Nine Astra Skies

"Judging by our current pace, we should reach the Central Empire within two months," Master Apothecary Xuanyi said. He gave Ye Chen a strange look. He was wondering just what Ye Chen had fed the Golden Sun Condor that had enabled it to advance to mid-Mystique Adept Level.

The Golden Sun Condor was now a mid-Mystique Adept Level mystical beast! Even the Grandruler of the Nanman Kingdom, Tuoba Hongye, would have a difficult time against the Golden Sun Condor.

"Master, I have several medicinal pills here. They should prove to be helpful for Brother Li and Master," Ye Chen said, retrieving several Soul-amassing Pills and Soul-consolidating Pills. Ye Chen had always expressed his gratitude for Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu. Therefore, he never reserved anything he had, especially since he still had plenty of Soul-amassing Pills and Soul-consolidating Pills.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi's face turned pale when he saw the medicinal pills Ye Chen held in his palm. His voice trembled when he asked, "This… Soul-amassing Pills and Soul-consolidating Pills?"

"Master knows of these pills as well?" Ye Chen asked shockingly.

Li Yu looked at Master Apothecary Xuanyi curiously. Just what sort of medicinal pills were these that they warranted such a reaction from Master Apothecary Xuanyi? He had never heard of something like the Soul-amassing Pill and Soul-consolidating Pill.

"Yes, I've read about these two medicinal pills in my master's alchemy notes. They only contained the method of refining and producing these pills. They were too complicated and it was not something that anyone could simply learn," Master Apothecary Xuanyi said, reminiscing his past.

Master Apothecary Xuanyi's master had practiced ancient alchemy methods? Ye Chen was shocked. He thought if the ancient alchemy method was still present today, it was probably passed down through generations.

"There are some matters that I have not told even Li Xu. Since we're heading back to the Central Empire together, let me tell you something of my tutelage," Master Apothecary Xuanyi said with a small sigh.

Li Xu was listening intently. He knew about Master Apothecary Xuanyi's story but knew very little of his tutelage despite having followed Master Apothecary Xuanyi for so long.

"The tutelage I belong to was a supreme force. It was known as the City of the Apothecary King. Even the members of the large sects of the Central Empire don't know the whereabouts of the City of the Apothecary King. It's an extremely secretive place. Each year, the City of the Apothecary King will send out some of their apprentices to practice their craft. All of these apprentices have attained the rank of Master Apothecary, so the name of City of the Apothecary King was very reputable."

"All of their apprentices are Master Apothecaries?" Ye Chen was in awe.

"Amusing, right?" Master Apothecary Xuanyi looked at Ye Chen and Li Xu and smiled faintly. "Each one of these apprentices were prestigious and affluential individuals and they were the ones who gave the City of the Apothecary King such reputation. They never disclosed the location of the City of the Apothecary King nor mentioned anything about the city. Everyone thinks that my alchemy technique ranks among the best ten in the Great Eastern Continent. In truth, this so-called ranking is just an exaggeration. In the City of the Apothecary King, there are three Grand Supreme Elders and twelve elders. Their pill cultivation technique is truly out of this world. There's nobody else that could rival them. My master was one of the elders as well but he has already passed on." At this point in the story, Master Apothecary Xuanyi's face turned dim.

Even Master Apothecary Xuanyi had described their pill cultivation technique as being out of the world. Just what sort of realm have they honed their skills?

"The City of the Apothecary King was a revered force as well. Some of the Grand Supreme Elder and elders have a cultivation base that has reached the fabled Goldy Venerable Rank. Another advantage that comes with being a Master Apothecary was that they could easily recruit plenty of powerful fighters to fight for them. Since each superb medicinal pill was the equivalent of a second life for these fighters, many would fight for the City of the Apothecary King to earn their blessing. It was said that even the legendary Tribunal Council did not dare to upset the City of the Apothecary King. However, other than sending their apprentices out to practice their craft, the city usually doesn't involve themselves with the matters of the world," Master Apothecary Xuanyi explained.

Ye Chen nodded slightly. The City of the Apothecary King was a near astronomical entity. The forces of the world held very little significance to them.

This was the first time Li Xu had heard such a tale from Master Apothecary Xuanyi. He was aware that Master Apothecary Xuanyi's tutelage was extremely powerful but this was not what he had expected.

"Is Master still an apprentice of the City of the Apothecary King?" Ye Chen asked. He heard Master Apothecary Xuanyi had not returned to the Central Empire for nearly a hundred years.

"I've been expelled from the tutelage," Master Apothecary Xuanyi replied as his face turned sour.

"Why is that?" Ye Chen asked curiously.

"It's a long story. Back when I was in the City of the Apothecary King, I only possessed average talent. Among the seven apprentices under my master, I ranked at the sixth. All in all, I was nothing special. Still, the master took great care of all of his apprentices." Master Apothecary Xuanyi recalled back to the distant past. "Then, an incident occurred. A Soul-tempering Pill cultivated by one of the Grand Supreme Elders of the tutelage was reported missing. After an investigation led by that Grand Supreme Elder, they concluded the culprit was one of the five apprentices under my master. In a moment of anger, the Grand Supreme Elder wanted to have all five of us killed. It was all thanks to the protection of the master that we were able to survive. However, we were expelled from the tutelage."

"And the missing medicinal pill incident?" Ye Chen asked.

"The five of us suspected that it was the work of the eldest senior brother, but we have no evidence. So, we had no choice but to leave the tutelage." Master Apothecary Xuanyi sighed, his eyes turned red. "Ten years after we were expelled, we were informed of the master's passing. But we were unable to return to the tutelage to pay our respects. It felt like we were betraying the master's love for us."

When Li Xu saw Master Apothecary Xuanyi like this, he began to feel sad as well.

"Master, don't be sad." Ye Chen comforted Master Apothecary Xuanyi. "Was there a conclusion to the incident?" Was there a chance that Master Apothecary Xuanyi was still wrongfully accused after all this time? Ye Chen did not believe that someone as righteous as Master Apothecary Xuanyi would steal the medicinal pill.

"Thereafter, one of the elders looked into it. The five of us were discounted from the list of suspects. The incident had been so long ago that they could no longer find out exactly who did it," Master Apothecary Xuanyi replied.

"Since they have the full story, then Master can return to the City of the Apothecary King, can't you?"

Master Apothecary Xuanyi smiled bitterly and shook his head. "The Grand Supreme Elder realized his mistake as well. But he didn't want to lose face by admitting to his faults and he didn't want to be accused of framing the apprentices. However, he made a very generous offer. He said that anyone of us who could raise an apprentice that can reach the Mastery Apothecary level may be allowed to return to the tutelage."

"That's ridiculous. Was he going to throw the apprentices under the bus just so that he wouldn't lose face? This elder is so unreasonable!" Ye Chen could not contain his anger.

"Brother Ye Chen, I'd like to ask you for something in place of Master," Li Xu said, directing his gaze at Ye Chen. "Master's lifelong wish was to return to the City of the Apothecary King to pay his respects to his master. Sadly, my aptitude in alchemy is limited hence I'm not able to reach Master Apothecary level. But Brother Ye Chen is already at Master Apothecary level. Please fulfill this wish, Brother Ye Chen!" Li Xu extended his request and was getting down on his knees.

Ye Chen quickly held Li Xu. "I'm also Master's apprentice. I'll go to the City of the Apothecary King. Are we going there right away?"

"Entrance to the City of the Apothecary King is only permitted in June every year. It's January now so we still have a lot of time. During this period, I plan to visit several old friends." Master Apothecary Xuanyi was extremely grateful to Ye Chen. He was close to the end of his life yet he was still unable to pay his respects at his master's grave. He was starting to get worried, so he had to set aside his pride and ask Ye Chen for a favor.

"Does Brother Ye Chen want to go with us?" Li Xu asked Ye Chen.

Ye Chen frowned a little. Five months... That was too long.

"How about this. After we reach the Central Empire, we go our separate paths temporarily. After five months, we'll meet again at Ning Yuan Inn in the Capital City," Master Apothecary Xuanyi suggested. Ye Chan probably had some other things to do, coming to the Central Empire. He was going to remind Ye Chen to be careful. When he thought about it, for Ye Chen's Daemon King Stage, unless he ran into some hidden powerful fighters, ordinary fighters should not give him much trouble.

"Alright, after five months I'll head to the Capital City and look for Master. Please, Master, take these medicinal pills."

Master Apothecary Xuanyi refused without a second thought. "These medicinal pills are incredibly valuable so you keep them with you. An old master like me has no use for such precious medicinal pills! As for Li Xu, why don't you leave a Soul-amassing Pill for him?"

"Master, I still have some with me!"

Under Ye Chen's insistence, Master Apothecary Xuanyi finally agreed to take the medicinal pills.

When he saw Ye Chen and Master Apothecary Xuanyi's act of going back and forth, Little Wingsy reached into the Heaven-Earth Pouch. He grabbed a handful of Soul-amassing Pills and gulped them down in one go. He was perplexed - it was just some Soul-amassing Pills and Soul-consolidating Pills. Why go through the whole ordeal of going back and forth?

For the next month, Ye Chen trained throughout the journey. His cultivation base had seen some improvement. Under the nourishment of the Celestial Chi Flying Dagger, he was nearing top Heavenly Venerable Rank. Once Ye Chen's cultivation base had reached top Heavenly Venerable Rank, his Astral Body would advance to top Mystique Venerable Rank. Then, none shall oppose him apart from the Daemon King!

Ye Chen first sent Master Apothecary Xuanyi and Li Xu to a city called Xuan Ming. Then, he went on to Yan Yun County. The Scarlet Flame Sect of the Central Empire was located in the mountain ranges of the Scarlet Flame Mountain, which was in Yan Yun County.

It was said that the Scarlet Flame Mountain earned its name due to the number of live volcanoes in the mountain range.

"I wonder how Little Rou is doing. Did Ye Meng and Ye Xuan join the Scarlet Flame Sect?" Ye Chen wondered.

If Ye Meng and the others were not in the Scarlet Flame Sect, Ye Chen would have no idea where to look for them!

"Fluffy Nine, shrink a little!" Ye Chen instructed the Golden Sun Condor. A Mystique Adept Level mystical beast drew too much attention. Ye Chen wanted to have the Golden Sun Condor conceal its presence and disguise itself as a Tenth Level mystical beast. On the way here, Ye Chen had been supplying it a large number of medicinal pills in addition to his Celestial Chi empowerment. The Golden Sun Condor had advanced to top Mystique Adept Level. A bit of disguise technique was not a problem for the Mystique Adept Level mystical beast.

Upon hearing Ye Chen's orders, the Golden Sun Condor quickly shrunk. It shrunk down to the size of a Tenth Level condor.

"The Central Empire is rich and abundant. The Xiwu Empire couldn't hope to compare itself to it!" Ye Chen reflected. He scanned the below city with his Astral Body. The streets were packed and filled with people of all colors. Most of them were Eight and Ninth Level fighters and there were a few Tenth Level as well. Even the cart wheelers were Fifth to Sixth Level.

The crowd consisted of people from up to a hundred neighboring countries. Most of them brought some goods to the Central Empire. The Central Empire owed their prosperity to the neighboring countries who had continuously poured in their wealth to the Central Empire!

The horses they rode were not Nightwinds but higher tier horses like the Firecloud Stallion and Cloudwalker. A lot of them were also riding Sixth to Seventh Level mystical flying beasts. In the Xiwu Empire, only the royalty had tamed mystical beasts. In the Central Empire, as long as you had enough money, you could find mystical flying beasts in the markets and use them as vehicles.

Ye Chen looked ahead at a vast field of flatland. An extremely grandiose city appeared within his sights. The city stood like a magnificent mountain. It was several hundred meters tall. It was built with Xuan-iron which radiated its captivating black glow under the sunlight.

Even though Xuan-iron was considered a cheaper metal, to use it to build city walls was still unbelievable!

Ye Chen looked at the map of the Central Empire given to him by Master Apothecary Xuanyi.

"This should be Yun Yan City! From Yun Yan City to the Scarlet Flame Sect is another half day's journey. Little Wingsy, let's rest in the city for a bit," Ye Chen told Little Wingsy. He had the Golden Sun Condor to sweep down.

Yun Yan City did not allow mystical flying beasts in their airspace. Any violators would be shot down at the city walls.

The entrance fee to the city was ten silvers and another fifty silvers were charged for mystical beasts. This was extremely pricey. Upon entering the city, mystical flying beasts were not allowed in the streets. They must be kept at specially appointed agencies.

After he had the Golden Sun Condor taken in, Ye Chen swept across the street with his Astral Body. The bustling streets of Yan Yun City were unbelievable. Nearly everyone on the busy street was a wealthy person of the Central Empire. They were clad in finely embroidered silk robes. Even the common merchants were well-dressed. It was a stark contrast from the poor merchants of other countries.

In the Central Empire, as long as you were able-bodied, you could make a good living with just helping people carry their goods.

As he scanned the area with Astral Body, Ye Chen noticed five Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters and another two Mystique Venerable Rank fighters. Their attire and appearance were different from one another. They probably came from different countries.

There were only a handful of Heavenly Venerable Rank fighters in the Xiwu Empire. In the Central Empire, they could be found in just any common street. The Central Empire was a place with many lurking powerful individuals.

Ye Chen followed down a wide street. His Astral Body noticed a spot that shone brilliantly with the sparkle of jade pearls.

"Little Wingsy, let's check over there!" Ye Chen told Little Wingsy.

"Hm." Little Wingsy nodded. His eyes scanned everywhere around him and he was in awe of this place. Why were there people with blue hair and people with bright purple eyes? Why were they dressed so strangely? Why did some of them go completely shirtless and had a large string of clanking bells on their neck?

Ye Chen brought Little Wingsy with him into a busy street. The street could be considered one of the liveliest streets in Yan Yun City. Stalls lined up on both sides of the streets with the signs - Jewelry Court, House of Spirit Artifact, and much more. These should be spirit artifact vendors.

That explained why Ye Chen's Astral Body had sensed a bright radiance coming from this area. Would there be any sort of treasures here?