Reaching the pinnacle from Doupo

Chapter 575 Poison Pill, Northwest

Soul Realm, Medicine Valley.

On the jade platform in the center of the alchemy plaza, a man in black sat cross-legged with his eyes closed; it was none other than Hun Xuzi.

A pitch-black medicine cauldron, nearly a thousand feet tall, lies across the sky above the plaza, resembling a majestic mountain suspended in mid-air.

This medicine cauldron was formed from flames, with the black flames swirling and dancing wildly on its surface.

Each flicker of the flame released a strange and powerful suction force, like an invisible maw, frantically devouring the surrounding energy of heaven and earth, causing the surrounding air to emit a series of low hums.

In a fleeting moment, Hun Xuzi's eyelids twitched slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.

In an instant, a cold glint, tinged with surprise, flashed across those icy eyes.

In an instant, a sharp glint shot from his eyes, followed by a fleeting look of surprise, like a shooting star, across his cold gaze.

"A one-star Dou Sheng, mid-stage Heaven Realm... Heh heh, my cheap disciple is even more outstanding than I expected."

"Very well, in this way, the 'poison pill' plan can be launched ahead of schedule!"

"Speaking of which, his rapid advancement is due to the Pill Tower... Could it be related to the Heavenly Pill Saint who perished a thousand years ago? If so, there are still secrets within the Pill Tower that even I am unaware of. Let's revisit this place after the Millennium Plan is completed!"

After a brief moment of distraction, Hun Xuzi cleared his mind and focused his energy once again into the fire cauldron to continue refining the ninth-grade pill.

With the grand plan about to begin, his task of alchemy has become much more demanding than before.
-
In the southern region of Zhongzhou, there are the twenty-three palaces of the Earthly Fiends.

As the illusion created by Hun Xuzi dissipated, Lin Yuan on the throne regained focus in his eyes, and his consciousness returned to his physical body.

Recalling the conversation just now, Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, a thoughtful glint in them.

"Tsk, the poison pill plan. My cheap master is really doing something inhuman, attacking the strong and juniors of various races. If he is discovered... he will definitely become a thorn in the side of all races."

"The fact that they're working so hard to claim credit shows that the competition within the Soul Clan is quite fierce."

"Speaking of which, the Ancient, Thunder, and Flame clans... while it was somewhat expected, it's still a bit surprising that they've been infiltrated here. The reason we didn't bother infiltrating the Stone and Spirit clans is probably because we had already decided to exterminate them!"

"How can I utilize this plan to maximize my benefits?"

Lin Yuan tapped his forehead rhythmically with his fingertips, his mind filled with thoughts of how to go with the flow and how to gain greater benefits.

Lin Yuan had known about the prototype of the 'poison pill plan' for a long time, and he himself was at the center of the plan.

Hun Xuzi sent a soul jade slip to Lin Yuan for two reasons: firstly, to check on Lin Yuan's progress and see what level his cultivation and soul power had reached; and secondly, to inform him of the specific steps of the 'Poison Pill Plan' and the resources that could be mobilized.

Among them, the most important resources are the pawns that the Soul Clan has placed in various clans—some Dou Sheng powerhouses from the Ancient, Thunder, and Flame clans, as well as some high-level Dou Zun.

Hun Xuzi also taught a secret method for setting up special techniques during the alchemy process.

According to the plan, the Soul Clan's spies in various clans will make connections with Lin Yuan and find suitable reasons to invite him to visit the Ancient, Thunder, and Flame Realms.

They will arrange for Lin Yuan to help the various races' Battle Saints and younger generation refine medicines. Lin Yuan will then need to use the secret methods taught by Hun Xuzi to set up some hidden traps in the pills, giving the latter the power of life and death over these people, so that they can severely damage the various races at any time.

In this way, even if the worst-case scenario occurs during the execution of the Millennium Plan—with all races forming an alliance to fight against the Soul Clan—Soul Void Prince will still have an extremely effective trump card.

On the battlefield of the fierce final battle, a large number of Dou Sheng and genius juniors self-destructed within their own formations, the consequences of which were simply unimaginable.

Lin Yuan, having become an "accomplice," now found his weakness in the hands of Hun Xuzi. Once exposed, he would become a thorn in the side of the other races, leaving him no choice but to follow the Hun Clan down a dark path.

This approach achieves multiple goals at once, which explains why Hun Xuzi abandoned sending Lin Yuan to the Soul Clan and instead had the latter carry out the 'Poison Pill Plan'.

The benefits of this plan are substantial enough, and among the pawns in Hun Xuzi's hands, none is more suitable for this plan than Lin Yuan—his public identity as a member of the Pill Tower, coupled with his grudges with the younger generation of the Soul Clan, makes it too easy for him to gain the trust of various clans!
The Gu, Lei, and Yan clans would never have imagined that the future leader of the prestigious Pill Tower would help its mortal enemy to assassinate various ancient clans.

As for Lin Yuan, this matter is...

"Heh, so you've given up on sending me to the Soul Clan?!" Lin Yuan chuckled, a hint of indifference flashing in his eyes. "My cheap master, though it was a coincidence, you were wise and lucky... Your life is temporarily in your hands."

Lin Yuan wanted the identity of a high-ranking member of the Soul Palace to carry out some special plans, but he did not intend to join the Soul Clan with Hun Xuzi and then be trapped there as a pawn and a medicine-making machine.

If Hun Xuzi doesn't give up that idea, Lin Yuan will follow his original plan and set a trap to eliminate him.

Now that the other party has given up, Lin Yuan doesn't mind postponing the plan, delaying the time to deal with Hun Xuzi, and continuing to lie low for a while, waiting for a more suitable opportunity to make a move.

Lin Yuan recalled the intelligence while meticulously analyzing the situation.

"Speaking of which, Gu Yang wasn't on the list that Hun Xuzi gave me... It seems that even with the soul restriction in place, he still has a considerable amount of reservations about my trust. That's understandable; how could someone like him possibly trust an outsider like me?"

As a transmigrator, Lin Yuan knew that the most important pawn that the Soul Clan placed among the Ancient Clan was a five-star Dou Sheng.

That person was named Gu Yang, the second elder of the ancient clan's ancestral hall. He was a powerful expert who had reached the late stage of the five-star Dou Sheng realm and was a pawn set up by the Soul Clan to seize the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade.

This level of chess piece exists in all three races of the Soul Clan: Ancient, Thunder, and Flame.

However, the list of assistants that Hun Xuzi gave to Lin Yuan did not include any experts of this level; most of them were high-level Dou Zun and low-star Dou Sheng.

"If I don't want to completely break off relations, I can't shirk the 'poison pill plan'," Lin Yuan thought to himself.

"However, although I must help carry out this plan, I cannot relinquish my own initiative. Even if my cheap master does not intend to pass on the secret techniques of control and disarming to me, I still need to master them."

"I don't need to put too much effort into this; let the Yellow Spring Demon Saint and the Pure Lotus Demon Saint help with the research!"

"With their vision and wisdom, even if they only know the method of setting up Hun Xuzi's scheme, they will definitely be able to deduce the method of manipulation and the method of breaking it."

"With these, I can attack or defend in this matter!"

"It seems that before the Pill Gathering, I need to go back to the Ancient Emperor's Cave and send the remnant soul of the Yellow Spring Demon Saint there as well."

Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan no longer hesitated. After briefly sending some messages to Zhaixing and Lanyue using his soul power, he waved his sleeve to open a spatial passage, then got up and walked in, heading towards the Northwest Continent...
-
Northwest Continent, the Celestial Lion Empire.

The Netherworld Valley, located in the northern part of the empire, boasts an extremely complex terrain. The earth appears to have survived a devastating battle, riddled with countless fissures, each nearly a thousand feet long, and the mountain streams within are unfathomably deep. The deepest of these streams is called the Netherworld Ravine, perpetually shrouded in black mist, and legend has it that the gate to the underworld lies beneath it.

In the Heavenly Lion Empire, no one who entered the Netherworld Abyss ever came out alive.

In a fleeting moment, two streaks of light, one blue and one white, pierced the sky above the Netherworld Valley before plunging down and disappearing into the Netherworld Abyss.

Two streaks of light pierced through the mist, passed through layers of barriers, and flew into a pitch-black palace at the bottom of the ravine.

The light dissipated, revealing the figures of the Eight Heavenly Venerables Imprisoning the Land and the Nine Heavenly Venerables Demon Rain.

"Fourth Brother, we're back." The Ninth Heavenly Venerable looked at the Fourth Heavenly Venerable, who was sitting cross-legged in cultivation, and said, "We have completed the task you assigned. With our assistance, the Lion Nether Sect has begun its conquest of the Northwest Continent as planned."

"Excellent!" The Four Heavenly Venerables dispersed their cultivation hand seals and slowly opened their eyes. "Now, let's wait quietly..."

"Fourth Brother, is this really a good idea?"

Beside him, a hint of worry flashed in the eyes of the Eighth Heavenly Venerable, who said, "The Vice Hall Master sent us here to deal with those rats, but we have devoted our personnel to the conquest of the Northwest."

"Deal with those scoundrels?" The Four Heavenly Venerables glanced at him and sneered, "Heh, where would you deal with them? Who are those scoundrels?"

"This... I don't know either!" the Eighth Heavenly Venerable said helplessly.

"If that's the case, then let's do it my way." The Four Heavenly Venerables stood up, a hint of helplessness flashing in their blood-red eyes.

"This time, the three of us have taken on a troublesome task."

"We don't even know who our opponent is, so we can't take the initiative to attack. We can only wait for them to reveal their whereabouts and weaknesses before we can deal with them. Instead of searching the entire continent, we should set a trap, wait for them to take the bait, and then annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"The bigger the commotion the Lion Nether Sect makes, the more likely the other side will realize that we have people involved, and the more likely we are to lure them over."

"You bring half the people to the front of the stage, and I'll bring the other half to the back."

"After we catch those rats, you and the Lion Nether Sect members will hold them off while I, as the ambush force, will finish them off and wipe them out in one fell swoop."

"If we disperse the group to search for information in different places, we may be defeated one by one."

To ensure the plan's successful completion, the Four Heavenly Venerables patiently explained their scheme to their two colleagues, keeping their tempers in check.

His idea was simple: not to give the opponent a chance to divide and conquer, but to gather the strength brought by the three from the Central Plains, the strength of the branch halls in various parts of the Northwest Continent, and the third-party forces that the Soul Hall could control, and directly fight the person in the shadows.

“But…” Jiutianzun hesitated for a moment, then pondered, “What should we do if those people don’t take the bait?”

"Jie Jie—"

The Four Heavenly Venerables smiled sinisterly, a cruel curve appearing at the corner of their mouths. "Then we will incite war and reap souls on a massive scale."

"Establishing branch temples outside of Zhongzhou is precisely for the purpose of harvesting souls."

“We can skip the intermediate process and directly achieve the final goal, since we don’t need to act in secrecy as before.”

"Although the Northwest Continent is not strong enough and the quality of souls is generally not very high, if we can obtain millions, tens of millions... or even hundreds of millions of souls, even if we fail in the task of dealing with the rats, the higher-ups will not blame us too much."

"In fact, if we collect enough souls, the temple might even reward us."

As he spoke, his voice grew increasingly cruel and cold, yet a burning greed flashed in his blood-red eyes.

If he could obtain that pill, his cultivation level... would take a giant leap forward at the ninth level!

"As expected of Fourth Brother, his wisdom and strategy are truly extraordinary!" Upon hearing the words of the Fourth Heavenly Venerable, Demon Rain and Prison Earth Venerables were also delighted. "In this way, regardless of whether those scoundrels take the bait or not, our mission this time will have a perfect outcome..."

"Good that you understand." The Four Heavenly Venerables smiled smugly and said, "After you have prepared skilled people to harvest souls, go to the Lion Nether Sect to supervise them and have them start their campaign within three days."

Mo Yu and Qiu Di exchanged a glance, responded in unison, and then turned and left the hall.

As the two figures disappeared from the sight of the Four Heavenly Venerables, an old and gloomy voice suddenly echoed from the void, reverberating in the empty hall.

"Heh heh, Blood River brat, you're quite quick-witted...you're a promising talent."

Before the words were finished, the space in the hall suddenly twisted and turned into a spatial passage.

As soon as the spatial passage took shape, an overwhelming black mist surged out from it, then churned violently, and faintly, mournful cries could be heard from within.

The figure of an old man in gray robes slowly appeared before the Four Heavenly Venerables.

The powerful aura of a late-stage One-Star Dou Sheng faintly emanated from his body, causing the space in the hall to tremble.

Upon seeing the old man's face, the Four Heavenly Venerables were momentarily stunned. After regaining their senses, their expressions instantly became extremely respectful, and they hurriedly bowed deeply to the gray-robed old man: "Your subordinate greets Lord Hunqing. I never expected that this matter would alarm you so much!"

This old man, named Soul Purity Saint, is a member of the Soul Clan of the Soul Palace. He is independent of the Nine Heavenly Venerables system and is usually responsible for guarding the branch palace near the Demon Flame Space.

"Hehe, no need for formalities." The gray-robed elder slightly raised his hand, and the Four Heavenly Venerables unconsciously straightened up.

"The deputy hall master takes this matter very seriously. He specially transferred some strong people from the clan to strengthen the Soul Hall and let them guard the branch hall. This allowed me to come out for some fresh air and exercise, and also to deal with the rats and find out who is behind them."

"Your strategy is quite good. Just follow that plan and I'll personally oversee things."

"I want to see just who these people and these these forces have the audacity to attack my Soul Palace, destroying it and killing people..."

The aged voice was filled with chilling killing intent.

Upon hearing this, the Four Heavenly Venerables remained expressionless, but inwardly they were overjoyed—with the assistance of a Dou Sheng powerhouse, this mission would surely be successfully completed!

However, before the Four Heavenly Venerables could say anything, the old man's meaningful voice rang in his ears: "This time when I came out, I had a feeling that I could break through to the middle stage of the Heavenly Realm, but I always feel that something is missing? Blood River, what do you say?"

Upon hearing this, a look of realization flashed in the eyes of the Four Heavenly Venerables, and they then respectfully said, "Lord Soul Cleansing, Blood River has something to offer you..."

(End of this chapter)