Refining Wu Protector, Seventh-Tier Alchemist

Although the two battles of the Misty Cloud Sect ended relatively quickly, the aura and fluctuations of the Dou Zong powerhouses clearly could not escape the notice of the several powerful figures in the Imperial Capital.

The presence of three Dou Zong- level auras made everyone in the Jia Ma Empire extremely uneasy.

They naturally recognized Yun Shan's aura, but they had never seen Wu Protector's aura before. As for the fiery aura, although it felt familiar, they couldn't be sure who it belonged to.

Because no one knew that Xiao Yan could use a secret technique to directly boost his strength from Two-Star Dou Emperor to Two-Star Dou Zong!

Only Ya Fei was not surprised at all, and even directly stopped Hai Bodong from going to the Misty Cloud Sect to find out what was going on.

When Ya Fei learned that Xiao Yan had broken through to the Dou Emperor, she already understood that Xiao Yan would have no rivals in the Jia Ma Empire!

Therefore, she could roughly guess what was happening at the Misty Cloud Sect, so she wasn't in a hurry to get information.

However, the other forces were not so patient and each sent out their own people to gather information.

Unfortunately Misty Cloud Sect had already temporarily sealed off its gates under Xiao Yan's orders, so no message could be sent out.

Three days later.

Misty Cloud Sect, a secluded courtyard in the Back Mountain.

Xiao Yan withdrew his soul power from probing the situation at Yun Shan, his brows furrowing slightly, but then relaxing.

"How about it?"

Yun Yun, who had been standing by, immediately asked with concern, a hint of nervousness in her beautiful eyes.

Although she knew that the hidden danger in Yun Shan's body had been removed, his weak state still worried her.

"It's alright." Xiao Yan gave her a reassuring look. "When Senior Yun Shan advanced to the Dou Zong level, the pills he used were mixed with some other things. Although the hidden dangers have been eliminated, the damage to his Soul Origin and his already unstable Dou Qi foundation will take time to recover."

I have used the power of elixirs to restore his disordered meridians. With a little rest over a month, he should recover his health. However, he will need to spend the next year honing his Dou Qi foundation, otherwise his future achievements may be limited."

Yun Yun nodded upon hearing this, feeling much relieved. Looking at Yun Shan, who was still unconscious on the bed but whose breathing was becoming more stable, tears of gratitude welled up in her eyes.

"Xiao Yan..."

She called softly, gazing tenderly at her beloved.

She felt that Xiao Yan was simply the person she was destined to fall in love with. In the blink of an eye, four years had passed, and the naive boy had now developed a formidable strength that even she found remarkable, and he had become her support.

This feeling is magical.

Xiao Yan smiled slightly and naturally put his arm around her shoulder:

"Alright, the matter is resolved, so don't worry anymore. With my Alchemy, I'm not far from bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bones. Besides, Senior Yun Shan's condition is much better. I've already taken care of most of the internal affairs of the sect, so you don't need to worry about anything these next few days. Just get some rest."

Yun Yun took a deep breath, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and her gaze became firm and bright again.

She knew very well that now was not the time to dwell on personal emotions. The teacher was safe, the traitor was executed, the enemy was captured, and the losses were not too great; this was already the best possible outcome.

However, although the crisis of the Misty Cloud Sect seems to have been resolved, the subsequent reconstruction and development will require someone to make decisions, and as the sect leader, she should shoulder this responsibility.

If she had previously harbored the idea of having Xiao Yan and Nalan Yanran develop the Misty Cloud Sect together...

Now, she hopes that Xiao Yan can explore the world and make his mark. A young man's path should be open to all corners of the land, not confined to the small territory of the Jia Ma Empire.

"No, I've rested enough." Yun Yun shook her head, regaining the composure befitting a sect leader. "I'll summon the elders immediately to handle sect affairs and finalize the alliance. As for Master..."

"Don't worry, I won't leave for now." Xiao Yan understood her concerns. "I'll stay here to protect you, and also to study that Wu Protector. He should have quite a bit of useful 'things' about the Soul Hall in his head."

Yun Yun gave Xiao Yan a deep look, her unspoken trust turning into a thousand words. She nodded, straightened her appearance, and an air of elegance and nobility immediately emanated from her.

She turned around and walked towards the door.

Xiao Yan watched Yun Yun leave, but the smile on his face never faded.

"This is wonderful! All those years of walking on thin ice were worth it!"

Xiao Yan chuckled and muttered to himself for a moment, then sat down at the Eight Immortals table next to him. With a flick of his hand, a specially made jade bottle that sealed the soul of Wu Protector quietly appeared. The bottle was warm, with flames flowing around it.

"Soul Hall... Hehehe, it's time for me, Protector Yan Protector, to make my appearance!" Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened, and he let out a few strange laughs as if he were having a fit. Then, he said in a sinister voice, "Wu Protector, you better not disappoint me!"

He slowly closed his eyes, and his powerful soul energy, protected by the Heavenly Flames, probed into the warm jade bottle that sealed the Wu Protector.

On the surface of the bottle, Heavenly Flames flowed slowly like living things, radiating an extreme heat that could imprison and obliterate the soul.

Inside the bottle was a cage constructed from the combined power of Xiao Yan's soul and the Fallen Heart Flame. At its core, an extremely weak and almost collapsing soul was violently churning, its involuntary soul fluctuations filled with fear, resentment, and deep-seated pain.

The Fallen Heart Flame was constantly scorching his Soul Origin. This torture, originating from the depths of his soul, was so intense that even a ferocious person like Wu Protector was brought to the brink of death, his will on the verge of collapse.

"You little beast... you... you'll die a horrible death..."

Sensing the intrusion of Xiao Yan's soul power, the weakened soul body emitted Wu Protector faint yet extremely resentful soul fluctuation.

"Oh? You're quite stubborn!" Xiao Yan's soul voice rang out coldly, tinged with mockery. "It seems you haven't had enough of my 'Supreme Realm Hot Compress Package' yet."

With a slight thought, the Fallen Heart Flame within the cage suddenly intensified.

"Aaaaaah--!!!"

An indescribably piercing scream of the soul exploded within the bottle's interior. The illusory soul, like a snowball thrown into boiling oil, twisted and contracted wildly, its aura weakening visibly.

With the Fallen Heart Flame, Heavenly Flames that tortures the soul, Xiao Yan has a unique advantage in dealing with the people of the Soul Hall.

That searing pain that penetrates to the soul is a thousand times more painful than any physical injury.

"Stop! Stop now! What do you want to know?! I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything!"

The intense pain finally crushed the last shred of Wu Protector's will to resist. He roared and begged for mercy, completely losing the prestige of Dou Zong powerhouse and Soul Hall Protector.

Xiao Yan slightly reduced the intensity of the flames to avoid burning this piece of trash to death, but his voice remained as cold as iron:

"The first question concerns the distribution, personnel allocation, and communication methods of the Soul Hall's branches in the Jia Ma Empire and surrounding areas."

The Wu Protector's soul fluctuated violently, seemingly struggling, but the lingering pain instantly subdued him.

"... In the West... Northwest Region, there are not many branch halls... The closest to Jia Ma is the 'Sky Heaven Burial Branch Hall' within the Tianxin Empire, located at the junction of the Central Plains and the Northwest Region... The hall master is a Three-Star Dou Zun... Deer... Venerable Lu... He has ten protectors under his command, responsible for a part of the Northwest Continent's Ge Cao Domain."

Xiao Yan frowned upon hearing this:

"The Tianxin Empire... Heaven Burial Ravine?"

He recognized the place somewhat, but couldn't quite place it.

But the next moment, Xiao Yan intensified his attack.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhh!"

The Wu Protector screamed in agony.

He didn't understand. He had already confessed, so why was that damned Xiao Yan still burning him with fire!

"Do you really think I don't know anything? Even the worst branch of the Soul Hall has at least two hall masters, a main hall master and a deputy hall master. You only mention the hall master and not the deputy hall master. What are you up to?"

Xiao Yan asked in a cold voice.

Upon hearing this, Wu Protector's soul trembled violently. Clearly, he had not expected that Xiao Yan would know so much about the Soul Hall.

Xiao Yan hadn't originally intended to attack them, so even if there were a few more Dou Zun, he wouldn't panic. With the things Hun Li Li had given him, even the elders of the Soul Hall would have to pay their respects to him.

"The second question is, why is the Soul Hall investigating the Xiao Family? How large is the investigation? What is the status of the investigation?"

Although Xiao Yan knew the reason for this problem, he was unclear whether the Soul Clan was deliberately targeting the Jia Ma Empire or targeting a specific region. Figuring this out was crucial.

Wu Protector's soul fluctuations visibly paused for a moment before he slowly said:

"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics, but I know that the Palace Master received the mission from the main hall. It seems to be to find an Ancient Jade. As for the scale, all the branch halls in the Northwest Region are sending protectors to secretly hunt them down. In the past few years, several families with the surname Xiao have been found, but all have come up empty-handed."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems the Soul Hall is unsure of the Xiao Family's current location. But that makes sense; they've fled from the Central Plains to a remote place like the Jia Ma Empire. If they could still be found, the Xiao Family would have been wiped out long ago.

"One last question: Besides Yun Shan, who else has the Soul Hall infiltrated the Misty Cloud Sect?"

He needs to ensure that there are no more hidden dangers within the Misty Cloud Sect.

"That's all. As for the others, I originally planned to control them later. Currently, only Yun Shan remains." Wu Protector panted, seemingly wanting to negotiate. "Yun Shan has Soul Seal and Soul Seed planted within him by me. If you can let me go, I can help you remove the Soul Seal and Soul Seed, and I guarantee that we will not interfere with each other in the future. I will never set foot in the Jia Ma Empire again."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan chuckled.

He lowered the temperature of the Heavenly Flames in the bottle so that Wu Protector could answer the question better.

This kid's actually trying to negotiate?

"No need, you should just die!"

Xiao Yan sneered, then gave Wu Protector no chance to explain. His soul power withdrew directly from the jade bottle, and then the Fallen Heart Flame erupted, instantly refining it into pure Soul Origin.

Xiao Yan was still not at ease, so he used the four-in-one Heavenly Flames to refine it a second time to ensure that there were no impurities before directly consuming the ball of Soul Origin.

The refined Soul Origin was extremely pure. As soon as it entered Xiao Yan's soul, it directly seeped into the depths of his soul and then transformed into the purest soul power, helping Xiao Yan to Spirit Ascension realm.

"Buzz--"

The instant his Soul Origin merged with his, an indescribable coolness and comfort swept through Xiao Yan's body and rushed straight to his mind!

His sea of consciousness was like a calm lake tossed with a huge rock, suddenly churning up towering waves!

The soul power that had already reached the threshold of the Seventh-Grade began to grow, condense, and transform at an unprecedented speed under the nourishment of this pure Soul Origin!

An invisible Soul Storm erupted suddenly, centered on Xiao Yan!

Inside the room, the air was violently distorted, and the tables and chairs moved on their own without any wind, emitting a faint hum.

A vast, profound, and soul-chilling pressure spread out. Although Xiao Yan deliberately restrained it, the improvement derived from his soul realm still made the entire room seem heavier.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan was aware of the situation and avoided the direction of Yun Shan. Otherwise, the Soul Storm alone could have caused further damage to Yun Shan's already weakened soul.

At this moment, Xiao Yan had his eyes closed, his brows slightly furrowed, and a faint light emanating from his forehead.

The realm of the soul, the Mortal Realm Peak!

The surge in soul power allowed Xiao Yan to completely enter the ranks of Seventh-Grade Seventh-Tier Alchemist pill before!

With such powerful soul strength, it's practically a certainty that Xiao Yan will become Seventh-Tier Alchemist, given his Alchemy.

Now, Xiao Yan can easily suppress a powerhouse like Yun Shan, who has just entered the Dou Zong realm, using only his soul power.

"Hmm? Your soul power has increased this much?"

Seemingly sensing Xiao Yan's change, Old Yao's voice resounded in Xiao Yan's heart.

"Yes, I refined that protector of the Soul Hall. In his previous life, that guy was probably at the Peak Dou Zong realm. Over the years, he has harmed countless souls to raise his own strength to the level of Four-Star Dou Zong. Such a person is not worthy of reincarnation, so I directly refined and absorbed his Soul Origin!"

Xiao Yan explained in his mind.

"With such a sudden surge in soul power, you'd better hone it carefully. Don't rush things and damage your foundation."

Upon hearing this, the Old Yao gave a stern reminder.

"I know. I'll take this time to Alchemy. That way, once I've collected all the necessary medicinal herbs when I go to Central Plains, I can refine a body for Venerable Skyfire."

Xiao Yan naturally had his own plans and schemes. At the latest, when he turned fifteen, he would go to Central Plains and head straight for the Danta!

If he has resources but doesn't use them, then isn't he just wasting all those memories?

"Hmm, let me out. It'll be good for your master to see how far you've progressed in your Alchemy."

The Old Yao said with satisfaction.

"Good!"

Xiao Yan then removed the soul seal from the black Storage Ring.

Actually, even if he didn't remove it, the Old Yao could still come out. It's just that he's respecting his disciple's privacy, just like knocking before entering a child's room.

Once the seal was removed, Old Yao's almost solidified figure immediately appeared.

"Alright, let's begin!"

He said with a smile.