Ye Xuan saw the murderous intent in Liu Ruoxi’s eyes, but he couldn’t care less. Her wanting to kill him was nothing new.
He didn’t say much. Turning around, he left the main courtyard and sought out Ye Zeyun.
"Grandfather," Ye Xuan got straight to the point. "Does the Ye family have any high-level resources left? Like Spirit Medicines that can improve one’s cultivation?"
Ye Zeyun shook his head. "Spirit Medicines of that grade are incredibly rare. We have absolutely none. What, are you short on resources? If there’s truly no other way to get them, you could ask your mother or the Gongsun family. Surely your maternal grandfather wouldn’t refuse you?"
Ye Xuan replied calmly, "Mother already gave me the resources allocated by the Gongsun family. If I want more, I can only earn Contribution Points by completing missions. But I don’t have a single Contribution Point to my name."
Although Ye Zeyun didn’t know what Contribution Points were, he didn’t press the matter. Frowning, he said, "If you can’t get resources from the Gongsun family, your only option is to try your luck in a Two-Star Main Town or a Three-Star Main Town. By the way, didn’t the Zhang family draw a map for you? Do you know how to get to the Mou Family’s Main Town?"
"Mou Family Town...?" Ye Xuan furrowed his brows. A Three-Star Main Town was quite a distance from Ye Family Town; the journey would take at least two or three days.
A round trip would be five or six days. He also had to subtract the seven days needed for his trip to the Gongsun family! In other words, even if he made it to the Three-Star Main Town, he would only have ten days left to search for opportunities. Would ten days be enough? But whether it was enough or not, he had to give it his all. He had to push his cultivation to the 9th Layer. Only then would he have a chance to enter the top three.
"Grandfather, please help me prepare. I’ll depart for the Mou Family’s Main Town at sunset. I’ll be back within half a month. If the Night Moon Tree bears fruit during this time, crush the Twin Jade immediately to notify me."
The Night Moon Tree was also something Ye Xuan looked forward to. It would be ideal if it bore fruit before he headed to the Gongsun family. That way, he could elevate his cultivation to the 9th Layer—or perhaps even break through to the Demon Spirit Realm—on the way there. When the time came, securing a spot in the top three would be a breeze. He had to enter the Three-Star Secret Realm to gather as many resources as he needed. However, by then, his targets would exclusively be level-five Beasts; level-four Beasts would offer him negligible benefits.
For the rest of the time, Ye Xuan continued his Alchemy. He only brewed Strong Spirit Pills, as this kind of low-grade Elixir was exactly what the Ye family needed the most right now. Concocting low-grade Elixirs was a walk in the park for Ye Xuan. It consumed minimal time, allowing him to finish a batch in just ten minutes. However, their resources were ultimately limited. Every stalk of cultivation-boosting Spirit Medicine used was one less they had. Fortunately, regular Cultivators didn’t consume resources at the monstrous rate Ye Xuan did.
By evening, Ye Xuan had produced nine hundred Mad Spirit Pills. Only a hundred were of high-grade quality, while the remaining eight hundred were all of supreme quality.
"This should be enough for now. They can make do with these. It’s time to go."
Ye Xuan stopped his Alchemy. It was time for him to set off for the Three-Star Main Town.
Three minutes later, at the main gates of the Ye family estate, Hua had the Beast Vehicle ready. She gestured to Ye Xuan, "Young Master, let me go with you, please?"
Her eyes were incredibly pure and earnest.
Ye Xuan didn’t say a word. He merely nodded. With his mother at home, he didn’t have to worry about the Ye family facing any danger. Hua could certainly tag along.
Hua smiled and hurriedly climbed onto the Beast Vehicle.
"Mother, I’m leaving. Please look after the Ye family for me."
"With me here, you can rest easy. But do you really have to go to the Three-Star Main Town? If you truly need resources, how about I ask my older brother? Let’s see if he has any."
"Mother, the Ye family doesn’t even have carrier pigeons that fly to Dapeng City. How would you ask him? Anyway, I’m off."
Ye Xuan waved his hand and boarded the Beast Vehicle. Before leaving, he added, "Right, keep an eye on Liu Ruoxi for me too. Don’t let her run away."
Gongsun Yanran smiled. "I guarantee that she will still be here when you return."
"Good."
Ye Xuan nodded and finally retreated inside the Beast Vehicle. He didn’t take the time to consolidate his cultivation. Instead, he resumed his Alchemy, intending to process all the low-grade medicinal ingredients he had on hand into Elixirs.
The Beast Vehicle slowly departed, eventually disappearing from everyone’s sight.
Watching the Beast Vehicle vanish, Liu Ruoxi suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of relief. Ye Xuan was gone. Finally, there was no one left to order her around like a servant. It felt so incredibly good. However, Ye Xuan was truly despicable; even right before leaving, he didn’t forget to remind Gongsun Yanran to keep her under close watch. A deep sorrow filled Liu Ruoxi’s heart as she wondered when she would ever be able to escape this place.
Time flowed on. Two days and three nights passed.
On the morning of the third day, Ye Xuan’s Beast Vehicle arrived at the Mou Family’s Main Town. It spanned a much larger area than the Ye family’s territory, and its town walls were significantly taller as well. Atop them, a white wolf flag fluttered in the wind.
On the road, there were quite a few people entering and leaving the Three-Star Main Town. None of them were weaklings; almost all possessed cultivation at the Frenzy Spirit Realm. After all, only those in the Frenzy Spirit Realm could possess Frenzy Soul Crystals.
"Pay the toll to enter the town! One Frenzy Soul Crystal per person. If you have a Beast Vehicle, it’s two."
The town gate guards stopped Hua.
"Are we there?"
Ye Xuan stepped out of the Beast Vehicle. For the past two days, he had been constantly performing Alchemy. In total, he had yielded 3,300 Strong Spirit Pills and 2,200 Mad Spirit Pills, completely exhausting all of the Ye family’s low-grade materials. He wondered how long it would take to gather such medicinal ingredients again.
"Hua, give it to them."
Ye Xuan took out two Frenzy Soul Crystals and handed them to Hua. Only after collecting the Frenzy Soul Crystals did the guards step aside to clear the way. The Golden Lion pulled the Beast Vehicle slowly into the town.
"Step right up and take a look! You’re bound to find something you like!"
"Little brother, come have a look! Freshly unearthed antiquities, the mud on them isn’t even dry yet! If you happen to stumble upon a Jade Pendant hiding an ancient master’s soul, your destiny will skyrocket to greatness!"
As they proceeded deeper into the main town, numerous street vendors could be heard hawking their wares. However, such sales pitches were only good for tricking naive greenhorns. Ye Xuan glanced around as they walked, but nothing managed to pique his interest.
Half an hour later, he found the largest tavern in town and secured a temporary room. After settling in, he sat in the first-floor lobby, sipping tea while listening to the Cultivators from all walks of life boasting and chatting. Some were merely blowing hot air, but others provided Ye Xuan with genuinely valuable information.
"Have you heard? The Mou family’s Four Great Halls are preparing to recruit."
"Really? Is the information reliable? It’s been four years. They’re finally taking in new blood again."
"It’s absolutely true! I have a distant relative in the Cyan Heaven Hall who told me. No wonder the number of people staying at the taverns today is several times higher than usual. They’re probably all from Two-Star Towns who received the news in advance."
"This is fantastic! They’re finally recruiting! I came to Mou Family Town just for this very moment. If I can get into the Four Great Halls, I won’t have to worry about a lack of resources anymore. As long as you have Contribution Points, you can exchange them for any good stuff."
The moment this news broke, it spread like wildfire throughout the entire Mou Family Town. All the visiting Cultivators were instantly fired up.
Hunting for resources on your own was agonizingly slow. Not only did it rely heavily on luck, but it also required immense strength. Otherwise, even if you were lucky enough to stumble upon something valuable, it would simply be snatched away by someone else. Joining the Mou family as an Outer Race disciple and slowly earning Contribution Points was by far the best way for weaker Cultivators to acquire resources.