Battle Through the Heavens: Reap the Red Lotus Karmic Flame at the Start

Mu Gu's storage ring also had a soul seal, which mainly served a protective function. However, since he was already dead, the seal was no longer effective. Xiao Yan broke it after continuously applying pressure.

Xiao Yan condensed his soul power into a thin thread and cautiously probed deep into the storage ring. However, he was ultimately somewhat disappointed by what he found inside. Not only was there no information related to the Black Flame, but Mu Gu's storage ring was also incredibly empty. The only items of value were a few dozen medicinal herbs, which should be Mu Gu's harvest in the Pill Tower space during this period. The rest were almost negligible.

Xiao Yan immediately realized that Mu Gu's true storage ring should be hidden somewhere, and all the truly valuable treasures should be hidden there. Xiao Yan naturally had no intention of searching for Mu Gu's relics anymore. If Mu Gu had hidden them well, they might have become a "relic of the past" millions of years later.

"He really is an old fox, truly cunning," Xiao Yan remarked.

Xiao Yan put all the medicinal herbs into his storage ring. Although he didn't get Mu Gu's treasured collection of many years, it was better to have something than nothing. At least now he didn't have to worry too much about the medicinal herbs needed for making medicine.

However, after Xiao Yan had arranged all the medicinal herbs, an unusual fluctuation suddenly came from the corner beneath the pile. He frowned slightly, and with a flick of his finger, a jade tablet shot out. Xiao Yan touched the jade tablet and could still feel its slight vibration.

At first glance, a scarlet dot of light was visible in the center of the jade tablet, pointing towards the south. Xiao Yan pondered this, realizing that since the jade tablet could function within the Pill Gathering space, he felt it necessary to go and see for himself, regardless of where the dot of light ultimately pointed.

To break through to the three-star Dou Zun realm, Xiao Yan didn't know exactly how long he had been cultivating. Now he had enough medicinal herbs, although the types were still somewhat mismatched, and it wasn't so urgent anymore. In this Pill Gathering space, besides finding someone to exchange his materials, there really wasn't anything else he absolutely had to do.

"Let's go take a look." After Xiao Yan collected all of Mu Gu's materials, he used his soul power to shatter Mu Gu's storage ring.

If Mu Gu's body were still alive, his strength as a five-star Dou Zun and his physique as an alchemist would have perfectly met the requirements for Yao Lao's resurrection. However, now that it has been completely burned by the black flames and his storage ring has been destroyed by himself, there is almost no trace of him left in the world.

As Xiao Yan hurried on his journey, he encountered two misty mountains along the way, each surrounded by weapons capable of suppressing his Dou Qi. Traces of high-level herbs remained on these mountains, but none escaped Xiao Yan's grasp.

Xiao Yan even discovered that within one of the misty mountains he passed through, everything related to herbs had been completely uprooted, leaving not a single plant or leaf behind. The allure of this alchemy gathering was simply too strong; numerous alchemists had gathered there, and despite the abundance of herbs already placed in the misty mountains, it still wasn't enough.

……

"Lingluo, Lingyu, have you gotten everything over there?" In one of the spaces of the Pill Gathering, Lingzhuo asked his two companions.

The two people in front of Ling Zhuo were twin brothers, a rare sight among the Spirit Clan. They replied, "We have the young master's location information, and not a single medicinal ingredient has been missed."

Ling Zhuo took the two people's storage rings and felt the amount of herbs inside. He smiled with satisfaction: "Those people in the Pill Tower thought they could restrict me with these rules, but it seems that they have no effect whatsoever."

"What about the others?"

Lingluo, one of the two Ling brothers, replied, "Dan Chen of the Dan family encountered the old monster Qinghua in the mountains. After exchanging blows, they did not fight fiercely. Dan Chen was at a disadvantage, and the amount of herbs he had should be much less than expected."

"Old Monster Qinghua, who is this?" As one of the best among the younger generation of the Spirit Clan, Ling Zhuo did not have a detailed understanding of some of the older generation of powerful figures in Zhongzhou.

"He was a powerful alchemist from the era of Medicine Venerable. It can be confirmed that he possessed the strength of a Dou Zun and the soul of a Spirit Realm expert. Dan Chen was indeed no match for him. In the end, Old Monster Qinghua was more wary of Dan Chen's ability to absorb the soul power of others."

Ling Zhuo looked at the two men before him, and was very satisfied with both their work and their knowledge. It was a pity they weren't truly loyal to him; they were merely bodyguards sent by the Supreme Elder Ling Haonan to support him at this Pill Gathering. However, for now, their performance was impeccable. Despite being more senior members of the Ling Clan, they obeyed his orders without question. Their behavior unconsciously reminded Ling Zhuo of the day he would truly take control of the Ling Clan.

"The allure of the Pill Gathering is still too great; even these old fogies have jumped out." Ling Zhuo stood with his hands behind his back and instructed, "Give Dan Chen everything she needs. The Dan family's status in Saint Pill City and Pill Tower is still extraordinary; we can't let anything happen to Dan Chen."

Lingluo nodded and continued, "Hua Qingyu encountered Wei Jiangyuan. No one witnessed their fight, but the final result seems to be about the same."

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhuo gave a strange snort: "It would be strange if they had problems over there. There's no need to worry about it."

"Finally..." Linglu thought for a moment, but finally continued to report at Lingzhuo's prompting: "After collecting his own mist mountain, Elder Mugu left alone and his whereabouts are unknown. He seems to know where our spies are and deliberately avoided them."

"Mu Gu... these guys from the Soul Palace are really unreliable. That Black Soul Venerable might just be someone sent by the Soul Palace." Ling Zhuo was clearly very dissatisfied with Mu Gu's performance.

"So, should the two of us deal with them?"

"No need. The Soul Palace's reputation is still big enough. As long as that guy ends up on our side, it doesn't matter what he wants to do."

After the two finished their report, they seemed to have no further thoughts. They exchanged a glance and then stood with their hands at their sides behind Ling Zhuo.

"Now that we've almost finished collecting the herbs, let's move on to the next step: take out two of the annoying rivals of this pill-making group!" Ling Zhuo smiled, but a terrifying glint appeared in his eyes.

"Young Master, although Xiao Yan won the Heavenly Talent Ranking, we still believe that Wei Jiangyuan is the biggest threat right now and deserves our attention. Based on the information we have about Xiao Yan, he is always cautious and prudent and would not act impulsively."

Upon hearing this, Ling Zhuo seemed unconcerned about Ling Luo's advice, instead saying, "Be careful, perhaps, but it doesn't matter."

"If the message were from someone he trusts implicitly, would he still be able to discern the truth? If his teacher's only daughter were in danger, would he dare to hide?"