Association, giving talented Alchemists access to good mentors.

Only through this continuous virtuous cycle could Alchemy on the Dou Qi Continent grow ever stronger.

But the Great Thousand World was different—it had no Soul Sovereign!

The Domain Beyond Cultures killed indiscriminately—not just Alchemists—and never deliberately captured Alchemists' Spiritual Souls. Thus, the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland united not to defend against enemies, but to counter the Dan God Clan.

The Dan God Clan felt the same—they weren't among the Five Spirit Stone Clans and lacked Original Physical Forms, yet their status was no lower than the Five Spirit Stone Clans; they had no need to fear the Domain Beyond Cultures, only to solidify their position as the #1 in Alchemy.

The Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland, however, wanted to be the top dog, believing the Dan God Clan was stagnant and unworthy of leadership, uniting all Alchemists dissatisfied with the Dan God Clan to challenge divine authority.

The clash between these two Pill factions naturally affected all Alchemy in the Great Thousand World—without joining one of these two, there was no future, and they had zero reason to train Scattered Alchemists.

Both Alchemist factions silently monopolized Pill Refining Inheritance and Pill Formulas, forcing talented Alchemists to join them.

"Any top faction tightly guards its unique strengths," Xun Er's Gu Clan had been the same—their Sky Piercing Boat technique was a top secret; the Soul Sovereign's Soul Dou Techniques and Cultivation Methods were too.

"Xiao Yan, do you want to join one of these factions to learn Alchemy?" Xiao Yixian looked at Xiao Yan with curious eyes—his talent, even in the Great Thousand World, would be top-tier; joining either faction would be easy.

But to join the Dan God Clan required becoming a son-in-law, so Xiao Yan could only join the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland.

Xiao Yan rubbed his chin, fell silent for a moment, then shook his head, rejecting Xiao Yixian's suggestion. Suddenly, a glint flashed in his eyes, and a smile curled on his lips.

Seeing Xiao Yan shake his head, Cai Lin asked: "Do you want to create a new faction to challenge these two?"

They had no doubt about Xiao Yan's Alchemy talent—if he truly wished it, once he reached Grandmaster Alchemist, these two factions would be nothing. A Supreme could transcend all rules.

Yet everyone was stunned when Xiao Yan shook his head again!

Neither joining the two factions nor creating a third? Could there be a third path?!

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a cunning smile that would chill even the Soul Sovereign.

"Qiao Shihong, where in Western Region City can I buy Elixirs from the Dan God Clan and the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland?" Xiao Yan didn't immediately answer their questions, but asked.

"To buy Elixirs from the Dan God Clan and Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland, you can go to the Western Alliance. But their Elixirs cost two to three times more than those made by other Alchemists." Qiao Shihong finished, then instinctively shrank his head. In the Great Thousand World, Elixirs were only for the wealthy and powerful—especially those from the Dan God Clan and Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland, they were absurdly expensive.

Normally, a top-tier Ultimate Spiritual Artifact usable in a Soul Spirit Trial could exchange for one Common Nine-Grade Elixir—but Elixirs from the Dan God Clan and Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland required two or even three Ultimate Spiritual Artifacts.

Yet the effects of Elixirs from the Dan God Clan and Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland were indeed far superior to those made by ordinary Alchemists, so many still chose them.

After all, Elixirs were for saving lives—even a slight drop in effect could kill, especially for Elixirs used to break through one's Cultivation Realm; if the effect was weak and the breakthrough failed, you'd truly cry yourself unconscious in the toilet.

Eventually, the group reached a main avenue. After walking for an unknown time, Xiao Yan's gaze fixed on a massive shop—though called a shop, its building was large enough to be called a Shang Cheng.

The three large characters "Western Alliance" were etched in iron and silver, glowing faintly golden under the sunlight, dazzlingly bright.

"Let's go in," Xiao Yan smiled, nodded, and stepped into the largest trading house in Western Region City.

The shop named "Western Alliance" was enormous. Upon entering, it felt like a classical courtyard steeped in mountain-and-water qi—a fragrant aroma filled the air, instantly invigorating the senses. Inside, there were wall shelves, crystal windows, jade cabinets—all filled with all kinds of Treasures: precious Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Ultimate Spiritual Artifacts, rare ores, even Alchemy Furnaces could be seen.

In short, everything was here. Especially the several Treasures hanging overhead, emitting streams of light and radiating awe-inspiring divine power that made even the breath catch.

Even Divine Weapons used by Supreme beings were for sale.

Clearly, the Western Alliance dared display these Treasures so brazenly without fear of theft—its back must be supported by another powerful faction.

But for Xiao Yan and his group, these Inferior Divine Weapons held no interest. Sniffing the air, Xiao Yan caught a faint Pill Fragrance. Following the scent, he saw two exquisite stalls at the very back of the Western Alliance.

These two stalls resembled two shops, directly facing each other.

"Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland and Dan God Clan—how interesting. Like KFC and McDonald's." Xiao Yan thought of similar rivalries from his past life.

Of course, no one else understood what Xiao Yan meant by KFC and McDonald's.

Seeing Xiao Yan and his group, dressed in black robes, heading to buy Elixirs, many cast curious glances—those who could afford Elixirs were rare, and those who could afford Elixirs from the Ancient Ten Thousand Grassland and Dan God Clan were unquestionably rich or noble.

"Who are those black-robed figures?"

"Unknown. All six Supreme beings of the Western Realm have perished in that extraterrestrial deadly zone, drawing forces from the East, South, and North to fight over territory. Probably strong disciples from other realms."

"With the power of the dominant factions from the other three realms, they could have swallowed the Western Realm long ago. The six Supreme beings were only low-tier, Two-Rank or One-Rank Supremes—other realms even have High Supremes. Why wait until now?"

"You don't know—the Western Realm has always been guarded by a powerful Spirit Array Master, which is why other realms haven't conquered it yet."

"Spirit Array Master? The one who fought that fierce land powerhouse?"

"That's him. No one knows why he stayed in the Western Realm. Now he's been defeated by a mysterious creature from the fierce land, alive or dead unknown—so other factions dare to meddle in the Western Realm."

Xiao Yan naturally heard these whispers; he had already learned all this from Qiao Shihong. With that Zhu Ye's Spirit Array force, even ordinary Seven-Grade or Eight-Star Sovereigns dared not act lightly.

Although the Six Sovereigns were only One-Star Sovereigns, Zhu Ye, this Spirit Array Master, was extremely powerful.

Xiao Yan couldn't help muttering to himself: "That Zhu Ye doesn't seem to want to dominate the entire Western Realm—could he have some other purpose here?"

Although Zhu Ye wasn't killed by Xiao Yan, all his treasures were taken by him; among these treasures, besides some Array Diagrams and Sovereign Spirit Liquid, there was also a wooden Celestial Cube, fist-sized, like a Rubik's cube.

That mysterious Celestial Cube could not be penetrated by Xiao Yan's Soul Force; its secrets could not be unraveled.

"Tsk, I should've used Mao Wu to burn his body and seal his spiritual core back then. Too cautious—I missed the chance to capture him alive." Xiao Yan now couldn't help regretting it; if he hadn't been so cautious, fearing an ambush, and had unleashed his full power immediately, he might have seized Zhu Ye outright and forced him to reveal more information.

Xiao Yan had a premonition: that mysterious Celestial Cube must conceal something—something so valuable it made an Eight-Star Spirit Array Grandmaster covet it, surely no ordinary thing.

"Forget it. That guy will eventually come to reclaim the Celestial Cube—then I'll seize the chance to capture him." Xiao Yan wasn't worried at all; he believed the opponent wouldn't swallow this humiliation silently, and he'd still have his opportunity.

Xiao Yan first entered the Dan Shen Clan's shop; inside, apart from Elixirs, there was nothing else, and every single Pill bore a Lotus Spiritual Pattern—the shop's sign itself was a Lotus, unmistakably the clan's emblem, their 'trademark'.

"These are indeed excellent Elixirs." Xiao Yan needed only one glance at their hue, luster, and roundness to know they were far superior to the Elixirs he had acquired.

"Boss, give me one of each Elixir here."

!!!!!!!!?

Nine thousand characters today—woke up late, fell short by a thousand, will make it up tomorrow. Back to ten thousand daily, begging for monthly votes!

(End of chapter)