Chapter 751

Seeing the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses temporarily close its shop, the elder of the Dan Shen Clan was not at all surprised. Although the Dan Shen Clan also arranged marriages with sons-in-law and paired clan youths with female Alchemists, the Dan Shen Clan was ultimately a bloodline great clan, rarely accepting outsiders unless they were truly exceptional—primarily cultivating their own disciples.

But the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses fundamentally differed from the Dan Shen Clan; it was originally an alliance formed by Alchemists who could not join the Dan Shen Clan, and they had long sought to recruit wandering Alchemists who had inherited ancient Alchemy lineages.

Through this alliance method, they expanded wildly, and now they were no weaker than the Dan Shen Clan, even capable of directly confronting them.

Only

At this moment, inside the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses' Alchemy Shop, Xiao Yan and the others heard the shopkeeper's invitation but felt no great surprise or delight—Xiao Yan's identity was already obvious; any normal person would never buy such a vast variety of Elixirs—the only possibility was an Alchemist seeking to study other Alchemists' Elixirs.

Studying Elixirs was a common practice among Alchemists.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of joining any Faction right now," Xiao Yan said in a very calm tone, feeling no particular pride at being invited by the top Alchemy Faction in the Great Thousand World.

"Sir, you don't need to refuse me so hastily. You've only recently received the ancient Alchemy lineage, I assure you, joining our Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses is undoubtedly the right choice," Zhao Feng smiled warmly and continued patiently: "By joining us, you gain access to our Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses' Alchemy lineage, learn the most advanced Alchemy techniques, and if you contribute sufficiently, you may possess Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and rare Medicinal Materials from our ranks."

Zhao Feng's lips curled with a confident smile—he was certain, for now, the only place suitable for wandering Alchemists to join was the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses; the Dan Shen Clan remained a family-based organization, and he believed no Alchemist would refuse him.

But today, he met the man who refused him!

"It does sound tempting. The Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses, which can rival the Dan Shen Clan, controls the Ten Thousand Grass Continent, where Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures abound, making it the ultimate holy land for Alchemists, with countless like-minded Alchemists discussing the Way of Alchemy and exchanging techniques—just imagining it excites countless Alchemists," Xiao Yan then turned his gaze to Zhao Feng, smiled, and gently shook his head: "But I refuse."

!!?

"You—you refuse?!" At these words, even Zhao Feng, who had seen great scenes, stammered, nearly choking on his own saliva.

An Alchemist had refused their Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses!!!

The Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses was not open to just anyone; currently, they operated under a "member recommendation system"—to join, one must be invited by an internal member; without a recommendation, entry was impossible. Even with a recommendation, one must pass a series of trials.

Unless recommended by someone of extraordinary status, all applicants were tested; Zhao Feng, merely a Supreme, barely qualified for recommendation rights. In the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses, Supremes were not considered strong—they were merely qualified, ordinary members.

Yet even this ordinary recommendation slot was coveted by countless Alchemists who longed to join the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses.

Now, he had offered the slot himself—and been refused!!

He didn't understand!

Xiao Yan showed sincerity, slowly lowering his Hood, revealing a pale, slightly androgynous face—naturally, the appearance created by the Soul Token's disguise as the Flame Sovereign.

"Though you speak well, joining any Faction requires giving up something first. If I'm not mistaken, the first step to joining the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses is to share your inherited Alchemy lineage, exchanging it for corresponding Alchemy techniques and guidance based on its rank—isn't that right?"

"And once you join the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses, you cannot leave—all your Alchemy achievements must be surrendered to the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses."

As soon as Xiao Yan spoke, Zhao Feng's expression turned unnatural; from his face, Xiao Yan and the others knew the answer.

As Xiao Yan had initially suspected, the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses was not the Dan Tower of the Dou Qi Continent, nor was it Jia Nan Academy—it was not a place for learning. All your Alchemy achievements belonged to the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses—or rather, to its high-ranking members—not to you anymore.

The Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses was originally founded to resist the Dan Shen Clan, uniting oppressed Alchemists—but now, having defeated the dragon, it had become the dragon itself.

The first condition to join the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses was possessing an ancient Alchemy lineage and sharing its techniques with them.

Perhaps in ancient times, the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses truly held pure hearts, with several top Alchemists jointly sharing and refining their Alchemy techniques. But now, the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses, like the Dan Shen Clan, had jointly sealed off Alchemy techniques across the Great Thousand World.

Xiao Yan had been in the Great Thousand World for some time and understood its Alchemy situation well—he quickly noticed a problem: Alchemists in the Great Thousand World had no masters!

On the Dou Qi Continent, the most crucial thing for an Alchemist was a master; without a master to guide you, entry was impossible—even Xiao Yan needed Yao Lao's lineage and three months of Hundred Lifetimes Reincarnation to truly master Alchemy.

But in the Great Thousand World, there were none! All high-level Alchemists resided within the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses and the Dan Shen Clan—meaning there was no master to guide newcomers; to enter, you must join one of these two Factions and become their person.

Xiao Yan was no longer the naive youth he once was; he had founded the Yan Alliance, his wife was a king, a noble clan heiress, a Sect Master, and a Trade Guild leader—he knew well that a Faction existed to profit efficiently, exploiting its people to extract greater benefits.

Factions always operated on interest—that was their nature, their fundamental purpose.

Even Jia Nan Academy had the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta; entering it required students to pay Fire Energy, which most obtained by completing academy-assigned tasks. Of course, Jia Nan Academy remained a true academy, so the Fire Energy ratio was high, allowing many students to improve without severe exploitation.

The Dan Tower was even more selfless; the Dou Qi Continent's Alchemy culture owed much to the Dan Tower, for it genuinely elevated the entire continent's Alchemists—every competition was free to enter, and the Pill Gathering, from gathering Medicinal Materials in the Dan Realm to the final Champion prize—the Three Thousand Yan Flame—was all extraordinarily valuable.

The Pill Gathering was entirely free, and the Champion was not required to do anything!

The Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses was not the Dan Tower; it had its own goal: to gather ancient Alchemy lineages across the Great Thousand World to surpass the Dan Shen Clan and become the number one Alchemy Faction. Once you joined, you could not easily leave.

"Sometimes silence is the answer," Xiao Yan shook his head, slowly rising to his feet, with no intention to continue speaking.

Nor would he utter any mocking words—after all, the man had offered him many benefits; how the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses operated was none of his concern—he had his own plans.

Seeing Xiao Yan and the others prepare to leave, Zhao Feng frowned tightly, gritted his teeth, and hurried forward to hand over a Soul Token engraved with a "Zhao" character.

"Sir, this is the Zhao Family's Soul Token—if you ever change your mind, bring this token to the Zhao Family within the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses," Zhao Feng hurriedly added: "Don't refuse so quickly—this token requires no return or promise. Moreover, the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses is the Great Thousand World's most vital continent, rich in rare Medicinal Materials; as an Alchemist, you may need to seek special herbs—having another path is never a bad thing."

Xiao Yan glanced at Zhao Feng, fell silent for a moment, then nodded, accepting the Zhao Family's Soul Token without refusal. Xiao Yan indeed needed a Heavenly Material right now—the Cycle Six Leaf Grass.

But Xiao Yan did not wish anyone to know he was seeking the Cycle Six Leaf Grass to cultivate the Supreme Body, for the Dou Po Cang Qiong Body was one of the five lost Original Bodies—meaning the Great Thousand World's top Factions did not "particularly like" this Body.

Only out of desperation would Xiao Yan seek the Cycle Six Leaf Grass in the Ancient Ten Thousand Grasses.

Xiao Yan pulled his Hood back over his head and led everyone out of the West Merchant Association. Watching Xiao Yan's retreating figure, Zhao Feng had a strong premonition: that pale-faced youth was no ordinary Alchemy Master—his aura and confidence convinced him to forge a Good Fortune.

After leaving the West Merchant Association, Xiao Yan and the others did not immediately return to the Heavenly Tomb; they had come to Western Region City not only to buy Elixirs for research but also to accomplish something far more important.

"The Four Domains of the Western Realm have likely all been swallowed by other Domains' Sects," Gu Yuan whispered as soon as they stepped out of the West Merchant Association.

"There are eighteen Supremes in Western Region City altogether—ten of them are paired in twos, each pair consisting of an elder and a youth, just like You Hao of the Tian Huang Sect—they are likely Sect elites bringing Core Disciples to gather intelligence," Zhu Kun added upon hearing Gu Yuan.

Without using their trump cards, Xiao Yan might not yet be stronger than Gu Yuan and Zhu Kun, who had not fully converted their Spiritual Energy. Xiao Yan had no Spiritual Power, so his Soul Force was severely suppressed—on the Dou Qi Continent, Soul Power was tied to Spiritual Energy; without a body or Spiritual Energy, Soul Power could not fully manifest.

Hearing Zhu Kun and Gu Yuan's words, Xiao Yan's lips curled into a smile: "Pressure breeds resistance. Since the actors are all in place, the grand performance is about to begin."

"Hahaha, Little Yanzi, rest easy—though I was sealed by that bastard Tuoshe Ancient Emperor for thousands of years, dealing with these kids is still child's play," Zhu Kun slapped Xiao Yan's back hard, clearly approving of this son-in-law.

Zhu Kun and Gu Yuan exchanged glances and vanished into the crowd. Xiao Yan and the others had bought many items, so they naturally returned to the Heavenly Tomb to await Zhu Kun and Gu Yuan's good news.

Back in the third layer of the Heavenly Tomb.

"Everything go smoothly?" Xiao Xuan emerged from his Tomb Mansion upon sensing Xiao Yan's return.

"It went reasonably well—we still need to investigate further the overall strength of the Eastern, Southern, and Northern Realms. If the Sect Masters of other Sects are comparable to that Spirit Array Master, secretly controlling the entire Ning Tian Continent will become much easier," Xiao Yan replied.

Xiao Yan and the others planned to make Ning Tian Continent the base for both the Dou Qi Continent and the Great Thousand World; once everything stabilized and Xiao Yan reached Earth Supreme, he would connect Ning Tian Continent with the Dou Qi Continent, constructing a Void Passage.

Then, with Spiritual Energy available, the peak Dou Sages of the Dou Qi Continent would have a chance to break through to Earth Supreme.

Now they understood: to break through to Dou Emperor required Source Qi, but to reach Earth Supreme did not require Source Qi—meaning they no longer needed to collect vast quantities of Source Qi from the cosmos.

After all, Zi Yan, the "Number One on the Heavenly List," had not yet awakened; when she did, she would be a tremendous asset!

"Ancestor Xiao Xuan, once we seize Ning Tian Continent, we will find a way to resurrect you," Xiao Yan said solemnly to Xiao Xuan.

Since arriving in the Great Thousand World, Xiao Xuan had converted some Spiritual Energy; his Spiritual Soul had gained vitality, and his memories had recovered considerably—he was improving steadily.

"Hehe, this matter of mine is trivial; now that the Xiao Clan is stable, I myself have little concern." Xiao Xuan merely waved his hand lightly—he cared little for his own resurrection, for he was a man from a thousand years ago, his clan nearly extinct, leaving only one cousin, Xiao Chen, still alive.

His parents and beloved had also perished long ago, a thousand years past.

Not long after, Xiao Yan entered his respective cultivation chamber to begin training; Cai Lin, for instance, purchased several Snake Race blood essences from the Earth List in Western Region City for her cultivation, while Xiao Yan primarily focused on Alchemy.

Inside the cultivation chamber, Xiao Yan took out several Pill Bottles from his space ring—each contained a One Grade Pill, the lowest grade of Elixir in the Great Thousand World.

"The techniques and Pill Formulas for these Elixirs are far more reasonable; though not highly sophisticated, they are vastly superior to those crafted by wandering Alchemists." After scraping off powder and analyzing it for a while, Xiao Yan directly swallowed one of the Pills.

With his Soul Force scanning, he memorized the medicinal properties and flavors within the Elixir, then pulled out a large pile of Medicinal Materials he had purchased from street vendors.

The Great Thousand World had no Pill Formulas at all, nor even a Medicinal Material compendium; the Dou Qi Continent's compendium was useless, so Xiao Yan could only fish blindly—like Shen Nong tasting a hundred herbs—gradually distinguishing each Medicinal Material.

"Thunderbird Grass, Nightfire Wolf Flower, Skywing Fruit." Xiao Yan's Soul Force swept over the Medicinal Materials before him—he had memorized their names when purchasing them and had compiled a simple Medicinal Material compendium himself.

"Add one drop of Mortal Grade Spirit Liquid for blending." Xiao Yan took a basin of water and dripped in one drop of Supreme Spirit Liquid—the entire basin became Mortal Grade Spirit Liquid.

In the Great Thousand World, Elixirs did not use Magic Cores, but instead relied on diluted Supreme Spirit Liquid as an energy source.

With a sweep of his hand, a cluster of Black Flame floated in midair, transforming into an Alchemy Furnace. Xiao Yan tossed in the Medicinal Materials, and in an instant, they were refined. He dipped a finger in Spirit Liquid and flicked a single drop into the furnace.

"Retract the flame—Elixir formed!"

With a hum, Xiao Yan retracted Di An's Black Flame, and a round, plump Pill appeared before him.

"Slightly higher in grade than the Pills of the Pill God Clan." Seeing the quality met his standard, Xiao Yan recorded the Pill Formula and stored it away.

One Grade Pills were child's play for Xiao Yan; they were nearly identical to those of the Dou Qi Continent, merely replacing Magic Cores with low-grade Spirit Liquid.

"Again." Xiao Yan did not rush—he remembered his master's teachings: haste was the greatest sin for an Alchemist. So he did not begin with Spiritual Level Pills, but started from the lowest Mortal Grade Pills, slowly reverse-engineering them to deduce their Pill Formulas.

With Xiao Yan's Alchemy prowess—having crafted Imperial Grade Pills—even without a Pill Formula or familiarity with Medicinal Materials, Mortal Grade Pills posed little difficulty; most of his failures stemmed from ignorance of the Medicinal Materials, causing conflicting properties that prevented successful formation.

At this moment, Xiao Yan felt as if he had returned to age four, when he first opened the Bone Flame Ring and saw the Alchemist's inheritance and notes—back then, newly Transmigrated, Xiao Yan had been filled with boundless awe and anticipation for the new world of Alchemy.

Now, Xiao Yan felt that same sensation again—the yearning for new knowledge, the pulsing desire to explore the unknown!

The more he failed, the brighter his eyes grew; he even reveled in the pain and hardship of Alchemy failure—only when facing such difficulties did he feel his Alchemy steadily advancing!

After crafting the All-Beings Break Emperor Pill, he had clearly sensed the bottleneck in his Alchemy—he had reached the peak of the Dou Qi Continent and could advance no further.

Now, Xiao Yan once again felt the bottleneck of Alchemy being struck, being shattered.

Three days later, in a secluded forest of the Western Realm stood a dilapidated hut, inside which gathered a group of cultivators dressed in varied attire; upon closer inspection, one could see their garments bore the insignia of the four former dominant Factions of the Four Regions.

But since the four Regional Lords perished in the Grave of Fury over a month ago, their Factions had been besieged by others and were no longer what they once were.

"You want us to unite?" At this, Xin Zhangsheng, the Grand Elder of Xin Region, narrowed his aged eyes, staring at the two black-robed figures at the front.

One of the tall black-robed figures tossed out four Divine Weapons.

"These are! The Regional Lords' Divine Weapons—how could they be in your hands?!" Seeing the four familiar Divine Weapons, everyone present turned pale.

The slimmer black-robed figure said: "Did you truly believe your Regional Lords, at One-Star Sovereign strength, could dominate the Four Regions of the Western Realm and stand against top Sects like Heaven Phoenix Sect and Shiyun Sect?"

"Your Regional Lords were merely disciples we sent to Ning Tian Continent to guard."

Upon hearing this, everyone present gaped—such a secret existed?!

"No wonder—I always found it strange how our Regional Lords could resist top Sects like Heaven Phoenix Sect; their Sect Masters were Seven-Star Sovereigns!"

"Exactly! I recall a rumor from the Eastern Realm: twenty years ago, the Heaven Phoenix Sect Sect Master entered the Western Realm, seeking to annex it—but was driven back!"

Of course, some remained skeptical.

The tall black-robed figure spoke gravely: "You need not doubt—because soon we will assist you in subduing the Western Realm. All you need do is continue obeying us. Now, choose your own four Regional Lords—each take one Divine Weapon as a token. The rest, we will handle."

Hearing this, all present exchanged glances—they had thought their Sects would be swallowed whole, yet now learned their Sects were backed by such a powerful force!

"May I ask, esteemed two, from which Faction do you come?" The Grand Elder of Lu Region bowed respectfully and asked gravely.

The two black-robed figures exchanged a glance, then spoke in unison: "Soul Sect."

(End of Chapter)