Refining Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, Xiao Ning Blocks the Way?

"No problem, Little Brother Xiao Chen. Mittal Auction House has everything you need. Please wait here for a moment, and Big Sister will go fetch them for you!"

Ya Fei scanned the list, confirming that Mittal Auction House had all the items Xiao Chen required in stock, while simultaneously becoming more certain that there was an alchemist backing him.

Before long, Ya Fei handed the materials Xiao Chen needed to him. Having obtained what he wanted, Xiao Chen did not linger and hurried back to the Xiao Family with great impatience.

Returning to his room and locking the door, Xiao Chen began refining the Foundation Elixir. With the system's rewards, failure was naturally impossible. It took only three hours to refine a full twelve bottles of the Foundation Elixir; the main constraint was that the Dou Qi within Xiao Chen's body had been depleted too heavily to support further refinement.

Stashing the excess Foundation Elixir in the cabinet under his bed, he drew a bucket of clear water and began to test the effects of the elixir.

"Hiss!! This is truly good stuff. No wonder Xiao Yan was able to return to the Dou Zhe realm within half a year. The reputation of Medicine Venerable is truly well-deserved!"

Feeling the rapidly strengthening Dou Qi within his body, Xiao Chen couldn't help but exclaim. He hadn't felt much before experiencing it, but now that he had, he realized this thing was simply too broken.

He had originally thought that the Fen Jue was the foundation of Xiao Yan's rise, but now it seemed that Yao Chen was the real cheat code.

Half an hour later, the water in the wooden bucket became clear and transparent once more, signifying that the medicinal efficacy of the Foundation Elixir had been completely exhausted.

"Phew~ Refreshing!!!"

Xiao Chen jumped out of the bucket and let out a long breath, feeling refreshed and invigorated. This cultivation session had more than doubled the Dou Qi in his body.

At this rate, he would break through to the sixth stage of Dou Force in less than half a month. As for condensing a Dou Qi vortex and stepping into the Dou Zhe realm, it would likely take half a year.

Roughly estimating the time, Xiao Chen reached a conclusion: his talent was truly inferior to Xiao Yan's.

After all, in the same half-year period, Xiao Yan had risen from the third stage of Dou Force to a Dou Zhe, while he could only go from the fifth stage of Dou Force to a Dou Zhe; there was still a gap there.

Xiao Chen didn't feel anything wrong with this. After all, Xiao Yan had suffered more than him. Besides, the man was a Child of Destiny, beloved by the very world of the Dou Qi Continent.

Calling Xiao Yan a Child of Destiny was no lie. If anyone else had walked Xiao Yan's path, they likely would have perished halfway through—let alone ascending to the Great Thousand World and establishing the Endless Fire Territory?

Don't make your Brother Yan laugh; try surviving the pursuit of the Soul Hall first!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

A dull knocking on the door interrupted Xiao Chen's wandering thoughts. Regaining his focus, he hurriedly put on his clothes before pushing the door open.

"Hmm? Xun'er? You... are you inviting me to watch the sunset together?"

Looking at Gu Xun'er outside the door... oh... no, she had changed her name to Xiao Xun'er now. Xiao Chen should have been confused, but upon seeing the sunset about to dip below the horizon in the distance, he realized it instantly.

The little girl had come over, most likely wanting Xiao Chen to accompany her to watch the sunset. The facts were just as Xiao Chen had guessed. Xiao Xun'er didn't act coy and directly stated her thoughts, "Yes! Xun'er waited for a long time today but didn't see Brother Xiao Chen, so I came to find Brother Xiao Chen!"

"Sorry! I was just cultivating and kept you waiting, Xun'er!"

Xiao Chen reached out to pat Xun'er's head, then took her hand and walked toward the back mountain.

Hearing this, Xun'er pursed her lips, looking a bit nervous, and asked cautiously, "Did Xun'er disturb Brother Xiao Chen's cultivation?"

"No, Xun'er came at just the right time. I had just finished cultivating and was about to go find you!"

This was a lie. He had been enjoying his cultivation so much today that Xiao Chen had forgotten all about watching the sunset with Xiao Xun'er. Besides, what kind of decent person watches the sunset every single day?

Hearing Xiao Chen's explanation, Xun'er finally breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile blossomed on her face once again.

However, just as the two stepped out of Xiao Chen's courtyard, their path was blocked. Xiao Chen was all too familiar with the person blocking them: it was Xiao Ning, who had been glaring at him in the main hall earlier.

"Xiao Ning, you're blocking our way—is there something you need?"

Not wanting to cause trouble before understanding the situation, Xiao Chen decided to ask for clarification first. If this turned out to be a misunderstanding, it would be ridiculous.

But things did not go in the direction Xiao Chen imagined; Xiao Ning was simply there to pick a fight. "Xiao Chen, I want to spar with you!"

"Not interested. I'm taking Xun'er to watch the sunset. If you want to spar, go find Xiao Yan!"

Xiao Chen pushed the blocking Xiao Ning aside and continued walking toward the back mountain while holding Xun'er's hand. But Xiao Ning pestered them, blocking their path again with a look of disdain, sneering, "Xiao Chen, are you afraid? If you're afraid, then get away from Miss Xun'er!"

"A coward like you has no way to protect Miss Xun'er!"

After saying this, Xiao Ning specifically glanced at Xiao Xun'er, clearly trying to attract her attention.

However, Xiao Xun'er didn't even look at him. She quietly tugged at Xiao Chen's sleeve and whispered, "Brother Xiao Chen, is there something wrong with this guy's brain?"

"Pfft! You're right, his intelligence is indeed a bit problematic. But how did you figure that out, Xun'er?"

Xiao Chen couldn't help but laugh out loud. He hadn't expected the little girl to have such a sweet tongue; her words were so pleasant to hear.

Xun'er curled her lips and looked at Xiao Ning with the gaze one might reserve for a fool. "This is the Xiao Family, after all. Could I possibly encounter any danger here?"

Xiao Ning's face flushed red from Xun'er's retort. He wanted to open his mouth to explain something, but didn't know how to argue. He could only glare fiercely at Xiao Chen. "Xiao Chen, if you have the guts, then spar with me. Do you dare or not?"

"Oh~ I get it. You're jealous of me, right? Jealous that I get to accompany Xun'er, right?"

Xiao Chen didn't want to play these little games of trying to attract a girl's attention, so he ruthlessly exposed Xiao Ning's intentions.

With his petty thoughts laid bare, Xiao Ning stuttered for a moment, stammering for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.

Seeing Xiao Ning in this state, Xiao Chen let go of Xun'er's hand, walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and whispered in his ear, "It's useless no matter how jealous you are. Not to mention that you're no match for me, even if you actually won, Xun'er would only feel sorry for me. As for you, you'd probably be hated by Xun'er for quite a while!"

These words fell upon Xiao Ning's ears like a heavy hammer, making his head buzz.

After striking down his rival, Xiao Chen didn't care about the stunned Xiao Ning. He took Xun'er's hand, walked past him, and headed toward the back mountain.

A full quarter of an hour later, Xiao Ning finally regained his senses, staring blankly at the two disappearing figures, his eyes filled with unwillingness.