The Pill Tower Seals Its Gates

The Pill Tower's experts all fell silent. As they read the contents of the letter, they felt an immense weight bearing down on them.

"The Hun Clan actually has two Nine-Star Dou Saints? How is that possible?"

"What clan is the Tunling Clan? I've never heard of them. Are they that powerful?"

"What is this Spirit Devouring thing? Why does it devour Dou Di bloodlines?"

"Fake, fake! This letter has to be fake! How could the Hun Clan have hundreds of Dou Shengs and thousands of Dou Zuns? Since when did Dou Shengs become so cheap? This is utter nonsense!"

"In this old man's opinion, 'hundreds' might not mean one hundred. It could mean three hundred or five hundred. And 'thousands' might not mean one thousand either-it could be two thousand, or even eight or nine thousand."

Old Monster Lin watched the Pill Tower members suddenly talking over one another. His withered face twitched, and he shook his head. Then he abruptly shuddered, seemingly remembering something, and quickly took an exquisite Spatial Scroll from his Storage Ring, crushing it in his hand.

Bang!

The scroll instantly crumbled into powder.

Vast spatial power swept out in every direction, completely disregarding the Little Pill Tower's formation barrier as it effortlessly tore open an enormous rift. A stable Spatial Passage then appeared before everyone.

In mere moments, a herd boy riding a blue ox emerged unhurriedly from the Spatial Passage.

The herd boy on the blue ox leisurely appeared above the Little Pill Tower's starry sky. He looked barely ten years old, dressed in a coarse cloth jacket, black trousers, and cloth shoes. A small gourd filled with pills hung at his waist. His eyes were clear, and he even looked a little adorably dazed.

"Ancestor!"

With a startled cry, Great Elder Lin Mo immediately dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his aged face in excitement. Even he had met this guardian of the Pill Tower only a handful of times. Seeing him again naturally left him overwhelmed with excitement.

"Hehe, you're Little Mo, aren't you? To think you've become a Dou Sheng now..." The herd boy smiled, then waved his little hand, lifting the Great Elder upright. "You were the one who crushed the Spatial Scroll I left at the Pill Tower, weren't you? Don't panic. Whatever thorny problem you've encountered, your ancestor will back you up."

As the herd boy's calm voice slowly rang out, the Pill Tower members stared in astonishment at the child on the blue ox's back. For a moment, not even a crow or sparrow broke the silence.

"Xuan Kongzi pays his respects to the Ancestor!" Sharp-eyed and quick to act, Xuan Kongzi immediately knelt on the ground. After a brief moment of shocked hesitation, the rest of the Pill Tower members hurriedly knelt as well.

"Mm, all of you may rise!" The Pill Tower Ancestor looked at Xuan Kongzi with satisfaction. This boy has a future.

"Xuan Kongzi, is it? Tell your ancestor what happened. Why has your Great Elder's face gone so pale? Our Pill Tower may no longer be what it once was, but we aren't made of clay!" The Pill Tower Ancestor stretched, his face full of indifference. These little Pill Tower brats haven't seen much of the world. With your ancestor here, what the hell are you afraid of?

Everyone looked at Xuan Kongzi with envy. No wonder this fellow was the foremost of the Pill Tower's Three Giants. Look at that-the Ancestor had remembered his name upon their very first meeting. How were Half-Saints like them supposed to bear that?

Xuan Yi and Tian Leizi beside him, in particular, began breathing a little faster, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy.

This was the legendary figure of the Pill Tower, the sea-calming divine pillar that held it steady.

"Ancestor, please look at this. It was written by someone from the Hun Clan calling himself Hun Mieba. Several thousand leaflets like this appeared in Sacred Pill City tonight. Their origin is unknown, and we don't know whether their contents are true."

The herd boy on the blue ox slowly descended into their midst, his face full of disdain.

"Hun Mieba?"

"A fine name, at least. I wonder how strong he is!"

Reaching out to accept the leaflet Xuan Kongzi offered, the Pill Tower Ancestor began carefully reading its contents. His clear eyes went from confusion to shock, and finally to terror.

"Good, good, good! What a Hun Clan! Two Nine-Star Dou Saints in one clan! Hundreds of Dou Shengs and thousands of Dou Zuns!"

The Pill Tower Ancestor's hands trembled, and fine beads of sweat covered his forehead.

"No wonder the Hun Clan has grown ever more powerful over the years. A Hall of Souls they casually established has kept our Pill Tower pinned down and gasping for breath all this time!"

The Pill Tower Ancestor jumped down from the blue ox, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced to and fro. His earlier calm and composure had vanished.

"Ancestor, the Spirit Clan's young clan leader recently died outside Sacred Pill City. Their people are still investigating in the city!" Great Elder Lin Mo said indignantly.

"Oh? Such a thing happened? Have even the young clan leaders of the Ancient Races been targeted already?" The Pill Tower Ancestor snorted coldly.

Xuan Kongzi spoke up from the side. "Ancestor, the leaflet says the Hun Clan uses the bloodlines of the Eight Clans as its source. Could the Hun Clan have killed that member of the Spirit Clan?"

Everyone nodded slightly.

What was there to doubt? Wasn't it obvious?

The Hun Clan must have done it!

Xuan Yi, however, frowned beside them. "But wouldn't it be a little unreasonable for a Nine-Star Dou Saint to attack a Dou Zong?"

"They already said it uses Dou Di bloodlines as its source. Dou Di bloodlines! You don't have one, and neither do I, but the Spirit Clan's young clan leader did. Its grade probably wasn't low, either. Of course the Nihility Devouring Flame would go after him. Who else would it go after-you?" Tian Leizi shook his head as he refuted her.

"Besides, people from the Hall of Souls might have captured him and handed him over to the Nihility Devouring Flame to devour. A mere Dou Zong wouldn't require such a being to act personally," Xuan Kongzi added.

A High-Rank Half-Saint nodded gently. "Actually, we aren't the ones who should have a headache right now. Those Ancient Races should. After all, we don't have Dou Di bloodlines. These Emperor Clans swagger around every day, monopolizing the continent's finest resources. It's about time someone put them in their place."

"That's true, but the Hun Clan is no harmless sort either. Ideally, both sides will go for each other's throats and head off together to meet their Dou Di ancestors," Great Elder Lin Mo added.

"Hahaha!"

At those words, everyone suddenly burst into laughter, and much of the tense, anxious atmosphere dissipated.

A thought flashed through Xuan Yi's mind. She suddenly turned and said, "Ancestor, the leaflets did appear in Sacred Pill City, after all. Within a few days, everyone across the Dou Qi Continent will probably know about this. Could the Hun Clan take its anger out on us? Could the Nihility Devouring Flame come to the Pill Tower personally to retaliate?"

At those words, the Pill Tower Ancestor's hand trembled slightly.

"Besides, they're already hunting soul bodies across the continent. Who knows how many of our Pill Tower's Alchemists have fallen into their hands? They might well seize this opportunity to catch us all in one net," Xuan Yi continued.

"Well..."

The Pill Tower Ancestor's expression changed drastically, his earlier composure nowhere to be seen. He stepped forward with his right foot, and a spatial rift instantly appeared. Grabbing the blue ox, he leaped inside.

Everyone in the Little Pill Tower stared in shock, as though a huge question mark hung above each of their heads.

"Pass down the order! The Pill Tower seals its gates effective immediately! All of you leave on your own. Your ancestor is going out to hide for a while too!"

An urgent voice rang out from the Spatial Passage before it had fully closed.