Eternal madness

Chapter 184 The Old Ancestor of the Pill Tower Discusses Secrets

After leaving the Flower Sect,
Xiao Li was in a good mood, having finally resolved two important matters and won over Burning Flame Valley and Flower Sect ahead of time. This would make dealing with Soul Palace and the Ancient Imperial Clan easier in the future.

"Where to the Pill Tower next?" Elder Tianyin asked.

"The Pill Tower? Forget about it. Although I can now refine an eighth-grade pill with nine-colored pill lightning, there are several people in the Pill Tower who can do that."

I am but a nobody, how could I possibly persuade Danta to join our alliance? Unless that ancestor personally makes the decision, but that ancestor is elusive and cannot be found.

I was lucky to encounter that ancestor back then. I wonder when I'll meet him again, Elder Su? Elder Su, what do you say?

Xiao Li suddenly realized that after talking for a long time, the Heavenly Sound Elder was not listening to him, but was staring ahead.

Xiao Li followed the gaze of the old man Tianyin and saw an old man dressed in tattered hemp clothes slowly walking over. Xiao Li recognized that face.

"Are you the Ancestor?" Xiao Li exclaimed in surprise.

"Hehe, it's me. We were just talking about me, and now you're upset that I'm here?" Ancestor Danta said with a smile.

The old patriarch of the Dan Tower then looked at the old man of the Heavenly Sound: "You are that little Su from the Sound Valley, right? You have also become a Dou Sheng? Not bad, not bad."

"Greetings, Ancestor." Elder Tianyin bowed to Ancestor Danta.

With a wave of his hand, the Old Ancestor Danta created a simple pavilion with a stone table and four stone chairs inside.

"sit."

The group then entered the pavilion and took their seats. Xiao Li had never expected to encounter the Pill Tower Ancestor here.

"Ancestor, it's been a long time. How have you been?" Xiao Li said, clasping his hands in greeting.

"Haha, all is well, but your growth rate is truly astonishing. Your cultivation has already reached the eight-star Dou Zun level, and your soul power has even reached the early stage of the Heavenly Realm. Such a growth rate makes even me feel ashamed."

The old patriarch of the Dan Tower stroked his beard and smiled. He still looked like the old man Xiao Li had seen back then, except that he looked much older and had very little hair left on his head.

"It was just luck. The imperial clan has always been a threat to us. We can't afford not to cultivate diligently. I've already dealt with the imperial clan. Without strength, we can only be inferior to others," Xiao Li sighed.

"Oh? You've also dealt with the Imperial Clan? It's reasonable for someone from the Imperial Clan to deal with them. But young friend, how about we have that Xiao Clan friend behind you come out and meet him? I sense a familiar aura."

The old patriarch of the Pill Tower looked behind Xiao Li and said with a half-smile.

"Hehe, old monster, your senses are so sharp?" Xiao Kong's voice appeared.

"Xiao Kong! You're still alive!" the Dan Tower Ancestor exclaimed in shock. He hadn't expected that this Dou Sheng of the Xiao Clan was actually Xiao Kong.

"It's all thanks to Xiao Li that I'm still alive today," Xiao Kong said with satisfaction, patting Xiao Li on the shoulder.

"I didn't expect you to still be alive. But your cultivation level? Although it's still stronger than mine, it's not as powerful as before?" The old ancestor of the Pill Tower looked Xiao Kong up and down.

“Indeed, I’m not as powerful as before. I’m only a late-stage six-star Dou Sheng now, which is comparable to you in your lifetime, or more accurately, to your refiner, Old Ghost Dan.” Xiao Kong stroked his beard and laughed.

Xiao Li stood up and served tea to the two big shots. "So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. Why bring up the past? I still can't figure out whether I am a Xuan Dan or a Dan Yuan Tian."

Dan Yuantian was one of the founders of the Pill Tower and a high-ranking member of the tower at the time. He was the right-hand man of the supreme founder of the Pill Tower. However, Dan Yuantian had already passed away many years ago. In the year before his death, he devoted all his energy to refining a pill. During that pill refining, Dan Yuantian also exhausted his strength when the pill was completed and died in despair.

However, after Dan Yuantian's death, a wisp of his consciousness merged into the ninth-grade pill in a strange way, causing the pill, which had reached the ninth-grade Xuan Dan level, to mutate.

Later, this ninth-grade Xuan Dan transformed into human form, but did not leave the Pill Tower. Instead, it remained as the guardian of the Pill Tower, and this is the current ancestor of the Pill Tower.

In a sense, the Pill Tower Ancestor can be considered an alternative avatar of the Pill Origin Heaven. However, the distinction between the primary and secondary aspects of this avatar is quite complex, and even the Pill Tower Ancestor himself sometimes cannot distinguish between them.

"After so many years, I no longer need to consider this issue. All I need to do is protect the Pill Tower," said the Pill Tower Ancestor, stroking his beard. It was too ancient; it had witnessed the rise and fall of the Pill Tower.

Xiao Kong stroked his beard and said, "Your Pill Tower is quite formidable. The old guy who helped you establish the Pill Tower back then was the oldest among the five powerful figures, but he was the one you shouldn't mess with."

When your Pill Tower was at its peak, even the Medicine Clan couldn't compare to you. In that year's Pill Gathering, our Xiao Clan's little girl went to participate and defeated a group of powerful figures to win the championship.

I still vividly remember that glorious era. Even now, your Pill Tower remains at the very top of the continent's power structure, and with you, old man, still here, I just heard from someone that your Pill Tower has gained another Dou Sheng powerhouse. Congratulations!

At this moment, the old ancestor of Danta did not speak, his withered hand clenching the cup tightly and then loosening it.

Xiao Kong raised an eyebrow: "Did I say something wrong? Could it be that your Pill Tower..."

The old patriarch of the Pill Tower nodded: "Yes, our Pill Tower is also gradually declining, and sooner or later it will be gradually devoured by the Soul Palace."

"what!"

A hint of reminiscence flashed in the eyes of the Danta Ancestor: "The cause of all this is the decline of your Xiao Clan."

Xiao Kong exclaimed in surprise, "What does the decline of our Xiao clan have to do with the Pill Tower? I have also been to the Burning Flame Valley, and I did not sense the aura of the Burning Flame Old Ghost. With his cultivation, he could have lived to this day. His lifespan is more than enough!"

"That old codger Gu Yuan isn't dead yet, and that old ghost Fen Yan isn't much older than Gu Yuan, no more than a hundred years old. Could it be that that old ghost was also killed? And what about that person from your Pill Tower?"

The old patriarch of the Pill Tower nodded: "Xiao Kong, times have changed. A thousand years have passed since your era. Do you know what the cultivation level of the strongest rogue cultivator in the Central Plains is now?"

Xiao Kong pondered, "Even in the heyday of the Xiao Clan, Zhongzhou was the center of the continent, with many powerful figures here, such as the old man of the Pill Tower and the old ghost of the Burning Flame Clan. Their size was much larger than that of other imperial clans."

Even excluding them, places like Xiao Su's Sound Valley, Ice River Valley, Flower Sect, and numerous other forces, large and small, all have high-level Dou Sheng (Battle Saints) stationed there. Are there none left now?

“Of course not. The strongest person in Zhongzhou now is a six-star Dou Sheng! Besides me, a six-star Dou Sheng in the early stage, there is another old fellow, you may know him, called Shennong Laoren.” Danta Ancestor said slowly.

"Shennong the Elder? Could it be that eccentric man who lives in seclusion in the Shennong Mountains? I think he participated in the Alchemy Gathering back then, but he wasn't particularly outstanding." Xiao Kong frowned.

"That's right, that old guy is now a six-star Dou Sheng, and he can still refine ninth-grade Xuan Dan. I met him fifty years ago and had a conversation with him."

"Now, apart from him and me, there are no beings in Zhongzhou who surpass the four-star Dou Sheng level." The Old Ancestor of the Pill Tower said expressionlessly.

"What?! How is this possible! How could a thousand years have changed the Central Plains like this?" Xiao Kong couldn't believe it!
"In the end, it's all a chain reaction caused by the decline of your Xiao clan!" Ancestor Danta said calmly.

(End of this chapter)