Chapter 22: Buying Spiritual Herbs

## Chapter 22: Procuring Spirit Grass

"Have, have, have, this Wanbao Pavilion of mine has everything," Pang Dahai declared, raising two fingers as he spoke. "Fifty spirit stones for one stalk. How many do you desire?"

"This... so expensive."

"The more you wish to purchase, the cheaper I can make it," Pang Dahai stroked his small goatee and winked at Ye Chen. "Of course, a discount only applies for orders of fifty stalks or more."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen slammed Wei Yang's storage bag onto the counter. "Elder, what do you reckon the contents of this bag are worth in spirit stones?" he asked.

"Well now, judging by the weight of this storage bag, it’s not light, eh!" Pang Dahai exclaimed, already opening the bag. He glanced inside, then back at Ye Chen. "Tell me, did you rob that boy, Wei Yang?"

Ye Chen was startled by Pang Dahai's words. "Elder, you can tell?"

"Naturally." Pang Dahai then retrieved a jade pendant and a gleaming bead from the storage bag. "See this? He just bought these yesterday."

Uh!

Ye Chen couldn't help but touch the tip of his nose.

Pang Dahai asked no further questions. He pulled out a small abacus and bowed his head to calculate the value of the storage bag's contents. Finally, he announced, "Adding everything up, it's worth nearly nine hundred spirit stones. Do you wish to sell?"

"Sell," Ye Chen replied, handing over the storage bag containing his spirit stones. "Combined with these, I have two thousand spirit stones in total. I want to exchange them all for Snow Jade Orchid Flowers."

"Snow Jade Orchid Flowers?" Pang Dahai was surprised. "What use do you have for so many Snow Jade Orchid Flowers?"

"To make soup."

"I shall not ask further," Pang Dahai said and walked to the back.

Soon, he returned with a storage bag and handed it to Ye Chen. "I'll give you ten extra stalks, fifty in total."

"Thank you, Elder," Ye Chen accepted the storage bag and then leaned forward slightly. "Elder, do you know which direction in the Hengyue Sect's back mountain has the most Snow Jade Orchid Flowers?"

"Neither direction has many. Although Snow Jade Orchid Flowers are not exceedingly rare, they are a necessary spirit grass for refining Jade Spirit Liquid. Such spirit grasses are all specially cultivated in the sect's spirit grass garden. Those in the back mountain are wild and their quantity is extremely limited."

"So that's how it is!" Ye Chen touched his chin and murmured to himself, "No wonder they were so hard to find in the back mountain. It seems the sect controls these Snow Jade Orchid Flowers."

Thinking of the spirit grass garden, Ye Chen immediately dismissed the idea. It was a place not just anyone could approach.

With these thoughts in mind, Ye Chen was about to turn and leave when Pang Dahai stopped him.

"Does Elder have another matter?"

Pang Dahai rubbed his plump hands together and winked at Ye Chen. "Little fellow, do you still have any Bloodthirsty Pills?"

"Bloodthirsty Pills?" Ye Chen was somewhat astonished, then lightly shook his head. "That bottle of Bloodthirsty Pills was also something I obtained accidentally. There are no more."

Hearing this, Pang Dahai looked a little regretful.

His expression, however, piqued Ye Chen's curiosity. "Elder, what is the origin of those Bloodthirsty Pills, and why do you want them?"

"The origin of the Bloodthirsty Pills is rather significant," Pang Dahai's interest was piqued when speaking of Bloodthirsty Pills. "Only those from the Bloodthirsty Hall possess them. You've heard of the Bloodthirsty Hall, right? That colossal entity in the north of Great Chu."

"Bloodthirsty Hall." Ye Chen's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Is that hunchbacked old man from the Bloodthirsty Hall?" he murmured.

"Bloodthirsty Pills are extremely toxic, but in a certain sense, they are also a powerful tonic medicine. Alas... only one bottle, truly a pity," Pang Dahai mumbled, leaving Ye Chen somewhat bewildered.

Taking one last look at Pang Dahai, Ye Chen pondered as he walked out of the Wanbao Pavilion, silently lamenting that if he had known the value of the Bloodthirsty Pills earlier, he would not have given them to Pang Dahai so easily.

Outside the Wanbao Pavilion, Ye Chen quickened his steps and plunged into the back mountain of the Hengyue Sect, frantically collecting the spirit grasses needed to refine Jade Spirit Liquid.

Meanwhile, on Tianyang Peak.

When Zhong Laodao saw the crippled Wei Yang being carried up Tianyang Peak, he nearly fell off his chair.

"That little brat Ye Chen, his methods are too ruthless."

"Master, Ye Chen has gone too far in bullying my Tianyang Peak. Another day, I will go settle the score with him. I refuse to believe that a mere first layer Qi Condensation cultivator can defy the heavens."

"Let's first let the disciple of old man Ge Hong from Diyang Peak test the waters. This kid Ye Chen is too strange."

Night descended, and a hidden cave in the back mountain of the Hengyue Sect was still aglow with a dazzling golden light.

Beside the fire furnace, Ye Chen was already drenched in sweat.

Since collecting all the spirit grasses, he had not stopped refining Jade Spirit Liquid. By now, he had successfully refined over thirty bottles of Jade Spirit Liquid. Although there were some failures along the way, the success rate was steadily increasing.

Ye Chen remained in this state for three days.

On the night of the third day, he finally retracted his true fire. Beside him were already more than twenty bottles of Jade Spirit Liquid. Excluding the failures, this was the result of his three days of effort.

Hoo!

He exhaled a puff of murky air and poured a bottle of Jade Spirit Liquid into his mouth.

The spirit liquid, like a spiritual medicine, flowed throughout his body like a clear spring, nourishing him and replenishing his depleted energy.

Soon, bottle after bottle of Jade Spirit Liquid was poured into his mouth, to the point where all twenty-odd bottles were consumed.

If someone were present, they would surely be terrified. Jade Spirit Liquid contains majestic spiritual power, and drinking an entire bottle at once carries the risk of rupturing one's dantian. Even a disciple at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation would not dare to drink an entire bottle in one breath.

He, however, had drunk twenty bottles in one go.

This was the domineering aspect of the Dan Sea. Its vast capacity was sufficient to accommodate the majestic spiritual power contained within the more than twenty bottles of Jade Spirit Liquid. Furthermore, with the refinement of his true fire, the conditions were simply heaven-sent.

The more than twenty bottles of Jade Spirit Liquid entered his body and were intensely refined by the true fire, causing Ye Chen's entire body to radiate heat. Every meridian, every pore overflowed with pure true qi. The Dan Sea, filled with true qi, shimmered with dazzling golden light.

Bo!

At some unknown point, such a sound seemed to echo in the darkness.

Advance!

After just a few days, Ye Chen had once again broken through a realm.

"The third layer of Qi Condensation. Now, I have the capital to contend head-on with those in the Mortal Origin Realm." Clenching his fist and feeling the immense power within it, a smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of Ye Chen's mouth.

The night sky was deep, with scattered stars like dust.

After three days of refining Jade Spirit Liquid, Ye Chen walked out of the cave for the first time.

Eh?

Just as he exited the cave, Ye Chen saw a streak of white light flying in the distance. Its speed was incredibly fast, streaking across the sky and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"What was that?" Ye Chen muttered to himself, looking in the direction the white light had flown, then turned away.

Rustle!

Rustle!

Soon, the lush jungle transmitted a rustling sound. A gust of wind blew past, carrying with it a refreshing feminine fragrance.

Then, a beautiful figure arrived like the wind.

She was pure and elegant, bathed in the moonlight, pristine and flawless, like a fairy from a green wave, untouched by the dust of the world.

Upon closer inspection, wasn't this Chu Ling'er? More accurately, it was Chu Ling'er's sister, Chu Xuan'er.