Just as Protector Xuan was imagining his beautiful future life, a six-winged figure that he had been "thinking about" appeared in front of the surging black fog.
Seeing Liu Yu suddenly appear in front of him, Protector Xuan was stunned in the black fog, and a trace of panic surged in his heart, but soon, Protector Xuan forced himself to calm down.
"Who are you! How dare you block my way? If the elders of the Soul Palace didn't come to me for something, I would have made you die today! Get out of here!" A hoarse and cold voice came from the swirling black fog, quite harsh.
"Heh!" Liu Yu laughed dumbly. What was he pretending to be with him? It was so funny!
"If you don't get out of here, this Protector will be rude to you!" A somewhat angry voice came from the black fog again, as if if Liu Yu didn't cherish this opportunity, he would really take action.
"Oh? I want to see how rude the Protector is going to be to me." Liu Yu sneered with a playful look in his eyes.
Within the black fog, Guardian Xuan's face grimaced. He had intended to intimidate the man by citing the Soul Palace and the Elder's reputation, but he was unimpressed. It was unclear whether he was unaware of the Soul Palace's terrifying power or simply feigning ignorance.
"Perhaps you possess the strength to dominate the Black Horn Region, but in Zhongzhou, you're nothing! As the foremost power in Zhongzhou, our Soul Palace is far more powerful than you can imagine. Do you truly seek death by becoming an enemy of the Soul Palace?" Guardian Xuan demanded, his voice threatening but weak.
Liu Yu remained silent, chuckling dismissively. "The Soul Palace's strength doesn't matter to a Earth-level Guardian like you. In these desolate mountains, I could kill you, and who would know?"
"Do you really think I'm afraid of you? Since you seek death, I'll grant your wish!" Faced with Liu Yu's repeated provocations, Guardian Xuan's face darkened with ferocity. He glared at him fiercely, his voice hoarse and filled with madness.
Guardian Xuan quickly withdrew a ball of black mist from within his black robe. Within the mist, a startling soul surge emanated.
Liu Yu, naturally sensing Guardian Xuan's actions, was delighted by the soul surges within the black mist. With Guardian Xuan's soul form, he now had the soul needed to refine the Heavenly Demon Puppet!
Just as Guardian Xuan formed hand seals, preparing for the next step, Liu Yu forcibly interrupted the spell. A vast soul force surged forward, and an invisible, condensed hand grasped Guardian Xuan. The strange power emanating from the hand caused Guardian Xuan to lose consciousness before he could even utter a cry.
Liu Yu then suppressed Guardian Xuan and the vast soul force into his spiritual realm.
...
In Black Seal City, after the blood cloud dissipated, Tie Wu led his group back to Yuge. After clearing out the Black Emperor Sect and the Devil Flame Valley, Yun Yun and his group also returned to Yuge.
Afterward, Tiewu reported the entire incident truthfully. Yun Yun did not pursue the matter, but instead issued a series of orders that shocked the Yuge. She summoned Yuge branches from Luosha City and other cities, and she, along with the First Elder and Second Elder, led the charge to annex Fengcheng, the Black Emperor Sect, and the Demon Flame Valley.
...
Deep within Yuge, in a lush forest, a rich purple light shone. Within that purple light, a massive purple
cocoon, several feet wide, shone. The purple light flickered on and off, rhythmically beating like a heart. Simultaneously, energy was continuously drawn into the cocoon from within the dense forest and above.
At that moment, as space in the dense forest trembled, Liuyu emerged from the void, his gaze fixed on the purple cocoon before him.
A few days before his Dou Zong breakthrough, Ziyan, through constant drug use, had accumulated enough energy to reach the required level. From then on, Ziyan transformed into this cocoon.
Over a month had passed since Zi Yan transformed into a light cocoon, but judging by the aura he sensed, it would take quite some time for Zi Yan to successfully advance.
As if sensing Liu Yu's arrival, the light cocoon grew brighter.
Liu Yu chuckled at the change, shook his head, and began to review the "unexpected" gains from his advancement to Dou Zong.
First up was the Earth Demon Old Ghost's storage ring. Besides the four rustic wooden boxes he had already taken out, there were also other treasures from the storeroom, including techniques and fighting skills, rare medicinal herbs. Among those herbs were some needed to refine seventh-grade elixirs, and even a whole batch of ingredients for a Transformation Pill. Someone must be desperately in need of it...
Next was Han Feng. He had quite a few treasures, including a high-level storage ring—the Dark Sea Storage Ring. It was a deep blue ring, shimmering with a faint blue glow. Adding the fiery red high-level storage ring he had received from the Earth Demon Old Ghost, he now had two high-level storage rings. These high-level storage rings were incredibly rare, even in a region like the Black Horn Region, where precious black goods circulated, it was difficult to find, let alone own. For example, the Black Emperor Sect's leader, Mo Tianxing, didn't even own a high-level storage ring.
The Dark Sea Storage Ring contained a rich collection. The various techniques and fighting skills scrolls were secondary. What pleased Liu Yu most was the numerous medicinal herbs that were extremely rare in the outside world.
"The Golden Belt of Murder and Arson"! The ancients were not deceived! Liu Yu's lips curled up slightly. His current wealth barely matched the status of a "fake" seventh-grade alchemist and a "real" eighth-grade alchemist.
Then, Liu Yu drew a deep blue flame from Han Feng's corpse. Watching the restless flame before him, an icy blue flame emerged from his hand, enveloping it...
...
Day after day, spring passed, autumn came, and before he knew it, a year had passed.
During this year, the Black Horn Region was shaken. The two dominant factions, the Demon Flame Valley and the Black Emperor Sect, were destroyed. The renowned Maple City changed hands, and many top-tier forces disappeared.
What did this mean? Dou Zong-level powerhouses like Earth Demon Old Ghost and Mo Tianxing, Medicine Emperor Han Feng, and many of the ten strongest individuals on the Black List were most likely dead. Therefore, their power and territory had been completely taken over by Yu Pavilion!
For a time, Yuge's prestige reached its peak, becoming the undisputed sole dominant force in the Black Horn Region. Canaan Academy was even discussed as a subordinate power within the Yuge.
While Yuge didn't explicitly declare its authority over the entire Black Horn Region, everyone in the region tacitly acknowledged its unification and de facto control.
However, Yuge's "unification" didn't alter the Black Horn Region. It remained the continent's most chaotic region, maintaining its original character. Only by maintaining this state could the continuous influx of "illegal" actors continue, allowing Yuge to maximize its profits. ...
Now
, after gradually absorbing and digesting the major forces within the Black Horn Region and monopolizing its resources, Yuge's power has begun to expand.
Among the Dou Zong masters were Liu Yu, the chief and second elders of the Snake People, and the guest elder, Old Man Yingshan. Dou Huang-level figures included Yun Yun, Yuan Yi, Su Mei, Tie Wu, Old Man Yin Gu, and Hei Tian. As for Dou Wang, their number was innumerable. The original deacons of Yu Pavilion, combined with those recruited from across the Black Horn Region, totaled nearly a hundred, a truly astonishing number!
At that moment, within a dense forest at Yu Pavilion headquarters, the vast energy vortex slowly swirling in the sky suddenly began to grind to a halt. Then, a torrential downpour of energy erupted, transforming into a massive stream of energy like a mountain torrent, plunging directly into the shimmering purple cocoon.
This unpredictable movement caused Liu Yu, who was sitting cross-legged on a lotus pedestal beside the cocoon, to slowly open his eyes.
Was he about to break free? Liu Yu muttered. For the past year, besides refining pills, he'd practiced in this dense forest. Because this light cocoon constantly gathered the energy of heaven and earth, the environment for practicing here was far superior to other places.
Of course, he wasn't taking advantage of Zi Yan for nothing. When the energy vortex appeared, he sealed off the entire dense forest, thus avoiding some unnecessary trouble.