Under the astonished gazes and Ye Zhengyang's ferocious roar, Ye Chen left the Allowance Hall with an air of calm indifference. He paid no heed to Ye Zhengyang's threats.
It wasn't just that Ye Zhengyang was merely at the ninth level of Houtian realm; even if he were a Xiantian expert, it would be the same. No matter how powerful, it was only temporary. In his previous life, he had faced enemies ten thousand times stronger than Ye Zhengyang, yet hadn't he slaughtered them until they trembled at his name, reigning supreme over the world?
Moreover, having lived two lives, Ye Zhengyang's threats were, to him, nothing more than the empty bluster of a wet-behind-the-ears brat.
If he were to worry and fear over something like this, he wouldn't be worthy of being the successor of the Battle Saint.
If Ye Zhengyang knew what Ye Chen was thinking, he would surely jump up and down in rage.
Ye Chen returned with fifteen gold coins. Adding his previous meager savings, he only had twenty-seven gold coins in total, a far cry from the imagined one hundred thousand gold coins he needed.
As for the pill he wanted to concoct to revive his bloodline, even just one of its required medicinal herbs would cost over four or five thousand gold coins.
In short, Ye Chen currently had no way to concoct it—he was simply too short on money.
However, Ye Chen had already thought of a solution—alchemy!
Pills, no matter where they were, were precious medicines. Even the lowest-grade pills could fetch astonishing prices and were often in short supply.
This was because the effects of pills were simply miraculous, and alchemists were always scarce in the world, highly sought after by major powers.
Although Ye Chen lacked the cultivation to truly refine pills, he could concoct medicinal liquids for sale. While their effects might be slightly inferior to genuine pills, with his concoction techniques, they would be no worse than ordinary pills.
With these medicinal liquids comparable to pills, he would have a way to earn large amounts of gold coins, opening up a new source of income.
As for the herbs needed to concoct the medicinal liquid, he didn't need to worry—they came to him automatically. The courtyard where he lived was already planted with many strange-looking flowers and plants, such as Dark Feather Ghost Flower, Yama's Nether Fruit, Shiva Flower, Flying Immortal Sprout... and so on. Although none were particularly rare herbs, they were all materials that could be used to concoct pills.
The previous, unawakened "Ye Chen" naturally didn't recognize them, but in his past life, he was a master alchemist, well-versed in alchemical methods. How could he not be familiar with these herbs? He recognized them all at a glance.
Through his memories, he knew that after he fell from the altar of genius, his parents had gathered herbs from everywhere and planted them in his courtyard. They hoped the spiritual energy of the herbs would nourish the courtyard, allowing him to absorb the herbal energy while living there daily, which could nourish his body and perhaps miraculously repair his dantian.
Although, truth be told, it wasn't of much help, the herbs had been planted there ever since.
Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh. To lack money for alchemy, he still needed to rely on alchemy to earn money. This back-and-forth was like a small cycle.
"Three petals of Dark Feather Ghost Flower, one Shiva Flower, five Flying Immortal Sprouts, half a Cloud Fungus..." Ye Chen muttered as he picked the herbs, reciting the precise amounts needed for the medicinal liquid.
Whether for pills or medicinal liquids, the proportions had to be just right—neither too much nor too little. Otherwise, the medicinal effects might conflict and render the concoction useless.
This time, the medicinal liquid he intended to concoct was a healing liquid called Hundred Herbs Liquid.
Cultivators, especially those in the Houtian realm, often accumulated hidden injuries during cultivation, such as damaged meridians or fractured bones.
These issues weren't obvious in the early stages, but later on, these hidden injuries would manifest and become increasingly severe, potentially leading to lifelong disabilities filled with pain.
To cure these ailments, relying on the methods of ordinary physicians was basically impossible for a complete cure. They would only treat the symptoms, not the root cause, always leaving behind flaws that posed hidden dangers for future cultivation—a matter not to be ignored.
Because these were subtle injuries caused by cultivation, ordinary medical treatment couldn't completely heal them.
Moreover, once injuries like broken limbs occurred, reattaching them was even more troublesome. Many people ended up with lifelong disabilities because of this.
However, the healing medicinal liquid Ye Chen concocted could perfectly and completely cure them, even making the body healthier than before.
Generally, concocting medicinal liquids, at least for the most ordinary and simple ones, could be done even by an ordinary person. It didn't necessarily require a pill furnace and magical power like orthodox alchemy.
But the process had to be precise, with no room for error, or it would often fail.
Ye Chen first placed the herbs in appropriate amounts on a stone mortar and carefully ground them until they became speckled juices, which he collected, filling a small half-bowl.
Then, he added three large bowls of dew collected at dawn. Because dew was clear and flawless, born naturally, free of impurities, and containing traces of heaven and earth spiritual energy, it was generally the most suitable for concocting medicinal liquids.
Especially dew collected from herbs in the early morning was even more effective.
Naturally, if there were spiritual springs born of heaven and earth, the effect would be best. Because spiritual springs were rich in heaven and earth spiritual energy, sweet and fragrant. Even cultivators drinking them over time could increase their cultivation.
Unfortunately, spiritual springs were hard to come by. Not even the entire Luo Feng City had one, and in the entire Xia Feng Kingdom, only the royal palace possessed a spiritual spring, reserved for important members of the royal family.
Therefore, Ye Chen could only settle for the next best option and use herbal dew.
However, the process of collecting dew was troublesome. The dew couldn't be allowed to fall to the ground, or the trace spiritual energy within would dissipate. The process required immense patience.
Fortunately, Ye Chen had plenty of time. He got up before dawn and tirelessly collected dew from leaf after leaf of herbs. Even after a whole morning, he had only gathered a small bowl.
This was far from the three large bowls of dew needed for the medicinal liquid, but Ye Chen wasn't in a hurry. He carefully stored this small bowl of herbal dew in a sealed jade bottle to prevent the loss of its essence.
The collection process took a full ten days, during which Ye Chen remained tirelessly patient. Apart from the time spent collecting dew, he devoted himself to diligently cultivating the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art.
It must be said that this was a profound body-tempering technique, a divine art created by a peerless supreme being. Even just the first posture contained countless mysteries, specifically created for cultivating the human body.
Every time he practiced, subtle streams of warmth and pinprick sensations would appear within his body, constantly strengthening every part of it.
This process was painful, but the results were undoubtedly remarkably significant—the true advantage of the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art.
As long as one could endure the pain and persevere, this body-tempering technique would inevitably forge the flesh into an indestructible divine body, impervious to all calamities.
In just over ten days, after enduring countless bouts of pain, Ye Chen could feel his strength had increased significantly compared to the beginning.
Boom—
On the tenth day, when he attempted to punch a boulder as tall as an adult, the boulder was sent flying several meters with a loud crash, slamming into a thick wall. The rumbling sound echoed incessantly, bringing a smile to Ye Chen's face.
This punch possessed a force of several hundred jin.
And he had only been cultivating for ten days. Although his cultivation hadn't advanced, his physical strength had leaped several levels. One could imagine the terrifying nature of the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art.
Naturally, what was more important was Ye Chen's original physical foundation. Although his realm was gone, his body was still the powerful physique of his former Xiantian realm. It only appeared weak due to two years of neglect.
But once he started cultivating, he could quickly catch up. Combined with the stimulating cultivation of the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art, restoring his body to its former Xiantian realm condition was only a matter of time, not too distant.
One could say this was a kind of foundation left to him by the previous "Ye Chen," possessing innate physical cultivation conditions superior to others.
During this period, Ye Chen finally broke through, advancing from the third level to the fourth minor level of the Houtian realm.
He should have broken through within two months anyway; this breakthrough was only natural.
The nine levels of Houtian realm: the first three focused more on tempering flesh, blood, bones, and tendons. Starting from the fourth level, strength would undergo a significant change, with internal energy able to amplify power.
Ye Chen could feel that after reaching the fourth level, his strength had increased, though not by much. This was because his body, tempered by the Tyrant Heaven Refining Saint Art, possessed physical strength far surpassing the fourth level of Houtian, even exceeding the fifth level.
This was the advantage of body-tempering cultivators. Even if their cultivation wasn't high, their powerful bodies often allowed them to overcome skill with brute force, suppressing peers and fighting above their level.
Ten days later, the three large bowls of herbal dew were finally collected. Ye Chen had someone bring a small cauldron, built a stove in the courtyard, and fetched dozens of fire crystals to ignite and heat the cauldron.
Fire crystals were a type of fire-energy stone that could transform into fierce flames, a mineral resource of the Tian Du Continent.
This was a method of necessity. Ye Chen no longer had magical power; otherwise, using Dao fire to burn would be many times more effective.
But if he had the magical power to generate Dao fire, he would already be capable of refining pills, so why settle for merely concocting medicinal liquids?
The process was like simmering medicinal soup, but it required more meticulous concoction. Both the proportions and the heat had to be precise enough, and the herbs had to be added one by one, in just the right amount—neither too much nor too little. A single misstep could ruin all previous efforts, turning all the hard work into waste.
All of this was a rather tedious process, requiring sufficient patience to carry out.
Three rounds of fierce fire, seven rounds of gentle fire, alternating back and forth for a full fourteen hours until the three large bowls of liquid were reduced to just a tiny amount at the very bottom. But what remained was the essence. The medicinal liquid in the small cauldron was emerald green and clear, like flawless jade, dazzlingly beautiful.
Ye Chen fetched a prepared medicine bottle only as large as an adult's thumb and carefully poured all the medicinal liquid into it, filling the bottle perfectly to the brim.
Looking at this bottle of medicinal liquid, Ye Chen felt satisfied. If sold well, it would likely fetch no less than three hundred gold coins.
Naturally, all of this couldn't be known by others for now; it had to be done secretly, or it would invite many troubles.
Returning to his room, Ye Chen sent Huan'er away, then left the Ye family through the back gate with a bundle.
Once outside the Ye family, he walked to a deserted alley, opened the bundle—inside was a large black robe—quickly put it on, concealing his slightly thin figure and handsome face, and headed towards the bustling street's Reviving Spring Hall.