The Hard Life of a Pill

"Ugh!"

"A long, lingering dream, through how many changing winds and clouds..."

The Xuan Pill's spirit had only just awakened. He had been thinking of putting on a little show of authority before the newcomer. As an old senior, he needed at least a basic display of stature.

Then Xiao Xuan simply sealed off his five senses.

A brief instant later, he released them again.

"Do you know who's in charge now?"

The Xuan Pill's spirit was full of shock and a trace of bitterness. He had thought that the strongest beings in the world were so few and far between that he might not be so unlucky the next time he emerged.

But unexpectedly, he had run into another Peak Dou Sheng.

And from the looks of it, this one was even stronger. That soul power seemed boundless, its level as lofty as the heavens themselves.

An Emperor Realm Soul?

Damn it, this man was even more monstrous than Yun Yangtian had been.

"I am Mo Xuan, spirit of the Xuan Pill. Greetings, fellow Daoist!"

Though Xiao Xuan was stronger than him, Mo Xuan remained neither humble nor arrogant.

Surely Xiao Xuan couldn't just swallow him whole?

A Ninth-Tier Xuan Pill that had reached Mo Xuan's level might not have the power to protect himself, but he could at least take his opponent down with him.

When the time came, his opponent would gain only a little pure energy.

If he, Mo Xuan, refused, his opponent wouldn't come out ahead.

It wasn't as though a Dou Di were alive.

An Emperor Realm Soul was not omnipotent.

"Your name is Mo Xuan? Change it from now on. Mo Xuan would be quite good!"

Xiao Xuan waved a hand. Though beings who shared a name were beyond counting in this world, for the spirit of a Ninth-Tier Xuan Pill who had nearly reached the level of a High-Level Dou Sheng...

It was better to change his name.

"My name is Xiao Xuan!"

Quick to yield, Mo Xuan immediately went along with it. "Mo Xuan greets you, fellow Daoist!"

Good, he knew how to play along. Xiao Xuan smiled with satisfaction.

"Tell me where you came from! What's your relationship with Yun Yangtian?"

Xiao Xuan was curious. Yun Yangtian's era must have been unimaginably long ago. At least among the powerful figures of past generations whom Xiao Xuan knew, there was probably no supreme expert surnamed Yun who had reached Peak Dou Sheng.

And from the looks of it, this fellow had only reached his present state after Tuoshe's time.

It was rather strange that no record of his name had survived.

"Yun Yangtian! That's a name from a very long time ago. He was nothing more than a lucky little fellow."

With a look of wistfulness on his face, Mo Xuan sighed softly.

"And a selfish little fellow, too!"

That assessment piqued Xiao Xuan's interest. From the looks of it, had Yun Yangtian obtained something left behind by a Dou Di?

"That's right, just as you're thinking, fellow Daoist. This small world was originally no more than a temporary secluded cultivation dwelling created by a Dou Di."

"I also came into being at that time, but I was never put to use afterward. I was simply sealed away in the small world."

"Then, I don't know what happened, but one day the Dou Di left, and this small world gradually fell into ruin. Though I did my utmost to keep it stable in my Xuan Pill body..."

"Alas, Dou Di Power was far beyond my reach!"

Shaking his head, Mo Xuan had indeed rendered some service.

"Then a fellow named Yun Yangtian was lucky enough to get in, cultivated to the level of Peak Dou Sheng, looked for a way to break through, and failed. Afterward, the small world fell into ruin again?"

Xiao Xuan quickly deduced what had happened afterward.

It made perfect sense!

"Why not hear me out, fellow Daoist?"

A trace of disdain flashed in Mo Xuan's eyes. Though Yun Yangtian had been lucky, he hadn't been quite that lucky. Mo Xuan gathered his emotions and continued.

"When Yun Yangtian broke into this small world, his cultivation had already reached Peak Nine-Star Dou Saint. I fought a great battle with him, and after he won me over, I entered his service."

A great battle?

Xiao Xuan certainly didn't believe that. If it were a spirit at the level of a Ninth Grade Golden Pill, he could just about believe it could fight a Peak Dou Sheng.

Normally, a pill spirit capable of matching a Peak Dou Sheng would have to be at the Emperor tier.

But a wondrous creation of that level was exceedingly rare even in an age when Dou Di appeared one after another.

A mere Ninth-Tier Xuan Pill shouldn't talk so big.

Mo Xuan naturally sensed Xiao Xuan's reaction, and his face grew somewhat awkward. Then he continued his explanation as if nothing had happened. "After that, I took Yun Yangtian to explore these Dou Di Ruins."

"But unfortunately, this had only ever been a temporary place for secluded cultivation. Though the Dou Di had left some things behind, they weren't much help with the crucial matter of breaking through."

That was true! Xiao Xuan nodded slightly.

Every Dou Di who achieved that realm had seized all the power of creation from heaven and earth. If a mere Dou Di could help a younger cultivator break through, the Emperor Clans handed down from ancient times wouldn't have gradually fallen into decline.

Even a Dou Di couldn't do as he pleased!

"So Yun Yangtian came up with a way to break through. He used this small world left behind by the Dou Di as a foundation and modified it further, intending to use it to become a Dou Di!"

No wonder. In this small world, Xiao Xuan had detected more traces of Dou Sheng power. As for what the Dou Di had left behind, Yun Yangtian had probably already absorbed most of it.

It was a pity, but Xiao Xuan didn't feel much regret.

Xiao Xuan had already borrowed such external aid when he had attempted his breakthrough.

Unfortunately, it hadn't helped much.

Yun Yangtian's idea was quite novel, but it was still a dead end.

If someone said a person could draw a little Origin from beyond the heavens after becoming a Dou Di, Xiao Xuan would believe it.

But for a mere Dou Sheng, a being unable to escape the world of the Dou Qi Continent, to go out in search of that most essential Emperor's Origin...

That was pure fantasy!

But perhaps not. After all, heaven never barred every road.

Sadly, it had still ended in failure.

"What happened to Yun Yangtian in the end? Did he die when his lifespan ran out and his strength was exhausted?"

At last, Xiao Xuan asked. Mo Xuan's only response, however, was silence, his face tinged with sorrow.

He too had hoped that when one man attained the Dao, even his chickens and dogs would ascend to heaven!

Unfortunately, Yun Yangtian hadn't delivered.

"What a pity!"

Having expressed his regret, Xiao Xuan continued.

"Follow me from now on!"

He sounded as casual as if he were asking someone whether they wanted to eat today.

That casual manner made the corner of Mo Xuan's mouth twitch.

He was, after all, a spirit born from a Ninth-Tier Xuan Pill. Though he couldn't bring about a qualitative change in a supreme expert at Peak Dou Sheng, he was still quite useful!

Though he also wasn't much use to Xiao Xuan.

But how many supreme beings in the world could compare to a Peak Dou Sheng?

"What if I say no, fellow Daoist?"

Mo Xuan wanted to deal with Xiao Xuan as an equal. If necessary, he could even abandon his Xuan Pill body.

As long as he could preserve his spirit, the key to Mo Xuan's consciousness would remain.

At that point, he would lose all his High-Level Dou Sheng power in an instant, but keeping his life would be good enough.

Moreover, a Dou Di's mighty power might be able to turn Mo Xuan into an ordinary human who could cultivate.

That was the broad road ahead!

It all depended on whether Xiao Xuan had any hope of becoming a Dou Di.

"Don't get worked up, fellow Daoist. I'm only negotiating terms, aren't I?" Seeing Xiao Xuan's expression gradually turn unfriendly, Mo Xuan immediately changed his tune.

A pill's life was hard!

"You wouldn't just casually eat me, would you?"

Circumstances were stronger than he was, but Mo Xuan still wanted to sound Xiao Xuan out.

Otherwise, the fish would die and the net would split!

"And you have to promise me that when you restore your physical body in the future, you won't use me to replenish your energy."

Mo Xuan naturally understood Xiao Xuan's present condition very well, but that was precisely what made him hesitate.

Even as a soul without a physical body, Xiao Xuan was already this formidable. Just to create an Emperor Realm Soul, even if he fell a little short, he must at least have traveled a considerable distance along that path.

Then, when it came to making his physical body an emperor's, perhaps he really did have a chance!

But if the price of Xiao Xuan's breakthrough included Mo Xuan himself, Mo Xuan didn't have that much faith in his character.

What a predicament!