Profound Heaven Soul Sovereign

"Then what should we do?" Qi Liming said, his voice laced with frustration.

This won’t work, and that won’t work. We can’t just stand by and watch our Ancient Pill Tower get eaten away bit by bit until it’s forced to close, can we?

"Tower Master, I do have an idea. However, it will require us to leverage the power of the faction backing our Ancient Pill Tower."

Master Zhen Li said suddenly after a long moment of contemplation.

Qi Liming immediately asked, "What is it?"

Zhen Li said in a low voice, "The plan is still to set a trap. The Profound Light Pavilion’s expertise with Pills is astounding. Forget our Ancient Pill Tower; I doubt even in the entire Celestial Capital Prefecture there are many who can best them. But just because we can’t touch them on Pills, does that mean we can’t think of other ways? The Profound Light Pavilion doesn’t just sell Pills. I refuse to believe they’re as monstrously skilled in other areas as they are in Alchemy."

"A brilliant idea." Qi Liming’s eyes lit up instantly, and he slapped his thigh hard.

Xi Yichun and Hongde’s eyes also gleamed.

Zhen Li was absolutely right. Because the Ancient Pill Tower was in the Pill business, they had been fixated on trying to ruin the Profound Light Pavilion through Pills. Their inability to do so was what had left them so frustrated.

Now, with Zhen Li’s reminder, they finally had their epiphany. The Ancient Pill Tower might only deal in Pills, but the Profound Light Pavilion didn’t. Their rival was involved in all sorts of businesses, which made them incredibly easy to target.

"A brilliant idea, truly brilliant." An excited expression on his face, Qi Liming paced back and forth in the hall. He finally clapped his hands together forcefully and said, "We need to plan this out carefully. It has to be perfect. We absolutely cannot let them see through it like they did with the Xiuyi Pavilion incident."

That whole affair with Xiuyi Pavilion was a disaster. They tried to get clever and it backfired spectacularly, leaving them with nothing but trouble.

"Don’t worry, Tower Master. This time, we won’t involve outsiders. We’ll handle it ourselves. I refuse to believe the Profound Light Pavilion is invincible."

A sinister smile crept across Zhen Li’s lips as countless wicked ideas bubbled up in his mind.

For a moment, the men of the Ancient Pill Tower were all caught up in a state of excitement.

Of course, Ye Xuan and his people were oblivious to the Ancient Pill Tower’s malicious schemes, focused as they were on slowly developing the Profound Light Pavilion.

More than two months had now passed since the Profound Light Pavilion’s grand opening.

The Profound Light Pavilion’s business developed in an orderly fashion, and it had already become one of the commercial giants in Celestial Capital Prefecture.

Its services in Alchemy, Soul Refining, Arrays, and Artifact Refining all expanded rapidly, earning it a fair amount of fame throughout Celestial Capital Prefecture.

Of course, its most famous business was still Alchemy, especially the top-tier appointments. Because slots were limited to three per day and appointments were frequently suspended, people were clamoring for a chance.

In these two months, the strength of Elder Yao and the others also skyrocketed. Aided by a massive supply of Pills and Ye Xuan’s guidance, both Elder Yao and Elder Dong reached the Tier Seven Triple Peak. They then consumed an Emperor’s Heart Pill, breaking through to the Tier Eight First Layer in one fell swoop and consolidating their realms.

With this, the Profound Light Pavilion now boasted five Tier Eight Martial Emperor experts, with Su Xiuyi being an even more powerful Tier Eight Second Layer cultivator. Such terrifying strength was enough to rank them among the mid-tier powers of Celestial Capital Prefecture.

This left Elder Yao and the others both gratified and excited, finding it all somewhat hard to believe.

They recalled how just one year ago, they were struggling to survive in the Dream Realm Plain, with no hope for their future accomplishments.

To think that after just one short year, Gale Light Academy had produced a total of four Martial Emperors. The very thought was incredible to them.

How could they have known? This was the benefit of a great power, and the very reason countless experts desperately sought to ascend to higher realms.

Had they remained in the Dream Realm Plain, even with Ye Xuan’s wholehearted support, it likely would have taken Elder Yao and the others another eight or ten years to break through to the Martial Emperor realm, if they could at all.

The resources in the Dream Realm Plain were simply too scarce. Any Tier Eight material was considered a heaven-defying treasure, let alone a top-grade one.

But in Celestial Capital Prefecture, Tier Eight materials were merely rare. This was how Ye Xuan was able to find a Spiritual Object like the Sacred Heart Imperial Fruit and refine the Emperor’s Heart Pill.

Without the Emperor’s Heart Pill, their breakthroughs would have likely been delayed by several years at least.

But the moment they thought of the fall of Gale Light Academy and the loss of the Dream Realm Plain, their excitement instantly diminished.

A Tier Eight First Layer Martial Emperor would have been an unparalleled expert in the former Dream Realm Plain. But now, with the Dream Realm Plain occupied by Infinite Mountain, Elder Yao and the others didn’t even have the courage to return.

The thought of a behemoth like Infinite Mountain looming over them was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing the excitement in their hearts completely. One by one, they gritted their teeth and returned to their silent, frenzied cultivation.

They silently swore to themselves: ’One day, we will return to the Dream Realm Plain and take back Gale Light Academy.’

It wasn’t about proving how strong they were. It was about showing everyone in the Dream Realm Plain that they would reclaim what they had lost, no matter what.

For a time, as everyone’s strength increased, their cultivation became even more diligent, almost obsessive.

Because now, at least, they could finally see a glimmer of hope.

Meanwhile, in a cultivation chamber within the Profound Light Pavilion, Ye Xuan was cultivating with his eyes closed.

A mountain of mid-grade Profound Stones was piled up around him. With every breath Ye Xuan took, the Heaven and Earth Profound Qi from the stones surged into his body like great dragons. The dense Heaven and Earth Profound Qi around him had almost solidified into a tangible substance.

If any other Martial Artist were to witness this scene, they would be utterly astounded.

Profound Stones were precious because Martial Artists could absorb the pure Heaven and Earth Profound Qi within them. However, this absorption had its limits. A Martial Artist like Ye Xuan, who could absorb so much Profound Qi with a single breath, was someone they had not only never seen, but never even heard of.

About an hour later, Ye Xuan finally opened his eyes.

The ten thousand mid-grade Profound Stones that had been piled in the chamber, once crystal clear, had now turned into dull gray rocks. The Heaven and Earth Profound Qi within them was completely depleted, leaving behind a pile of useless stones.

’This Nine Profound Prideful World Art of mine is powerful, but damn, it requires way too much Heaven and Earth Profound Qi,’ Ye Xuan thought. ’After cultivating non-stop all this time, I’ve only just barely reached the Tier Seven First Layer Peak. For any other Martial Artist, forget reaching the Tier Seven First Layer Peak—this much Heaven and Earth Profound Qi would probably be enough for them to break through to the Martial Emperor realm.’

A troubled look appeared on Ye Xuan’s face.

Sometimes, having a Cultivation Technique that was too powerful wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

BOOM!

Just then, a violent roar suddenly echoed through the Profound Light Pavilion, followed by an angry shout and a cacophony of noise.

"What’s going on?"

Ye Xuan frowned. With a flicker of his body, he was already in the main hall of the Profound Light Pavilion.

In the hall, countless customers had also been startled by the earlier roar and shout. They were all looking up, murmuring amongst themselves with shocked and suspicious expressions.

Ye Xuan looked up as well.

He immediately sensed that the roar had come from the Soul Refining section, specifically from the third floor.

His expression changed instantly.

The Third Layer of the Soul Refining section, just like the Third Layer of the Alchemy section, was the highest-level area in the Profound Light Pavilion. Elder Dong presided over that place, which was generally used for enhancing martial souls and healing martial soul injuries. For such a commotion to happen now... ’Could something have happened to Elder Dong?’

But before he could fly up, a figure came tumbling out from the third floor of the Profound Light Pavilion, crashing heavily onto the main hall floor before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

It was an old man in a Pharmacist’s robe, with graying hair and a beard. He had a rather sage-like appearance, but right now, his robes were splattered with blood and his face was deathly pale, making him look utterly wretched.

"Hey, isn’t that Master Zhen Li from the Ancient Pill Tower? What’s he doing here, and why does he look so miserable?"

The moment the old man appeared, the surrounding customers were all stunned.

The West District wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t small either. The Ancient Pill Tower had long been a leader among the Alchemy Dao powers in the West District, and countless Loose Cultivators had bought Pills there. As one of the Ancient Pill Tower’s two Seventh Grade Medicine Kings, Zhen Li was a familiar face to many.

A few Loose Cultivators immediately ran over to help Zhen Li up.

"Master Zhen Li, what happened to you?"

PFFT!

Zhen Li spat out another mouthful of blood. His face was a mask of fury and shock as he pointed upstairs and shouted, "This Profound Light Pavilion is a den of thieves! The Soul Refiners here are all frauds! I came here to have my injured martial soul repaired. Who knew that during the process, not only did my injury not heal, it actually got worse! It nearly caused my martial soul to collapse! If I hadn’t stopped the treatment in time, I’m afraid I would have died on the spot!"

"And that’s not all! When I confronted the Profound Light Pavilion’s Soul Refiner, he actually tried to kill me to cover it up! Luckily, I’m not that weak and managed to escape. Otherwise, I’d be dead for sure."

"What?!"

Zhen Li’s words were like a clap of thunder on a clear day, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded and in a state of shock.

The crowd looked at him and saw that Zhen Li’s aura was weak and listless. He did indeed look severely injured.

Ye Xuan’s brow furrowed slightly. His perception was sharper than an ordinary person’s, and he was a Soul Refiner himself. He could tell with a single glance that Zhen Li’s body was indeed radiating a chaotic martial soul power. It was clear his martial soul had suffered a severe blow; this didn’t seem to be an act.

However, the fact that the man was from the Ancient Pill Tower instantly put him on high alert.

With such a major incident unfolding, the managers of the Profound Light Pavilion also rushed to the scene.

"What in the world happened?"

Su Xiuyi’s brow immediately furrowed when he saw the chaotic hall and the heavily injured Zhen Li on the ground.

"Master Zhen Li, what happened?"

"Weren’t you here to have your martial soul treated? How did you get injured?"

At the same time, several cries of alarm rang out as a group of people suddenly rushed out from a corner of the Profound Light Pavilion. It was unclear where they had been hiding, but they swarmed around Zhen Li in an instant, glaring at Su Xiuyi’s group with furious, menacing expressions.

A thick killing intent began to permeate the Profound Light Pavilion.