The sudden laughter caused the interior of the hall to become dull. An instant later, all the gazes within the large hall suddenly shifted to the entryway. Sunlight scattered down from the sky at that spot as a skinny figure slowly appeared in everyone’s eyes.

“Xiao Yan!”

Feng zun-zhe, Ancestor Huo Yun, and the others within the large hall trembled the moment that figure appeared. Their faces were filled with disbelief. A startled cry was involuntarily emitted from their mouths.

“Xiao Yan? He is the direct disciple of the alliance chief?”

Due to the growth of the Sky Mansion, some upper echelons currently seated within this hall possessed a blurry impression of Xiao Yan’s face. Although his appearance was indistinct, they were all clearly aware of just what kind of a position Xiao Yan held within the Sky Mansion. If Yao Lao was described as the chief of the Sky Mansion Alliance, Xiao Yan was the spiritual leader of the Sky Mansion...

“Bang!”

Yao Lao mouth slightly opened. His eyes stared intently at the figure that was slowly walking in. The vast and mighty Dou Qi within his body erupted due to the fluctuation in his heart, rendering the chair he was seated on into dust. However, he completely ignored this. He trembled as he stood up while his eyes actually became a little moist. He had constantly worried about Xiao Yan for these past two years. He had never had a wife nor a child in his life. Xiao Yan was the person closest to him. If he had known that leaving the demonic flame realm back then would have forced him to tolerate this wait that pained his heart, he would not even hesitate to remain behind...

The other upper echelons of the Sky Mansion felt somewhat startled in their hearts after seeing Yao Lao. Over the years, Yao Lao had only displayed an ancient well-like calmness. Even while facing a giant being like the Hall of Souls, Yao Lao did not reveal the slightest emotional fluctuation. This emotional outburst was the first time they had not seen him calm after all these years.

Xiao Yan’s body swayed gently in front of the many pairs of eyes in the large hall. After which, he appeared in front of Yao Lao. He looked at the old man, who was so excited that his tears were beginning to fall. An apology rose within Xiao Yan’s heart. His two-year absence had caused Yao Lao to worry.

“Teacher, I am back...”

Some emotions surged within their both of their hearts as the teacher and disciple met. Finally, a soft voice was emitted that caused one to feel extremely emotional.

“Ha ha, it is good that you are back. It is good that you are back...”

Yao Lao wiped away his tears. That old face, which had been tense for the last two years, finally revealed a smile. His shriveled hand continued to pat Xiao Yan’s shoulder while he repeated the same words over and over again.

“Ha ha, old Yao, I have said many times that this little fellow would not experience such a short life. Do you believe me now?” Ancestor Huo Yun laughed. He exhaled deeply after seeing that Xiao Yan had successfully returned

This little fellow seemed to possess a demonic strength that calmed one’s heart. His heart, which had been suffering under the pressure of the Hall of Souls, immediately relaxed the moment he saw Xiao Yan.

“Ha ha, junior alliance chief is really timely. You are able to help relieve some of the pressure the alliance is dealing with by coming out of your retreat. If the both of us join hands, we should be able to hold back the chief of the Hall of Souls.” The First Elder from the Small Pill Tower laughed out of joy.

“Given his current strength, it should not be a problem for him to deal with the chief of the Hall of Souls alone.” Xiao Chen, who was seated in a corner faintly laughed faintly and made a statement after the First Elder’s words sounded.

The First Elder, Yao Lao, and the others were startled upon hearing these words. Their eyes scanned Xiao Yan with some shock. Xiao Chen was the strongest person present. Since he had uttered these words, no one here would doubt him.

“You... you have refined the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame?” Yao Lao was the fastest to react. He was startled for a moment before he involuntarily exclaimed.

“By luck...” Xiao Yan grinned.

“This... this little fellow...”

Ancestor Huo Yun and the rest inhaled a breath of cool air after hearing that Xiao Yan did not deny this claim. They exchanged glances with each other and were able to see the shock in each other’s eyes. Most of them had entered the demonic flame realm and clearly understood just how frightening the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame was. It was a frightening existence that even the ancestor of the Pill Tower was unable to gain the upper hand against. They had all thought that Xiao Yan had been extremely lucky to successfully escape from the demonic flame realm. Honestly speaking, none of them had even thought about the matter of subduing the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame when Xiao Yan had appeared earlier.

This was because the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame was far too terrifying. There was no lack of experts far stronger than Xiao Yan who had attempted to subdue it over these thousands of years. However, all of them had returned in failure without exception.

“Good, ha ha, good!”

Yao Lao recovered after his initial shock. His old face was filled with joy that could not be hidden. In the eyes of many alchemists, a Heavenly Flame like the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame was a divine object that they could not hope to reach. No one had subdued that flame since the Purifying Demonic Lotus Saint had subdued it back then, yet Xiao Yan had created another miracle. With the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, Yao Lao did not doubt that Xiao Yan would be able to fight the chief of the Hall of Souls alone without being defeated!

“With the junior alliance chief’s help, we should be able to deal with this attack from the Hall of Souls. This is really a joyous matter.” The First Elder laughed. It was extremely good that Xiao Yan would be able to deal with the chief of the Hall of Souls alone. In this way, he would be able to free the First Elder’s hands and greatly reduce the pressure the alliance faced.

“Ha ha, junior alliance chief is a blessing to the alliance.”

The many members of the upper echelons within the hall hurriedly laughed and respectfully cried out. Although their words carried some weight within the alliance, they clearly understood in their hearts that there was an unmeasurable gap between them and Xiao Yan’s current status. The Sky Mansion Alliance was something that Xiao Yan had established. He had spent a lot of effort creating it. Although Yao Lao was the alliance chief, some of the true core members, like Ancestor Huo Yun, understood that Yao Lao was merely helping Xiao Yan manage this incomparably large faction. The entire alliance actually belonged to one person and that person was Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan did not show a cold and indifferent expression when he saw these somewhat foreign faces fill with warmth and respect. He smiled chatted with everyone, causing many of the usually arrogant individuals to feel flattered.

“Ha ha, the matter today shall end here. Everyone, please return and organize yourselves. Observe every action of the Hall of Souls. Since they are planning to engage in a decisive battle with us, we will use reality to show them that the current alliance is not the least bit afraid of the Hall of Souls!”

“Understood!”

Everyone felt their blood boil within their hearts as Yao Lao passionately cried out about receiving this battle. There had been far too many conflicts between the two factions during the last two years. The differences between the two were growing, and they could no longer ruthlessly fight each other. This matched what many people were thinking in their hearts since this decisive battle would truly determine the overlord of the Central Plains!

This coming fight between an old faction, the Hall of Souls, and a newly-risen alliance, the Sky Mansion Alliance, will send the Central Plains into an uproar!

...

After the end of the meeting in the hall, Xiao Yan chatted with the excited Yao Lao about some of the big and small matters that had occurred within the Sky Mansion during these years. After that chat, he returned to his quiet courtyard, a place he had not been in for two years.

“Daddy!”

A familiar cry full of joy immediately sounded after Xiao Yan entered the courtyard. A smiling figure quickly shot toward him from afar, making an arc in the air.

“Ha ha, this little girl has grown quite a lot...”

Xiao Yan smiled as he extended his hand and firmly embraced that delicate figure. Xiao Xiao quickly revealed her happy and tender face, causing his heart to involuntarily fill with a warmth. This was his home. Regardless of the danger he experienced, he would be able to swiftly expel the fatigue in his heart after coming home.

“She has been waiting patiently after hearing that you had returned...” A warm and gentle voice appeared in front of Xiao Yan while he was lovingly hugging Xiao Xiao. Xiao Yan lifted his head and saw the Little Fairy Doctor wearing a formal robe. She was looking at him with a smile. She radiated more warmth than she had two years ago. The gentleness that she emanated seeped into one’s heart, causing one to feel an addiction bloom.

“You have become a Dou Sheng?” Xiao Yan continued to hug Xiao Xiao as looked at the Little Fairy Doctor and asked with a smile. With his eyesight, he was naturally able to sense her one star Dou Sheng strength. She had already broken through that barrier within two years, leaping passed the Ban Sheng class to reach the first star of the Dou Sheng class. This speed was quite impressive.

“It is all thanks to that drop of Demonic Saint Essence Blood...” The Little Fairy Doctor grinned. She caught sight of Xiao Yan’s sweeping eyes and involuntarily laughed, “Cai Lin has not come out ever since she entered that Nine Serene Spring back then. However, you need not be worried. Qing Lin and I head to the territory of the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe every once in awhile. She should have met a lucky encounter at the bottom of the spring. We can sense her aura, but we are unable to enter the bottom of the spring...”

Xiao Yan’s expression involuntarily changed upon hearing this news. If one counted the time, did it not mean that Cai Lin had stayed at the bottom of the spring for almost three years? He had also been near the bottom of the spring, but he had had not sensed anything amiss...

“Could she be in the even deeper region?”

Xiao Yan frowned. The Nine Serene Spring was connected to the depths of the earth. The dark and cold force at those depths were places that caused even him to be afraid. If she really experienced a lucky encounter, he could only think of that region. As a Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, remaining in contact with that extremely dark energy might indeed be a lucky encounter.

“Looks like I will need to hurry to the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python tribe after resolving the matters of the alliance...”

Xiao Yan shook his head. He temporarily suppressed the worry in his heart. Currently, the most important thing was to resolve the Hall of Souls’ trouble!