Chapter 71 Crisis
Yunshan saw the Black Rock Demon Snake dive into the ground and disappear from his sight. His senses could no longer capture it, so he gave up the idea of ​​taking back the Image Stone.

After his Dou Zong cultivation was sealed, the arrogance and pride that came with breaking through the Dou Zong level and easily defeating his old rivals seemed to be sealed as well, slowly fading away, replaced by calmness and rationality. He began to seriously examine the situation in front of him and the person opposite him.

The person in front of him was definitely not from the Soul Palace. His bold oath of cooperation, high-level skills, high-level fighting skills, and such a strong fighting power at such a young age all indicated that he was most likely from a powerful force that had a grudge against the Soul Palace.

Lin Yuan raised his glass and invited Yunshan, "This wine is also my masterpiece, why not have a taste of it."

As if to dispel the hidden worries, Lin Yuan added, "Don't worry, there is no poison in the wine. Since we have already reached a cooperative relationship, I will not do such a useless thing that will cause unnecessary rifts between our partners."

After saying that, Lin Yuan drank first as a sign of respect.

Yunshan hesitated for a few seconds, then picked up the wine glass and drank it all. It was indeed a good wine. He put down the wine glass, and Lin Yuan picked up the wine pot and filled his glass again.

"He's not the overbearing type like Guardian Wu." Yunshan thought to himself, remembering Lin Yuan's initial words, and then he straightened his expression and asked, "Since we have reached a cooperation agreement, can you tell me what you meant by 'The Yunlan Sect is in danger of being destroyed, and the Yun Sect Master is also in danger of life and death'?"

After confirming that Lin Yuan was no ordinary person, Yunshan began to try to get more information from him. He was unfamiliar with and wary of the "partner" of the Soul Palace, but the person in front of him was obviously more familiar with the Soul Palace than he was, so this was a good opportunity to get information.

Lin Yuan nodded and said solemnly, "Since we are cooperating, I will tell you these naturally. I hope Sect Master Yun will be more honest. Let me ask you first, did you get help from the Soul Palace to break through to the Dou Zong level?"

Yunshan was slightly startled, and after a moment's silence, he said calmly, "That's right. They gave me a pill, and it was with the help of that pill that I was able to break through."

“Oh? The Soul Palace’s elixir?” Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows and said playfully, “Sect Master Yun is really brave to use the Soul Palace’s elixir to break through.”

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Yunshan asked with a frown.

Lin Yuan explained, "The Soul Palace is famous for its ability to tamper with elixirs. Those who receive gifts from the Soul Palace and break through their realms often have their souls tampered with and controlled by them. Some of the Soul Palace's secret techniques are based on these souls. For example, the Soul Palace's secret technique, Nine Forests Hundred Devouring Souls, can forcibly extract and devour those controlled souls, causing the caster's strength to surge in a short period of time."

He paused, looked at Yunshan seriously and said, "When Sect Master Yun used their elixir to break through, did you feel anything strange? Especially at the soul level."

Seeing Lin Yuan's serious expression, Yunshan felt a little depressed and said, "I did feel as if something had merged into my soul at the moment of the breakthrough. But after searching for it, I found nothing unusual."

"Oh? If Sect Master Yun doesn't mind, how about letting me check it out?" Lin Yuan seemed to be interested and suggested, "The soul is the area where alchemists are good at. My soul perception is also outstanding among sixth-grade alchemists. Maybe I can find some clues."

Yunshan pondered for a moment and nodded: "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." Lin Yuan smiled faintly, "I don't want my partner to disappear suddenly. Besides, I am really interested in the methods of the Soul Palace."

A quarter of an hour later, Lin Yuan opened his eyes and showed an expression of "as expected". "As expected, there is a spell formed by a strange power deep in your soul. It is very hidden and therefore difficult to find. If it weren't for my outstanding soul perception, I'm afraid it would be difficult to detect."

Afterwards, under Lin Yuan's guidance, Yunshan finally sensed the spell formed by that strange power.

Yunshan's eyes revealed a bit of coldness. Was this back-up plan the reason why Wu Hufa had always been so contemptuous and arrogant towards him as a partner? His life had always been in his hands.

"Thank you, is there any way to deal with this?" Yunshan asked in a deep voice.

Lin Yuan thought for a while and said, "This power is too deeply integrated with your soul. It is indeed difficult to deal with it without seriously damaging your soul. As expected of the Soul Palace, their research on the soul is indeed amazing."

"Really?" Yunshan thought for a moment and asked, "It's a bit difficult, but is there a way to deal with it?"

"Well, I have some ideas, but they need further improvement." Lin Yuan confirmed Yunshan's guess, "I will study it for a while, and then give you a solution. If you think it is feasible, we will choose the right time to deal with it."

After hearing Lin Yuan's words, Yunshan finally felt a little relieved. This partner seemed to be quite reliable.

"Thank you, my friend." Yunshan pondered for a moment, raised his glass to Lin Yuan, then took the initiative to drink the wine in the glass and said tentatively.

"Friends?" Lin Yuan chuckled and drank a glass as well. "Friends, you're welcome."

Hearing the word "friend", Yunshan picked up the wine pot and filled a glass for himself and Lin Yuan. "I know what my friend meant by 'Sect Master Yun is also in danger of life and death'. Then what does 'The Yunlan Sect is in danger of being destroyed' mean?"

"Before talking about this, Sect Master Yun, can you answer why Soul Palace is looking for you to cooperate with us?" Without answering Yunshan's question, Lin Yuan asked back.

As he spoke, Lin Yuan looked into Yunshan's eyes. Lin Yuan naturally knew that the Soul Palace was for the Xiao family, and he planned to use this information he already knew to see Yunshan's current attitude towards their cooperation.

"He is so familiar with the Soul Palace, does he really not know the purpose of the Soul Palace? Is this out of curiosity? Or is he testing me?" Yunshan looked at Lin Yuan's deep eyes, analyzed Lin Yuan's purpose in his mind, and quickly made a decision: "Forget it, my life is in his hands now, I can't gamble at this time, tell him the truth first, anyway, it's the Protector Wu's fault if anything goes wrong."

Thinking of this, Yunshan smiled gently and said, "Since my friend is curious, although I don't know much, I can still share it. I don't know the specific situation, but they attach great importance to the Xiao family in Wutan City. However, they are not allowed to explore too much at present, saying that the time is not right. As for why it is the Xiao family, I don't know."

Seeing that Yunshan released the real information, Lin Yuan was somewhat satisfied. It seemed that the cooperation was on the right track.

"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, my friend." Lin Yuan said with a smile, "I do have a little clue about this, and it is also related to the danger of Yunlan Sect being exterminated."

"It was indeed a test, fortunately." Hearing this, Yunshan immediately understood that the other party was testing, or warning. Feeling relieved, he asked seriously, "If it really involves the danger of Yunlan Sect's extinction, please speak clearly."

Lin Yuan straightened his body and asked, "My friend, have you ever heard of the Eight Ancient Clans?"

"Eight Ancient Clans?" Yunshan frowned upon hearing this unfamiliar term. His intuition told him that he might be exposed to some incredible secrets. "I have never heard of it. Please help me solve my doubts."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Before mentioning the eight ancient clans, I would like to ask my friend, how much do you know about the power structure in Zhongzhou?" Yunshan gently shook the wine glass in his hand, and his tone revealed some emotion: "Although I am in the northwest, as the leader of a sect, I naturally know a thing or two about the power structure in Zhongzhou. There is a saying in Zhongzhou that there is 'one palace, one tower, two sects, three valleys, and four square pavilions'. Among them, the weakest four square pavilions are all Dou Zun-level forces, which is far beyond the comparison of our remote northwest."

"And the Soul Palace is one of them, the most powerful force on the continent." Yunshan felt complicated when mentioning the Soul Palace.

"Yes, this is the most powerful force in Douqi Continent." Lin Yuan paused, and his tone was full of emotion: "But this is only the one in the open. Douqi Continent still has many hidden forces that are not obvious but extremely powerful."

"Among these many forces, the most powerful ones are the eight ancient clans, also known as the Emperor Clan. As the name suggests, they are the descendants of the Dou Emperor."

"The eight ancient tribes? The imperial tribe? The descendants of the Dou Emperor?" Yunshan suppressed his shock and asked in a deep voice, "Which eight tribes?"

Lin Yuan slowly said: "The eight ancient tribes are the Soul Tribe, the Ancient Tribe, the Thunder Tribe, the Flame Tribe, the Medicine Tribe, the Stone Tribe, the Spirit Tribe, and the Xiao Tribe. Most of them live in the small worlds opened up by Dou Di and Dou Sheng, and rarely appear on the mainland. However, there are many strong people in their tribes, and there are quite a few Dou Sheng strong people. They are the undisputed overlords of the Dou Qi Continent."

Yunshan's face suddenly changed, his emotions churning like the tide. All this was beyond his imagination. "The eight ancient clans...descendants of the Dou Emperor...the Hun clan...the Xiao clan..., Hun...Xiao..." He muttered to himself, as if trying to digest this shocking information.

Lin Yuan did not say anything, but waited quietly for Yunshan to digest the information.

Shortly after.

"Haha! I didn't expect that my Yunshan and my Yunlan Sect would be involved in matters of this level." As if he had figured out something, Yunshan smiled bitterly and drank the wine in his hand.

The sweet aftertaste of the spirit wine seemed to dilute the bitterness in his heart, and Yunshan became more interested. "Does this wine have a name?"

Lin Yuan shook his head and said with a smile: "It hasn't been named yet, how about you help me choose one?"

Yunshan thought for a moment and said, "This wine is sweet and delicious, and leaves a lasting aftertaste. How about calling it 'Thousand Days Sweet'?"

Lin Yuan praised: "Qian Ri Gan, what a good name, thank you very much."

Yunshan said seriously: "If you want to thank me, you might as well answer a few questions for me."

"Oh?" Looking at Yunshan, who was calm and intelligent, and completely different from his impression of him, Lin Yuan smiled and nodded, "Ask."

Yunshan took a deep breath and straightened his expression. Although he had guessed some things, he still hoped to get confirmation from Lin Yuan. "What is the relationship between the Soul Palace and the Xiao family, as well as the Soul Clan and the Xiao Clan among the eight ancient clans?"

Lin Yuan looked at Yunshan and said playfully, "Soul Palace is a peripheral force of the Soul Clan. The Soul Emperor you insulted before is the patriarch of the Soul Clan, a nine-star peak Dou Sheng, and a true top powerhouse in the Douqi Continent. In terms of strength, he should be able to kill Soul Palace Master Hun Miesheng with one blow."

"Hiss." Yunshan took a breath of cold air. It seemed that the first page of the notebook should be the names of the Soul Clan's strongmen. Thinking of this, he looked at Lin Yuan with a complicated look and sighed, "Thanks to my friends, I really did something incredible! You are so bold, aren't you afraid of playing with fire and getting burned?"

Lin Yuan smiled but said nothing. What was he going to do this time? He might do something much more extreme than this in the future.

Looking at Lin Yuan's indifferent expression, Yun Shan said helplessly: "Let's continue talking about the Xiao family and the Xiao clan."

Lin Yuan showed a teasing smile on his face. "The Xiao family is a branch of the main lineage of the once strongest imperial family, the Xiao family, after its fall. The Yunlan Sect has a deep connection with them. Your young master went to the Xiao family to break off the engagement, and also made a three-year agreement with the young master of the Xiao family. It's very interesting."

"Will the imperial family also fall?" Yunshan's tone was very subtle, and it was unclear whether it was a sigh or doubt. He did not pay attention to the sarcasm in Lin Yuan's words.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Of course, there are many imperial clans that have disappeared. The Xiao clan began to decline more than a thousand years ago, and eventually slowly became the Xiao family. The Soul clan is currently the second most powerful imperial clan among the eight clans, and is also the imperial clan that is hostile to the Xiao clan. However."

Lin Yuan did not finish his words, but looked at Yunshan with a smile and passed the words to him.

"However, even though the Xiao clan has fallen to the level of the Xiao family, and it is obvious that one Dou Wang can wipe them out, the Soul Palace is still so cautious in dealing with them. This means that the Xiao family is definitely not as simple as it seems, right?" Yunshan drank another glass, as if he wanted to use the sweet wine to wash away the bitterness in his heart.

"That's right. No matter how defeated it is, it is still the remaining glory of the once strongest imperial clan." Lin Yuan's gentle voice sounded, slowly telling the cruel truth: "The Xiao clan and the Ancient clan are on good terms. The remaining soul of the strongest of the Xiao clan is still in the Ancient clan, and the Ancient clan is currently the second most powerful imperial clan among the eight clans."

"A thousand years is not a long time for a strong person. There are many Dou Sheng and Dou Zun strong people who are still alive in the ancient clan and even other imperial clans and are on good terms with the Xiao clan. They may not care if the Xiao clan is defeated, but if the Xiao clan is really destroyed by the Yunlan Sect, what do you think will happen?"

Yunshan understood, completely understood.

Why did the guardian Wu tell him not to explore that place easily? It was very likely that there were some powerful people from the imperial clan who were paying attention to the Xiao family, and exploring there casually might alert the enemy.

Why did the Soul Palace not take action when it could easily wipe out the Xiao family? It was to allow himself and the Yunlan Sect to stand in front of the stage and bear the possible wrath and backlash. Among the many powerful people, no matter what the reason, as long as one of them was angry, himself and the Yunlan Sect would have to bear a catastrophic disaster.

Will Soul Palace protect me and Yunlan Sect? Impossible, I am not that worthy.

And I don't follow the orders of the Soul Palace? Impossible, the things of the Soul Palace are not so easy to take. If I disobey the order, the Soul Palace will never forgive me, I will still die, and the Yunlan Sect will still be destroyed.

"So, from the moment the Soul Palace found me, the Yunlan Sect and I were already at a dead end?" Yunshan came to this desperate conclusion and then fell into a long silence.

After an unknown amount of time, a curse sounded that was totally inconsistent with Yunshan's appearance and temperament: "The Yunlan Sect's many years of foundation is actually going to be destroyed in my hands? Go to the damn Di clan! Go to the damn Xiao family and Xiao clan! Go to the damn Soul Palace and Soul clan."

"It worked!" Lin Yuan heaved a sigh of relief, "I have finally aroused Yunshan's hatred towards the Soul Palace."

　Two chapters in one. A bit rushed, the update will return to normal tomorrow, I will update more later depending on the situation, and try to prioritize quality.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)