159: Chapter 159 Enemy Attack! The Soul Palace's Covetousness

"Jie jie jie..."

That eerie, piercing laughter, like a rusted saw blade rubbing against bone, carried a tooth-aching chill that instantly penetrated the Dan Tower's mountain-protecting array and exploded in the ears of every Alchemist.

Dan City, which had been in shock due to the birth of the Divine Pill, instantly fell into an ice cellar.

The purple-black tribulation clouds filling the sky had just dissipated, only to be replaced by an even thicker, foul-smelling black mist. Within the rolling black mist, countless pitch-black chains wove through like venomous snakes, making a "clatter clatter" death-knell sound.

Dozens of figures wrapped in black robes stepped through the void, forming an encirclement as they looked down upon the Dan Tower from above.

Each of them exuded a thick aura of blood-red baleful energy, with even the weakest being at the early stage of the Saint Realm. The leader, however, had an aura as deep as an abyss or a prison; just by standing there, the surrounding space cracked inch by inch, unable to withstand his pressure.

"Soul Hall..."

On the top floor of the Dan Tower, the Great Elder's face was deathly pale, his cloudy old eyes filled with terror.

As a veteran powerhouse of the Central Plains, he knew the origins of this group of lunatics all too well.

The Soul Hall was the most mysterious and evil power in the Central Plains. They specialized in hunting powerful soul bodies and scouring the world for rare treasures, acting with ruthless cruelty and leaving nothing alive in their wake.

"Damn it! How did they get here so fast?!"

"Could it be because the phenomenon from the pill tribulation just now was too great?"

Several Supreme Elders instantly gathered together, desperately pouring spiritual power into the tower's protective array, attempting to resist the terrifying pressure that was about to crush the Dan Tower.

"Great Elder, I hope you've been well."

From within the black mist, the leading black-robed man slowly drifted down. He didn't show his face; only two clusters of eerie green ghost fire flickered beneath his hood, his voice hoarse and mocking.

"This seat is the Vice Hall Master of the Soul Hall, Soul Fiend."

"Passing through your precious land today, I sensed the birth of a heaven-defying divine object. It just so happens that our Hall Master has recently reached a critical moment in his cultivation and urgently needs a Divine Pill to break through."

Soul Fiend's ghost-fire-like eyes greedily locked onto the direction of the Medicine Spirit Abyss through the layers of the array.

"Hand over the Nine Revolutions Replenishing Heaven Pill and the kid who triggered the lightning tribulation just now. Perhaps this seat might consider... leaving your Dan Tower with an intact corpse."

"Presumptuous!"

The Great Elder's beard trembled with rage as he roared:

"Soul Fiend! This is the Dan Domain! This is the territory of my Dan Tower! To rob us so blatantly, are you not afraid of inciting public outrage in the Central Plains?!"

"Public outrage? Jie jie jie..."

Soul Fiend laughed as if he had heard the world's greatest joke, his black robes shaking.

"Old thing, are you still dreaming? In today's Central Plains, might makes right. Your Dan Tower has been in decline for years; you don't even have an Emperor-tier Alchemist. Guarding such a large estate is an original sin!"

At this point, his gaze turned cold, and the black mist around him suddenly surged.

"Since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame this seat for showing no mercy."

"Elders, hear my command! Break this turtle shell for me! I want the pills, I want the Heavenly Flames, and as for the souls of all the Alchemists... take them all!"

"Yes!"

Dozens of Soul Hall powerhouses shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Countless pitch-black chains carrying baleful energy that could corrode souls struck the Dan Tower's defensive light barrier frantically like a black rainstorm.

*Crack...*

Although the Dan Tower's mountain-protecting array was sturdy, under such dense Saint-tier attacks, it instantly cracked with countless fissures.

On the plaza below, countless young Alchemists turned pale with fear, some even collapsing directly onto the ground.

Despair spread throughout Dan City.

...

Inside the Medicine Spirit Abyss.

Although the commotion outside was great, Xu Chen remained as calm as a light breeze.

He even had the leisure to tidy up Xiao Yu's slightly messy collar.

"Husband..."

Looking at the dense crowd of black-robed men in the sky, a trace of panic flashed across Liu Hanyan's usually composed face.

"It's the Vice Hall Master of the Soul Hall, a peak Saint Realm powerhouse! And he brought thirty-six Soul Hall Venerable Elders. This is a premeditated hunt!"

"The Dan Tower's current combat power can't stop them at all. Husband, take the Divine Pill and Xiao Yu and leave through the secret passage. I will use the Tower Master Token to detonate the Medicine Spirit Abyss's ley lines; perhaps I can stall them for a moment..."

Liu Hanyan's voice was trembling, but her gaze was exceptionally firm.

She was the Master of the Dan Tower; at a time like this, she had to stand up. Moreover, she knew better than anyone what that pill in Xu Chen's hand meant.

That was the life-saving medicine Xu Chen had risked his life to refine for his pregnant, dying wife, Jiang Liuli.

There must be no mistakes.

"Leave?"

Xu Chen gave a light chuckle and pulled back Liu Hanyan, who was about to rush out and fight for her life, pulling her into his arms instead.

"I say, Hanyan, do you have some misunderstanding about me?"

"We just established our relationship, and you want me to be a deserter? If this gets back to the Imperial Clan, my old man would probably use the sole of his shoe to beat my face until it's swollen."

"But..."

"There are no 'buts'."

Xu Chen interrupted her, his gaze piercing through the void as he looked coldly at the overbearing Soul Fiend.

"A mere pack of rats who can't stand the light dare to come and snatch my things?"

"This Nine Revolutions Replenishing Heaven Pill is my wife Jiang Liuli's life-saving straw. She and the child in her womb are waiting for me to return."

"The Heavenly Flame in this Medicine Spirit Abyss is my wife's dowry."

"Even you two great beauties are my, Xu Chen's, private property."

Xu Chen let go of her hand and cracked his neck, making a "clack-clack" sound.

"Touching my pills, snatching my women."

"None of these rats will leave here alive today."

Just then.

Rumble—!

A loud explosion came from outside.

The Dan Tower's struggling defensive array finally shattered completely under the Soul Hall's frantic bombardment.

Countless energy fragments scattered like fireworks.

"Jie jie jie! It's broken! Kill them for this seat!"

Soul Fiend laughed wildly, his figure moving like lightning. Ignoring the panicked ordinary elders, he transformed into a streak of black lightning and headed straight for the Medicine Spirit Abyss.

His goal was clear.

The Divine Pill! The Heavenly Flame! And that mysterious monster who underwent the tribulation!

"Kid! No matter who you are, hand over the pill in your hand!"

Before Soul Fiend's voice even arrived, a hundred-zhang Ghost Hand condensed from black mist, carrying a suffocating stench, had already clawed fiercely toward the entrance of the Medicine Spirit Abyss.

On that Ghost Hand, vengeful spirits swirled, and everywhere it passed, even the space was corroded with a sizzling sound.

"Watch out!"

Xiao Yu cried out in alarm, subconsciously about to manifest the Three Thousand Blazing Flames she had just subdued.

"Step back."

Xu Chen calmly uttered two words.

Then, he took a step forward.

With just one step, he crossed through space from the depths of the Medicine Spirit Abyss and appeared directly in front of that terrifying Ghost Hand.

Facing the strike that was enough to crush a mountain.

He simply raised his head, a fierce light flashing in his deep eyes.

"Since you've come, leave your lives behind to serve as fertilizer."