Chapter 459: Chapter 459: Stepping Into the Abyss
Word Count: 3,280 Words
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Mo Yu’s gaze swept over the battle scars marring the floor before settling on the severely wounded Zhai Xing Tianzun. If Venerable Qing Hai could be considered Xiao Yan’s subordinate, then Zhai Xing answered to him.
Though the Nine Great Tianzun jointly oversaw the Man Hall, their primary responsibility was managing the twenty-four Disha Halls, and the hall under Zhai Xing’s command maintained direct ties to Mo Yu.
Zhai Xing Tianzun sent a spiritual transmission, after which Mo Yu turned toward Xiao Yan with a faint, ambiguous smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. A glint of undisguised greed flickered within his gaze.
Though that predatory look wasn’t directed at him, Venerable Qing Hai felt a chill run down his spine, like a rabbit caught in a viper’s sights.
"Lord Yan Tianzun, you must be careful. In the Hall of Souls, plundering and killing are both permitted..." Qing Hai whispered urgently. He feared Xiao Yan didn’t fully grasp the Hall of Souls’ unwritten rules.
The Hall of Souls operated unlike any other power on the Dou Qi Continent. Here, might truly made right. Beyond merely attacking at the slightest provocation as Xiao Yan had done, even murder and robbery were tacitly permitted. No one would utter a word of protest against the victor.
Backed by the Hun Clan’s inexhaustible resources, the Hall of Souls had no need for conventional rules. Everything here followed personal whim.
The Hall of Souls made only one thing clear: capture soul bodies, and you could obtain anything your heart desired, even Tian Class Dou Techniques and Qi Methods!
One could refuse missions issued by the Hall, but once accepted, failure was not tolerated.
For any task, they offered rewards so tempting that few could refuse. Even Xiao Yan had been unable to resist; otherwise, he wouldn’t be standing in the Heaven Hall attending this ceremonial gathering.
To call it merely ’wolf culture’ would be an understatement. This was a den of demon wolves and ancient vicious beasts, a congregation of ruthless souls who would stop at nothing to achieve their goals.
Though Mo Yu said nothing aloud, his eyes conveyed everything: he coveted those black Heaven Phoenix Wings. He wanted them badly.
Zhai Xing had likely reported that Xiao Yan wasn’t actually a magical beast and that those Heaven Phoenix Wings were a flying-type Dou Technique that had reached the Tian Class level.
Unlike conventional techniques, flying Dou Techniques could be transferred—or rather, seized. Though the peak 7-star Dou Venerate Mo Yu surely possessed Tian Class techniques already, no Dou Venerate would ever complain about having too many, especially not such a unique Tian Class flying technique.
Shortly after Mo Yu emerged, the black fog churned again. A white-robed figure stepped through, radiating a bone-chilling cold that permeated the entire hall.
The white-clad newcomer slowly swept his gaze across everyone present. His aged face bore white hair and a white beard; even his pupils were stark white, giving off an aura of extreme cold. He appeared carved from ice itself.
The Eighth Tianzun, Qiu Di! A peak 8-star Dou Venerate!
This man had history with Xiao Yan, as Venerable Yao had once defeated him in battle.
Immediately after, more figures emerged from the black fog one after another, each stronger than the last.
The Seventh Tianzun Yin Rong, the Sixth Tianzun Lei Mo, the Fifth Tianzun Ya Zi, the Fourth Tianzun Xue He. All possessed the strength of 9-star Dou Venerates. Xue He had even surpassed the peak of 9-star, though Xiao Yan couldn’t determine exactly how many Changes he had achieved.
But what truly shocked Xiao Yan was the emergence of the Third Tianzun, Gui Ming. The aura he released made even Xiao Yan’s heart sink. Some newly advanced Honorable Elders immediately dropped to one knee with lowered heads, not daring to look at him directly.
Dou Saint! The unmistakable might of a Saint!
Whether Half-Saint, 1-star, 2-star, or higher, Xiao Yan couldn’t tell. He lacked the ability to gauge a Dou Saint’s depth. He only knew it was like staring into an unfathomable abyss.
Xiao Yan was one hundred percent certain that even if he employed every technique and trick at his disposal, he could not win against such an opponent. He might not even be able to escape.
The Second Tianzun Gu You and First Tianzun Ming Jin who followed were equally overwhelming from Xiao Yan’s perspective. Their strength was bottomless, immeasurable!
Three of the Nine Great Tianzun had reached the Dou Saint realm. They shouldn’t even be called Tianzun anymore, but Saints!
They retained their titles only because they had still been at the Dou Venerate realm when they first became members of the Nine Great Tianzun.
Of course, a more important reason existed: even as Dou Saints, both the Deputy Hall Chief and Hall Chief far surpassed them, towering leagues above!
That was why they could not be replaced. After all, the Nine Great Tianzun already represented the highest positions beneath the Hall Chief and Deputy Hall Chief.
With a synchronized rustle of robes, every Venerable in the Heaven Hall dropped to one knee. They lowered their heads and called out in deep voices, "We pay our respects to the Nine Great Tianzun!"
There were no rules in the Hall of Souls, not even a true relationship of superior and subordinate, let alone any so-called etiquette of paying respects.
But... it was precisely because there were no rules that strength became the only rule!
These people could kill you with a single palm strike at any time. Even the Hall Chief wouldn’t comment, much less feel regret. In the Hall of Souls, strength equaled power.
Everyone knelt, everyone except Xiao Yan.
Venerable Qing Hai, kneeling beside him, was already sweating profusely. These are the Nine Great Tianzun! Don’t cause trouble!
Dou Saints don’t care if you’re the Pill Gathering champion!
"Hehe, this humble one hasn’t seen such a hot-blooded man in ages," the Seventh Tianzun Yin Rong chuckled softly. Though she wore a purple robe with a hood concealing her features, her voice clearly revealed her gender.
"Youth... truly enviable," the Fourth Tianzun Xue He licked his lips, crimson light flashing in his eyes. Though his Spiritual Strength couldn’t penetrate the Soul Robe’s shielding effect, he could sense Xiao Yan’s vigorous vitality. That blood... he craved it.
As a precaution, Xiao Yan had wrapped himself in layers of his own Spiritual Strength combined with the Soul Command Token’s special fluctuations. Under this triple shielding, even the First Tianzun could perceive only a blurry silhouette.
Xiao Yan stood out like a crane among chickens, standing perfectly straight, gazing directly at the Nine Great Tianzun like a child unaware of danger.
He smiled to himself, knowing these people had no idea of his true identity. The Di Pill Plan was top secret. Not even the Nine Great Tianzun knew about it, and probably not even the Deputy Hall Chief. Only Hall Chief Hun Mie Sheng was privy to it.
Xiao Yan took out his Soul Command Token and fastened it to his Soul Robe. The instant the First Tianzun saw the token, his aged face transformed. The two ghost fires dancing in his sunken eyes contracted sharply as he sensed that great personage’s aura on the Soul Command Token!
The First Tianzun’s current strength stood at peak 1-star Dou Saint, still vastly distant from 2-star. Normal cultivation would require decades at minimum, perhaps a century if progress was slow.
However, he would break through to 2-star soon, as he had accumulated sufficient soul points and had already requested a pill from Hun Huzi!
A Tier 9 Treasure Pill!
A single Tier 9 Treasure Pill could save him decades or even a century of cultivation. Moreover, the First Tianzun had aged considerably, his hunched body as withered as dried bones, his lifespan nearly exhausted. He might not have been able to break through relying solely on himself.
But one pill could not only help him break through; it could extend his life!
For such a pill, countless Dou Saints would willingly sell their lives. After all, across the entire Dou Qi Continent, only three factions could refine tier 9 pills: the Small Pill Tower, the Yao Clan, and finally, the Hun Clan!
Among the Nine Great Tianzun, only the First Tianzun qualified to request pills from Hun Huzi, having once been granted an audience with him.
Even the First Tianzun trembled uncontrollably in Hun Huzi’s presence and dared not look up. His strength surpassed even that of the Hall Chief. He was utterly unfathomable!
The other Tianzun had never met Hun Huzi. Though the Third and Second Tianzun were both Dou Saints, they were merely Half-Saints. They could neither qualify to meet Hun Huzi nor obtain tier 9 pills with their current strength.
But they weren’t fools. After witnessing the First Tianzun’s reaction and noting that the aura on Xiao Yan’s Soul Command Token wasn’t the Hall Chief’s, they quickly deduced that Xiao Yan was backed by a major figure in the Hun Clan.
Just as the atmosphere grew tense and awkward, the entire space around the Heaven Hall suddenly churned. Outside, white clouds began to roil. An immensely vast spiritual fluctuation erupted from within space!
Suddenly, Xiao Yan’s eyes widened and his pupils contracted. At some unknown moment, a human silhouette had appeared in the depths of the Heaven Hall!
Just like that, a sudden appearance! Despite Xiao Yan’s late Soul State Spiritual Strength, he had been completely unable to detect this arrival!
Even Xuan Kong Zi, or even that mysterious guardian of the Pill Tower might not possess Spiritual Strength as formidable as this figure!
"Is that... the Hall Chief?!"
Only after Xiao Yan’s murmur did the Nine Great Tianzun suddenly realize the Hall Chief had arrived! It wasn’t that Xiao Yan’s perception surpassed the First Tianzun’s. Rather, no one, including Xiao Yan and all nine Tianzun, had detected him at all.
Xiao Yan had discovered him only because he happened to be standing and facing that direction while the Nine Great Tianzun had their backs turned. He had seen him with his eyes!
For Dou Venerate-level cultivators, visual perception had long since become inferior to spiritual perception. They rarely relied on their eyes.
Yet inexplicably, this time only physical sight worked!
What level of strength was this?!
This was the Hall of Souls’ Hall Chief who struck terror into every alchemist across the Dou Qi Continent!
The Hall Chief wore a black robe, and his face had no distinguishing features, looking as ordinary as a common person. His hands, which slipped out from his sleeves, were also slightly rough. However, it was this very ordinary figure that, at this moment, caused Xiao Yan and the Nine Great Tianzun to hold their breath, their eyes filled with gravity, apprehension, and even deep fear.
Immense.
Even though Xiao Yan could not gauge the differences between Dou Saints, he could understand that the Hall of Souls’ Hall Chief was far, far stronger than the Gu Clan’s Elder Tong Xuan or the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe’s Third Elder.
The only beings Xiao Yan had encountered who might be stronger were two: the Hun Clan’s Pill Saint Hun Huzi and Hun Lao Gui who guarded the Hun Clan’s treasury.
’The Hall of Souls possesses such terrifying strength...’
If a glimpse through the keyhole could reveal so much, what about the Hun Clan? And the Gu Clan, who could stand against them?
What magnificent heights must the ancient Xiao Clan have reached to stand against the Hun Clan?
The Nine Great Tianzun turned in unison, lowering their heads. "We respectfully welcome the Hall Chief!"
"We respectfully welcome the Hall Chief!"
Hall Chief Hun Mie Sheng gave Xiao Yan, who remained standing without bowing or calling out, a deep look. He merely smiled faintly, taking no offense. By rights, Xiao Yan wasn’t truly his subordinate. Given Xiao Yan’s current status, even Hun Huzi couldn’t be considered his superior.
The Di Pill Plan required both to collaborate in alchemy, and according to the plan’s requirements, Xiao Yan needed to reach Hun Huzi’s level.
If he achieved that, Hun Mie Sheng would be the one paying respects. Of course, the premise was that he could get there.
Even the Yao Clan’s head, Yao Dan, could not necessarily be said to have superior alchemy skills to Hun Huzi. If Hun Huzi had the assistance of the Nihility Devouring Flame’s main body, then his alchemy skills would far surpass Yao Dan’s.
Hun Mie Sheng waved his hand. The entire Heaven Hall trembled as stone slabs in the center shifted aside, revealing a massive arena.
Large black stone chairs appeared behind the Nine Great Tianzun, nine of them, no more, no less. This represented the Nine Great Tianzun status.
Hun Mie Sheng sat behind them all, his chair imposing and domineering like an emperor’s throne. He appeared as a sovereign reigning above the nine heavens.
The Deputy Hall Chief naturally wouldn’t appear. Even Xiao Yan knew to leave Venerable Tian Huo guarding the Yan Alliance headquarters. The Hall of Souls wasn’t foolish. They wouldn’t all abandon their posts for a ceremony. Someone had to remain on guard.
The Hall of Souls’ decennial ceremonial gathering served as both an awards ceremony and a ranking tournament. The Nine Great Tianzun were numbered one through nine based on strength.
When multiple Great Tianzun undertook the same mission, the higher-ranked commanded. This authority mattered immensely, as the commander naturally claimed the lion’s share of resources and mission rewards.
The simplest path to becoming a Tianzun in the Hall of Souls? Step on whoever stood above you.
The simplest way to join the Nine Great Tianzun? Defeat one at the ceremony and take their place.
Strictly speaking, the Nine Great Tianzun were still considered Tianzun; they were just the nine strongest among them, hence they were called the Nine Great Tianzun. At the ceremonial gathering, all Nine Great Tianzun would be present, precisely to be challenged by others.
This explained why Xiao Yan had attacked Zhai Xing earlier. He wanted to test the gap between himself and a 5-star Dou Venerate, gauging how he measured against the Ninth Tianzun.
That’s right! Xiao Yan had come to challenge the Ninth Tianzun, Mo Yu!
All Dou God Clans held coming-of-age ceremonies. These ceremonies concerned not physical age but the Dou God Bloodline.
If an ordinary descendant could cultivate their Dou God Bloodline to Grade 4 or above, they would be bestowed with a Clan Mark at the coming-of-age ceremony and officially become a member of the clan.
Dou God Clans didn’t care about surnames but Clan Marks. Possessing a Clan Mark made one part of the clan, like Ling Quan of the Gu Clan. Despite not having the Gu surname, he was still a Gu Clan member and Commander because his Dou God Bloodline had reached Grade 4 or above.
Meanwhile, even if Venerable Yao bore the Yao surname, the Yao Clan wouldn’t acknowledge him as a clansman.
But! The Hall of Souls, or rather the Hun Clan, made exceptions.
Anyone who became one of the Nine Great Tianzun could participate in the Hun Clan’s coming-of-age ceremony by special dispensation, receive the surname, and join the Hun Clan. Then you could live within the Hun Realm itself.
This was Xiao Yan’s goal. Mao Wu’s use of the Tunling Clan’s power had granted Xiao Yan a Dou God Bloodline. He now needed to use it at the Hun Clan’s ceremony to obtain the Hun Clan’s Dou God Bloodline, then cultivate the Emperor Soul Technique!
Only then could his Spiritual Strength break through the Soul State into the Heavenly State! Only then could he become a 9th-tier alchemist, gain the Gu Clan leadership’s approval, and marry Xun Er!
To achieve his goal, Xiao Yan would step into the abyss without hesitation...
Tap—
Xiao Yan took a light step forward. Though gentle, it seemed to stomp on everyone’s heart. Many Venerables looked at him with drastically changed expressions.
Venerable Qing Hai beside him was too frightened to speak. Since Mo Yu’s appointment decades ago, the Nine Great Tianzun’s positions had never changed. It had always been these nine!
Only now did Venerable Qing Hai and the other Venerables understand: Xiao Yan had been using Zhai Xing Tianzun as a warm-up, testing his abilities!!
"Holy shit!"
"Heavens, this Yan Tianzun is serious!"
"He’s only a 3-star Dou Venerate! Mo Yu reached 7-star long ago and has now achieved peak 7-star!"
"How can he bridge a four-star gap? Ten Zhai Xings couldn’t touch a hair on Mo Yu’s head!"
The difference of a single star among Dou Venerates was already a huge gap, and the chasm grew wider the higher one went. More importantly, Mo Yu had been one of the Nine Great Tianzun for a very long time; he one hundred percent possessed a Tian Class Dou Technique!
His foundation was simply not something Zhai Xing could compare to!
Mo Yu revealed a cold smile as he watched Xiao Yan stride toward the center. He wondered if this Yan Tianzun knew that if a challenger failed, the challenged party could seize all of the opponent’s soul points and possessions, and could even refine them into a puppet.
In the Hall of Souls, failure earned no forgiveness.
"Old Ninth, it’s not your turn to act." Qiu Di cast Mo Yu a cold glance before gesturing elsewhere.
Mo Yu, who had been about to rise, settled back into his chair. "Those two still haven’t given up."
His eyes showed a trace of gravity as he looked at the two black and white figures on either side.
The Black and White Tianzun. Both strode toward the center simultaneously!
"Holy shit, the Black and White Tianzun! Are they challenging Mo Yu? Can they fight two against one?"
"Jie Jie Jie, you’re ignorant of some things. The Black and White Tianzun have always wanted to join the Hun Clan. At the last ceremony, they joined forces to challenge Mo Yu. Their combined strength is not much weaker than his."
"What was the result?"
"Look at the present situation. Mo Yu is still the Ninth Tianzun. However, I heard Mo Yu was severely wounded and unable to continue fighting afterward. Otherwise, the Black and White Tianzun would be dead men now."
Xiao Yan watched the approaching Black and White Tianzun and shook his head helplessly. Why did someone always interfere whenever he tried to accomplish something? Couldn’t things go smoothly for once!
"Jie Jie Jie, Yan Tianzun, I don’t know who you plan to challenge. If it’s not the same person, we can avoid conflict," the White Tianzun said with a slight narrowing of his eyes. Though he was smiling, his smile carried a sinister chill.
The two of them were once descendants of the Ling Clan. After fleeing, they joined the stronger Hun Clan. Ten years of cultivation later, they had both reached the peak of the 6-star Dou Venerate stage. They were just waiting for the opportunity to defeat Mo Yu and officially join the Hun Clan. They would not let anyone stand in their way.
"Sigh." The hooded Xiao Yan shook his head. It wasn’t that he couldn’t challenge Qiu Di, but Qiu Di was a peak 8-star Dou Venerate. He himself was only a 3-star; there was a real chance he could screw up badly.
"I want to challenge the Ninth Tianzun, Mo Yu."
At his words, all three faces darkened. The Black and White Tianzun were obviously displeased, and Mo Yu’s expression was downright ugly.
So I’m the soft persimmon everyone wants to squeeze?!