"I..." Gongsun Yanran bit her lip, unsure of what to say.
Everyone desired to be born into a great clan, but in reality, the children of such families also had to make sacrifices.
After a long while, she gritted her teeth and said, "Ling’Er, if you don’t want to, then you don’t have to marry."
As soon as her words fell, Gongsun Xin shook his head. "Do you think that’s possible, little sister? Back then, you escaped because I intentionally let you go. But looking at it now, my kindness and good intentions only ended up harming you and these two children. Do you want Ling’Er to repeat your mistakes?"
"I..." Gongsun Yanran froze.
She had always believed that pursuing the person she loved was absolutely right. However, her elder brother’s words sent a sharp pang through her heart. Perhaps she really was wrong. Otherwise, why would Xuan’Er have died? She had only sought her own happiness and true love, never considering the consequences her actions would bring to others. But was it truly a sin to pursue true love?
There was no answer. Gongsun Yanran only knew that Xuan’Er had died in the Forbidden Area. And Ling’Er, in all likelihood, would be married off to Chasing Moon City.
"Actually, it’s a good thing for Ling’Er to marry into Chasing Moon City. What woman in this world wouldn’t want to marry a young talent from a major city? Some women desire it but lack the qualifications. My concern is that once Chasing Moon City discovers Ling’Er’s identity as an illegitimate daughter, she won’t be treated as an official wife. She will only become a concubine." Gongsun Xin’s voice rang out once more.
"What? A concubine!" Gongsun Yanran’s pupils shrank.
The status of a concubine was absolutely inferior to that of an official wife—unless her man doted on her and her alone.
"So, think about how to deal with Chasing Moon City moving forward. Even if Ling’Er doesn’t marry willingly, you have to figure out a way to secure a good future for her. You must be the one to look out for her." With those parting words, Gongsun Xin turned and left.
Only Ye Ling’Er and Gongsun Yanran remained.
Gongsun Yanran sighed and said, "Ling’Er, let’s go. We’re heading back."
"Mother, aren’t you going to wait for my brother?"
Gongsun Yanran’s eyes reddened. She gritted her teeth and said, "Your brother is dead."
"No, Mother, he’s not. My brother won’t die. He hasn’t come out for half a month, and I’m very worried too, but I know he will definitely make it out. I know everyone thinks it’s impossible, but my brother is someone who always turns the impossible into the possible."
"Ling’Er, accept reality. Right now, the most important thing for me is to take good care of you."
"Mother, believe me, and believe in my brother. Sigh, if only my brother’s Life and Death Jade was here. Then you would know for sure that it hasn’t shattered."
At the same time, at the Ye Family.
Ye Zeyun’s cultivation had increased by another layer. He immediately opened his eyes and looked toward the place where Ye Xuan’s Life and Death Jade was kept.
Ye Xuan’s Life and Death Jade emitted a faint glow. Let alone cracks, it didn’t even have a speck of dust or impurity on it. Over these past few days, Ye Zeyun had personally stood guard here, deeply worried that something might happen to Ye Xuan.
Fortunately, Ye Xuan’s Life and Death Jade had remained perfectly intact. Although he didn’t know why that powerful middle-aged man had taken Ye Xuan and Ye Ling’Er away, it was a relief that both of them were safe.
Meanwhile, inside a cave in the Secret Realm.
The gloomy cavern had become incredibly bright. A Fire Dragon appeared in Ye Xuan’s hand, roasting a Pill Furnace. A refreshing fragrance of Elixirs filled the entire cave.
"Condense!"
Ye Xuan abruptly executed the Pill Condensation Technique, and round Elixirs rolled out from the furnace’s opening. Sixteen Elixirs in total: six high-grade and ten supreme-grade. These were all Super Spirit Pills.
"There are still some high-grade ones. I wonder when I’ll be able to refine an entire batch of supreme-grade," Ye Xuan muttered, shaking his head slightly.
He then continued his Alchemy. He had three Smiling Flowers, and each stalk could be divided into two uses. That meant he had six portions of raw materials.
As time passed, the six portions of materials yielded a total of eighty-two Super Spirit Pills. Among them, sixty were supreme-grade and twenty-two were high-grade.
Ye Xuan tossed the high-grade Elixirs aside. His energy consumption was too immense, and high-grade Elixirs simply couldn’t meet his needs. In terms of medicinal efficacy, three high-grade Elixirs were only equal to one supreme-grade pill. However, in terms of toxicity, the Elixir Poison contained in a high-grade Elixir was ten to a hundred times greater than that of a supreme-grade one. The Elixir Poison in a supreme-grade Elixir was virtually negligible. Thus, Ye Xuan decided to exclusively consume supreme-grade Super Spirit Pills.
"Eat!"
One by one, the Super Spirit Pills quickly entered Ye Xuan’s stomach. Back when he was at the 1st Layer of the Super Spirit Realm, a single Elixir was enough to fill his body with powerful, surging energy. But now, even after swallowing ten Super Spirit Pills, the power within him still hadn’t reached saturation. This was to be expected. After all, as Ye Xuan’s cultivation grew stronger, the amount of energy he required would only increase.
Just as he anticipated, it wasn’t until he consumed his twenty-fifth Super Spirit Pill that the energy within him approached its limit.
He began to break through his fourth Great River Vein. During the process, he consumed another five Super Spirit Pills. This meant that it took a full thirty Super Spirit Pills, along with a hundred thousand impacts against the bottleneck, before the fourth Great River Vein was finally unblocked.
He successfully broke through to the 4th Layer of the Super Spirit Realm.
However, Ye Xuan wasn’t thrilled. Instead, his brow furrowed as he murmured, "The consumption has tripled again. At this rate, wouldn’t I need ninety supreme-grade Super Spirit Pills to break through to the 5th Layer? This cost is terrifying! Is it because, during my advancement, this energy is expanding my Sea of Consciousness and improving my physical body?"
Ye Xuan had closely observed his body just now. He discovered that with every advancement, the dense mist in his Sea of Consciousness dissipated a little, making it clearer. This meant the energy from the Super Spirit Pills wasn’t just being used to batter down bottlenecks. It was also fortifying his spirit and expanding his Sea of Consciousness. Even his physical body was being refined.
This was the reason behind his massive consumption. Perhaps this was an aftereffect of cultivating Divine Secret Techniques. While Divine Secret Techniques were undeniably powerful, they demanded vastly more energy. Otherwise, how could they allow a Cultivator to kill opponents across major cultivation realms?
Shaking his head, Ye Xuan pulled out the Starry Night Grass. The remaining Elixirs were still not enough; he had to continue his Alchemy.
The Starry Night Grass contained ten times the energy of a Smiling Flower. In other words, a Starry Night Grass could be treated as ten Smiling Flowers, providing twenty portions of raw materials. Based on Ye Xuan’s pill yield, twenty portions of materials would be enough for him to refine three hundred Super Spirit Pills.
Ye Xuan didn’t know if that woman was dead or not. He had to make his cultivation as strong as possible.
The Fire Dragon appeared once again as Ye Xuan furiously engaged in Alchemy. Tier-four Elixirs were originally quite difficult to make, but Ye Xuan was becoming increasingly proficient. Initially, refining a batch of Super Spirit Pills took six hours per furnace. But now, Ye Xuan only needed four. The reason it still took that long was because the roasting process required a significant amount of time to reach the precise heat required.