The Soul Hall's Shock

Xiao Yi Xian had left Xiao Yan and walked out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. After being poisoned and taking all kinds of medicine, she had forcibly raised her cultivation to the level of a four-star Dou Emperor.

She had arrived in the Chu Yun Empire and established a small sect called the Poison Sect, accepting disciples in large numbers. Just as she was thriving, she had come under pressure from the local veteran force, the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate.

Today, according to the reports sent back by the sect's scouts, people from the Misty Cloud Sect had appeared outside the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate. This had aroused her interest, so she had planned to lurk near the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate and investigate.

Who could have known that Ye Qianqian's grand deception and the earth-shaking battle would leave Xiao Yi Xian trembling with fear? She had never expected that the Misty Cloud Sect actually had such a powerful ancestor behind it. She had originally planned to leave, but the Eternal Evergreen Tree mentioned by Ye Qianqian had captured her interest. That was why she had accidentally been discovered by Yun Yun.

Xiao Yi Xian and Yun Yun were now evenly matched in strength. Both were exceedingly proud women, and neither had ever feared the other.

Seeing Xiao Yi Xian hurriedly put that piece of rotten tree bark into her Storage Ring, then openly tear into Yun Yun, Ye Qianqian already knew that she had unwittingly deceived Xiao Yi Xian terribly.

"The Heavenly Poison Woman has committed countless crimes and is utterly unforgivable! Everyone from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate, heed my order! Capture this woman at once!"

When enemies met, their eyes reddened with hatred. How could Xie Biyan let this opportunity pass? He immediately ordered the elders to surround Xiao Yi Xian completely, blocking every possible escape route.

Xiao Yi Xian's heart jolted, and cold sweat seeped through her robe. Yun Yun, the Misty Cloud Sect's leader, was already troublesome enough. If the forces of the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate joined in, escaping would be even more difficult.

Moreover, neither Yun Shan nor Xie Biyan, both Dou Zong, had made a move yet. The Misty Cloud Sect's ancestor and her subordinates were even more peerless. What was she supposed to do?

"Wind Shield, Spiral Shuriken!"

Seeing that her teacher Yun Yun still had not managed to take down Xiao Yi Xian, Na Lan Yan Ran joined the battle as well. She gathered wind-elemental energy in her right hand, forming a gigantic shuriken, then hurled it viciously at Xiao Yi Xian.

A trace of wariness flashed through Xiao Yi Xian's eyes, and she hurriedly dodged to the side.

Boom!

A violent gale howled across the heavens and earth, blowing so fiercely that everyone could barely open their eyes. A huge crater was smashed into the ground.

Xiao Yi Xian was shaken. Fortunately, she had not been struck by that Dou Technique. Otherwise, she would probably have been severely wounded on the spot. Yet she feigned calm and said:

"So many people are ganging up on a lone woman. Aren't you famous sects afraid of becoming a laughingstock for bullying the few with the many?"

"Bullying the few with the many is naturally disgraceful." Xie Biyan gave a cold shout. "But you, the Heavenly Poison Girl, are unforgivable. Even if we must bear the infamy, our Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate will eliminate evil on behalf of the people today!"

Xiao Yi Xian was furious.

Eliminate evil on behalf of the people? The things your Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate has done aren't exactly glorious either!

"Everyone, stop wasting words with her. Hurry and kill her! When should we eliminate demons and defend the Way? Today! Today!"

Hearing Xie Biyan's shameless roar, everyone in the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate shouted wildly and charged toward Xiao Yi Xian without regard for their lives.

"Hey, stop!"

Just as Xiao Yi Xian was about to be overwhelmed by the mob and was preparing to release her Calamity Poison Body, Ye Qianqian suddenly released Conqueror's Haki, bringing everyone's movements to a halt.

Pushing through the crowd, Ye Qianqian walked toward Xiao Yi Xian step by step, radiating the bearing of a grandmaster. She said, "I never thought that a descendant of that fellow from the Xiao family would still exist in this world. This seat is truly gratified."

"Uh???"

Xiao Yi Xian was completely bewildered. What was this ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect talking about?

Ye Qianqian braced herself, afraid that Xiao Yi Xian might poison her to death in a fit of anger. Putting on a sorrowful expression, she said, "Child, you have suffered. I was sworn siblings with your ancestor!"

"Ding!"

Congratulations, host, you have obtained 500 Shock Points from Xiao Yi Xian.

Congratulations, host, you have obtained 1,200 Shock Points from Xie Biyan.

Congratulations, host, you have obtained 1,000 Shock Points from Yun Yun.

Ye Qianqian put on a mournful expression. "Back when this seat traveled across the Dou Qi Continent, a Dou Emperor pursued me on horseback for three hundred thousand li. I thought I was certain to die, but at that very moment, your ancestor, the Xiao family patriarch who lived in Yang Village, saved me. Not only that, we joined forces and defeated Great Emperor Shen Xuan Hui Tail Wolf, destroying his Wolf Castle, and then..."

The more Xiao Yi Xian listened, the more confused she became. Great Emperor Shen Xuan Hui Tail Wolf? A Dou Emperor actually had such a name?

Seeing that she was still doubtful, Ye Qianqian did not lose heart and continued her deception.

"Your Calamity Poison Body is actually nothing special. Back then, your ancestor was endowed with many kinds of poison bodies. One of them was called Electronic Addiction, and it left the deepest impression on me.

"It was a poison capable of addicting even a Dou Emperor. He obtained it from the Poison-Ninth-Heaven Thunder in the sky, and it was also the key to making him famous throughout the Dou Qi Continent."

"Exactly what kind of poison could that Electronic Addiction release?" Xiao Yi Xian had been stirred into a state of excitement by Ye Qianqian. Upon hearing about a poison that could even addict a Dou Emperor, she could not help asking curiously.

"This seat cannot remember clearly. It was basically something like Uncle Da shouting at you to collect equipment. In any case, there were a total of Thirty-Six Heavenly Transformations, and every poison could make you lose yourself."

With her certain and confident answer, combined with a string of twisted reasoning, Xiao Yi Xian already believed fifteen percent of Ye Qianqian's words.

Could this ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect really be her ancestor's sworn sibling?

However, Xiao Yi Xian had another question. "But... my real name is Lin Zhixian. How could my ancestor have been surnamed Xiao?"

"Ah? That? Ahem... Perhaps your ancestor later became a live-in son-in-law and changed his surname! Ahahaha, that must be the reason."

Ye Qianqian's forehead broke into a sweat as she stammered out her nonsense.

Xiao Yi Xian: "Awkward..."

"So, according to seniority, it is not excessive at all for you to call this seat Ancestor. Come, child, call me once so I can hear it."

Ye Qianqian desperately put on the appearance of someone trading on her age, making Xiao Yi Xian's delicate face crease with hesitation.

"An... Ancestor."

Xiao Yi Xian was somewhat awkward. She thought to herself that even if this person was not her ancestor's sworn sibling, she should still address her respectfully according to seniority.

But is what she just said true? Could she be scheming to take advantage of my Calamity Poison Body?

"Ah, good child!"

Ye Qianqian laughed heartily. In truth, she was not in a hurry. Good food was worth waiting for. Everything had to be done little by little; forcing matters too much would only backfire. She then threw out another bombshell.

"I can easily resolve the problem of your Calamity Poison Body repeatedly flaring up."

"What?"

Xiao Yi Xian's beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. Her Calamity Poison Body could actually be completely cured?

Heaven knew how badly the Calamity Poison Body had tormented her. Every time it flared up, it gave her the urge to kill herself.

Moreover, once the poison body erupted, no one around her could escape unscathed. Once, it had poisoned every villager in an entire village to death. Watching those kind and simple villagers die horribly before her eyes, she had experienced what it meant for her heart to be cut by a knife.

"That's right. Your Calamity Poison Body has both advantages and disadvantages for a girl like you. Although it can raise your cultivation to its peak, it also rapidly shortens your lifespan. But frankly speaking, this physique is not even one-tenth as powerful as your ancestor's Electronic Poison Body. Curing it would be as easy as lifting a finger.

"This seat will not force you to return to the Misty Cloud Sect with me for treatment. Whenever you little lunatic want to cure your poison body, come find me at the Misty Cloud Sect. This seat will await you at any time."

Without even looking at the excitement in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes, Ye Qianqian had already turned around to deal with other matters.

Now that Ye Qianqian had deceived the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate into becoming idiots, the next thing to do was to let Yun Shan consider how to absorb the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate.

As for the imperial family of the Chu Yun Empire, they likely would not be able to stir up much trouble after the Misty Cloud Sect and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate merged. Then, with the old emperor Jia Ma Qing stepping forward to negotiate with the emperor of the Chu Yun Empire, integrating the forces of the two nations would be effortless.

"Cold Protector, collected one hundred thousand souls. Mission completion rating: Intermediate."

"Zhao Protector, collected thirteen thousand souls. Mission completion rating: Low."

"Li Protector, collected three thousand souls. Hmm? Useless trash. What use are you?"

At the Soul Hall branch in the Northwestern Continent, it was currently time for the Protectors to hand in their missions. Many Soul Hall experts had returned to the Soul Hall from countless miles away, presenting the souls they had collected over the past several years one by one.

Just then, one of the Crystal Balls in the Soul Hall suddenly cracked, drawing everyone's attention.

An old man with a long beard put down the quill in his hand and hurried over to inspect it, his expression changing slightly.

Among that row of Crystal Balls, the lifebound crystal belonging to Iron Protector had actually turned to powder.

All the Soul Hall experts knew what this meant. If a lifebound crystal shattered, it meant that one of the Protectors had fallen.

But with Iron Protector's strength, what kind of expert could have killed him?

Looking across the entire Northwestern Continent, perhaps only the Heavenly Snake Mansion and the Lion Underworld Sect possessed such strength.

According to the Soul Hall's intelligence, the serpent queen Medusa of the Tager Desert had vanished without a trace, while Yan Luotian of the Yan Luo Empire was busy cultivating in seclusion. Then who exactly had killed Iron Protector?

"Hall Master, Vice Hall Master, this subordinate has something to report!"

A black shadow shot into the branch hall from outside. It turned out that Vulture Protector had already returned.

"Vulture Protector, you rushed back to the branch hall in such a hurry. Could it be that you collected enough souls?"

The long-bearded old man frowned as he looked at Vulture Protector's empty hands.

"Ah, reporting to Vice Hall Master Zhou, this subordinate has an important matter to report, so I did not bring enough souls."

Vulture Protector's face was filled with urgency.

"What exactly happened?"

The long-bearded old man stroked his beard with one large hand, his expression displeased.

"A major change has occurred in the Misty Cloud Sect. An ancestor of the Misty Cloud Sect has emerged, and her strength is unfathomable."

After Vulture Protector embellished the story, he portrayed Ye Qianqian as a legendary existence, leaving all the Soul Hall experts listening in astonishment.

"Then it corroborates Iron Protector's death."

Within the Soul Hall, a man dressed in a black Ten Thousand Ghosts Robe suddenly appeared. Powerful Dou Qi radiated from his body. He was clearly a Dou Zun expert.

This person was Wang Ba, the master of the Soul Hall branch established in the Northwestern Continent.

Wang Ba sat in a chair and took a sip of tea that gave off black smoke. After quietly pondering for a moment, he rose and said:

"Although this matter is strange, this hall master cannot report it to the main hall in the Central Continent yet. If the matter turns out to be false, the old fellows in the main hall will surely give me a thorough scolding. So I must investigate it personally first.

"However, once this hall master finds the whereabouts of the Xiao Family Ancient Jade, I will pay the Misty Cloud Sect a visit."

As he spoke, Wang Ba transformed into a mass of black, egg-shaped fog and drifted out of the main hall.