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**
As the spatial barrier opened into an invisible door.
"Your turn." Zi Yan whispered to the queen ant perched on her shoulder.
Immediately, the Ant Queen once again emitted a strange invisible soundwave, rippling outward like water. Then, Wei Yang and the others heard a rustling sound rapidly approaching.
Their eyes followed the direction of the sound, and their scalps tingled at the sight of countless black ants swarming out of the forest like a massive black tide.
This endless swarm of ants poured past Wei Yang and the others, flooding through the invisible gate like a bursting dam. Under the cover of the faint mist, this black flood surged silently down the slope, rushing toward the towering black hall in the middle of the valley.
"With that, those half-human, half-ghost bastards inside are in for it now." Xiao Yan said with some gloating.
"Hehe." Zi Yan also grinned widely, showing her small tiger teeth.
"Let's move too. Against Dou Zun, it's up to us." Wei Yang shook his head with a smile.
These ants might be devastating against Dou Zong, but for Dou Zun… at least in the short term, the threat wasn't that great. Everyone nodded with faint smiles.
"Let's go, make it quick." Wei Yang took a step forward, surging Dou Qi spreading from his body as he was the first to step through the barrier.
The others followed close behind, Dou Qi flaring. Last came Xiao Yan and Zi Yan, who suppressed their auras and slipped in silently.
Deep within the towering black hall.
This was a vast black stone plaza.
The view was dim, the atmosphere cold and sinister. Looking around, towering black stone pillars a hundred zhang high reached toward the heavens.
Upon these pillars were carved countless eerie runes. Thick, pitch-black chains extended from the stone pillars, crossing and weaving through the air above the plaza.
At the end of each chain floated glowing orbs of light. Within them were faint, flickering soul bodies, their expressions twisted in pain. The scene was ghastly, as though one had stepped into a ghost realm.
At the very center of the plaza was a raised platform, ten zhang high. Around it stood four massive black stone pillars, each supporting a thick black chain as wide as a man's thigh, snaking downward like pythons.
At the ends of those four chains was the brightest glowing orb of all. Inside, a translucent and frail elderly soul sat cross-legged with eyes closed. It was none other than the long-lost Yao Lao, who had fallen into the hands of the Hall of Souls years ago.
His illusory soul body was bound by the four black chains, coiling around his limbs like vines, leaving him unable to move an inch.
Deathly silence, chilling cold, and an eerie air filled the massive plaza. Everywhere carried the stench of darkness and death.
The silence lasted for some time. Suddenly, a patch of space faintly distorted. Then, two figures appeared without a sound.
They were two old men.
One dressed in black robes, the other in white. The sharp contrast made them instantly recognizable. Their faces were utterly expressionless as they hovered in the air by the platform, gazes cold as they looked upon the cross-legged Yao Lao.
Around their bodies, even the space itself seemed unable to endure their existence, quietly twisting and tearing. Just standing there, they seemed enough to make space collapse.
Within the orb of light, Yao Lao's eyelids trembled slightly, but then stilled again.
The atmosphere was heavy and silent.
After a while, the black-robed elder finally broke the silence. His voice was cold and flat. "Yao Chen."
Yao Lao slowly opened his cloudy eyes. Deep within them flickered a trace of hidden exhaustion, gone in a flash. His gaze swept across the black and white elders, then paused on the black-robed one.
His expression remained calm, and he said nothing.
"Yao Chen, after all this time, are you still going to keep being so stubborn?" the white-robed elder spoke.
"Black and White Tian Zun, you've already asked me that same question many times." Yao Lao's lips moved slightly. His voice was dry, but it carried a calmness.
"But you still chose to refuse the Hall Master's goodwill?" the black-robed elder asked.
"Goodwill? Heh." Yao Lao gave a faint laugh.
Within that laugh was a trace of mockery. That laughter instantly made the black-robed elder frown, his gaze turning colder.
Yao Lao's face, however, remained calm.
"Yao Chen, what's the point of this stubbornness?"
The white-robed elder's voice seemed to soften as he continued, "The Hall Master values you greatly, and his sincerity is real. As long as you nod your head and agree to join our Hall of Souls, you'll immediately become one of the highest-ranked people within our Hall. Other than the Hall Master, basically no one will be above you. With such a position, what is there left for you to be dissatisfied with?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Lao merely gave them a glance, then closed his eyes again, refusing to say more.
"Yao Chen, the Hall Master's patience is not unlimited. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink punishment wine." The black-robed elder's voice turned cold.
"Go back and tell your Hall Master, I, Yao Chen, am not worthy of climbing so high to join your Hall of Souls." Yao Lao's eyes stayed closed, his tone calm.
"You—" The black-robed elder's expression turned completely frigid. He raised his hand, ready to teach Yao Lao a lesson.
But the white-robed elder lifted his hand to stop him, shaking his head. "It's useless. And besides, he's so weak now, he can't take any torment. Don't kill him. Keeping him alive is still useful."
Hearing this, the black-robed elder could only withdraw his hand reluctantly.
Hu~
The white-robed elder let out a light breath. Looking at the stubborn and unyielding Yao Chen before him, even he couldn't help but feel a headache. It seemed the Hall Master's attempt to win Yao Chen over into serving the Hall of Souls was going to be very difficult.
Originally, the Hall of Souls hadn't been this way.
At the start, capturing Yao Chen was more about his soul than about trying to recruit him. Of course, since he was the continent's number one alchemist on the surface, if Yao Chen were willing to bow his head and serve the Hall of Souls, then that would naturally be the best outcome.
But it hadn't yet reached the point where they would lower themselves this much, almost like begging Yao Chen to join. The Hall of Souls still had its pride.
However, ever since the Pill Gathering one year ago, things had changed. Because of the losses of Mu Gu and the two peak Tier 7 alchemists who had entered the top ten of the Pill Gathering, the Hall of Souls had been badly wounded.
Especially with the loss of Mu Gu, a Tier 8 alchemist grandmaster. Naturally, Yao Chen had entered the eyes of the Hall Master. And of course, there was another reason—the Hall of Souls wanted to use Yao Chen as a way to pull Wei Yang closer.
At the very least, it could make Wei Yang's hostility toward the Hall of Souls ease somewhat. To be honest, Wei Yang's existence had been giving the Hall of Souls massive headaches lately.
Then there was Xiao Yan. If they could use Yao Chen to build a bridge and make some kind of deal with Xiao Yan, that would be even better.
The fact that Yao Lao had taught and guided two Tier 8 alchemy grandmasters, and that those two had both seized victory at the Pill Gathering, was another reason the Hall of Souls had begun to regard him more highly.
On top of that, just Wei Yang's presence alone had already tied up a massive amount of the Hall of Souls's power and energy.
After all, eight Dou Zun stationed long-term at a single branch hall—that was something unheard of. If they had to keep guarding against him like this constantly, how long could anyone endure it?
So, that was why the Hall of Souls had shown so much patience toward Yao Chen, again and again lowering their stance to persuade him to surrender.
"Yao Chen."
The white-robed Tian Zun opened his mouth, just about to continue speaking when suddenly his expression changed.
Hmm?
The black-robed Tian Zun beside him instantly turned his head, looking toward a certain direction, frowning. "Someone has intruded!"
On the platform, Yao Lao's tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a strange brilliance flashing within. At that instant, two extremely familiar auras appeared in his senses. The moment those two auras emerged, he was stunned.
After a brief moment, he took a deep breath, slowly raising his head to look toward the direction those auras were coming from. Those eyes, dry and weary for so long, suddenly welled up with a trace of moisture.
His mouth could not help but whisper softly, "It's them, they've come, and both of them have finally come."
In his voice, excitement and relief could not be hidden. Those two brats… they've finally come!
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