Chapter Forty: The Clan of Destruction Enters the Nine Stars

The Po Clan resided in a small city within the borders of the Xingluo Empire. The medicines they crafted were highly sought after by soul masters—ordinary soul masters might not know the location of the Po Clan’s headquarters, but someone as renowned as Dugu Bo certainly did.

This time, Xiao Yu made no detours. He presented his visiting card to the Po Clan directly in Dugu Bo’s name. Dugu Bo was neither a member of the Haotian Sect nor affiliated with the Spirit Hall, and the Po Clan had no grievance with him. When a Title Douluo sent a visiting card, the Po Clan would undoubtedly come calling.

Sure enough, early the next morning after Xiao Yu delivered the card, the Po Clan sent someone—the clan leader himself, Yang Invincible.

“Yang Invincible pays his respects to the Poison Douluo. May I ask what business the Poison Douluo has, that he would specially send a card to my Po Clan?”

Yang Invincible, tall and slender, spoke to Dugu Bo with calm composure, neither humble nor arrogant. For a Soul Douluo to address a Title Douluo in such a manner was considered quite disrespectful, but Yang Invincible was born proud. His Breaking Soul Spear spirit was all about imposing presence; he never allowed himself to bow to anyone. Besides, if it came to a fight, he had nothing to fear from Dugu Bo—Dugu Bo’s main ability was poison, but after years of refining medicines, Yang Invincible was an expert at detoxifying and suppressing toxins.

Seeing Yang Invincible’s lack of courtesy, Dugu Bo’s expression darkened, and he couldn’t be bothered with pleasantries. He was only here as a guide anyway.

He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not the one seeking you. It’s my young friend Xiao Yu. Let him speak to you.”

Xiao Yu stepped forward, clasped his hands in respect, and greeted Yang Invincible. “Junior pays his respects to Senior Yang Invincible.”

“What do you want with me?” Yang Invincible asked impatiently. With his Soul Douluo strength, he could easily discern Xiao Yu’s level—a forty-ranked soul master. If not for Dugu Bo’s presence, he would have turned and left.

Xiao Yu smiled faintly and got straight to the point. “I am here to invite Senior Yang Invincible and the Po Clan to join my sect.”

Yang Invincible stared blankly for a moment, then burst into laughter. He laughed for a long time, until he was almost out of breath, then looked Xiao Yu up and down. “Boy, it’s broad daylight—are you daydreaming?

Our Po Clan has stood independent from the Haotian Sect for so many years. Countless sects have tried to recruit us—even the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Xingluo Imperial Family have offered, but I turned them all down. What makes you think—”

Suddenly, Yang Invincible stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide, and he couldn’t help but wipe them several times. For in Xiao Yu’s hand he saw a large flower with stem—a celestial-grade Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb, something he had longed for in countless dreams.

“This… What is this?” Yang Invincible’s voice trembled.

“The Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb!” Xiao Yu’s lips curled into a triumphant smile. “Senior Yang Invincible, do you find this gift satisfactory?”

Yang Invincible clutched his wildly beating heart with trembling hands. “You… You’re giving this to me?”

“Of course,” Xiao Yu nodded. “A treasured blade belongs with a hero. This Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb is merely a tool for me to ward off poison, but only in the hands of a master like you can its true value be realized.”

He produced a sketchbook he had prepared before setting out. “And this, Senior Yang, I believe you’ll be interested in as well.”

“Strange Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!”
“Autumn Dew of Insight!”
“Water Narcissus Jade Bone!”
...

Yang Invincible took the sketchbook and, flipping through it, exclaimed repeatedly. His gaze toward Xiao Yu became fervent and greedy. “These… All these immortal herbs?”

“That’s right,” Xiao Yu nodded. “All these immortal herbs grow in a single treasure land. This land originally belonged to Senior Dugu Bo, but he has now gifted it to me. In other words, the land and all its immortal herbs now belong to my sect, the Nine Star Hall. Senior Yang Invincible, would you like to try refining medicines with peerless immortal herbs?”

Such temptation was overwhelming for Yang Invincible. His expression shifted rapidly, as if engaged in a fierce inner struggle.

Unlike the original story, when Tang San recruited Yang Invincible, the trio Titan, Niu Gao, and Bai He had already joined the Tang Sect, so there was some sentiment, and Tang San also won him over by strength. Then, with the immortal herb he dreamed of, the Po Clan’s joining the Tang Sect was inevitable.

But Nine Star Hall had no prior connection with Yang Invincible, and Xiao Yu, at only forty ranks and yet to obtain his fourth soul ring, dared not spar with a Soul Douluo. Thus, Yang Invincible’s doubts were many.

In the end, his longing for immortal herbs overcame all else. Yang Invincible took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. “Fine. I can agree to join your sect. But I have conditions. Since you possess a land capable of cultivating so many exceptional immortal herbs and seek to recruit the Po Clan, you must value our arts of medicine and pill refinement. I can help the sect by refining pills for sale or for the disciples’ use, as the sect pleases—but the arts of pill-making are our clan’s secret and must never be divulged. You must not force us to give them up. Otherwise, even if my Po Clan fights to the last man, you will never succeed!”

“Of course, Senior Yang Invincible, rest assured. Those of Nine Star Hall will never resort to coercion or theft.” Xiao Yu nodded. He remembered well that the pill-making arts were the Po Clan’s greatest secret—Haotian Sect had once tried to obtain them, only to be rebuffed, causing a rift between the sects. The Haotian Sect’s master at the time, Tang Xiao—father of Tang Hao, grandfather of the divine king Tang San—had clashed unpleasantly with the Po Clan, so among the four attribute clans, the Po Clan’s relationship with Haotian Sect was the most distant.

After a pause, Xiao Yu looked at Yang Invincible with solemnity. “Furthermore, I promise you this, Senior Yang: if the sect faces an enemy, I will only fall before you, never flee ahead of you!”

At these words, Yang Invincible’s tall, thin body trembled. Being cast aside by Haotian Sect and suffering a massacre at the hands of Spirit Hall, losing hundreds of clansmen—this was a thorn in his heart. Now, seeing the impassioned Xiao Yu before him, his eyes grew moist, and he nodded deeply.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for recruiting the Po Clan. One quarter of the Four Great Clans recruitment task complete. Reward: one black-level summon card, 500 diamonds.”