Medicine Venerable

"Xiao Yan, let's make a trip to the back mountain. Oh, and bring the bundle I gave you." Zhang Tian once again sensed waves of unstable Soul Power emanating from the ring on Xiao Yan's hand and immediately decided to avoid Xiao Zhan and the others by heading to the back mountain.

"Yes, Teacher." Seeing Zhang Tian's somewhat urgent manner, Xiao Yan felt a faint stir of anticipation in his heart.

Teachers generally had things they avoided revealing when instructing their disciples. Could it be that Teacher was going to teach me some profound Dou Technique?

If Zhang Tian had known what Xiao Yan was thinking, he might have felt deeply embarrassed. He was currently not even as capable as Yao Lao had been when he first appeared in the Original Work. At least Yao Lao could produce a copy of the Flame Mantra, while Zhang Tian did not even possess a single Yellow Rank Low Level cultivation method.

"Senior, how much longer do you intend to hide inside my disciple?" Upon reaching the cliff atop the back mountain, where the howling cold wind wailed without end, Zhang Tian fixed Xiao Yan with an unblinking stare.

Xiao Yan froze. He looked at his teacher standing alone on the mountaintop, then at the empty surroundings. A bone-chilling feeling rose within him, and he hurriedly assumed a defensive stance.

"Heh heh, little fellow, your soul perception is quite good. I was actually discovered by you." Before Xiao Yan's utterly horrified gaze, an aged white figure slowly floated out of the black storage ring on his finger.

The old man hovered weightlessly in midair and slowly circled Zhang Tian twice, clicking his tongue in amazement.

"A Five-Star Dou Ling at around twenty years old. Incredible, truly incredible. Young people these days."

Xiao Yan was shaken. It seemed he had just learned something extraordinary: his teacher was actually a Five-Star Dou Ling powerhouse.

Zhang Tian tried to swat the old man with a wave of his hand, but his hand passed straight through him. The old man himself drifted back some distance, wearing a pained expression.

"Young people these days may have decent talent, but they have no respect for the old or care for the young."

Yao Lao could not quite figure out Zhang Tian's intentions either. The man before him possessed exceptional Soul Power and followed his own way of doing things, making him impossible to read.

Zhang Tian knew that he still posed some threat to the newly awakened Yao Lao. Therefore, when dealing with such an exceptionally suspicious old fellow, it was better to pretend he did not know him.

"I have also observed Xiao Yan's cultivation these past few days. It has been entirely normal, yet his Dou Qi mysteriously vanishes upon reaching his Dantian and cannot be stored. That was your doing as well, wasn't it?" Zhang Tian's expression darkened as pale green Dou Qi curled around his hand, placing immense pressure on Xiao Yan.

So this was the strength of a Dou Ling? So powerful. It feels like I can barely breathe.

Amid the stifling atmosphere, Xiao Yan stared fixedly at Yao Lao's soul body floating in the air. Even without a physical body, Yao Lao could clearly feel the chilling hostility. If he could not offer a satisfactory explanation, this master and disciple would certainly leave him here.

His aged face turned solemn. He had only absorbed Xiao Yan's Dou Qi for two years, and with so little accumulated strength, fighting a Five-Star Dou Ling would require burning his soul in a desperate gamble. The most likely outcome would be mutual destruction.

As the renowned Medicine Venerable of the continent, Yao Chen naturally would not perish together with a mere Five-Star Dou Ling.

His tone softened as well.

"I will compensate you for this."

"Someone's coming..." Halfway through his words, Yao Lao's expression changed. He transformed into a wisp of smoke and slipped back into Xiao Yan's storage ring.

"Hey!" Xiao Yan glared at the ring in his hand in shock and anger. Not knowing what to do, he could only look pleadingly toward Zhang Tian.

Zhang Tian ignored Xiao Yan and instead looked toward the narrow path leading up to the cliff. A somewhat disheveled Xiao Family disciple climbed up.

"Elder Zhang... the Jia Lie Family has come to cause trouble for Young Master Xiao Yan. The Family Head requests that you come at once."

After taking Xiao Yan as his disciple, the shrewd Xiao Zhan had directly given Zhang Tian the title of honorary elder. He could now openly claim to be a member of the Xiao Family.

"The Jia Lie Family? I'll go take a look." Zhang Tian showed a trace of interest. Though they claimed to have come seeking justice, why would Xiao Yan fear them?

"No, stay here for now. I'll go see what's happening." Zhang Tian shook his head. It was only the Jia Lie Family. If possible, he would wipe them out directly.

"Ah, Teacher."

Xiao Yan pulled a long face and wanted to say more. There was still an old man of unknown origin inside his ring.

"It's fine. I'm leaving first." Zhang Tian said no more. Circulating his Dou Qi, he crossed more than a dozen yards in just a few steps.

"Teacher!" Xiao Yan tried to call out again, but Zhang Tian's figure slowly vanished from sight, leaving Xiao Yan standing alone atop the cliff.

"Heh heh heh, little fellow, your teacher is gone. Now we can have a proper talk."

Yao Lao gave a strange chuckle as he slowly floated out from the ring.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tian descended from the back mountain and rushed toward the Xiao Family's council hall, his movements light and fluid.

Medicine Venerable could not do anything to Xiao Yan now. He did not even have the ability to leave Xiao Yan and find another host, so he would not harm him.

"I heard that Gale Ao's father bought a Jade Bone Iron Orchid at an auction last year. That is an extremely precious medicinal herb." Zhang Tian pondered carefully. Several years ago, while training abroad, he had obtained a fragmentary pill formula. Its most valuable portion was the formula for the Grade 3 Pill, the Marrow Cleansing Rebirth Pill.

The Jade Bone Iron Orchid was its most valuable primary ingredient, worth tens of thousands of gold coins.

Calling it a pill formula would not be quite accurate; it was more like a pill canon. However, it consisted of only three thin pages and was mostly incomplete. Its greatest treasure was the formula for the Marrow Cleansing Rebirth Pill.

Before he even entered, Zhang Tian heard an old man's rough voice bellowing loudly and relentlessly. He was clearly here to make trouble.

Once inside the hall, Zhang Tian realized that the so-called old man was not actually that old, perhaps forty or fifty. However, his hooked nose made him look gloomy and exceedingly calculating.

"What dog is barking here?" As he stepped through the doorway, Zhang Tian treated the Jia Lie Family's three Great Dou Shi as though they were nothing. A group of Dou Shi-level guards glared at him like tigers watching prey, as though they would attack at any moment.

"Where did this bastard come from? I am the Gale Family Head!" The old man's tone was sinister. Though he was clearly brimming with anger, he did not give off any violently furious aura. Instead, his hooked nose lent him the sinister air of a petty, underhanded villain.

"Oh, so it's a Jia Lie Family dog." Zhang Tian truly could not remember the Family Head's name. The pressure of a Five-Star Dou Ling instantly crashed down.

Xiao Zhan also rose with a genial smile, wearing the expression of a kindly old man. Yet Dou Qi gathered before his chest, even condensing into an illusory lion's head before his face.

The Xiao Family's top Dou Technique, Mysterious Rank Middle Level: Furious Lion Vajra.

"Xiao Zhan, you!" The Gale Family Head's expression changed. He hurriedly retreated several steps and stared at Xiao Zhan with an ugly look, clearly not expecting the previously amicable Xiao Zhan to suddenly erupt and prepare to attack.

Xiao Zhan felt no psychological pressure whatsoever. Since Zhang Tian, a Dou Ling, was prepared to act, Xiao Zhan, as the Xiao Family Head, had long wished to devour the other two great families and strengthen the Xiao Family.

"Good. Very good."

The Gale Family Head was also a ruthless man with courage. He immediately prepared to fight his way out of the Xiao Family. Dou Qi surged wildly across his body, forming a suit of Dou Qi armor, while the guards he had brought formed thin gauze-like layers of Dou Qi over their bodies.

Mysterious Rank Low Level...

Before the Gale Family Head could even shout the name of his clan's ultimate art, a figure sent him flying.

Zhang Tian flicked the long spear in his hand, and blood dripped onto the hall floor.

The Gale Family Head sprawled on the ground, his chest caved in at a grotesque angle. His face was deathly pale, and he looked as though each breath in was greater than each breath out.

"Does the Xiao Family not fear causing chaos...?" The Gale Family Head looked utterly defeated. Manifesting Dou Qi into form was the mark of the Dou Ling realm, and Zhang Tian was an exceptionally powerful Dou Ling at that.

Xiao Zhan burst into laughter. Powerful Dou Qi rampaged forth, and within only two or three moves, he had subdued the Jia Lie Family guards.

The other two One-Star Great Dou Shi elders tried to flee amid the chaos, only to be killed by Zhang Tian in a single strike.

They were simply unlucky. With their strength, working together, they could have fought even Xiao Zhan. But they had encountered Zhang Tian, a Five-Star Dou Ling, and so met a tragic end.

"The Jia Lie Family's defenses are empty now. Why not charge in and wipe them out?" The Third Elder's face was flushed with excitement as he eagerly proposed.

This old fellow was merely a Seven-Star Dou Shi and weak enough, but whenever benefits were involved, he was like a greedy hyena.

Xiao Zhan pondered briefly. The Gale Family Head was dead. Even if the Xiao Family did nothing, the severely weakened Jia Lie Family would be destroyed by others and, at best, reduced to a third-rate minor family. It would be better to take the opportunity to annex them himself.

Given the current situation, the conflict between the Xiao Family and the Jia Lie Family was bound to end only with one side's downfall.

"Good. Set out. Attack the Jia Lie Family." After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Zhan displayed the bearing of a great family head and gave the order. Everyone immediately began making preparations, and a large group charged toward the Jia Lie Family with fierce momentum.

The Xiao Family members prepared at an unhurried pace. After all, the Jia Lie Family's foundation was entirely in Wu Tan City; they had nowhere to run.

Sure enough, a full hour later, when Xiao Zhan led all the family disciples to the Jia Lie Family's gates, none of them had fled. Though the servants were panicking, an elderly man at the forefront barely maintained his composure.

The old man cupped his hands toward Xiao Zhan.

"Family Head Xiao Zhan, this old man is willing to represent the Jia Lie Family in surrender. I hope Family Head will refrain from needless slaughter." After saying this, the old man nudged the young man beside him. The young man wore fine clothes and had an arrogant expression, but he reluctantly stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Xiao Zhan.

"I, Gale Ao, am willing to represent my family in surrender and offer all of our clan's resources. I only ask Lord Xiao Zhan to show mercy."

The old man was the Jia Lie Family's First Elder, possessing the cultivation of a Two-Star Great Dou Shi. However, due to his age, his combat strength was somewhat inferior to the Family Head's. The young man was the Gale Family Head's son, the Gale Young Patriarch, holding a position in the Jia Lie Family equivalent to Xiao Yan's in the Xiao Family.

Xiao Zhan was slightly stunned, but it was naturally best to subdue the enemy without fighting. He ordered his men to restrain all these young men and women, then had the family guards enter to carry out the treasures and resources.

As for these young family disciples, their fates would certainly be miserable. They would either become ordinary servants or be made into someone's slaves or maids.

Watching Xiao Zhan direct people to carry out the treasures, Zhang Tian's gaze flickered faintly as he walked over to the Gale Grand Elder.

"I heard that the Gale Family Head purchased a Jade Bone Iron Orchid some days ago. Does the Grand Elder happen to know where it is stored?"

Though the question sounded casual, it struck the First Elder like a bolt from the blue. He had noticed this young man in fine clothes long ago.

Only he knew what those clothes represented.

The Yun Lan Sect, that colossal force standing above the Gama Empire, was not something the Jia Lie Family could possibly afford to offend. Such a giant could crush them with the slightest motion.

And the four golden suns gleaming brilliantly declared that this man possessed the strength of a Four-Star Dou Ling, terrifying the First Elder even more.

With such strength, he could not understand why this man was helping the Xiao Family.

"This old man, as the First Elder, knows a little about it." The First Elder replied with utmost courtesy. Lowering his status, he knew this was the time to show his loyalty.