Chapter 177: Calabash Brothers?!
After hearing Yuan Yi's report, Yao Yan showed no hint of surprise. He was fully aware of how deep Canaan Academy's foundation and strength ran. Frankly speaking, in the entire Black-Corner Region, Canaan Academy was an overpowered existence. No other faction could compare. Unless external forces intervened, even if all the regional powers united, they likely still couldn't shake the Academy.
The two elders, Qian Bai and Qian Lao, were half a step away from Dou Zun. That level of strength was enough to sweep across the entire Black-Corner Region. Even in the Central Plains, where experts were abundant, these two would still be highly sought after as honored guests.
By contrast…
The founder of Demon Flame Valley, Earth Demon Old Ghost, was far less impressive.
In the original story, Earth Demon Old Ghost had reached the seven-star Dou Zong level. Given that the current timeline was only about a decade away from the original events, his strength should have reached that tier. However, the gap between a seven-star Dou Zong and the peak of Dou Zong was vast—comparable to the gap between a Dou Wang and a Dou Zong. They simply weren't on the same level.
So it was no surprise that he was instantly defeated.
Within the cultivation system of the Dou Qi Continent, the later stages saw exponential growth in power. Especially after becoming a Dou Zong, the power gaps only widened, and bridging them required terrifying amounts of cultivation resources.
Take Yao Yan's current overpowered strength as an example—the amount of resources poured into him was terrifying. Not even mentioning the several imperial clan bloodlines in his body, just his foundational training as a youth saw Hun Xu Zi pouring in mountains of pills and cultivation materials to forcefully awaken all his potential and talent.
To say it plainly, those resources and pills could have easily elevated hundreds of people to the Dou Huang level.
Not to mention that Yao Yan later cultivated the Burning Formula and devoured two types of heavenly flames.
His body, now tempered by heavenly flames, had become increasingly powerful. The Indestructible Vajra Body was rapidly approaching the third level. Perhaps once he reached the five- or six-star Dou Zong stage, he could fully achieve it.
Thinking of this, a gleam flashed in Yao Yan's eyes. He gently stroked Cai Lin's transformed Heaven Swallowing Python, a faint smile curving his lips as he said casually, "Keep investigating the situation with Demon Flame Valley… and summon Elder Jin and Elder Yin to see me."
"Yes, my lord," Yuan Yi replied respectfully before jogging off.
"Kid, are you planning to strike at Demon Flame Valley?" Yao Lao's aged voice rang out in Yao Yan's mind. He was quite curious about Yao Yan's upcoming plan.
"There aren't many Dou Zongs in the Black-Corner Region that meet the standards for your new bodies. Earth Demon Old Ghost's strength is decent. Now that he's been seriously injured by a Canaan Academy elder, if we don't take advantage of it now, then when?" Yao Yan replied calmly, gently teasing the Heaven Swallowing Python and gazing into her gemstone-like eyes.
Compared to his master Hun Xu Zi, Yao Yan considered himself far more trustworthy. Since he had promised Yao Lao and the Heavenly Flame Master, he would keep his word.
If possible, he even hoped to use Yao Lao's identity to pave the way for infiltrating the Pill Tower in the future.
If he were to show up as Hun Xu Zi's disciple at the Pill Tower… Yao Yan wasn't confident he could withstand the pressure from multiple Dou Zuns and Dou Shengs. He also didn't believe the Hun Clan would go to war with the Pill Tower for his sake. With Hun Tian Di's personality, the bigger picture always came first. For now, both the Hall of Souls and the Pill Tower had to remain low-profile.
As for the Three Thousand Burning Flame… Yao Yan absolutely couldn't give that up.
Why not ask Hun Xu Zi for a sub-flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame? The reason was simple: gradual progression. Before devouring those higher-ranked heavenly flames, he needed to digest one or two intermediate flames first. More importantly, his current strength was too weak—he was even somewhat "afraid" of the Nihility Devouring Flame's sub-flame.
The fantasies of youth only become real when your strength catches up. That's when you truly understand the vast gap between you and your dreams.
Even a single sub-flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame had destructive power comparable to a top-five heavenly flame. Worse, it maintained a link with the main flame, like a seed intentionally released by the real thing. Refining and devouring it depended on whether you had the "appetite."
A greedy snake can burst by trying to swallow an elephant.
Unless absolutely necessary, Yao Yan didn't want to touch the Nihility Devouring Flame's sub-flame yet.
After all, many of the Hun Clan's Dou Shengs had already fallen under its control. He seriously doubted that his current set of heavenly flames could keep him safe from its influence. The reality was, his strength was simply not enough. Compared to the supreme experts standing at the peak of the continent, his current achievements meant nothing.
The stronger you become, the more you realize the distance still ahead.
Ignorance is fearless.
Only those who know nothing have the courage to challenge blindly. Perhaps this was also why, in the original story, Yao Lao didn't tell Xiao Yan everything in advance. Facing such massive powers too early would only lead to despair.
"Ahem… I'm not in such a hurry to resurrect, so there's no need to rush. As for the Bone Spirit Cold Flame I promised you, once you've devoured the Ocean Heart Flame, I'll separate it and hand it over. As for the body… we can wait until your strength improves," Yao Lao coughed and transmitted his voice.
When it came to his future body, he naturally didn't want to rush and pick one at random.
Especially not some elderly Dou Zong whose body's potential had long reached its limit. Even if he used three heavenly flames to reshape it, the ceiling would remain low. Ideally, Yao Lao wanted a Dou Zun-level body for resurrection. That way, with the aid of three heavenly flames, he might even go further.
"I think the same," the Heavenly Flame Master added through sound transmission.
It was obvious the two old men had discussed this in the Bone Flame Ring. After all, the issue of a physical body couldn't be taken lightly. Wasting a resurrection opportunity would be a shame.
"What? Are you two expecting me to find a Dou Sheng corpse for you?!" Yao Yan asked irritably upon hearing them.
"Well… if there's a way, it's not impossible," the Heavenly Flame Master chuckled eerily.
Yao Lao chuckled too. "We just mean to wait a bit. If nothing suitable shows up, we'll at least try to find a younger Dou Zong. An elderly one is basically maxed out in potential—even with heavenly flames and pills, the upper limit would still be low. It might even hinder our recovery."
He paused before continuing, "Since we've got a second chance at life, of course we'd want to redevelop our talent. Who knows, maybe we can break through that bottleneck."
Yao Lao had once reached peak nine-turn Dou Zun, not far from the Dou Sheng realm. He could even sense the bottleneck. What he lacked was a heaven-tier cultivation method and the right opportunity. If he could undergo some transformation now, perhaps he could reach half-saint level.
You just might pull it off… Yao Yan muttered in his heart. In the original story, Yao Lao did manage to become a half-saint, but it wasn't just thanks to some Dou Sheng bone essence—it was also the result of a lifetime of accumulation. If breaking through were that easy, there wouldn't be so few Dou Shengs on the continent.
As for the Heavenly Flame Master, he eventually faded into the background. Perhaps it had something to do with the body he used for his resurrection.
"Fine. But I'm still destroying Demon Flame Valley," Yao Yan said plainly, then shared his plan to collaborate with Canaan Academy.
"Heaven's Court?!"
Yao Lao and the Heavenly Flame Master were stunned. They hadn't expected Yao Yan to be so ambitious—to found a faction of his own. This clearly disrupted Yao Lao's previous plans to have him take over Starfall Pavilion.
"Then once I'm revived, I'll serve as an elder in Heaven's Court," the Heavenly Flame Master declared.
"Alright."
Yao Yan didn't refuse. He had always thought the Heavenly Flame Master had potential. If he ever entered the Great Thousand World and studied formations, he might even become a spiritual array master.
Yao Lao sighed. "I was hoping you'd join Starfall Pavilion…"
"No worries. In the future, we'll just merge Starfall Pavilion into Heaven's Court," Yao Yan replied casually.
Yao Lao was left speechless, completely shut down by a single sentence, and for a moment didn't even want to talk to Yao Yan anymore.
At that moment, Elders Jin and Yin entered the hall with Yuan Yi.
Sensing the dangerous aura radiating from Yao Yan, they straightened up and respectfully greeted him, "Greetings, my lord!"
"Did anyone come after you afterward?" Yao Yan asked.
He had previously impersonated Han Feng's senior uncle, which allowed Han Feng to recruit many experts in the Black-Corner Region using promises he had no intention of keeping. Now that both Han Feng and this so-called uncle had vanished, Jin and Yin had become prime targets for resentment.
"Not really… Some might have wanted to come after us, but other events kept them too busy to act," Elder Jin replied, then began explaining what had happened in Maple City.
After Han Feng was forced by Yao Yan to stir trouble with Canaan Academy, Maple City became a hot target. But because many were wary of Yao Yan's mysterious identity, no one dared to act rashly. That gave Jin and Yin time to maneuver.
During that time, several Dou Huangs from Demon Flame Valley died suddenly. Their deaths triggered the appearance of the Demon Flame Valley's ancestor, which in turn drew out the ancestor of Canaan Academy.
The rest unfolded just as Yuan Yi had described.
Now, the Black-Corner Region was undergoing a reshuffling. Many factions had lost their Dou Huangs under strange circumstances.
Elder Yin said gravely, "It seems someone is deliberately hunting Dou Huang-level experts in the region. My brother and I sensed a gaze watching us a few days ago, but when we tried to trace it, it vanished. Very eerie!"
His expression was grim. The idea that someone was actively hunting Dou Huangs was deeply unsettling.
Getting bolder by the day… Yao Yan immediately understood who was behind it. His mind flashed to a certain cartoon character—Calabash Brothers, the senior brother version!
While he was planning things on one end, the Hall of Souls' Protectors were sneaking around picking off stragglers to grow stronger. The soul-cultivation methods they practiced allowed them to absorb powerful souls as resources, advancing without bottlenecks. Once they reached a certain level, they could even be granted physical bodies and rise as Elders above the masses.
The Hall of Souls possessed such forbidden techniques—though the side effects were serious. And these Elders were typically the weakest kind of Dou Zun—impressive in name only.
Still, even the weakest Dou Zun could crush most Dou Zongs with ease.
"The Hall of Souls…" Yao Lao muttered solemnly. He had thought of this too and sent Yao Yan a mental message, "Kid, we should leave the Black-Corner Region soon. In the Central Plains, the Hall of Souls won't be so reckless—there are countless eyes watching them. But out here in the boonies, anything goes."
The Central Plains had their own rules. Countless strong individuals, hidden Dou Shengs, and many Dou Zuns lived there. So the Hall of Souls had to act carefully, unlike in these remote regions where they did as they pleased.
"It's the same wherever we go. For now, no Dou Zun should be allowed to show up in the Black-Corner Region," Yao Yan said softly, shaking his head.
He wasn't ready to leave yet. He hadn't found the remnant map of the Purifying Lotus Flame, and he still needed to devour the Ocean Heart Flame and Bone Spirit Cold Flame. He wasn't even a Dou Zong yet—going to the Central Plains now would only expose him. Returning to the Hun Clan early might not be a good idea.
Although Hun blood ran in his veins, knowing the Hall of Souls, there was no way they'd accept him sincerely. The only way to earn their respect was through power.
Being a Dou Huang wasn't enough—not even a Dou Zong was sufficient.
He'd need at least Dou Zun-level strength to even count as someone within the Hun Clan.
Besides, if Yao Yan remembered correctly, the younger generation of the Hun Clan in the original story were all lunatics—arrogant, aggressive, and difficult to deal with. Clearly, they lacked any proper cultural upbringing… Okay, neither did the Yao Clan. As long as they were literate, everything else depended on personal growth and a good teacher.
So Yao Yan didn't want to return rashly, only to face bullying from the younger generation. He doubted Hun Xu Zi would defend him. Older generations usually enjoyed watching the drama. As long as nobody died or had their soul destroyed, a ninth-grade alchemist could always restore them.
He could already imagine his teacher saying, "Young people need a little hardship!"
o(￣︶￣)o
Much appreciated!
"Rules are just rules. The Hall of Souls never cared about rules," Yao Lao said with increasing heaviness.
He'd dealt with them before and knew exactly what kind of people they were. In their eyes, only their own rules mattered. Everyone else's were irrelevant.
"I know what I'm doing," Yao Yan said calmly to reassure him.
You sure about that?
Yao Lao wanted to ask but held it in. Yao Yan wasn't a child anymore. He had his own plans. Interfering too much wouldn't help.
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997