Word Count: 3,626 Words
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Venerable Tian Huo looked at Xiao Yan, and Xiao Yan looked back at him. A glint of ruthlessness flashed in both their eyes.
"Xiao Yan, once this old man recovers to a 3-star cultivation level, if that Venerable Lei still doesn't know what's good for him, I wouldn't mind making him my first prey," Venerable Tian Huo said. Despite his youthful appearance, his words carried an aged arrogance and overwhelming dominance at this moment.
The first soul body he would contribute upon joining the Hall of Souls would be Venerable Lei's!
And Venerable Tian Huo indeed had the grounds for such confidence. He was once a peak 5-star Dou Venerate. Although he no longer possessed the Fallen Heart Flame, he now wielded the Life Transforming Flame, which truly rivaled a Heavenly Flame.
Although this Life Transforming Flame possessed no special abilities, its power and temperature were not significantly weaker than the Fallen Heart Flame. Coupled with his Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique, which had achieved the major level of mastery long ago, he indeed had no reason to fear Venerable Lei.
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "There's no rush. This is the Wind Lightning Pavilion's territory after all, but I believe opportunities will present themselves."
"I'll follow your arrangements completely, Venerable Yan."
Their gazes met, resembling wolves plotting together. Though no sound escaped their lips, their eyes seemed to emit the characteristic laughter of Hall of Souls Venerables.
Xiao Yan didn't disturb Venerable Tian Huo's refinement of the medicinal pill further. Although the Green Fungus Pill could restore a portion of his cultivation, refining its medicinal efficacy would still take some time.
Meanwhile, the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting was also about to begin. Xiao Yan had a premonition that this Four Pavilion Grand Meeting would absolutely not be peaceful.
"Xiao Yan!"
Xiao Yan, Princess Yue Er, and Xin Lan had just stepped out of the Space Lock, having left Venerable Tian Huo inside to refine the Green Fungus Pill, when Zi Yan ambushed Xiao Yan from behind. She pounced directly onto his back, giving him no chance to escape.
Caught on the spot by Zi Yan, Xiao Yan gulped and forced an awkward yet polite smile, "Ah, Zi Yan, thank you for your hard work at the Han Clan in Tian Bei City."
"Hehehe." Zi Yan clung tightly to his back, hugged his neck and wrapped her legs firmly around his waist. A cute smile appeared on her face, and her two small tiger fangs looked adorably charming when she grinned.
Suddenly, she chuckled, "Hehe, Xiao Yan, has your alchemy skill improved again?"
Xiao Yan's eyelids twitched as he asked, "You want me to refine pills for you?"
Zi Yan nodded with a cheerful grin.
"Refining pills is possible, but right now, forget medicinal ingredients, I don't even have the most basic pill recipe," Xiao Yan feigned a look of utter helplessness as he spread his hands.
Even within Venerable Yao's inheritance, pill recipes for tier 7 medicinal pills were already scarce, and those specifically for magical beasts were even rarer. The Sky Serpent Mansion also possessed few pill recipes of this type. The only two useful scrolls they had were for tier 8 pills, found in the Jade-Eyed Snake Saint's ruins, and were intended for Qing Lin. They weren't suitable for Zi Yan.
As if she had long anticipated he would say this, Zi Yan flipped her hand, and a pill recipe scroll appeared in her palm.
"Huh?! Where did you get this pill recipe?" Xiao Yan was startled. He had never seen this recipe before. Where on earth had this girl Zi Yan obtained it!
Zi Yan jumped down from his back with a light thud and tossed the scroll to him, "This was given to me by those two white-haired girls from the Han Clan as thanks for helping them resolve the Hong Clan's crisis. It's a medicinal pill for magical beasts and just so happens to be perfect for me."
Xiao Yan dubiously unrolled the scroll. The first thing to meet his eyes were four large, gleaming golden words: 'Heavenly Beast True Pill.' After reading it carefully, he learned that this was a high-grade tier 7 medicinal pill for Rank 7 magical beasts, the same grade as the Body Transformation Pill.
This Heavenly Beast True Pill could not only temper a magical beast's body and enhance its physique but also purify its bloodline, and even offered a certain chance for its bloodline to evolve.
For magical beasts, tempering the body and strengthening the bloodline were equivalent to a cultivator increasing their cultivation level. Generally speaking, this medicinal pill was similar to the Dou King Pill, the Mighty Huang Pill, and the Ancestor Progression Pill, all belonging to the category that directly increased cultivation.
"Well, it's true this pill recipe is indeed quite suitable for you. However, I don't have the medicinal ingredients for it either," Xiao Yan said.
"You don't need to worry about that. The Wind Lightning Mountain Range is so vast; with my abilities, finding all the medicinal ingredients won't be difficult." Zi Yan placed her hands on her hips, extremely confident in her treasure-hunting skills.
Xiao Yan shot her a sidelong glance and said, "The Wind Lightning Mountain Range is indeed rich in resources and prolific in medicinal ingredients; otherwise, the Wind Lightning Pavilion wouldn't have established its foothold here. But can you even recognize the medicinal ingredients?"
Zi Yan just smiled, grabbed the arm of Xin Lan who was beside her, and said, "I have her."
"Me?!" Xin Lan exclaimed in surprise. She hailed from one of the five great clans of the Pill Region; even if her alchemy skills were lacking, her knowledge of medicinal ingredients was naturally quite extensive.
Xiao Yan shook his head with a wry smile. Xin Lan, if you're being coerced, just blink.
Ultimately, he had no other option but to have Yue Er retrieve all available medicinal ingredients from the Yan Alliance's storehouse. As for the missing ones, Zi Yan could only take the pitiable Xin Lan and run all over the mountains to find them.
It wasn't difficult to find some of the main tier 7 medicinal ingredients with Zi Yan present.
After sending her off, Xiao Yan didn't cultivate. Instead, he went alone into the Wind Lightning Mountain Range and arrived at a very remote small hill. Upon this hill, a small and exquisite wooden house had been built at some unknown time.
"You could actually come to the camp. I believe everyone would welcome you warmly." Xiao Yan looked up toward the corridor outside the wooden house, where a graceful figure in a plain white dress was standing.
Little Fairy Doctor smiled faintly and shook her head, "I'm accustomed to being alone."
Little Fairy Doctor had always been this way. Perhaps it was because of her Woeful Poison Body that she had grown accustomed to staying away from crowds. Even though Xiao Yan had now refined the Heavenly Flame Poison Pill for her, completely suppressing the Woeful Poison Body, a trace of fear still resided deep within her heart.
She was afraid that one day the Poison Pill would lose its efficacy, causing the Woeful Poison Body to erupt suddenly and reduce the entire Yan Alliance to ashes.
Therefore, she had never resided within the Yan Alliance, and instead chose to stay far from crowds. Even now, knowing that Xiao Yan was to participate in the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting, she still chose to protect him from the shadows.
If Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength hadn't been powerful enough, he would not have even detected the concealed Little Fairy Doctor.
Xiao Yan shook his head helplessly. However, since Little Fairy Doctor preferred it this way, he didn't say anything further and simply teased, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a cup of tea?"
Little Fairy Doctor shot him a glance and said softly, "You can just come in yourself; it's not as if I would stop you."
…
Time passed swiftly. After seven days, the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting finally commenced under the gaze of innumerable watchful eyes!
The ordinarily sparsely populated Wind Lightning Mountain Range had transformed into a veritable sea of people; the main roads throughout the mountain range were crammed with crowds. The cacophony of various noises left many feeling as though their ears were ringing.
"Damn it, there are far too many people! Can the Eastern Pavilion even accommodate this many?"
"The Grand Meeting is starting today, so naturally, there are a great many people. It is said that not only representatives from the Four Pavilions but also dozens of other factions have already arrived at the Eastern Pavilion."
"The final victor of the previous grand meeting was the Wind Lightning Pavilion. I wonder who it will be this time around."
"It's hard to say. Feng Qing Er, Tang Ying, Wang Chen, and Mu Qing Luan are no pushovers. I heard the four of them recently entered the Heavenly Mountain Blood Pool in the Heaven Eye Mountain Range, so their strength must have certainly progressed. However, hehe, the main highlight of this Grand Meeting isn't just that."
"Are you referring to the Yan Alliance?"
"Naturally. A big reason so many factions and family clans from the Central Plains have been drawn here this time is that a large portion of them want to see who will ultimately prevail between the Yan Alliance and the Wind Lightning Pavilion. If the Yan Alliance's power proves dominant, the entire periphery of the Central Plains will face a complete reshuffle."
The true Eastern Pavilion of the Wind Lightning Pavilion was not located in the center of Wind Lightning City, but rather upon Lightning Mountain within the Wind Lightning Mountain Range. After all, Wind Lightning City was constructed later; initially, when Venerable Lei established his faction, he built a pavilion upon that Lightning Mountain, hence the name Wind Lightning Pavilion.
Lightning Mountain was extremely tall. One could not see its peak when looking up from its base. The middle portion of the mountain was covered in a dense fog. This fog was a little dark, and it faintly contained lightning flashing within it. From a distance, the mountain peak seemed to be covered by countless bolts of lightning, making it appear exceptionally grand and imposing.
Like Burning Flame Valley, this place was also a treasure land. The wind and lightning elemental energy here was exceptionally rich.
Chirp!
Suddenly, a clear crane's cry abruptly resounded. Immediately, everyone witnessed a splendid, seven-colored giant crane, flapping its wings as it soared down from the mountain's base, heading directly toward the summit.
This spectacle naturally drew countless gazes of envy and astonishment.
Many people knew that the seven-colored giant crane was Miss Feng's mount.
Even though the Wind Lightning Pavilion had set up trials to reduce the number of people entering the Eastern Pavilion, the vast pavilion was still surrounded so tightly that not even water could leak through. And just as the crowd was growing somewhat restless, a clap of thunder rang out. A colossal bolt of lightning suddenly erupted fiercely from within the clouds. The instantaneous bright flash caused most people to instinctively close their eyes.
Within the lightning, shockingly, were the four Pavilion Masters of the Wind Lightning Pavilion!
"All four Pavilion Masters have come out!"
When the crowd opened their eyes and saw the four individuals in the VIP seats, sounds of astonished uproar immediately resounded. However, the sea of people had not been discussing for long when the hum of a sword suddenly echoed throughout Lightning Mountain.
Hearing that sword hum, Venerable Lei laughed heartily, "Haha, Venerable Jian, it seems you are the quickest to arrive this time."
Immediately, the giant sword in the sky formed from Dou Qi transformed into countless specks of light that filled the air. An elderly man then descended with Tang Ying and took his seat.
The elderly man was short in stature, a stark contrast to the burly Venerable Lei, forming two extremes. Yet, no one dared to underestimate this diminutive old man.
Venerable Jian, however, did not greet Venerable Lei and simply closed his eyes to wait. It was evident that the relationship between the two was not particularly good.
"Hehe, Old Jian still has that same foul temper. It seems he still harbors resentment over that competition from years ago." Just as Venerable Jian had closed his eyes to rest, a peculiar laugh tinged with a somewhat sinister air suddenly followed.
Immediately, a streak of black light shot up from the foot of the mountain and appeared on the designated seats as if by teleportation. Without any ceremony, he flicked his sleeve and sat down.
The figure who appeared was an elderly man clad in black robes. His complexion was pale, and a hint of somberness emanated from between his brows. His pair of pupils, however, were one black and one white, giving him a rather bizarre appearance. Behind him was Wang Chen of the Yellow Springs Pavilion.
Upon hearing this, Venerable Jian glanced at Venerable Huang Quan and said blandly, "Back then, this old man lost to him only because my luck was a notch worse. Compared to a certain someone who only managed to withstand a hundred rounds against Venerable Feng before being defeated, that was considerably better, wouldn't you agree, Venerable Huang Quan?"
A glint of malevolence flashed through Venerable Huang Quan's eyes upon hearing Venerable Jian's mockery. However, he merely snorted coldly and did not offer a rebuttal, as it was, after all, the truth.
Not long after the three Venerables had taken their seats, their eyelids suddenly twitched. They then simultaneously looked toward the distant horizon as a gentle breeze abruptly swept through the sea of people.
A massive green wind vortex, as if flickering, appeared above the huge plaza in just a few breaths. Then, the wind vortex trembled lightly, suddenly quivered, and transformed into innumerable specks of light before dissipating. Two figures rode on a gentle breeze from within and slowly descended onto the designated seats.
"Even Venerable Feng, who has always been distant from worldly affairs, has come! Good heavens! All four venerables have arrived. This trip was truly worthwhile!"
"These Dou Venerate elite experts who are so rarely seen on ordinary days have now appeared all at once! The pomp and circumstance of this Four Pavilion Grand Meeting are truly grand indeed. No wonder it has attracted so many people."
Venerable Feng slowly took his seat, his long hair scattered loosely over his shoulders, giving him an air of uninhibited freedom. His facial features were not ordinary; even now, at his advanced age, one could still faintly discern a trace of handsomeness, suggesting that his appearance in his youth must have been quite remarkable.
Mu Qing Luan stood with her hands clasped behind her back, positioned near her Master.
Unlike the other three Venerables, Venerable Feng always had a gentle and warm smile on his face, and he responded courteously to Venerable Lei, Venerable Jian, and even Venerable Huang Quan.
After exchanging some polite pleasantries, the few of them looked at each other. Although all four Venerables had arrived, and the vast majority of factions were also present, Venerable Lei still had not announced the commencement of the grand meeting.
The initially boisterous crowd now actually began to quiet down gradually, and the atmosphere on Lightning Mountain started to become somewhat oppressive.
Because everyone knew that someone else had yet to arrive!
All four Venerables had gathered this time, including Venerable Feng who seldom made public appearances. It was all because of this emerging power, the Yan Alliance!
ROAR!!!!
Suddenly, from a camp within the Wind Lightning Mountain Range, a world-shaking dragon's roar resounded! A beam of azure light abruptly shot skywards, and within this radiance, an incomparably massive, entirely blue flood dragon beast came stepping through the empty space!
Although the Serene Sea Scaly Beast hadn't been as fortunate as the Amethyst Winged Lion King and had yet to obtain a Body Transformation Pill, with the assistance of Jia Xing Tian and the Jia Ma Imperial Family, its strength had finally reached Rank 7 not long ago.
Boom!
The colossal Serene Sea Scaly Beast moved as if the sky were its ocean; its dragon claws gripped the empty space, and with just a few flickers, it appeared above Lightning Mountain.
"Wow, what an incredibly cool flood dragon!"
"That's the Yan Alliance's Serene Sea Scaly Beast!"
"Quick, look at the forehead of the Serene Sea Scaly Beast!"
Several figures were positioned unevenly upon the Serene Sea Scaly Beast's forehead. It seemed Hai Bodong and Jia Xing Tian, those two veteran Dou Ancestors of the Yan Alliance, were also present. In addition to them, Nalan Yanran, Qing Lin, and Zi Yan all stood behind Xiao Yan.
Naturally, the one standing in the center of everyone was neither Nalan Yanran, who had slain the most enemies for the Yan Alliance, nor Venerable Tian Huo, its most powerful member. Rather, it was the initiator of the Yan Alliance, the alchemy grandmaster—Xiao Yan!
"It seems everyone has gathered. But why are there no seats for my Yan Alliance?" Xiao Yan inquired, his hands clasped behind his back, as he looked toward Venerable Lei with a faint smile.
Xiao Yan's voice was not low; the entire Lightning Mountain could hear it. On the pavilion platform atop the Wind Lightning Pavilion, there were only four seats, and all of them were already occupied.
However, everyone knew that from the very inception of the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting until the present day, there had consistently been only four seats.
Because the name of the event was, after all, the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting; how could there possibly be five seats! And with these words from Xiao Yan, the provocative undertone within them became immense!
He was blatantly indicating that the Yan Alliance had come to challenge the standing of the Four Pavilions!
"So arrogant."
"Damn, this Xiao Yan doesn't give any face to the four Venerables. He wants to turn four seats into five the moment he opens his mouth!"
However, none of the spectators felt there was anything amiss, because the Yan Alliance itself possessed a Dou Venerate and also had two 9-star Dou Ancestors; its sphere of influence was no smaller than that of the Four Pavilions.
And most importantly, the Yan Alliance had one particular battle achievement: they had killed a 1-star Dou Venerate, She Tianhuang!
The Yan Alliance's fame had been forged through combat. Although it was only a 1-star Dou Venerate, that was still a Dou Venerate! Yet, he had been killed! For so many years, no one had really heard of the Four Pavilions killing any Dou Venerate; most of their interactions were merely sparring sessions and exchanges. True life-and-death battles were non-existent for them!
The name of the Yan Alliance was one of fearsome renown!
Venerable Lei glanced at the Northern Pavilion Master Fei Tian. Understanding the unspoken message, Fei Tian coldly snorted and said, "Hmph, the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting has always had only four seats from beginning to end. Where would a fifth come from?"
Xiao Yan cast a glance at Fei Tian, his eyes remaining as tranquil as an ancient well, and said blandly, "Oh? If we follow Pavilion Master Fei Tian's reasoning, then this Four Pavilion Grand Meeting, which extends invitations far and wide, exists merely for everyone to watch your Four Pavilions perform?"
Fei Tian was instantly rendered speechless. This was because, in all past Four Pavilion Grand Meetings, it wasn't only disciples from the Four Pavilions who participated. Take this current session, for example: including the four disciples from the Four Pavilions, there were a total of fifty-three participants. It would begin with a free-for-all battle until only eight people remained on the stage.
Following that, there would be one-on-one competitions, and the individual who remained until the very end would receive a reward from the hosting party.
Venerable Lei slowly rose to his feet and said, "Those qualified to sit here are all past victors of the grand meeting. If your Yan Alliance can emerge victorious in this session, you will naturally be qualified to obtain a seat."
Subsequently, Xiao Yan's gaze shifted to the three disciples from the Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion, the Yellow Springs Pavilion, and the Falling Star Pavilion. As expected, these three individuals were all under thirty years of age and were 1-star Dou Ancestors.
"If the younger generation of the Four Pavilions are all merely at this level of strength, then this session of the Grand Meeting will be exceedingly dull."
The moment Venerable Yan spoke, his words were like a sweeping attack, offending not only the Wind Lightning Pavilion but the other three pavilions as well! However, what Xiao Yan said was also the truth; whether it was Tang Ying, Wang Chen, or Mu Qing Luan, they all possessed only the strength of newly advanced Dou Ancestors.
Never mind Xiao Yan, Zi Yan, or Qing Lin; even Nalan Yanran would not necessarily lose to them. His Yan Alliance could take on all four of them simultaneously.
"Xiao Yan, cultivation level doesn't represent everything. It's not as if I haven't defeated a 3-star Dou Ancestor before," Tang Ying, who carried a sword on his back, could not help but retort at this moment. They were all capable of battling those at a higher level; a two-star difference was hardly an issue.
"Is that so? In that case, Yanran, Qing Lin, you two go down and play a bit." Xiao Yan casually waved his hand.
What Four Pavilion Grand Meeting? Today was the Yan Alliance's exhibition match!