Chaos in the Central Plains

"Ah? I... I said this medicinal pill is really delicious, hee hee!"

Zi Yan grabbed a handful of pills and stuffed them into her mouth.

Her cheeks puffed out high, and combined with her baby face, she looked exceptionally cute.

"Senior, have you finished your business?"

Yao Chen asked.

Xiao Xuan said, "Not yet. There is a matter that might require her, so I returned to take her along."

"Fine! I thought you came back specifically to see me, but it turns out you just wanted to order someone around!"

Zi Yan turned her head away in dissatisfaction, pouting with a look that said she was angry.

She looked even cuter.

Xiao Xuan laughed, "I won't make you work for nothing. When the time comes, if we find good heavenly treasures, I'll have Yao Chen refine delicious pills for you. How about that?"

Yao Chen could only offer a bitter smile.

He was known as the 'Number One Alchemist on the Continent,' yet now, he was being treated as a tool to coax a child.

If his old friends found out about this, their jaws would drop!

Of course, if they knew that the person giving the orders was Xiao Xuan, ninety-nine percent of the alchemists in the Central Plains would likely scramble to be his tools!

Upon hearing Xiao Xuan's words, Zi Yan turned back and looked at him suspiciously, "Really? You aren't lying to me, are you?!"

"Do I look like the type to lie?"

"Well... alright, I'll believe you just this once."

Zi Yan beamed with joy.

She grabbed another handful of pills, stuffed them into her mouth, and began to crunch away.

Xiao Xuan walked to the side, flicked his finger, and two physical bodies were laid out on the ground.

Yao Chen recognized the two people on the ground at a glance.

"This is... Saint Hun Qing of the Soul Hall! And Venerable Blood River of the Soul Hall!"

One Dou Saint, one Dou Venerable!

"These are the medicinal materials needed to refine the body-restoration pills. Refine them yourself!"

"Senior, why are there two bodies?"

Yao Chen was a bit puzzled!

Could it be...

Did Xiao Xuan intend to use the body of Saint Hun Qing?

That didn't seem to fit his status!

"Apologies, the other body is for this old man... for me."

The figure of Sky Fire Venerable emerged, his plump, fair face filled with embarrassment.

He hadn't expected that Xiao Xuan would actually remember the promise made to him.

Yao Chen didn't ask further.

However, how should these two bodies be allocated?

"Saint Hun Qing's body belongs to you, and Venerable Blood River's body shall go to Sky Fire."

"Understood, Senior."

Yao Chen was very excited.

He was already at the peak of the Dou Venerable realm!

Now, with this Dou Saint body, he was confident that after recovering his physical form, he could step into the late stage of a one-star Dou Saint, or perhaps even reach two-star!

Currently, relying on his formidable strength, Xiao Xuan possessed multiple Heavenly Flames!

Refining the physical body only required him to refine the pills.

"Senior, this is an eighth-grade nine-colored pill I refined not long ago, the Crimson Crystal Soul-Returning Pill."

"Once your body is restored, you should be able to refine ninth-grade pills, right?"

"I should be able to, but... this Northwest Continent is barren, and I fear there isn't enough energy to support it."

"No matter. If worst comes to worst, we can just head to the north or south of the continent."

Xiao Xuan waved his hand dismissively.

Through the souls collected from repeatedly devouring Soul Hall branch halls over this period, the souls of Saint Hun Qing and the others, as well as the medicinal materials and pills consumed and refined from the Ancient Clan's Earth-tier warehouse, his physical restoration progress had now reached seventy-one percent.

As the two were speaking.

Hearing that Xiao Xuan had returned, Xun Er rushed over upon receiving the news.

"Teacher, you've finally returned. Xun Er has waited until the flowers have withered."

"..."

"Teacher, what is that expression? Could it be... you want to welch on your debt?"

The corners of Xun Er's mouth turned downward, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes!

It was as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment!

Zi Yan rolled her eyes: "Little brat, sniveling like that really ruins the mood."

"?" Xun Er.

Xun Er retorted: "You call me a little brat, but how much older than me are you?"

"I am... much, much older than you!"

Zi Yan did not actually know how old she was.

Xiao Xuan secretly added a thought: She might even be older than your father, Gu Yuan!

"Is that so? But you aren't any taller than me either!"

Xun Er refused to concede.

Zi Yan quickly swallowed the medicinal pill in her mouth and ran in front of Xun Er.

She puffed out her chest and held her head high.

She reached out a hand, measuring from the top of Xun Er's head to her own.

"See that? I'm a whole head taller than you!"

"Hmph!"

Xun Er let out a dainty huff, stubbornly rising onto her tiptoes.

Unfortunately, this scene was caught right by Zi Yan.

"Yo, yo, yo, why are you standing on your tiptoes? Did you think I didn't see that?"

Xun Er stiffened her neck and refused to admit it.

"Who stood on their tiptoes? Who stood on their tiptoes?!"

Zi Yan pointed at Xun Er's feet.

"Refusing to admit it, are you? Look for yourself, aren't you still on your tiptoes?"

"I am not!"

"You are, I saw it with my own eyes!"

The two of them went back and forth like this, bickering with each other right in front of Xiao Xuan and Yao Chen!

Their faces were flushed red, but neither was willing to give an inch!

Xiao Xuan did not intervene, and together with Yao Chen, he left the area.

"Where did Teacher go?"

"It's all your fault!"

"It's your fault!"

"It was you..."

And then, the two of them began bickering again!

Meanwhile.

Central Plains!

Dou Venerable level powerhouses began to vanish into thin air with increasing frequency!

From the initial one or two, it had grown to dozens!

And the number was still rising!

Among the prominent factions—the One Tower, One Hall, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions—the sect leaders, pavilion masters, and elders of the Yellow Spring Pavilion, Wind Lightning Pavilion, Ice River Valley, and Sound Valley were disappearing one after another in bizarre fashion!

For a time!

Except for top-tier forces like the Pill Tower and the Soul Hall.

All other factions were gripped by panic.

Many forces even packed their bags and fled the Central Plains!

Only forces like the Starfall Pavilion and the Burning Flame Valley remained.

Starfall Pavilion.

"Vice Pavilion Master, are we... really not leaving?"

An elder of the Starfall Pavilion asked.

"You all go. This is the life's work of Brother Chen and me; I intend to live and die with the Starfall Pavilion."

Venerable Wind shook his head, a look of resolve surfacing in his eyes.

"Vice Pavilion Master, why bother? The Pavilion Master has been missing for decades; perhaps he..."

"If it weren't for him back then, I would have died long ago. So... there is no need to try and persuade me further."

"Sigh."

The elder let out a long sigh, turning away helplessly.

Soon, only Venerable Wind remained in the Starfall Pavilion.

Brother Chen, I do not believe you have truly died just like that...

Burning Flame Valley.

"Valley Master, among the current One Tower, One Hall, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and Four Pavilions of the Central Plains, aside from the Pill Tower and the Soul Hall, only we and the Starfall Pavilion have yet to depart!"

An elder of the Burning Flame Valley reported.

"Starfall Pavilion? Isn't that the faction Yao Chen established back in the day?"

Tang Zhen murmured.

When Yao Chen first rose to fame, he had only been a Dou Ancestor.

In the blink of an eye, decades had already passed.

"Valley Master, what about us? Shall we continue to hold our ground, or leave the Central Plains?"

The elder asked.

Tang Zhen looked toward the red-haired old man at his side.

"Why are you looking at me? Of course we stay, to see exactly which bastard this is!"

Fire Cloud Ancestor was a Dou Saint powerhouse, so naturally, he was not easily intimidated.

Moreover, he still possessed a life-saving item left behind by Xiao Xuan.

What was there to fear?

Just then.

Suddenly, a voice exploded in their ears!

"Heh, as expected of Fire Cloud Ancestor. Such spirit—even This Seat must admit to being inferior."