“Congratulations, Master!” Ye Chen said with full sincerity.
“Ye Chen, I’ll keep a portion of these pills for Mingwu. You take the rest.” Master Apothecary Xuanyi handed Ye Chen a Heaven-Earth Pouch. Other than Mingwu’s portion, the medicinal pills were all there.
“Master, you’re not taking any?” Ye Chen asked.
Master Apothecary Xuanyi laughed aloud. “I’m a bag of bones by now. Even if these medicinal pills would help, I can’t progress much further in terms of Celestial Chi and cultivation base. In a decade or two, I’ll be dead in the ground. Taking so many pills for myself would be futile. As for your Senior Brother Li, he has many Purple-gold Divine Pills which are enough. Conversely, it’s you who have a long road of cultivation ahead of you. You need these medicinal pills.”
“Master.” Ye Chen wanted to say something, but he was so moved he could not speak. Besides his father and his granduncle, Master Apothecary Xuanyi was one of those who truly cared for him!
Ye Chen began to talk about alchemy with Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu.
“Master, I have an alchemy book with me which I obtained incidentally. Who knows, it might be of benefit to your cultivation in alchemy. Master, have a look.” Ye Chen took out The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy from his Heaven-Earth Pouch.
“Oh? What alchemy book?” Master Apothecary Xuanyi asked. The alchemy books he had collected numbered no fewer than a thousand-plus. He wondered what book was it that Ye Chen had?
Master Apothecary Xuanyi took the book from Ye Chen. This alchemy book was somewhat archaic. It looked like it had been around a long time. When Master Apothecary Xuanyi saw the ancient words on it, his eyes brightened. “The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy? I’ve never seen this before.” Master Apothecary Xuanyi flipped open The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy and skimmed it over. The content at the start was more basic, but the middle and final sections had some advanced content. Even he had not read about this before. Instantly, he was filled with glee, like a little kid who had found a beloved toy. “It’s truly a wondrous book! Some of its contents are much more profound than those in my alchemy books! Ye Chen, can you let me make a copy of The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy?”
“Of course.” Ye Chen nodded. Seeing that Master Apothecary Xuanyi was so exuberant, Ye Chen was happy too.
“Ye Chen, what alchemy book is this that can make Master so joyful?” Li Xu walked over, brimming with curiosity.
“Li Xu, take a look as well. This is The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy. I don’t know which predecessor in alchemy had left this behind. Its contents are truly incomparably profound.” Master Apothecary Xuanyi handed The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy over to Li Xu.
Li Xu perused its contents, his expression turning into one of delighted surprise.
When Ye Chen saw that Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Senior Brother Li were engrossed in the contents of The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy, he could not hold back a smile. He sat down on a cattail hassock at one side and continued cultivating his Celestial Chi.
Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu kept reading for over two hours, completely oblivious to the passing of time. Only after that did they seem to remember something. Li Xu hurriedly picked up a pen and ink, starting to copy the contents of The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy.
“Master, when are we starting out for Jadeite City?” Ye Chen looked toward Master Apothecary Xuanyi and asked.
“Tomorrow early morning. Mingwu had already prepared five Fifth Level Redpalm Horses. If you have anything else to do, settle it quickly. Tomorrow, we’ll start our journey quietly. If Mingwu comes with us, he’ll be too big a target. If this arouses the attention of the Nanman Kingdom, it’ll bring us unnecessary trouble,” said Master Apothecary Xuanyi.
Ye Chen gave it some thought, then stood up. “I’ll head to the imperial family’s side courtyard to meet with Nie Qingyun.”
“WIll you have any problems going alone?” Master Apothecary Xuanyi asked worriedly. After all, Nie Qingyun was a Heavenly Venerable Rank combatant.
“I’ll be fine.” Ye Chen grinned. He had no way of telling Master Apothecary Xuanyi how he had already subdued Nie Qingyun. “Plus, I’ll bring Little Wingsy with me.”
“Very well then.” Master Apothecary Xuanyi saw that Ye Chen was confident and nodded in agreement.
Ye Chen returned to his room and brought Little Wingsy, Little Tanuki, and Little Squido toward the imperial family’s side courtyard.
In a living room in the imperial family’s side courtyard.
Nie Qingyun had consumed some of his rations and remained in the living room, not daring to head out. Most of the time, he was cultivating. He had stayed in the courtyard for a day. Although he was becoming anxious with the waiting, the gold-armored imperial guard had said that Ye Chen asked him to wait here, so he dared not act rashly. He could only wait there obediently.
While Ye Chen was gone, the Great Ancestor had repeatedly drilled into Nie Qingyun and the rest about the might of Daemon Kings. He even took out a few ancient books with records of Daemon Kings’ past deeds for them to read. After going through those books, Nie Qingyun had a clearer idea of what a Daemon King was. When he was reading those books, he was nearly scared witless. Even if Nie Qingyun had the guts of ten more men, he would not dare to harbor any disloyalty toward Ye Chen.
Even while sitting in this spacious, empty room, Nie Qingyun could sense a pair of eyes observing him at all times. He dared not make the slightest movement that would flout conventions. Even his sitting posture was reverent and respectful.
When Ye Chen entered the courtyard and did a sweep with his Astral Body, he saw Nie Qingyun sitting stiff and still, and could not keep from grinning. His Astral Body could detect Nie Qingyun’s respect. This was good, proving that Nie Qingyun would not betray him!
When Ye Chen entered the hall, Nie Qingyun, who was sitting down, noticed a movement outside. When he saw Ye Chen, he promptly got up and knelt before Ye Chen with a thud, saying respectfully, “Your Highness, your humble slave pays his respects.” Nie Qingyun was fawning a little, but his voice shook a little as he spoke. This was because the records in those books said that many Daemon Kings were extremely ruthless, dreadful, and temperamental. When they lost their temper, it was common for blood to flow a thousand miles. Nie Qingyun was only frightened that he would make a mistake out of carelessness, and be turned into a bloody pulp in one blow from Ye Chen. The more the threat of death hung over him each day, the more Nie Qingyun appreciated how precious life was, and the more he thirsted for life and feared death. At this point, he did not care about keeping his pride as a sect leader.
“Get up. In the world of humans, there’s no need for all that,” Ye Chen said mildly, with an inscrutable expression. He walked directly to the highest seat in the hall and sat down.
When Nie Qingyun saw Little Wingsy, he quickly bowed out of fright. Then he noticed Little Tanuki on Ye Chen’s shoulder, and the Dusk Octopus Little Wingsy was carrying. His brow started to throb. Little Wingsy was transformed from a Daemon King Winged Serpent. Other than Little Wingsy, there was a white tanuki and this octopus, both of unknown origin. Based on their expressions, they were not any different from humans. They must be rather extraordinary to be able to accompany two Daemon Kings. He had better be clever about these things and avoid offending these two mystical beasts too.
“Stand up and speak!” Ye Chen said in a low voice.
“Yes,” Nie Qingyun replied, gripped by alarm and reverence. He stood respectfully at one side. His legs always felt like jelly for some reason, so it always felt safer to kneel. By now, his back was soaked in cold sweat.
“Are the matters in the Emerald Cloud Sect settled?” Ye Chen cast Nie Qingyun a glance as he asked.
“Yes, Your Highness. Everything is settled. Disciples with suspected origins or are untrustworthy are locked up. The other disciples were willing to take a Secret Heart-devouring Pill. The slaves can vouch with their own lives. They would not betray Your Highness,” Nie Qingyun said. The Great Ancestor had taught him that acting dumb in front of a Daemon King was a death wish. This was because a Daemon King’s Psyche could easily know about one’s slightest emotional fluctuations. Thus, they would know whether one was lying!
“Good, you did well.” Ye Chen took out five Purple-gold Divine Pills from the armguard’s space. With a wave of his hand, the five Purple-gold Divine Pills hovered in the air. “Of these five Purple-gold Divine Pills, you may eat one. Take the remaining four back to the sect and give them to the disciples who performed well. As long as you do what I ask diligently, I won’t be unreasonable.” Ye Chen knew what it meant to temper justice with mercy. At the moment, Nie Qingyun and the rest were extremely fearful of Ye Chen because they were eager to live. If he allowed them to continue living in this state of fear forever, one day, their mentality would reach a critical juncture. When they could no longer take it, they would no longer fear death. Ye Chen was showing them mercy so that they would know, they too, had a future working under him. This would give them a sense of hope.
Nie Qingyun took the five Purple-gold Divine Pills in his hand and shed tears of gratitude. “A thousand thanks, Your Highness. The entire Emerald Cloud Sect vows its loyalty to you, even until death, even when only one person is left standing!” The terror in his heart was slightly alleviated. Ye Chen was not as ruthless as the Daemon Kings in the legends. Of course, this was only how he appeared. Nie Qingyun would not dare to push Ye Chen’s limits.
“Mmm.” Ye Chen gave a non-committal response. “Now, return to the sect and send the Eclipsing Firebird to the Capital City. In two months, the Exclusion Zone will be opened. You shall follow me there.”
“Your Highness is entering the Exclusion Zone?” Nie Qingyun was momentarily stunned but dared not question it. He nodded promptly. “Yes, I’ll hurry back to the Emerald Cloud Sect now.”
“There’s no hurry. It’s fine as long as you hurry back before the Exclusion Zone opens,” Ye Chen said carelessly. The Emerald Cloud Sect was in Emerald Cloud Mountain, which was rather far from the Ye Clan. If he moved the Emerald Cloud Sect to Lianyun Mountains, then if anything happened in the Ye Clan, the Emerald Cloud Sect could immediately protect and support the Ye Clan. Nonetheless, to move such a colossal sect over, it was a tremendous undertaking, with many possible issues. After some thought, Ye Chen said, “One more thing. Send some people to Donglin County’s Lianyun Mountains and set up a branch there. Send some Earthly Venerable Rank and Tenth Level experts to garrison the place. I’ll put them to use there.”
“Very well. Your humble servant shall do that upon returning,” Nie Qingyun replied.
Ye Chen gave a few more instructions. If anything were to happen to the Ye Clan, the Emerald Cloud Sect would assist the Ye Clan in time. Even so, Ye Chen would not allow the Emerald Cloud Sect to enter the valley in Lianyun Mountains. That was the lifesaving foundation of the Ye Clan and must not be known to outsiders. The fewer the people who knew about it, the safer the Ye Clan would be!
After Nie Qingyun finished reporting all the matters, he hurriedly returned to the Emerald Cloud Sect.
As for Ye Chen, when he journeyed back to the imperial lodgings by Lake Nekros, it was already very late.
That night, Ye Chen sent Little Squido to continue treasure hunting in Lake Nekros. Other than a pair of silk trousers that matched the shirt, there were no other discoveries. Still, Ye Chen was very pleased. It turned out that the silk shirt had a matching pair of pants. When he wore this outfit, they fit his body softly and comfortably. Moreover, they had formidable defensive abilities. Any blade that was lower than a Tier Six spirit artifact could not cut through them at all. In addition, they had great shock-absorbing properties. If Ye Chen suffered a slash, the internal injury he received would be reduced by seventy percent. It was very effective against Heavenly Venerable Rank Celestial Chi and would surely weaken Mystique Venerable Rank Celestial Chi as well.
With this set of clothes, Ye Chen’s chances of survival in dangerous situations had greatly improved. Something like this was much more valuable than dozens of Purple-gold Divine Pills. He was delighted as he had reaped quite the harvest over these two days.
In the early morning, when the sky was just brightening, Master Apothecary Xuanyi, Great Emperor Mingwu, Yin Xiang, Ye Chen, Little Wingsy, and Little Tanuki started out together. As for Li Xu, he was staying in the imperial lodgings to copy The Grand Supreme Way of Alchemy and practice his alchemy. Thus, he would not be going to Jadeite City.
