Central Plains Situation
Following the route indicated by Hei Qing, in less than half a day, the familiar scene came into Xiao Ming's view, and the magnificent and imposing towering tower was faintly visible in the distance.
After returning to Holy Pill City, Xiao Ming parted ways with Medusa, who left directly through the Spatial Wormhole in Holy Pill City and headed to the Northwest Continent.
In the Council Hall of the Pill Tower Headquarters, Xuan Kongzi, who was talking with Xuan Yi, suddenly twitched his brow and chuckled, "You've finally arrived."
Just as Xuan Kongzi's laughter subsided, a knock came from outside the hall.
"Come in."
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and Xiao Ming stepped inside.
"Xiao Ming?" Xuan Yi stared at the young man who had appeared, slightly taken aback. Then, a look of shock suddenly appeared on her face, because she sensed that the latter's Aura had actually reached the Seven Star Dou Zun!
"It seems you've gained quite a bit from this trip to the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan." Unlike Xuan Yi, who rarely showed himself, Xuan Kongzi was much more familiar with Xiao Ming and had developed a certain immunity to him, so he wasn't too surprised.
"I've made some progress. Elder Xuan, is there something you need from me?" Xiao Ming smiled. He had just returned to his residence and hadn't even seen Xiao Yi Xian yet when an elder came to his door, saying that Xuan Kongzi wanted to see him.
"Let's sit down first."
Seeing that Xiao Ming had found a chair and sat down, Xuan Kongzi gave a general overview of the situation in Central Plains during this period.
During the five months Xiao Ming was away, the Central Plains were in turmoil, with the Pill Tower and the Hall of Souls clashing several times, each with its own victories and defeats.
The Pill Tower destroyed a Branch Hall of the Hall of Souls. As a result, the Hall of Souls put bounties on the Pill Tower's high-ranking members. These bounties circulated throughout the Central Plains. Anyone who killed any of the Eight Great Elders or above could receive a huge bounty from the Hall of Souls.
Xiao Ming's head was worth more than the heads of the other Eight Great Elders combined.
I've heard it has attracted quite a few powerful figures from evil sects.
In addition, perhaps influenced by the Pill Tower and the Hall of Souls, other forces in the Central Plains also began to fall into chaos. Countless forces, large and small, had various conflicts, resulting in many deaths.
The Venerable Feng of the Falling Star Pavilion and the Venerable Huang Quan of the Yellow Spring Pavilion developed a grudge over a special medicinal herb in the Dou Sheng Ruins left by the Mysterious Person.
Later, Yellow Spring Pavilion, having promised some benefits, colluded with the Wind Lightning Pavilion to launch a retaliation against the Falling Star Pavilion.
The Heavenly Underworld Sect and the Flower Sect are Two Sects on equal footing, and there was no conflict between them in the past. However, the Heavenly Underworld Sect has long coveted the power of the Flower Sect, a sect whose entire members are women.
Some time ago, when the previous sect leader passed away and the sect was in turmoil, they recruited a woman named Hua Jin and supported her in her attempt to become the Sect Master.
However, the previous Sect Master of the Flower Sect was not stupid. He knew that Hua Jin was unreliable. Even without Yun Yun, he still found a woman named Hua Yi to inherit his Dou Qi and the position of Sect Master.
Thus began the internal strife within the Flower Sect. Hua Ying had the support of more than half of the elders, while Hua Jin had the support of the hidden power behind the Heavenly Underworld Sect.
Other reclusive forces were also exposed by the explosion.
After listening to Xuan Kong's explanation of the situation in Central Plains, Xiao Ming frowned. He had previously been able to glean some information from the Simulator, knowing that Central Plains would certainly not be peaceful. However, the information revealed by the Simulator was limited and not necessarily accurate, so he didn't have a clear idea of how far the situation could develop.
The current situation in Central Plains is far beyond his expectations; it can even be described as bizarre.
"You've noticed something's wrong too?" Xuan Kongzi asked with a sigh, seeing Xiao Ming's furrowed brows.
"Elder Xuan knows the inside story? Could this be related to the Hall of Souls?"
"Yes, the Pill Tower has indeed uncovered some inside information." Xuan Kongzi stroked his beard. "According to the investigation, most of the conflicts between forces are related to the Hall of Souls."
Their goal is to capture Soul Body!
Speaking of the Soul Body, Xuan Kongzi's voice was filled with anger. In terms of the strength of the Soul Body, in the entire Dou Qi Continent, the Soul Power of Alchemist is stronger than that of experts of the same level.
Therefore, the Hall of Souls has a particular fondness for the souls of Alchemist. Countless Alchemist in the Pill Tower have been secretly captured, which makes Xuan Kongzi furious.
"For the sake of the Soul Body?"
Hearing this, Xiao Ming lowered his eyes slightly. Xiao Ming could understand that the Hall of Souls was stirring up trouble for the sake of the Soul Body. However, in the Original Work, although the Hall of Souls was not exactly low-key, it did not act too ostentatiously because of the Hall of Souls Soul Clan's Millennium Plan.
The Hall of Souls is stirring up trouble throughout the Central Plains. Could it be that the Soul Clan is planning something ahead of schedule?
Thinking of this, Xiao Ming felt a sense of urgency rising within him.
If that's the case, the Hall of Souls might pay much more attention to him, after all, in the eyes of the Soul Clan, the Tou She Ancient God Jade is in his hands.
Perhaps the Ancient Clan will come knocking again for the Tou She Ancient God Jade.
However, this Tou She Ancient God Jade cannot be handed over easily; otherwise, the Soul Clan might launch a surprise attack on other Ancient Race.
There's no doubt that the Soul Clan has the strength to do so, and they might even be plotting to destroy the Soul Clan Spirit Clan right now.
"Sigh, in the end, we still need to improve our strength as soon as possible."
Xiao Ming rubbed his temples and let out a soft breath.
Above the Dou Zun, there are only a handful of opportunities to improve one's strength, and even with Simulator, he couldn't find many suitable ones.
Suddenly, Xiao Ming thought of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit. One Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit could directly allow Zi Yan to skip from Dou Zun to the Nine-Turn Dou Zun, and then to the three levels of Half-Saint (low, middle, and high), and even leapfrog four stars into Dou Sheng. The energy contained within it must be extraordinary.
He now possesses a Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, and perhaps when he sees Zi Yan next time, he can have her refine it and then generate some energy in return.
Xiao Ming didn't expect to break through to Dou Sheng directly; reaching the level of a Half-Saint would be good enough.
Xiao Ming was brainstorming ideas on how to increase his strength.
But outside, he didn't remain silent; instead, he directly asked Xuan Kongzi a question.
"Elder Xuan summoned me here not just to explain the situation in Central Plains, right?"
"Hehe, you're quite clever." Xuan Kongzi nodded in acknowledgment.
"The reason I asked you to come here is because our Pill Tower has an operation that requires two elders to lead the team. We were originally short one elder, but since you've returned, I've decided to have you fill the position."
"Originally, I was a little worried about your abilities, but now it seems I was overthinking it."
Xiao Ming did not refuse upon hearing this. He had enjoyed many benefits in the Pill Tower, so he naturally could not back down when it came to doing his duty.
What operation?
"Destroy the Hall of Souls Branch!"
It turns out that during this period of great battle, the Pill Tower also lost many Alchemists, and the souls of these Alchemists were captured by the Hall of Souls.
The purpose of Pill Tower's operation this time is to retrieve the souls of some of the Alchemist.