Soul Seal, Medicine Slave

"T-this is a Soul Body!"

Liu Panlong stared at Yao Lao, his face filled with horror.

As an alchemist, he had indeed heard that once one's Soul Power grew strong enough, even if the physical body perished, that powerful soul would not disperse between heaven and earth.

But at the very least, only the soul of a Fifth Grade Alchemist should be capable of that. And yet the vast soul pressure radiating from this mysterious old man before him made him feel as if he were facing the boundless sea.

It was not as if he had never seen a Fifth Grade Alchemist, but compared to this man before him, the other party's Soul Power was like a firefly beside the bright moon.

For even a mere Soul Body to be so powerful, just how terrifying must this old man's strength have been when he was alive?

"Little friend Xiao Yan, w-what is the meaning of this?"

Looking in terror at Xiao Yan, who stood beside Yao Lao with his arms folded and a smile on his face, Liu Panlong swallowed hard.

He knew very well that if the old man before him wanted to kill him, it would probably not be much harder than crushing an ant.

"Heh, Master Liu, didn't you come to avenge that useless disciple of yours, Liu Xi?

I'll tell you the truth. I was the one who killed Liu Xi."

Xiao Yan looked at Liu Panlong with a playful expression, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Now, there are only two paths before you. Either you are burned into a pile of ash by this Bone Chilling Flame, or you let me plant a Soul Seal in you and become a Medicine Slave of my Xiao Family. From this day on, your life and death will be in my hands."

With that, Xiao Yan looked indifferently at Liu Panlong before him and said coldly, "Choose for yourself."

"Little friend Xiao Yan, old sir, I truly came here with no ill intentions! I'm innocent!"

Hearing the two choices Xiao Yan had given him, Liu Panlong felt like crying but had no tears. He had only come to the Xiao Family intending to take in a good disciple. How had he somehow ended up in a life-and-death crisis?

Becoming a Medicine Slave meant going from a respected alchemist to an alchemy tool enslaved by someone else. That feeling was worse than death.

"Heh, if you want to blame something, blame yourself for discovering my secret. After today, if you don't leave a Life and Death Talisman in my hands, I'll have no choice but to burn you into ash on the spot."

Xiao Yan felt not the slightest pity for Liu Panlong's words. Judging from what this old fellow had done in his Previous life, it was clear he was no good man.

Moreover, he had already seen Yao Lao. Forget whether he was a good person or not—even if he were truly kind, Xiao Yan could not possibly let him leave without doing anything.

As he spoke, Xiao Yan gave Yao Lao beside him a signal. The latter nodded slightly, and a cluster of pale-white Bone Chilling Flame had already appeared in Yao Lao's palm.

"As an alchemist, you should know exactly what kind of power this Heavenly Flame has.

I'll give you ten seconds to think it over. Otherwise, you can only be burned into ash by this Bone Chilling Flame."

Xiao Yan's expression was indifferent, but he had already begun counting.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

As his countdown continued, a terrifying smile appeared on Yao Lao's old face. As the Bone Chilling Flame in his hand flickered, it drew ever closer to Liu Panlong's face.

"Bone Chilling Flame!"

Looking at the pale-white flame dancing in Yao Lao's hand, Liu Panlong's pupils suddenly shrank. As an alchemist, although he had never seen the Bone Chilling Flame before, he knew very well how terrifying this flame's power was.

If this had been any other time, his first reaction upon seeing the Bone Chilling Flame would probably have been to retreat as quickly as possible, and only then allow greed to take root.

But now, Yao Lao's vast Soul Power was like an impenetrable wall of bronze and iron, easily pinning him in place and leaving him unable to move in the slightest.

The feeling of having no strength to resist at all truly filled one with despair.

"Three, two..."

The youth's countdown, like the voice of the God of Death, rang beside his ears. Looking at the Bone Chilling Flame drawing closer and closer, the bone-piercing chill had already caused a layer of solid ice to form over Liu Panlong's face.

As his fear swelled ever greater, Liu Panlong finally could not help letting out a shrill roar.

"I surrender! I'm willing to become the Xiao Family's Medicine Slave!"

At this point, even tears had been frightened out of his eyes.

"Heh, as they say, a wise man submits to circumstances. Old man, the future you will definitely thank the you of today."

Seeing Liu Panlong beg for mercy, Xiao Yan nodded in satisfaction, as though he had expected it all along.

Being able to become Xiao Yan's servant was already a tremendous fortune for Liu Panlong.

If this had been the Great Thousand World of his Previous life, many Earthly Supreme experts would have fought tooth and nail to become guards at Xiao Yan's side. Forget a Third Grade Alchemist—even a Ninth Grade Alchemist would have found it difficult to obtain the position of Medicine Boy.

And that had been before Xiao Yan became the Dominator.

Now that Liu Panlong was able to become Xiao Yan's servant as a mere Third Grade Alchemist, it was indeed a tremendous fortune for him.

However, Liu Panlong naturally did not know what kind of fortune this was for him at this moment. With a bitter expression, he fully opened up his soul defenses according to Xiao Yan's instructions, and even had to relax his mind and spirit.

For a respected alchemist, becoming someone else's servant was undoubtedly a humiliation.

But in the face of the terror of life and death, he ultimately chose to compromise.

After seeing Liu Panlong completely relax the defenses of his soul and will, Xiao Yan finally nodded slightly. His Soul Power suddenly gathered at his fingertip, then he traced it with his finger, eventually forming a strange and profound illusory rune.

This illusory rune was formed entirely from Soul Power, and therefore looked almost transparent. After Xiao Yan condensed it, the rune began to shrink rapidly, before finally falling into Liu Panlong's brow under Xiao Yan's control.

The instant the Soul Rune entered his brow, Liu Panlong's soul clearly made an instinctive defense.

However, under Yao Lao's cold snort, his soul instantly trembled and no longer dared put up the slightest resistance.

A moment later, Liu Panlong felt a sudden stab of pain in his soul. After that, he felt nothing at all.

Only after Xiao Yan formed a strange seal with his hands did a soul-rending agony, ten times worse than the pain of his flesh being torn apart, suddenly surge through Liu Panlong's mind.

"Ah!"

Liu Panlong let out a shrill scream. He felt as if his soul was about to be torn to pieces and crushed to dust. But the pain lasted only a moment before vanishing along with the seal in Xiao Yan's hands.

"I have already planted a Soul Seal deep within your soul. With just a thought, I can make your soul suffer the terrible pain of being torn apart—or even make it explode on the spot."

Xiao Yan's expression remained indifferent as he looked at Liu Panlong, whose face was ashen, and said flatly, "From now on, your life and death rest on a single thought of mine."

This soul-enslavement art was called the "Soul Seal." It was one of the Soul Clan's methods for enslaving subordinates, which Xiao Yan had obtained after destroying the Soul Clan back then.

Back then, the Soul Hall had used this very method to enslave many Soul Bodies and many affiliates. At the time, Xiao Yan had regarded it only as an unorthodox, crooked art and had not thought much of it.

But after being reborn, he had only now discovered that this so-called crooked art was actually this useful.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, a desolate look appeared on Liu Panlong's face. Before coming to the Xiao Family, he had never imagined that he would end up in such a state today.

His lips moved, but no sound came out. At last, his attitude became respectful, and he clearly called out to Xiao Yan:

"Master!..."