A Familiar Jade Tablet

Maple City.

Han Feng's residence.

Every person of status and influence in the Black-Corner Region was gathered here.

Yuan Yi, Sect Leader of the Eight-Fan Sect, paced back and forth in the room incessantly.

He glanced toward the inner chambers every now and then.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, he slammed his hand heavily onto the table: "Damn it, what is the meaning of this from Han Feng? Calling us all here just to sit around?"

"What are you panicking for! Didn't Han Beng go to notify him? Just wait a little longer," the Sect Leader of the Earth Flame Sect said.

Yuan Yi retorted irritably:

"The Eight-Fan Sect has a grand auction waiting for me! Do you have any idea how much I'm losing by just waiting here?"

"Enough, stop your grumbling. You can't actually turn around and leave, so what's the point of saying these things to us?" Elder Ban rolled his eyes.

Yuan Yi snorted coldly and fell silent.

In truth, several others present were just as impatient as Yuan Yi!

But there was no helping it!

Han Feng was the most formidable Grade 6 Alchemist in the Black-Corner Region!

Who could guarantee they would never need medicinal pills?

Who could guarantee they would never need to beg him for a favor?

Therefore, they only dared to grumble because Han Feng wasn't there.

If he were to actually appear.

The person making the most noise would surely be the first to rush up and grovel!

Just at that moment.

The crowd noticed that, at some point, a person had suddenly appeared in the main seat.

A stranger.

Someone they had never seen before!

"Where is the Medicine Emperor Han Feng? When is he coming out?"

Elder Ban mistook him for one of Han Feng's subordinates.

Seemingly intent on venting his frustration, he spoke coldly, his tone laced with interrogation.

The man didn't speak, merely beckoning with his palm.

In an instant!

Everyone realized their storage rings were flying toward the man, completely beyond their control!

"Eh! What is going on?"

"Damn it, have these storage rings gained sentience?"

"Stop right there!"

A group of Dou Emperor powerhouses lunged toward their respective storage rings.

Elder Ban sensed something amiss: "Are you the one playing tricks?!"

Xiao Xuan caught several storage rings.

Just as he was about to inspect them!

Elder Ban flew into a rage: "Very well! Did Han Feng call us here just to rob our storage rings? Does he really think this old man is a pushover!"

The aura of a Seven-Star Dou Emperor erupted instantly!

But!

Before he could even strike!

The next second!

A terrifying pressure, heavy as a mountain, descended in a heartbeat.

Elder Ban was like a lit firecracker; without warning, with a single bang, he was reduced to a mist of blood filling the air!

In an instant!

The great hall fell into a deathly silence!

You could hear a pin drop!

A Seven-Star Dou Emperor powerhouse, just like that... gone?!

Faintly.

The scent of blood in the air was now mingled with a trace of the stench of urine!

No one dared to move; it was as if even their breathing had ceased!

"One hour! I want to see every single treasure in your storehouses! If there is any concealment, he shall be your example!"

Xiao Xuan swept his gaze across the hall and spoke indifferently.

"What are you still standing there for? Do you need Me to personally escort you back?"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, seven or eight figures transformed into streaks of multicolored light and vanished from the spot!

A mere half-hour later.

These people had all returned!

"My Lord, this is the entire inventory of our Eight-Fan Sect."

"My Lord, this is from our Earth Flame Sect..."

"My Lord, this is from our Rakshasa Sect..."

"My Lord, this is from our Mad Lion Gang..."

Outside, they were all Dou Emperors, sect leaders, and ruthless figures who were revered by all, whose words carried immense weight, and whose names struck fear into the hearts of others!

But at this moment, they were all pathetic wretches, so humble that they had to be cautious even with their breathing, their desire for survival pushed to the absolute limit!

Xiao Xuan collected the storage rings and, under the terrified gazes of the crowd, stepped into a spatial rift!

"A spatial rift? This is..."

"Is this a Dou Ancestor?"

"You idiots! How could a Dou Ancestor be this powerful? This is clearly the legendary Dou Venerable!"

"What? A... a Dou Venerable?! Terrifying!"

Everyone felt a sense of relief; if not for Elder Ban shielding them from this deathly tribulation, they would all have been finished.

Although they had lost all their treasures this time, it did not matter. If there was an opportunity in the future, they could simply go and plunder them back!

Might makes right.

This was the rule of survival in the Black-Corner Region!

By the same token, this was also the reason Xiao Xuan had robbed them.

As for why he hadn't killed them, it was likely that he didn't want to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Xiao Xuan entered the Heavenly Tomb once more!

The first thing he did was to devour the Sea Heart Flame.

[Ding! Host is devouring the Sea Heart Flame, ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. The system is assisting in refining and converting...]

Seven days later.

[Ding! Detected that the host has successfully refined the Sea Heart Flame. Physical body recovery progress: 4.0%. Current remaining progress: 88.74%.]

"For a sixth-tier alchemist, the collection in his storage ring is truly pathetic!"

Xiao Xuan felt somewhat disappointed.

Inside Han Feng's storage ring, apart from a fragmented Burning Mantra and some medicinal herbs, there were only a few fifth or sixth-tier medicinal pills.

He was simply too poor.

However!

He discovered a pitch-black Jade Tablet inside Han Feng's storage ring!

Traces of soul power still lingered upon it.

Furthermore, Xiao Xuan felt as though he had seen the mark on the Jade Tablet somewhere before!

He pondered for a long time, but could not recall where!

He attempted to probe it with his soul power, hoping to find an answer!

Regrettably, this object had already been opened, or rather, the sealed soul power had dissipated.

There was no useful information left within the jade pendant.

"Han Feng was a man of the world, so why would he keep this? Could it be..."

Xiao Xuan's expression stiffened!

Could it be that this fellow had sensed the lingering soul power and used it to cultivate his own, causing the seal to weaken and the information inside to vanish?!

Xiao Xuan immediately released Han Feng's soul!

"My Lord... My Lord, spare me! My Lord, spare me!"

As soon as he emerged, Han Feng knelt on the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Where did you obtain this item? What information did you gain after activating it?!"

Han Feng raised his head and took a careful look.

He recalled for half a minute.

Only then did he speak: "This is... something I picked up when I fled from the Central Plains to the Northwest Continent."

"Where did you pick it up?"

"It seems to be... the Eastern Region of the Central Plains, yes, it was the Eastern Region of the Central Plains."

Han Feng said with a trembling voice.

He kept his head lowered, not daring to look at Xiao Xuan.

Xiao Xuan pressed further: "And what else?"

"After I picked it up, I discovered I could absorb soul power from it, so I... I relied on it to cultivate my soul power... My Lord, spare my life, I... I truly did not know this thing belonged to you, please just let me go. I know I was wrong..."

As he spoke, Han Feng noticed Xiao Xuan's expression was terrifyingly gloomy, and his voice grew quieter and quieter.

In the end, he began to kowtow and beg for mercy again.

Xiao Xuan grew annoyed.

He locked him away once more.

It seems that to uncover the origin of this item, I will have to find time to make a trip to the Eastern Region of the Central Plains to investigate!

After putting away the Jade Tablet.

Adhering to the principle of not letting anything go to waste, Xiao Xuan devoured all the medicinal herbs and pills within Han Feng's storage ring, exchanging them for a 0.3% progress in physical recovery.

The rare treasures contributed by other factions in the Black-Corner Region also provided Xiao Xuan with 1% progress in physical recovery.

In this way, the remaining physical recovery progress stood at 87.44%.

Xiao Xuan glanced at the Possession Technique, which indicated it would take another week to fully cool down.

Next, he was going to make a trip to Jia Nan Academy!