Chapter 15: Stone Clan

Time slips away like sand through the fingers, quietly passing by unnoticed.

Unbeknownst to many, the scorching summer has been replaced by the cool autumn, and the once lush green branches now bear hints of yellow. The vibrant Shen Nong Mountain Range seems to wither with the changing seasons, shrouded in a palpable sense of solemnity.

With autumn's arrival comes the inevitable approach of winter. Even the beasts of the land need to stockpile food for the colder months.

However, these external events have little to do with Yao Yan. For the past couple of months, he has been studying alchemy under Hun Huzi. Undoubtedly, as a ninth-grade alchemy grandmaster, Hun Huzi's teachings are both profound and accessible, with a vast repertoire of recipes akin to a library of medicinal formulas.

Almost every popular medicinal recipe in the world can be found in Hun Huzi's collection. His previous status as the Disciple Master of the Alchemy Tower, coupled with his position as the chief alchemist of the Soul Clan, speaks volumes about his knowledge of medicinal formulas.

Fortunately for Yao Yan, this arrangement has been beneficial. In just over a month, he has learned the methods of refining hundreds of low-grade elixirs, ranging from the first to the fourth grade.

Yao Yan appreciates this immersive educational approach. Likewise, Hun Huzi is pleased with Yao Yan's extraordinary talent and intelligence. Being a genius alchemist himself, he naturally prefers students like Yao Yan, who grasp concepts effortlessly, over those who struggle to learn.

As usual, they are in the cave behind the waterfall. The moonlight stones embedded in the walls dispel the darkness, illuminating the cave as if it were daytime.

On the stone bed lies Yao Yan, a handsome young man with black hair, his eyes closed, hands forming seals. With each breath, the rich essence of heaven and earth converges, forming wisps of white clouds around his mouth and nose. His aura grows denser, indicating progress towards a higher realm.

His advancement proceeds steadily, without any hindrances until he reaches the peak, where he seems to encounter a certain pressure, forcing him back down.

Exhaling slowly, Yao Yan opens his eyes, feeling the surging qi within his body. He has already reached the peak of a Nine-Star Dou Practitioner, with qi so thick and viscous that it can be condensed into liquid at any moment. This is nearly his current limit. To continue growing, he must break through to the Dou Master rank, but Hun Huzi advises him to hold back.

According to Hun Huzi, if Yao Yan's martial strength improves, the power of the Swallowing Soul Clan's bloodline cannot remain stagnant.

It seems like Hun Huzi is treating him like a precious pill, attempting to perfect every step to create the most flawless product.

"Just a few more days of suppression, and it will be impossible to contain it anymore..." Yao Yan mutters to himself. His terrifying talent allows him to absorb the surrounding energy even without cultivation. With the constant release of spiritual energy from the soul crystal in his soul, the difficulty of practicing the Three Flowers Gathering Fire Technique has become almost nonexistent.

When talent is high and resources are abundant, the side effects of cultivation techniques cease to exist.

The difficulty in practicing a technique is not due to the technique itself, but rather to the individual and their circumstances.

Fortunately, Hun Huzi is aware of Yao Yan's situation. Without making him wait long, he brings a gift that evening: a still-living body. Although the person's aura is not weak, reaching the level of a Dou Grandaster, their vitality is exceptionally strong. Their skin is pale gray, with a giant stone-like pattern at the center of their brow, emitting a powerful and thick aura.

"Master, what is this?" Yao Yan blinks, guessing Hun Huzi's gift.

Hun Huzi chuckles, "Hehe, this is a core disciple of the Stone Clan. His bloodline power is not high, but he has reached about the sixth rank, and his talent is decent. Feel his body; the Stone Clan, being a clan of martial emperors, naturally possess immense strength and terrifying defense in their bodies. Without powerful martial skills, even opponents of the same level can't break their physical defenses."

Indeed... Yao Yan guessed as soon as he saw the clan pattern on the person's forehead. He couldn't help but marvel at Soul Void Master's audacity. He binds a core member of another clan as easily as playing a game.

He crouches down to feel the person's body. The grayish-white skin feels as sturdy as rock, far surpassing the defense one would expect from a Grandmaster.

"Master, won't this cause trouble?" Yao Yan couldn't help but ask.

Soul Void Master sneers softly, "Don't worry, the Stone Clan is a bunch of brainless fools. This fellow was captured by me while he was out training. With Void Swallowing Flames concealing our aura, no one can trace us. As for suspicions... without evidence, what can they do? They can't declare war on the Soul Clan just because a core disciple disappeared."

Clearly, Hun Huzi has been up to these kinds of activities for years. Compared to the other imperial clans, who have some semblance of dignity, the Soul Clan stops at nothing. They not only target the major clans but also spare no effort in harvesting souls for the Soul Temple, providing spiritual essence for the advancement of the Soul Emperor and others.

Are villains really having that much fun?

Yao Yan wonders to himself.

"Let's see if we can devour his bloodline power."

Hun Huzi licked his lips expectantly. He had instructed Yao Yan to suppress his cultivation level in order to devour a core member of the Stone Clan. A sixth-grade bloodline power was nothing to scoff at, especially for a clan like the Stone Clan, whose Martial Emperor bloodline was on the verge of decline.

Well, I guess I'm being forced into this... Yao Yan muttered to himself as he looked at the still-living Stone Clan member. He knew he couldn't resist Hun Huzi, and he felt a hint of curiosity himself. He also wanted to see how far the Swallowing Soul Clan's talent and abilities could go.

As Yao Yan activated the Swallowing Soul Clan's bloodline power, a cruel and bloodthirsty aura erupted. A strange pattern appeared on his forehead, resembling half-closed vertical pupils.

Even his originally calm eyes turned ferocious, with a crimson halo covering them, exuding an aura of evil.

"Master, what should I do, should I just start devouring?" Yao Yan asked, foolishly.

"...," Hun Huzi fell silent at Yao Yan's question. He glanced at his clever disciple and said lightly, "You can try if you can bite through."

"I was just kidding," Yao Yan chuckled nervously. He raised a hand and placed it on the Stone Clan member's chest. Then, the Swallowing Soul Clan's talent was fully activated, and an evil aura surged in his body. This was a power different from qi, more domineering, evil, invasive, and destructive, seeming to annihilate everything.

As the talent activated, the half-closed vertical pupils on Yao Yan's forehead fully opened, and a crimson halo flickered. At the same time, an indescribable sense of hunger arose in his body.

The body of the Stone Clan member began to convulse, with thick blood vessels protruding from their surface. At the same time, their qi began to dissipate, and even their soul power began to converge towards Yao Yan.

Meanwhile, Yao Yan's hand, which was in contact with the Stone Clan member, began to mutate. His fingers became longer and sharper, and his nails pierced the Stone Clan member's skin, rendering their powerful defense seemingly useless. At the same time, everything within the other's body began to flow towards him—qi, blood, soul power, and so on.

Yao Yan's eyes flashed with absurdity. He keenly felt the sudden surge of power within him. In just a few breaths, it surpassed his qi cultivation. Simultaneously, the incoming qi stimulated his breakthrough, without the need to absorb external energy. Essence qi from a Dou Grandaster flowed into his qi vortex like raindrops.

In an instant, Yao Yan's qi skyrocketed to that of a Dou Master, and it continued to soar. At the same time, his soul power and blood vitality also surged.

The sudden surge of power momentarily overwhelmed Yao Yan's reason.

"What a domineering power," Hun Huzi couldn't help but sigh lightly. This power was even more outrageous than the Void Swallowing Flames. It seemed capable of perfectly absorbing the opponent's entire essence. But Yao Yan was still too weak; he couldn't withstand this sudden surge of power.

"Very interesting," Hun Huzi's interest surged. He raised his hand and controlled the Void Swallowing Flames to envelop Yao Yan, beginning to devour the excess power within him while assisting him in refining the Stone Clan youth's bloodline essence.

With Hun Huzi's help, Yao Yan quickly regained his composure. At the same time, he felt a sense of horror. He hadn't expected the Swallowing Soul Clan's power to be so terrifying.

Is it really worthy of being called an extraterritorial demon?

Regardless of anything else, solely in terms of vitality and advancement speed, extraterritorial demons were indeed deserving of the name.

Hun Huzi looked at Yao Yan, who had regained his composure, and asked, "How do you feel?"

"...Great!" Yao Yan licked his lips, his eyes showing an uncontrollable desire to devour. The feeling of rapidly increasing strength and all-around enhancement was like playing a online game in his previous life, watching his combat power soar rapidly. This feeling of becoming powerful without having to work hard, just stretching out his hand to increase his strength, was truly irresistible.

Hun Huzi chuckled, a red light flickering in his eyes as he reminded him, "You better calm down. You still can't control this power. If I hadn't been here, you would have turned into a bloodthirsty monster by now."

"I'm sorry, Master," Yao Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the desires and impulses in his heart. At the same time, he began to try to control the Swallowing Soul Clan's power within him, no longer indiscriminately devouring, but selectively absorbing the Stone Clan youth's bloodline power. As for qi and soul power, he chose to give them up.

This kind of devouring power was not pure and could easily contaminate Yao Yan's own power, cutting off his path to future qi cultivation.

If so.

Yao Yan would truly become a member of the Swallowing Soul Clan in the future, relying solely on devouring others to enhance his strength.

This path would undoubtedly lead him to become a complete extraterritorial demon.

As his mind regained its calmness, Yao Yan's surging aura gradually subsided. The originally soaring qi began to decrease, eventually stabilizing at around the level of a Two-Star Dou Master. The rest of the chaotic qi energy and soul power were all given to Hun Huzi, allowing his Void Swallowing Flames to devour them.

Wait, this power seems to be growing... Yao Yan closed his eyes and felt the Swallowing Soul Clan's bloodline power within him. With the vitality and blood energy he had devoured, along with the power of the Stone Clan youth, this inherent evil power was beginning to thrive and grow rapidly.

This seemed to be the essence of extraterritorial demons' cultivation—using the devouring of life essence to cultivate.

At the same time.

It also brought him extremely terrifying vitality, like a cockroach, impossible to kill. Even if only a wisp of essence remained, it could be revived.

So, here's the question.

Does the Swallowing Soul King's essence blood that Yao Yan devoured contain its life imprint? Will it awaken due to the resurgence of this power, even borrowing his body to resurrect?

At this moment, many thoughts ran through his mind.

Because the power of the Swallowing Soul Clan was just too bizarre!