Resources secured, a bountiful harvest

(Upon rereading the original text, I discovered a small error.)

In the original novel, Xiao Yan picked two Gold-Grade Soul Infant Fruit and used two Wooden Box. Later, he only took out one to Yao Lao, and the second fruit was never mentioned again. It's likely that the author forgot about it.

(This is a transitional chapter; please refrain from waiting for the book to finish reading. Thank you.)

The Soul Spirit Emperor's voice was filled with shock, not from the impending acquisition of the Soul Infant Fruit, a priceless treasure. With his knowledge, why would he care about such things?

What truly shocked him was that Xiao Yan had promised to find him Gold-Grade Soul Infant Fruit just a few months ago, and today he had actually found it.

Two of them?

"Disciple, your fortune... this..." Even with the knowledge of Soul Spirit Emperor Dou Emperor, this was the first time he had encountered such good fortune as Xiao Yan, whose words seemed to come true, a fortune that could be described as magic.

"Just lucky," Xiao Yan replied calmly via telepathic communication.

The Soul Spirit Emperor remained silent, unable to utter a word.

Xiao Yan didn't offer an explanation, but instead focused his gaze on the seemingly calm stream and said, "Come out."

As Xiao Yan finished speaking, a towering wave suddenly surged in the calm stream, and a long, slender figure appeared.

It was an Ancient Exotic Beast, the Sky-Piercing Flood Dragon, with a serpentine body covered in blue scales and a single, jet-black horn on its head.

At this moment, the strange beast was trembling as it looked at Xiao Yan, appearing extremely fearful.

Given his level, his intelligence was already quite high. How could he not sense Xiao Yan's unfathomable cultivation, as if a mere thought could crush him? Naturally, he was afraid.

"This Soul Infant Fruit should be under your care. Now I want to take it away. Is that alright?" Xiao Yan asked politely.

Sky-Piercing Flood Dragon had no choice but to nod; he dared not refuse.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan took action and picked both Gold-Grade Soul Infant Fruit, which seemed somewhat different from what he remembered.

He remembered that in the original story, Yao Lao only absorbed one Soul Infant Fruit. Who did he give the second one to in the original story?

Unable to figure it out, I simply stopped thinking about it. Two Soul Infant Fruit Soul Infant Fruit always better than one.

After putting the two Gold-Grade Soul Infant Fruit into the Wooden Box and placing them into his Storage Ring, Xiao Yan took out a Tier 7 Medicinal Pill that Enhances the Physique and handed it to the Sky-Piercing Flood Dragon.

"A small compensation; we don't have any higher-grade pills in reserve," Xiao Yan said.

The Sky-Piercing Flood Dragon was stunned, then overjoyed. Compared to the Soul Infant Fruit that restored the Soul Origin, this pill was far more beneficial to him!

"Thank you, sir!" Sky-Piercing Flood Dragon thanked him profusely and retreated back into the pool.

With the Soul Infant Fruit in hand, Xiao Yan had achieved more than half of his goal and relaxed considerably.

Beside her, Yao Ling asked with a hint of longing, "That's Soul Infant Fruit, and a gold-grade one at that, right?"

Xiao Yan nodded. "That's right. You... want it?"

Yao Ling nodded.

The Soul Infant Fruit can restore Origin Soul Qi, which has a similar effect to her special physique. She might experience some special benefits after consuming it, so she would naturally crave it.

"What are you going to offer in exchange?" Xiao Yan asked bluntly.

Yao Ling pursed her lips slightly. "The resources I can directly mobilize are insufficient to exchange for it. I need to consult with the elders of my clan."

"Hmm." Xiao Yan had no intention of giving away the Soul Infant Fruit directly.

Although he had a good impression of Yao Ling, they weren't particularly close; they weren't that close yet.

If it were Zi Yan, or even Xiao Yi Xian, Medusa, Xiao Xun'er, Qing Lin, or any of his partners with whom he had sparred, he would certainly not refuse.

Just then, Zi Yan tugged at Xiao Yan's sleeve, her eyes filled with a sense of bewilderment, and said, "Brother, something seems to be calling to me."

Xiao Yan had anticipated this and naturally understood that it was the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit in the center of the Ancient Forest calling for Zi Yan.

"Then let's go take a look; it might be a Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Riches that's perfect for you," Xiao Yan said.

Zi Yan hummed in agreement and led the way based on her intuition.

After walking for a while, the three arrived at the very center of the Ancient Forest.

As expected, upon arriving at the location, Xiao Yan and his companions immediately touched the Beast Spirit Barrier left behind by the dead Dou Sheng Demon Beast, which contained the bloodline aura of the Ancient Void Dragon and the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix Clan.

Zi Yan pricked her finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the Beast Spirit Barrier, and the three of them entered a desolate plain.

In the center of this plain stands an ancient Altar, hundreds of feet high. At the center of the Altar is a platform of gold and purple. On the platform is a groove half a foot deep, and from the center of the groove grows a sapling as thick as a finger, like a branch from a large tree.

But hanging above this vine was a golden and purple fruit radiating a powerful aura. The fruit had a strange shape; the golden side twisted and meandered into the shape of the Ancient Void Dragon Clan, while the purple side resembled the shape of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix.

"The Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit!..." Zi Yan, like a little commentator, told Xiao Yan the information she knew.

Xiao Yan naturally already knew, but he still showed a surprised expression. "I didn't expect to encounter two supreme treasures, the Soul Infant Fruit and the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, so soon after arriving in this Ancient Forest."

Zi Yan and Yao Ling both looked at Xiao Yan, the same thought arising in their minds, "Brother/ Xiao Yan's fortune is so strong."

Next, instead of having Zi Yan smear her hands with blood to store the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit as in the original story, Xiao Yan manipulated the Power of Heaven and Earth to form a vacuum circle, enveloping the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit along with the growing sapling and taking it away.

Thus, Xiao Yan took away both of the most precious treasures from the Ancient Forest.

However, Xiao Yan felt that the treasures in this Ancient Forest might not only be the Gold-Grade Soul Infant Fruit and the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit.

He sensed the extremely rich Life Energy in this space as soon as he entered the Ancient Forest, where Medicinal Herbs grew very easily and were of much higher quality than normal Medicinal Herbs.

Xiao Yan guessed that it was probably because two powerful Ancient Void Dragon and Ancient Heaven Phoenix had perished here, and the nutrients from their bodies after their deaths had allowed this Ancient Forest to evolve into its current state.

Next, Xiao Yan led Zi Yan and Yao Ling to explore the Ancient Forest, collecting Medicinal Herbs everywhere.

Some of these Medicinal Herbs are of just as good quality as the Soul Infant Fruit, and are sufficient to be used as the main ingredient in Tier 9 Medicinal Pill.

In addition, this Ancient Forest also contains many Medicinal Herbs that existed only in ancient times, some of Medicinal Herbs even the Yao Ling do not recognize.

Fortunately, the Soul Spirit Emperor was knowledgeable and knew the names and effects of many Medicinal Herbs.

After a period of growth, in this vast, Ancient Forest, which is comparable in size to a city and has never been mined, the quantity and quality of Medicinal Herbs have reached an astonishing level, and the overall growing environment is also first-class.

With no other forces coming to take away the resources, the entire forest's resources were enjoyed by Xiao Yan alone. Without having to compete with anyone, his harvest was naturally very rich.

Even Yao Ling exclaimed in amazement, the Medicinal Herbs reserves in this Ancient Forest were too terrifying, completely unlike what a Dou Sheng could leave behind. Xiao Yan's fortune was truly terrifying, and she was extremely envious.

After collecting Medicinal Herbs for a while, he also encountered some magical beasts along the way, most of which were around the Seventh Rank, with a few reaching the Eighth Rank. Xiao Yan dealt with them easily without much effort.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment, and then led Zi Yan and Yao Ling back to the entrance.

The two women looked at Xiao Yan Xiao Yan confusion, not understanding what he was going to do.

Xiao Yan stated frankly, "There are too many Medicinal Herbs in this Ancient Forest, and some of Medicinal Herbs cannot be stored for too long after being picked. Therefore, I plan to cut this space apart when I leave and take the entire Ancient Forest with me, so that it can serve as the Alliance's Medicinal Garden."

Zi Yan and Yao Ling suddenly realized that this method was indeed excellent, but it was extremely difficult to operate and could not be done without the strength of Dou Sheng.

As for Xiao Yan's strength...

Zi Yan could roughly guess that Xiao Yan's apparent Dou Qi cultivation was only at the Nine-Revolution Dou Venerate, but the combined strength from his other aspects was probably enough to rival even Five-Star Dou Sheng.

Compared to Zi Yan, Yao Ling clearly didn't know much about her, and a hint of disbelief appeared on her face, but she didn't say anything more.

"Let's explore other places first. This place is so big, there must be plenty of resources," Xiao Yan said.

After leaving the Ancient Forest, Xiao Yan led Zi Yan and Yao Ling on a tour of the vast palace.

They went into all the rooms along the corridor. While these rooms weren't as rich in resources as the Ancient Forest, they still contained quite a few good things, such as some Earth Rank Dou Skill and Cultivation Technique, some Seventh Tier and Eighth Tier pills, and some Secret Technique that only existed in ancient times.

Xiao Yan has no use for these things, but if he auctions them off to the Alliance or exchanges them for resources, it would definitely be a huge gain.

Xiao Yan didn't want to leave any for anyone else, so he put everything into his Storage Ring and took it with him.

After leaving this corridor, he went to other corridors.

The other corridors are similar in structure to this one, with rooms on both sides containing moderate resources, and all leading to the Ancient Forest.

After spending some time, Xiao Yan and his two companions had basically explored all the corridors, thoroughly searched every room, and acquired all the resources.

for example...

"Brother, what grade of pill is this little beast? Is it Ninth Tier?" Zi Yan asked curiously, looking at the snow-white Pill Beast that Xiao Yan was holding in his hand.

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "It's not that high. Tier 9 Medicinal Pill can unleash the strength of Dou Sheng, but this little beast is just Eight-Rank Nine-Color pill."

Zi Yan nodded and teased the Pill Beast.

The Pill Beast was listless, seemingly anticipating its fate of being eaten. It would occasionally glance up at Xiao Yan, utterly powerless to resist.

"Brother... can we not eat it?" Zi Yan pleaded.

"You like it?" Xiao Yan asked.

"It looks a little pitiful," Zi Yan said.

"Then it's yours." Xiao Yan said without hesitation.

For him now, a Eight-Rank Nine-Color pill is far less important than Zi Yan's happiness.

With that Ancient Forest, he would have enough Medicinal Herbs to refine Tier 9 Precious Pill; this Eight-Rank Nine-Color pill was nothing special.

"Thank you, brother!" Zi Yan took the Pill Beast and laughed happily.

The Pill Beast seemed to know that it had escaped its fate of death, and that it was all because of Zi Yan. It was held in Zi Yan's arms and did not resist at all.

"We've arrived at the Main Hall!" Yao Ling suddenly spoke, looking intently at the stone throne in the center of the Main Hall.

On that stone seat, the Dou Saint Skeleton, entirely white in color, sat cross-legged. The powerful aura emanating from it caused Yao Ling and Zi Yan to slow their pace and their breaths to catch in their throats.

On either side of the stone seat, there were more than a dozen Stone Puppet, which looked different from the Earth Demon Puppet, and all of them had the aura of Dou Venerate.

Because Xiao Yan broke in prematurely, the seal here did not dissipate over time and is still in effect, so these puppets are not moving at all.

That would save trouble.

Xiao Yan unleashed his vast Soul Power, now at the Heavenly Realm, and plunged it directly into the minds of over a dozen puppets, completely erasing the marks belonging to the Creation Saint.

After doing all this, Xiao Yan didn't take these puppets seriously. He just casually made them up and then put them into his Storage Ring, intending to take them to the Vientiane Auction House for auction later.

"Amazing!" Yao Ling thought in astonishment.

Having dealt with over a dozen Dou Zun Puppet so easily, could Xiao Yan's Soul Power have already reached the Heavenly Realm?

Yao Ling glanced at Xiao Yan's profile, a look of admiration that she herself was unaware of growing in her eyes.

At this moment, after Xiao Yan finished dealing with the puppet, he set his sights on the ten scrolls hanging in the sky above the hall.

He knew that the Heaven Rank Dou Skill were not among these ten scrolls; these ten scrolls were merely ten high-level Earth Rank Dou Skill.

However, even a high-level Earth Rank Dou Skill is not bad. With a thought, he manipulated the Power of Heaven and Earth to bind the ten scrolls and put them into his Storage Ring.

Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, the methods the Creation Saint used to test his successor were utterly insignificant.

Finally, only the skeleton of the Creation Saint remained on the stone throne in the entire hall.

Without the Old Ghost Zhaixing using his blood to activate this skeleton, it did not reveal any ferocity.

Even so, Xiao Yan still used his Soul Power to examine the skeleton again, completely erasing any lingering resentment before he could finally relax.

Xiao Yan sensed the remaining power within the skeleton and deduced that the Creation Saint must have had the cultivation of Two-Star Dou Saint in his lifetime. This Creation Saint's skeleton was slightly stronger than the Dou Saint Skeleton that the Ancient Clan had traded to him.

After storing the remains of the Creation Saint in his Storage Ring, Xiao Yan had no intention of selling it.

You never know when you might need this, so it's better to keep it.

"It's time to leave," Xiao Yan said.

The gains from this trip were considerable: the Dragon Emperor Origin Fruit and the Soul Infant Fruit. One could allow Zi Yan to quickly advance to the Dou Sheng cultivation level, and the other could restore the Soul Spirit Emperor's Soul Origin.

The uses of the Dou Saint Skeleton are also endless.

In addition, the vast amount of Medicinal Herbs that the Ancient Forest has nurtured over thousands of years is enough for him to refine several Tier 9 Medicinal Pill and a large number of Tier 8 Medicinal Pill. The growing environment itself is also excellent, making it very valuable as a Medicinal Garden.

This time, it was truly a bumper harvest.

With this in mind, Xiao Yan, along with Zi Yan and Yao Ling, returned to the entrance of the Ancient Forest. His Soul Power rapidly spread, encompassing the entire Ancient Forest.

Then, his soul and body simultaneously unleashed the vast Power of Heaven and Earth, converging here along with his thoughts.

The entire Ancient Forest seemed to have been dug up with a shovel, slowly rising and separating from the structure of the main hall.

Monsters in the Ancient Forest:?

"A... Dou Sheng?!" Yao Ling's horrified voice rang out.