Chapter 281: The Impact of the Great War

After Xiao Han returned to Langya Pavilion, he found Yi Huang immediately, and subsequently learned of news that left him quite shocked, yet had been anticipated.

A gratified smile hung on the corner of his mouth: "So the Ren Dian was truly destroyed!"

Yi Huang nodded with a smile, "It was not in vain that we helped them intercept quite a few reinforcements."

Every single hall of the Soul Hall's Heavenly Gang Halls is an important hub, and with Gu You Shengzhe having just been killed inexplicably, the Soul Hall is somewhat on edge.

Even if the Ren Dian has the weakest strength, how could it be easily taken by the likes of Yao Lao and a few other low-level Dou Sheng and several Half-Saints?

Various reinforcements could arrive in an extremely short time, especially the Vice Hall Master and the Hall Master Hun Miesheng; had it not been for Ye Jianxin and the meteor thunder crystals intercepting the path in advance, Yao Lao and the others would definitely have been surrounded and wiped out.

Others could only be said to have exploited a time difference; Yao Lao and his group acted very quickly, taking no more than two hours from start to finish to sweep the Ren Dian clean, even leaving time to announce their names.

"It's just..." Yi Huang said with slight hesitation: "The current Soul Hall seems a bit crazy; the Heavenly Mansion, this emerging super alliance, is suffering quite severe suppression."

"Do we need to lend a hand?"

Yi Huang's words were already very tactful; in reality, it was far more than just "a bit severe"—it was quite terrifying.

Although the Soul Hall lacked the combat power to attack major sects, they had not been idle.

During this period, members of forces such as Starfall Pavilion, Burning Flame Valley, Flower Sect, and Pill Tower had encountered extremely dense attacks, with key members receiving special attention.

Especially heirs to forces like Xiao Yan, who possessed extraordinary talent but whose strength was not yet very high, had narrowly escaped death multiple times. Fortunately, with a group of experts protecting them, no tragic events that one would hate to see had occurred.

Xiao Han, however, did not care at all; since they dared to stir up trouble with such fanfare back then, these old foxes naturally had all thought through the consequences.

It was merely a bit of retaliation; it could only curb the speed of the Heavenly Mansion's development, but it could not cause any fundamental impact on the various forces currently undergoing integration.

Moreover...

Xiao Han comforted her: "Rest assured, the Soul Hall's movements in the Central Plains will not last for long."

The reason he had been delayed for so long all stemmed from that descendant of his.

Xiao Zhan's achievements had already exceeded Xiao Han's expectations; this descendant of his, whose talent was not considered very high, had brought Xiao Han a great surprise.

He was actually able to use the help provided to soar all the way to Nine-Turn Dou Zun Peak, and furthermore, he had remained at this level for a full ten days or more.

Do not underestimate these mere ten days; when these ten days were combined with a hundredfold energy absorption efficiency, the extent of the suppression could be imagined.

Although he endured immense pain as a result, it also made Xiao Zhan's Dou Qi extremely vigorous and solid; breaking through to Half-Saint was just around the corner.

Coupled with the Medicinal Pill Xiao Han left behind, reaching Dou Sheng would be a matter of the next two years.

Now that Xiao Zhan had come out of seclusion, the Xiao Clan, aided by a large group of Dou Zun experts, would certainly turn the Northwest Continent upside down, and the Soul Hall's attention would soon shift to the "remnants of the Xiao Clan."

Furthermore, following that surprise attack on the Ren Dian by Yao Lao and the others, the Soul Hall's core strength had suffered extremely heavy losses; even mobilizing personnel from within the Soul Clan would take time.

When they were distracted by that, the suppression of the Heavenly Mansion would naturally slow down.

Subsequently, Xiao Han turned to Yi Huang and asked curiously: "What about the matters at the Pill Gathering?"

"The Pill Gathering?" Yi Huang tilted her head and revealed a smile, "With that major event caused by Medicine Saint and the others, what else is there to say about the Pill Gathering!"

The Pill Gathering was merely a competition among a group of Alchemists whose highest level was Eighth Grade; in terms of influence, the joint efforts of several top sects to resist the Soul Hall were naturally more worthy of discussion.

"This year's Pill Gathering can be considered fraught with disasters, but in the end, your descendant still took the crown."

"The kid Xiao Yan?" Xiao Han confirmed.

"Mm! And he even refined an Eight-Grade Pill with Five-Colored Pill Lightning!"

Yi Huang blinked her eyes, staring at Xiao Han with an extremely curious look, which made the latter's hair stand on end.

"Tell me, what virtue or ability does your Xiao Clan have..."

"First, you appeared as a cultivation genius, and then another alchemy genius..."

"I can only say..." Yi Huang shook her head, appearing extremely cute, "It was fated not to perish!"

She then continued: "However, the matter of the top ten entering the Xing Yu to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flames has been temporarily halted."

"Halted?" Xiao Han raised an eyebrow, looking slightly surprised, "Are the Three Great Heads not afraid of those old things from the Small Danta causing trouble by doing this?"

The top ten of the Pill Gathering were qualified to attempt to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flames; this was a rule passed down over many years.

To the old fogies of the Small Danta, rules were everything; could they really do this without regarding those old men?

"Causing trouble?" Yi Huang said, completely unconcerned: "Do you think the Three Great Heads would dare to do this without the tacit approval of the Small Danta Elder Council?"

"That is true!" Xiao Han nodded in agreement.

Then, Yi Huang giggled, and under Xiao Han's puzzled gaze, said: "The one who suffered the most this time is probably Mu Gu!"

"After his identity was exposed at the Pill Gathering, he was instantly captured on the spot by the Three Great Heads; there was nowhere for him to run!"

Xiao Han also sighed; this was just pure bad luck!

If it were normal times, as long as someone successfully snuck into the Pill Gathering, the Three Great Heads probably wouldn't have found it easy to kill him in public.

But today is different from the past; the Pill Tower is already at war with the Soul Hall, so why would they care about a Venerable Elder of the Soul Hall? Isn't this just throwing himself into the net? No one would dare to speak out of turn.

Moreover, as an Alchemist who fell to the point of defecting to the Soul Hall, Mu Gu had clearly made too many enemies in the Central Plains and could no longer survive there; how could anyone possibly speak up for him?

"So the Three Thousand Burning Flames will just stay in the Xing Yu, and there's no fear of trouble?" Xiao Han asked.

Yi Huang frowned slightly, her fingertips tapping her jade-white brow again and again, and denied: "That is naturally impossible."

"It seems Xuan Kongzi has the intention of earmarking the Three Thousand Burning Flames for Xiao Yan," Yi Huang said, stating her speculation.

"Oh?" Xiao Han suddenly sat up straight, "Earmarked?"

"Correct," Yi Huang continued: "Among the top ten of the Pill Gathering, two old seniors plus Xin Lan had no interest in subduing the Exotic Fire, and the old man Mu Gu was finished off."

"Although Qing Hua wanted the Exotic Fire, he had already agreed to our recruitment in advance and reserved the Fire Cloud Water Flame ranked sixteenth. His desire for the Three Thousand Burning Flames was not that great."

"As for the others, almost all have some connection to the Pill Tower; it is not difficult to get them to give up. After all, the difficulty of subduing the Three Thousand Burning Flames is well known; it is better to exchange it for more benefits."

Xiao Han only felt that the title of "favored son of the Dou Qi Continent" was truly well-deserved. After a long silence, he could only sigh and say: "This kid Xiao Yan has deep fortune!"

Yi Huang nodded in deep agreement. With such a heaven-sent opportunity, she also believed that this Three Thousand Burning Flames should be in Xiao Yan's pocket.

"So, as long as we wait for Xiao Yan's cultivation to be a bit higher, he can proceed to subdue it."

In Xiao Han's view, this was the simplest and most effortless step. Do not look at how Xiao Yan had a brush with death even with the help of the Dragon Seal when he subdued the Three Thousand Burning Flames in the original story.

But today is different from the past. The hardest part of the Three Thousand Burning Flames is merely the intelligence it has evolved over countless years.

With Yao Lao's current strength, he is fully capable of forcibly erasing the consciousness of the Three Thousand Burning Flame without damaging its origin.

By then, the Three Thousand Burning Flame will be nothing more than an ordinary Exotic Fire; a mass of Three Thousand Burning Flame left with only instinct will be unable to pose any threat to Xiao Yan, who has the Burning Mantra at his side and possesses the strength of a Peak Dou Zong, and can only be molded and shaped by the latter at will.

"The Central Plains will likely not be quiet from now on!" Looking at that patch of scarlet clouds outside the window, Xiao Han could not help but sigh with emotion.