Chapter 1074: Can't Get Up?

Chapter 1075: Recruitment Order

In the bustling streets of Youdu's Second Heaven Layer, Ye Chen walked along listlessly.

Even after walking a long distance, he could still hear the white-haired elder shouting angrily: "Get out! Get lost and stay away from here."

It was no wonder the white-haired elder was so furious—who did you have to seek out? Why did it have to be Ruotian Zhuque? Don't you know who that is? He's the ancestor of the Zhuque family, the ruler of Youdu Ancient City. I'm just a minor elder—who gave me the authority to meet Ruotian Zhuque?

Ye Chen cleared his throat and quickened his pace, deciding to ignore it and keep his mind at ease.

Ever since arriving on Zhuque Star, he had encountered surprises at every turn. Without money, he had to work hard to earn his way into Youdu, but once inside, he was stuck wandering only the First and Second Heaven Layers. Following Youdu's rule of one layer being more restricted than the last, who knew how long it would take to save up enough.

As he pondered this, Ye Chen lifted his head slightly, hoping that the reincarnated person would come down more often, saving him the trouble of running around everywhere.

Hurry up!

While he was walking, the cultivators on the street suddenly started moving in a rush, nearly knocking Ye Chen off his feet in their haste.

Ye Chen glanced around and followed the crowd.

Before long, they all stopped in front of a massive stone stele, where a sea of people had gathered.

Ye Chen looked closely and saw an imperial decree posted on the stele, with bold characters proclaiming: Alchemist Recruitment Order.

At the sight, Ye Chen's eyes lit up. He had almost forgotten that he was an alchemist, and back in Da Chu, he even had the renowned title of Dan Saint.

Taking his gaze from the decree, Ye Chen scanned the crowd of cultivators, noting that over forty percent carried true fire, while the rest, less than sixty percent, bore beast fire or earth fire—all of them alchemists.

"It seems that in the myriad realms of the heavens, being an alchemist is still a highly sought-after profession." His eyes shifted to his own dantian sea.

His dantian sea wasn't empty; it contained a cluster of golden flame and a strand of pitch-black heavenly thunder. These were immortal fire and heavenly thunder, taken from his immortal fire clone and heavenly thunder clone before leaving Da Chu, though only parts of them.

Everything had been prepared for unforeseen needs.

Clearly, his foresight from back then had been wise.

As it turned out, the immortal fire was still very useful now, as it could help him refine pills.

In Da Chu, he was the Dan Saint, and now that he had advanced to the Heavenly Realm and formed his primordial spirit, he was confident he could easily refine six-pattern pills.

Of course, what interested him wasn't just earning money through alchemy, but what privileges being an alchemist in Youdu might grant. If those privileges allowed him direct access to Youdu's Ninth Heaven Layer, that would save him a lot of effort.

With that in mind, he tugged at the sleeve of a purple-clothed young man in front of him and asked with a smile, "Fellow daoist, if one is selected as an alchemist, are there any benefits?"

"The benefits are huge."

The purple-clothed young man immediately responded, speaking at length.

"Alchemists are ranked from first tier to ninth tier. Once selected, even the lowest-tier alchemist gets a property in Youdu. And that's not all—Youdu provides an annual salary, which is a substantial income, at least over a hundred thousand yuan stones a year. Naturally, the higher the tier, the larger the property and the greater the salary. It's far better than those cultivators out there fighting and killing for a living."

"Then, is there any chance of this?"

Ye Chen quickly asked,

"After being selected, can one freely enter and exit Youdu from the First to the Ninth Heaven Layer?"

"That depends on your tier."

The purple-clothed young man replied.

"The selected alchemists each receive a specialized token. Youdu has always had strict rules—the higher the tier, the more privileges. For example, Kuyu Zhenren is a seventh-tier alchemist, the only one in Youdu who can freely access all layers from First to Ninth."

"Kuyu Zhenren, a seventh-tier alchemist."

Ye Chen stroked his chin.

"Does that mean he can refine seven-pattern pills?"

"Sign up! Sign up!"

While Ye Chen was musing, the purple-clothed young man had already squeezed toward a pavilion beside the stele.

He wasn't the only one—all the alchemists present were rushing forward, even those with beast fire or earth fire joined in the frenzy. They knew their chances were slim, but they still wanted to seize this opportunity to leap into success.

Ye Chen ended up at the back of the line. The recruitment for alchemists was in three days, but first, they had to register.

"Have you heard? The one overseeing the alchemist selection this time is the Ninth Prince of the Zhuque imperial clan."

Someone said.

"The Ninth Prince? Ruotian Xuan Yu?"

"Among the Zhuque family, there's only one Ninth Prince—who else could it be but Ruotian Xuan Yu?"

Someone else replied, letting out a sigh.

"What a pity! The most promising person in the Zhuque family to surpass his predecessors has met with disaster. I heard yesterday that his cultivation has dropped from quasi-heavenly peak to quasi-heavenly seventh level. At this rate, in less than three years, he'll become a complete waste."

"That's just fate."

Someone sighed.

"Looking back at his younger days, at just ninety years old, he was almost on the verge of reaching the imperial realm. What a shame—heaven envies talent!"

"Who can argue with that?"

"Ruotian Xuan Yu."

Behind him, Ye Chen murmured to himself. This was the first name he'd heard related to the Zhuque family besides Ruotian Zhuque.

"At ninety years old, quasi-heavenly peak—that's incredibly heaven-defying talent."

Ye Chen was deeply shocked. Relatively speaking, Ruotian Xuan Yu's talent surpassed even that of his disciple Xiyan. Such a prodigious genius would outshine everyone in Da Chu!

Thinking of Xiyan, Ye Chen's mind wandered.

Time flies, a hundred years in the blink of an eye. He still remembered the scene of her death—poignant and heartbreaking. She had asked for a promise to marry her in the next life, but who knew if this merciless heaven would grant her one?

Shaking off his thoughts, Ye Chen entered the pavilion and stopped in front of a stone table.

On the other side sat a gaunt elder with a fairly upright appearance, though his face was stern and gloomy, as if etched in iron. Anyone who didn't know might think someone owed him eight hundred yuan stones.

This man's identity was no simple matter. Named Yue Zhen, he was an elder of Youdu's Spirit Pill Pavilion and a registered disciple of Kuyu Zhenren. Just that status alone set him apart.

"Show me your flame."

Yue Zhen said flatly.

Ye Chen didn't hesitate and summoned his immortal fire, but he changed its color to purple to conceal its true nature.

"What pure true fire."

Yue Zhen's eyes narrowed, and even after returning to normal, they still flickered with a sharp glint. Faintly visible within was a hint of greed.

"Senior, am I qualified to participate?"

Ye Chen calmly withdrew the immortal fire and looked at Yue Zhen.

"Of course."

Yue Zhen replied indifferently, glancing at Ye Chen before handing over a jade token engraved with numbers.

"Drip your fresh blood into it, and go to Skygazing Pavilion in nine days."

"Thank you."

Ye Chen took the jade token and turned to leave the pavilion.