Soul Clan's Hidden Hand

Inside a large hall at the Pill Tower Headquarters in Holy Pill City.

The Pill Tower Three Giants, the Nine-Tailed Fox Saint, the Fire Cloud Ancestor, the Pill Tower's Great Elder, and other Heavenly Court elders were all gathered here.

Their faces were slightly gloomy, clearly indicating that they were not in a good mood.

"During this period, half of the more than nine hundred important cities under the Heavenly Court's jurisdiction have been attacked. Although these attacks appear to have come from other forces, there are actually powerful figures from the Hall of Souls mixed in among them..."

The Pill Tower Great Elder swept his gaze across the main hall and slowly spoke, a hint of anger flickering in his eyes:

"Moreover, according to statistics, the Alliance's Alchemists were the first to be affected. After the attack, they all disappeared without a trace. Everyone should know who was responsible."

"Those guys from the Hall of Souls are getting more and more rampant!" Fire Cloud Ancestor's two fiery red eyebrows twitched as he spoke fiercely.

"I reckon the Hall of Souls is doing this in retaliation for our previous obstruction of their soul collection outside of Central Plains. Fortunately, the Alliance set up patrols and guards early on, which saved us a lot of trouble," said Splendid Fairy of the Flower Sect.

"I think it's more than that. There's something I haven't told you yet. A few days ago, my clan accidentally discovered that the other major clans in the Fallen God Ice Plains have all disappeared without a trace. I personally went to the nearest Fire Toad Palace and Ice Dragon Scorpion Tribe to investigate, and there wasn't a single trace left."

"This could absolutely not be a relocation or anything like that."

"Although there's no evidence to suggest the Minghun Soul Clan did it, I always feel it's related to them."

The Nine-Tailed Fox Saint's handsome face was unusually gloomy. Although those races were not as powerful as the Wind Snow Holy Hall, if all of them were combined, they could be compared with the Nine Serene Deepground Python Tribe, one of the Three Great Magical Beast Tribes.

But this formidable power vanished without a trace. In the Central Plains, only the Ancient Imperial Clans and the three major groups of Magical Beasts could pull off such a feat.

Among them, the Nine Serene Deepground Python Tribe joined the Heavenly Court two months ago, while the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan suffered a major upheaval and heavy losses. The remaining Ancient Void Dragon also joined the Alliance a few days ago.

Therefore, only the Ancient Imperial Clans remain as suspects, and among the Ancient Imperial Clans, the Soul Clan has been stirring up trouble.

The Nine-Tailed Fox Saint didn't doubt it, nor did he doubt anyone else. He dared not even imagine that if he hadn't established Alliance with the Heavenly Court, the Wind Snow Holy Hall would have been on the list of those who disappeared.

"What! Such a thing actually happened!"

Upon hearing this shocking news, the faces of everyone in the hall darkened even further.

After a moment, the Pill Tower Great Elder slowly said, "This matter may not have been done by the Hall of Souls. The Hall of Souls has always only collected souls, and the souls of Magical Beasts are far inferior to those of humans. The soul of a Dou Sheng is not even as valuable as that of a Seven-Rank Alchemist."

"That's not impossible..."

Everyone nodded, and the atmosphere subtly eased a little.

Seeing that the atmosphere had eased somewhat, the Pill Tower Great Elder nodded to himself and continued.

"However, we still need to send someone to gather information about this matter, but we'll discuss it later."

"Let's talk about how to deal with the Soul Clan's actions this month. The Soul Clan has launched a massive attack on our Heavenly Court. We absolutely cannot remain indifferent, otherwise others will think we're afraid of those bastards. That would have a terrible impact both inside and outside the Alliance, and the Alliance's development would be hindered."

"Everyone is welcome to share their ideas and discuss them."

"Let's fight fire with fire. They attacked our city, so we'll attack their Branch Hall!"

"That's right, that's a good suggestion. Don't they have those Heavenly Stems Earthly Branches Branch Halls? Let's wipe them all out!"

"Um, isn't this too risky?" Several of the elders, who were Half-Saints, hesitated.

Although the Heavenly Court is powerful now, it is still somewhat inferior to the Hall of Souls. Although the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan supported a Dou Sheng, that Dou Sheng said he would not take action unless it was a matter of life and death.

Nowadays, even in Central Plains, it is forbidden for Dou Sheng of Six-Star or higher to make a move.

Under these circumstances, they still want to take the initiative to attack the Hall of Souls Branch. One or two would be fine, but if they take them all down, the Hall of Souls might become desperate and do something rash.

"In that case, let's destroy their Heaven Hall. Leave the rest for now; consider it a warning."

"This..."

"Hehe, no need to worry so much. It's only fair to retaliate. The Hall of Souls is too arrogant. Now, it's time to put them in a bad position. Apart from the Heaven Hall Headquarters where many powerful figures gather, we can also take action against the Hall of Souls's Branch Halls."

As everyone pondered, a clear laugh suddenly rang out in the hall, followed by a gentle breeze, and two figures appeared in the hall, none other than Xiao Ming and Zi Yan.

"Alliance Leader?"

Upon seeing the person who appeared, everyone was taken aback, then stood up with expressions of surprise and delight.

"You've finally returned, you hands-off manager... Hmm, your Aura?"

The Small Pill Tower Great Elder chuckled, about to say something, when he suddenly noticed something. His expression changed slightly, and he stared straight at Xiao Ming, exclaiming in astonishment.

"Three-Star Dou Sheng!"

The Nine-Tailed Fox Saint also fixed her gaze on Xiao Ming, and after a moment, sighed and shook her head, saying:

"In less than a year, you've jumped from the One Star Dou Sheng Early-stage to the Peak Three Star Sheng! This speed truly makes me so ashamed I can't face anyone..."

The others were also somewhat taken aback, clearly not expecting that Xiao Ming's strength would advance so rapidly so soon after his breakthrough.

However, everyone quickly came to their senses, and their faces lit up with joy. It was a great breakthrough! The stronger Xiao Ming, the Alliance Leader, became, the stronger their Alliance would be.

It seems that their decision to join the Pill Tower Alliance was the right one.

Amidst everyone's joy, Xiao Ming led Zi Yan to sit down in the Alliance Leader's seat, and it was then that the elders noticed Zi Yan's intimate behavior with Xiao Ming.

In particular, the Small Pill Tower Great Elder, with his high level of spiritual cultivation, was able to sense how terrifying Zi Yan.

Who is this person?

The Great Elder greeted Zi Yan with a formal bow and respectful greeting.

While the Great Elder was treating Zi Yan with courtesy, the Fire Cloud Ancestor and the Nine-Tailed Fox Saint also noticed this terrifying figure. Their eyes widened in shock. How could Xiao Ming have brought back such a powerful being after going out for a while?

And she looks like his little wife, behaving so intimately?

"Her name is Zi Yan." Xiao Ming smiled slightly and said, "She is the current Dragon Emperor of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan. She grew up with me since childhood; you could say she's my Childhood Sweethearts."

"The Dragon Emperor of the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan? Childhood Sweethearts?!"

Upon hearing this, the hearts of Fire Cloud Ancestor, the Pill Tower Great Elder, and the others skipped a beat, and they looked at Xiao Ming with slightly disbelief.

They hadn't expected Xiao Ming to have such a background. No wonder the arrogant Ancient Void Dragon helped the Heavenly Court; it turned out to be for this reason.