While in Battle Through the Heavens, one can pre-appoint oneself as an emperor.

Chapter 118 Another Advance Payment

Zi Yan, who had been waiting from dawn until noon for days to come, finally strode in with an air of indifference, having gone to the Beast Taming Sect and the Kui Wolf Gang to loot their spoils.

Her fingers were adorned with numerous storage rings, exuding an air of extravagance and clearly indicating a substantial fortune.

"Luckily I got there quickly. I almost let the Demon Blade Sect and the Earth Flame Sect get there first. Now they can only stare at the empty treasure vault with wide eyes. Hehe."

Zi Yan chuckled mischievously and took out seven or eight storage rings to reward Chen Xiao.

Aside from medicinal herbs, she had little interest in anything else.

Chen Xiao channeled his consciousness into each of the storage rings, and was immediately dazzled by the diverse array of spoils inside.

It encompasses everything from elixirs and cultivation techniques to combat skills, secret arts, magic cores, and even all sorts of miscellaneous items.

However, even if these two forces were combined, they wouldn't equal what Han Feng gained.

"These things will be useful to you." Chen Xiao took out a pile of poisons and medicinal materials and handed them to Little Fairy Doctor.

The Fairy Doctor smiled and put it away without saying anything more.

"Elder Hai, starting tomorrow, have people collect poisons and poisonous materials, and replace all the useless things with useful ones."

Hai Bodong nodded in agreement. This was the advantage of controlling a force; resource conversion became much easier.

"Hmm, a low-level Earth-rank combat skill, Heavenly Frost Palm, this is a good thing, both Elder Hai and I can use it."

After examining them, Chen Xiao kept one frost-white scroll and handed the rest over to Hai Bodong for registration and storage.

Chen Xiao doesn't lack combat techniques at the moment, but with the idea of ​​not using the Emperor Seal Technique if possible, he really wants to get another Earth-rank combat technique to boost his combat power.

Now, it comes to me without any effort at all!

"You should all check if there's anything usable. If there is, keep it. If not, tell Elder Hai what you need, and we'll keep an eye out for it in the future."

Putting aside his fighting skills for the time being, Chen Xiao then took out two pills from his storage ring and handed them to Hai Bodong and Little Fairy Doctor respectively.

"The effects of the Imperial Extreme Pill are self-evident. Each of us will receive one. For the next period of time, we will focus entirely on improving our cultivation!"

Among Han Feng's spoils, Chen Xiao obtained three Imperial Pills, plus one gifted by the Cao family.

We can't use it all, we simply can't use it all!

Little Fairy Doctor hesitated for a moment. She was a person with the Calamity Poison Body, so she did not have a strong need for pills. As long as she had enough resources, her cultivation would not encounter any bottlenecks.

"Keep it. Don't overthink it. The Calamity Poison Body and the Imperial Pill don't conflict. Once you advance to the Dou Huang realm, you can reach the high-level Dou Huang realm even faster. I still have two Imperial Pills on me."

Upon hearing this, Little Fairy Doctor put it away.

Hai Bodong readily accepted the Imperial Pill and examined it with delight.

"I've been eyeing this pill for a long time, but unfortunately, back when I was active in the Jia Ma Empire, Gu He didn't have the ability to refine it."

Listening to Hai Bodong's words, Chen Xiao couldn't help but recall the scene when he first met him. This Ice Emperor had used the Fighting Spirit Pill and the Imperial Extreme Pill to lure him into becoming his disciple.

Looking at it now, it was definitely just bragging!

After distributing the useful items, Chen Xiao stood up and looked at Cao Ying.

"There's no need to rush into switching cultivation techniques. Tomorrow, Ziyan and I will go to Canaan Academy. We can prepare for refining the strange fire after we return."

Cao Ying nodded slightly, but her decision to start repairs that evening remained unchanged.

After chatting with the group for a while, Chen Xiao went upstairs.

Back in his room, Chen Xiao sat at the table and spent more than an hour organizing hundreds of pieces of information that he couldn't use himself but that might be useful to others, using the mental aids he had gathered.

More common questions include, but are not limited to, where to obtain magic cores of seventh rank and below, and so on.

The most valuable piece of news was undoubtedly the whereabouts of the strange fire.

After reviewing the entire document and confirming that he hadn't missed anything he could think of, Chen Xiao nodded in satisfaction.

This information alone was enough for him to acquire countless resources.

After putting away the stack of valuable papers, Chen Xiao put aside his distracting thoughts and began to think about what he should borrow next.

The gap between the Dou Wang and Dou Huang realms is relatively small compared to other realms, which is the fundamental reason why he was able to easily kill Na Kui Sha.

With Chen Xiao's current setup, the Three Thousand Thunderclaps alone are enough to easily deal with a regular Dou Huang powerhouse. Even when facing Elder Ban, he didn't feel much pressure.

However, a conventional Douhuang (Battle Emperor) is ultimately not up to par; if one only compares oneself to the conventional, one will only ever be an ordinary person.

Chen Xiao has the advantage of foresight and the aid of preconceived notions in his mind, so he should look further ahead.

Therefore, focusing on those from powerful forces, or even those from ancient races, is the mindset he should have.

Compared to these people, Chen Xiao doesn't have much of an advantage at the moment and still needs to strengthen his position.

"Let's set aside cultivation techniques for now. Even for ancient races, at the Dou Wang and Dou Huang levels, cultivating a mid-level Earth Rank cultivation technique is definitely not bad."

"With the Emperor's Seal Technique as a safety net for combat skills, and the Heavenly Frost Palm which can be used frequently after mastering it, that's enough for now."

"With the improvement of strength, breaking through to the Douhuang realm is not too difficult. After dealing with Cao Ying and Queen Medusa, I can take the Starfall Soul-Suppressing Pill and go into seclusion once."

"As for our trump cards... the Heavenly Demon Puppet can be used in advance."

With a sudden thought, Chen Xiao checked the advance payment details for the Heavenly Demon Puppet once more.

[Human-level Celestial Demon Puppet: Can be advanced.]

[After the initial screening, select any option with the highest success rate from the following choices.]

① Try to kill the Earth Demon Old Ghost and use its materials to forge a Heavenly Demon Puppet.

② Enter the Ancient Ruins of the Beast Realm and obtain a Celestial Demon Puppet.

③ Travel to the Northern Continent, enter the False Heaven outside the Fallen God Ice Plains, and obtain a Celestial Demon Puppet.

The latter two options are time-consuming and laborious, and Chen Xiao doesn't need to consider them at all right now.

Killing the Earth Demon Old Ghost is an option. The Human-level Heavenly Demon Puppet is at least a Dou Zong (Battle Master) level, which is a considerable combat force. If we make good use of it and plan carefully, we still have a good chance of dealing with the Earth Demon Old Ghost.

Chen Xiao didn't rush to make a decision; he pondered it carefully.

"The Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Demon Core can also be obtained in advance, but Little Fairy Doctor is still far from the full outbreak of the Calamity Poison Body, and she has not yet gathered the third type of strange fire and the Bodhi Transformation Saliva, so there is no rush for the Demon Core."

"The ice-attribute spiritual item that enhances battle qi has already been obtained from the nearest Heavenly Frost Qi. Others are either not available in advance or are too far away, and the subsequent cycle would be too long."

"What else am I missing...?"

"The soul?!"

Chen Xiao sat up slightly, thinking of a possible area that was lacking.

It's not only alchemists who value soul power; this invisible and intangible power has a tremendous impact.

Furthermore, once one reaches the Spirit Realm Soul stage, one's soul power alone is enough to rival at least a high-level Dou Zong!

Chen Xiao clearly remembered that when Xiao Yan broke through to the Spirit Realm in the Pill Realm, he sparred with the low-level Dou Zun Xiong Zhan and forced him to retreat by relying on his soul power.

Although the sparring wasn't a life-or-death battle and there was a lot of room for negotiation, it was at least comparable to a high-level Dou Zong, which was beyond doubt!

Moreover, there are even more benefits to having a stronger soul.

The most direct benefit is that if they were to clash with the Soul Palace in the future, their own safety would be better guaranteed.

"An advance payment for a soul cultivation method? A soul manual? A soul technique?"

Chen Xiao's heart stirred, and he began to try to communicate with the pre-drawn plan in his mind.

He had only tried it casually, but the result was quite unexpected.

All I could see was the rapidly changing information in my mind, listing several options in just a few breaths.

[Soul Codex: A secret technique of the Soul Clan, not to be used in advance.]

【…】

[Heavenly Wind Soul Codex: An ancient Bai ethnic secret technique, not to be used in advance.]

【…】

[Nine Nether Soul Codex: Can be advanced.]

[Follow-up to the advance payment: Found in the Tianyin Mountains of the Black Corner Region.]

【…】

There were some more soul techniques after that. Chen Xiao even saw the Taiyi Soul Technique, which sounded quite familiar. However, the follow-up to it was very troublesome, so after noting down the information, Chen Xiao ignored it.

With his mind fixed on the "Nine Nether Soul Codex," Chen Xiao was somewhat taken aback.

The Tianyin Mountains mentioned later were very familiar to him.

It wasn't just because he and Zi Yan had spent a few years in the Black Corner Region, but because Chen Xiao vaguely remembered that when he was experimenting with whether he could get seventh-grade pills in advance, one of the follow-ups mentioned this place.

"Life-Devouring Pill".

[Life-Devouring Pill: A seventh-grade pill, available for advance payment.]

[Follow-up to the advance payment: Travel to the Tianyin Mountains in the Black Corner Region and find it.]

If you're unsure, take another look.

Sure enough, the aftermath of this pre-use of the Life-Devouring Pill was exactly the same as the aftermath of the pre-use of the Nine Nether Soul Scripture!

Doesn't this mean that the two things are very likely in the same place?

Deep down, anyone who can create a top-tier seventh-grade medicinal formula like the Life-Devouring Pill and has the ability to refine it must at least be a high-level seventh-grade alchemist.

It's plausible that such a person would happen to possess a method of soul cultivation by chance.

The problem is that in the original timeline, Xiao Li obtained the Life-Devouring Pill and its formula, but never mentioned any method for cultivating the soul.

Could it be that they don't know its value?

Or perhaps Xiao Li overlooked it?

Chen Xiao couldn't understand it, but it wasn't a big deal.

The truth will be revealed when you go and see for yourself.

"Advance access to the Nine Netherworld Soul Codex!"

Without further hesitation, Chen Xiao made his decision.

The Tianyin Mountains are located behind the Tianyin Sect in the Black Corner Region, not particularly far from Maple City.

Moreover, this is a sequel to a treasure hunt, and completing it is not difficult.

Just as Chen Xiao made up his mind, he heard a crackling sound.

Looking up, one could see a stark white skeleton appear out of thin air, piled haphazardly on the table.

"What is this thing?" Chen Xiao was startled by the sudden appearance of the skeleton.

He hadn't expected that the Nine Nether Soul Scripture, which he had pre-requested, would result in a skeleton emerging from it.

Calming down, Chen Xiao got up and examined the skeleton closely. Soon, he was surprised to find that the broken right leg bone had been hollowed out, and an extremely long and thin scroll was lying quietly inside.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xiao suddenly realized what was happening.

That's it!

No wonder Xiao Li missed such a precious item; no normal person would have thought of that unless they smashed the person's bones to pieces...

However, the people of this Dou Qi Continent seem to have rather peculiar thought processes.

The one in the stone chamber of the Monster Mountain Range used his body to hide the remnants of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Map. The Creation Saint of the Ancient Ruins in the Central Beast Domain had the Great Creation Palm engraved on his own bones.

This one was even more ruthless, stuffing the entire scroll into his leg bone.

These are all tough jobs!

Chen Xiao clicked his tongue in amazement before reaching out and taking out the slender scroll.

The scroll is white overall, similar in color to the skeleton, and has four simple, ancient characters on its side.

The Nine Nether Soul Codex!

At the same time, the pre-requisite information in Chen Xiao's mind also changed.

[Current number of advance payments available: zero.]

[Complete the follow-up steps to unlock the next advance payment!]

(End of this chapter)