Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Page 434

This time, however, Elder Mugu was much smarter.

Having witnessed Xiao Fan and his group's strength, and realizing that they could no longer snatch the Burning Technique under their noses, they immediately set off to escape without any hesitation.

Although he took a bullet from Xiao Fan and suffered considerable injury, at least he didn't end up with the worst possible outcome.

"Strange, why is Mu Gu looking at me so strange..."

After the battle, Xiao Fan recalled the way Elder Mu Gu left and pondered the elder's reaction when he first appeared. He felt that the elder's purpose was not so simple...

With Elder Mu Gu escaping with serious injuries, Xiao Yan was no longer a threat within the Pill Realm. After collecting all the medicinal herbs, Xiao Yan still had to participate in the third stage of the Pill Gathering. After resting for a while, Xiao Fan and the others did not linger. They escorted Xiao Yan to a spot not far from the exit and watched as he exchanged space stones with the people at the Pill Tower before leaving the Pill Realm.

"Xiong Zhan, do you want to come out with us?"

Xiao Fan and Zi Yan looked at Xiong Zhan beside them. Over the past few days, Xiao Fan and Zi Yan had developed a good impression of Xiong Zhan's forthright personality. Xiao Fan looked at Xiong Zhan and said.

As Xiong Zhan listened to Xiao Fan's words, he looked at Zi Yan beside him. When he saw the hope flash in Zi Yan's eyes, he smiled憨厚ly and nodded to the two of them.

Having decided to leave the Pill Realm, Xiao Fan and his companions did not hesitate. Just as they had come, a silver spatial passage opened before them, and they stepped into it, reappearing within the Holy Pill City.

............

At the location where the Soul Hall members were gathered, Mo Shang, who had been sitting in the courtyard, shook his head slightly, looked into the distance, and after a moment of silence, said to the people in the courtyard: "I have a bad feeling. I'm going out to patrol. You all stay here and be on guard."

"Yes, Deputy Commander!"

The Soul Hall experts in Mo Shang's team nodded in agreement upon hearing Mo Shang's instructions, without asking where Mo Shang's concerns came from. Within the Soul Hall, strength and rank were the only matters of discussion.

Mo Shang nodded slightly, but his face, covered by a black iron mask, revealed no expression whatsoever.

With a flash of black light, Mo Shang's figure disappeared directly from the courtyard and out of everyone's sight. Mo Shang's body was covered by pitch-black chaotic fire, and he vanished from everyone's perception.

With the Chaos Fire as cover, Mo Shang circled around the courtyard before cautiously approaching the center where the Soul Palace members were gathered.

He and the Soul Hall experts led by Brother Jie were only one team. He only knew the general location of the others and did not know their exact locations. However, Mo Shang had already gotten the locations of the highest-ranking people in charge of this operation of the Soul Hall, the elders, from Brother Jie.

Mo Shang cautiously made his way to his destination. Along the way, he sensed the seven breaths of many powerful individuals, but thanks to the cover of the Chaos Fire, they couldn't detect him unless they saw him with their naked eyes.

It's just that these powerful individuals trusted their soul perception too much. Aside from avoiding some spies hidden in the shadows, Mo Shang practically swaggered into the innermost courtyard.

Upon arriving here, Mo Shang sensed a familiar aura fluctuation, which belonged to Mu Gu, who had returned from the Pill Realm with serious injuries!

In addition to Mu Gu, Mo Shang also sensed two other powerful auras.

"As expected, three venerable elders..."

Sensing the auras of the other two, which were in no way weaker than Mu Gu's, Mo Shang frowned slightly.

"What exactly is the Soul Hall's purpose in coming to Saint Pill City this time? They actually sent three Venerable Elders..."

Before setting off, Mo Shang was well aware that in addition to the "Elder" level experts, the Soul Palace had also sent nearly ten Dou Zun level experts. An ordinary force would be able to become a dominant force in the Central State with just one Dou Zun, let alone the Soul Palace sending so many experts at once.

Mo Shang took such a risk by sneaking to the location of the Soul Hall Elders in order to see if he could do something while Mu Gu was seriously injured. However, he did not expect that the other two Elders had also gathered at Mu Gu's location.

Are you sure you're not seeing things!?

Just as Mo Shang hesitated, faint sounds came from inside the courtyard. A look of struggle flashed in Mo Shang's eyes, then his eyes hardened, and he used the chaotic fire on his body to approach the courtyard, pressing himself against the shadowy corner of the wall.

Perhaps because they sensed Mu Gu's serious injury within ten thousand, the other two elders forgot to set up a soundproof array for a moment, and the Soul Hall experts outside did not dare to step into the central area at will. Therefore, after considering it for a while, Mo Shang decided to stay here and eavesdrop on the information.

"Of course!"

Mu Gu's weak voice came from the small courtyard.

"I fought him personally, and his strength has reached the four-star Dou Zun realm. Even I am no match for him..."

Mo Shang listened to Mu Gu's description, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes. The target they were discussing seemed to be the original body... Could it be that the Soul Palace had already set its sights on the original body?

Thinking about this, Mo Shang became even more curious about the conversation inside the courtyard.

"impossible!"

Another elder immediately retorted upon hearing Mu Gu's words, his tone full of doubt: "Three months ago, he was only a two-star Dou Zun. Are you trying to tell me that in less than three months, he went directly from a two-star Dou Zun to a four-star Dou Zun?"

Hearing the elder's rebuttal, Mu Gu and the other person remained silent.

Mu Gu fell silent. If he hadn't fought with him personally, he wouldn't have believed that anyone could have such terrifying talent.

“I witnessed all of this with my own eyes, and I’m willing to stake my life on it. Now it seems that the enemy’s strength is far beyond our expectations.”

Mu Gu's tone was extremely serious. The other two elders of the Soul Hall, although still somewhat doubtful, became more serious upon hearing Mu Gu's earnestness.

"In just three months, he went from a two-star Dou Zun to a four-star Dou Zun. Could it be...?"

Inside the courtyard, the three elders exchanged glances, as if they had all guessed something. Their breathing became heavier, and their hoarse voices rang out, carrying an air of unquestionable certainty.

"Xiao Fan's strength has improved so quickly that it's impossible to achieve this with talent alone. It seems that he is probably hiding a big secret. It's highly likely that the Xiao family's item is on him. So, at least we're on the right track."

After a moment of contemplation, the hoarse voice spoke again: "According to Mu Gu, we need to change our previous plan. We need to communicate with them and wait until the Pill Gathering is over before making our move!"

"Wait until the Pill Gathering ends?"

The elder spoke again, his tone tinged with dissatisfaction, saying, "Wouldn't that waste even more time?"

"There's no other way. Now that Xiao Fan's strength has broken through and exceeded our expectations, we can't afford to offend the Pill Tower at this time. Otherwise, we'll just be increasing the difficulty of the mission for nothing. Let's focus on helping Mu Gu heal first, and then make our move after the Pill Gathering ends. Even if it's the Pill Tower, they won't dare to break ties with us now without a reason!"

The old man listened to the hoarse voice in the row, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.

Then, the courtyard fell into a long silence as the two began to help Mu Gu heal his wounds.

Seeing that there was no more news, Mo Shang suppressed his shock and carefully concealed himself as he left towards the outer perimeter. After completely leaving the central area, Mo Shang circled back to his team.

"So, it seems the Soul Hall's mission is mine..."

Inside Saint Pill City, Xiao Fan carefully processed the information he had just received from Mo Shang, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.

"I'm afraid my strength has increased too quickly, and I've come into the sights of the Soul Hall's higher-ups. Judging from the conversation between Mu Gu and the others, they probably think that the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade of the Xiao family is on me."

Narrowing his eyes, Xiao Fan calculated the strength of the Soul Palace, a hint of fighting spirit flashing in his eyes.

"Three Venerable Elders, several Dou Zun... Heh, with these, I have no fear whatsoever!"

Chapter 191 The Final Assessment Begins

After leaving the Pill Realm, Xiao Fan and Zi Yan, along with the curious Xiong Zhan, headed towards the Pill Gathering venue in the center of Saint Pill City.

Even knowing that the Soul Hall's target was him, Xiao Fan was not worried at all. He knew that with the Soul Hall's strength, they had no chance of stopping him in Saint Pill City.

From afar, before they even approached the Danhui written test venue, Xiao Fan and his group heard deafening shouts.

The three exchanged a glance and landed on the top of a towering building. Their gazes fell on the competition area, where they discovered that many contestants were already on the floating platforms.

"It seems quite a few people have found the materials they need within the Pill Realm..."

Xiao Fan looked at the figures on the floating platform, exchanged a glance with Zi Yan, and a mischievous smile appeared on his face.

Previously in the Pill Realm, relying on Zi Yan's perception of rare medicinal herbs, Xiao Fan led Zi Yan to thoroughly plunder the Pill Realm.

Although he didn't completely plunder the Pill Realm, most of the medicinal herbs near the contestants' entrance ended up in Xiao Fan's pocket.

Xiao Fan's gaze swept across the floating platform and soon spotted Xiao Yan in one of the corners.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the floating platform, closing his eyes and constantly adjusting his state. Among the contestants who had already come out, Xiao Fan also saw the demoness from the Cao family.

She landed on one of the most prominent floating platforms in the center, her face beaming with pride and confidence.

On the floating stone platforms near the Cao family's enchantress, there were also alchemy geniuses from various families in the Pill Domain, who were already famous in the Pill Domain.

"The middleman must be Cao Ying, the enchantress of the Cao family! I've heard about her talent before, but I wonder if she can win the championship at this year's Pill Competition!"

"I doubt it. Don't just focus on Cao Ying. See that young man to Cao Ying's left? That's Dan Chen from the Dan family. Rumor has it she's on par with the Cao family's vixen, but the Dan family is known for its low profile, so her reputation isn't as widespread as Cao Ying's..."

"Hehe, since you're not well-known, how do you know that Dan Chen is in no way inferior to Cao Ying?"

Upon hearing the question, the person who had spoken earlier seemed to have been insulted and said in a somewhat hurried tone, "Hmph, my family is responsible for supplying some of the medicinal materials to the Dan family. I personally witnessed the formation of Dan Chen's pills."

"In my opinion, with that kind of quality, the champion of this Dan competition should be Dan Chen."

"And that long-haired, somewhat aloof young man next to him, that's Bai Ying from the Bai family. His strength shouldn't be underestimated; I think he has a chance too..."

"Don't forget, there are more than just a few geniuses participating in the Pill Gathering. I've heard that ever since they learned about the reward for first place—a method for cultivating the soul—quite a few old monsters have secretly come to participate in the Pill Gathering..."

Around the stands, a dense cacophony of discussions rose and fell.

Pointing and commenting at the contestants on the floating platform, they were all enthusiastically discussing who would ultimately win the Dan competition.

However, in several locations at the center of the floating stone platform, Cao Ying and the others all looked extremely grim.

"Was it you who orchestrated this in the Pill Realm?!"

Cao Ying looked at Dan Chen beside her and Bai Ying on the other side, her expression showing a hint of annoyance, and asked the two of them.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing Cao Ying's sudden accusation, Dan Chen and Bai Ying looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Within the Pill Realm, all the medicinal herbs in the nearby areas have been picked. Do you dare to say that you didn't do it?"

Dan Chen and Bai Ying exchanged a glance after hearing Cao Ying's words, both seeing the anger in each other's eyes, and then seemed to understand something.

"I thought it was you guys who did it..."

Dan Chen looked at Cao Ying and Bai Ying, her tone carrying a hint of anger.

After all, when it comes to familiarity with the world of alchemy, the Pill Tower and the five major families that have dominated the Pill Domain for so many years are naturally ahead of all the participants. They even know where to find some special medicinal materials in the world of alchemy.

So when they entered the Dan Domain and found that many medicinal herbs had been picked, their first reaction was that it was done by other families.

At this moment, Cao Ying looked at Dan Chen and Bai Ying's expressions and understood that the two of them were probably just like her. Because the medicinal herbs had been picked, they had gone to great lengths to find the materials on the list again, and they were holding back their anger.