"I'll take these five stones," Ye Yunfei said as he stored the five Nightmare Stones into his spatial ring.
"And these things too."
With a wave of his hand, Ye Yunfei withdrew a large batch of spirit herbs and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from among the dozen or so spatial rings on the ground. All of these spirit herbs and treasures were of the wood attribute — precisely what he needed most at the moment.
Seeing this, the Valley Master and the high-ranking members couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Although Ye Yunfei had taken a batch of spirit herbs and treasures, they only constituted about thirty percent of the total. Especially those five pitch-black stones; they were left behind by the ancestors of the Divine Medicine Valley, and none of the current higher-ups knew their purpose.
"Alright," Ye Yunfei said to the patriarch. "Focus on collecting the spirit herbs listed on the two prescriptions I gave you. For the next three days, I will be going into seclusion. Three days from now, I will personally take action to resolve your physical problem."
"Understood. Someone! Take Young Master Ye Yunfei to the best seclusion chamber in our Divine Medicine Valley immediately!" the patriarch hurriedly commanded.
Immediately, a high-ranking elder personally escorted Ye Yunfei to a chamber located in an excellent position, dense with spiritual energy. Ye Yunfei entered the chamber and sat down cross-legged.
"Hu Miao, I will first absorb the Soul Power essence contained within these five Nightmare Stones," Ye Yunfei said. "Afterwards, you can absorb the Illusion Dao Laws they contain."
Nightmare Stones were an extremely rare type of Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. They contained not only vast amounts of Soul Power essence but also profound Illusion Dao Laws.
"Alright, Master. These five Nightmare Stones will indeed be of great help to me," Hu Miao replied happily.
Next, Ye Yunfei began refining and absorbing the Soul Power essence contained within the five Nightmare Stones.
Nightmare Stones differed from Soul Stones. The Soul Power essence within Soul Stones was easy to absorb. Absorbing the essence from Nightmare Stones, however, presented a certain degree of difficulty. However, Ye Yunfei, having once been a Heavenly Emperor, was already thoroughly familiar with Nightmare Stones, so this presented no challenge for him.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Medicine Valley's council hall.
"Patriarch, do you truly intend to follow Ye Yunfei's orders?" the Valley Master asked the patriarch.
The other high-ranking members also looked at the patriarch.
"Young Master Ye Yunfei can extend my life," the patriarch said. "He can also push my strength a step further, allowing me to step into the Yuan Foundation Realm. You should understand that once I enter the Yuan Foundation Realm, it would mean that among the second-tier forces in the Eastern Region, our Divine Medicine Valley would take the lead! Even the Three Sages, Five Clans, and Nine Sects would henceforth treat our Divine Medicine Valley with courtesy and respect. Moreover, once I enter the Yuan Foundation Realm, my lifespan would reach at least six hundred years — equivalent to living an entire extra lifetime. That would give me ample time to lead the Divine Medicine Valley and continue its development and expansion. In the future, perhaps one day, it wouldn't be impossible for us to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Three Sages, Five Clans, and Nine Sects."
"Patriarch, do you truly believe in Ye Yunfei?" the Valley Master asked.
"I do. Young Master Ye Yunfei is... not simple," the patriarch sighed.
"Do you know what grade of medicinal pills these two prescriptions he gave me pertain to?" the patriarch continued, raising the jade slips in his hand.
"What grade?" a high-ranking elder inquired curiously.
"One is for ninth-grade spirit pills. The other... I cannot even decipher. However, I suspect it must be for treasure pills. This indicates that Young Master Ye Yunfei is highly likely to be a Treasure Pill Master," the patriarch revealed.
A sharp intake of breath echoed through the hall. Hearing the patriarch's words, every single high-ranking member was shaken to their core.
A Treasure Pill Master! Even the Central Continent's Alchemy Tower might not have one! In the world of alchemy, a Treasure Pill Master was equal to a legendary, deity-like figure, revered by all alchemists under the heavens!
"Moreover, even disregarding his alchemy skills, his achievements in the martial path at such a young age are utterly monstrous. His future accomplishments will be limitless. Believe me, if our Divine Medicine Valley can properly grasp this opportunity with Young Master Ye Yunfei, perhaps one day in the future, he will lead us to unimaginable heights," the patriarch stated.
For a moment, silence fell over all the high-ranking members in the hall.
"Patriarch, I believe in you," the Valley Master finally said, taking a deep breath. "Starting now, our Divine Medicine Valley will regard Ye Yunfei as our leader!"
"I also agree."
"I agree."
...
The other high-ranking members expressed their agreement one after another.
"Immediately mobilize all our power! Spare no expense! Gather every spirit herb listed on these two prescriptions!" The patriarch handed the jade slips to the Valley Master.
"Patriarch, rest assured. Even if the Divine Medicine Valley has to sell everything, we will gather all the spirit herbs on these prescriptions," the Valley Master promised, accepting the jade slips.
After speaking, the Valley Master led all the high-ranking members away in haste.
Three days later.
Within the seclusion chamber.
"Finally finished absorbing all the Soul Power essence from these five Nightmare Stones," Ye Yunfei murmured, slowly opening his eyes.
"The effect was even better than I imagined. My Soul Power has actually increased by roughly threefold. The range my Soul Power can now sense is approximately fifteen thousand meters."
"Hu Miao, these five Nightmare Stones are for you next," Ye Yunfei said.
Although the Soul Power essence had been drained from the five Nightmare Stones, they still contained vast amounts of Illusion Dao Laws, making them very suitable for Hu Miao.
"Alright," Hu Miao appeared beside Ye Yunfei. With a wave of her hand, she took the five Nightmare Stones and returned to her inner space.
Ye Yunfei walked out of the seclusion chamber.
"Young Master Ye Yunfei, you've finally emerged!"
The patriarch and all the high-ranking members had long been waiting anxiously outside the chamber. Seeing Ye Yunfei exit, their faces lit up with joy, and they immediately came forward to greet him.
"Young Master Ye Yunfei, all the spirit herbs required by those two pill prescriptions have been fully collected!" the patriarch said, handing a spatial ring to Ye Yunfei.
"Very good." Ye Yunfei accepted the spatial ring and nodded. The spirit herbs on these two prescriptions were indeed precious, but given the Divine Medicine Valley's resources, they could barely manage to gather them.
After receiving the spatial ring, Ye Yunfei turned around and walked back into the seclusion chamber.
"Patriarch... Young Master Ye Yunfei truly intends to refine the pills himself! This means..." The Valley Master stared at the chamber door, his voice trembling as he spoke to the patriarch.
"It means that Young Master Ye Yunfei is indeed a Treasure Pill Master," the patriarch said, looking at the chamber door, enunciating each word clearly.
Another round of sharp intakes of breath swept through the group. All the high-ranking members were utterly shocked.
Although they had guessed it before, now, witnessing Ye Yunfei take the prescriptions and enter the chamber, clearly intending to refine the pills personally!
"Let us wait here," the patriarch said, his eyes filled with anticipation.
The other high-ranking members stood behind the patriarch, gazing at the chamber door with looks full of worship.
A Treasure Pill Master! Even the Central Continent's Alchemy Tower likely did not possess a Treasure Pill Master!