Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen had risen as an Intermediate Apothecary but he was still far from being satisfied. Currently, if his cultivation base was not at the Venerable Rank, he was unable to attack a Master Apothecary. However, before anything else, he must first become an Advanced Apothecary!

Li Xu was an Advanced Apothecary but he could not teach Ye Chen the ways of an Advanced Apothecary. Only Master Apothecary Xuanyi could do so. Ye Chen sat before Master Apothecary Xuanyi, who was refining the pills while explaining thoroughly the knowledge and key alchemy points an Advanced Apothecary must grasp. This went on for two days. These things would not be written in books. They were based on Master Apothecary Xuanyi's realizations and practice of alchemy.

"Beginner and Intermediate Apothecaries are merely the foundation. True alchemy begins at the level of an Advanced Apothecary. It took Li Xu and I over a decade to reach the level of an Advanced Apothecary. When Beginner and Intermediate Apothecaries refined and produced pills, they just had to follow a consistent set of rules. On the other hand, an Advanced Apothecary must be familiar with the medicinal properties of tens of thousands of herbs and match them wisely. He or she must also know how to use various assisting tools. I can only give you a rough account. There are many things that you must learn for yourself. There are many volumes and letters in this alchemy room which you may peruse as you wish. After you have gained some understanding, let Li Xu guide you in refining and producing Chi Deposition Pills," Master Apothecary Xuanyi said. An Intermediate Apothecary, in their later stages, could refine and produce Chi Deposition Pills. Their success rate must be higher than sixty percent before they could move on to other medicinal pills.

"Yes, Master," Ye Chen answered deferentially. After living together for so many days, he was filled with respect for this warm, old man before him. Without Master Apothecary Xuanyi's selfless teachings, Ye Chen might not be exposed to all this. Now, Ye Chen had learned a lot about alchemy. Whether it was ordinary or ancient alchemy methods, he had a brand new understanding.

Ye Chen was engrossed in the vast sea of books, wildly absorbing knowledge like a sponge sucking up water. In five days, he had read through everything an Advanced Apothecary must know. Due to his Astral Body's strengthening function, Ye Chen would mostly remember everything that he had read.

Although he had not refined and produced pills which could only be made by an Advanced Apothecary, Ye Chen was confident that he could do it, and that his success rate would not be too low!

The current Ye Chen was definitely at the standard of an Advanced Apothecary!

Ye Chen started to skim through the alchemy knowledge of a Master Apothecary. At the moment, his cultivation base was insufficient and he could not join the ranks of Master Apothecaries. Even so, this did not stop Ye Chen from learning.

It turned out that Master Apothecaries could be differentiated too.

Master Apothecaries were divided into six ranks - Junior Master, Senior Master, Expert Master, Great Master, Grand Master, and Divine Master. To be in any of these six ranks, one simply must reach the Earthly Venerable Rank. However, though they were Master Apothecaries, there was a world of difference between each rank. Master Apothecary Xuanyi was currently at the Great Master Rank. In the entire Great Eastern Continent, he would be in the top ten. Those at the Grand Master Rank were extremely rare existences. Progressing even by one step was immensely difficult. As for the Divine Master Rank, they practically only existed in legends.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi had a century plus a few decades' worth of practical experience in alchemy! Therefore, his learning was vast and profound to an extent unimaginable to Ye Chen.

It looked like there was still a very long road ahead. Fortunately, if one reached the level of a Master Apothecary, even if just at the Junior Master Attainment Level, it was enough to deal with day-to-day alchemy.

After Ye Chen had committed to memory everything he had learned, he began to study ancient alchemy methods in the armguard's space. He attempted to refine and produce medicinal pills of a higher rank.

As Master Apothecary Xuanyi and the rest focused on their alchemy, dark undercurrents were swirling in the Capital City. Many had heard about the Purple-gold Divine Fish and gathered in the Capital City.

Great Emperor Mingwu was drinking tea in a courtyard when a gold-armored imperial guard rushed in and knelt. "A report for Your Majesty – the sect leaders of the Taiyi Sword Sect and the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect have arrived with their people. They're staying at Yunlai Inn in the Capital City."

"Did you notice anyone from the Emerald Cloud Sect?" When Great Emperor Mingwu heard this news, he did not bat an eyelid.

"I've only discovered a few disciples from the Emerald Cloud Sect. Their sect leader is in isolated cultivation. Moreover, he had given strict orders to his disciples that they must not stir up trouble while he's in isolation," the gold-armored imperial guard still had one knee on the ground as he lowered his head and spoke respectfully.

"Well, since Nie Qingyun of the Emerald Cloud Sect didn't come, that saves us some trouble. Pay close attention to the movements of the Taiyi Sword Sect and the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect. Since they've arrived in the Capital City, naturally, I must visit them!"

"The Hao Clan, the Zhan Clan, and other clans of the Xiwu Empire had brought many troops into the Capital City as well."

"Forget about them. In the Xiwu Empire, they won't be able to cause much trouble!" Great Emperor Mingwu sipped his tea and spoke serenely.

The Taiyi Sword Sect and the Stalwarts of the Heavenly Stars Sect were led by Heavenly Venerable Rank powerhouses while these clans were much inferior in terms of strength. Even if they sent out the old-timers they had been hiding, at most, they would be Earthly Venerable Rank.

"Your Majesty, the Nanman Kingdom seemed to have sent some people over too. They're still on their way here for now."

Upon hearing that the Nanman Kingdom had sent people over, a murderous glint flashed in Great Emperor Mingwu's eyes. "Find out their whereabouts and their abilities. If they're below the Tenth Level, kill them without exception. If there are Venerable Rank fighters, report back immediately!"

"Yes."

All these people had come for the Purple-gold Divine Fish. A treasure like the Purple-gold Divine Fish was too great a temptation to them. A Human Tier soul pill refined from the meat of a Purple-gold Divine Fish could help a top Tenth Level fighter reach the Earthly Venerable Rank. It also had a certain probability of upgrading a top Earthly Venerable Rank fighter to the Heavenly Venerable Rank. Even if a Heavenly Venerable Rank fighter ate it, their cultivation base would be greatly boosted.

Great Emperor Mingwu was thinking that this gathering storm in the Capital City was all due to a fish that Ye Chen had caught. He wondered who would be the final victor. When should he visit Ye Chen, to see if Ye Chen was as much of a prodigy as Yin Mengtian had claimed? Ye Chen could even catch a Purple-gold Divine Fish, which was impressive.

There were some things that Great Emperor Mingwu had to pass to Master Apothecary Xuanyi when they met. Great Emperor Mingwu swept his gaze across the letters in his Heaven-Earth Pouch.

In the alchemy room, Ye Chen had prepared the materials for a thousand Chi Deposition Pills and began the refining process in the armguard's space. Now and then, he browsed through some information. Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki who were bored with nothing to do had gone out to play.

Considering the cultivation bases of Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki, as long as they did not leave this small island, there should not be any issues. Lei Yi and the rest had a Ninth Level cultivation base at most. They would only pick a fight with Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki if they had a death wish. Thus, Ye Chen could rest easy. In the past few days, besides the fish soup, Little Wingsy had also consumed thousands of various medicinal pills. However, they seemed to have entered a bottomless pit, causing no reaction. Could these Physics be ineffective for Little Wingsy? Perhaps he had not eaten enough?

Anyway, since Little Wingsy's injury was slowly healing, that was good enough.

Ye Chen's Astral Body felt a jolt. The Raven Hawk had appeared above the Capital City. Ye Chen used his Astral Body to pass a message to the Raven Hawk. The Raven Hawk then flew toward him, evading the many troops who were guarding Lake Ming, fluttering as it landed in the forest of the island. It carried no passengers on its back, only a parcel tied to its claws. Ye Chen sent Little Tanuki to retrieve that parcel.

Little Tanuki entered the alchemy room, holding the parcel in her mouth. Ye Chen took it from her and opened it, seeing that it contained a few letters and more than ten Heaven-Earth Pouches.

Ye Chen rifled through the Heaven-Earth Pouches, which were filled with large sums of Chi-amassing Pills and Chi Deposition Pills, five hundred thousand Chi-amassing Pills, and fifty thousand Chi Deposition Pills. Ye Chen was shocked. Why did his granduncle send so much?

Ye Chen took out the letter and read it. It was his granduncle's handwriting. They had already received the payment for their first trade from the Tiandu Chamber of Commerce. Now, they were preparing for their second trade. These Chi-amassing Pills and Chi Deposition Pills were for Ye Chen to use outside.

Upon reading Ye Changxuan's words, Ye Chen could not help but laugh drily. How could he use up so many Chi-amassing Pills and Chi Deposition Pills? Nonetheless, since they had received their first payment, the Ye Clan must be financially comfortable. Just by planting Lingzhi alone, the Ye Clan would receive an enormous income every few months.

After getting paid, Ye Changxuan and the rest had bought some Tier One Spirit Artifact Rank items at various auctions. Moreover, they had purchased plenty of high-ranking medicinal pills such as Marrow Absolution Pills and Nexus Pills, distributing most of them to the clan members. Other than some who were old, frail, or sick, everyone was eating Marrow Absolution Pills and starting to cultivate.

Ye Chen felt that the Ye Clan was undergoing an essential transformation, steadily becoming a super family.

Upon reading the letters' contents, Ye Chen's face gradually turned despondent. Ye Zhantian was in Donglin City. At first, things were operating well. The people and the martial art families of Donglin City were following Ye Zhantian's lead. Furthermore, Ye Zhantian was not as authoritarian or tax-crazy as Liu Xun, the Second-rank Prince of Donglin. Now and then, Ye Zhantian would purchase foodstuff from various places to hand out to the poor. He was as people-oriented as ever. Later, some people from the Nanman Kingdom contacted Ye Zhantian, asking him to submit to the Nanman Kingdom. However, Ye Zhantian refused. Thereafter, the Nanman Kingdom sent nine Tenth Level fighters to kill Ye Zhantian. Of those nine fighters, eight died, and one escaped with heavy injuries.

Although Ye Zhantian was not hurt in that battle and the three mystical beasts were merely slightly injured, Ye Changxuan dared not allow Ye Zhantian to continue staying in Donglin City. Ye Zhantian thus returned to the valley, remotely directing Xu Jian in managing Donglin City.

Ye Chen had never thought that the Nanman Kingdom would send so many fighters to deal with his father. If anything happened to his father, Ye Chen would harbor a lifelong resentment!

There were old and new grudges. Before this, those from the Nanman Kingdom had raided Ye Castle. Ye Chen still had not gotten his revenge. Now, they tried to assassinate his father. Ye Chen was boiling with fury. If he had enough power, he would storm the Nanman Kingdom, killing that so-called Grandruler of Nanman, Tuo Bahongye with his own hands! The Grandruler of Nanman was a Mystique Venerable Rank powerhouse, much more formidable than Great Emperor Mingwu. Moreover, expert combatants were a dime a dozen in the Nanman Kingdom. Ye Chen could only suppress his wrath for now.

Power! In this world, the best argument was a powerful fist! Weak people had no rights to speak!

Ye Chen gave it a deep thought. Liu Xun and Liu Kan had submitted to the Nanman Kingdom. Qiu Ying might have joined them too. Perhaps the Nanman Kingdom's attempt to assassinate his father was incited by Qiu Ying! One of Ye Chen's reasons for coming to the Capital City was to eliminate Qiu Ying. A fellow like Qiu Ying was malicious and despicable with extensive connections and massive influence in the Xiwu Empire. Who could tell, he might stab the Ye Clan in the back at any time!

After some planning, Ye Chen dispatched the Black Raven, who carried Little Tanuki and flew toward the place where the ministers resided in the Capital City.

It did not matter if Ye Chen wrote back home a little late. First, he was sending Little Tanuki and the Black Raven to find out where Qiu Ying was staying.

Ye Chen was a man who held on to grudges. Previously, he had nearly died at the hands of Qiu Ying! Now that he had sufficient strength, with more than enough power to deal with Qiu Ying, of course, he would settle any scores that he had!