(32) I Am the Sixth

"It's a pity. I originally wanted to take you as my disciple, but since you've already become Xuan Kongzi's disciple, I can't very well compete with him for a disciple," Xiao Yan said in a mature and sophisticated manner.

Cao Ying's eyes flickered, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief, feeling that the crisis that had been looming over her heart had dissipated considerably.

"You flatter me, senior," Cao Ying said with an awkward yet polite smile.

Xiao Yan wasn't joking; he genuinely believed that Cao Ying had great talent.

A 22-year-old Eighth Grade Alchemist, who is also at the Dou Ancestor realm, his Soul Power has not increased significantly due to his Dou Qi cultivation.

Xiao Yan could also sense a decent flame within Cao Ying's body, but it wasn't a Heavenly Flames fire, so it didn't have the effect of training Soul Power. It was more focused on blood and flesh and didn't have much effect on the soul.

In other words, Cao Ying basically broke through to the Spirit Realm purely through cultivating her soul.

However, obtaining the Soul Cultivation Method is not a simple matter.

Xiao Yan inherited the legacy left by Xiao Xuan. If it weren't for Xiao Xuan's legacy, according to Old Yao's original plan, he would have waited until Xiao Yan's alchemy skills reached the level of Seventh Grade High-level Alchemist before telling Xiao Yan about the Soul Realm and the Soul Cultivation Method.

Cao Ying's situation should be similar; she was at least Seventh Grade High-level Alchemist before she obtained a scroll of Soul Cultivation Method from Xuan Kongzi.

Without any rare and precious materials, it would take at least one or two years to break through to the Spirit Realm Soul.

In other words, Cao Ying was already Seventh Grade High-level Alchemist at around twenty years old.

Considering that one must first condense the Dou Qi Vortex and break through to the Dou Zhe before one can begin refining medicine, Cao Ying's actual time spent refining medicine was probably only about ten years.

In ten years, he went from nothing to becoming Seventh Grade High-level Alchemist. After obtaining the Soul Cultivation Method, he did not encounter any bottlenecks and quickly broke through to the Spirit Realm Soul.

With such talent, there is a possibility that he may break through to become Ninth Grade Alchemist in the future.

That's why it piqued Xiao Yan's interest.

"That's a real pity." Xiao Yan shook his head, then looked at Yao Xingji.

The Black-robed Man still had one hand on Yao Xingji's head, a cold aura constantly emanating from his palm, as if he could kill him at any moment.

The ten puppets around him simply surrounded the Black-robed Man without making any further moves.

Even though Xiao Yan ignored the Black-robed Man and turned to chat with Cao Ying, the Black-robed Man didn't care at all.

The news has already spread, and the Eighth and Ninth Heavenly Venerates and the Black and White Heavenly Venerates are on their way. The Black-robed Man is hoping that Xiao Yan will keep talking nonsense with Cao Ying and buy time.

Upon noticing Xiao Yan's gaze, the Black-robed Man felt a chill run down his spine, and his hand moved even closer to Yao Xingji's head.

Yao Xingji also looked at Xiao Yan with a desperate gaze, not believing that this person would save him.

"Let him go, and I'll allow you to escape."

Just then, a cold voice suddenly reached Yao Xingji's ears.

As if he had fallen into Endless Abyss and then seen a ray of light, Yao Xingji's breathing became much more rapid.

The Black-robed Man's eyes lit up, but his hand remained motionless above the Medicine Star's head, showing no intention of letting go.

"Put away your Soul Barrier first," the Black-robed Man said, attempting to negotiate.

"Forget it, saving him is too much trouble. You should just die," Xiao Yan said calmly.

As soon as he finished speaking, the ten puppets that had been standing quietly suddenly emitted a cold light from their eyes, and an extremely intense killing intent completely enveloped the Black-robed Man.

Without any warning, ten puppets, each comparable to Dou Zun expert yet devoid of any human emotions, raised their cold iron fists and swung them fiercely at the Black-robed Man surrounded by them.

Even space itself seemed to be compressed at this moment, and Yao Xingji, who was slightly weaker, was like a boiled shrimp, his entire body covered in blood, with blood seemingly seeping from his pores—

He too was caught in the puppets' attack range, but he couldn't withstand the pressure of the space at all, as if he could be crushed into pieces at any moment.

"Damn it!"

The Black-robed Man was completely bewildered, utterly unable to comprehend what the Silver Mask was thinking. He seemed to value Yao Xingji, yet also appeared utterly indifferent to him; this contradictory behavior left him unsure of what to do.

Should they continue to expend their energy to hold Yao Xingji, or should they directly self-destruct to break through the Soul Barrier and allow the soul to escape?

However, the Black-robed Man no longer had a chance to think.

A semi-transparent spike appeared behind the Black-robed Man at some unknown time, and with a speed far exceeding that of a puppet, it pierced the back of the Black-robed Man's head.

The spike seemed to pierce the Black-robed Man's soul directly. He felt an intense pain, almost to the point of fainting, rising from the back of his head. His soul was about to shatter under this stab, and his Dou Qi was somewhat out of control.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, Black-robed Man immediately slapped his palm downwards. However, Xiao Yan had already manipulated the surrounding space, and Yao Xingji's position had shifted slightly without his knowledge. The palm that was originally meant to strike Yao Xingji's head ended up landing on Yao Xingji's right shoulder.

"Puff..."

Almost instantly, Yao Xingji's entire shoulder was destroyed by the Black-robed Man's hateful blow. His entire shoulder shattered into powder, his body and arms disintegrated under the blow, and even half of his back was deeply caved in, with a corresponding bulge appearing on his chest. His ribs and lungs were also damaged.

Fortunately, Yao Xingji's head was fine, and most importantly, his soul was also unharmed.

As a young prodigy of the Yao Clan, Yao Xingji naturally had no shortage of life-saving Spirit Pill. As long as his soul was not destroyed and he did not die on the spot, he could slowly recover from his injuries by taking the Spirit Pill.

Of course, Yao Xingji was no longer able to participate in the subsequent Pill Gathering.

Xiao Yan didn't seem to care much about this. He casually glanced at Yao Xingxing and continued to enjoy the miserable state of the Black-robed Man.

The Black-robed Man, whose soul was damaged, was like a sleepwalker, only able to unleash about 70-80% of his strength.

At this moment, ten puppets, comparable to Dou Zun expert, who felt no pain, feared no injury, and knew no retreat, surrounded him and attacked him. The intensity of their blows, landing with every punch landing squarely, surpassed even the previous hunt for the Alchemist by the Soul Hall members.

After all, the Soul Hall emphasizes quick kills, and there are other Alchemist to be eliminated, while Xiao Yan's order was for them to slowly kill the Black-robed Man.

Furthermore, as Dou Zun expert, the Black-robed Man possessed even greater vitality, allowing him to withstand slightly more attacks...

"Senior, I wonder if this Soul Barrier can be broken? We will repay your life-saving grace after the Pill Gathering ends." Cao Ying's face was a little pale, which added to her pitiful appearance. At this moment, she begged for mercy, and even Gu Xing couldn't help but take a second look at her.

Xiao Yan naturally felt nothing. Having experienced Xun'er's coquettishness, his resistance to female allure was naturally much stronger than Gu Xing's.

However, let these people leave...

"The four Soul Hall Heavenly Venerate are coming from different directions, aren't they?" Xiao Yan said with a hint of amusement. He then withdrew his Soul Barrier, signaling the group to leave.

"..."

The group of Alchemist immediately fell silent.

From the moment the Black-robed Man suddenly attacked and injured people, their emotions were like a rollercoaster, going up and down, and now they had fallen to the bottom.

In their attempt to escape the trial space, most of these people had already used up their only Space Stone, but they were stopped by the Black-robed Man using Space Power. Now, they were powerless to leave.

The numerous Alchemist looked at each other in bewilderment, unsure of what to do.

Just then, seemingly because they were now safe, Song Qing stepped forward again. "We would be grateful if you could lend us a hand and protect us. The Song Family will certainly repay you handsomely!"

Cao Ying glanced at Song Qing calmly, but said nothing.

"Do you have Heavenly Flames?" Xiao Yan asked.

"..." Song Qing's face stiffened, his mind went blank, and he didn't know how to respond to Xiao Yan's words.

"Ahem, senior is joking. Such a rare treasure as Heavenly Flames is coveted by countless Alchemists. Even the Pill Tower only has one Three Thousand Burning Flame. My Song Family has not obtained Heavenly Flames." Song Qing looked embarrassed, and then added in his mind, "Even if we had one, it would be impossible for us to give it to you."

"Then what generous reward can you offer?" Xiao Yan's tone was full of disdain.

Gu Xing's eyes lit up, and he immediately felt that his chance to shine had come. He took half a step forward and said in a deep voice, "Young Master is a Dou Zun expert and an Eighth Grade Alchemist. He has everything: Dou Technique, pill Medicinal Herbs and medicinal materials, Soul Cultivation Method, and guard puppets. The only thing that is difficult to obtain is the Heavenly Flames."

A strange light flashed in Cao Ying's Beautiful Eyes. She didn't care about the other words, because she was in a similar situation. Whatever she wanted, the Cao Family and even the Pill Tower would prepare it for her. Only the words "Young Master" made Cao Ying pay special attention.

Being addressed as "Young Master" by the servants, he couldn't possibly be an old man, could he?

In other words, this "senior" may just be a young person.

Thinking of this, Cao Ying's gaze became even more intriguing. She stared directly at Xiao Yan without any attempt to hide her feelings, a faint smile playing on her lips, giving off an expression that said, "I've seen through you."

"What? The Cao Family can produce Heavenly Flames? Or is it that your teacher, Xuan Kongzi, can directly decide to give me the Three Thousand Burning Flame?" Xiao Yan met Cao Ying's gaze and asked.

"Senior is too kind." Cao Ying blinked and Yanran sweetly, "To be honest, although it may be a bit presumptuous, I have no choice but to offend you in order to have the opportunity to repay your life-saving grace in the future."

Cao Ying paused, seemingly thinking, or perhaps trying to pique Xiao Yan's interest, before continuing, "May I ask your esteemed name, senior?"

"Xiao Yan of the Gu Clan," Xiao Yan said calmly.

"It's Senior Xiao Yan!" Cao Ying nodded, as if she wanted to remember the name. Then she continued, "I have also broken through to the Spirit Realm Soul. With the help of my Soul Imprint, I might be able to injure Dou Zun expert and become your help."

"However, my physical body is weak, so I would be grateful if you could send a puppet to protect my safety?"

After Cao Ying finished speaking, she immediately put on a pitiful yet feignedly strong appearance, which was extremely endearing.

Xiao Yan was also somewhat surprised, not expecting Cao Ying to try to help and interfere in a battle at the Dou Zun level.

Just then, Xiao Yan sensed several auras approaching, their strength making Xiao Yan feel somewhat troubled.

Since that's the case...

"Two Six-Star Dou Zun, one seven-star, and one eight-star—they're a tough opponent. Let's retreat first!" Xiao Yan suddenly said. With a wave of his black robe, the ten puppets were instantly recalled, and the Black-robed Man, who was no longer human, was burned into nothingness by a flame, disappearing without a trace.

As for Xiao Yan himself, he grabbed Gu Xing's shoulder and disappeared instantly, running off somewhere unknown.

Only a group of Alchemist were left standing there dumbfounded.

"Run!" Cao Ying was the first to react. Her skills were only enough to deal with low-level Dou Zun who had just entered the Dou Zun Realm. The Soul Hall Venerable Elder who came were at least Six-Star Dou Zun. Cao Ying had no ability to fight against them.

Therefore, Cao Ying's body trembled, and she immediately wanted to rush into the Myriad Medicine Mountain Range.

The Myriad Medicine Mountain Range is ultimately the territory of Magical Beast. Magical Beast are exceptionally attached to their territory. When faced with outsiders, Magical Beast may ignore Cao Ying, this "little bug," but they are wary of those few Dou Zun. This is where their glimmer of hope lies.

"Hehehe, it's one thing to let Xiao Yan of the Gu Clan escape, but if we let you escape too, wouldn't we have come all this way for nothing?"

The familiar laughter rang out again, and then two figures, one in black and one in white, appeared above everyone's heads.

Yao Xingji was already in despair. He had just endured the excruciating pain to barely find his severed arm, suppressed the pain of his Dou Qi circulating in his broken meridians, and took out a treasured Eighth Grade Spirit Pill and swallowed it.

Just as the medicinal effects began to take hold, the damaged internal organs stabilized under the nourishing power of the medicine, the broken bones were expelled from the body, and the muscles that had been almost smashed into mincemeat recovered a little. His breath was still filled with a strong smell of blood, and his chest was still leaking air, when he was surrounded by two even more powerful Soul Hall Dou Zun.

Destroy it, I'm tired.

What's the point of living?

Yao Xingji's head lolled to the side, his eyes rolled back, and he could no longer withstand the successive blows. He completely lost consciousness and fell into a coma.

Regardless of whether Yao Xingji was unconscious or not, the Black and White Heavenly Venerates just chuckled and said, "The Eighth and Ninth Heavenly Venerates Venerables have gone to chase after Xiao Yan of the Gu Clan. It's quite an achievement that we were able to pick up Yao Xingji of the Yao Clan."

"Can merit be exchanged for Heavenly Flames?"

A mocking voice rang out from behind, followed by an overwhelming and terrifying pressure. The Black and White Heavenly Venerates Venerable's expression changed, and he hurriedly turned around to see ten cold puppets standing together in a peculiar arrangement.

This seemed to be some kind of Formation. The power of the ten puppets seemed to have coalesced into a divine spear that could break through anything, vaguely locking onto the two of them.

However, just as the two were focused on fending off the puppet, two translucent spikes appeared behind them without their knowledge.