In undisturbed cultivation, the days passed quietly, but the Soul Power fluctuations spreading from that strange space not only didn't subside, but grew even stronger.
In this scene, a month slipped away like a fleeting moment.
Chen Xiao's closed eyes slowly opened. If anyone were here, they would notice the tranquility in his eyes, like a deep, bottomless pool.
Thousands of thoughts surged in his mind. Chen Xiao quickly adapted to the soaring Soul Power, and the vibrant glow of youth reappeared in his eyes.
Chen Xiao brushed his sleeves and stood up, his gaze sweeping around.
In front of the Ancient Emperor Cave, Zi Yan was still focused on absorbing the energy of the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit. Even after a month, the huge purple sphere of light seemed unchanged.
The wide square was empty. Grand Elder Green Mountains was long gone.
Chen Xiao took a deep breath, stopped thinking, and looked down at his palm. With a thought, boundless Soul Power poured out like a tide.
"Heavenly Wind Soul Imprint!"
Chen Xiao formed a seal with his fingers, and as his palms slowly came together, the vast Soul Power permeating this space seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, frantically converging towards his palm. An ancient, primordial aura immediately emanated from his body, as if shrouding the strange, purple-hued space in a layer of strange, greyish-yellow.
As the hand seal condensed, an ancient, grey-golden mark appeared in his palm, with obscure patterns flowing on it. On closer inspection, it seemed as if countless souls were struggling and annihilating within.
When the words "Heavenly Wind Soul Imprint" exploded from his throat, the mark suddenly swelled, transforming into a giant, sun-obscuring seal that slammed down.
In an instant, wherever the giant seal passed, the strange space rippled slightly, as if even light was being swallowed.
"To be able to do this in this space, your Soul Power is not far from the Heavenly Realm."
The familiar voice of the old Dragon Emperor came, and his figure appeared as well.
Although both are spaces created by people, the sturdiness of the spaces created by different people can be vastly different.
For example, the Ancient Ruins space created by a Fortune Saint is of ordinary quality. Under the erosion of time, it will slowly become unstable, eventually developing leaks until it fully appears before the world.
Looking at the Array Heaven Sacred Hand who opened up the small world for the White Tribe, his methods were obviously more clever and his considerations more thorough. After tens of thousands of years, it still hasn't shown any flaws.
And this strange space opened up by Tuoshe Ancient Emperor is even more terrifying.
Unless the Child of Destiny happens to find it, it will not appear to the world, no matter how many years pass, if the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade is not gathered.
"My current Soul Realm should be at the peak of the Spirit Realm level."
Chen Xiao nodded in agreement, retracting his Soul Power.
The old Dragon Emperor could foresee that the Soul Origin wouldn't be enough for Chen Xiao to advance to the Heavenly Realm.
Chen Xiao was also mentally prepared for this. It wasn't easy to advance to the Heavenly Realm in Soul Power. That Soul light cluster was just a product of a branch hall of the Soul Hall, far inferior to those from the three main halls.
Of course, even so, it had greatly benefited him, saving him countless hard work.
"Almost. Your Soul Dou Skill isn't bad. When used with your Soul Power, combined with your current physical body and trump cards like the Heavenly Flame, there are very few Dou Zun who can threaten you."
The old Dragon Emperor nodded, looking at Chen Xiao with some approval.
A son-in-law is like half a son. Since he had reluctantly acknowledged Chen Xiao, the old Dragon Emperor was naturally happy to see him become stronger.
Hearing the old Dragon Emperor's evaluation, Chen Xiao felt even more at ease.
The old Dragon Emperor was a man of great knowledge and experience. Since he said that there were few Dou Zun who could pose a threat to Chen Xiao, then that must be the case.
In fact, thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
Now, Chen Xiao could be said to have no weaknesses.
His Cultivation Technique and Dou Skills were excellent. He cultivated a High-Level Earth Tier Cultivation Technique, mastered the Heaven Rank Dou Technique Great Heaven Creation Palm, and had a host of powerful trump cards like the Emperor Seal Technique, far exceeding ordinary people.
In terms of physical body, with the Dragon Emperor Ancient Armor's defense, his physical strength was comparable to a Void Ancient Dragon. Even taking a punch from a Nine-Star Dou Zun wouldn't be a big deal.
On the Soul level, the surge in Soul Power allowed Chen Xiao to use more of the methods in the Heavenly Wind Soul Scripture.
This was the White Tribe's inherited secret scripture. Its value lay in its comprehensiveness. It not only contained Soul cultivation methods, but also many secret Soul Skills.
In addition, Chen Xiao also possessed the inheritance of Array Dao. As his understanding deepened, he could use more and more killing arrays, which was undoubtedly another powerful trump card.
Counting them one by one, even Chen Xiao himself felt that he was a little scary strong now.
Seeing that Chen Xiao could hardly suppress the corners of his mouth, the old Dragon Emperor chuckled and poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"Don't be in a hurry to be proud. This little bit of strength is only enough for you to barely protect yourself."
Huh?
Chen Xiao wondered if he had misheard.
Although Central State was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, it wasn't that dangerous, right?
If even his current strength was only enough to protect himself, wouldn't 99% of the people in Central State be at the mercy of others, their lives hanging in the balance?
The old Dragon Emperor saw Chen Xiao's confusion but didn't intend to explain. Instead, he deliberately piqued his interest.
"The past is the past, and now is now. Central State is no longer what it used to be. You'll understand the specific situation when you go out and see for yourself."
Something happened in Central State?
Hearing the old Dragon Emperor's implication, Chen Xiao couldn't help but become curious.
How long had it been? What major event could have happened?
Chen Xiao stopped talking, glanced at Zi Yan in the giant purple sphere of light, and without disturbing her, bowed to the old Dragon Emperor: "Uncle, then I'll come to see you another day."
"Mm, go then."
Chen Xiao didn't hesitate any longer, and flew straight towards the outside of the strange space.
...
Jia Nan Academy.
Chen Xiao searched the Inner Academy but couldn't find the Little Fairy Doctor who was supposed to be waiting for him. He only sensed the aura she left behind in Su Qian's study. He had no choice but to go to the Grand Elder's study to inquire about the situation.
Seeing Chen Xiao knocking on the door and entering, Su Qian was first stunned, then revealed a relieved smile.
Seeing his expression, Chen Xiao's doubts deepened, and he asked, "Grand Elder, did Xian'er return to Central State ahead of schedule because something happened?"
Su Qian nodded, picked up a letter from the desk in front of him, stood up and handed it to Chen Xiao, saying, "Something did happen, and it's a big deal. This is a letter the Honored Fairy left for you. Take a look first, and I'll take this opportunity to briefly tell you about the situation."
"Before, the Honored Fairy stayed in the Inner Academy, guiding Qing Huan and Xing Yao in their cultivation. Those days were still peaceful and serene."
"But ten days ago, news came from Central State that the two strongest forces on the surface, the Soul Hall and the Pill Tower, were actually fighting!"
"The cause of this incident is also related to Starfall Pavilion. The Honored Fairy said that after Medicine Venerable returned to Starfall Pavilion, he dismissed everyone in the pavilion as soon as possible. He then took Wind Honored One and others to the Pill Tower. As a result, when the people from the Soul Hall arrived at Starfall Pavilion, it was already empty."
"Not only that, after arriving at the Pill Tower, Medicine Venerable used some secret method to persuade the higher-ups of the Pill Tower to contact the major ancient races and gather in Holy Pill City."
"Immediately afterward, the Pill Tower and the Soul Hall officially went to war."
"Although it's only been about half a month, this battle has already swept through most of Central State. One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, and the New Four Directions Pavilion – many forces have been drawn into it. The Honored Fairy was worried that Purple Firmament Pavilion would have problems, so she rushed back ahead of schedule."
As Su Qian spoke, Chen Xiao finished reading the letter left by the Little Fairy Doctor.
The content was roughly the same as what Su Qian said, but more detailed.
Putting away the letter, Chen Xiao had only one thought in his mind.
Chaos, chaos, complete chaos!
The entire Central State was in a complete mess!
"Yao Chen… he really is fearless because he has nothing to lose!"
Combining the Little Fairy Doctor's letter and some of the things he knew, Chen Xiao quickly sorted out the whole story.
It all started with their destruction of the Soul Hall's branch hall.
The Soul Hall's branch hall was destroyed, Yao Chen was rescued, and even the Soul Hall's most valued soul origin was lost. How could the Soul Hall tolerate this?
First, this had never happened before.
Second, there were big secrets involved.
Therefore, targeting Starfall Pavilion was inevitable!
They wanted to protect the secret of collecting soul origins, and incidentally wash away the shame. Destroying Starfall Pavilion was the only way.
And Yao Chen, on his way back to Starfall Pavilion, thought it through after a little sorting out. This time, the matter had become too big to save him. The Soul Clan had lost five Honored Elders and one Nine Heavens Honored, and even lost the soul origin.
Starfall Pavilion would definitely be targeted by the Soul Hall!
But the current Starfall Pavilion simply didn't have the strength to compete with the Soul Hall.
To get through this disaster safely, abandoning the car to save the general was the wisest choice.
So, Yao Chen disbanded Starfall Pavilion, took Wind Honored One, Xiao Yan and others to the Pill Tower, and plotted to spread the news about the Soul Hall's collection of soul origins.
Even he could guess that the Soul Hall's collection of soul origins for thousands of years was probably to cultivate the legendary Emperor Realm soul. How could those ancient races not guess?
They might even know more, knowing that the Soul Hall was the Soul Clan's pawn, and could guess who the Emperor Realm soul to be cultivated was.
This matter was of great importance, and it was reasonable for the ancient races to take some countermeasures.
And so, a war between proxies was launched!
After figuring out the causes and consequences, Chen Xiao couldn't help but sigh softly.
Yao Chen and Xiao Yan, this master and disciple pair, really had the same innate ability to cause trouble.
However, if he stood in Yao Chen's shoes, this was the only way.
Starfall Pavilion couldn't withstand the Soul Hall's revenge, so he simply dragged the Soul Hall into the water and turned the entire Central State into a muddy mess.
Once the situation became chaotic, the Soul Hall would naturally have less energy to stare at their master and disciple.
Moreover, the more chaotic the situation, the more opportunities it often hid.
Just like in some worlds, this was precisely why countless people longed for the situation to be reshuffled.
Because in their view, this was the only opportunity to change their fate.
"Have there been any messages from Central State in the past two days?"
"No, I don't know what's going on in Central State now. This is all news from ten days ago." Su Qian shook his head.
Chen Xiao was silent. This was not bad. If it really involved Purple Firmament Pavilion, the Little Fairy Doctor and the others would definitely send a message in advance to make arrangements.
For Purple Firmament Pavilion, the Northwest was actually a fallback.
To be honest, Chen Xiao wasn't too worried about Purple Firmament Pavilion.
The Little Fairy Doctor, Qing Lin, Heavenly Flame Honored One, Hei Qing, and Iron Sword Venerable – that was already five Dou Zun powerhouses sitting there, not to mention the puppets controlled by Cao Ying, and the five Dou Zun in Qing Lin's Three-Flower Pupils space.
In addition to the Grand Elder of Green Mountains personally reinforcing the Guardian Array, unless the entire Soul Hall attacks, it would be difficult to pose a threat to the Purple Firmament Pavilion.
Moreover, the Purple Firmament Pavilion is located in Tian Bei, far from the Pill Domain, the core of Central State. It can easily remain safe and unaffected by this chaotic situation for the time being.
Of course, that being said, now that Central State is in chaos, Chen Xiao should return as soon as possible to avoid complications and other unforeseen events.
"Grand Elder, since that's the case, I won't delay any longer. I'll return to the Purple Firmament Pavilion as soon as possible. Keep this Puppet for now and make sure the Spatial Wormhole here is safe. I'll arrange things on the Tagor Desert side later."
Chen Xiao took out the Puppet that had been with him the longest and handed it to Su Qian.
He originally intended to leave the other nine Puppets behind, but then he thought that those Heavenly Demon Puppets still had a lot of room for improvement, and it would be more convenient to take them back and strengthen them, so he dismissed the idea.
Su Qian didn't stand on ceremony. At Chen Xiao's suggestion, he took the Puppet and took control of it.
"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong here. The entire Black-Corner Region is now covered with our eyes and ears. No movement can escape me. It's you who needs to be careful in Central State."
Besides guarding this escape route, there was nothing else Su Qian could do at the moment.
Chen Xiao nodded in agreement. Without further hesitation, he cupped his fist in salute, and his figure disappeared directly from the spot.
It wasn't until Chen Xiao left that Su Qian noticed that there were three Storage Rings on the nearby table, one large and two small, the meaning of which was self-evident.
...
Central State.
Due to the Purple Firmament Pavilion's unique location, Chen Xiao didn't feel much different after arriving in Tian Bei than before he left.
If he had to say, it would be that the flow of people seemed to be much larger, as if many people had suddenly flocked to the edge of Central State.
However, when Chen Xiao returned to the Purple Firmament Pavilion, he could increasingly feel the sudden changes in the situation in Central State.
Because, at the foot of Qifeng Mountain, a considerably dense crowd of people had gathered.
Among these people, many were still wearing sect attire, small sects from Tian Bei that Chen Xiao recognized but couldn't name. They looked somewhat flustered, as if they had come spontaneously to seek shelter, but without tokens, they couldn't climb the mountain at all.
Chen Xiao glanced at them and retracted his gaze, his figure flashing as he entered the Purple Firmament Pavilion.
However, when he released his Soul Power to investigate, he discovered an aura in the backyard that was not originally in the Purple Firmament Pavilion, but was extremely familiar.
"Xun Er?"
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