"Hold you accountable? You think you're worthy?!"
Xiao Xuan said coolly.
Old Ghost Zhaixing froze for a moment.
Then he shook his head.
"Heh, it seems that after all these years without making a move, the name of Old Ghost Zhaixing has lost some of its weight!"
With that, a pale hand shot out from his sleeve!
Wooo...
Vast billows of black mist surged forth, instantly gathering into a palm print more than ten zhang across.
It slammed toward Xiao Xuan!
"A petty trick—and you dare show it off before a master!"
Xiao Xuan swept his sleeve. A long sword condensed from soul force cut through the air and shot toward the black-mist palm print!
Boom!
The palm print shattered!
The sword pressed forward like a breaking wave, stabbing toward Old Ghost Zhaixing!
"Not bad. Since that's the case, I'll have to get serious!" Old Ghost Zhaixing spread his hand and gave his five fingers a sharp twitch.
Five streams of viscous black mist shot from his fingertips. Amid a rattling sound, the mist condensed into black chains.
Hiss!!
The black chains curled through the air, then pierced space and wound toward Xiao Xuan!
"Break!"
Xiao Xuan held his left hand behind his back and lightly clenched his right!
Bang!
Crack!
Crack!
The five black chains abruptly stopped, then snapped apart in unison!
"How is this possible?!"
Old Ghost Zhaixing's pupils contracted!
Only then did the realization dawn on him.
"You... you're not a Four-Star Dou Zun! Who are you?! Why... why are you interfering in Soul Hall's affairs?!"
Xiao Xuan clasped his hands behind his back.
He said coolly:
"When the Ancient Clan acts, do I need to explain myself to you?"
"The Ancient Clan?! You're... you're from the Ancient Clan?"
"What Ancient Clan? I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Xiao Xuan acted as though he'd just realized what he'd said, then immediately put on an expression as if he'd never said it.
Old Ghost Zhaixing sneered, raised his hand, tore through space, and darted inside.
"I heard every word! Just you wait. I'll report this to the Hall Master exactly as it happened!"
"Trying to run?"
Xiao Xuan gave a cold snort and deliberately held back for a beat.
Then he slammed a palm into Old Ghost Zhaixing's back.
Pfft!
Old Ghost Zhaixing spat out a mouthful of blood and swept both hands outward!
More than a dozen chains shot toward Xiao Xuan like venomous snakes, their fierce gusts of wind cutting through the air.
They were buying him a sliver of a chance to escape!
Bang!
Bang!
Crack!
Crack!
The sound of snapping chains rang out one after another.
Only when the spatial rift had closed did Old Ghost Zhaixing let out a long breath of relief.
"Ancient Clan! Damn you, Ancient Clan! Just you wait!!"
Watching Old Ghost Zhaixing escape,
Xiao Xuan also let out a breath of relief.
"Damn it, I almost accidentally beat that good-for-nothing to death!"
"Senior, weren't you on good terms with the Ancient Clan back then? Why do this?"
Yao Chen couldn't understand.
Xiao Xuan glanced at Yao Chen. "Some things aren't what they seem. And don't ask about things you shouldn't."
Yao Chen wisely kept quiet.
Xiao Xuan beckoned with one hand!
The Eighth-Tier Pill he'd refined earlier, still flying wildly through the sky, appeared in his hand!
Gulp!
Xiao Xuan swallowed the pill in one go.
Then he began refining it again!
[System notification: The host has consumed an Eighth-Tier Pill. Physical body recovery progress +0.9%, remaining progress 99.06%.]
Xiao Xuan thought this rate was too slow!
He wanted to go to the Tagor Desert, find the Green Lotus Core Flame, and try swallowing it!
He'd see how much progress it added!
If that still didn't work, he'd have to seriously consider whether to find a suitable body to possess first or refine a body and make do with it for now.
Afterward, he destroyed this Soul Hall branch.
Xiao Xuan took Yao Chen back to the Jia Ma Empire.
Meanwhile,
Old Ghost Zhaixing, gravely wounded, didn't even have time to treat himself. He fled without stopping all the way back to the Central Plains!
He arrived at one of Soul Hall's branches in the Central Plains, in the Northwest Region, at a notorious place of danger.
The Dead Soul Mountain Range!
"Who goes there?!"
"It's... it's me, Old Ghost Zhaixing. Cough, cough... pfft..."
Old Ghost Zhaixing coughed up a pool of blood.
"Venerable Zhaixing!"
Several figures emerged from the black mist, supported Old Ghost Zhaixing, and hurried back into the valley.
At the same time, Protector Liu immediately notified the venerables!
Before long, two venerables, one dressed in black and the other in white, arrived in the main hall.
Seeing the sorry state Old Ghost Zhaixing was in,
the black-robed venerable's mouth twitched.
"Old Ghost! How... how did you end up like this?!"
Old Ghost Zhaixing gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
Every bone in his body felt as if it had been smashed apart. He'd only managed to survive until now through the sheer force of his will for revenge.
"Don't speak. Here, take a pill."
The White Heavenly Venerable immediately took out a pill and stuffed it into Old Ghost Zhaixing's mouth.
At the same time, he used Dou Qi to help treat his injuries.
As the pill went down, Old Ghost Zhaixing's complexion gradually improved.
Two and a half hours later,
only after his condition had improved considerably did Old Ghost Zhaixing speak:
"Black and White Heavenly Venerables, I discovered traces of Venerable Yao, Yao Chen, in the Tianxin Empire on the Northwest Continent!"
"After decades, we finally have news of that fellow!"
The Black Heavenly Venerable narrowed his eyes.
The White Heavenly Venerable asked, "Was he the one who injured you, too?"
Old Ghost Zhaixing shook his head. His eyes brimmed with unwilling hatred!
"No. I was injured by someone from the Ancient Clan!"
"What?! The Ancient Clan?!"
The two Heavenly Venerables exchanged a glance, apparently finding it hard to believe.
They both knew that the Hun Clan backed Soul Hall!
The Hun Clan and the Ancient Clan were sworn enemies.
Over the years, they'd clashed constantly over certain interests!
But why would the Ancient Clan send someone to a barren place like the Northwest Continent?
Old Ghost Zhaixing gritted his teeth. "Hmph! That fellow got carried away for a moment and let it slip. I heard him!"
"But... could someone else have been impersonating them?"
The Black Heavenly Venerable frowned.
The White Heavenly Venerable still found it unlikely that the Ancient Clan was involved.
But Old Ghost Zhaixing shook his head, adamant. "There's no way I could be mistaken. That fellow tried to deny it afterward, but I saw that flicker of panic in his eyes. He couldn't hide it from me!"
The Black and White Heavenly Venerables exchanged a glance.
They began to believe him.
All these years, Soul Hall had been searching for news of Yao Chen!
If their old enemy, the Ancient Clan, had gotten wind of things and wanted to snatch him away from Soul Hall, that would be perfectly normal.
Besides, their target was none other than Venerable Yao, renowned across the Dou Qi Continent!
The Ancient Clan might not think much of his strength, but they were sorely lacking in his alchemy skills!
Perhaps the Ancient Clan knew Soul Hall was searching for someone and had also learned the location of one of its branches on the Northwest Continent.
They'd deliberately sent someone there to intimidate Soul Hall—and to flaunt their advantage!
The White Heavenly Venerable said solemnly, "Old Black, wait here. I need to take Old Ghost Zhaixing and report this to the Ninth Heavenly Venerable!"
"Fine!"
The White Heavenly Venerable brought Old Ghost Zhaixing deeper into the branch.
The two stopped outside a stone door.
The White Heavenly Venerable bowed and said:
"I have an important matter to report, Ninth Heavenly Venerable."
A detached voice, utterly devoid of emotion, rang out across the area.
Then the space before the stone door swiftly split open, and a blue-robed figure stepped out at a leisurely pace!
"What is it?"
The White Heavenly Venerable stepped forward:
"Your Excellency, Ninth Heavenly Venerable, this man is Old Ghost Zhaixing of our Soul Hall. Not long ago, he discovered Yao Chen on the Northwest Continent and tried to bring him back, but someone from the Ancient Clan ambushed and wounded him."
The Ninth Heavenly Venerable's pale-blue brows immediately knitted together.
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