Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

"You..." Elder Ning's gaze swept over the two of them, then he sighed, "Didn't you even think to ask the envoy what has happened in the Northwest Continent during this time?"

"Can we still ask the envoy?" Li Zhiyu and Old Hu stared at each other in disbelief.

"Sigh!" After letting out a helpless sigh, Elder Ning strode into the gate of the Heavenly Serpent Mansion.

Upon entering the gate, the three were immediately greeted by several patrolling squads of guards. The moment they stepped inside, they could feel dozens of gazes sweeping over them, interspersed with several soul scans.

"So strict?" Upon seeing this, Old Hu also put away his unreliable demeanor and walked calmly towards the center.

In the center of the Heavenly Serpent Palace, a sizable council hall stood, surrounded by numerous guards within a hundred meters, their cold gazes constantly sweeping back and forth.

The atmosphere inside the council hall wasn't as heavy as expected. After all, very few people were truly qualified to enter; besides the leaders of various forces within the Heavenly Serpent Empire, there were only six unfamiliar faces.

The most eye-catching figure was a young man in black robes sitting to the right of the Heavenly Serpent Venerable. Not only was his seat the most prestigious one besides the Heavenly Serpent Venerable, but the girl in blue standing beside him, serving him like a maid, was none other than Qing Lin, who had become the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Serpent Palace a few months ago and was said to possess the legendary Jade Serpent Three-Flower Eyes.

Aside from the black-robed youth, the most eye-catching person was the alluring woman sitting in the first seat to his right. After all, she was the only one in the entire council hall who was laughing and joking with the purple-haired little girl next to her, as if she didn't take the Heavenly Serpent Venerable seriously at all.

After the last three people arrived, Venerable Tianshe slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping across the entire room. Once everyone quieted down and focused their attention on him, he calmly said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin discussing business."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately focused their attention.

"First, let me introduce a guest to everyone," Venerable Tian She said, looking at Xiao Yan, "Xiao Yan, the Su Promoter of the alliance of various forces in the Jia Ma Empire..."

After the first sentence was spoken, the gazes that fell on Xiao Yan were filled with doubt and confusion. Clearly, they did not think that the identity of the facilitator would allow Xiao Yan to sit in that position.

"At the same time, he is also Qinglin's fiancé and an eighth-grade alchemist," the Heavenly Serpent Venerable continued without changing his expression, following the agreement he had made with Medusa and the others yesterday. "Finally, he killed someone from the Underworld Sea... I think I don't need to emphasize who the Underworld Sea is, do I?"

Indeed, just by looking at the solemn expressions on everyone's faces, it was clear that everyone present knew who "Minghai" really was.

“In the Northwest region, my Heavenly Serpent Palace is one of the top powers, but does anyone know why it is only ‘one of’?” Venerable Heavenly Serpent continued.

No one answered.

“Because of the existence of the Soul Hall,” Xiao Yan spoke up when everyone was silent, “the Soul Hall has four branch halls in the Northwest region. Apart from the one I destroyed, there are three more hidden in the deep mountains, swamps, or seas. Moreover, they have supported quite a few forces… You have all heard of the Lion Nether Sect, right?”

The Lion Nether Sect is one of the top ten forces in the Northwest Continent, where Dou Zun are rare. Moreover, it is the only one among the top ten forces that has been passed down for less than a hundred years... or even less than fifty years.

"The Lion Nether Sect is a force supported by the Soul Palace?" Someone in the hall asked incredulously.

"Impossible, right? The Lion Nether Sect's history of rise to power is spotless, without any suspicious points..."

"Mr. Xiao Yan, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

……

With one person taking the lead, other departments that had traded with the Lion Dark Sect also spoke up one after another, and without exception, they all felt that the Lion Dark Sect was completely "innocent".

Looking at the noisy hall, Elder Hu nudged Elder Ning with his elbow and said, "I remember you made a deal with the Lion Nether Sect before for the beast fire of the Netherfire Lion. Did you find anything out?"

“…There are quite a few unfamiliar powerful figures,” Elder Ning said after thinking for a moment. “The number of Dou Zong powerhouses in the Northwest Continent is no more than a hundred. Although I can’t guarantee that I know all of them, I do know about 60 or 70 percent of them. But back then, I didn’t know any of the ten Dou Zong in the Lion Nether Sect, and I had never even heard of their deeds.”

There are quite a few people who have had similar experiences to Elder Ning. Therefore, among those who felt that the Lion Nether Sect was innocent, voices gradually emerged that doubted the dozen or so Dou Zong members of the Lion Nether Sect, and gradually turned into doubts about the Lion Nether Sect itself.

After a moment, the noise gradually subsided, and everyone looked at Xiao Yan and the Heavenly Serpent Venerable with solemn expressions.

"The Lion Nether Sect is a force supported by the Soul Hall," under everyone's solemn gaze, Venerable Heavenly Serpent nodded, "Mr. Xiao Yan showed me some of the soul fragments of the Nether Sea yesterday... Lion Heaven is the adopted son of the Nether Sea, a powerful figure cultivated independently by a branch hall controlled by the Nether Sea."

Lion Sky, the sect leader of the Lion Nether Sect, a one-star Dou Zun, has a magical growth experience and is a man who has encountered many extraordinary events in his life.

Upon hearing Venerable Tian She's words, most people in the council hall gasped in shock. If Lion Heaven were a "native" powerhouse cultivated by the four branch halls of the Northwest Continent, that would be one thing, but he was merely an adopted son of the Underworld Sea? Just a powerhouse cultivated by a branch hall controlled by the Underworld Sea?

“The soul fragment of the Underworld Sea…” Elder Ning suddenly stood up. “Lord of the Manor, Mr. Xiao Yan, may I also take a look at that soul fragment?”

“Ning Zuowen is one of the only two seventh-grade alchemists in the Heavenly Serpent Palace,” the Heavenly Serpent Venerable said to Xiao Yan. “Next to him is Hu Youli, another seventh-grade alchemist. Of the two of them, Ning Zuowen is the most likely to break through to the eighth grade.”

“Mr. Ning,” Xiao Yan stood up and cupped his hands in greeting, “what do you intend to do with that soul fragment?”

“My master’s soul was captured by the Soul Palace,” Ning Zuowen said slowly. “I want to see if there is any trace of my master in the memories of the Underworld Sea…”

“Old Ning’s master is an eighth-grade alchemist. He was the only eighth-grade alchemist in the Northwest Continent before you, Mr. Xiao Yan, appeared,” Hu Youli quickly stood up and chimed in. “Old Ning’s main purpose in joining the Heavenly Serpent Mansion was to use the mansion master’s power to find out his master’s whereabouts from the Soul Palace.”

“That’s right,” Venerable Tian She nodded. “However, when Ning Zuowen’s master was abducted by the Soul Hall, he was only a Dou Ling, so he didn’t know which branch hall his master was taken to… Of course, even if he did know, I wouldn’t be confident that I could get the information from those branch hall masters.”

"Is that so?" Xiao Yan nodded casually. "I thought you were worried about your identity being exposed..."

Bang!

Before he could finish speaking, Ning Zuowen suddenly pushed off the ground and rushed out of the council hall.

As a seventh-grade alchemist, Ning Zuowen's strength was quite good. His eight-star Dou Zong cultivation surpassed over 90% of those present. However, that was only over 90%. The remaining 10% could be easily captured by anyone, without even lifting a finger.

The moment Ning Zuowen rushed into the courtyard, his surroundings changed abruptly. When he came to his senses, he was already sitting back in his seat, with his hands neatly placed on his lap, just like a child being asked to sit up straight.

"What is his true identity?" Like the others, Venerable Heavenly Serpent looked at Xiao Yan with disbelief and asked.

As a kind-hearted person, Ning Zuowen's popularity in the Heavenly Serpent Manor was far superior to that of Hu Youli. If Ning Zuowen hadn't simply chosen to run away without any explanation, everyone, including the Heavenly Serpent Venerable, would have initially suspected Xiao Yan.

"A protector of the Soul Hall," Xiao Yan curled his lip, "a protector of the Soul Hall with a physical form, a disciple of an eighth-grade alchemist of the Soul Hall..."

"If we're really going to talk about it, you should call me Senior Brother." Seeing that there was no hope of escape, Ning Zuowen didn't bother to hide it anymore and interrupted Xiao Yan without any politeness.

“Old Man Mu Gu, an eighth-grade alchemist, is the senior brother of Medicine Venerable,” Xiao Yan glanced at Ning Zuowen and continued, “Medicine Venerable is my teacher, so if we’re really talking about seniority, he really is my senior brother.”

However, Xiao Yan's previous senior brother had already been completely destroyed, and even his soul had been sent away by Yao Lao himself.

Chapter 365 Alliance (Part 2)

The Medicine Master?

Many people in the council hall widened their eyes slightly. Even though they were in a secluded corner, they had heard of the name of the Medicine Venerable, the number one alchemist on the continent decades ago. Similarly, they all knew about the passing of the Medicine Elder.

"Didn't the Medicine Master perish decades ago due to a mistake in alchemy?" someone whispered in the council hall.

"Heh, the Medicine Venerable is the number one alchemist on the continent, how could he possibly perish due to an alchemy accident?" To most people's surprise, the one who spoke was Ning Zuowen, "After one's soul power reaches the Spirit Realm, one can completely abandon the shackles of the body and survive in the form of a soul body..."

At this point, Ning Zuowen glanced at Xiao Yan, "If I'm not mistaken, you encountered the soul of the Medicine Venerable, right?"

“That’s right.” Xiao Yan nodded calmly.

The conversation between the two caused a slight disturbance in the council hall. If Ning Zuowen hadn't just revealed his identity as a protector of the Soul Hall, they would have almost thought that Ning Zuowen had arranged with Xiao Yan to answer these questions between alchemists.

'Wait a minute…' Thinking of this, Hu Youli's face suddenly twitched. 'Could it be that Old Man Ning really did plan this with the Manor Lord and the others?'

My gaze involuntarily shifted to the face of the Heavenly Serpent Venerable, who stood there calmly, seemingly heartbroken over Ning Zuowen's betrayal.

Sensing Hu Youli's gaze, the Heavenly Serpent Venerable silently turned his gaze upon him—

Hold it in!

Two words rang in Hu Youli's ears, which completely confirmed Hu Youli's guess. This drama of finding out the traitor in the Heavenly Serpent Mansion was planned in advance.

'I knew it…' Hu Youli breathed a sigh of relief. Normally, after confirming that Ning Zuowen was a traitor, he, who had an excellent relationship with Ning Zuowen and had even stood up to testify for Ning Zuowen just now, should have been fine.

"Let's end this family reunion here," the Heavenly Serpent Venerable said slowly after Hu Youli guessed the truth. "Guards, take Ning Zuowen away!"

Soon, a team of guards entered the council hall and then took Ning Zuowen, who was being held still and unable to move, away from the council hall.

“Now that the traitor has been found, let’s continue,” Xiao Yan clapped his hands after Ning Zuowen was led away, drawing everyone’s attention to himself. “We came to the Heavenly Serpent Empire this time for only one thing… to form an alliance.”

An alliance?

Upon hearing these two words, some elders of the Heavenly Serpent Palace instinctively wanted to stand up and object. After all, in their view, the alliance request from the Gama Empire, which had recently become enemies with the Soul Hall, was nothing more than an attempt to find an ally to fight against the Soul Hall. Although their Heavenly Serpent Empire was strong, compared to an organization like the Soul Hall that was almost ubiquitous across the entire continent, they were nothing more than a slightly larger insect.

However, before speaking, the elders first looked at Venerable Heavenly Serpent and made sure that there was no objection on Venerable Heavenly Serpent's face.

“I agree,” Hu Youli said after a moment of silence. “However, I would like to know Mr. Xiao Yan’s views on this alliance. Is it a matter of our Heavenly Serpent Empire protecting the Jia Ma Empire, or a matter of mutual benefit and shared loss?”

“Naturally, we all prosper together and suffer together,” Xiao Yan said with a smile. “In the Northwest region, in terms of land area alone, the Jia Ma Empire, which has now annexed several surrounding empires, is the largest… There’s no doubt about that, is there?”

Their gazes swept across the council chamber, and everyone nodded silently.

“However, similarly, the Jia Ma Empire was once just a weak country, and the number of strong people in the country was far less than that of the Tian She Empire. Therefore, even with a vast territory, it was still quite difficult to completely preserve it,” Xiao Yan continued. “So, after the alliance is formed, my Jia Ma Empire will hand over some areas of the Chu Yun Empire and other empires to the Tian She Prefecture for administration.”

Upon hearing this, many people in the hall held their breath—

They are all subordinate forces of the Heavenly Serpent Palace, and the cities they control or the resources they can manipulate are extremely limited. However, if they could control the resources of the areas ceded by the Jia Ma Empire...

Seeing the pairs of burning eyes in the hall, Venerable Heavenly Serpent closed his eyes with slight displeasure.

“Similarly, some areas will also be managed by the Snake People,” Xiao Yan continued, seemingly oblivious to the Heavenly Serpent Venerable’s displeasure. “If you are dissatisfied with this, you can raise your objections with the Snake People’s leader.”

Upon hearing this, some people actually turned their gaze to Medusa, as if they felt that the snake people's power should not be swallowed up by them.

Sensing these gazes, Medusa calmly raised her head, her snake eyes slowly sweeping over those with ulterior motives. Once they stiffened and withdrew their gazes, Medusa let out a soft hum, lowered her head again, and stuffed a medicinal herb into Zi Yan's mouth.

"It seems no one has any objections?" Xiao Yan asked with a smile.

There were initial objections, but under Medusa's gaze, those who were drenched in cold sweat, as if they had just teetered on the edge of life and death, all managed a dry laugh:

"Yes, yes." Their flustered appearance even surprised those who knew them, as it was clearly the first time they had seen these people suffer a loss when facing someone who was not a Dou Zun.

Wait, is she really not a Dou Zun?

Then, recalling how the queen had ignored Xiao Yan and the Heavenly Serpent Venerable before the meeting began, many people felt a sudden tightness in their chests and realized what had happened.

“After the alliance is formed, a department will be set up to cultivate strong individuals. It will be one of the most important institutions in the alliance in the future. As members of the alliance, you can recommend talented juniors from your respective forces. There, they can receive the most comprehensive training and development,” Xiao Yan said with a light smile. “In exchange, our Jia Ma Empire will only provide 20% of the cultivation techniques and fighting skills in this institution. The remaining 80% will need to be provided by you.”

“The Gama Empire has recently annexed a large number of empires, and most of the regions have not been plundered,” Yao Ye said at the right time. “After the organization is established, you will not have to hand over the cultivation techniques and fighting skills you collect.”

Upon hearing this, the eyes of those who had been hesitant became firm. After all, about 50% of the cultivation techniques and combat skills they possessed came from the Heavenly Serpent Palace, so even if they handed them all over, they wouldn't suffer a significant loss.

'And you can also acquire other people's fighting techniques...'

Many people's gazes unconsciously drifted towards the holder of a certain fighting technique or skill they had been craving for a long time, only to be surprised to find that the person was also unconsciously looking at them.

'A bunch of short-sighted fools!' Venerable Heavenly Serpent cursed inwardly. 'The cultivation techniques and fighting skills collected later don't need to be handed over... but there's an eighth-grade alchemist here! If you want him to help you refine medicine, do you still have the right to choose whether to hand them over or not?'

Seemingly noticing the Heavenly Serpent Venerable's inner thoughts, Xiao Yan's gaze fell upon him with great interest.

Sensing Xiao Yan's gaze, Venerable Heavenly Serpent coughed lightly and sat there with a serious expression, as if he had no idea what Xiao Yan was looking at.

In the following time, Xiao Yan and the Heavenly Serpent Venerable explained the conditions everyone would have to pay after the alliance, as well as what they would receive. After a series of conditions were explained, almost everyone suppressed their slight dissatisfaction, until—

"Then, what about the Soul Palace?" Under the prompting of Venerable Tian She, Hu Youli swallowed hard, stood up and asked, "After all, Mr. Xiao Yan, you destroyed a branch of the Soul Palace. No matter how you look at it, they won't let it go, right?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Hu Youli with admiration. They all understood this point, but with the Heavenly Serpent Venerable already determined to form an alliance, they were all suppressing their struggle with this issue. They thought that this issue would be ignored by everyone, but unexpectedly, it was Hu Youli who asked the question in the end.

Feeling the admiring gazes directed at him, Hu Youli chuckled inwardly. If it weren't for Venerable Tian She's request, how could he have asked that question under these circumstances? He couldn't be more satisfied than ever with the prospect of witnessing Xiao Yan refine an eighth-grade pill!

“When I fought Minghai, I deliberately let his soul communication go,” Xiao Yan said calmly. “I think everyone in the Soul Palace now knows that I possess a Heaven-rank cultivation technique.”

Heavenly Rank Cultivation Technique!

Upon hearing those four words, everyone's eyes changed, and almost involuntarily, a hint of greed appeared in their expressions.

“Therefore, the Soul Hall will definitely focus all its attention on me in the future,” Xiao Yan said calmly. “Not long after, I will go to the Central Plains, and I will take action against the Soul Hall again. I think that under such circumstances, the Soul Hall is more likely to choose to deal with me, a lone individual, in the Central Plains, rather than come to this barren land in the Northwest, right?”