Chapter 228: Framing and Shifting Attention!
"So many pills?"
The four Snake People elders were dumbfounded, their mouths agape in disbelief as they stared at the pills in front of them. In all their years, they had never seen such a quantity of sixth tier medicinal pills.
The Snake People Tribe was naturally cold blooded, and while they did have fire based Dou Qi cultivators, they had never produced an alchemist. In the tribe, medicinal pills were exceedingly rare. Forget about pills that could aid cultivation or help in breakthroughs even basic healing or Dou Qi recovery pills were scarce, often reserved for strategic stockpiles.
But now, right before their eyes, there were several pills capable of directly aiding breakthroughs to the Dou Zong realm.
Seeing the elders' stunned expressions, Medusa couldn't help but curl her lips into a faint smile. "Did I forget to mention, elders? My husband is also a seventh tier alchemist."
"What?" The four elders visibly trembled, staring at Lu Bu in astonishment. They had assumed he was merely the son of some influential family, but they never expected him to have personally refined these pills.
"Please don't laugh at me, elders," Lu Bu said humbly, his tone neither overbearing nor servile.
Before returning to the Jia Ma Empire, Lu Bu had devoted himself to alchemy, preparing a substantial reserve of pills for the war healing pills, breakthrough aids, Dou Qi recovery pills, and many others. However, due to the unexpected intervention of the Lion Nether Sect, which had required him to lead an assault, most of these reserves remained unused. The six Breaking Zong Pills before them were among the surplus pills he had refined back in the mountain valley.
"Elders, please accept these," Medusa said.
"Ahem… no, such resources should remain strategic assets of the tribe and be distributed by the queen," the Head Elder replied after regaining her composure. "Your Majesty, we request that you take them."
Medusa frowned and was about to refuse but paused as she recalled Lu Bu's plan to stay in the Jia Ma Empire until he reached the Dou Zong level. After a moment's hesitation, she relented and took the pills.
"In that case… Head Elder, you've done well holding the fort in the desert. Third Elder, you've excelled in expanding our new territories. Each of you will receive one Breaking Zong Pill." With a flick of her finger, Medusa shot two pills toward the respective elders.
"Second and Fourth Elders, please wait. Once the Head and Third Elders complete their breakthroughs, we will discuss further allocation," Medusa added.
"As you command, Your Majesty," the elders replied in unison. There were no objections. While the Breaking Zong Pills had an incredible effect in helping Dou Huang experts break through to the Dou Zong level, the success rate wasn't guaranteed.
However, one advantage the Breaking Zong Pill had over the Tianyun Pill was that it could be consumed multiple times. If one attempt failed, two or three more attempts could be made until success was achieved. The tribe had a fair number of Dou Huang experts, but the distribution of these precious pills needed to be methodical to maximize their impact.
Once the Snake People's internal matters were settled, Lu Bu returned to the Black Mountain Palace. Medusa, however, stayed behind to oversee the distribution of the Breaking Zong Pills and handle follow up tribal affairs.
In a quiet study within the palace, Lu Bu unfurled a long scroll and pinned it to the wall, carefully scrutinizing it.
The scroll was a map, meticulously detailing the geography, rivers, mountain ranges, and locations of sects and forces. At its center, within the Yuan Yi Empire, was a place called the Misty Cloud Marsh.
According to information extracted from Protector Xuan, one of the Soul Hall's branch halls was located here.
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Lu Bu retrieved another scroll, this one from Xiao Yan. It contained intelligence on the Soul Hall's Misty Cloud Marsh branch.
During the battle at the Jia Nan Academy, Xiao Yan had captured the souls of two Soul Hall Heaven tier Protectors. Under interrogation, they divulged information about the branch.
Despite their frequent trading of benefits and resources, Lu Bu and Xiao Yan had a tacit understanding regarding the Soul Hall. Both shared intelligence freely and worked together to undermine the organization.
In fact, Lu Bu had previously explained the Soul Hall's internal structure to Xiao Yan, including the Heaven, Earth, and Human Halls, the Nine Heavens Sovereigns, and the dual leaders one primary and one vice. The weight of this information left Xiao Yan feeling suffocated.
In return, Xiao Yan had provided Lu Bu with some useful intelligence. While most of it was minor, the details about the Misty Cloud Marsh branch were reasonably valuable.
"Are you planning to target the Soul Hall?" Tian Huo Zun zhe's voice echoed from within the storage ring as he observed Lu Bu poring over the Soul Hall's information.
During his era, the Soul Hall had already been established, but it was far from the infamous force it had become feared across Zhongzhou and even the entire Dou Qi Continent.
"Do you recall what I mentioned about soul essence, Lord Yao?" Lu Bu chuckled softly. "Every branch of the Soul Hall houses a massive reserve of soul essence."
The storage ring trembled slightly. Tian Huo Zun zhe realized that Lu Bu hadn't given up on his idea of using soul essence to advance to a Spiritual Realm soul. Personally, he found the concept dubious. In all his years, he had never heard of anyone bypassing spiritual energy refinement to ascend to the Spiritual Realm.
Still, Lu Bu's perspective was pragmatic.
In the original story, Xiao Yan's entry into the Pill Realm was marked by extraordinary fortune. He stumbled upon millennium old Earth Core Soul Salts, wandered into pools of Spirit Dew, and even had someone gift him the Sky Mysterious Fluorite Essence.
With a casual tilt of his head and a swallow, followed by a brief retreat into closed door cultivation, he emerged precisely on schedule as a Spiritual Realm soul user.
For a time, Lu Bu believed he could achieve a similar breakthrough with relative ease. After all, he had already obtained the Sky Mysterious Fluorite Essence. Surely, the Spirit Dew and Earth Core Soul Salts weren't far behind, right?
Reality, however, was swift to humble him. The Lion Nether Sect's treasury contained only Earth Essence Dew not even millennium aged.
Even the Heavenly Serpent Mansion had no information on Spirit Dew or Earth Core Soul Salts. They hadn't even heard of such items.
Only Venerable Tian She knew about the Earth Yellow Python, which guarded both Earth Essence Dew and Earth Core Soul Salts. Yet, the species was unheard of on the northwest continent. The closest known specimen resided in Zhongzhou's western regions, where Tian She had once traveled.
With both the Jia Ma Empire and the Heavenly Serpent Mansion coming up empty handed, Lu Bu's hopes of breaking through to a Spiritual Realm soul in the northwest continent seemed dim.
But he wasn't discouraged. After all, the Soul Hall's soul essence was still an option.
If it could elevate Void Swallowing Flame to an Imperial Realm soul, surely it could help him achieve the Spiritual Realm.
It wasn't like he needed Hun Tiandi standing by for the process to work, right?
Thus, without hesitation, Lu Bu set his sights on the Soul Hall's branch halls. He knew the strength of the Misty Cloud Marsh branch well. Its presiding elder, Xiu Tuo, was a two star Dou Zun.
The branch also housed ten peak Dou Zong Heaven tier Protectors, alongside numerous Earth and Human tier Protectors. In total, there were over twenty Protectors and an indeterminate number of Soul Envoys.
Compared to the Soul Hall, the Lion Nether Sect was like an upstart merchant's guild!
While the number of Dou Zongs might seem daunting nearly thirty in total most were mere soul projections, far weaker than their living counterparts.
Given Lu Bu's many methods of countering soul entities, what they saw as an advantage was, in truth, a crippling weakness against him.
"So... you really plan to destroy a Soul Hall branch?" Tian Huo Zun zhe sounded worried. The last time they clashed with a Dou Zun from the Soul Hall, they had the protective backing of the Gu Clan, Lei Clan, and the Yao Clan. That was the only reason they avoided retaliation.
But this time… there was no such safety net.
"If I clean up thoroughly, won't that solve everything?" Lu Bu smirked. As long as every person in the branch was eliminated and no information leaked out, who would know the branch was destroyed?
Besides, framing someone else and redirecting attention was something Lu Bu was already well versed in. He'd done it before and mastered the art!
Looking at Lu Bu's eager expression, Tian Huo Zun zhe's lips twitched. He didn't know what to say.
Did this brat already have this plan in mind when he asked for the wisp of sub flame?
What a schemer!
Still… Tian Huo Zun zhe couldn't help but feel relieved. He chuckled darkly. Somehow, this made him even more excited.
Lu Bu flicked his finger, and a flash of light from his Nether Sea Ring revealed a golden haired corpse and a pair of smooth, jade like skeletal wings. They landed with a heavy "thud" before him.
"Which one should I refine first?" Lu Bu stroked his chin, his lips curving into a smile. What a delightful dilemma!
Northern Regions, Western Domain of Zhongzhou.
In the depths of a forest, a squad of black armored soldiers scoured the area. Birds and beasts scattered in alarm, and waves of Dou Qi surged intermittently as arrays glimmered, sending streams of light flickering through the dense woods.
Above, a figure clad in green floated in the air, surrounded by faint flashes of Dou Qi. The man was tall and muscular, his long hair flowing in the wind. His expression was grim, his eyes scanning the forest below.
Whoosh!
A black armored figure with dual wings appeared beside him, their presence abrupt and efficient.
"Fourth Commander, based on our analysis, Soul Ya and Soul Huai didn't travel together. They split up."
The man addressed as the Fourth Commander narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening. "Hmph… those two really think our Black Abyss Army is beneath them, don't they?"
The other soldier clenched his fists, his eyes also burning with anger. When had the Black Abyss Army ever been so blatantly disregarded?
"Have we confirmed their direction?" the Fourth Commander asked in a low voice.
"Soul Huai has vanished without a trace. I suspect he may have returned to the Soul Realm. Soul Ya, on the other hand, headed north. However, he's been cautious, and we've yet to pinpoint his exact location."
The Fourth Commander nodded slightly. Soul Ya might be arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't leave obvious trails for others to follow. If he had… the Fourth Commander himself might not have dared to pursue him so openly.
"Forget Soul Huai for now. He'll pay for his actions another time. Focus on Soul Ya. Begin searching northward."
"Yes, sir!"
The Fourth Commander glanced toward the treetops. "Lady Commander, is that acceptable?"
"Yang Hao, how many times have I told you to use my title while on duty?" A crisp, ethereal voice came from the treetops, though it was icy and indifferent.
"… Yes, Grand Commander," Yang Hao replied, his eye twitching slightly. The lady commander was just too cold, even toward him.
Thankfully, she treated everyone the same way not just him.
Still, heading further north would bring them closer to the Northwestern Continent. Memories of their last visit there surfaced in Yang Hao's mind, particularly of the incidents involving Xiao Yan.
Yang Hao's eyes gleamed. If it weren't for the Grand Commander's presence this time, he would've ensured that the boy experienced true suffering.
Hatred flared in Yang Hao's heart. Xiao Yan, the one who had disturbed the lady commander's emotions, shouldn't be allowed to live.
"Move out! Search to the north!" Yang Hao commanded, leaping forward into the sky.
The Black Abyss Army was on a search mission this time and had not brought their Four Winged Unicorns. After all, this was merely the northwestern continent a barren and remote land that hardly warranted such a display of power.
Yuan Yi Empire, Misty Cloud Marsh.
A figure streaked through the layers of miasma, speeding toward a grand hall deep within the marsh.
"Who dares "
Before the guard could finish their sentence, a dark chain whipped through the air, wrapping tightly around their neck and silencing them instantly.
"Hmph… good vigilance, at least." Soul Ya smirked as he gazed at the restrained soul, his tone carrying a mix of admiration and mockery.
Just as he spoke, the space around him rippled, and the branch elder of this hall, Xiu Tuo, stepped forward from the distortion.
"Who are you?" Xiu Tuo asked cautiously. The chain technique suggested that the newcomer was from the Soul Hall, but… where did he come from, and what was his purpose?
Xiu Tuo's heart sank. Could it be that headquarters was investigating Qin Tian's death?
That matter had been buried long ago. Why was someone here now?
Soul Ya chuckled and raised his hand, revealing a black token in his palm.
Xiu Tuo's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately lowered his head. "This subordinate greets the envoy!"
As a branch elder, Xiu Tuo had enough standing to interact with members of the Soul Clan. While the Soul Hall operated independently, governed by its hall masters, certain Soul Clan members were occasionally sent as emissaries to oversee specific matters.
These "envoys" were generally treated with respect, as they often represented a direct link to the Soul Clan's supreme authority.
"I'm here for Xiao Yan. I'll need your assistance," Soul Ya said with a sly grin. Though ruthless and arrogant, he wasn't foolish.
Capturing Xiao Yan and finding the key wasn't an easy task. If it were, the clan wouldn't have spent years searching in vain. For this endeavor, he needed the cooperation of a local authority especially someone like Xiu Tuo, who had previously clashed with Xiao Yan and Jia Nan Academy.
"It is my honor to assist," Xiu Tuo replied respectfully. However, inwardly, his heart sank further. This envoy was only at the Dou Zong level, far from Dou Zun. Capturing Xiao Yan and Yao Chen would be nearly impossible.
"Come inside, Envoy. I will share all the intelligence we have. But… forgive my frankness, Xiao Yan is not an easy target. Without Dou Zun level strength, success may prove elusive."
"Oh? You make me even more intrigued," Soul Ya said with a chuckle. "Let's go inside and talk. I'm curious to see how capable this so called fallen Xiao Clan really is. Hahaha…"
Jia Ma Empire, Black Mountain Palace.
In the palace's secret chamber, Tian Huo Zun zhe floated above, observing the golden light that occasionally flashed within the sea of blue flames. He couldn't help but sigh.
"What immense energy… That puppet is almost at the peak of a four star Dou Zun."
He shook his head helplessly.
"How is an old man like me supposed to survive against such monstrous progress?"
(End of Chapter)