Chapter 426: Breakthrough

Chapter 426: Breakthrough

The recent conflict within Holy Pill City, which culminated in the defeat of the Hall of Souls, had reached its conclusion.

The outcome of the grand battle spread like wildfire, causing a resounding impact throughout the entire Central Plains.

The Hall of Souls, a dominant force that stood tall in the Central Plains for hundreds of years, had been acting arrogantly and recklessly for so long. But finally, they suffered a major setback at the hands of the Pill Tower.

Dou Saint experts were revered figures everywhere, especially the First Tianzun of the Hall of Souls, who had been a prominent figure in the Central Plains for hundreds of years. Even though he couldn't match the strength of the Hall of Souls' Chief, he was still one of the Hall of Souls' top three most powerful figures.

Yet, this battle ended in his defeat and demise within Holy Pill City.

This was an accomplishment that the Pill Tower had never before achieved. Even though the Pill Tower had previously destroyed a few branch halls of the Hall of Souls, this feat was unparalleled.

As the news of First Tianzun's demise spread widely, the name of Xiao Ming once again ignited fierce discussions throughout the Central Plains. The rumors about him became increasingly exaggerated.

In the stories circulating among the people, Xiao Ming was portrayed as a god-like figure, capable of stepping on Dou Venerates, defeating Dou Saints, and engaging in a three-hundred-round battle with the Hall of Souls' Chief.

Even Xiao Ming found himself speechless after hearing such rumors.

Despite understanding the exaggerations, among the members of the Pill Tower, Xiao Ming's status rose dramatically, and he became on par with the First Elder of the Small Pill Tower.

Everyone in the Pill Tower and its affiliated factions, as well as the external branches, was stunned and overjoyed.

The entire Pill Tower was caught up in a frenzy of celebration. Even the peripheral members would proudly hold their heads high and feel a sense of honor when talking about Xiao Ming. This was because Xiao Ming was a core member of the Pill Tower.

Xuan Kong Zi and the others weren't surprised by this situation, nor did they try to stop it. After all, Xiao Ming deserved such glory.

Other factions, with reliable sources of information, were not swayed by exaggerated rumors. However, upon receiving the news of Xiao Ming's ability to slay a Dou Saint, their first reaction was to confirm its authenticity.

Once they confirmed its truth, they couldn't help but feel admiration and shock from the bottom of their hearts.

In Sound Valley, when Qing Yi Nan heard the news from Qing Yi, she was left dumbfounded for a while before regaining her senses and sighing with emotion, "Xiao Ming, this young friend, truly is extraordinary..."

In the Burning Flame Valley, Tang Zhen saw the commotion caused by Xiao Ming shortly after he returned to Holy Pill City and said to Tang Huo'er, "Xiao Ming's achievements are unprecedented. In my opinion, he has the potential to become a Dou God."

Xiao Ming's soul power had now far surpassed his Dou Qi realm, making the power of a mere nine-star Dou Venerate appear insufficient for him.

During the previous period, he diligently cultivated step by step, mainly to stabilize his cultivation level. Now that his foundation was almost solid, he could continue to advance his strength further.

Xiao Ming's eyes narrowed as he pondered how to quickly increase his power. Soon, an idea struck him, and he waved his sleeves, taking out several transparent jade bottles. Through the translucent walls of the bottles, faint gelatinous substances could be seen.

These were the Dou Saint Bone Marrow obtained by Xiao Ming from the Dou Saint skeleton.

Estimating the remaining amount, Xiao Ming believed that these gelatine substances should be enough to cultivate an intermediate-level Half-Saint. If he hadn't used some of them before, he could have probably cultivated a high-level Half-Saint.

A high-level Half-Saint, huh?

Xiao Ming contemplated for a moment before taking out the corpse of a sinister-looking old man.

The old man's corpse exuded a ghostly aura, devoid of any life force, but it was filled with a formidable pressure, displaying his extraordinary nature.

This was the corpse of the Hall of Souls' First Tianzun.

'Should I refine the corpse of the Hall of Souls' First Tianzun into a Sky Demon Puppet, or should I extract his blood for reuse?' Xiao Ming was somewhat conflicted.

Refining the body into a puppet would weaken its strength, and he didn't really need a bodyguard weaker than himself. Moreover, he lacked a strong enough soul, which would undoubtedly weaken the power of the puppet even further. However, a puppet like this could be used to protect others.

On the other hand, if he chose not to refine it into a puppet and instead utilized the blood, Xiao Ming still felt a bit uneasy.

At the level of a Dou Saint, every part of their body was invaluable. The Dou Saint Bone Marrow could be refined and absorbed, and similarly, the current corpse could be used for that purpose. If Xiao Ming gave this corpse to the magical beast tribes, it would probably be devoured swiftly.

Currently, Xiao Ming wasn't squeamish about using such methods, but personally killing someone, and then extracting and absorbing their blood, made him feel a bit strange.

In a cultivation world, this practice would be considered ruthless, akin to following an evil path.

Moreover, the Dou Saint Bone Marrow he had used before was extracted from the remains of others, not from those he personally killed.

Most importantly, this First Tianzun looked somewhat ugly...