Storm clouds gathered

Fan Tian enjoyed a blissful sleep in Yao Ling's shop.

In his dream, he successfully advanced to Dou Sheng and swaggered into the Yao Clan's grand ceremony to ask for her hand in marriage. Just as he was riding high on the spring breeze of success, a blondie named Xiao Yan refined a Nine-Grade Profound Pill and won first place in the Medicine Canon, drawing the eyes of every member of the Yao Clan, Yao Ling included.

Blondie was in his thirties, a Five-Star Dou Sheng with a soul at heaven realm great perfection, and now an Alchemist capable of refining Nine-Grade Profound Pills to boot. The Yao Clan's chief called him "young friend" this and "young friend" that with such warmth, while his fiancée Yao Ling's gaze had grown so smoldering it could almost draw threads.

"Blondie and I cannot exist under the same sky!" Fan Tian muttered in his sleep, his fists clenched tight.

Meanwhile, Sacred Pill City had already descended into a boiling pot of chaos.

Only after the Pill Tower Ancestor, a Six-Star Dou Sheng, fled in panic did the Pill Tower's entire upper echelon truly lose their composure.

Fortunately, a Half-Saint and several Dou Zun from the Spirit Clan were in Sacred Pill City investigating their young clan chief's disappearance. First Elder Lin Mo immediately dispatched a high-level Half-Saint to bring them the news.

The Spirit Clan's Half-Saint felt his face turn deathly pale, his knees weaken, and his head spin. Without another word, he forcibly tore open space and rushed madly toward the Spirit Realm with his clansmen.

Meanwhile, the Pill Tower's experts above Dou Zong in Sacred Pill City began assembling.

The Little Pill Tower's Half-Saints and stronger experts departed first under First Elder Lin Mo's lead. The Pill Tower's Dou Zun experts followed closely behind, led by the Pill Tower's Three Giants, with Xuan Kongzi at their head.

The last group consisted of the Pill Tower's Dou Zong. They were the most numerous, the slowest, and worse at following orders by far.

Their family ties were tangled and cumbersome, and every one of them had dependents in tow. Accustomed to comfortable lives under the Pill Tower's protection, they now grumbled incessantly. Persuaded by their clansmen, some clan chiefs simply abandoned the decision to relocate their families.

Those Dou Zong families with stronger connections, however, caught a few scraps of information from a Dou Zun and immediately traveled light, taking their clansmen through space wormholes to leave as quickly as possible. Any clansmen who disobeyed orders or voiced opposition were killed on the spot.

For a time, storm clouds gathered over Sacred Pill City. The space wormholes were packed with people, wave after wave, making for quite a bustling sight.

Sacred Pill City also held plenty of informants from other factions. They received the news through various channels, and some even had the leaflets clutched in their hands, though they had initially dismissed them as a prank. After all, their backgrounds and horizons fell far short. Some had only heard of the Hall of Souls, never even the Hun Clan, let alone the Tunling Clan.

When they heard that the Pill Tower was sealing its doors, they were dumbfounded. Then, seeing all the Alchemist factions affiliated with the Pill Tower frantically evacuating, their instincts told them that, true or false, this was no place to linger.

Thus, vast crowds began relocating en masse. Rumors flew everywhere in every imaginable form: the Hun Clan was going to wash Sacred Pill City in blood; the Three Thousand Burning Flame's former master had returned to settle accounts with the Pill Tower; there was even talk that one of the Pill Tower's Nine-Grade Profound Pills had mutated and was hunting Alchemists in a frenzy.

Those who understood and those who did not, those who knew and those who did not-all headed out without prior agreement. Even acquaintances who met along the way exchanged greetings without breaking stride.

"Clan Chief Li, where are you taking your clansmen?"

"Haha, it's my father-in-law's birthday. I'm taking them to offer our congratulations."

"You mean it's your father-in-law's birthday, and you're bringing your entire clan of a thousand-odd people to congratulate him?"

"What, is that not allowed?"

Central Plains.

Hall of Souls headquarters.

The Soul Hall Master had entered seclusion a year earlier. Before doing so, he had only left instructions with the deputy hall master concerning the Xiao Clan's descendants and their Ancient Jade.

Half a year earlier, the deputy hall master had likewise entered seclusion to break through the bottleneck to Late Three-Star Dou Saint, leaving the Great Heavenly Venerate in charge of all Hall of Souls affairs. He had also instructed the Great Heavenly Venerate to personally investigate the whereabouts of the Xiao Clan's descendants and seize the opportunity to retrieve the Ancient Jade.

The Great Heavenly Venerate cursed and grumbled. He was a Two-Star Dou Saint, the strongest contender for the position of deputy hall master in the future. He normally obeyed the deputy hall master to his face but harbored no respect for him in his heart. You all go into seclusion to improve your strength, and you expect this old man to run errands? Not a chance.

The Great Heavenly Venerate hurriedly passed the matter on to Second Heavenly Venerate Gu You, then immediately went into seclusion.

Gu You was the Great Heavenly Venerate's trusted subordinate, and he actually got things done. He quickly discovered that the Xiao Clan's surviving bloodline had fled to the Northwest Continent. He had intended to catch them all in one net, only to be stopped by a Dou Sheng from the Gu Clan and beaten half to death. Upon escaping back, he went straight into seclusion to recover.

Before tending to his injuries, he instructed the other Heavenly Venerates and the honored elders to investigate where the Xiao Clan Bloodline was hiding in the Northwest Continent and retrieve the Ancient Jade without fail.

The Dou Zun watched Gu You, a high-level Half-Saint, coughing up blood. Their faces remained perfectly still, but inwardly they cursed furiously. What do you mean, we have to go personally? Even you got beaten into this state, and you still want us to go? Has water flooded your brain?

Besides, why had they failed to obtain the Xiao Clan's Ancient Jade after all these years? Because the Gu Clan was protecting them. Though the Gu Clan was unwilling to go to war with the Hun Clan, they would never allow the Xiao Clan's Ancient Jade to fall into Hun Clan hands. They were not going. Whoever had the guts could go instead.

As the Hun Clan's tentacle in the Central Plains, the Hall of Souls was riddled with factions and devoid of human warmth. Its organizational structure brimmed with violence and bloodshed, distinctly setting it apart from the other Ancient Races and the major factions of the Central Plains.

They held their noses high and disliked contact with others. They preferred to build their branch halls in remote, deserted places where even birds would not shit.

Thus, while the leaflets in Sacred Pill City caused an uproar, the Hall of Souls, the overlord of the Central Plains, remained completely unaware.

Spirit Realm.

The Spirit Clan's great hall.

At some unknown point, the Spirit Clan's protective formation had quietly begun operating. Numerous Dou Sheng and Half-Saints gathered in the hall, their faces bleak and their expressions solemn.

"Clan Chief, we have dispatched several One-Star Dou Sheng to tear through space and notify the Gu, Lei, Yan, Yao, and Shi Clans. We have arranged for them to meet here in our Spirit Realm in three days," a Three-Star Dou Sheng said.

"We must act quickly, and prepare several fallback plans as well. I feel a great war is right before our eyes," a Dou Sheng said shakily.

"Clan Chief, as you instructed, we have completed a preliminary tally of the names and numbers of our Spirit Clan's experts who died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Ling Ya abruptly raised his head. "Mm. Let's hear it."

"According to our clan's ancient records, counting from the Tunling Clan's destruction in ancient times to the present, the experts of our Spirit Clan who disappeared or died number eight Dou Sheng, thirty-five Half-Saints, two hundred and thirty-two Dou Zun, and one thousand six hundred and seventy-five Dou Zong. The number of clansmen at Dou Emperor and below is too vast to tally for the time being.

Every Saint in the hall sucked in a breath of cold air.

Ling Ya's heart jolted. Forcing down his tangled emotions, he let a chilling gleam flash through his clouded eyes. "For thousands of years, members of our Spirit Clan have disappeared without explanation. Even Dou Sheng were not spared. I investigated repeatedly, all to no avail. Now it seems this was all the Hun Clan's doing."

Crash!

A Five-Star Dou Sheng with a full head of black hair smashed the wine bottle in his hand and rose straight to his feet. His standing and power within the Spirit Clan were second only to Ling Ya's.

"Clan Chief, we must not forget the warning left by the Xiao Clan's fate. If the Hun Clan is not destroyed, our clan will perish. I believe the Spirit Clan is far from the only clan whose bloodline the Hun Clan has devoured. The Gu Clan must be among them as well. Our most urgent task is to form an alliance as quickly as possible."

The Saints all nodded in agreement.