The two Great Emperors, the Cangxuan Old Ancestor and Yuan Qingzi, appeared utterly serene as they began their session of Discussing the Dao, focusing on the supreme cultivation methods of their respective sects.
The Grand Dao Sect’s foundational technique was the Grand Dao Scripture. It emphasized the Dao of Nature, seeking harmony with the cosmos, transforming the infinite into the finite, and the formless into the tangible. By merging with Heaven and Earth, one could wield the ultimate power of the world. Though Heaven is silent, when it wills destruction, life and death are decided in an instant.
The Supreme Profound Sect’s foundational technique, the Supreme Scripture, was the exact opposite. It advocated defying Heaven and focused entirely on slaughter and conquest. In past epochs, the two sects had even erupted into devastating wars due to this fundamental ideological clash, though their relationship had since softened.
Half a day later, the Cangxuan Old Ancestor looked at Yuan Qingzi. “Let the younger generation handle their own affairs. It’s best if we old fellows don’t interfere, wouldn’t you agree?”
Yuan Qingzi pondered for a moment. “Agreed. However, I have one request.”
“Name it,” the Old Ancestor replied.
“Before I depart, I wish to meet Ye Chen.”
The Cangxuan Old Ancestor frowned slightly, then nodded. “Very well.” He immediately sent a mental transmission to the Sect Master: “Have the Sect Master bring Yuan Qingzi to Azure Mystery Peak.”
“Old Ancestor, will you be joining us?” the Sect Master transmitted back.
The Cangxuan Old Ancestor gave a faint smile. “I will not.”
The Sect Master’s body stiffened. What the hell? He was terrified. If Yuan Qingzi decided to strike at Ye Chen, they wouldn’t be able to stop a Medical Great Emperor! He was a Saint King realm expert, but against a Great Emperor, he was nothing.
Yuan Qingzi spoke calmly. “Lead the way. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to attack a mere Profound Sovereign Realm junior.”
The Sect Master forced an awkward smile and frantically transmitted a message to Lu Xuan: “Lu Xuan, prepare yourself. Senior Yuan Qingzi of the Supreme Profound Sect is coming to see Ye Chen.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan immediately informed Ye Chen.
Yao Yan, the Quasi-Emperor remnant soul, looked at Ye Chen nervously. “How about letting your Master conceal your martial arts cultivation first? Yuan Qingzi is a renowned Medical Great Emperor; he’s bound to see through your secrets.”
Ye Chen considered this, then turned to Lu Xuan. “Master, please lend me your aid.”
Lu Xuan casually opened the System interface and instantly concealed Ye Chen’s martial arts cultivation. The System’s power was absolute, rendering Ye Chen’s true strength completely invisible.
Yao Yan stared at Lu Xuan, utterly dumbfounded. “Peak Master Lu, what kind of Supreme Secret Art is this?!”
Now, Ye Chen appeared to be nothing more than an alchemist with extremely potent soul power. Beyond that, no one could detect any anomaly.
***
Soon, two divine rainbows streaked across the distant sky, shooting toward Azure Mystery Peak like meteors.
BOOM!
Yuan Qingzi and the Sect Master landed on Azure Mystery Peak. The Sect Master immediately glared at Lu Xuan, frantically signaling him to be respectful.
Lu Xuan slowly rose from his reclining chair. “Senior Yuan Qingzi, greetings.”
But Yuan Qingzi completely ignored Lu Xuan. His gaze swept right past him and fixed on Ye Chen.
Lu Xuan froze, then felt a wave of irritation. Did this old man glue his eyes to his forehead? What a snub! He immediately flopped back down onto his reclining chair.
The Sect Master coughed awkwardly, “Cough, cough…”
Lu Xuan remained motionless.
At this moment, Ye Chen spoke respectfully. “Senior Yuan Qingzi, greetings.”
Yuan Qingzi nodded faintly, and a wisp of his divine sense extended, sweeping back and forth over Ye Chen’s body.
The Sect Master was incredibly nervous, fearing that Yuan Qingzi would do something to Ye Chen. After all, this was the transcendent Medical Great Emperor of the Southern Wilds! If Yuan Qingzi truly wanted to harm Ye Chen, he could plant a deadly Restriction in his body without a sound.
Moments later, Yuan Qingzi spoke plainly. “Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!”
Ye Chen looked bewildered. What does that mean?
Yuan Qingzi turned to the Sect Master. “I must be going now.”
Just as he was about to leave, Yuan Qingzi suddenly glanced back at Lu Xuan, frowning slightly. “Hmm? The Aura of Destiny? How could such a dense Aura of Destiny manifest on a waste?”
Lu Xuan: “…”
Sect Master: “…”
In the next instant, Yuan Qingzi tore the void, his figure blurring as he stepped into the spatial rift and vanished.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. His intuition told him Ye Chen was not as simple as he appeared, yet his divine sense had found no flaw. However, Ye Chen’s soul power was vast, several times stronger than cultivators of the same realm.
Yuan Qingzi recalled the Cangxuan Old Ancestor’s words: “Let the younger generation handle their own affairs.”
He muttered to himself, “Cangxuan, then let me show you the younger generation of my Supreme Profound Sect in this epoch.”
***
It was a long time after Yuan Qingzi disappeared that the Sect Master finally recovered. He turned to Ye Chen. “Nangong Baixue is still alive.”
Ye Chen frowned slightly. She survived? But he quickly let the thought go. If Nangong Baixue hadn’t died this time, she certainly would the next!
The Sect Master spoke slowly. “You don’t need to worry about the Nangong Baixue incident. The elders of the Ancient Qin Family and the Supreme Profound Sect won’t move against you, but their younger generation is certainly targeting you now.”
A surge of fighting spirit erupted from Ye Chen. “Then let’s fight!”
The Sect Master nodded, patting Ye Chen’s shoulder. “Ye Chen, when you fight, hold nothing back! Kill whoever needs killing! The Grand Dao Sect will always stand behind you.”
“Thank you, Sect Master,” Ye Chen replied.
Moments later, the Sect Master left to find the Cangxuan Old Ancestor.
Ye Chen’s eyes burned as he looked toward the sky. “Master, I am eager to meet the younger generation of the Ancient Qin Family and the Supreme Profound Sect.”
“Good,” Lu Xuan said simply.
Soon, Ye Chen returned to his cave dwelling to continue cultivating the Desolate Heaven Art.
***
Meanwhile, outside the Grand Dao Sect, news of the Pill Refining Exchange Conference had already spread throughout the provinces.
Ye Chen’s name had shocked the world, overpowering the alchemy prodigies of the Yao Family and the Pill Fragrance Sect to claim first place in the competition! This was astonishing, considering the Grand Dao Sect’s alchemy heritage was far inferior to that of the Yao Family and the Pill Fragrance Sect.
And Ye Chen was only sixteen years old—a sixteen-year-old Earth-tier Alchemist!
Furthermore, Heaven-tier Alchemists like Elder Cang Li, Dan Xiangzi, and Yao Baili had all praised Ye Chen profusely, openly stating that they had gained profound insights from observing his alchemy technique during the conference.
Everyone was stunned. Insights that could enlighten Heaven-tier Alchemists? Just how profound was Ye Chen’s technique?
In addition, the matter concerning Nangong Baixue was also causing a huge stir. The Ancient Qin Family and the Supreme Profound Sect did nothing to suppress the rumors.
Powerful figures across the provinces debated the matter hotly.
“The Ye Family of Qingzhou, a mere speck of a place, actually produced an alchemy genius like Ye Chen?”
“It’s a pity this was the last Pill Refining Exchange Conference. Who would have thought the Supreme Profound Sect would lose over a dozen genius alchemists?”
“Nangong Baixue is no simple woman either. She possesses the Primordial Yin Body and is the fiancée of Qin Xiao, the Divine Son candidate of the Ancient Qin Family!”
“I feel a confrontation between Ye Chen and Qin Xiao is inevitable! Nangong Baixue was annulled, and she’s about to become a member of the Ancient Qin Family. Now, Ye Chen nearly killed her. Qin Xiao won’t stand for this!”
As Ye Chen’s fame soared, Lu Xuan’s name was inevitably brought up again.
Some people joked, “We always said that anyone who became Lu Xuan’s disciple was ruined for life. Now, it seems Peak Master Lu might actually have some real skill?”
Others burst into laughter. “Lu Xuan? He has nothing! He’s just a puppet master taking credit for others’ success. Ye Chen’s true master must be someone else! If Ye Chen hadn’t joined Azure Mystery Peak, his talent might have remained hidden! This time, he made both the Yao Family and the Pill Fragrance Sect suffer a huge loss.”
Everyone chuckled playfully. “We can’t mock Lu Xuan anymore! If nothing unexpected happens, his disciple Ye Chen is destined to become a Heaven-tier Alchemist! When that day comes, we’ll have to respectfully address him as ‘Peak Master Lu’!”
They roared with laughter.
“Hahahaha… Peak Master Lu…”
***
At the Nangong Family.
The Nangong Family’s Quasi-Emperor Old Ancestor was furious. “That despicable Ye Chen! To dare strike at Baixue with murderous intent! Fortunately, Senior Yuan Qingzi’s medical Dao is transcendent, or the consequences would have been unthinkable.”
Nangong Baixue was the key to the Nangong Family’s rise, carrying the family’s destiny! If she successfully married Qin Xiao, the Nangong Family would gain the backing of the Ancient Qin Family and the Supreme Profound Sect, two Overlord-level Powers that had stood firm in the Southern Wilds for epochs. Their family would rise to prominence.
Moreover, the Ancient Qin Family Old Ancestor had promised that after Qin Xiao and Nangong Baixue were married, the Qin Family would personally help the Nangong Family forge a Great Emperor!
Once that happened, they could settle their grievances with the Ye Family openly and legitimately! The Ancient Qin Family and the Supreme Profound Sect were constrained by their reputations and couldn’t move against the Ye Family directly, but the Nangong Family had no such scruples!
The day Qin Xiao and Nangong Baixue married would be the day the Ye Family was annihilated!
The Nangong Patriarch’s face was etched with killing intent. “That boy Ye Chen is utterly ruthless. If only we had secretly killed him during those seven years!”
The Nangong Old Ancestor sighed. “It’s difficult to kill Ye Chen now. He is rumored to have a Quasi-Emperor level protector. Even if our Nangong Family were to move, we couldn’t guarantee his death.”
The Nangong Patriarch sneered. “Qin Xiao will make his move! Ye Chen is dead, and the Ye Family is doomed!”
***
At the Yao Family.
The Yao Family’s territory spanned hundreds of thousands of miles, a land of towering mountains, lush greenery, and ancient spirit trees. Countless spirit herbs, recorded in the Yao Family’s Classic of Flora and Fauna, could be found growing on the peaks. Having existed for several epochs, the Yao Family’s research into spirit herbs was unmatched in the Southern Wilds.
Within their vast domain, the fragrance of herbs permeated the air, constantly nourishing the spirit. Countless high-grade spirit herb gardens were cultivated across the peaks.
Alchemists flowed in and out of the Yao Family grounds continuously, for this was the Holy Land of Alchemists in the Southern Wilds. There was a saying: “To achieve the Dao of Pills, one must enter the Yao Family!” In the Southern Wilds, there were only two kinds of elixirs: those made by the Yao Family, and those that were not.
After Yao Baili and the prodigies, including Yao Huanhuan, returned to the Yao Family, their Old Ancestor was extremely displeased with the results of the alchemy competition.
In the Yao Family’s main hall, the Old Ancestor’s expression was grim. “No one has ever surpassed my Yao Family in Spirit Herb Mastery! If anyone does, they must be a Yao Family member!”
Yao Huanhuan and the other prodigies lowered their heads. Before going to the Grand Dao Sect, they had all believed the same thing. But then Ye Chen had appeared out of nowhere, crushing the pride of both the Yao Family and the Pill Fragrance Sect.
The Yao Old Ancestor’s face flushed with fury. “To lose the Spirit Herb Mastery competition to an unknown boy is one thing, but to lose the alchemy competition as well! This has never happened in the history of my Yao Family!”
Yao Baili’s face twitched, and he dared not speak. The shame was immense. The Holy Land of Alchemists had been utterly defeated by a sixteen-year-old from a small sect.