105: Danta was furious and went into seclusion to practice

Above the Prodigy Platform, the atmosphere was frozen solid. The projections of the Pill Tower's Three Giants confronted the Ninth Heavenly Venerable's true body from the Soul Hall. Vast soul pressure clashed intensely with icy, deathly aura, twisting space and making it groan under the strain. Below, all forces were silent as cicadas in winter, no one daring to intervene in the conflict between these two behemoths.

"Xuan Kongzi! Is your Pill Tower truly going to war with my Soul Hall for a remnant of the Xiao Clan?!" The Ninth Heavenly Venerable's voice was hoarse, filled with monstrous rage. Deathly aura surged around him, and faintly, countless 怨魂 wailed.

Xuan Kongzi's phantom had a stern expression, starlight swirling around him, and his tone was decisive: "Soul Annihilation Life's skill was inferior, and his demise in the secret realm was his own doing! Since Xiao Chen has joined my Pill Tower, he is a disciple of my Pill Tower! Whoever dares to touch him is an enemy of my Pill Tower! Ninth Heavenly Venerable, if you wish to ignite a war between our two halls, my Pill Tower... will accompany you to the very end!"

"Good! Good! Good!" The Ninth Heavenly Venerable laughed in extreme anger, repeating "good" three times. His crimson eyes stared intently at Xiao Chen, who was protected behind the Pill Tower's people, "Little bastard, you're lucky to be alive! But this matter will not end here! My Soul Hall will surely take your life, extract your soul, and ensure you can never reincarnate!"

Having delivered a harsh threat, the Ninth Heavenly Venerable knew that confronting the Pill Tower's Three Giants here would not yield any benefits. He let out a cold snort, swept his sleeve, and, taking the remaining Soul Hall members with him, tore through space and instantly vanished. Yet, that icy killing intent, like a maggot clinging to bone, permeated the air, lingering for a long time.

With the Soul Hall's retreat, the tense atmosphere eased slightly, but everyone's mood remained incredibly heavy. The fall of the Young Hall Master of the Soul Hall was absolutely a world-shattering event! It was foreseeable that the Soul Hall would unleash a 瘋狂 retaliation! The Northern Region of the Central Plains, and even the entire Central Plains, would usher in a bloody storm!

"Xiao Chen, how are you?" Xuan Kongzi's projection turned, looking at Xiao Chen with concern. Han Yue, Ye Chong, and others also gathered around.

Xiao Chen had consumed a life-generating fortune pill, and his injuries had largely stabilized, but his face was still pale. He forced himself to stand, bowing to Xuan Kongzi, "Thank you, teacher and all elders, for saving me. This disciple is fine."

"It's good that you're alright." Xuan Kongzi's phantom nodded slightly, his eyes filled with both relief and solemnity, "Your performance in the secret realm this time far exceeded our expectations. But fortune and misfortune are intertwined; by slaying Soul Annihilation Life, you have incurred an irreconcilable enmity with the Soul Hall. Next, you must quickly improve your strength; the Soul Hall's retaliation will not wait too long."

"This disciple understands." Xiao Chen's gaze was firm. He had long anticipated this day.

"Let's return to the Pill Tower first." Xuan Kongzi waved his sleeve, and a vast soul power enveloped the Pill Tower's people, creating a temporary spatial passage.

A moment later, everyone passed through the spatial passage and safely returned to the Inner Pavilion of the Pill Tower in the Pill Domain.

Upon returning to the Pill Tower, Xiao Chen was immediately arranged into the highest-level seclusion chamber. Xuan Kongzi personally set up multiple restrictions around the chamber, isolating it from all prying eyes. At the same time, the Pill Tower announced to the outside world that due to the changes in the Prodigy Grand Assembly, the Pill Domain would be temporarily sealed and enter a state of highest alert, strictly guarding against retaliation from the Soul Hall.

Inside the secret chamber, Xiao Chen sat cross-legged, clearing his mind, and began to fully heal his injuries and digest the immense gains from his journey into the secret realm.

The medicinal power of the life-generating fortune pill was indeed miraculous. It not only rapidly healed his physical wounds but also thoroughly purified the Soul Hall's deathly aura that had invaded his body. In just one day, his injuries were completely healed, and his condition returned to its peak.

Next, came the most important part: consolidation and improvement.

He first immersed his mind in his Sea of Consciousness, carefully comprehending the complete Nine Axes of Heaven Opening inheritance. He had a preliminary grasp of the first four forms: River Severing, Sea Splitting, Splitting Sky, and Meteor Fall, but there was still a gap before he could fully master them and unleash their true power. He practiced the axe techniques repeatedly in his Sea of Consciousness, combining his combat experience with the skeleton guards and Soul Annihilation Life, continuously deepening his understanding. Especially the fifth form, Void Breaking, which involved the rudiments of spatial laws, was exceptionally profound, and he needed more time to ponder it.

At the same time, he circulated the Myriad Souls Returning Flow Art and the Soul Emperor Canon, absorbing and refining the remaining Sacred Spirit Pool energy within his body. This energy was incredibly pure, a great nourishment for his soul origin. Although his soul realm, Spirit Realm Great Perfection, had not broken through, its essence became more condensed and pure, and his soul power grew more vigorous and vast. He also began his preliminary cultivation of the Heaven-rank high-grade soul defense Dou Technique, Indestructible Soul Armor, condensing a thin but tough soul armor around the periphery of his Sea of Consciousness, greatly increasing his defense.

The biggest change, however, came from the complete awakening of his bloodline. The awakening of the Xiao Clan's direct bloodline brought his perception and affinity for the energy of heaven and earth to a terrifying level. During cultivation, the pores all over his body opened autonomously, greedily devouring the dense energy in the secret chamber, and his cultivation speed far surpassed before. He felt that the barrier of Eight-star Dou Zong mid-stage had loosened, and breaking through to the late-stage and even peak was only a matter of time.

Furthermore, the cluster of life-containing Sacred Spirit light he obtained from the altar, upon careful investigation, was not a complete ninth-grade medicinal pill, but rather the embryonic form of a ninth-grade medicinal pill—the pill embryo of a life-generating fortune pill! Although this item could not be directly consumed, the trace of creation power contained within it held immeasurable benefits for his comprehension of the "creation and new life" artistic conception within the Heaven Opening Axe Intent. He placed the pill embryo in his Qi Sea to nourish it, slowly nurturing it with his own Dou Qi and soul power, anticipating its complete formation one day.

Time flew by rapidly during his seclusion. Outside, the storm ignited by the outcome of the Prodigy Grand Assembly was furiously brewing.

The news that the Young Hall Master of the Soul Hall, Soul Annihilation Life, had been slain by the Pill Tower disciple Xiao Chen, spread like a plague throughout the entire Central Plains! The world was in an uproar! The Soul Hall was furious, and the elites of its various sub-halls in the Northern Region of the Central Plains were dispatched, searching everywhere for Xiao Chen's whereabouts, and multiple conflicts erupted with the Pill Tower's affiliated forces, filling the air with the smoke of battle. The Pill Tower responded forcefully, uniting with allies such as the Starfall Pavilion and the Sound Valley, forming a standoff with the Soul Hall. The situation in the Central Plains was turbulent, with undercurrents surging, and a major war was on the verge of breaking out!

And at the center of all this storm—Xiao Chen—was in the safest secret chamber of the Pill Tower, single-mindedly improving his strength. He knew that the calm was temporary. When he emerged from seclusion, he would face even more frantic retaliation from the Soul Hall and even more severe challenges.

He had to become stronger! Strong enough to deal with all crises! Strong enough to protect everything he wanted to protect! Strong enough... to uncover the ultimate secret of his transmigration and the Xiao Clan!

"Soul Hall... Ancient Eight Clans... Origin Qi... Dou Emperor..." Xiao Chen opened his eyes, dark golden axe light swirling within them, and an unprecedented determination and yearning burned in his heart.

"Next time, I won't be in such a sorry state!"

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes again, and immersed himself in a deeper level of cultivation. Inside the secret chamber, energy roared, and axe intent faintly appeared.