Chapter 19: Refining Jade Spirit Liquid

## Chapter 19: Refine Jade Spirit Liquid

“Senior Sister Su, what a coincidence!” Seeing Su Xinyue, Ye Chen said, neither overly cordial nor indifferent.

“Hand over the Snow Jade Orchid.”

“This plant is mine. If Senior Sister wants one, go find it yourself!” Ye Chen feigned indifference, even consciously tucking the Snow Jade Orchid into his embrace.

“You seek defiance!” Su Xinyue immediately made her move, a white light swirling around her jade hand as she struck out with a palm.

“You rob others of their spirit herbs with such righteousness and confidence?” Ye Chen’s eyes flickered. He did not retreat but advanced, striking out with a fist.

Fists and palms met, and both were forced back.

Su Xinyue let out a cold snort and moved again. The tip of her foot touched the ground, her form nimble and light. A spirit sword had already flown out from her sleeve and into her hand.

“Clear Wind Chant!” As Su Xinyue let out another cold snort, the spirit sword trembled, spirit light swirling around it. She pointed the sword forward, piercing through the air. A sound like the chanting of wind emanated, truly sharp and incisive.

Witnessing this, Ye Chen’s expression turned grim.

He had never expected Su Xinyue to resort to a secret profound technique, striking with a killing blow from the outset. He was certain that if he didn't defend himself, he would be pierced through the heart by that single sword strike.

Immediately, he drew the Heaven Scrutiny Sword from his back.

*Clang!*

A metallic collision echoed. The Heaven Scrutiny Sword hummed and trembled, and Ye Chen was also shaken back. More importantly, while Su Xinyue's Clear Wind Chant had been blocked, scattered wind blades still cut through Ye Chen's robes, one of them drawing a line of blood on his face.

“Killing intent is too heavy; you will struggle to achieve positive fruition.” With one move gaining the upper hand, Su Xinyue waved her sword again, cleaving out a half-moon wind blade that seemed to tear open the void.

“To strike with killing intent against a fellow disciple for a single spirit herb, Senior Sister Su, is your killing intent heavy, or is mine?” Ye Chen was truly angered. He could clearly feel the killing intent in her sword. It was she who was striking with killing intent, yet she put on a self-righteous and sanctimonious facade.

In a flash, Ye Chen stepped forward, infusing True Qi into the Heaven Scrutiny Sword and striking out horizontally.

*Clang!*

Another metallic collision. Both were sent staggering back with muffled groans.

Ye Chen's momentum was greatly enhanced; he had already decided to teach Su Xinyue a lesson.

However, as soon as he stepped forward, a strong palm wind howled from his side.

“Human Origin Realm!” Ye Chen’s eyes narrowed.

Instantly, he hastily waved his fist to meet the strike.

However, the hidden assailant’s move was too swift, and Ye Chen’s counter was rushed, unable to gather his True Qi completely. Thus, the sudden attack sent him staggering back.

“Such audacity! How dare you lay a hand on someone from my Human Yang Peak!”

A leisurely voice, like the wind, drifted over. A white figure flashed through the forest, its speed strangely fast. It instantly closed in on Ye Chen, waving its hand and striking down with another oblique palm.

Seeing this, Ye Chen hurriedly raised the Heaven Scrutiny Sword horizontally in front of him.

*Pound!*

The assailant's palm struck the Heaven Scrutiny Sword.

The terrifying palm force sent Ye Chen staggering back once more. Before he could steady himself, another palm struck his chest.

Everything happened too quickly. Even with his combat ability, he couldn't react in time. The assailant was a genuine Human Origin Realm expert, their strength tyrannical. Coupled with the sneak attack, it left him no room to retaliate.

*Pu!*

When he finally stopped himself, Ye Chen coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood, his body swaying, nearly falling.

Only then did Ye Chen clearly see the newcomer's appearance.

It was a youth in a white Daoist robe, with a handsome and elegant countenance. His every movement exuded a refined and courteous temperament, yet a detestable teasing smile hung at the corner of his mouth.

“Senior Brother Qi Hao.” Seeing the newcomer, Su Xinyue immediately displayed a charming smile, her beautiful eyes filled with admiration.

“Junior Sister Su, are you alright?” The youth called Qi Hao smiled like a gentle breeze, but it was utterly false.

“I’m fine.” Cared for by someone she held dear, Su Xinyue's smile was somewhat shy. But when she turned to look at Ye Chen, her cheeks once again became frosted. “Senior Brother, he is Ye Chen.”

“Oh?”

Hearing this, Qi Hao instantly became interested. He looked at Ye Chen playfully. “So you are the new intern disciple of my Hengyue Sect.”

“With a Human Origin Realm cultivation, you actually resort to sneak attacks,” Ye Chen sneered, a flame of anger igniting in his heart.

“Don’t think that defeating that waste Zhao Long makes you invincible in the world. You must know that in my eyes, you are still too weak to withstand a single blow,” Qi Hao's mouth curved into a cold smile. “The Human Yang Peak gave you face, but you didn't appreciate it. You truly don't know what's good for you.”

“This debt of the sneak attack, you remember it.”

“I will be waiting for you to seek enmity,” Qi Hao said with a teasing smile.

Having finished speaking, Qi Hao turned, stepping with elegant grace to Su Xinyue’s side. He then plucked the Snow Jade Orchid, his handsome hand elegantly presenting it to Su Xinyue. He chuckled and said, “Junior Sister Su, for you.”

“Thank you, Senior Brother,” Su Xinyue displayed a shy smile, a blush once again flashing across her cheeks.

“Let’s go, back to Human Yang Peak.”

“Mm.”

The two left side-by-side, leaving behind the staggering Ye Chen.

“This account, I remember. You just wait for this old man,” Cold light constantly flickered in his eyes as Ye Chen fiercely wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth.

He did not leave but sought a secluded spot to secretly heal.

Within half a day, his shocking recovery power allowed his injuries to be restored. He continued his search for the Snow Jade Orchid.

He needed the Snow Jade Orchid to refine Jade Spirit Liquid, thereby borrowing the liquid to fill his vast Dan Sea, allowing him to break through as quickly as possible.

By dawn, he had just walked out of the back mountain. After nearly ten hours of effort, he had only managed to find nine Snow Jade Orchids, but it was enough for him to attempt refining the Jade Spirit Liquid.

Back on that small hilltop.

After calming his heart and condensing his Qi, Ye Chen’s mind moved, summoning true fire. He controlled the flame with his Qi control method, condensing it into a fiery furnace cauldron.

Subsequently, he threw the spirit herbs one by one into the cauldron without a specific order. The true fire surged, instantly turning the thrown spirit herbs into ash.

“Fire power is too fierce?” Ye Chen thought to himself, then steadily controlled the true fire to lower its intensity.

More than ten spirit herbs were thrown in. The spirit herbs rapidly withered, and drops of various colored liquid were refined.

This was a slow process.

Ye Chen’s mind was clear and bright, sweat pouring down him. His spirit was highly concentrated. Although he failed several times, he still found the knack. As the ash of the ground spirit herbs constantly increased, his control over the fire also gradually became skilled.

He didn't know when a medicinal fragrance began to diffuse from the small hilltop.

“Out of the furnace!” As Ye Chen’s voice rang out, a mass of spirit liquid flew out from within the fiery cauldron. He used a jade bottle to collect it.

*Huff!*

Spitting out a mouthful of turbid Qi, Ye Chen tightly grasped the three bottles of Jade Spirit Liquid, greedily inhaling the dense medicinal fragrance overflowing from the bottles.

“Hard work was not in vain after all.” Wiping away the hot sweat and smelling the medicinal fragrance, Ye Chen felt much of his fatigue dissipate.

“Just don’t know how the medicinal effect is,” he muttered to himself, then raised his head and poured one bottle of Jade Spirit Liquid into his mouth.

Suddenly, Ye Chen’s spirit trembled.

The Jade Spirit Liquid entered his body, flowing through every meridian like a pool of clear spring, soothing his fatigue, nourishing his spleen and kidneys. The spirit power contained within the Jade Spirit Liquid supplemented the True Qi he had consumed in refining the spirit liquid.

“Eh?”

Ye Chen let out a soft sound, a look of joy appearing on his face. Because of the continuous absorption of the spirit liquid, he had touched the barrier of the Second Layer of Condensing Qi.

In one go.

Ye Chen poured the remaining two bottles of Jade Spirit Liquid into his mouth.

This time, the golden fire surged out.

From afar, a golden flame seemed to burn on Ye Chen’s body. His black hair, undisturbed by the wind, moved on its own. With him as the center, a huge spirit Qi vortex formed. Ye Chen did not resist; his body was like a bottomless pit, whale-like and cow-like in its swallowing of heaven and earth spirit Qi.

*Bo…!*

He didn't know when, but a sound like that transmitted from the void.