Chapter 191: How Far Can One Go
Inside the dim palace, only a few greenish oil lamps cast a faint light, creating an oppressive atmosphere.
The space of the palace was vast, supported by a giant pillar that was hundreds of feet tall. Along its length, numerous prison cells hung, each connected by black chains. At the end of these chains, glowing souls were suspended. These souls wore expressions of intense pain, their essence slowly being drained. The prison cages seemed to have a stabilizing effect on the souls, preventing them from ending their suffering, forcing them to remain imprisoned like livestock, unable to escape their fate.
This was a fate worse than death—neither able to live nor die.
The giant pillar itself was covered in strange patterns, flashing intermittently like a person's breathing, but instead of drawing in energy from the heavens and earth, it absorbed the souls' very essence.
Around the pillar, dozens of malevolent souls floated, working mechanically, pulling out souls from a black sack and placing them into empty cages.
On some of the stone pillars around the palace, shadowy figures could be seen meditating. These figures were surrounded by black mist, exhaling a chilling energy that made the entire atmosphere of the palace even more oppressive and sinister.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, a frail figure in the center of the room opened its eyes, looking at the two people quickly approaching the palace. A hint of surprise flashed in their eyes.
The newcomers were Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian.
These two were new guardians in recent years and had even appeared before the Elder. Thus, the caretaker of the palace, Lin Guardian, recognized them immediately.
"Why are you back so soon? Did you gain something? The Black Corner Domain really is a good place," Lin Guardian said slowly, rising and floating toward them. A faint sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth, clearly mocking them.
Unlike the usual subservient attitude, this time, Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian seemed much bolder. They directly ignored Lin Guardian's sarcastic tone and said, "Please inform Elder. We wish to meet him."
"Meet Elder? Without a valid reason, I can't disturb his rest," Lin Guardian said with a slightly furrowed brow, speaking in a deep voice.
The palace branch managed the Black Corner Domain and the surrounding northwest region, and there were three Elders stationed here. Even a Celestial-level figure had come here two years ago, seemingly on a mission from a higher-up to find someone. Unfortunately, after several years, neither the Soul Hall's guardians nor soul servants had found the person.
After all, the Black Corner Domain and the northwest region were vast. Finding a person in such a large area was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Moreover, the boy from back then might have grown up by now, and his appearance and form would have changed.
"We found that young master," Iron Guardian said in a low voice, speaking slowly.
"What young master... wait, what did you just say?!" Lin Guardian froze for a moment, then quickly reacted. His expression changed, and unlike these two little guardians who knew nothing, he had been managing the daily affairs of the branch for a hundred years. Thus, he knew much more than they did. The Celestial-level figure who had visited recently seemed to be acting on orders from someone big.
A figure that could command a Celestial-level being had to be extremely powerful, likely at the level of a Dou Sheng... just thinking about it sent a shiver down Lin Guardian's spine.
"Where is he?" Lin Guardian could no longer hold back, quickly asking.
"..."
Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian remained silent, not answering Lin Guardian's question. They had already discussed it on their way here. Until they met the Elder, they wouldn't say a word.
Lin Guardian naturally noticed their hesitation and snorted coldly, "I hope you really found him!"
With that, he turned and flew into the palace.
The Elder's closed-door cultivation was in a special area of the palace. For Dou Zong-level individuals, aside from their regular travels and adventures, most of their time was spent in seclusion, and each period of seclusion typically lasted several years.
For a Dou Zong with nearly a thousand years of life, a few years would pass in the blink of an eye.
Soon after Lin Guardian entered.
A ghostly figure suddenly appeared in front of Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian. The person's arrival was without any warning, as if he had been standing there all along. Dressed in black robes, his eyes flickered with a faint fluctuation. Just by looking at Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian, a pressure emanated from him, as if the space around them had solidified, making it impossible for them to move.
"Where is he?" The newcomer spoke coldly.
As his words landed, the space around them seemed to tremble slightly, causing Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian to bend their backs involuntarily.
Iron Guardian gulped and respectfully took out a communication jade slip from his storage ring, raising it with both hands. "Elder, this is the young master's message. He is currently in the Black Corner Domain, seemingly dealing with something. He didn't return with us. According to his instructions, he is not currently in a position to be associated with the Soul Hall. It seems he has something he must take care of."
The black-clad man extended his hand and lightly grasped the jade slip. Without any energy fluctuations, the jade slip floated into his hand. After a surge of powerful soul energy passed through, the information was transmitted into his mind, causing his eyes to narrow slightly.
"Didn't expect that old fool to still be alive... and now he's in the young master's hands, interesting," the black-clad man muttered to himself after reading the message from the jade slip. His eyes flashed with a gleam of sharpness.
Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian lowered their heads, not daring to say a word.
The black-clad man retracted his imposing aura, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, seemingly in a good mood. He looked at Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian and said lightly, "You did well in this matter. I'll reward you. You may ask the branch leader to increase your strength once, and you can freely choose a territory as your hunting ground."
"Thank you, Elder!" Iron Guardian and Vulture Guardian immediately felt immense joy and quickly cupped their hands in gratitude.
As soon as the words were spoken, the black-clad man disappeared in an instant. His task was to find Yao Yan, or rather, Soul Yan. Now that he had found him, he could report back to Soul Void Master. The news that Yao Lao was still alive was quite intriguing. It seemed that Soul Yan intended to follow in Soul Void Master's footsteps.
As expected, teacher and disciple were alike.
The black-clad man was Mo Yu, a Celestial-level figure in the Soul Hall, ranked at the peak of the Seven-Star Dou Zong. He knew many secrets of the Soul Clan and had met Soul Void Master several times. Therefore, the task of finding Yao Yan had fallen to him. Upon receiving the exact news, he didn't dare delay and returned to the secret chamber, where he crushed the communication jade slip that Soul Void Master had given him.
Crack~
As the jade slip shattered, a black flame appeared instantly. It seemed to devour the space around it, revealing a vortex-like opening. The next moment, a figure shrouded in black flame appeared in front of Mo Yu.
"Found him?" Soul Void Master raised his eyes slightly, his voice cold and without any fluctuation.
"Master, this jade slip was sent by the young master," Mo Yu nodded and respectfully handed the jade slip to Soul Void Master.
Soul Void Master's soul power swept over the jade slip, and he quickly read the information. His eyes showed a slight fluctuation of emotion, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face. He murmured, "This kid has really good luck. The cultivation technique I prepared for him seems to have been wasted… Tsk, I didn't expect that Yao Chen still has such a technique."
"Master, it seems that this technique, the Burning Decision, was obtained by Yao Chen from an ancient ruin. To obtain this technique, Old Mu Gu had a fierce battle with him," Mo Yu, who was from the same elder faction as Old Mu Gu, naturally knew some secrets.
The Burning Decision sounded extremely special, but in the eyes of truly powerful figures, it was just a trap.
To try and use heavenly flames as a fuel for evolution was ridiculous. Yet, Han Feng was willing to risk his life for it, ultimately being consumed by his own greed.
Heavenly flames are not so easily found, let alone consumed.
However, Yao Yan was fortunate. In just a few short years, he had gathered four types of heavenly flames and even managed to successfully absorb two, raising his strength to Four-Star Dou Huang. This speed of cultivation was fast even by Soul Clan standards.
After all, Yao Yan didn't have many cultivation resources, far fewer than the young talents of the Soul Clan.
"Whether the technique is useful doesn't matter. The key is whether it suits him and if he can successfully cultivate it. Since he has the courage to cultivate it and succeeded, it wasn't a waste of my efforts to guide him. The cultivation path ultimately depends on oneself. This kid has the audacity to scheme against a peak Nine-Turn Dou Zong; let him go. I also want to see how far he can go, hehe," Soul Void Master's mood seemed to rise as he spoke, perhaps thinking about his own past.
Now, his disciple was walking the same path as him, how could he not find it thrilling?
As for the value of the Burning Decision, Soul Void Master, being a high-level Dou Sheng, had no interest. Not to mention the few heavenly flames—if they really brought this technique back to the clan, the old fogeys in the clan probably wouldn't approve of their talented disciples cultivating it.
Moreover, Yao Yan was his disciple, and as a teacher, he had to protect him.
"Help me send him a message. I'll wait for him in the Central State. He can do whatever he wants, and if anything happens, I'll cover for him!" Soul Void Master smiled lightly and gave the order. Then, his figure slowly disappeared into the space.
He didn't intend to meet Yao Yan himself. After all, as the Soul Clan's first alchemist, he couldn't leave. A group of people was waiting for him to refine pills.
Everyone knew that the Soul Hall and alchemists were mortal enemies.
"Yes!" Mo Yu cupped his hands and responded.
"This was well done. This pill is for you." Before leaving, Soul Void Master waved his hand in the air, and a bottle of pills appeared. With a wave of his hand, it floated in front of Mo Yu. At his level, space distance was never an issue, and he could easily tear it apart.
After all, the space in Dou Qi Continent was as fragile as a young woman—it couldn't withstand much.
With the pill tossed to Mo Yu, Soul Void Master's figure vanished, and the surrounding space returned to normal.
"Thank you for your gift, Master!" Mo Yu's eyes gleamed with excitement. With Soul Void Master's status, the pills he received were at least at the peak level of Eight Stars, enough to help him easily break through his current level. He had been stuck at the peak of Seven-Star Dou Zong for nearly a hundred years!
"Perhaps I should try to get closer to this young master..." Mo Yu held the pill, his thoughts shifting. He wondered if the young master needed any guards. He felt that he could help.
If that didn't work, he could ask his sworn brother, the Eight Stars Heavenly Prisoner, who had some old grievances with Yao Chen. Perhaps they could join forces to deal with him.
Meanwhile...
Yao Yan had no idea about Soul Void Master's reaction. At the moment, he was smirking, looking somewhat pained as he watched Cai Lin in his arms, jokingly saying, "Biting that hard... luckily, my skin is tough!"
Cai Lin blushed slightly, but deliberately remained cold, turning her head away and ignoring Yao Yan, as if she couldn't bear to hit him.
"Done hugging yet?" she coldly questioned.
"No~" Yao Yan replied confidently, enjoying the sight of Cai Lin's prideful expression, especially now that his strength surpassed hers. It was amusing seeing her conflicted expression as she couldn't quite bring herself to bite him.
As he spoke, he tightened his arm around her slim waist, feeling a sense of satisfaction from the soft warmth in front of him.
Training to become stronger was for moments like this.
Weaklings had no right to embrace a Medusa Queen, let alone one who was still thinking about her sister.
"...You're really shameless!" Cai Lin inhaled deeply, then glared at Yao Yan, saying in a low voice.
After clearing her thoughts, she realized that Yao Yan had probably started plotting against her long ago. He had always used Cai Die as an excuse, but now that his strength surpassed hers, he was no longer hiding his intentions.
"I don't think it's wrong to have thick skin. If I don't take the initiative, will you? You can't really pretend nothing happened, can you? I'm not that casual," Yao Yan said with a grin, speaking with all his usual smoothness.
"What about Cai Die?" Cai Lin asked, her voice full of struggle.
"I never said I would give up on her. Besides, Cai Die already told me she wants us to always be together. Don't you want to be with your sister forever? Moreover, you and I have a special connection. Do you think I would let you go to someone else?" Yao Yan looked into her captivating purple eyes, speaking softly.
"I won't have anyone else!" Cai Lin finally said, struggling one last time.
"Then it's settled. You're mine!" Yao Yan said domineeringly, and then pulled Cai Lin toward the soft couch beside them.
Don't ask why a secret room has one of those.
The space ring is for this purpose!
(END CHAPTER)
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