Reaching the pinnacle from Doupo

Chapter 642 Past Events
The content of the Golden Core and Profound Core inheritances is so rich that even Lin Yuan, in his current state, took three full days to complete receiving them.

Inside the Heavenly Pill Stele space, Lin Yuan's eyelids twitched slightly, and he slowly opened his tightly closed eyes.

The torrent of information surging from the threads of the soul came to an abrupt halt at that moment, and the sun and moon in the sky dimmed slightly, as if their radiance had transformed into wisdom and merged into the depths of Lin Yuan's soul.

Lin Yuan let out a soft breath, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes, "As expected of the highest inheritance of the Pill Tower, it is truly remarkable... it has its own unique features!"

"Although both are Golden Core inheritances, the Dan Tower and the Medicine Clan have quite different focuses."

He had a premonition that if he could integrate the inheritance he inherited with his own wisdom and ideas, his foundation in alchemy would undergo a qualitative leap.

As his thoughts raced, Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of anticipation flashing in them.

"It seems you have gained a lot... but remember, do not lose yourself in it!" The gentle voice of the Heavenly Pill Saint rang out from the side: "You are already a Grandmaster, you should focus on your own system as the main framework, and you can only refer to and learn from the paths of others."

"Lin Yuan understands, thank you for your guidance, Ancestor!" Lin Yuan quickly stood up and bowed respectfully to the Heavenly Pill Saint.

"That's good." The Heavenly Pill Saint nodded slightly and chuckled.

"As people get older, they tend to become more talkative. With your talent and temperament, you probably don't need me to remind you of these things."

"The future of the Pill Tower rests in your hands. I hope you will not let this expectation down... If you have any questions about alchemy or cultivation in the future, you can come here to ask me. I can help you answer some of your questions."

"I have nothing else to attend to here, you can go back now!"

After speaking, the Heavenly Pill Saint waved his sleeves towards the sky, and the sun and moon in the sky fell down, and a brilliant starry sky reappeared.

However, Lin Yuan stood still, showing no intention of leaving.

"Lin Yuan, is there something you want to ask?" Seeing the young man's hesitant expression, the Heavenly Pill Saint raised an eyebrow and said with interest, "If you have anything to ask, just ask! We're all on the same side, no need to be so reserved..."

“Then this disciple will respectfully comply.” Lin Yuan nodded and said solemnly, “I would like to inquire about someone from the Ancestral Master, a peak expert from a thousand years ago.”

"Who are you looking for among the peak experts from a thousand years ago?" Upon hearing Lin Yuan's words, the Heavenly Pill Saint immediately became interested and asked with a smile, "Soul Emperor? Gu Yuan? Xiao Xuan? Or the Burning Flame Old Ghost? And what aspect do you want to inquire about?"

"If possible... all of them." Lin Yuan's eyes sharpened slightly, and he spoke frankly without beating around the bush.

"If we had to pick one, it would be Ancestor Burning Flame... In the Battle Saint stage, the further you go, the more difficult it becomes to cultivate, and that one doesn't seem to have any earth-shattering background or resources."

"I want to know, what helped Ancestor Burning Flame reach the same peak as you, Ancestor?"

"I'd also like to know, what kind of person is he?"

"Oh?" The Heavenly Pill Saint raised an eyebrow, a playful look on his face. "It's actually Old Ghost Burning Flame? I thought you'd rather ask about Soul Emperor Xiao Xuan Gu Yuan and the others... After all, compared to those ancient clans, Old Ghost Burning Flame isn't that dazzling."

Among the supreme experts, compared to the Burning Flame Ancestor who reached the peak at over a thousand years old, the three members of the Imperial Clan who reached the top at just a few hundred years old are even more enviable.

In the eyes of most people in the know, the three who came from the imperial family were also more powerful.

After all, they possessed unique skills passed down from the Dou Di (Battle Emperor).

Lin Yuan shrugged and said indifferently, "The achievement of a divine bloodline is certainly dazzling, but for me, its path has no reference value."

“That’s right!” The Heavenly Pill Saint nodded, and after a moment’s thought, he guessed Lin Yuan’s idea.

"It seems you want to explore Tang Fen's secrets to pave the way for improving your cultivation later... This is a good idea to plan ahead. Although I don't know the details, there is indeed a part of that guy's experience that is worth digging into."

Lin Yuan knew the name Tang Fen; it was the true name of Tang Zhen and Tang Huo'er's distant ancestor, the Old Ancestor Fenyan.

"Please, Master, do not hesitate to enlighten us!"

Lin Yuan was overjoyed and cupped his hands in a gesture of inquiry, his voice a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Pill Saint smiled and said gently, "Don't worry, I will tell you everything I know... I have always been interested in Tang Fen's secret, but I didn't have the chance to find out back then. I hope you can find out about it and then answer my questions!"

“I am hundreds of years older than Tang Fen, and I have witnessed his entire rise to power.”

“His talent for cultivation is extremely high, but before reaching the Seven Star Dou Sheng level, his cultivation speed is still within the normal range, which is slower than mine, who has a lot of pills to support him.”

"It took me eight hundred years to cultivate to the Seven Star Dou Sheng level, while he took one thousand one hundred years."

"However, for some unknown reason, Tang Fen's cultivation speed became exceptionally fast from the Seven-Star Dou Sheng to the Nine-Star Dou Sheng, taking less than a hundred years."

"You should know that each star in the late stage of Dou Sheng is extremely difficult to achieve."

"It took me four hundred years to complete the first stage of cultivation; even the Soul Emperor, Xiao Xuan, and Gu Yuan, who had divine bloodlines and the support of imperial clans, took a full two hundred years to advance the fastest among the three."

"Although Old Ghost Burning Flame has extremely high cultivation aptitude, his advancement speed from seven stars to nine stars is far beyond what the word 'talent' can explain."

"He must have had some kind of stroke of luck to have achieved such a feat, being all alone and outnumbered."

"I see!" Lin Yuan's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Ancestor, you are very knowledgeable. Do you have any guesses about the opportunity he obtained?"

"How could Tang Fen easily reveal the secrets of cultivation?" The Heavenly Pill Saint waved his hand and pondered, "Now, besides his descendants, perhaps only the Yan Clan still knows that secret."

"The Yan Clan...why them?" Lin Yuan was taken aback upon hearing this, looking at the Heavenly Pill Saint with astonishment, his voice full of doubt.

As far as he knew, the Burning Flame Valley didn't seem to care much for the Flame Clan.

Seeing this, the Heavenly Pill Saint smiled slightly and explained, "Tang Fen and the Yan Clan also have some connection... Tang Fen's first Heavenly Rank cultivation technique was obtained from the Yan Clan's 'Great Sacrifice of the Flame'."

“More importantly,” he paused briefly, a hint of amusement in his smile, “after Tang Fen’s sudden demise, it was the Yan Clan that forcefully protected the Fen Yan lineage.”

"When Tang Fen was young, he had a fiery temper and offended many people."

"The legacy of a peak expert is incredibly tempting. We absolutely cannot defend Burning Flame Valley, which has lost Tang Fen."

"It was the Yan Clan that spoke up at that time, which deterred many covetous individuals and preserved the Burning Flame Valley lineage."

"According to them, the Yan Clan and Tang Fen have an agreement."

"However, these ancient ancestral veins are mostly the type to not act until they see a benefit. For them to step in like that, Tang Fen or Burning Flame Valley must have offered them enough benefits." "Xiao Xuan, who is on very good terms with Tang Fen, kept an eye on the Soul Clan to prevent them from wiping out Burning Flame Valley."

"Although I don't have direct evidence, I'm certain that Tang Fen's death, like mine, was orchestrated by the Soul Clan... If the Soul Emperor wants to destroy the Xiao Clan and kill Xiao Xuan, the risks would be uncontrollable if he didn't first eliminate Tang Fen, who had an excellent relationship with Xiao Xuan."

"It has to be said that although the Soul Emperor is ruthless, his courage, strength, methods, and temperament are all top-notch."

"It wouldn't be entirely unjust for us to die at his hands."

Recalling those events from a thousand years ago, the Heavenly Pill Saint couldn't help but shake his head, still sighing in his heart.

"Ancestor, were you and Ancestor Burning Flame killed by the Soul Emperor?"

Although Lin Yuan had already guessed, he still couldn't help but frown when the Heavenly Pill Saint confirmed it: "With your strength at the half-Emperor level, even the Soul Emperor and the Soul Clan couldn't possibly have murdered you silently, could they?"

Compared to the earth-shattering battle in which the Soul Clan wiped out Xiao Xuan and the Xiao Clan, the deaths of the Heavenly Pill Saint and the Burning Flame Ancestor were almost completely silent.

But a half-emperor is not so easy to kill.

The Heavenly Pill Saint tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly piercing through this space and looking towards the distant past, a complex expression appearing on his face.

"That's why I said that Soul Emperor's courage and methods are the best among the five."

"They used the Void Devouring Flame as bait, deliberately letting me swallow it and refine it. Then, at the most critical moment of the refinement, it suddenly backfired. At the same time, the Soul Emperor led the top combat power of the Soul Clan, activated the killing formation, and cooperated with the Void Devouring Flame to surround and kill me from the inside and outside."

"In order to get rid of me, the Soul Emperor and the Soul Clan have really gone to great lengths—they have accurately calculated my mentality and made corresponding preparations."

"I didn't lose that battle unjustly... After hundreds of years of reaching the peak, I also lost my former caution because of my strength!"

"It is only natural that we would suffer such a calamity."

"If you ever have to face the Soul Clan in the future, you must be careful, as their strength is unfathomable."

"I suspect Tang Fen is in a similar situation. After all, the allure of the Void Devouring Flame is simply too great for fire-type cultivators like us."

"I'm telling you this so that you can take it as a warning and always keep a degree of caution in mind."

"In addition, when the Void Devouring Flame appears in front of you, you must be extremely careful... It has already condensed the spirit of a different kind of fire, and its strength is already at the peak of an eight-star Dou Sheng. It can also hide... no, reduce its own strength by separating its sub-fires."

"Once he reclaims the source of his sub-fire, his diminished strength will recover very quickly, allowing him to return to his peak."

"That's what made me fall for it; in the end, only a wisp of my soul escaped."

If the Void Devouring Flame that appeared before the Heavenly Pill Saint hadn't only been at the level of a six-star Dou Sheng, he wouldn't have been so careless as to swallow and refine it directly.

After all, a six-star Dou Sheng is really nothing to a top-tier expert.

However, the backlash from the strange fire was the Void Devouring Flame, a peak eight-star Dou Sheng. Even a powerful Tian Dan Saint could not avoid being severely injured on the spot—dealing with things inside the body and things outside the body are completely different levels of difficulty.

With the backlash from the Void Devouring Flame within and the encirclement and killing by the Soul Emperor, who was also a half-emperor, from the outside, the fall of the Heavenly Pill Saint was a foregone conclusion.

At this point, Lin Yuan finally understood the madness and audacity of the Soul Emperor.

He let out a soft breath, cupped his hands in greeting to the Heavenly Pill Saint, and solemnly said, "Thank you for informing me, Ancestor. I will take this as a warning in the future! Ancestor, you have helped me a great deal. One day, I will avenge your death by seeking revenge from the Soul Emperor."

At this moment, Lin Yuan's eyes were incredibly firm—since he was going to kill the Soul Emperor sooner or later, he might as well do him a favor and give the matter more meaning.

Sensing the unwavering resolve in Lin Yuan's words, the Heavenly Pill Saint's eyes narrowed, and he was somewhat moved.

After a moment, he shook his head and said gently, "I am pleased that you have this idea! But the past is the past, and you don't need to care too much about it... Just focus more on the future and on revitalizing the Dan Tower."

Although the Heavenly Pill Saint was in dire straits back then, he was not lacking in the strength to take some down with him. If they were to fight to the death, killing a few high-level Soul Clan Battle Saints would not be too difficult.

If you can't kill the main character, Soul Emperor, what's the point of killing a few henchmen?
Moreover, if he were to fight Soul Emperor to the death, wouldn't that benefit a third party—the ancient ancestral lineages of the Ancient Clan, Xiao Clan, and Medicine Clan?

The ambitious Soul Clan is a perfect counterbalance to the other imperial clans.

Conversely, if the Heavenly Pill Saint chooses to fight to the death and kills too many high-ranking members of the Soul Clan, the Soul Clan might use its full strength to annihilate the Pill Tower out of blood feud.

Without his Dan Tower, it would be impossible to stop the Soul Clan's attack.

The Heavenly Pill Saint had dealt with the Imperial Clan for many years and was not so naive as to expect that when the Soul Clan went all out to retaliate against the Pill Tower, other clans would come to the rescue.

Even if they come to the rescue, they will only use Danta as a pawn... or even a chessboard!
So in the end, he chose to give up fighting to the death with the Soul Clan to avoid the effect of creating a blood feud. For the sake of the Pill Tower... or rather, the inheritance of his sect's Pill Sect, he used a secret method to deliberately perish, leaving a trace of his remnant soul to return to the Pill Tower and open up this Heavenly Pill Stele inheritance space.

At this moment, when the Heavenly Pill Saint heard Lin Yuan's promise to avenge him, he felt somewhat comforted, but rationally he didn't care too much.

He valued the inheritance and development of the Dan Tower more than revenge.

Therefore, after the Heavenly Pill Saint finished speaking, without waiting for Lin Yuan's response, he changed the subject and answered another question raised by Lin Yuan.

"You asked about Tang Fen's character earlier because you had some concerns, didn't you?" He stroked his beard and asked with interest.

"I guess you've always wanted to explore the Burning Flame Valley, but you're worried that Tang Fen, like me, has retained some remnants of his spirit. So you want to ask me about Tang Fen to determine how risky this trip is... Am I right?!"

"Master's insight is truly remarkable; I do indeed have concerns in this regard," Lin Yuan nodded admiringly and spoke frankly.

"Hehe, just as I thought!" The Heavenly Pill Saint smiled slightly, recalling a remarkable figure in his mind: "You can rest assured about Tang Fen's character, kid."

"Although we were not close friends, we had quite a few interactions."

"My assessment of Tang Fen can be summed up in eight words: upright and loyal! He has a fiery personality, acts decisively, and is loyal and righteous throughout his life. He would go to great lengths for his friends."

"That's why he became the first person to be eliminated by the Soul Emperor."

　After much deliberation, I managed to salvage the situation by convincingly mimicking the deaths of two peak-level experts: the backlash from the Void Devouring Flame at the peak of the eight-star Dou Sheng realm, plus the Soul Emperor leading his forces to ambush them. That should be enough.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)