Starfall Pavilion

"Senior Xiao Chen, what are your plans next?"

Yao Chen's eyes flashed with cold light as he spoke in a deep voice, unwilling to watch the Soul Clan and the others leave unscathed.

"You have now reached the late stage of the four-star Dou Saint realm. I will give you one year to unify the Central Continent. Deal with anyone below the five-star Dou Saint realm yourself. Anyone above that, I will handle."

Xiao Chen was likewise unwilling to let the Soul Clan, especially Nihility Devouring Flame, leave.

However, both Nihility Devouring Flame and he were nine-star Dou Saints. If they truly fought without restraint, forget the Jia Ma Empire—even the entire Northwest Continent might not survive.

Moreover, Nihility Devouring Flame had the entire Soul Clan and Hun Tiandi behind him.

Forget the Soul Clan. Against Hun Tiandi alone, without using the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint experience card, he likely would not last a hundred exchanges, even with the Dragon Phoenix Physique.

In the end, his strength was still insufficient.

Compared with a colossal force like the Soul Clan, the Xiao Family was still far too weak.

"Unify the Central Continent."

Hearing this, Yao Chen could not help frowning. In all these countless years, no one had ever managed to unify the Central Continent.

After all, not only were there countless sects, clans, and factions in the Central Continent, there were also numerous Demon Beast clans.

What was more, no one knew how many ancient monsters were lying dormant. Among those known alone, there were quite a few Dou Saint experts in the Central Continent who were no weaker than him.

Unifying the Central Continent was no simple matter.

In the original story, the Heavenly Mansion Alliance had merely united forces such as the Pill Tower, Blazing Flame Valley, and Flower Sect on the surface.

Yet in truth, there were no shortage of Central Continent factions possessing Dou Saint experts.

Most of those factions kept a low profile. Like the Ancient Clan and other ancient races, they would not easily start conflicts with other forces.

The power they possessed could not be underestimated. Even if Yao Chen were two or three stars stronger, he would not dare entertain such thoughts.

"I will do my best. It is just that Xiao Yanzi is still too weak. It would not be suitable for him to accompany me to the Central Continent."

Yao Chen voiced his concern.

"It does not matter. Jia Nan Academy will be recruiting students soon. Have Xiao Yan join Jia Nan Academy then. Given Jia Nan Academy's standards, its guidance for Xiao Yan should not be much worse than yours."

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Chen spoke.

The Xiao Family's development was still too slow. However, after this incident, the entire Jia Ma Empire would likely fall under the Xiao Family's control before long.

Naturally, controlling a Jia Ma Empire was far from Xiao Chen's goal. His goal was the entire Northwest Continent.

In the original story, after Xiao Yan established the Flame Alliance and took control of the Jia Ma Empire, Medusa nearly unified the entire Northwest Continent under her leadership.

Of course, that was also related to the Northwest Continent's overall lack of strength.

After all, the strongest people in the Northwest Continent were merely Dou Zuns, and there were no more than thirty of them.

A Dou Wang could be considered a local powerhouse there, while in the Central Continent, a Dou Wang was little more than a nobody.

"Alright!"

Yao Chen knew very well that the man before him could revive him, but could also make him die without a burial ground at any time.

There were definitely fewer than five nine-star Dou Saints in the entire Dou Qi Continent.

Thus, he did not dare refuse Xiao Chen's request.

What was more, unifying the Central Continent would bring him considerable benefits as well.

It would be an enormous help in dealing with the Soul Hall. He would never have entertained such thoughts on his own.

But with Xiao Chen behind him, he had no qualms about borrowing a tiger's might to raise his banner.

Starfall Pavilion was located in the Southern Region of the Central Continent. Among the so-called Four Directions Pavilion, Starfall Pavilion had the fewest disciples. Of course, while its numbers were small, its quality was excellent. Every disciple of the pavilion possessed considerable cultivation talent. Thus, many people in the Southern Region knew that if they encountered a Starfall Pavilion disciple, they must never look down on them because of their age or anything else. Starfall Pavilion never accepted mediocrities.

Among the Four Directions Pavilion, Starfall Pavilion not only had the fewest disciples, but was also the most mysterious. The other three pavilions had built their headquarters in grand and majestic fashion, allowing people to sense their formidable strength at a glance. Starfall Pavilion, however, was different. Unless one knew it extremely well, one would likely find it difficult even to locate its sect grounds. This only added a touch of mystery to Starfall Pavilion in the eyes of outsiders.

Even with Yao Chen's strength as a four-star Dou Saint crossing the endless void, the journey from the Jia Ma Empire to the Central Continent took a full month.

After returning to Starfall Pavilion and meeting with his close friend Venerable Feng, Yao Chen immediately headed for the Pill Tower in the Sacred Pill Region.

The Pill Tower stood in the center of the inner district of Sacred Pill City. This region was the sacred land in the hearts of countless alchemists. Because Sacred Pill City was now crowded with people from all walks of life, the inner district's defenses were especially strict, ready at any moment to deal with all sudden changes.

The inner district of Sacred Pill City generally only permitted residence to factions related to the Pill Tower or high-tier alchemists. Thus, compared with the outer district, the caliber of its residents was on an entirely different level.

Upon entering the inner district, one only needed to look up to see, in its central area, a nearly hundred-zhang-tall black tower rising into the sky. Like a small mountain, it gave off a towering, majestic presence. Its tip pierced deep into the clouds, and one could barely see its peak at a glance. Amid the swirling mist, it appeared exceptionally mysterious.

On the top floor of the Pill Tower, within a great hall, Venerable Feng and Yao Lao sat together. A Pill Tower elder swiftly withdrew, hurrying off to notify the three giants. "Those three fellows have certainly become quite full of themselves," Yao Lao said with a chuckle as he lifted the teacup beside him and took a light sip. The journey here had indeed been exhausting for him and Feng Xian, but fortunately, neither of them was an ordinary expert, allowing them to endure it without issue.

Feng Xian smiled but said nothing. After all, he and the three giants of the Pill Tower had a genuinely good relationship.

The silence in the hall lasted only a moment before being broken by a burst of hurried footsteps. Then, the tightly shut doors were rapidly pushed open, followed by a loud laugh.

"Haha, what rare guests, what rare guests! Old Yao, I never thought the day would come when I would see you again."

The tightly shut doors opened, and Xuan Kongzi, dressed in pale white robes, strode in with a hearty laugh. Behind him, Tian Lei zi and Xuan Yi followed closely. Both gazed excitedly at Yao Lao, who was seated in the hall holding a teacup.

"It has been a long time. I hope you have all been well." Yao Lao set down his teacup and smiled at the three. Xuan Kongzi and the other two quickly entered the hall and came before Yao Lao. Looking at that familiar face, they fell silent for a moment before sighing softly. Xuan Kongzi heavily patted Yao Lao's shoulder. "I truly never expected that, in this lifetime, I would get to see you old fellow again."

Seeing them like this, the smile on Yao Lao's face grew even warmer. He patted Xuan Kongzi's shoulder, then turned his gaze toward Xuan Yi at the side and smiled. "After all these years, you are still as radiant as ever. You do not look anything like us old men."

At those words, Xuan Yi's cheeks actually flushed faintly, and a slight mist appeared in her eyes. She displayed the shy manner of a young girl.

Seeing this, the smile at the corners of Feng Xian's lips deepened.

Quite a few things had happened between Xuan Yi and Yao Chen.

After chatting and laughing for a while, the group finally settled down.

"Alright, one does not visit a temple without a reason. Old Yao, you must have something important to discuss if you have come to my Pill Tower this time, right?"

Xuan Kongzi smiled, then changed the subject and looked toward Yao Lao. "Yes." Once the conversation turned serious, the smile on Yao Lao's face faded somewhat. After a brief silence, he explained the matter in detail.

"An alliance? This is rather troublesome. You know how stubborn those old fellows are."

After hearing Yao Lao's explanation, Xuan Kongzi and the other two all frowned.

Compared with Xiao Chen's demand to unify the Central Continent, Yao Chen had not the slightest confidence. But if it was merely a straightforward alliance like in the original story, he still had some confidence.

"I know it will be troublesome, but we must try. The Soul Hall and the Soul Clan behind it are too powerful. None of our factions can contend with them alone. If we do not join hands, I fear none of us will escape the Soul Hall's clutches in the end. According to Senior Xiao Chen, the Soul Clan's capture of souls is brewing an enormous conspiracy!"

Yao Lao spoke solemnly.

Xuan Kongzi nodded slightly. He too could guess that the Soul Hall would not capture so many soul bodies for no reason. Yet this alone was still not enough to make those old fellows break convention and choose to form an alliance.

Of course, if Xiao Chen came in person, Xuan Kongzi was certain those old fellows would not dare utter a single word of objection.

"If the Ancestor were here, this matter would be much easier. With a single word from him, the final answer could be decided."

Xuan Yi frowned. "That old thing has disappeared again?"

Yao Lao froze for a moment. Hearing this, Xuan Kongzi and the other two smiled bitterly and nodded. "He disappeared long ago. We have had no news of him for many years. If his soul jade slip were not still completely intact, we would have thought he had met with some misfortune."

"What should we do, then? We only have one year. If we cannot unify the Central Continent within a year, I fear he will personally make his move."

Venerable Feng glanced at Yao Chen and timely spoke the words they had discussed beforehand.

Before his voice had even faded, the expressions of the three giants turned ugly.

If an unconstrained nine-star Dou Saint personally acted, even the Pill Tower Ancestor appearing might be powerless to change anything.

"Then we can only let the Grand Elder Council of the Little Pill Tower decide through a vote," Xuan Kongzi said.

"The Grand Elder Council has ten seats. The three of us, as the three giants of the Pill Tower, hold seats there as well. But even so, we only have three votes."

Xuan Yi said helplessly, "Moreover, the other seven old fellows are far more senior than we are. Our words do not carry much weight with them."

"Only three votes? That will not be enough."

Yao Lao shook his head. Although the Grand Elder Council was quite democratic and decisions were entirely based on the number of supporting and opposing votes, several of the old fellows within it were exceedingly conservative. Most would oppose an alliance. And within the Grand Elder Council, even a one-vote difference would make the final outcome set in stone, impossible to overturn.