Battle Through the Heavens

“Alliance?”

Yao Lao and the rest were startled upon hearing this word. They immediately contemplated the idea.

“Forget about the Hun clan. Just the strength of the Hall of Souls is stronger than our Falling Star Pavilion. Our Falling Star Pavilion is completely at odds with them. It is impossible to engage in an all out war with them.” Xiao Yan nodded as he softly explained. “With just the strength of our Falling Star Pavilion, we have a very high chance of being defeated when the time comes. Hence, we must seek allies if we wish to fight the Hall of Souls.”

“This will likely not be easy. The Hall of Souls is too powerful. Who else other than us will oppose them?” Cai Lin knit her brows and asked.

“It is precisely because the Hall of Souls is too powerful that we have a chance…” Xiao Yan smiled and replied. “Those fellows have done many things that have infuriated others in order to collect souls. An example is the Pill Tower. They hate the Hall of Souls to their very bones. If they were not afraid of the strength of the Hall of Souls, they would have already gathered people to fight it.”

The Hall of Souls loved to gather powerful souls. Those with powerful souls were mostly alchemists. An unknown number of alchemists had been attacked by the Hall of Souls during these years. The Pill Tower was aware of these attacks, but they simply had to endure them.

“The strength of the Hall of Souls is indeed quite strong. However, the three giant heads of the Pill Tower are only peak Dou Zuns, right? This kind of strength does not pose much of a threat to the Hall of Soul.” The Little Fairy Doctor spoke with some hesitation.

“This is only the outer strength of the Pill Tower. If it only had this small might, how could the Pill Tower be the holy grounds in the hearts of many alchemists? How could it stand equally with the Hall of Souls?” Yao Lao suddenly shook his head and slowly questioned. He naturally boasted a deep understanding of the Pill Tower.

“Moreover, while Xiao Yan had spent two years in his retreat, that old fellow, Xuan Kong Zi, finally advanced to the Ban Sheng class. Although he is only an initial level Ban Sheng, his strength has soared…”

“Oh? Elder Xuan Kong Zi has advanced to the Ban Sheng class?” Xiao Yan was a little surprised upon hearing this news. He mused for a moment before suddenly asking, “I seemed to have heard elder Xuan Kong Zi mention that the three great heads of the Pill Tower had once exchanged blows with the chief of the Hall of Souls?”

If it was in the past when Xiao Yan did not understand the Hall of Souls, he might have believed these words. Now, he doubted this claim. Just the second Tianzun of the Hall of Souls had reached the strength of a high level Ban Sheng. The mysterious and unfathomable chief of the Hall of Souls was likely even stronger than Gu You. How could Xuan Kong Zi and the two other elders deal with this kind of strength?

“Ha ha, that is indeed true, but they did not fight the true body of the Hall of Souls’ chief. Instead, it was only a part of his soul that was possessing a Hall of Souls expert. Even though he was possessing an expert’s body, those three fellows had ended up miserably defeated… do not mention this matter in front of the three of them. Otherwise, they might end up feeling embarrassed.” Yao Lao involuntarily laughed as he spoke.

Yao Lao looked at the Little Fairy Doctor and the rest after his laughter ceased. He said, “An ordinary person only knows about the Pill Tower. That ordinary person would not know about the Small Pill Tower inside the Pill Tower.”

“Small Pill Tower?”

Upon hearing these words, the Little Fairy Doctor’s group and Xiao Yan were stunned. This was the first time that they had heard about the so-called “Small Pill Tower”.

“There are not many people who can enter this Small Pill Tower. The old Xiao Yan might barely meet the requirements…” Yao Lao laughed. “This is because the first requirement to enter the Small Pill Tower is to be able to refine a tier 8 medicinal pill that can summon a seven-colored Pill Lightning. At the same time, one’s spirit must have reached the Soul State.”

“Seven-colored Pill Lightning, Soul State spirit… these requirements are indeed quite harsh.” Xiao Yan nodded. Before he had broken through to the Dou Sheng class, it would have been a little difficult for him to refine a seven-colored Pill Lightning tier 8 medicinal pill. Hence, his old self might not have possessed the qualification to enter the Small Pill Tower.

“The people inside the Small Pill Tower are the true core of the Pill Tower. Their existence is the reason why the Hall of Souls has never done anything too bad to the Pill Tower… those demons are all extremely old people. Even I have to bow and greet some of them when I meet them.” Yao Lao faintly laughed.

“Additionally, my old self once stayed inside the Small Pill Tower, but I was not used to the atmosphere, so I ended up leaving. The Small Pill Tower does not have any overly strict rules. It is easy to leave but difficult to enter…”

Xiao Yan was quietly speechless. This Pill Tower was indeed not as simple as it appeared on the surface. A faction that could be ranked alongside the Hall of Souls was indeed extraordinary.

“The alliance that you have proposed is indeed somewhat workable. The relationship between the Pill Tower and the Hall of Souls is far worse than you have imagined. The people in the Small Pill Tower really dislike the Hall of Souls…”

“Oh?” Xiao Yan rejoiced slightly upon hearing this.

“When the Small Pill Tower had peaked back then, the tower head once accepted a disciple. This disciple only took a short forty years to surpass many of the elders who had many times his experience, but a subsequent accident ended up exposing his identity. No one had expected that he had been sent by the Hall of Souls. After the incident was exposed, the tower head had let him off on account of their teacher-student relationship. In the end, the tower head was killed by this utterly heartless fellow with the help of some experts from the Hun clan…” Yao Lao softly sighed while feeling sympathetic.

Xiao Yan bitterly laughed upon hearing this story. That tower head had experienced something even more miserable than Yao Lao.

“Due to this matter, the Pill Tower engaged in a big war with the Hall of Souls back then, but they had no choice but to suppressed this hatred due to the terrible losses that they had suffered. This hatred has not diminished with the flow of time. Instead, it has only grown.” Yao Lao softly continued, “Hence, it is possible to form an alliance with them to fight the Hall of Souls.”

Xiao Yan nodded. His eyes were filled with joy. If he got the Pill Tower to form an alliance with his faction, their strength would soar. They would be able to squeeze in with the super factions on the continent. Even if the Hall of Souls wished to attack in the future, they would have to carefully weigh their options first.

“You should not feel happy so soon. The Small Pill Tower might really hate the Hall of Souls, but it will be immensely difficult to get those stubborn old fellows to agree to an alliance.” Yao Lao involuntarily poured cold water on Xiao Yan’s joyous face.

“We will give it a try regardless of whether it will work or not.” Xiao Yan smiled. He would definitely make an attempt no matter how low the chances of success were. The Falling Star Pavilion alone was really no match for the Hall of Souls.

“Aye… once the matters in the Falling Star Pavilion have been settled, I will personally accompany you to the Pill Tower.” Yao Lao fondled his beard. He mused for a moment before nodding.

Xiao Yan smiled and inclined his head. Yao Lao boasted a much deeper relationship with those from the Pill Tower. It would be much easier if Yao Lao revealed himself.

“Other than the Pill Tower, we might also be able to rope in the Flower Sect and the Burning Flame Valley. They possess extremely great reputations within the Central Plains. If we get them to join the alliance, many sects that have been harmed by the Hall of Souls will join as well. The combination of these strengths will be quite frightening.” Cai Lin voiced her thoughts. She had experienced the formation of the Yan Alliance back then. She clearly understood the powerful strength such an alliance would bring.

“There are two grand Elders who have not shown their faces for many years within the Flower Sect. The both of them possess the strength of a Ban Sheng. Even ordinary Flower Sect disciples are unaware of their existences.” Yao Lao faintly laughed, “Those two old fellows owe me a favor. Adding on your relationship with Yun Yun, it should not be difficult to get the Flower Sect to join the alliance.”

“Oh?”

Xiao Yan was very surprised when he heard that there were two Ban Sheng class experts hidden within the Flower Sect. He had not sensed their existences when he had gone to the Flower Sect back then.

“Ha ha, how is it possible to not form a foundation after having existed in the Central Plains for such a long time? An example is old demon Tian Ming from the Profound Sky Sect…” Yao Lao smiled. He was extremely old and had a vast number of friends back then. Hence, he was clearly aware of the old demons hidden within the various sects.

“The Burning Flame Valley is also not as simple as it appears. You only need to remember that the founder of the Burning Flame Valley was once a powerful existence that was not weaker than your ancestor Xiao Xuan… from what I know, the Burning Flame Valley also has an ancestor. This person also possess a high level Ban Sheng strength. I am not certain whether that ancestor has become a Dou Sheng yet. Back then, he was a renowned existence.”

The corner of Xiao Yan’s mouth twitched. At this moment, he finally understood that he had underestimated these factions, which had existed in the Central Plains for many years. How could they be simple if they were able to reach this stage?

“That person from the Burning Flame Valley is somewhat strange. He has not gotten involved in mundane matters for many years. It is not impossible to use some tricks to get him to join the alliance…” Yao Lao smiled and said, “That old fellow once suffered an extremely serious injury that resulted in a sequela, which has existed until now. If we can resolve his trouble, it would not be difficult to get the Burning Flame Valley to join the alliance.”

Xiao Yan slowly nodded after hearing this. Some excitement surfaced in his eyes. The factions they could form an alliance with boasted a strength that far exceeded his expectations. If they were able to form a large alliance with all of them, this alliance would undoubtedly become a super faction within the Central Plains!

“The matter of the alliance must be completed before the Purifying Demon Lotus Flame appears…”

Xiao Yan’s eyes flickered. The Hall of Souls would definitely get involved in the matter related to a mysterious flame like the Purifying Demon Lotus Flame. If the Falling Star Pavilion did possess true capital, how could they fight the Hall of Souls? Just relying on Xiao Yan alone was not enough. A ferocious tiger could not defeat a pack of wolves. Xiao Yan’s ancestor Xiao Xuan had used his personal experience to teach Xiao Yan the validity of that statement. Hence, he needed to settle the matter of the alliance as soon as possible!