The black flame blanketed the sky, enveloping the entire realm. Under its cover, the people below suddenly felt their qi gradually fading—as though an intangible force were continuously siphoning it from within them. This revelation sent countless individuals into panic. Given the fate of those who had fled earlier, it was clear the Hún clan had no intention of saving any lives. As a result, the mountain range erupted into chaos. No one had expected a peaceful gathering for the Pharmacopoeia to spiral into such a dramatic turn. "Be careful—the heavens and earth are drifting with extremely fine fragments of void-consuming flame. These things can even withstand no aura power at all…" Xiao Yan placed his palm on the elderly pharmacist's shoulder, the rosy flame shield enveloping both of them. Deep within his pupils, the lotus of flame gently rotated. From his perspective, the entire realm was now filled with countless fine black specks, barely visible to the naked eye. These specks clung to bodies like an unrelenting parasite, steadily siphoning away the aura power within. Even when the people used their aura to shield their bodies, the specks made no difference—upon contact with the aura defense, they silently melted and absorbed into it. "The space has been sealed. It seems the Hún clan intends to leave no survivors..." the elderly pharmacist said, his expression grave. "These guys have been quiet for so long—finally deciding to make a move now, are they?..." Xiao Yan furrowed his brows. It seemed their luck truly wasn't good; they had ended up unexpectedly caught in the hands of the Spirit Clan. Yet, even if they had anticipated the Spirit Clan's move against the Medicine Clan, they hadn't expected it to happen precisely at this most unlikely moment. "It appears the Spirit Clan's recent restraint is closely tied to this matter. When the Stone Clan vanished, they were unusually quiet as well." The Medicine Elder sighed slightly, regretting that he hadn't anticipated this development. He had originally believed that with the alliance of the Medicine, Flame, and Thunder Clans—such a formidable force—the Spirit Clan would have hesitated before launching an attack. Yet, even so, their plans had proven unstoppable. "That explains why the Spirit Clan has remained passive while the Heavenly Capital Alliance crushed the Spirit Temple, and why they didn't send any strong reinforcements afterward. Aside from their lingering caution toward the Ancient Clan, it seems they've been quietly planning an assault on the Medicine Clan all along." Xiao Yan also nodded. With things now at this point, many of his earlier doubts had finally found answers—Hun Clan wasn't unwilling to kill him; they simply had more pressing matters to attend to. Between eliminating Xiao Yan and confronting the Yao Clan, Hun Clan naturally chose the latter, for though Xiao Yan was strong, he still far fell short of the Yao Clan's level. "Now what?" asked Yao Lao solemnly. Today's situation was delicate—should things go wrong, both he and his disciple would be in peril. Given Hun Clan's ability to quietly extinguish the Ling and Shi Clans, their strength had clearly surpassed what the clan had anticipated. "We can only watch and wait. If the Hún clan truly decides to act, the Yào clan will surely rise in full resistance. Then, we'll seize the opportunity to make our escape..." Xiao Yan spoke softly. He hadn't any grand intention of saving the Yào clan, for at this moment, they themselves were barely able to survive—how could they spare the time or energy to care for the Yào clan? Whether the Yào clan could weather this great crisis would ultimately depend on their own fate. Yào Lǎo nodded silently. Though he was a member of the Yào clan, their relationship had always been rather distant. Even though the Yào clan faced a great calamity, he felt deeply concerned, yet he would not insist that Xiao Yan rescue them. In his heart, Xiao Yan's importance far surpassed that of this unfamiliar and cold-clad race. Yào Dān floated in the sky, gazing at the vast black flames spreading out from the heavens, stretching all the way to the horizon. His expression was profoundly gloomy, sensing an overwhelmingly terrifying presence within the flames. "Listen, all members of the Herbal Clan! Activate the Heavenly Transformation Herbal Array!" Yao Dan drew a deep breath and issued a resolute, commanding cry that echoed through the air. For the first time, he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis—one that made him realize the very survival of the Herbal Clan might hinge on today. As Yao Dan's cry settled, every member of the Herbal Clan felt a sharp tremor run through them. The Heavenly Transformation Herbal Array, the Clan's grand protective formation since ancient times, had never been activated before—this marked its first use. Thus, the severity of the crisis now facing the Clan was truly staggering. "Buzz! Buzz!" At that very moment, all the Clan elders swiftly projected beams of light into the mountain range. The mountains trembled as massive light beams surged forth, eventually weaving together in the sky to form a vast, extraordinary array. As the array took shape, every rare herb and medicinal plant within the mountains withered instantly, releasing an endless surge of energy that flowed entirely into the forming array. "Hush! Hush! Hush!" At this moment, nearly every member of the Medicinal Clan condensed their Qi within their bodies, forming a radiant column of light that surged forth in a vast, sweeping wave and poured into the array. Instantly, the array flared with brilliant luminescence, and a formidable pressure—like a colossal dragon awakened after centuries of slumber—began to radiate outwards. As this pressure emanated, the very space of the Medicinal Realm trembled violently, with immense energy flowing continuously toward the array's center. "Such an overwhelming pressure..." even Xiao Yan, standing within the array, gazed solemnly at the dazzling, towering light array above. This pressure seemed comparable to that of an eight-star Qi Saint, truly showcasing the Medicinal Clan's exceptional depth and strength. "This is the Clan's protective array—never activated before. Unthinkable, now…." The elderly pharmacist gazed intently at the glowing array, his expression complex. "It was created by the Clan's founder, and it still holds a fragment of his residual soul. If we activate it, perhaps we can stall the Hu Clan's soul force." "The founder…" Xiao Yan's eyes flickered, as only the Supreme Emperor who founded the pharmacist clan could truly be considered the Clan's founder. "Hehe, this is indeed the protective array of the Medicinal Clan. Its power is truly far stronger than that of the Spirit or Stone Clans... " Standing outside the array, Hounu observed the surging energies below, which even made him feel breathless. With a smile, he turned to face the overwhelming black flames, bowing respectfully before the many onlookers and said, "Master Void, perhaps only your intervention will be able to unravel this array..." As soon as his respectful words settled, the black flames behind him began to move slowly, curling and coiling as they gradually formed a human figure, finally materializing before the gathered gaze of all present. That figure was enveloped in swirling black flames, strange black runes spreading across his body like patterns of ancient script. His eyes, deep as black holes, radiated a terrifying force of consumption. Standing upon the black flames in the sky, his face was slightly blurred by the glow, yet as he appeared, an atmosphere of profound antiquity and strangeness slowly seeped into the very realm around him. "This void-consuming flame has also evolved into a spirit of unique fire...” The old pharmacist glanced at Xiao Yan, his mouth dry with astonishment. This void-consuming flame was identical to the pure-lotus spirit fire from the beast-fire realm, and in fact, even stronger than that latter flame! "Such an overwhelming presence... this one surpasses even the potency of the medicine pill!" Xiao Yan licked his lips, his heart surging with waves of awe—this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a powerful unique fire. This flame's existence, he believed, likely predated even the pure-lotus spirit fire. Under the countless awed gazes, the towering figure, resembling a divine warrior, slowly lowered his head, gazing at the vast array of power radiating beneath. With a sweeping motion of his sleeves, the titanic black flames surging above his head surged violently, eventually transforming into a dense downpour of black fire that poured relentlessly upon the great array. "Shhh—" As the black rain of flames fell,阵阵 white mist erupted across the grand array, and everyone could feel the array's energy being gradually absorbed and consumed by the flames. "Herbal clan, retreat—there is still hope. Your Herbal clan still holds value to us," a hoarse voice, resonant enough to shake the very soul, slowly emanated from the figure resembling a divine demon. "If you wish to extinguish us, it will not be that simple!" The face of Yao Dan also grew fierce at this moment. With a sharp cry, several beams of light erupted from within the mountain of herbs, surging directly into the array. Xiao Yan, with keen eyes, clearly saw that within each beam were densely packed, countless pills—so vast in number that he could hardly contain his astonishment. It seemed that the Yao Clan had drawn upon all of its stored reserves this time. As the immense flow of pills poured into the array, Yao Dan’s expression hardened with determination. "Ten thousand pills transforming the heavens—by the name of pills, the Primordial Ancestor returns!"