Chapter 381 The Descent of Demonic Flame

When Shen Wen brought the news of the Shi Clan's destruction to the high-level meeting of the Pill Tower, the atmosphere in the council chamber grew heavy.

Xuan Kongzi sat at one side of the long table, his brow deeply furrowed. Tian Leizi had his arms crossed, his expression also quite grim. Xuan Yi sat between the two of them, her gaze fixed on Shen Wen's face, silent.

Jin Danzi and Old Man Shennong were also present.

Jin Danzi was now a Ninth Grade Golden Pill, and his aura was far more profound than before. He sat beside Shen Wen, a rare look of gravity on his youthful face.

"With the Shi Clan destroyed, the Hun Clan has at least three pieces of the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade," Shen Wen said, leaning back in his chair, his tone calm. "One from the Ling Clan, one from the Shi Clan, plus their own."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Next, it will be either the Medicine Clan, the Yan Clan, or the Lei Clan. One of the three."

Xuan Kongzi tapped his fingers on the table and said in a heavy voice, "The Medicine Clan and the Yan Clan are already on high alert; the two clans are discussing an alliance. As for the Lei Clan... they are still observing."

"Observing?" Tian Leizi snorted coldly. "The Ling Clan is gone, and the Shi Clan is gone too. What are they still observing? Are they waiting for the blade to be at their throats before they react?"

Xuan Yi didn't speak, she just looked at Shen Wen.

Shen Wen picked up his teacup, took a sip, set it down, and turned his gaze toward Jin Danzi and Old Man Shennong. "Revered Masters, for the time being, it's best if you don't leave the Pill Tower."

Jin Danzi raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried that Hun Tiandi will take action personally?"

Shen Wen nodded.

"The Hun Clan is currently focusing its attention on the Emperor Clans, but that doesn't mean they don't have designs on the Pill Tower." He leaned back, his tone indifferent. "Don't be fooled by the fact that they haven't made a move yet; they are certainly waiting for an opportunity."

Old Man Shennong leaned on his cane, a cold glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes. "These old bones of mine aren't so fragile that I'd be scared witless by Hun Tiandi."

"It's not about being scared witless; it's about it being unnecessary." Shen Wen looked at him, his tone becoming a bit more serious. "If anything happens to you two Revered Masters, I will lose two high-level Dou Sheng. Hun Tiandi would love nothing more than for us to scatter our forces so he can pick us off one by one."

Jin Danzi was silent for a moment before nodding. "Fine. I'll stay at the Pill Tower."

Old Man Shennong also nodded and said nothing more.

Shen Wen withdrew his gaze and continued, "The various Emperor Clans are not of one mind. Back then, when the Xiao Clan and the Hun Clan were fighting to the death, not a single one of the other Emperor Clans intervened. Each has its own agenda and its own trump cards, and they are all very confident in those cards."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "I can only hope that the destruction of the Ling and Shi Clans will make those Emperor Clans take things seriously and tie down Hun Tiandi and the Void Swallowing Flame."

Xuan Kongzi looked at him and suddenly asked, "With your current strength, how much of a chance do you have against a Nine-Star Dou Sheng?"

The council chamber fell silent for a moment.

Everyone's eyes were on Shen Wen.

Shen Wen was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't fear them," he said. "But as for killing one, I might still be a bit short."

He didn't make any absolute claims.

Peak Nine-Star Dou Sheng were beings standing at the very top of the Fighting Qi Continent. He was currently a Five-Star Dou Sheng; with his many trump cards, he had more than enough for self-preservation, but to say he could kill one in a direct confrontation, he truly lacked the certainty.

Furthermore, Hun Tiandi still had the Void Swallowing Flame and the Spirit Devouring Life-Extinguishing Array.

If that madman were pushed too far, he wasn't above dragging the living beings of the Central Plains down with him.

"The people of the Hall of Souls have been seen less and less frequently lately," Tian Leizi suddenly spoke, his voice low. "The three Heavenly Gang Halls are also empty. I sent people to investigate, and they couldn't find so much as a hair."

Shen Wen nodded.

"The Hall of Souls was originally just a front for the Hun Clan to draw fire," he said plainly. "The Hun Clan is already doing many things themselves. Otherwise, with the Hall of Souls' strength, how could they have set up so many Spirit Devouring Life-Extinguishing Arrays?"

Xuan Kongzi's brow furrowed tightly. "The Spirit Devouring Life-Extinguishing Arrays... are still being set up?"

Shen Wen glanced at him. "The Gu Clan has been investigating, but they haven't found them all even now. The Hun Clan has put more effort into this than anyone expected."

He stood up, hands behind his back.

"So, there's no use in being anxious. We wait." His gaze swept over everyone. "Wait for those Emperor Clans to truly unite, wait for the Hun Clan to show a weakness, and wait for us to accumulate enough power."

"Until then, protect the Pill Tower, and protect ourselves."

By the time Shen Wen returned to the Shen Residence, it was already evening.

The lights were on in the Flower Hall. Cao Ying was sitting on a soft couch holding Shen Yunlong, Xiao Yi Xian was nearby flipping through a Pill Formula brought back from the Pill Tower, Dan Chen was holding a bowl of soup and sipping it slowly, and Tang Huo'er and Qing Lin were nowhere to be seen.

Seeing him enter, Cao Ying looked up. "Is the meeting over?"

Shen Wen sat down beside her and reached out to take Shen Yunlong. The boy was already over a year old; his dark eyes stared at him as he called out "Daddy" in a milky voice.

Shen Wen pinched his cheek, and the boy grinned, revealing a few tiny teeth.

"It's over." Shen Wen leaned back on the couch, holding Shen Yunlong in his arms. "I've had the two Revered Masters stay at the Pill Tower so they don't run around. There's no telling when that old thing Hun Tiandi might make a move."

Xiao Yi Xian looked up and asked softly, "Is it that serious?"

Shen Wen nodded but didn't explain further.

In the days that followed, he stayed peacefully in the Shen Residence, digesting his own power.

His mid-stage Five-Star Dou Sheng cultivation was being reinforced and settled bit by bit.

On the other hand, the refined remnant power of a Dou Di had benefited him greatly. His Foundation was more solid than before, and the operation of the eight ancestral talismans within his body was becoming more harmonious.

For the time being, he didn't want to concern himself with the shifting winds of the Central Plains.

But news continued to pour in.

First was the Starfall Pavilion.

When that news broke, the entire Central Plains was in an uproar.

The Hall of Souls had set up numerous Formations across the continent, intending to refine living beings and use their Soul power to nourish the Hun Clan.

This news wasn't groundless; it was released personally by the Starfall Pavilion's Venerable Yao, who had just become a Dou Sheng.

Yao Chen.

That Grandmaster Alchemist who had once been hounded by the Hall of Souls until his Physical Body was destroyed and his Soul had to hide for years had now not only restored his body but had also stepped into the Dou Sheng realm.

The news he released naturally carried a different weight.

For a time, the already despised Hall of Souls became like a rat crossing the street.

Throughout the Central Plains, Loose Cultivators and small factions spontaneously organized to besiege the remaining strongholds of the Hall of Souls.

Those factions that had previously colluded with the Hall of Souls scrambled to distance themselves, wishing they could stick a note on their foreheads saying, "I have nothing to do with the Hall of Souls."

But as the news spread, there was also a detail that was repeatedly mentioned.

Though Venerable Yao had become a Dou Sheng, no one called him "Medicine Saint."

It wasn't out of disrespect, but because there was already a brilliant predecessor.

Shen Wen was a Ninth-Grade Alchemist in his early twenties, the Tower Revered Master of the Pill Tower, and the son-in-law of the Void Ancient Dragon.

Although Yao Chen was also a celestial talent, compared to Shen Wen, he was indeed a bit lacking.

As a result, no one had the face to use the title "Medicine Saint."

Shen Wen was sitting in the Flower Hall drinking tea when he heard this news.

Cao Ying handed him a jade talisman; he took it, probed it with his Soul Power, and a moment later, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

"Starfall Pavilion... Yao Chen..." He set down the jade talisman and leaned against the back of his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

Behind this news was the handiwork of the Gu Clan.

Although the Starfall Pavilion wasn't weak, it didn't have the influence to spread news across the entire Central Plains in just a few days.

Only an Emperor Clan could achieve this.

That old fellow Gu Yuan was finally starting to get serious.

Shen Wen took a sip of tea and looked out the window.

Such an action by the Starfall Pavilion was equivalent to a complete break with the Hun Clan.

For Yao Chen to dare to do this, he either had someone backing him or had been pushed to a dead end.

Either way, it showed that the undercurrents between the Emperor Clans were about to surface.

"How are you?" Cao Ying asked softly, seeing him lost in thought.

Shen Wen shook his head and set down his teacup.

"Nothing." He stood up and walked toward the backyard. "The Hun Clan is about to get anxious."

Cao Ying looked at his back, lost in thought.

In the following days, the storm in the Central Plains grew more intense.

The news from the Starfall Pavilion was like a fire, igniting the anger of all factions in the Central Plains against the Hun Clan.

Alchemists who had been persecuted by the Hall of Souls, Loose Cultivators whose friends and family had been taken, and factions that secretly coveted the wealth accumulated by the Hall of Souls all came forward.

The last few strongholds of the Hall of Souls in the Central Plains were uprooted.

But Shen Wen knew that these were just superficial wounds.

The Hall of Souls was merely a facade the Hun Clan used to draw fire.

The true core was the Hun Clan, Hun Tiandi, and the Void Swallowing Flame.

Those uprooted strongholds and the killed experts of the Hall of Souls were merely skin-deep injuries to the Hun Clan.

What truly pained them was the struggle for the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade.

After the Shi Clan's jade fell into the hands of the Hun Clan, the reactions of the Gu, Medicine, Yan, and Lei Clans were much faster than before.

Gu Yuan personally stepped forward to convene a meeting of the four Clan Chiefs.

Shen Wen didn't know the specific details, but from the intelligence Cao Ying summarized daily, the interactions between the four clans had increased several-fold.

The Medicine and Yan Clans had begun setting up defensive Formations around their clan lands, and the Lei Clan was no longer observing, having sent Elders to the Gu Clan to discuss an alliance.

Everything was developing in the direction Shen Wen had anticipated.

The Hun Clan was being tied down.

Although Gu Yuan was indecisive, he wasn't stupid.

The destruction of the Ling and Shi Clans had already sounded the alarm; if he didn't do something, the next to be destroyed might be the Medicine Clan, the Yan Clan, or the Lei Clan.

By then, if the Hun Clan gathered the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor Jade and opened the Ancient Emperor Cave, Hun Tiandi would become a Dou Di.

The Gu Clan's fate would be no better than the Xiao Clan's.

Shen Wen didn't have much interest in these matters.

He only needed to know that Hun Tiandi and the Void Swallowing Flame wouldn't have the time to deal with him in the short term, and that was enough.

He continued to stay in the Shen Residence, refining pills, cultivating, and spending time with his wives and child; his days were peaceful and fulfilling.

Every morning, he would spend two hours in the Pill Tower's herb garden, contemplating the refinement of Ninth Grade Pills.

In the afternoon, he would return to talk with Cao Ying and tease Shen Yunlong, who could already run all over the place.

In the evening, he would practice the Dragon-Phoenix Harmony Scripture with the women.

His cultivation was steadily improving.

The affection levels of the women were also climbing imperceptibly.

It was then that news arrived from the outside: the Purification Lotus Demon Flame had descended.