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**
After the group had made their decisions, Lin Feng instructed the elder who chose not to accept the secret technique to begin preparations for the upcoming expedition.
As for himself, he led the five elders who were willing to undergo the secret technique to a more remote mountain range for their breakthroughs.
This was to avoid disturbing the members of Yun Lan Sect during the promotion process after the secret technique was used.
Inside a secluded valley, a flicker of light flashed from the storage ring on Lin Feng's finger, and a black pouch appeared in his hand.
He then skillfully deployed a Fallen Heart Flame barrier and opened the Soul Bag.
"Wuuu~"
As the seal was broken, streams of souls floated out from within, attempting to flee the area.
However, upon crashing into the flame barrier, a continuous hissing sound echoed through the valley.
Shortly after, thick white smoke began to rise slowly from the scorched wounds of the trapped souls.
Seeing this, Lin Feng quickly recalled the contents of the secret technique scroll in his mind.
Then, he formed a strange hand seal, and his Dou Qi began surging rapidly through his meridians.
At the center of the seal, a mysterious jade-green vortex suddenly appeared, releasing an intense and invisible suction force.
The trapped souls surrounding him had no power to resist and were pulled helplessly into the vortex, merging with it one after another.
As more and more souls were devoured, the originally glassy jade-green vortex gradually turned pitch-black.
Soon, seeing the timing was right, Lin Feng flicked the dark vortex toward the elder sitting cross-legged in front of him.
"Swish~"
With a soft sound, the vortex struck the elder—not with an explosion, but merging directly into his body.
Afterward, the elder's aura began to surge rapidly at a pace obvious to everyone present.
Having completed the technique, Lin Feng retracted the Fallen Heart Flame shield and flew to the side to wait as the elder advanced.
It took less than half an hour for the elder to break through from Eight-Star Dou Wang to Nine-Star.
Moreover, the rise in Dou Qi showed no sign of slowing—the advancement continued steadily.
Boom!
After an unknown amount of time, a powerful pressure several times stronger than before suddenly erupted from the elder's body.
"Dou Huang!"
Sensing the overwhelming aura released from their companion, the other elders in the distance revealed expressions of shock and elation on their aged faces.
Although Lin Feng had previously explained the effects of the secret technique, seeing it firsthand was an entirely different experience.
"Haha! I never imagined I'd live to see the day I advanced to Dou Huang!"
Feeling the abundant Dou Qi surging within him, the elder clenched his fists and laughed heartily.
At this moment, he was confident that even facing two of his former selves, he could still easily crush them!
Yet, unbeknownst to him, deep within his soul, a pitch-black brand had silently attached itself…
"All right, next."
Seeing the elder's joy, Lin Feng chuckled and called to the remaining four in the distance.
Upon hearing this, one of the four quickly unfolded his Dou Qi Wings and rushed over to land beside Lin Feng.
And once again, Lin Feng repeated the same procedure.
After all five elders had been elevated to Dou Huang, Lin Feng looked at his stock of soul fragments, now reduced to just over ten thousand, and let out a helpless sigh.
The Hall of Souls' secret technique was certainly effective—but also far too soul-consuming.
At this moment, he finally understood why even the Hall's Protectors seldom used it.
The cost… was just too high.
After completing their preparations, Lin Feng led the six Heavenly Treasure Pavilion elders, along with several hundred elite cultivators, toward the Snake-People Clan.
Soon after, Medusa also mobilized the elites of the Snake-People Clan, and together, both forces launched a joint assault on the Luo Yan and Mulan Empires.
This time, Lin Feng's only goal was to raid the imperial treasuries of the two empires for anything that might catch his eye.
As for fighting the enemy forces—that task would be left entirely to his subordinates.
With both empires having suffered severe losses among their high-level cultivators, the five newly ascended Dou Huang elders, along with the Snake-People powerhouses, were more than enough to handle the situation.
As for the division of territory, Lin Feng and Medusa had already come to an agreement before setting out:
The entire Luo Yan Empire would belong to Lin Feng.
Because during the territory division, the Snake-People Clan had clearly stated their unwillingness to live alongside humans...
The Mulan Empire was split in half.
This was because the southern region of Mulan bordered directly with the northern region of the Snake-People's lands.
Thus, all humans living in southern Mulan were relocated.
That southern portion of the Mulan Empire was designated as new territory for the Snake-People's expansion.
As for the displaced humans, they were redistributed to the northern Mulan region and the Luo Yan Empire.
Of course, if anyone didn't like either location, they were welcome to relocate to the Jia Ma Empire, or leave altogether.
After all, ever since Lin Feng returned from the Chu Yun Empire, Jia Xingtian had personally approached him...
And clearly expressed his willingness to offer the entire Jia Ma Empire's territory and lead the entire imperial family to join Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
Lin Feng had agreed.
It was just that Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's personnel hadn't arrived yet, so he hadn't taken over the empire immediately.
As for the Jia Ma Empire's royal family, Lin Feng had no intention of exterminating them.
On the contrary, he promised that after serving Heavenly Treasure Pavilion for five years, he would help Jia Xingtian break through to Dou Zong.
At the same time, Lin Feng planned to relocate the former Jia Ma Imperial Family to the human-occupied half of the Mulan Empire.
Letting them live alongside their old rivals, the Snake-People Clan.
After all, with so many years of war between them, both sides had come to understand each other's temperament.
Having them together would allow them to mutually keep each other in check—a perfect arrangement.
Due to the slower speed of flying magical beasts used by those below Dou Wang...
It took Lin Feng and Medusa's forces nearly a week to reach the Mulan Empire.
They launched a lightning-fast assault, swiftly wiping out the Mulan Empire.
Afterward, Lin Feng explored the imperial treasury and the vaults of Mulan Valley, picking out anything he deemed useful.
Then, he left behind two Dou Huang and two hundred members to garrison northern Mulan.
The rest followed him to attack the Luo Yan Empire.
Because the empire's high-end battle power had been wiped out earlier in the battle at the Tagore Desert...
Lin Feng and his forces easily eliminated the remaining Dou Huang of Luo Yan and successfully took control of the empire.
Just like before, Lin Feng first visited the imperial vault and the Gold Geese Sect's treasury.
Afterward, he ordered his men to clean up any remaining resistance and began rewriting all the local laws and rules.
Following this series of conquests, several surrounding factions chose to submit voluntarily, offering a portion of their annual income as tribute.
Lin Feng accepted all of these subordinate forces.
As a result, Heavenly Treasure Pavilion's strength saw a tremendous surge.
As for other forces—so long as they didn't provoke him, Lin Feng had no interest in attacking them.
His reason for sweeping through nearby regions was to prepare for a future expedition to the Black-Corner Region, where he intended to bring Medusa and Xiao Yixian once Zi Yan emerged from seclusion.
After all, within Demon Flame Valley still lay treasures he coveted deeply: the True Flame Creation Technique and the Sky Demon Puppet.
So this time, he planned to take the initiative, leading Xiao Yixian and Medusa to annihilate Demon Flame Valley and claim those treasures.
Of course, if necessary, he would also call upon Tian Huo Zun Zhe for help.
The lure of a Seven-Star Dou Zong body—there's no way that old man could resist.
Furthermore, after he went to the Central Plains for training, Lin Feng intended to appoint Medusa as acting leader of Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.
Thus, before that, he wanted to eliminate any enemies around the Snake-People.
That way, Medusa could guard the Black-Corner Region without worries.
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