Expansion

At Feather Pavilion headquarters, in a quiet, secluded pavilion.

Liu Yu sipped his tea as he watched Zi Yan and Yun Yun whispering across from him, feeling rather speechless. If they wanted to whisper, they should at least act like it. Their voices were so loud—were they afraid he would not hear them?

"Sister Yun, just how many women does Boss have?" Zi Yan asked curiously, linking her arm through Yun Yun's fair arm.

At Zi Yan's question, Yun Yun gave it some serious thought, her beautiful eyes unconsciously flicking toward Zi Yan, who had truly blossomed into a completely different woman.

To be honest, when she first saw Zi Yan looking like this, she had been utterly shocked and could hardly believe it. If not for the traces of Xiao Zi Yan in that alluring face, along with confirmation from Liu Yu and Zi Yan herself, she would almost have thought Liu Yu had gone out and found another woman—and had even brazenly brought her right before her. At the time, she had genuinely been a little angry.

“Several, I suppose. Quite a few, anyway.” Yun Yun thought for a moment, glanced at Liu Yu, and answered softly.

Before Yun Yun even answered, Liu Yu had already turned aside, sipping his tea and admiring the lush greenery of the flowers and trees. He barely needed to think to guess what she would say.

As far as Liu Yu was concerned, they could say whatever they liked. The innocent need no defense...

Just as Zi Yan and Yun Yun's conversation grew increasingly outrageous, and the thin-skinned Liu Yu began to find it unbearable, an old man with a hooked nose slowly appeared some distance from the pavilion.

Without the slightest hesitation, Liu Yu vanished from the pavilion.

In an elegantly decorated corridor, Liu Yu and Eagle Mountain Old Man walked slowly together.

“Elder Eagle, what brings you to me?” Liu Yu asked softly.

He valued Eagle Mountain Old Man quite highly. The mere fact that he had voluntarily handed over a secret soul technique and opened his mind to let Liu Yu plant a Soul Seal had already convinced Liu Yu to ensure that he became a Dou Zun!

This secret soul technique was called the Soul Division Art. It had no grade and somewhat resembled a soul skill, yet was not one. Cultivating it granted the ability to split off a portion of one's soul and give that portion the power to mimic forms so convincingly that the false could pass for the real. It was quite a cheat, rivaling his Thousand Illusion Body. In some respects, it was even more lifelike than the Phantom Clones he condensed.

According to Eagle Mountain Old Man, he had obtained this secret soul technique in an ancient cave abode in the Northern Continent after leaving the Black-Corner Region. Relying on it, he had acquired numerous resources and advanced to become a Dou Zong expert. Meanwhile, frequent use of the technique had greatly strengthened his soul power, bringing it to mortal realm great perfection.

That explained why, in Liu Yu's memories, Eagle Mountain Old Man could turn his soul power into a human form and deceive numerous Dou Zong experts. It had all been thanks to this secret soul technique!

“Pavilion Master, although our Feather Pavilion now dominates the Black-Corner Region and possesses the resources of almost the entire region, our organization is also enormous. These resources are still somewhat...” Eagle Mountain Old Man did not finish his sentence. He trusted that the Pavilion Master would understand his meaning.

After that great gamble of his—willingly letting Liu Yu plant a Soul Seal in his soul—he had tasted the rewards. The feeling of receiving a plentiful supply of pills and watching his cultivation shoot upward had utterly captivated him!

He had originally been a Four-Star Dou Zong, but after taking a few Explosive Origin Pills, he had broken through to Five-Star Dou Zong in less than a year. Now, he was not far from becoming a Six-Star Dou Zong. If he could just get a few more...

And that was precisely the problem. The Black-Corner Region had already run out of the medicinal ingredients needed to refine the seventh-tier Explosive Origin Pill. That was why this idea had occurred to him.

“Five-Star Dou Zong already. It seems the Explosive Origin Pills worked quite well.” Liu Yu gave Eagle Mountain Old Man a casual glance, roughly understanding what was on his mind.

“The pills you refine are naturally superb, Pavilion Master. In all my years traveling the world, this is the first time I have heard of a pill that aids a Dou Zong's cultivation. You possess such a Pill Formula and can even refine it with ease. What can I say? You truly deserve to be our Feather Pavilion's master. With your alchemical skill, I imagine even refining those legendary Eighth-Tier Pills would be effortless, provided you had the Pill Formula!”

Eagle Mountain Old Man offered a little flattery, but in truth, he admired Liu Yu from the bottom of his heart. At such a young age, he was already a Dou Zong expert and a Seventh-Grade Alchemist. Talent like that surely stood alone across the entire continent—even in the fabled Central Plains!

Although he had never visited the Central Plains, he had heard some news about the region. Those renowned Venerables had possessed nowhere near the Pavilion Master's talent in their youth.

Sometimes, he wondered whether the Pavilion Master came from the Central Plains, yet some of his actions suggested otherwise. Dominating the Black-Corner Region and gathering resources on a massive scale, for example—surely someone from the Central Plains would not need to collect resources in a place like the Black-Corner Region? Given the wealth of the Central Plains, the Black-Corner Region could not compare at all, even if all sorts of rare resources flowed into it. That place was the true center of the continent!

"If you want to expand our influence and gather cultivation resources, I have no objection. But I won't take part. You have my permission to deploy Feather Pavilion's forces, and I can even find you some helpers," Liu Yu replied. His original purpose in establishing an organization had been to have his subordinates work for him and gather resources. He would not handle everything personally—otherwise, why establish an organization at all?

"Thank you, Pavilion Master!" Eagle Mountain Old Man's expression brightened. With those words from the Pavilion Master, he could rest easy.

"Where do you intend to begin expanding?" Liu Yu asked with some curiosity.

The Black-Corner Region connected the various continents and could be considered a crossroads.

"The Northern Continent. I spent several years traveling there. Its cultivation resources are relatively abundant compared with the surrounding continents. Although there are many Dou Zong experts, there are no top-level experts like Dou Zun. Most importantly, the two largest factions there have an irreconcilable feud. It's a matter of one surviving and the other dying. We can cooperate with one of them..."

Eagle Mountain Old Man laid it all out at length. Judging by the fairly detailed plan, he had been plotting this for quite some time.

Liu Yu listened silently. The plan sounded quite perfect, but it had two fatal flaws. Why would they cooperate with him? And after cooperating, how could he ensure that he would be the ultimate winner?

"Of course, this will still require you to make an appearance, Pavilion Master. You would only need to show yourself and intimidate them a little. After all, equal strength is the foundation of cooperation..." Eagle Mountain Old Man looked at Liu Yu cautiously. The Pavilion Master was the key to his plan.

Liu Yu sighed softly. After all those twists and turns, it still came down to relying on him. Somewhat helplessly, he asked, "You should know the cultivation level of that faction's strongest expert, right?"

"An Eight-Star Dou Zong. He may be a Nine-Star Dou Zong by now," Eagle Mountain Old Man replied.

"I'm merely a Three-Star Dou Zong. I can't intimidate an eight- or nine-star Dou Zong expert." Liu Yu looked at Eagle Mountain Old Man with a faint, ambiguous smile. He certainly had confidence in him!

"You are far too modest, Pavilion Master. When you had only just entered the Dou Zong realm, you could casually kill Earth Demon Old Ghost, a Seven-Star Dou Zong. Now that you are a Three-Star Dou Zong, you must be invincible beneath Dou Zun. How could an eight- or nine-star Dou Zong withstand even a single exchange with you?"

Eagle Mountain Old Man spoke with absolute conviction. He had witnessed Liu Yu's strength firsthand, which was why he had devised this plan. Naturally, he would never set out to harm his own Pavilion Master. After all, his life was in Liu Yu's hands.

Liu Yu chuckled. Having a subordinate who trusted him so much was rather interesting. His gaze suddenly sharpened, and a vast, mighty surge of Soul Power poured forth, slowly condensing into three invisible, slender needles. They entered Eagle Mountain Old Man's brow and hovered within his soul.

At the same time, Liu Yu sent a mass of icy-blue flame into Eagle Mountain Old Man's body.

Over the past year, Liu Yu had not continued fusing heavenly flames. Even with the Flame Mantra, it took far too much time. For now, the Profound Lotus Ice Flame was enough for his needs, and it still had considerable room to grow. After subduing the sea heart flame, he had begun using source power to nurture the fallen heart flame.

"The child flame I've given you can help intimidate that faction through its aura alone. If detonated, its power will rival a Peak Dou Zong expert's full-strength strike. As for those three Soul-Slaying Needles, once you activate them, they can easily destroy anyone beneath Dou Zun!"

Those casually spoken words exploded like thunder in Eagle Mountain Old Man's mind.

"Thank you, Pavilion Master!" Eagle Mountain Old Man thanked him excitedly. With trump cards like these, he had ample confidence that he could nibble away at the entire Northern Continent, bit by bit!

"I hope there really are no Dou Zun there, as you said. Otherwise, these things I've given you won't save you!" Liu Yu warned. He had given everything he ought to give. If something unexpected happened, then it could only be Eagle Mountain Old Man's fate.

"Rest assured, Pavilion Master. With these lifesaving treasures you've given me, if my luck is truly so poor that I encounter a Dou Zun, I will stand at the very front. I will never let Feather Pavilion's forces suffer losses for nothing! Besides, I am certain there are no Dou Zun in the Northern Continent!" Eagle Mountain Old Man vowed solemnly.

"Let's hope so..."