Information Gap (Please Follow, Please Send Monthly Tickets, Please Bookmark)

Accompanied by a crisp whirring sound from the pill furnace.

A flash of spiritual light fell from Ye Jingcheng's hand, and the Crimson Flame Fox immediately sprawled on the ground.

The lid of the chipped-eared furnace lifted, revealing nine round, lustrous Detoxification Pills within!

"Finally finished!" Ye Jingcheng was delighted.

Tomorrow was the day to settle the pill count, and he now had a full one hundred and ten Detoxification Pills in hand!

That was slightly fewer than when he had refined Spirit Recovery Pills.

But Detoxification Pills were much harder to refine to begin with. The fact that he had so many was largely because he had produced a full nine pills in the final batch.

Ye Jingcheng stroked the Crimson Flame Fox's fur and sent another stream of precious light into its body.

The Crimson Flame Fox chirped softly, habitually shrinking its head back and exposing its spirit pattern beneath Ye Jingcheng's hand.

Before long, a faint red glow emanated from the Crimson Flame Fox. Ye Jingcheng left behind several Spirit Feeding Pills and a bowl of nearly depleted mountain spring water.

He then took out the Jade Ring Rat and fed it in the same manner.

The Jade Ring Rat had grown a full size larger as well. Its jade-ringed ears were now as huge as great fans, making it look rather comical!

Still, it was much smaller than the Crimson Flame Fox.

Moreover, whenever the Crimson Flame Fox did not have its eyes narrowed, the Jade Ring Rat did not dare make a sound.

Ye Jingcheng likewise took out a Spirit Feeding Pill and a bowl of mountain spring water.

Though the Jade Ring Rat was inferior to the Crimson Flame Fox, it was far more vigilant.

Its ability to foresee danger in advance each time was precisely what Ye Jingcheng needed.

The Jade Ring Rat gave two faintly cheerful squeaks and began to eat. The Crimson Flame Fox nearby seemed to hear those two squeaks and took slight offense, propping itself up on its front paws.

The Jade Ring Rat immediately shrank back, no longer daring to squeak. It merely gnawed quietly and slowly at the Spirit Feeding Pill!

"Little Flame!" Seeing this, Ye Jingcheng frowned and shot the Crimson Flame Fox a look. Only then did it unwillingly lie back down.

Only then did Ye Jingcheng say nothing more. He left the room and entered the front courtyard.

Outside, the moon shone bright amid sparse stars. Its clear light spilled across the courtyard, illuminating the spirit beasts confined in cages!

Ye Jingcheng sighed. Three more injured spirit beasts had appeared in the courtyard.

This was not the first time. Since Ye Xinghong had brought it up that day.

This was already the third batch.

Yet he still took out three Spirit Feeding Pills and walked toward those injured spirit beasts!

He had hesitated for a long time over whether to treat the spirit beasts or not!

After all, the cultivation world was that cruel. Cases of fathers and sons turning against each other, friends becoming enemies, were everywhere to be seen!

But he was only a cultivator with four spirit roots.

Without the Ye Family's resources, the road he could walk was truly narrow!

He could improve the Crimson Flame Fox's strength, but what then if it reached the first rank, or even the second? Could a Foundation Establishment demon beast bring him into Foundation Establishment?

Could it help him break through the one-hundred-and-twenty-year limit of his lifespan?

The answer was no.

But the family was different. As long as he became part of the family, his ancient book and spirit beasts could shine brilliantly!

Besides, if the family had truly harbored ill intent toward him, then when Ye Jingyu returned that time, he should have been taken away for questioning.

Not only had they not questioned him, on the contrary, the family had even directed resources toward him!

Every family elder had done the same.

That already made the family's stance clear.

Looking at the two injured Azure-Scaled Pythons, Ye Jingcheng slowly sent some spiritual light into them as well!

Not much—each time, he kept it only enough for the spirit beasts to recover gradually.

After all three spirit beasts had absorbed some precious light, he took out another three Qi-Blood Pills!

He fed them to the three spirit beasts one by one.

Under the moonlight, all three spirit beasts made soft cries. Some stuck out their tongues, while others scratched at the ground with their two front claws, expressing their goodwill.

Ye Jingcheng clapped his hands, then looked over all the spirit beasts again. Once he found that not a single one corresponded with the ancient book, he returned to his room beneath the moonlight!

Early the next morning, as the market's bell rang out, the sky was already bright. Ye Jingcheng stepped out of his room, joined by the three, Ye Jingyun and Ye Jingli, who looked as though a great weight had been lifted from their shoulders!

The one-month period had now ended, and they no longer needed to continue refining pills and magical artifacts!

They had more time to cultivate as well!

"Jingcheng, do you think the other three great families will show up?" Ye Jingli asked curiously.

"Sixth Brother, I can't guess that!" Ye Jingcheng shook his head.

But whether they appeared or not, Ye Jingcheng felt completely at ease. The Jade Ring Rat's large ears were not without their advantages—for instance, he knew that there was one more person in Ye Xinghe's room in the Ye Family!

The person had not shown himself, but who it was went without saying.

Ye Xingliu was a possibility; Ye Haicheng was another.

After gathering in the main hall, Ye Jingcheng and the others handed all the spirit pills and magical artifacts over to Ye Xinghe.

"You've all worked hard. After today, you can rest for ten days. No assignments for you!" Ye Xinghe said with a smile.

He then had Ye Xinghong and Ye Jinghao arrange the reception room next door.

"Jingcheng, come with us later," Ye Xinghe suddenly said to Ye Jingcheng.

Ye Jingcheng nodded. Though he had no idea why, he did not refuse the chance to meet cultivators from other families.

Once spirit tea had been set out in the meeting room, the time it took for an incense stick to burn passed. The market had yet to become crowded, and the streets looked somewhat deserted.

Two cultivators in white Daoist robes, each embroidered with several feathers, approached from the end of the street.

None of the other three great families accompanied them, nor did any other cultivators trail behind.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, Fellow Daoist Xu!" Ye Xinghe stepped forward and welcomed the two into the reception room.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, this matter is rather urgent, so we will not rest. Let us take out the pills and magical artifacts directly and proceed according to our previous terms!"

"If you do not have them, I will go straight to the Li Family. As for compensation, twice the order price will do!"

"Bai has already completed three batches of transactions with them. In five days, Bai and the others will also be holding an auction in advance to sell a Bloodheart Pill. If Fellow Daoist Ye is interested, you may come and bid then!"

The moment Fellow Daoist Bai of the Feather Transformation Sect said this, Ye Xinghe's expression changed sharply!

He realized that this time, the Li Family had not plotted any scheme!

What they were playing was an information gap. They had bought up all the Qi Recovery Pills and Qi-Blood Pills and driven up the prices, all so they could complete more transactions with the Feather Transformation Sect!

And while completing more orders with the Feather Transformation Sect, they were also doing so to buy that Bloodheart Pill.

The Ye Family had spent money buying spirit pills. Though they had managed to secure the pills, the profits were no longer proportional—and they had lost an entire month to gather spirit stones!

One had to know that what the Ye Family's Foundation Establishment guardian spirit beast lacked was precisely a Bloodheart Pill!

The Feather Transformation Sect did not know this, but the three great families, including the Buqing Li Clan, knew it all too well!

The Mo Clan and Xu Clan, the two Purple Mansion families, had made many excuses this time not because they wanted to suppress the Ye Family, but because they did not wish to see the Ye Family's guardian spirit beast recover once more!

The entire chain of events came down to the Ye Family realizing it too late.

"Fellow Daoist Bai, why did you not tell this humble elder brother sooner?" Ye Xinghe asked anxiously.

"The sect master decided this in the first half of the month and had the Xu Clan notify your four great families. You did not receive the news?"