Word Count: 2,757 Words
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"Wanhuo, save me! Clan Head, sa—"
Before Yao Wangui could finish his plea, milky-white mist flooded his eyes and left them hollow and vacant.
Slap!
A sharp crack rang out across the clearing as Yao Wangui struck himself hard across the face.
"I deserve to die! Back then, I looked down on Yao Chen because his Dou God Bloodline was thin, and I deliberately incited others to ostracize him."
Slap!
"I deserve to die! I wanted my younger brother Yao Feng to take first place at the alchemy competition, so I framed Yao Chen, drove him out of the Yao Clan, and sent men to hunt him down."
Slap!
"I deserve to die..."
One resounding slap after another echoed across the quiet mountainside. With every blow came another long-buried truth, dragging into the light the shameful deeds Yao Wangui had hidden for so many years.
Even Yao Ling knitted her delicate brows as she listened. She looked down at the kneeling elder with open revulsion. For years, this man had wielded immense authority as the Yao Clan's disciplinary elder, praised throughout the clan as stern and incorruptible. She had never imagined that such a reputation concealed something so vile.
He had not only framed Yao Chen. He had also invented charges and sent killers after him so the truth would never surface. A man whose gift for alchemy had surpassed his peers had been driven from the clan, and then hounded beyond it.
Had Yao Chen never been expelled, things might have turned out very differently.
Then again, in a certain sense, Xiao Yan almost owed Yao Wangui a debt of gratitude. Without him, how would Xiao Yan ever have crossed paths with Yao Chen?
"The Nightmare Heavenly Fog will lift on its own in seven days," Xiao Yan said calmly as Little Yi flew back to perch on his shoulder.
Yao Wangui had been right about one thing. Xiao Yan's threat of war had only been a probe to test where the Yao Clan stood. The Yan Alliance had worked hard to stay neutral and out of the conflicts among the Dou God Clans. It would never go to war with the Yao Clan over a personal grievance.
Nor had Xiao Yan ever meant to kill Yao Wangui. Letting the man live and killing him were two very different things. For someone who prized his face and authority so fiercely, confessing his crimes before everyone would leave him despised by the entire Yao Clan. That was a punishment far more agonizing than death.
In the distance, Elder Wanhuo let out a quiet sigh. If the clan had paid even a little more attention to Yao Chen back then, instead of dismissing a rare alchemy genius because his Dou God Bloodline was thin, today might have turned out very differently.
But the world held no such thing as 'what if.' Yao Chen was dead, and no amount of regret could change that.
Afterward, Xiao Yan went to look at the Yao Clan's ancestral tablet. He quickly gave up on the thought of carving Yao Chen's name into it. The sight of Yao Wangui's name on the stone killed whatever interest he had. Besides, Yao Chen was dead, and by clan rules the dead could not have their names added. Xiao Yan could have forced the matter with his present strength, but he saw no need.
"Are you finished staring at that tablet?" Yao Ling stepped up beside him, her glance moving from the monument to his face. "It's getting late, and the opening round of the Medicinal Ceremony is about to begin. If you'd like to watch, I can take you there."
Xiao Yan curled his lip. "What's there to see in a bunch of little brats refining pills?"
Yao Ling stared at him as though tempted to strangle him on the spot. She crossed her arms and gave him a cool, pointed smile. "Right, of course. Forgive me. To a Grandmaster like Clan Head Xiao, anyone who hasn't refined a Tier 9 pill is just a little brat."
Only then did Xiao Yan remember what she had told him earlier. Neither she nor Yao Tian had yet managed to refine a tier 9 pill on their own. That meant both were restricted to the opening round, which was essentially a warm-up display before the main competition.
He gave a dry cough and looked off toward the distant peaks. "Present company excluded, naturally."
Yao Ling rolled her eyes at his feigned innocence. "The Yao Clan's Medicinal Ceremony stands even higher in scale and prestige than the Pill Gathering. Every session brings together the finest alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent. Wait until you've actually distinguished yourself here before you talk so big."
She did not wait for an answer. She turned on her heel, her blue dress fluttering, and rose into the sky as a streak of light toward a distant mountain range.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose with a quiet chuckle as her figure dwindled. His business here was done, and he had nothing else to occupy him. He rose into the air and followed her toward the mountains where the Medicinal Ceremony was being held. He would watch the 'little brats' put on their alchemy display while he waited for the main event.
…
The summit of Yao Mountain was wreathed in drifting clouds and mist. A rich, unusual medicinal fragrance hung in the air. It cleared the mind and lifted the spirit, as though the peak belonged to some immortal realm beyond the mortal world.
Vast fields of medicinal herbs stretched across the mountaintop like an ocean. Above that sea of green hung an enormous stone platform. Four colossal medicinal cauldrons stood at its corners, and each sent a thick pillar of fragrant smoke straight into the clouds.
Many figures already stood scattered across the suspended platform, their voices blending into a lively murmur. Along its northern edge, rows of stone seats had been arranged side by side. Graceful maids wove among them like butterflies, their deft hands filling the jade cups on the stone tables to the brim.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Xiao Yan alighted atop the peak and swept his gaze across the platform. He was about to pick an unassuming spot to watch the opening display when Elder Wanhuo rose from one of the stone seats and called out with a hearty laugh, "Clan Head Xiao, please, have a seat over here!"
"Clan Head Xiao? Could that be Xiao Yan, the current Clan Head of the Xiao Clan?!"
"Good heavens, he's that young?!"
"Heh, those of you who arrived late missed quite a show. This Xiao Yan isn't merely leaning on the Gu Clan's prestige. He's a 6-star Dou Saint now."
"Pfft!"
All around the platform, several guests choked and sprayed their wine in shock.
"S-six-star?! You must be mistaken. Wasn't he only a 3-star Dou Saint?"
"Hehe, he refined the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and thrashed Yao Wangui, the Yao Clan's disciplinary elder, so badly the man couldn't even lift his head. And the Yao Clan didn't dare utter a single complaint."
"You can't be serious! He beat Yao Wangui, and the Yao Clan is still welcoming him so warmly?"
"Beat him? That's hardly the half of it. Right now, Yao Wangui is still kneeling before the grave of Xiao Yan's Master, Yao Chen, kowtowing and confessing his wrongs."
Elder Wanhuo's booming laugh drew countless gazes toward Xiao Yan. The Yan Alliance now stood as an undisputed hegemon of the Central Plains, and Xiao Yan was the head of a Dou God Clan. Everyone present had heard his name, and low, animated whispers rippled outward in every direction.
Wherever he went now, his status alone made him the center of attention.
Xiao Yan offered a faint smile, and with a flicker of his figure, he appeared near Elder Wanhuo and took an open seat. Several attentive maids hurried forward at once to serve him with the utmost deference.
While Xiao Yan exchanged pleasantries with Elder Wanhuo and a few other elders, the crowd around the stone platform continued to swell. Before long, the din of thousands of voices rose skyward, the rolling waves of sound scattering the clouds overhead.
Amid the clamor, the deep chime of a bell suddenly rang across the sky. Every member of the Yao Clan rose to their feet at once, and their voices joined in a resonant greeting that rolled across the peaks.
"We welcome the Clan Head!"
As the cry reverberated through the mountains, the clouds overhead churned and parted on their own. A white-haired elder in immaculate white robes stepped slowly from the rift. Strange ripples spread through the air beneath each footstep, as though the unseen fabric of space were solidifying under his tread.
'Yao Dan, the Clan Head of the Yao Clan?'
Xiao Yan's gaze grew solemn as he studied the benevolent-looking elder. The aura radiating from Yao Dan ran unfathomably deep. It surpassed Elder Wanhuo's by more than a single realm.
'A 7-star Dou Saint, and his alchemy has likely reached the level of a true Mysterious Pill Guru. Even in decline, the Yao Clan still harbors experts of this caliber.' Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. This old man was undoubtedly the strongest expert in the Yao Clan, with a cultivation higher than his own. The deep foundations of the ancient clans were nothing short of enviable.
High above, a gentle smile creased Yao Dan's aged face as he cupped his hands toward the crowd. "All who have come today are honored guests."
His gaze then swept past the sea of faces and paused on Xiao Yan, and a complex light flickered through his eyes.
Once, he had possessed the power to prevent certain things. Yao Wangui had only been the spark of that old tragedy. The true cause lay within the Yao Clan itself. In their blind reverence for the Dou God Bloodline, they had overlooked far too much.
"Heh, old man Yao Dan, so you've finally decided to come out of seclusion?"
Yao Dan had barely taken his seat when a weathered voice drifted across the sky. A medicinal aroma so rich it seemed almost tangible came with it. On the distant horizon, a flash of green light pierced the clouds. Within a few breaths, a pale-green medicinal cauldron tore through the air and halted above the peak. An old man in plain linen robes sat cross-legged atop it. One hand rested on a gnarled staff that looked as though it had been woven from living herbs. Clusters of small jade vials hung from the staff and clinked crisply together with his slightest movement.
"Old Man Shen Nong... To think even this senior has shown himself."
Surprise flickered in the eyes of Yao Dan, Elder Wanhuo, and the surrounding elders. Beside them, Xiao Yan paused for a heartbeat before recognition struck, and his expression grew markedly more serious.
Old Man Shen Nong's name was not widely spoken on the Dou Qi Continent today, simply because he had risen to fame in a bygone era. Rumor held that he had already been a peerless alchemist before the Pill Tower was ever founded.
He was one of the oldest living figures in the alchemy world. Even Yao Chen and the Pill Tower's First Elder would have had to greet him as juniors. The alchemist who had once refined the Pill Tower's ancient ancestor belonged to the same generation as this old man.
No one had expected a recluse who had vanished for so many years to appear here today.
'The Medicinal Ceremony truly lives up to its name...'
Xiao Yan lightly touched the tip of his tongue to his lips as heat surged in his chest. Every figure gathering here stood at the absolute pinnacle of the continent. Even as he was now, he could not claim certain victory against them.
"Haha, you old fellow, so you're still alive after all," Yao Dan said with a soft laugh, though he looked more warmly pleased than surprised.
Old Man Shen Nong rose from his cauldron, waved a sleeve, and stowed the vessel away. His ancient eyes swept over the platform before coming to rest on Xiao Yan. A soft sound of surprise escaped him, followed by a warm smile. "Oh? I stay in the mountains a few years, and the Central Plains produces a newcomer like this. So young, yet your Spiritual Strength has already reached the half-step Emperor State. Truly remarkable."
Under the gaze of the entire platform, Xiao Yan rose slightly and cupped his hands with composed courtesy. "Greetings, Senior Shen Nong."
Old Man Shen Nong nodded with a genial smile. He turned to take a seat, but his brows suddenly furrowed and he looked back toward the distant sky.
Dark clouds had begun to boil along the horizon. They spread with alarming speed and hung directly over the mountain peak in the blink of an eye. The black mist coalesced into a middle-aged man in dark robes. The moment he appeared, low, mournful wails echoed through the surrounding air, like the weeping of tormented souls.
"Hun Huzi of the Hun Clan has come uninvited. I hope Clan Head Yao Dan will not take offense." The black-robed man smiled faintly, and his unhurried voice carried clearly across the summit.
'Hun Huzi...'
Xiao Yan's eyes fixed on the figure within the dark mist, though he felt no surprise at all.
Refining the Di Tier Embryonic Pill required both Xiao Yan and Hun Huzi to work together. That meant Hun Huzi also had to prove the depth of his alchemy. Clearly, this Medicinal Ceremony would be the stage where the two of them settled who stood above the other.
Hun Huzi's Spiritual State had likewise reached the half-step Emperor State, a hair's breadth from a true Emperor State soul. When two alchemists joined forces on a pill, one had to lead while the other assisted. Their performances here would decide who took the primary role.
"Why has Hun Huzi come? Our Yao Clan never invited him!"
"Hmph, the Hall of Souls has spent years hunting down alchemists across the continent and seizing their souls by every unscrupulous means. Hun Huzi was surely behind those orders!"
"We cannot allow someone like him to take part in our Yao Clan's grand ceremony!"
Hun Huzi's sudden appearance set off an immediate uproar among the Yao Clan elders. They glared up at him and shouted angry denunciations.
At the head seat, Yao Dan exchanged a glance with Elder Wanhuo. Both men were frowning deeply. Hun Huzi's uninvited arrival had plainly caught them off guard. The Yao Clan had always kept its distance from the Hun Clan. That ancient clan was far older than their own. Over tens of thousands of years, other ancient clans had changed and transformed, but the Hun Clan alone had remained shrouded in mystery and strangeness. On the rare occasions it revealed even a fraction of its true power, that power was terrifying enough to leave others deeply wary.
Added to that were the bizarre disappearances of the Ling Clan and the Shi Clan in recent years. Because of those events, the three remaining ancient clans had grown guarded toward both the Hun Clan and the Gu Clan. When Hun Huzi arrived unannounced, displeasure stirred in their hearts. Fortunately, they understood the broader situation well enough to keep their composure, and their faces still wore the smiles expected of gracious hosts.
"Hehe, it seems my friends of the Yao Clan don't particularly welcome me. That runs rather contrary to the Yao Clan's famed hospitality." Hun Huzi stood in the sky with his hands clasped behind his back. His gaze fell straight on Yao Dan, and a faint smile played on his lips.
"Hun Huzi, our Yao Clan did not invite you," Elder Wanhuo said in a deep voice. "Relations among the ancient clans are no longer what they once were. Showing up like this will only deepen our suspicions toward the Hun Clan."
"It is precisely because I have no fear of deepening your suspicions that I came today," Hun Huzi replied with a faint smile. "This Medicinal Ceremony is hailed as the grandest gathering of alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent, and I happen to have some interest in the title of the continent's number one alchemist. Of course, if Elder Wanhuo has the authority to hand that title over to me right now, I will gladly turn around and leave."