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**
Hearing Dan Chen's words, a trace of regret appeared on Cao Ying's dangerously beautiful face.
Just as Dan Chen described, after the Five Great Clans were battered by the Hall of Souls at their peak, they never fully recovered, even after a thousand years. Not a single Dou Sheng has reappeared; not even a Ban Sheng has shown up.
"Of course, our rise back then was largely thanks to our ancestor, Dan Yitian," Dan Chen said.
"If he hadn't, with his extraordinary talent, created a large number of useful alchemical techniques and left behind countless experiences—both his own and those he collected from others—our clan would never have shifted into an alchemist house."
Mentioning the peak reminded Dan Chen of the person who had impacted the Dan Clan most, and a tone of admiration crept into her voice. If not for that ancestor, the Dan Clan might have long vanished into the river of time.
Lin Feng's interest was piqued, and he asked, "What happened to him afterwards?"
"For some unknown reason, one day Dan Yitian suddenly gathered many powerful figures and said he was going out on business. After that, both he and those strong men disappeared together," Dan Chen shook her head as she replied.
Her eyes then flicked toward Cao Ying. When Dan Yitian vanished, the Cao Clan—being relatives by marriage—had taken many alchemical techniques and books from the Dan Clan.
Cao Ying shot back an equally unwilling glare. After all, Dan Yitian had taken many of the Cao Clan's strong members on that trip—and none of them returned.
If the Cao Clan's foundation hadn't been relatively solid at the time, they might have collapsed long ago.
"We lost so many experts—what's wrong with asking for compensation!" Cao Ying thought indignantly.
"The energy here is abundant, but it contains many violent factors. That's probably why the Pill Realm is in such disrepair," Lin Feng said, changing the subject as the two women's tempers flared. He reached into the void with his palm as he spoke.
From their exchange, he also guessed that neither the Dan nor Cao Clans seemed aware of the existence of that Dou Sheng relic. That realization eased him. After all, fewer people knowing about such things is better.
"Let's go. Xiao Yan is already slipping out of our perception," Xiao Yixian suddenly reminded them.
Hearing her mention Xiao Yan's direction, Cao Ying asked curiously, "Are you planning to ambush Xiao Yan in the Pill Realm to exact revenge?"
Dan Chen glanced at Lin Feng as well.
"No, that's not it," Lin Feng said, shaking his head and casually inventing an excuse. "I picked up a faint spiritual signal earlier, and I suspect a few Hall of Souls members snuck into the Pill Gathering.
I want to tail Xiao Yan because those Hall of Souls people might act inside the Pill Realm, and Xiao Yan has been at odds with the Hall of Souls before—he could be a target. I just want to see if any interesting trouble breaks out, haha."
Lin Feng finished with a mischievous laugh.
"Hall of Souls members?!" Cao Ying and Dan Chen exclaimed in surprise. The Hall of Souls was the enemy the Pill Tower people hated most; neither of them had noticed any sign of that earlier while they'd been waiting on the field.
Cao Ying knew the Hall of Souls's usual methods. Faced with the ninth-ranked Three Thousand Burning Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, they'd likely be tempted to interfere. So their disruption here made sense.
Since both Cao Ying and Dan Chen had very bad relations with the Hall of Souls, they didn't want the Hall of Souls's plan to succeed.
But they were still participating in the Pill Gathering, and after a moment's thought, Cao Ying spoke with a small smile, "We haven't started searching for the herbs yet, and we only have ten days. How about we split up—you go tail Xiao Yan, and we search for the herbs?"
After all, Lin Feng was a Dou Zun level powerhouse; sending him to tail was the safest choice. If he couldn't handle trouble, then she and Dan Chen going with him would likely be nothing but a sacrifice.
"All right," Lin Feng agreed. He then turned to Ye Xin Lan and said, "Xin Lan, you stay with them and search. If danger comes, you can crush the space jade slip I gave you."
"Mm."
Hearing Lin Feng's words, Ye Xin Lan nodded slightly in response. Seeing this, Lin Feng's figure flickered and vanished from the spot, heading straight in the direction where he sensed Xiao Yan's presence.
Meanwhile, the four women, led by Cao Ying, flew off in another direction.
After all, among everyone present, those from the Five Great Clans were the most familiar with the terrain of the Pill Realm, so it was naturally best for them to take the lead.
"Whoosh, whoosh~"
However, before Lin Feng could catch up to Xiao Yan, the space before him suddenly began to ripple and distort.
The next moment, the ground beneath him—seemingly just a stretch of sand dunes—suddenly erupted as a massive serpent, over ten zhang long, shot upward like lightning.
Its enormous, blood-red mouth opened wide, lunging straight toward his head. But this sudden ambush didn't make Lin Feng panic in the slightest.
With his powerful soul perception, he had already detected the presence of a low-level Rank 7 serpent-type magical beast lurking beneath the ground.
He had simply ignored it earlier, wanting to close the distance with Xiao Yan as quickly as possible. Yet since the creature had chosen to court death, Lin Feng certainly wouldn't be polite.
"Die!"
With a cold snort, a surge of majestic Dou Qi condensed before him, forming a sharp stream of energy that shot forward with terrifying speed. In an instant, it smashed squarely into the serpent's head.
Bang!
The immense force exploded, shattering the giant python's skull without even the chance for it to struggle.
"Huh? This serpent… it's actually a Yellow Earth Python."
Lin Feng's eyes glimmered with surprise as he glanced at the corpse.
Having risen all the way to the rank of an eighth-tier alchemist, he had read countless alchemical texts.
In one of them, he recalled a note: wherever a Yellow Earth Python appeared, there would always be Earth Essence— nearby.
The Yellow Earth Python, however, was nearly identical in appearance to ordinary giant pythons, with only the subtlest differences. Without careful observation, even skilled alchemists could easily overlook it.
Earth Essence itself was a rare medicinal herb formed from the condensed essence of the earth's power.
When cultivators experienced energy rampages during breakthroughs or failures, consuming Earth Essence directly—or refining it into a pill—could suppress the berserk energy within the body.
High-quality ones even provided considerable benefits for Dou Zun powerhouses. Thinking of this precious herb, Lin Feng immediately waved his hand, sending the massive serpent's corpse flying aside.
As the python's body crashed into the distance, a pit was revealed beneath the dune it had inhabited. Inside that pit lay a deep yellow root-like object, about the size of a human head, gleaming faintly with earthen light.
"What a huge Earth Essence!"
Lin Feng's eyes shone with excitement as he stared at the massive, deep-yellow root.
"Normally, a hundred-year-old Earth Essence would only be the size of a fist. But this one's grown as large as a human head—it must be at least a thousand years old. In the outside world, something like this would definitely make Dou Zun experts fight over it."
His gaze remained locked on the glowing root as a delighted smile spread across his face.
He had only been following Xiao Yan to keep an eye on the Hall of Souls members he suspected had infiltrated the Pill Gathering, thinking he might pick up some benefits along the way.
But unexpectedly, before finding them, he had already stumbled upon such a priceless treasure.
"Brat! How dare you steal the herb we discovered first—go to hell!"
Just as Lin Feng was feeling pleased with his luck, a furious shout suddenly came from behind him.
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