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--- Chapter 205 ---
Four people discussed in the Pill Tower's private lobby.
"Hall of Souls is indeed a dangerous faction. They are too mysterious, and I believe one of the Ancient Clans is behind it." Baek Ain dropped a fact bomb.
"What? That's impossible, Brother Lin. Ancient Clans always monitored each other!" Yao Dan was in disbelief.
Gu Yuan and Huo Ling also felt this was absurd.
Baek Ain sat on his chair carefreely and said, "Do you want proof? I can easily prove my words."
With a finger snap, spiritual energy burst out from Baek Ain and projected an image to everyone at the table. The three elders squinted their eyes as a middle-aged man in a black robe entered their vision.
Those facial features, especially the extreme paleness and faint red lines on the skin, allowed them to identify this person's background.
After all, only one Ancient Clan has such traits.
"This is... A Hun Clan's member?" Huo Ling said with uncertainty.
"His name is Hun Lie Shan, Hall of Souls' Worship and Hun Clan's Penal Elder." Baek Ain answered casually.
"He was the black-robed elder that led the Hall of Souls' group to the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree."
He glanced at Gu Yuan and added, "He also harassed Xun'er before I saved her."
"Hoh, he dares to touch my daughter..." Gu Yuan's Dou Qi aura becomes unbearably cold.
"Don't worry, Hun Lie Shan faced a fate worse than death when facing me. I crushed his soul to dust." Baek Ain chuckled. "A scum from Hall of Souls and Hun Clan deserve such treatment."
"Good!" Gu Yuan calmed down. He was also satisfied by Baek Ain's cruelty toward his enemy.
Baek Ain smiled and continued calmly, "I don't know how long the Hun Clan started their ploys, but the Hall of Souls' influence has covered nearly all corners of the Dou Qi Continent."
"However... From the Hall of Souls' actions all this time, you should be able to tell they have a big ambition. They collected 'Strong Souls' like no tomorrow through manipulation, deception, and bad deeds. I couldn't even count them."
"Just what kind of thing did they want by achieving this?" The three elders muttered to themselves.
Baek Ain shook his head and cited playfully, "If I were the Ancient Clan with deep history, what could possibly be more attractive than an Ancient Legacy? Think about it."
"Dou Di's Legacy!" Yao Dan was the first one to connect the dots.
"No, they must be after Tou She Ancient God's Legacy." Gu Yuan fixed Yao Dan's words.
He sighed wryly, "It's not just Hun Clan. Gu Clan also had the same goal originally. But it was such a failure."
"Ah, you did mention that the boy who shamed your Gu Clan was from the fallen Ancient Xiao Clan..." Yao Dan realized Gu Yuan's irritation.
Huo Ling giggled and responded, "At the very least, the boy is now gone, and you can fix the mess he left."
"But if we are talking about the Tou She Ancient God's Legacy, then you must want the Tou She Ancient God's Jade from him, right?"
"Yes, very much so. But I hurt my daughter in return..." Gu Yuan rubbed his temple.
"Aih, that's rough." Huo Ling commented on the side.
"Okay, you can be empathetic, but don't rub it on me." Gu Yuan glared at Huo Ling.
"Hehe, my bad." Huo Ling covered her mouth and laughed apologetically.
Baek Ain noticed the flow of the conversation finally went in the right direction, "One of the Hall of Souls' Goals is to get their hands on the Tou She Ancient God's Jades, which is the key to the Tou She Ancient Gos's Mansion. Fortunately, the key split into eight equal pieces and was possessed by the Eight Ancient Clans."
"They are accumulating power to attack the Ancient Clans right now."
"I've dealt quite a bit of damage to the Hall of Souls recently, but that's not enough... We must attack them more aggressively before they can recover and continue their plan."
"Let's wipe them completely."
Baek Ain indirectly told them to hurry up, or else the Hall of Souls would catch the Ancient Clans off guard and wipe them one after another.
"Okay, let's do this." Gu Yuan clenched his hand and answered firmly. "I will contact the rest of Ancient Clans immediately."
"I will also notify the Yan Clan's Patriarch right away." Huo Ling followed.
"Hehe, Yao Clan is ready anytime." Yao Dan laughed in anticipation. "We will supply the necessary pills."
Baek Ain is secretly happy because this will fasten his own plan. At the moment, his parasites only controlled the Four Ancient Clans.
As much as he wanted to leave some of the Hun Clan's members for his research, it was impossible because the Main Quest stated he must kill them.
Baek Ain sipped his tea and placed the cup down, "Okay, here is the plan."
"I believe the Eight Ancient Clans will hold an event to enter Heavenly Tomb soon, right?"
'That's right. We nearly forgot about this.' The three elders' eyes widened.
But how did Baek Ain know this?
Baek Ain waved his hand casually and dismissed their curiosity, "The heiress of your clans wasn't particularly tight-lipped when it came to information."
"When they entered this bored state, they always spout one or two secrets about their Ancient Clans."
"..." The three elders' mouths twitched in disbelief.
Baek Ain looked at the elders and stated, "The Hall of Souls sought after 'Strong Souls' all over the Dou Qi Continent. The Heavenly Tomb is 'extremely' attractive to them, and we will trap them with it."
"Father-in-law, we need your full support because the Heavenly Tomb is within your Gu Clan's Sacred Mountain Range."
"You don't have to call me Father-in-law frequently... It makes me feel uncomfortable." Gu Yuan weirdly replied.
"Really?" Baek Ain was puzzled.
"Very..."
"But you didn't mind me calling you Father-in-law earlier?"
Gu Yuan gave him a complicated look, "That's for the sake of formality."
"I was trying to test your feelings for Xun'er."
"Your position is not any lower than mine. Besides you, is there any 10th Tier Alchemists on the Dou Qi Continent?"
"Just call me Senior Yuan from now on." He added strongly.
"Well, okay..." Baek Ain scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Gu Yuan laughed inwardly after hearing Baek Ain's answer and replied to the previous topic, "For the sake of the Dou Qi Continent's peace, I will try my best to support this plan."
"The Heavenly Tomb might get destroyed in the process." Baek Ain commented lightly.
"So be it." Gu Yuan's response is fast and straightforward. Such a decisive man is worthy of Gu Clan's Patriarch Position.
"That's one..." Baek Ain nodded.
"Our next step is to bait the Hall of Souls and Hun Clan."
"Inviting the Hun Clan shouldn't be a problem, but we can't say the same for the Hall of Souls. We have to destroy them separately, it seems..."
"The Hall of Souls still has a few branches left. Given their current condition, they need a new flow of resources and young blood."
"Is there any area with a rich concentration of Soul, Blood, and Dark Energy in the Dou Qi Continent?"
"If we are talking about those two topics... There are three locations." Huo Ling rubbed her chin.
"Oh? Do tell us, Elder Huo Ling."
Huo Ling pondered and opened her mouth, "Valley of Death, Land of Blood and Iron, and finally..."
"Evil Spirit Realm."
"Valley of Death is located near our Yan Clan."
"Land of Blood and Iron is a secret realm on the deserted island, west of the Dou Qi Continent."
"As for Evil Spirit Realm..." Huo Ling's expression darkened.
"What's the matter?" Baek Ain questioned.
Huo Ling gazed at Baek Ain in difficulty, "The Evil Spirit Realm is inside the Hun Clan's Realm."
'Well, shit!' Baek Ain cursed in his head.