Chapter 154: The Conspiracy of the Star Palace Sages Against Yan Taibai

Yan Taibai did not have much interest in Yuan Yao's offer to serve him for life, but he remembered that this woman would later encounter swarms of Iron Fire Ants multiple times, and these were all "delicacies" for his White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash!

He absolutely could not miss this, so after a few simple, perfunctory polite remarks, Yan Taibai took on the role of a "protector of the flower" to search for Iron Fire Ants.

Yuan Yao was naturally very grateful for Yan Taibai's kindness, but she also vaguely felt it had something to do with the Iron Fire Ants.

……

And just as Yan Taibai and Yuan Yao were searching for the Iron Fire Ants—that "delicacy"—on the Molten Rock Road.

The Star Palace Sages had already learned that Yan Taibai was capable of devouring Iron Fire Ants.

"Are you saying that this Lin Daoyou is very likely the Spirit Severing Stage martial uncle behind him?"

After hearing the words of the kind-faced elder among the Star Palace Sages, Ling Xiaofeng frowned, his face filled with disbelief.

"This is merely a guess by your subordinates, but it is indeed possible for that Lin Daoyou. After all, the direct abandonment of Metal Attribute Spirit Stone and material mineral veins on Tianjin Star Island and several other islands is no different from this instance with the Iron Fire Ants."

The kind-faced Star Palace elder respectfully stated his speculation.

"How many others know of this matter?"

After listening, Ling Xiaofeng's brow relaxed, and after thinking in silence for a moment, he asked again.

"Only the two of us subordinates; neither the righteous nor the demonic paths are aware. Moreover, looking at Fellow Daoist Yan's demeanor, he does not seem to intend to hide it from our Star Palace."

The kind-faced Star Palace elder continued to speak his conjecture.

"Good, you two do not need to concern yourselves with this matter; you only need to release all the Iron Fire Ants."

Ling Xiaofeng nodded and instructed.

There is a Transmission Array between the Star Palace and the Void Heaven Palace, so there is still time.

"Your subordinate obeys, I shall return now." Hearing Ling Xiaofeng's order, the kind-faced Star Palace elder naturally dared not disobey, directly agreed respectfully, and then exited the great hall.

After leaving, Wen Qing appeared beside Ling Xiaofeng again and said softly.

"Husband, could it be that you also suspect that Fellow Daoist Yan is the Spirit Severing Stage cultivator behind him, and that everything before was deliberately staged by him?"

"It is possible, but regardless, just by the fact that he could kill Man Huzi with a single sword strike, his divine abilities and strength are not inferior to any of us; he is a powerful assistant. If there are no surprises, the Anti-Star Alliance secretly formed by the righteous and demonic paths should have already appeared. We have him to thank for this; if not for the sudden appearance of such a mysterious cultivator, the two of us would likely be deeply trapped in the cultivation of this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, unable to extricate ourselves. By then, it would be too late to regret. Who would have thought that cultivating this Yuan Magnetic Divine Light to the end would actually require a complete Five Elements Spiritual Root? This is just playing with people. With a complete Five Elements Spiritual Root, let alone condensing a Nascent Soul, even Foundation Establishment is a problem."

Ling Xiaofeng said with a look of indignation and a hint of relief.

"Then husband, is there a solution?" Wen Qing nodded slightly, but asked again.

"None for now."

Ling Xiaofeng shook his head and sighed.

Although he considered himself brilliant and talented, having broken through several difficulties in the cultivation of the Yuan Magnetic Divine Light, he had absolutely no clue regarding the problem of requiring the complete Five Elements.

"Then does husband think that Fellow Daoist Yan might have a way? His background is mysterious, he should not be from the Dajin Cultivation World, perhaps he might have a solution?"

Wen Qing's brows were tightly furrowed as she tentatively asked.

"It is possible, but will he help?" Ling Xiaofeng was skeptical.

"Whether he will or not, won't we just be able to ask him once he comes out of the Void Heaven Palace?"

Wen Qing smiled sweetly.

"With the connection through Yuling, I assume that just asking a simple question should not be a problem."

"Yes! You are right." Ling Xiaofeng nodded in agreement.

His heart also relaxed slightly, and he continued.

"Tell me, is it possible for him to obtain the Void Heaven Cauldron this time? If he truly obtains this number one treasure of the Chaotic Star Sea, his strength will inevitably increase greatly. By then, who will be able to keep him in check? Even with the connection to Yuling, this connection is not of much use. After all, the two do not have much affection for each other."

"If he wants to unify the entire Chaotic Star Sea and replace the Star Palace, it would likely be an even greater threat than Liudao Jisheng and Wan Sangu. By then, it will certainly not be an easy task for us to stop him."

Ling Xiaofeng became worried again, his words revealing a faint killing intent; clearly, he intended to strike first.

"No, husband, we still need him to deal with Liudao Jisheng and Wan Sangu right now. The Yuan Magnetic Divine Light cannot be cultivated for the time being, and the gap between us and Liudao Jisheng and Wan Sangu is not that large. Although you can defeat them, wanting to kill them both is not an easy task."

Wen Qing shook her head slightly to stop him.

"I understand, but his threat is clearly greater than that of Liudao Jisheng and Wan Sangu."

A chill appeared on Ling Xiaofeng's face as he spoke.

"It is better that he is greater; at least this proves he can be used to deal with Wan Sangu and Liudao Jisheng. When the time comes, we will find a way to make them both suffer heavy losses, and then we will strike to kill them all to eliminate future trouble."

Wen Qing's face was full of smiles, yet it made one's hair stand on end.

"Good, then let's do that!" Ling Xiaofeng nodded in agreement.

Then, the two of them began to carefully discuss how to make Yan Taibai, Liudao Jisheng, and Wan Sangu fight like the snipe and the clam, so that they could be the fisherman who gains the profit.

Yan Taibai was unaware of this; at this moment, under Yuan Yao's shocked and incredulous gaze, he was using the White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash to devour the endless stream of Iron Fire Ants completely.

Because of Ling Xiaofeng's order, the Star Palace Sages released all the Iron Fire Ants in the Molten Rock Road of the Void Heaven Palace. Although they could not control them, it was no problem to give them some special attention.

In this way, except for the women of the Miaoyin Sect, the other cultivators on the Molten Rock Road were in for a streak of bad luck.

Golden Core Stage cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage had almost no power to resist when encountering the countless Iron Fire Ants, and only a few were able to escape by luck.

One can imagine just how terrifying this swarm of Iron Fire Ants was.

It was also fortunate that the master of the Void Heaven Palace had scattered an entire iron ore vein onto this Molten Rock Road to create an environment suitable for the survival of the Iron Fire Ants; otherwise, it would have been almost impossible to feed these Iron Fire Ants.

Even if they could be fed, their vitality would be greatly reduced.

They would have been of no use to Yan Taibai, but now! They were extremely useful, almost equivalent to devouring an entire iron ore vein, which was of great benefit to his cultivation.

Such an opportunity and fortune is not an easy thing to obtain elsewhere.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, what kind of cultivation technique or divine ability are you practicing?"

After it had continued for several days, Yuan Yao still could not help but ask.

After all, the shock this journey had brought her was too great.

"What technique? This is not any technique. How could there be such a miraculous technique in the world? It is merely my constitution and bloodline."

Yan Taibai shook his head and found an excuse to say.

"Constitution and bloodline, so that is how it is, this little sister understands."

I don't know if Yuan Yao truly believed it, but in any case, she revealed an expression of sudden realization.

"Hmm, calculating the time, we should also be leaving; the Iron Fire Ants in this Molten Rock Road have already been mostly devoured and refined by me. The pressure on Yan'er and the others should be much less."

Yan Taibai nodded and chuckled lightly.

This trip through the Molten Rock Road, having refined so many Iron Fire Ants, saved him a full ten years of bitter cultivation, bringing him one step closer to the Nascent Soul Stage.

Once he exits the Void Heaven Palace and refines the Nine-Curved Spirit Ginseng into the Nine-Curved Spirit Pill, he will be ready to enter seclusion to condense his Nascent Soul and successfully break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

After so many years of bitter cultivation, the time for harvest has finally arrived.

Only by breaking through to the Nascent Soul Stage will he have enough confidence to stand tall in the entire human world's cultivation circle, fearing no other cultivator.

Even for cultivators at the Spirit Severing Stage like Xiang Zhili, Hu Old Demon, and Feng Old Freak, he would no longer need to care.

"Alright, I'll listen to Brother Yan."

Yuan Yao naturally would not oppose anything Yan Taibai said.

Just like that, the two walked side by side toward the end of the Molten Rock Road.

Because they were delayed by the Iron Fire Ants, at this moment, the other cultivators who had passed through the Molten Rock Road and the Mysterious Crystal Path were all in an extremely crude stone hall.

Although the stone hall was crude, it was not small; the floor area alone was a full fifty to sixty zhang wide, and it was about seven or eight zhang high.

The most conspicuous feature was a Transmission Array in the center. On the four sides of the stone hall, there was also a huge blue stone door several zhang high.

Now, these few blue stone doors were tightly shut, making this place like a prison.

However, it was much better than a prison, because inside the stone hall there were placed a large number of various, unique stone tables and stone stools, numbering in the dozens.

But regarding these thoughtful items, the cultivators who had passed through the Molten Rock Road and the Mysterious Crystal Path did not have a single smile on their faces.

Because apart from the women of the Miaoyin Sect, everyone else, including the four Nascent Soul cultivators—Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, the old farmer, and Qingyi Jushi—were all, without exception, covered in wounds, and their complexions were indescribably ugly.

What made Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer curse in their hearts and through secret voice transmissions was that the Righteous Path Golden Core Stage cultivators they had arranged had almost all faced a life-and-death situation, with very few escaping unscathed.

It made them curse the two Star Palace elders who were playing tricks, to the point of almost greeting their ancestors of eighteen generations.

But no matter how much they cursed, it was of no use and could not change anything; the only thing that surprised them was that Yan Taibai had not yet come out.

"Could something have gone wrong?"

This was what Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer were hoping for most.

There was no help for it; Yan Taibai had already explicitly stated he would compete with them for the Void Heaven Cauldron, so they naturally did not want Yan Taibai to come out of the Molten Rock Road alive, even though they knew it was impossible.

Not for any other reason, but simply because none of the women from the Miaoyin Sect had any change in their expressions, nor did they look worried.

And the three Nascent Soul cultivators also understood that in the situation of the Molten Rock Road, there was absolutely no possibility of leaving Yan Taibai behind, so their thoughts were purely a daydream.

Daydreaming is daydreaming, but they still hoped it would come true.

However, the daydreams of the three Nascent Soul cultivators were ultimately dashed, because Yan Taibai was entering the stone hall with a beauty, causing the expressions of the three Nascent Soul cultivators to change.

Compared to their injured state, Yan Taibai's aura was three parts stronger than before, at least equivalent to the level reachable only after ten or even several decades of bitter cultivation.

If before, the distance between Yan Taibai and condensing his Nascent Soul to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage was fifty, now it was at least ninety, or even ninety-eight.

Just one step away, and he would be able to condense his Nascent Soul and break through to the Nascent Soul Stage, just like them.

No, not the same.

Yan Taibai at the Golden Core Late Stage could already slaughter cultivators below the Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

If he were to condense his Nascent Soul and advance to the Nascent Soul Stage, who in the entire Chaotic Star Sea could be mentioned in the same breath as him?

Even if Wan Sangu and Liudao Jisheng joined forces, they would likely only be able to barely contend with him.

Perhaps even the Heavenly Star Sages would need to be added.

At this moment, Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer were once again cursing the Heavenly Star Sages in their hearts.

"These two idiots, to have nurtured such a great threat to this extent."

"Why, is Sect Master Wan not welcoming Yan?"

Seeming to have sensed the thoughts in Wan Tianming's heart, Yan Taibai lifted his gaze and glanced over, and the powerful pressure, like a mountain or a vast sea, from a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage made Wan Tianming shiver, and he gave a dry laugh as he explained.

"Fellow Daoist Yan, you joke. This Sect Master only feels that Fellow Daoist Yan's cultivation seems to have greatly improved. You must have obtained no small opportunity in the Molten Rock Road. This is the first time in so many years; I wonder what kind of opportunity could allow Fellow Daoist Yan's cultivation to improve so much."

"Oh! So you want to know about my opportunity, heh! Sect Master Wan is truly prone to wishful thinking."

"But! Seeing that Sect Master Wan is so sincere, I will reluctantly tell Sect Master Wan. Actually, it's nothing much, just Iron Fire Ants. As long as Sect Master Wan can refine the spirit essence within the Iron Fire Ants for your own use, your cultivation will greatly increase. But looking at Sect Master Wan's situation, it seems you haven't managed to do so. It really is a pity, a pity indeed!"

Yan Taibai sighed repeatedly, but the "Iron Fire Ants" in his words made the expressions of Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, the old farmer, and many other cultivators in the palace even uglier.

After all, every cultivator who walked the Molten Rock Road and arrived here alive had almost lost their lives in the mouths of the Iron Fire Ants.

Therefore, the three words "Iron Fire Ants" were completely intended to kill and punish the heart.

And regarding Yan Taibai's words, even Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer—three veteran Nascent Soul cultivators who had roamed the Chaotic Star Sea for many years—could only be angry but dare not speak.

Only Zhou Yuan, Yan Ruyan, Zhuo Ruting, Fan Jingmei, Ziling Xianzi, and Yuan Yao knew that what Yan Taibai said was not a lie.

Rather, Yan Taibai had truly refined the Iron Fire Ants, thereby obtaining this opportunity that saved more than ten years of bitter cultivation.

This opportunity, even for those of them who had a close relationship with Yan Taibai, was something to be envious of, yet they felt happy for Yan Taibai.

Simply because the stronger Yan Taibai was, the safer they were, and the more benefits they could obtain in the future. They were not the type of narrow-minded people, so they naturally understood that Yan Taibai obtaining an opportunity would also bring them no small benefits.

"Then it must be that our own luck was insufficient, and we did not obtain such a fortuitous opportunity like Fellow Daoist Yan."

Wan Tianming said, almost through gritted teeth.

Unfortunately, he could only be resentful and indignant, unable to do anything.

(End of chapter)