"Was it already opened half a year ago...?"
Ye Xuan frowned. He had planned to enter the Mou family’s Secret Realm, but to his surprise, it had already been opened six months ago. Even if he could open it now and go inside, there certainly wouldn’t be many beasts left. As for serendipitous encounters, Ye Xuan didn’t think he would stumble upon one the moment he stepped inside.
After all, his luck had been terrible lately!
Before he could even enter the Gongsun family’s Secret Realm, his grandfather had perished, and the Gongsun family had fallen into decline. After wiping out the Mou family, their people hadn’t yielded any spirit medicines to improve his cultivation either. His luck during this period had truly hit rock bottom.
"Right, there’s another matter I need to seek your opinion on," Ye Zeyun spoke up again.
"What is it?"
"The Four Great Halls in town—do you think it’s still necessary for them to exist? Previously, the Mou family Patriarch led the elites of the Four Great Halls to attack the Ye family, but all of them died. The overall strength of the Four Great Halls has dropped by more than half."
Ye Xuan thought for a moment before replying, "Who is currently in charge of the Four Great Halls? What is their approximate strength?"
"The ones in charge are the Elders of the Four Great Halls. Since the Hall Masters died, I had them temporarily act as proxies. These Elders who stayed behind to guard the Four Great Halls aren’t actually much weaker than the Hall Masters. They are all at the first level of the Demon Spirit Realm."
Ye Xuan pondered for a second before saying, "Let’s keep the Four Great Halls. In addition, continue recruiting. Announce that the Ye family is widely seeking talent, and as long as they have the strength, they can take up important roles in the Four Great Halls."
"I understand your intentions. I’ll get it done shortly. By the way, the estate has been rebuilt, and there’s a banquet tonight to celebrate with the whole clan. The sun has just set. Why don’t you take a rest and attend the banquet directly?"
Ye Xuan shook his head. "I won’t be attending. These past few days, I’ve been refining elixirs for all of you. Next, I need to refine elixirs for myself."
"You’re not attending?"
"Yes, there’s no need to waste time." Saying that, Ye Xuan turned and left.
Ye Zeyun sighed. He knew that all the pressure rested entirely on Ye Xuan’s shoulders.
After leaving, Ye Xuan sought out Hua.
"Young Master, what do you need me for?"
"I just left all the Super Spirit Pills for my sister and the Ye family without saving any for you. You aren’t angry with me, are you? After all, you need these elixirs more than they do. In the entire Ye family, only you are at the Super Spirit Realm."
Hua smiled faintly, though Ye Xuan couldn’t see it. "Young Master, I thought it was something serious. They are your elixirs; you can give them to whomever you want. There’s no need to explain it to me."
"You’re really not angry?"
"Young Master, why would I be angry? You’ve already treated me well enough. I am very content."
"It’s good that you aren’t. You can step down now."
Ye Xuan didn’t say much else, as he wasn’t a sentimental person. In truth, the reason he hadn’t prioritized giving resources to Hua was that he always brought her along whenever he went out. With him protecting her, Hua’s safety was certainly guaranteed.
"Mhm, Young Master, go ahead with your work." Hua clasped her hands behind her back and left the training room with the demeanor of a bashful young girl.
After Hua left, Ye Xuan summoned his pill furnace and prepared to refine a Demon Spirit Pill.
The Demon Spirit Pill was a tier-five elixir. Its level of complexity was far above that of a tier-four elixir. Even though this was Ye Xuan’s first time refining a Demon Spirit Pill, he was highly confident.
He first took out the supplementary medicinal ingredients and melted them down one by one. Only then did he take out the Centipede Grass. He was extremely careful with every step, afraid that making any mistakes would ruin the entire stalk of spirit medicine.
While Ye Xuan was refining elixirs, the Ye family estate was a lively scene of singing and dancing. Everyone was drinking deeply and eating heartily, with smiles plastered across their faces.
"Ling’Er, why don’t I see your brother?"
Xia Zihan’s voice rang out. She was the only outsider present.
Ye Ling’Er sighed and said, "My brother must have gone into seclusion again. That’s just how he is, always afraid of wasting time. It’s a pity that I’m too weak to help him with anything."
"He works so hard! I’m starting to like him more and more."
"Zihan, please don’t joke around."
"I’m not joking."
"Then what do you like about him? You two aren’t even close, right?"
"I like him... because he let me sell things for him."
"That’s it?"
"Also, he’s so young, yet his cultivation is so strong. Although his talent can’t compare to my older brothers, it’s certainly not weak. But the most important thing is that he chose me to consign his items! In that auction, I finally didn’t end up with zero sales, which made my grandfather’s jaw drop. My grandfather’s expression made me so happy."
"..." Ye Ling’Er was left a bit speechless. How could this Xia Zihan be so naive? She developed a crush on her brother just because he consigned some items with her?
At the same time, inside a certain inn in Chasing Moon City.
Liu Ruoxi’s voice trembled with excitement. "Sister, you’re finally here. Is there any news from the people you sent out? Why did it take so long?"
Liu Yan sat down and took a sip of tea before speaking. "The people I sent out just returned. I know you’ve been anxious, so I came to find you right away."
"Sister, is Ye Xuan... still alive?"
As she asked this question, Liu Ruoxi actually felt a wave of uneasy apprehension in her heart. She didn’t even know if she wanted to hear that Ye Xuan was alive or that he was already dead.
Liu Yan replied, "Ye Xuan is..."
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.
Liu Ruoxi’s heartbeat instantly accelerated.
"...not dead."
"He’s not dead?"
Liu Ruoxi’s heartbeat instantly returned to normal. In that moment, she couldn’t tell if she was angry or happy. However, the heavy boulder hanging in her heart had finally been lifted.
After a long pause, she spoke coldly, "Do all lowly peasants have such stubborn lives? Over a hundred thousand people from the Gongsun family died, yet he managed to survive. This country bumpkin actually has quite a tenacious life force. But this is fine too; it means I can kill him with my own hands. He’s currently in Ye Family Town, right?"
Liu Yan didn’t answer immediately; instead, she carefully observed Liu Ruoxi. She had caught every micro-expression that crossed Liu Ruoxi’s face just now. Although Liu Ruoxi’s eyes were filled with killing intent at this moment, she was absolutely certain that her sister had breathed a sigh of relief the instant she heard Ye Xuan wasn’t dead.
"Sister, why are you spacing out? I’m asking you a question."
Liu Yan then said, "He is no longer in the Ye Family Town that you know."
"Sister? What do you mean by that?" Liu Ruoxi was getting a bit confused.
Liu Yan explained, "When the people I sent out arrived at Ye Family Town, they discovered that it is now called Dapeng Town."
"Dapeng Town? Could it be... the Gongsun family?" Liu Ruoxi wasn’t stupid. She immediately connected it to the Gongsun family.
"That’s right. The Gongsun family wasn’t completely annihilated; some people managed to escape."
"Are you saying that the Gongsun family replaced Ye Xuan’s position and forcibly occupied the Ye family’s territory?"
"Not exactly. Ye Xuan yielded the One-Star Main Town to the Gongsun family, and in turn, he occupied a Three-Star Main Town."
"A Three-Star Main Town, huh..." Liu Ruoxi wasn’t too surprised. Ye Xuan was monstrously talented. With the Gongsun family’s assistance, occupying a Three-Star Main Town wasn’t a difficult task at all.
"But Sister, I’m just confused as to why Ye Xuan occupied the Three-Star Main Town instead of the Gongsun family."
"Because a Three-Star Main Town is qualified to interact directly with a city. It is much safer for the Gongsun family to hide in a One-Star Main Town."
A vicious glint suddenly flashed in Liu Ruoxi’s eyes. "Gongsun family, do you really think you can hide?"