Chapter 388: Arrival of the Hall of Souls
"Pill Beast?"
Everyone froze the moment Xiao Yuan spoke those words. A few moments passed before they finally regained their composure, staring in disbelief at the snow-white little creature. The small beast blinked back at them with bright, curious eyes—nothing about it looked remotely like a medicinal pill.
"Heh, I'm not mistaken," Xiao Yuan said with a smirk. "This little thing is indeed a pill. And not just any pill—it's a true grade-eight pill capable of summoning a Nine-Colored Pill Lightning!"
The others, knowing full well the depth of Xiao Yuan's alchemy expertise, couldn't doubt him. Upon hearing his confirmation, several gasps filled the room.
"If word of this gets out, every powerhouse in the ruins will go mad."
Cai Lin narrowed her beautiful eyes. A pill of such grade would tempt even reclusive ancient experts. For Dou Zun cultivators, whose strength was notoriously hard to improve, consuming this pill could mean decades—or even centuries—of progress in one go. Who could resist that kind of temptation?
Everyone quickly snapped out of their awe. While the creature was undoubtedly a supreme treasure, it was also a ticking time bomb. If this information leaked, they would immediately become a prime target.
"Should we... capture it?"
Zi Yan asked excitedly.
Even for her, a pill of this level held great benefits.
Qinglian's eyes sparkled beside her. As expected, everything was easier with Young Master around. He's amazing!
"No need for all that," Xiao Yuan said with a relaxed smile. "It's just a greedy little glutton."
With that, he pulled out a jade bottle filled with sixth-grade pills, tossing one toward the white beast.
The pill landed nearby. The little creature initially backed away in fright, but then crept forward to sniff it. Its eyes lit up, and in a flash, it licked the pill into its mouth, crunching it happily like a crunchy snack.
After devouring the first, it looked up eagerly at Xiao Yuan and licked its lips like a puppy begging for more.
Xiao Yuan chuckled and flicked several more pills its way. The beast devoured them all without hesitation. As it ate, its wariness gradually faded, replaced by obvious satisfaction.
"You're spoiling it."
Zi Yan winced. Watching all those sixth-grade pills being tossed like peanuts made her heart ache. That was her snack stash!
"I don't have a choice. Pills below grade six won't impress something like this."
Xiao Yuan sighed.
This pill-feeding session continued for a full ten minutes. In total, Xiao Yuan tossed out over twenty sixth-grade pills and eight seventh-grade pills. Even with his skills, that was days' worth of effort burned in minutes. He briefly considered capturing the beast outright.
Thankfully, the waste wasn't endless. Eventually, the little creature sat up on its hind legs, rubbed its round belly with its tiny paws, and let out a satisfied sigh.
Seeing this, Xiao Yuan finally relaxed. He whistled, and the beast looked at him with twitching ears. It seemed like it wanted to approach, but the number of people near Xiao Yuan made it hesitate.
Time to go all in.
Xiao Yuan retrieved the Soul Infant Fruit—a rare treasure so potent it could even serve as the main ingredient for a grade-nine pill. Its energy was irresistible to a pill beast seeking to evolve.
The moment the fruit appeared, the pill beast's eyes bulged. It bounced forward in a blur, leaping straight into Xiao Yuan's arms without hesitation.
Xiao Yuan immediately grabbed it and, in that moment, planted a soul mark to conceal its aura and temporarily claim ownership.
As for feeding it the Soul Infant Fruit? Ha! That would be a waste!
"Here, play with it."
He tossed the plump pill beast into Qinglian's arms. After a final look around the room, Xiao Yuan led the group out of the pill chamber.
By now, more and more powerhouses were arriving at the third floor of the Pill Hall. Clashes broke out in other chambers—likely due to the discovery of rare pills or ingredients.
Most of the other rooms had already been looted, and Xiao Yuan wasn't interested in sifting through scraps. With the biggest prize—the pill beast—in their possession, there was no point sticking around.
They made their way toward the exit, attracting no small number of stares.
Several cultivators eyed the fluffy creature in Cai Lin's arms curiously, but none recognized its true nature. And faced with Xiao Yuan's terrifying group, no one dared act recklessly.
They exited the Pill Hall without incident. Staring at the branching corridors ahead, they hesitated. The ruins were vast—navigating them wasn't easy.
Fortunately, Xiao Yuan's powerful soul perception allowed him to pinpoint a direction. He immediately led the group forward at high speed.
Roughly ten minutes later, the narrow corridors opened up—and an enormous, ancient main hall appeared before them.
The hall was entirely bronze-gold, its luster deepened by the passing of countless years. A heavy, timeworn aura exuded from every stone slab, leaving all who entered awestruck.
It was vast—anyone inside seemed as small as an ant.
At its center hovered ten massive orbs of light, each radiating a powerful pressure. Faintly visible inside were scroll-like objects.
Treasures.
Xiao Yuan's gaze paused at the center of the ten light spheres—on a white jade skeleton seated cross-legged on a stone platform, hands forming a sealing gesture.
"A Dou Saint's skeleton!"
His eyes lit up. This was the very thing he had come here for.
Even as just bones, the pressure that radiated from the remains made everyone feel heavy.
"So this is the core of the relic…"
Qinglin whispered.
Xiao Yuan nodded. He scanned the other figures already present. There were many—most from well-known Central Plains powers like the Sky Underworld Sect and Burning Flame Valley.
As he entered, countless eyes turned toward them—some wary, others hostile, and a few friendly.
Xiao Yuan smiled faintly. His gaze swept past the Sky Underworld Sect. He didn't recognize their current leader—but it didn't matter. They'd be dead soon enough.
As they walked deeper into the hall, Xiao Yuan noticed the area surrounding the stone platform was guarded by over a dozen seated stone-gray figures. They looked like statues with closed eyes—perhaps they had sat like that for ages.
Yet no one dared step within ten meters of the stone seat.
"Puppets?"
Cai Lin murmured in surprise.
"Mhm… likely high-grade ones. They feel like Sky Demon Puppets. If I'm not wrong, each one is at least at the Dou Zun level."
Xiao Yuan's soul sense quickly confirmed his suspicion. Though inactive for now, the moment these puppets were triggered, a brutal battle would surely erupt.
Everyone's faces paled slightly. Even if the assembled powers could defeat the puppets, the cost would be immense.
"No wonder this is a Dou Saint's relic…"
Qinglin murmured.
At that moment, Tang Zhen appeared with his Burning Flame Valley entourage and greeted Xiao Yuan warmly.
"You're just in time. The seal here is weakening. It might fully collapse soon."
"Is this our goal, Uncle Tang? Why are there ten of them?"
"Only one is likely a true Heaven-Tier Dou Technique. The rest are distractions. It'll come down to strength and luck."
Xiao Yuan nodded thoughtfully, his gaze flicking briefly to the Dou Saint skeleton.
"Can you tell which one is real?"
Tang Zhen asked via voice transmission.
Xiao Yuan released his soul force, probing each sphere—but shook his head.
"The seal blocks all sensing. Even I can't tell. It'll come down to luck."
"Even if we get it, we'll become the main target."
Tang Zhen smiled.
"Then we'll need to watch each other's backs."
"Of course. But keep an eye on those puppets. When the seal breaks, they'll awaken. And then… chaos."
Xiao Yuan narrowed his eyes. The scene was layered with traps—not only the puppets, but even the Dou Saint skeleton might reanimate. A single misstep could spell disaster.
As they waited, more and more powerhouses arrived. The hall's atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Everyone knew that soon, even a friendly face might turn murderous.
Alliances formed in secret. No one wanted to rely solely on themselves.
Ssshhh!
More figures streamed into the hall. Despite the growing crowd, silence reigned. The pressure was unbearable. Some had sweat running down their faces, their Dou Qi on the verge of exploding at the slightest disturbance.
Xiao Yuan stood calmly, hands tucked in his sleeves, soul perception spread across the entire hall.
Strangely, he had yet to sense anyone from the Hall of Souls. Could they really have no interest in this relic?
"Wait… they're here!"
His eyes snapped open.
A sinister laugh echoed through the chamber like a ghostly wail.
"Jie jie jie… looks like this lord isn't late after all…"
(END CHAPTER)
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