Chapter 150: Departure

"Haha, indeed. I have this opportunity to break through to the Ancient Dan Realm, and I really must thank you, little fellow. If you hadn't returned in the nick of time and slain those two top experts of the Luo family, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had this chance to make a breakthrough." Seeing Ye Cheng, Elder Ye's gaze softened considerably.

"Haha, yes, Xiao Cheng. You played a monumental role in protecting our Ye family this time," Ye Hong chimed in with a smile.

"Grandfather, First Uncle, you flatter me. I am a member of the Ye family, and protecting the clan is my bounden duty," Ye Cheng said with a smile. There were too many people in the Ye family who cared for him, and whom he cared for. When the family was in peril, he could naturally not stand by idly.

"Haha, well said! As expected of a true son of the Ye family," Elder Ye said, patting Ye Cheng's shoulder with a laugh.

Ye Zhan looked at Ye Cheng and asked, "Lately, some of the guards have been saying that you're nowhere to be found all day, and every evening you return looking utterly exhausted. Xiao Cheng, your Third Uncle has a word of advice for you: striving hard in cultivation is right, but you must grasp the proper methods, not cultivate blindly."

"Xiao Cheng, what your Third Uncle means is that he fears you'll overexert yourself and damage your body, which could harm your future martial arts prospects," Ye Hong added.

"Oh? Is that true?" Elder Ye looked at Ye Cheng and asked. He had been in closed-door seclusion for some time and knew nothing of what had been happening outside.

Hearing this, Ye Cheng could only offer a wry smile. It seemed that his previous desperate style of cultivation had left too deep an impression on them, leading them to assume he was overdoing it.

With this thought, Ye Cheng could only smile helplessly and said, "You've all misunderstood. I wasn't cultivating; I was learning to refine potions..."

Ye Cheng briefly explained his potion refinement pursuits over this period, but omitted mentioning his Fire Physique. After all, anyone could attempt to become a pharmacist, so there was nothing particularly secret about it.

Hearing Ye Cheng's explanation, Elder Ye nodded slowly. With deep earnestness, he said, "The path of alchemy is not an easy one to walk. Grandfather only hopes you take it as an experiment. If you find yourself unsuited for this profession, give it up. Don't waste too much time and energy on it."

"Your grandfather's words are precisely what your Third Uncle and First Uncle wanted to say to you," Ye Hong said with a smile. Suddenly, he flipped his palm and produced a pouch of spirit stones, which looked to be around a hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Ye Hong continued, "Since the Luo family was destroyed, all of their wealth has fallen into our Ye family's hands. These spirit stones are a reward from the clan to you. You should be around the peak of the Blood Qi Realm by now. Once you break through to the Origin Realm, these spirit stones will come in handy."

They were unaware that Ye Cheng possessed a special physique; the journey he had to traverse in the Blood Qi Realm was far longer and more arduous than that of ordinary people. While others could swiftly break through to the Origin Realm upon reaching the peak of the Blood Qi Realm, Ye Cheng was different. What he aimed for was to push the Blood Qi Realm to its absolute limit before breaking through to the Origin Realm.

And they could hardly be blamed for this, as special physiques were simply too rare. Not even a large city like Yongle possessed a single youth with a special physique, and across the entire Nanyang Prefecture, those with special physiques were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

"There's no need, First Uncle. You all must have a great need for these spirit stones as well. I still have a considerable distance to go before reaching the Origin Realm, so there's no rush for these things," Ye Cheng said, waving his hand in refusal.

These low-grade spirit stones could be considered equivalent to a whole year's revenue from the Ye family's mines in past years. Although the Luo family's mines now belonged to the Ye family as well, the clan's consumption of spirit stones was also quite massive. I'm afraid that even the low-grade spirit stones used by Ye Hong, Ye Zhan, and the others for their annual cultivation barely reached fifty. As a youngster merely in the Blood Qi Realm, he felt too embarrassed to take so many spirit stones.

"You brat, you're already at the peak of the Blood Qi Realm, and the Origin Realm is within arm's reach. Just take them and stop hesitating like a maiden!" Seeing Ye Cheng refuse, Ye Zhan would not hear of it. He rebuked him aloud, snatched the spirit stone pouch right out of Ye Hong's hand, and shoved it directly into Ye Cheng's grasp.

"Xiao Cheng, accept them. Your First Uncle and Third Uncle still have plenty of spirit stones. Besides, you are now the most outstanding descendant of our Ye family. In the future, to say nothing of the Origin Realm, Grandfather dares to guarantee that even the Ancient Dan Realm will be a breeze for you. Who knows, you might even surpass the glory your father achieved back in the day," Elder Ye said with a smile.

Looking at the bulging pouch of spirit stones in his hand, Ye Cheng could only smile helplessly and store it away into his spatial ring. In any case, he had no idea how many resources his subsequent potion refinement would consume, and he would still need to purchase the tier-three potion, Qingling Potion, in the future.

...

Ever since Elder Ye broke through to the Ancient Dan Realm, various large and small factions around Luoyang Town, as well as those from the border regions, had been coming to offer their congratulations in a steady stream.

The birth of an Ancient Dan Realm expert was enough to alter the existing landscape. On one hand, they came to curry favor and build connections; on the other, they wanted to probe the Ye family's future movements so they could prepare accordingly.

Fortunately, the Ye family made their stance clear: "We do not attack unless we are attacked." They declared that they would firmly guard Luoyang Town and never encroach upon other territories. Upon receiving this assurance from the Ye family, the leaders of the other factions secretly heaved sighs of relief.

It was not that these factions were cowards, but rather that most of them were led by Origin Realm experts, lacking any Ancient Dan Realm powerhouse within their ranks. The might of an Ancient Dan Realm expert was something they deeply feared.

However, these were all matters for another time. At this moment, Ye Cheng had no heart to dwell on such trivial affairs. Ever since Elder Ye's breakthrough, he had once again immersed himself in arduous cultivation.

During the day, he would still run off to refine potions, but he only refined tier-two Blood-Clotting Powder and Origin-Solidifying Powder. At night, he would consume the potions, utilizing their medicinal efficacy to stimulate his blood qi.

Another month later, Ye Cheng successfully condensed four more blood lines within his body, bringing his total to eighty-seven blood lines and condensing his sixth blood crystal.

After that point, the efficacy of the tier-two potions noticeably diminished, causing the effects of Ye Cheng's potion consumption to be less pronounced than the previous month. Even so, his daily blood qi continued to increase steadily.

During this interval, he also made a trip to the All-Treasures Pavilion to retrieve the formula for the tier-three Qingling Liquid and purchased the corresponding herbs, storing them in his spatial ring. However, he did not begin refining it immediately; instead, he continued to refine tier-two potions every day, on one hand to deepen his experience, and on the other to meet the cultivation requirements of his realm.

Though the days of bitter cultivation were tough, being able to witness the steady progression of his blood qi every day, coupled with the ever-increasing success rate of his potion refinement, made Ye Cheng feel that his days were profoundly fulfilling.

Another three months slipped by. Relying on the potions, Ye Cheng had already condensed his seventh blood crystal, and his blood lines had reached ninety-three. Just two more condensed lines would allow him to form the eighth blood crystal, bringing him one step closer to the Great Circle of the Blood Qi Realm.

Awakening once again from his session of consuming potions to stimulate his blood qi, Ye Cheng could only shake his head as he felt the meager increment of blood qi within his body. He muttered to himself, "It seems the Blood-Clotting Powder no longer has any effect on me. Calculating the time, it's about time to make my move."

Five months had already elapsed of the six-month period leading up to the Heaven-Selecting Tournament. A full month ago, Ye Cheng had received word from Nangong Xue that they had already set off ahead of time for Nanyang Prefecture City.

On this day, Ye Cheng bid farewell to the members of the Ye family and once again embarked upon his journey. This time, he would make his mark in the Heaven-Selecting Tournament and strive to secure the qualification to use the teleportation array, heading toward that so-called Heavenly Plane.