by <unknown>
"Eh, do you feel that this newcomer Ye Yuan is full of mystery like he is unfathomable?"
"Speaking of which, it really seems to be a slightly so! Did you notice that Senior Apprentice Brother Ceng Cheng has already returned for a very long time, but still has not come to find trouble with Ye Yuan?"
"Hehe, I heard about that. The two of them really met before. But after Senior Apprentice Brother Ceng Cheng took a look at Ye Yuan's identity token, he immediately stood there mindlessly and did not even know that Ye Yuan left! Furthermore, did you know that the last time Ye Yuan went to the support star pavilion, he accepted a level nine mission?!"
"No way? So exaggerated? Then did he complete it?"
"Don't know. Shouldn't be complete I think? No matter how heaven-defying he, a Fourth Level Spirit Condensation Realm, is, it's also impossible to finish a level nine mission, right?"
"Uh, that's true."
After Ye Yuan entered the sect, he stayed in his dwelling and had little outside contact. He only did a few things. But these few things made him appear mysterious in the disciples' eyes.
And after Shao Yun got that jade slip, he directly returned to his own refinement room without even informing other people.
The group of elders was still waiting for his news, but it was like he evaporated into thin air.
The elders only sent someone to inquire in the Earth Barracks after not getting Shao Yun's news for a long time.
They only knew that Shao Yun already went there with this inquiry. But he arrived hastily and left swiftly too.
They only knew that Shao Yun returned to his own residence after they continued investigating.
But the elders only knew that Shao Yun directly entered a retreat and was not meeting anyone after the elders went to his place to ask!
After going one big circle only to get such news, it really angered everyone until they were tender on the inside with a burnt exterior.
This old punk is too irresponsible! Notify us if you're entering seclusion!
You made everyone wait for your news!
However, while they were dissatisfied, everyone was even more doubtful now. Even if Ye Yuan's level was really extremely high, he could not have made Shao Yun return in defeat after five minutes, right?
Just what did Shao Yun experience at Ye Yuan's residence?
Chapter 250. One After Another! |
At the Pill Hall.
Many elders were gathered together, discussing Shao Yun's sudden seclusion.
"You guys tell me; what did Shao Yun encounter at Ye Yuan's place? Why do I feel that this is more and more abnormal?"
"Logically speaking, the greatest possibility for Shao Yun's closed-seclusion is that he was defeated and felt that he lost face, so he was embarrassed to come and see us. That's why he chose to enter seclusion. But the problem is Shao Yun did not even spend five minutes at Ye Yuan's residence. It's not even enough for them to have a conversation!"
"Yeah. Five minutes isn't even enough to explain a pill formula clearly. What can they do? This isn't competing in martial arts either. Can Ye Yuan even one-shot defeat him?"
"Elder Xin, you're our big brother. You've got to step up for this matter! Can it be that we, such a large bunch of elders, really have to be defeated by Ye Yuan?"
Once these words were said, the group of elders looked towards the elderly person sitting at the main seat with his eyes shut to rest his mind. He was the Pill Hall's Third Seat, the number one person beneath Ouyang Yu and the vice hall head, Xin Yuanshu!
Xin Yuanshu was the elder with the highest seniority and the highest realm. He naturally became everyone's pillar at this time.
Likewise a high-rank Quasi-Alchemy King, but Xin Yuanshu's strength was much more powerful than Shao Yun's. He had already advanced to high-rank Quasi-Alchemy King for decades. Although he was still not quite at Ouyang Yu's level, he was not far off.
About Ye Yuan, an Alchemy Master becoming a Pill Hall nominal elder, Xin Yuanshu obviously had quite a few veiled criticisms. Or else he would not have appeared here today.
It was just that he had always been respectful towards Grand Elder, so he did not voice out the entire time.
Xin Yuanshu naturally looked forward to Shao Yun challenging Ye Yuan. But did not imagine that he would actually lose.
This way, he was naturally pushed out by everyone.
Looking at the elders crowding over, Xin Yuanshu's eyes snapped open. Sweeping a glance across everyone, he sighed and said, "Fine then. This old man will take a trip down and have a crack at this Ye Yuan."
Xin Yuanshu was already old. Even if he was displeased in his heart, he was unwilling to do this sort of seeking to prevail over others.
While Shao Yun's strength was not on par with him, this fifth seat was absolutely not an undeserved reputation. Originally, he thought that he could capture the enemy easily, but did not think that such a thing would happen.
Such a strange situation, it was naturally the safest to invite the hall head to come forward. But this way, there would be no room left to maneuver.
Xin Yuanshu has lived in the Pill Hall all his life and had very deep emotions towards the Pill Hall. Now that this matter involved the Pill Hall's honor, he had no other option but to throw his old face away.
A 200 plus-year-old man facing a 15-year-old youth. Even if he won, it would be winning unscrupulously.
If he lost, then his reputation would truly be lost.
If this were before, Xin Yuanshu would never really think of the word 'lost.' But with Shao Yun's incident as the herald, he did not have too much assurance currently.
Just as everyone said, this Ye Yuan was very peculiar.
The elders were initially worried that Elder Xin would be unwilling to stand up. Now that they saw him agree, they were naturally beside themselves with joy.
. . . . . .
Xin Yuanshu was not as arrogant as Shao Yun. When he arrived at the Earth Barracks, he directly knocked on the No. 72 door.
After Shao Yun's service, Ye Yuan's residence was already familiarized by the Pill Hall elders.
Before this, these elders truly would not be able to remember what number residence a core disciple was staying in.
The one who opened the door was still Lu-er. She only peeked her small head out and did not have any intention of letting Xin Yuanshu enter.
Xin Yuanshu was just about to speak when Lu-er took the initiative. "May I ask for this elder's name?"
Xin Yuanshu was dumbfounded, but he still reported his name. "This old man is Xin Yuanshu, the Pill Hall's Third Seat. I'm . . ."
Bang!
Lu-er shut the door before Xin Yuanshu even finished talking.
Xin Yuanshu was stunned at first before boundless humiliation and anger from embarrassment followed tightly!
Indeed, like master, like servant!
The master is so insensible, and the maidservant is the same!
Who treats guests this way?
Even if you, Ye Yuan, are really a Pill Hall elder, I, Xin Yuanshu, am also your senior, right?
Xin Yuanshu was just about to blow his top when the door squeaked open again.
This time, Lu-er poked out a small head plus an arm.
"Elder Xin is it? This jade slip is for you. Young Master says that you'll leave on your own after reading it." Lu-er was afraid that Xin Yuanshu would not read it, so she added on, "Uh . . . that Elder Shao Yun previously also left after reading the jade slip."
Finishing, the door shut with a bang again, and not a sound could be heard after.
Xin Yuanshu held the jade slip in his hand with a stupefied face.
He had already overlooked the way Ye Yuan and Lu-er treated guests and focused his attention on the latter half of Lu-er's sentence.
Shao Yun actually went into seclusion because of this jade slip?
With Ye Yuan's realm, what could the jade slip he carved be?
If one were to talk about something Ye Yuan had that Shao Yun would
take a fancy upon, that could only be pill formulas!
Ye Yuan knew many pill formulas that the sect did not. This was already common knowledge among the elders. But would Shao Yun give up the challenge because of a pill formula?
Wasn't this taking things too lightly?
After thinking for a long while, Xin Yuanshu could not figure it out either. He decided to take a look at the jade slip first!
When Xin Yuanshu sunk his divine sense into the jade slip, he immediately understood why Shao Yun entered closed-seclusion!
Following that, his expression became as interesting as Shao Yun's . . .
. . . . . .
"Elder Xin has already gone for such a long time. Why isn't he back yet?"
"No idea. Could it be that the two of them are locked in a pitched battle?"
"How is that possible? Elder Xin's level is practically reaching Hall Head's. Isn't trashing Ye Yuan a piece of cake?"
"Then how do you explain why he hasn't returned yet?"
In the Pill Hall, two elders fell silent at the same time. Suddenly, they exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with disbelief, but they chorused together, "Can it be a closed-seclusion too?"
Hence, they sent somebody to inquire again. The result they obtained was indeed a closed-seclusion!
The group of elders exchanged glances but did not know what to say.
This sort of situation was seriously too abnormal . . .
The Pill Hall's Third Seat and Fifth Seat went to find Ye Yuan to challenge him, but the result was that they entered seclusion bafflingly without even notifying them. What kind of situation was this?
"Just what kind of hex did Ye Yuan cast to actually let Elder Xin and Elder Shao enter a retreat with even giving us a heads up? They . . . didn't fall under some kind of hex, right?"
When encountering an inexplicable situation, people would naturally lean towards black magic.
The group of elders had nothing to say in response.
After a long while, an elder suddenly stood up and said gravely, "I'll go and meet Ye Yuan too. I don't believe that he can make me enter closed-seclusion too!"
Finishing, without waiting for the group to stop him, he directly hastened out of the door.
He left threateningly, but the result was that he . . . did not come back either.
That elder also directly entered a closed-seclusion!
The development of this situation was more and more peculiar. The elders felt that this was absolutely preposterous.
If it was only one or two, then fine. But wasn't three people somewhat unexplainable?
But this matter had yet to be concluded. In the following two days, there were several more elders who viewed themselves highly and were unwilling to submit that went to challenge Ye Yuan.
But . . . their outcomes were all . . . closed-seclusions!
Chapter 251. Sorcerer Ye Yuan |
The Pill Hall elders all entering closed-seclusions caused an uproar in the sect.
"Did you guys hear? More than eight elders announced closed-seclusions after visiting a Martial Hall core disciple called Ye Yuan's residence!"
"How can we not hear about it? The news about Pill Hall elders frequently entering and exiting the Earth Barracks has already given rise to much debate in the sect. It will be hard to not hear it. Now, they are all saying that the disciple called Ye Yuan is a sorcerer! It's rumored that those eight elders all went to find trouble with Ye Yuan. But they failed to daunt Ye Yuan. Instead, they chose closed-seclusion straightaway!"
"What sorcerer?! Those elders have incredible powers. They are all late-stage Sea Transformation Realm powerhouses! How can they be hexed by a puny little Spirit Condensation Realm martial artist?"
"En? Can it be that you know some behind the scenes stuff?" This disciple was clearly also a gossipy person. Hearing the other party, he could not help probing curiously.
The other disciple smiled mysteriously and said, "Hehe, talking about inside stories, I reckon that other than the parties involved, no one else knows. But I, a genius, discovered something fishy when I went through some careful deducing!"
The gossipy disciple's eyes lit up. This incident had already become the hottest topic in the sect these past few days. But nobody knew what happened in between, including those Pill Hall elders!
Now, someone actually said that he knew the backstory. This was clearly enough to whet people's appetites.
"Quickly say! What did you find?"
That disciple smirked smugly and said mysteriously, "Ever since the incident occurred, my initial view was the same as yours, which was Ye Yuan cast some spell! But after thinking about it, that's not right. Those few elders have unparalleled abilities. Even if Ye Yuan's enchantment was heaven-defying, it's also impossible to cross two major realms to cast a curse, right?"
That gossipy male thought about it and nodded, saying, "That's true. This explanation is unreasonable."
"Hence, I started to rack my brains to find what these eight elders have in common! To have made eight elders enter seclusion at the same time, Ye Yuan definitely prescribed the right medicine for the disease. Then what was this disease?" The disciple deliberately beat around the bush as he boasted.
The gossipy man was indeed very cooperative. He asked puzzledly, "Yeah, what is the disease? My God, just tell me. Is it fun to whet people's appetite?"
"I noticed that . . . these eight elders all issued level eight missions in the Support Star Pavilion before!"
"What? That's the common area you talked about? Hahaha, are you kidding? You mean that Ye Yuan answered all those level eight missions? That's how he made all eight elders enter closed-seclusion? Do you feel that it's possible?" The gossipy man felt like he was tricked and mocked him.
"Humph humph! You can't choose not to believe it! At first, I was also taken aback by this thought of mine. But this was the only possibility that I could think of. So I went to the Support Star Pavilion to inquire. Heh, then guess what?"
This time, the gossipy man was stupefied. He could not help asking, "What? Could it be . . . Ye Yuan really received all these level eight missions?"
"Nah. But . . . the day before Elder Shao Yun went to find Ye Yuan, Ye Yuan went to the Support Star Pavilion and stayed for an entire afternoon! He did not take on any missions. He just kept looking through missions on the mission jade wall non-stop!"
"Just based on this?"
"Just based on that! You have to know that Ye Yuan even took on Grand Elder's level nine mission previously! If he really completed the level nine mission, what does a few level eight missions even count as?"
"But . . . is this possible?"
"Uh . . . although I don't believe it either, I seriously can't find a more rational explanation."
. . . . . .
"Sect Master, this Ye Yuan is absolutely a sorcerer! You take a look at the Pill Hall now! How many elders are left?"
In front of Luo Qingfeng, Ouyang Yu denounced Ye Yuan as a sorcerer with bitter resentment.
Within two days, all the elders who went to Ye Yuan's residence all announced closed-seclusion.
Luo Qingfeng actually felt very uncertain in his heart too. But his expression remained unchanged as he said, "Ye Yuan is only a Spirit Condensation Realm martial artist while the elders are all Sea Transformation Realm experts. Furthermore, those few elders are all late-stage Sea Transformation Realm experts. How can Ye Yuan possibly cast any hex on them?"
"Then how does Sect Master explain this incident? If this continues, our Pill Hall is going to collapse soon! Without those few elders refining Quasi-Tier 4 medicinal pills, the Martial Hall elders are unable to cultivate! Sect Master, I suggest restraining Ye Yuan first to make him explain things clearly!" Ouyang Yu said furiously.
While these words had some threatening intent, what Ouyang Yu said was the truth.
These eight elders were all peak existences in the Pill Hall. Without them, they could not refine medicinal pills. If they kept staying i
n seclusion, problems would surface in the sect sooner or later!
Luo Qingfeng frowned and said, "Better wait another two days. Ye Yuan is a nominal elder that Martial Uncle Skymaple recommended. Before making clear of the situation, we shouldn't do anything rash."
"Sect Master! Didn't you notice that Martial Uncle Skymaple is also beguiled by Ye Yuan? He is a puny little Spirit Condensation Realm and low-rank Alchemy Master; what right does he have to be a nominal elder? Moreover, Martial Uncle Skymaple is currently in closed-seclusion too. Don't Sect Master find it strange?"
"This . . ." Being told of this by Ouyang Yu, Luo Qingfeng's determination appeared to be somewhat wavering.
"Sect Master! While I don't know what means Ye Yuan used, but don't tell me that you can carry on waiting in such a baffling situation right now? What if Ye Yuan really has ulterior motives towards the sect and we don't do anything? When the time comes, we'll be the Tranquil Cloud Sect's sinners!" Ouyang Yu pressed on tightly.
Luo Qingfeng's eyes glimmered. He nodded and said, "Alright then. This Sect Master will question Ye Yuan personally just what did he do to the elders! Come, men! Call Ye Yuan over for me!"
Luo Qingfeng left a trace of leeway in the end. If Ye Yuan were really innocent, then when Grand Elder exits seclusion, it would really not be easy to account.
. . . . . .
"Haha . . . Indeed, it really was like this! Indeed like this! Truly fantastical! For the Lucidum Bloodgrass to have such miraculous use, it's truly wondrous! I was saying why I keep being unable to refine the Spirit Wind Pill. Turns out that adding the Lucidum Bloodgrass together with the core ingredients can increase the circulation speed of essence energy!"
Inside Shao Yun's refinement room, he laughed madly.
He refined the Spirit Wind Pill every time according to the pill formula. But each refinement, the Quasi-Tier 4 medicinal pill, Spirit Wind Pill, would be low-grade or even worse.
Shao Yun kept being unable to figure out where the problem lied the whole time. It turned out that the pill formula itself was incomplete!
He had also tried to improve the pill formula, but it all ended in failure.