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

In fact, even if he guessed why the Soul Emperor was pushing for changes to the Pharmacopoeia, he didn't think anyone could stop him, and he didn't even think the Soul Clan would expose themselves in this incident. After all, the Soul Clan was even able to create evil energy on the Dou Qi Continent, where evil energy shouldn't exist, and even made the patriarchs of four ancient races, including Gu Yuan, believe that when that spatial passage collapsed, the sealed alien races would reappear on the Dou Qi Continent.

'However… he probably also wants to know if I, after refining the Pure Lotus Demon Flame and the Demon Flame Space, can refine a Golden Core, right?' Xiao Yan muttered to himself, 'If I can refine it, perhaps I can buy myself more time…'

Although he has not yet reached the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Sheng realm, according to Dan, he can already consume Dan's true form to break through to Dou Di, but it may take a long time.

Coincidentally, the Soul Emperor also needed a considerable amount of time to collect the last four ancient jades, and he also needed two Golden Core alchemists to refine the half-finished Emperor Pill for him.

Perhaps it's a bit narcissistic, but Xiao Yan felt that apart from Hun Xuzi, who might already be a Golden Core alchemist, he was probably the only second Golden Core alchemist in the Dou Qi Continent. Therefore, as long as he could refine a Golden Core from the Pharmacopoeia, even if Hun Tiandi had already obtained a half-finished Emperor Pill during his refining of the Emperor Pill, he wouldn't make a move against the people he cared about.

Of course, this is not absolute, since there is another way to refine a semi-finished Emperor Pill back into a whole – blood sacrifice.

'Before going into seclusion, I need to set up an array between the Starfall Pavilion and the Flame Alliance, an array that can protect everyone...' Xiao Yan murmured to himself.

Fortunately, the cities where the Starfall Pavilion and the Flame Alliance headquarters are located are not far apart and can be completely enveloped by an array.

Chapter 498 Pharmacopoeia of the Medicine Clan

A month passed by quietly.

During this month, the time for the Pharmacopoeia was finally set, and because of the grand procession when the Medicine Clan sent the invitation to the Starfall Pavilion, the entire Central Continent knew that the quasi-Golden Core alchemist who had been rumored for the past few years was in the Starfall Pavilion!

Just as everyone was excitedly discussing whether the legendary near-Golden Core alchemist was the master of the Medicine Saint, the former number one alchemist on the continent, or a close friend, someone who asked, "Why can't he be the Medicine Saint's disciple?" was met with ridicule from everyone—until someone noticed that the person was an elder from the Cao family, one of the five great families of the Pill Tower.

Since then, two more topics of discussion have emerged in Zhongzhou—

'If the quasi-Golden Core alchemist is a disciple of the Medicine Saint, then is the Medicine Saint himself already capable of refining Emperor Pills?' And, 'Is the Medicine Clan worried about retaliation, which is why they altered the timeline of the Pharmacopoeia for this quasi-Golden Core alchemist?'

In short, amidst this noisy atmosphere, the day of the Medicine Clan Pharmacopoeia event arrived as scheduled.

Astral Plane, High Peak.

"This time, Xiao Yan and I will go to the Medicine Clan together. The change in the timing of the Medicine Clan Pharmacy was pushed by the Soul Clan Chief. No one knows if the Soul Clan is planning to do something during this Medicine Clan Pharmacy, such as leaving more powerful people in the Starfall Pavilion so that they can take care of each other with the Flame Alliance."

On the cloud-shrouded main peak, Elder Yao looked at the crowd gathered there and said solemnly.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Yao Lao was born into the Yao Clan and had some unresolved debts with them, and that he had a long-buried wish to fulfill, Xiao Yan should have been the only one to go to the Pharmacopoeia this time.

"Take care of yourselves," Xiao Yan said softly, looking at Cai Lin, who was holding Xiao Xiao's hand, and Xiao Yi Xian, Xun'er, and Zi Yan beside her. "The Yan Alliance's affairs can be left to others to handle for now."

During this month, Xiao Yan devoted almost all his time to expanding the Star Boundary and setting up formations. After completing the setup, he summoned all the familiar people to the Star Boundary, fearing that the Soul Clan might attack the major forces in the Central Plains during the Pharmacopoeia period, and that his relatives and friends would not have time to escape danger.

"Ah."

The girls nodded slightly. They knew what Xiao Yan was worried about, so even Cai Lin wouldn't go against him at this moment.

"Hehe, alright everyone, no need to give any more."

Yao Lao's figure slowly rose into the air, smiled at everyone, and then turned around and headed towards the outside of the Star Boundary. Behind him, Xiao Yan flashed and quickly followed.

The Pharmacopoeia is one of the most important events among the Medicine Clan. Its timing is not entirely fixed, but this is the first time that the date has been changed due to the presence of other people.

Because this was the first time the established time had been altered due to outsiders, the alchemists of the Medicine Clan were all ashamed and vowed to win all the other levels of the competition in the Medicine Compendium.

The title of the continent's number one alchemist is destined to be out of reach of the Medicine Clan in the new edition of the Pharmacopoeia.

The Medicine Clan is located in the Shennong Mountains in the far south of Zhongzhou. In some ways, this place is actually outside the Zhongzhou region, making it quite remote.

Although the Starfall Pavilion is extremely far from the Shennong Mountains where the Medicine Clan is located, with Xiao Yan's strength as a nine-star Dou Sheng and the Dragon-Phoenix bloodline he shares with Zi Yan, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao were able to see the misty Shennong Mountains in just one spatial jump.

"Such abundant spiritual energy! The Medicine Clan has certainly found a good spot!"

Upon first seeing the Shennong Mountains, even Xiao Yan couldn't help but exclaim in praise. The swirling clouds above the mountains were no ordinary things, but rather formed by the convergence of heaven and earth energy. Cultivating here would likely be much faster than in other places.

"This mountain range was cultivated to such fertile state by an ancestor of the Medicine Clan over hundreds of years." The old medicine master gazed at this mountain range, which was both strange and familiar, with a complex expression.

This was his first time returning here since he left years ago. With a soft sigh, Yao Lao's figure slowly descended, finally landing on a deep ravine deep in the mountains. On the opposite side of the ravine, a massive stone archway, hundreds of feet in size, stood quietly, emanating an aura of vicissitudes.

At the center of the archway was a distorted space, which was the gate to the Medicine Clan's space. At this moment, figures were constantly flying out from the sky or the depths of the forest, finally landing outside the giant stone archway. After taking out some jade slips and handing them to some guards dressed in Medicine Clan robes outside the archway, they stepped into the space gate.

"Didn't they arrange for anyone to come out and greet us?" Xiao Yan, who was behind Yao Lao, glanced at the giant stone archway not far away, snorted, and said.

Hearing Xiao Yan's dissatisfied words, Yao Lao smiled helplessly. His disciple was good in every way, except that he was a bit too protective of his own. What he said about "no one welcoming him" was more about feeling that the Yao Clan was extremely foolish to have treated him as a pawn and expelled him from the Yao Clan.

On one hand, he cared about his disciple, and on the other hand, he cared about his maternal clan. At this moment, Yao Lao's decision not to join Xiao Yan in condemning the Yao Clan was already an act of consideration for the Yao Clan's reputation.

But while the old master thought this way, others didn't.

"Who dares to speak so arrogantly here? It's that good-for-nothing..."

Before the man could finish speaking, he felt a blur before his eyes, and the next moment, his head was grabbed and slammed... or rather, smashed onto the ground. After only two blows, his appearance was no longer recognizable—not to mention the blood streaming down his face, his once human-like features were now completely squeezed together, making him unrecognizable.

Even so, the woman from the Medicine Clan who appeared with the man didn't dare to say a word. After all, the one who was grabbing the man's head and kowtowing to the old man was none other than Yao Wangui, the punishment elder of the Medicine Clan who had been presumed dead a few years ago!

"Xiao Yanzi, you..." Sensing the familiar aura emanating from Yao Wangui, Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan behind him with some surprise.

"In the past month, I took the time to refine him into a Heavenly Demon Puppet," Xiao Yan smiled awkwardly. "I originally intended for you, Teacher, to use, but I really didn't want to dirty my hands by fighting his descendants..."

Upon hearing this, the old doctor could only shake his head helplessly—that was the only bad thing about his disciple. A former four-star Dou Sheng, he was now condemned to eternal damnation simply for slandering a mere youth from his clan.

However, despite thinking this in his heart, Yao Lao couldn't hide the smile on his face.

The commotion naturally attracted the attention of the Medicine Clan guards from the start, but after discovering that the person who made the move was Yao Wangui, who was thought to be dead, apart from sending one guard back to the clan to report the situation, everyone else just stood there, pretending not to notice what was happening on the other side.

When the affiliated forces of the Medicine Clan noticed that the person being kowtowed to was wearing Medicine Clan attire, they considered going to help—provided that the Medicine Clan guards took action and failed to win. Since the Medicine Clan guards pretended not to see anything, how could they dare to interfere?

Chapter 499 Hun Xuzi

As one of the few Dou Sheng among the Yao Clan, Yao Wangui's whereabouts are of great concern to the Yao Clan elders.

So, before the middle-aged man, who was suspected to be a descendant of Yao Wangui, could faint, a large cloud of fire swept out from the giant stone archway, and a red-haired old man could be vaguely seen in the fire cloud.

"It's Elder Wanhuo!"

The moment the fiery cloud appeared, the disciples of the Medicine Clan around the giant stone archway recognized the newcomer, which immediately caused some exclamations.

Amidst the exclamations, Elder Wanhuo, who had flown into the air, finally located the position of 'Yao Wangui' in the message sent back by the Yao Clan disciples, as well as Elder Yao and Xiao Yan standing calmly beside Yao Wangui.

Although Elder Wanhuo had never seen Xiao Yan and had no impression of Yao Lao's appearance, he had heard about what happened in the Demon Flame Space from Yao Ling and Yao Tian. Therefore, after confirming that Yao Wangui was a puppet, he instantly judged the identities of Xiao Yan and Yao Lao.

"...I wonder if Mr. Xiao would be willing to allow him to be laid to rest?"

Having vaguely discerned that Xiao Yan's strength far surpassed his own, Elder Wanhuo, marveling at how quickly Xiao Yan's strength had increased, slowly landed beside the two of them, then bowed slightly and asked respectfully.

This action almost caused all the Medicine Clan disciples who were paying attention to the situation to have their hearts and lungs stop. The woman closest to them even heard what Elder Wanhuo said. In that instant, she felt that she was probably going to be silenced.

But no one cared what the disciples of the Medicine Clan were thinking—

Although he heard what Elder Wanhuo said with utmost respect, Xiao Yan did not reply. Instead, he turned his head to look at Yao Lao, his meaning quite clear: whether it is to be buried in peace or never to be reincarnated, he needs his teacher's answer.

Following Xiao Yan's gaze, Elder Wan Huo also looked at Elder Yao.

"Since Elder Wanhuo has personally intervened... there is no problem with it."

Under Elder Wanhuo's gaze, Yao Lao smiled faintly. He knew that since Xiao Yan had brought out Yao Wangui's puppet at this time, it was naturally not just to "avoid getting his hands dirty." Since Elder Wanhuo had offered him a way out, he naturally chose to take it.

Upon hearing this, Elder Wanhuo breathed a slight sigh of relief, glancing at Elder Yao with a somewhat complicated expression.

He never imagined that the pawn whom the Medicine Clan had once considered worthless and discarded would achieve such success, not only reaching the Dou Sheng level himself but also teaching a disciple who surpassed him.

Under the brilliance of his disciple, not to mention the younger generation of geniuses of the Medicine Clan, even the elders who have lived for thousands of years and are known as Grandmasters of Precious Pills or even Profound Pills appear dim and insignificant.

"As you probably know, I have other purposes for coming here besides the pharmacopoeia." Elder Wanhuo heard Xiao Yan say this calmly after his gaze returned to Xiao Yan.

"...Please enlighten me, Mr. Xiao." After a brief hesitation, Elder Wanhuo still couldn't figure out why Xiao Yan said those words.

'Could it be... for the Golden Core pill formula? I heard there's only one Golden Core pill formula in the Pill Tower...'

But subconsciously, Elder Wanhuo felt that Xiao Yan might have come for the Golden Core formula of the Medicine Clan. After all, the Medicine Clan was the only race that had been passed down for more than ten thousand years and whose core was alchemy.

"The Medicine Clan's Clan Stele," Xiao Yan said without further ado, directly stating one of the purposes of his trip, "My teacher plans to inscribe his parents' names on it."

Only those with a high enough bloodline level or who have made great contributions to the Medicine Clan are qualified to leave their names on the clan monument. People like Elder Yao and his parents, whose bloodline level is insufficient and who have been expelled from the Medicine Clan for some reason, are not qualified to leave their names on it.

If Yao Wangui were still alive, he might have mocked Xiao Yan for his words. Unfortunately, he was dead. And now standing in front of Xiao Yan was Elder Wanhuo, an elder in the Yao Clan whose status was second only to Yao Dan.

"Of course, of course," Elder Wanhuo breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and immediately smiled, "Then I will lead the way for you, Yaochen?"

"Thank you very much, Elder Wanhuo." A hint of joy flashed in Yao Lao's eyes.

Although his role was to guide Elder Yao, Elder Wanhuo, while putting away the puppet Yao Wangui, still led the way, guiding Xiao Yan into the Medicine Realm and into the main venue of the Pharmacopoeia.

Only those who are truly one's own people understand each other best. Elder Wanhuo believed that if Xiao Yan were to enter the Medicine Realm alone, even if the vast majority of his clansmen knew his identity, they wouldn't dare to openly belittle him. However, there would always be a very small number of people who might not be very bright and would dare to provoke him...

At the summit of Medicine Mountain, clouds and mist swirl, and a strange fragrance of elixirs spreads, giving people a sense of tranquility and joy, as if they were in a fairyland.

At the summit of Yaoshan Mountain, vast expanses of medicinal herbs converge like an ocean. Above these seas of herbs, a colossal plaza floats in mid-air. At the four corners of the plaza stand four enormous medicinal cauldrons, emitting fragrant aromas that rise straight into the sky.

Now, many people are standing on this suspended platform, and lively conversations are constantly coming from it, making it seem very lively. Looking north along the stone platform, there are rows of stone chairs. On both sides of these stone chairs, beautiful maids flit by like butterflies, their nimble hands filling the jade cups on the stone tables.

"The prelude to the Pharmacopoeia is nothing special; it's just the young people from the Medicine Clan showing off their skills. The real highlight of the Pharmacopoeia is at the very end."

A moment later, Yao Lao arrived beside Xiao Yan, looking down at the enormous stone platform below. He chuckled and then looked at Xiao Yan, "However, for you, even the final competition shouldn't be a problem, right?"

“If we were outside, there wouldn’t be any problem…” After hesitating for a moment, Xiao Yan said softly, “However, the energy of heaven and earth in this Medicine Realm…”

"Insufficient to support the refining of Golden Core, and may not even be enough to refine more than two Profound Cores."

A flippant voice finished what Xiao Yan wanted to say for him. Looking in the direction of the voice, they saw a middle-aged man dressed in black. After noticing Xiao Yan and Yao Lao's gazes, he smiled frankly and greeted them, "Long time no see, Yao Chen."

“Hun Xuzi…” Yao Lao’s eyes narrowed slightly, a cold glint flashing in them.

Hun Xuzi, a member of the Soul Clan who once hid his identity in the Little Pill Tower, betrayed and injured his master before escaping, is a person hated by all the alchemists in the Pill Tower.

"Don't be so nervous. I'm just an ordinary alchemist who came to participate in the Medicine Clan's Pharmacopoeia." Hun Xuzi knew his reputation and naturally wouldn't be swayed by Yao Lao's killing intent. "Speaking of which... your pill refining attempt a few years ago failed because of insufficient battle qi, right?"

His gaze fell on Xiao Yan, his words filled with absolute confidence.

“At least a Seven-Star Dou Sheng is required to be qualified to refine a Golden Core,” Xiao Yan said calmly. “Then… why have you, who are already a Seven-Star Dou Sheng, stopped progressing and never even tried to refine a Golden Core? Or are you saying that the energy of the Soul Realm is enough for you to refine a Golden Core?”

The two, who could almost represent the highest level of alchemists in the Dou Qi Continent today, were locked in a fierce battle, neither willing to back down.

Chapter 500 The Methods of the Medicine Clan

The standoff between Hun Xuzi and Xiao Yan did not last long. After all, this was the Medicine Realm, and as two people invited to participate in the Pharmacopoeia, they had to give the Medicine Clan some face no matter what.

However, before leaving, Hun Xuzi still answered Xiao Yan's questions—

“Apart from Yao Dan and Yao Wan Huo, none of the old-timers of the Yao Clan believe that a Golden Core alchemist could appear on the Dou Qi Continent,” Hun Xu Zi said with a mocking smile. “They also do not believe that this Golden Core alchemist is the disciple of their Yao Clan’s abandoned son.”

"Therefore, they only agree to open the Medicine Realm and allow external energy to enter when the energy of the world in the Medicine Realm is insufficient!"

Seeing Hun Xuzi's mocking expression, Xiao Yan remained silent for a moment before choosing to believe him. After all, Xiao Yan had seen the group of stubborn 'elders' of the ancient clan, who were as inflexible as rocks in a cesspool, as if everything was still stuck in the past.