Patriarch Arrives (Please Follow and Support)

Patriarch Arrives (Please Follow and Support). Returning once more to Ye Family Shop, Ye Jingcheng's days once again became an endless cycle of pill refining.

As for that Treasure Map, Ye Jingcheng casually tossed it aside.

Having been influenced by his elders since childhood, he naturally did not believe it was some genuine Treasure Map.

Still less did he believe someone would give it to him so cheaply.

This time, Ye Jingcheng refined Qi Return Pills.

According to his eldest uncle, Ye Xinghe, he had gathered nearly enough Qi Blood Pills. Now it was time for Qi Return Pills.

The Three-Eared Pill Furnace was missing one ear, so Ye Jingcheng had to pay even greater attention to keeping the furnace balanced while refining pills.

After reviewing and deducing matters for a while, Ye Jingcheng finally began warming the furnace and refining pills.

Yet unlike the smooth refining of Qi Blood Pills, the first batch of Qi Return Pills ended in failure. They involved more Spirit Herbs and demanded greater precision in every detail.

Ye Jingcheng was not discouraged. Pill refining was inherently a profound art; failure was perfectly normal. Constant success would have been abnormal.

After summarizing his mistakes and confirming there were no further issues, Ye Jingcheng continued refining.

However, the second batch failed as well.

He only succeeded with the third batch.

For the time that followed, Ye Jingcheng kept refining pills.

He rarely even left the pavilion. Unlike Qi Blood Pills, which offered no particular aid to pill refining, both Ye Jingcheng and the Crimson Flame Fox could consume Qi Return Pills to restore their spiritual energy.

Once their spiritual energy was restored, they could refine pills again.

Previously, he could only start four batches in two days. Now, he could start five.

The farther he went, the more skilled he became. The number of formed pills rose from two to five, then finally seven or eight!

Ten days passed, and the four gathered once more in the shop.

This time, Ye Xinghe was even more composed, his eyes brimming with confidence.

Ye Xingyu, on the other hand, looked even more worn out around the brows and eyes, making the already taciturn man seem even more melancholy.

Ye Jingli and Ye Jingyun were the same.

Their refining results were little different from before, and their eyes remained filled with worry.

Only Ye Jingcheng looked spirited and heroic. Without having to control the flames, pill refining came more easily to him, and his results improved by the day.

As usual, Ye Xinghe had the four report their progress.

The other three had achieved roughly the same results as before.

Then Ye Jingcheng spoke. "Eldest Uncle, I refined one hundred and thirty Qi Return Pills this time!"

The other three, along with Ye Xinghe, found it hard to believe, because this was a new First-Order Grade-Middle spirit pill.

More importantly, the number of formed pills was simply too high.

"I started a few more batches. These Qi Return Pills can restore spiritual energy for both Little Flame and me!" Ye Jingcheng did not elaborate. The facts were simply as they were.

If he said too much, it would only make him seem as though he was trying to cover something up.

"Good!!" Ye Xinghe was thrilled as well.

"This order is now foolproof. Jingcheng, from here on, just focus on refining Detoxification Pills!"

"I'll arrange for cultivators to buy these same spirit pills from the Li Family's shop and see whether they are willing to sell them. Also, Xinghong, raise the price of these spirit pills from our Ye Family by two Spirit Stones each. One Spirit Stone of that increase will be the spread we pay out!"

"The entire market is saying that our Ye Family has no pill refiners, that we cannot refine spirit pills, and that we may default on the order and pay a sky-high compensation. Then let them have their wish!" The corners of Ye Xinghe's lips curved upward slightly.

"They want to manipulate the market, so we'll give them our full cooperation!"

At those words, everyone else breathed a long sigh of relief, faint smiles appearing on their faces.

"Big Brother, there's more good news. The Spirit Beasts in the Inner Courtyard that were in terrible condition for various reasons have all improved greatly lately. Each one is livelier than the last!" Ye Xinghong added.

The moment she said this, everyone realized it.

Those Spirit Beasts truly had gotten much better. When night deepened, they would even roar from time to time. That would let them sell for more Spirit Stones.

The Ye Family's primary business was still Spirit Beasts.

If the Spirit Beasts sold better, their annual stipends would increase as well. This was also a joyous matter. They simply had not noticed before, believing Ye Xinghong had fed them some kind of medicinal pill.

Now, it seemed the beasts had improved on their own.

Ye Xinghe was stunned for a moment. He questioned Ye Xinghong about the details, but still could not find an explanation.

However, Ye Jingcheng keenly noticed that Ye Xinghe glanced at him once more, satisfaction flickering in his eyes.

It felt as though he had long seen through everything.

And his questions just now had merely been a disguise.

A thought in Ye Jingcheng's heart grew increasingly certain.

After telling Ye Xinghong to continue watching the situation, Ye Xinghe said no more. Instead, he encouraged them again and stated that when the month ended, he would take Ye Jingcheng and the others to the Mo Family's restaurant for a welcome feast before bringing the matter to a close.

He also gave the four half a day to stroll around the market and relax, while giving the three families a sense of urgent pressure.

This time, Ye Jingli went with Ye Jingcheng. The former casually asked whether the spirit pills refined by Ye Jingcheng had caused it.

Ye Jingcheng naturally shook his head repeatedly, saying that he had been refining pills all these days.

He had refined more than twenty batches in total.

Only then did Ye Jingli nod, though the curiosity in his eyes remained unchanged as he followed Ye Jingcheng around.

After making a round of the market, the two finally returned to the shop.

This time, Ye Jingcheng also bought some Spirit Herbs. They were ingredients for that mysterious pill formula. Though he already had some, it was better to prepare a few more sets.

Ye Jingli bought several refining materials, so he had made a modest gain as well.

Inside Ye Xinghe's room, an antique incense burner continuously burned sandalwood incense.

Ye Xinghe sat in the secondary seat, while Ye Xingliu sat in the seat of honor beside him.

"Big Brother, how likely do you think it is that the other three families will make a move?" Ye Xingliu spoke first.

"Eighty percent. These are extraordinary times. The Taiyi Sect is too busy looking after itself to concern itself with Foundation Establishment Families like ours. Since they dared to sabotage our Ye Family's business in secret, they have already prepared to fight us until the fish die and the net tears!" Ye Xinghe's gaze was bright, killing intent surfacing within it. "But their methods this time are not particularly clever. They may have another scheme!"

"It almost feels like they're sending us Spirit Stones!"

"That is why I summoned you here in secret. If they resort to tricks during the transaction, you can catch them off guard!" Ye Xinghe said.

Before Ye Jingcheng and the others, he had appeared full of confidence. But as the one in power over a family, there were simply too many things he had to consider!

In this world where people devoured others without even spitting out the bones, one wrong step meant losing the entire game! Ye Xingliu nodded as well. Neither man said anything further. Instead, as though by mutual understanding, they each took out spirit tea and drank.

After drinking a cup of spirit tea, both leaned back in their Grand Preceptor's Chairs and slightly closed their eyes.

The next moment, Ye Xingliu suddenly formed a hand seal. The incense burner before him released an even stronger fragrance, smoke curling and lingering throughout the room without dispersing!

It made one's vision seem hazy through the mist.

This was Spirit Restriction Smoke, capable of suppressing spiritual sense probing.

"How is Jingcheng?" Ye Xingliu asked softly.

"Passable!" Ye Xinghe replied.

"Then once the auction ends, begin Jingcheng's test."

"Good!"

Another ten days passed. Ye Jingcheng took out all the pill bottles, lined them up in a row, and let out a long breath!

There were a full hundred Detoxification Pills! Although Detoxification Pills were cheaper than Qi Return Pills, they were not the slightest bit easier to refine!

"Little Flame, you can rest for a long while now!" Ye Jingcheng put away the pill bottles and stroked the Crimson Flame Fox's fur.

The Crimson Flame Fox gave two soft cries, then closed its eyes, quite contentedly absorbing the Treasure Book's spiritual radiance that Ye Jingcheng sent over!

Please follow, publicize, and promote! What miserable results!