Battle Through the Heavens: Rising from Canaan Academy 40

Qin Chen understood Yun Yun's feelings and smiled gently. "I think Yun Shan failed to advance to the Dou Zong realm, allowing Protector Wu to take advantage of his weakness. Left with no other choice, he chose to endure."

After a pause, Qin Chen took a deep breath and said solemnly:

"This secret technique will erode a person's mind, causing the evil thoughts in their heart to rapidly expand until they eventually become a monster that knows only slaughter."

He was not exaggerating. When Yun Shan first appeared in the original story, he had carried himself like the grandmaster of a sect. Combined with the image Yun Yun had of him, Qin Chen had once believed him to be a righteous and principled expert.

Yet in merely three years, he seemed like an entirely different person. His way of doing things had been reduced to nothing but: "Those who submit to me shall prosper; those who defy me shall perish."

If this continued, who knew what Yun Shan would become in another three years?

"Ah... then... then what should we do?" Yun Yun's pretty face instantly turned pale, filled with panic.

"Don't panic."

Qin Chen took Yun Yun's fair jade hand and revealed a gentle smile. "Since I came to find you, I naturally have a way to help you solve this."

"Senior Yun Shan only broke through to the Dou Zong realm recently. This secret technique has not affected him too deeply yet. There is still time."

"As long as you fully cooperate with me, we will definitely be able to resolve this perfectly."

"Xiao Chen..."

Feeling the warmth of his palm, Yun Yun instinctively tightened her grip on his hand. Her anxious heart gradually calmed. "What is your plan, and what should I do?"

"My plan is this. When the time comes..."

Qin Chen chuckled and laid out his thoughts in full.

"Yun Leng?"

After hearing him out, Yun Yun's slender brows knitted together as she sought confirmation.

"That's right." Qin Chen nodded firmly. "If there is anyone in the Misty Cloud Sect most likely to have already been controlled, it must be him."

"I understand."

Yun Yun nodded. Then, a trace of worry appeared between her brows as she asked, "The Soul Hall is so powerful. Will doing this bring their retaliation?"

Reasoning with enemies like this was useless. They would only push their luck further because of it. The best method was to eliminate them.

Yun Yun naturally understood this principle, but the Soul Hall was no ordinary faction. Even an ordinary Protector was so powerful. How strong, then, must their Hall Master be?

What if this brought their retaliation? What would they do then?

"Don't worry. This Wu Ying is merely a Protector. Even if he unfortunately dies in the Jia Ma Empire, the Soul Hall definitely will not make a huge fuss over him."

Qin Chen waved his hand, his tone quite certain. "At most, they'll send another Protector to investigate. And by then, the methods inside Senior Yun Shan's body will already have been removed. They won't do something so thankless."

At the end, Qin Chen silently added, Unless it is a few years from now, when their thousand-year plan is about to begin.

"This..."

Light flickered in Yun Yun's beautiful eyes. After struggling for a moment, she ultimately chose to believe Qin Chen and nodded heavily.

Though this fellow was usually rather frivolous, he had never lied to her. Besides, Qin Chen had even saved her life.

Seeing this, Qin Chen smiled in satisfaction and reminded her, "After you return, you can probe the people in the Council of Elders and see whether you can make them expose themselves. It's fine if you fail, but remember—do not alert them."

"I understand."

Yun Yun nodded solemnly. Then, as if recalling something, she asked, "Xiao Yan's teacher is actually that formidable?"

As she spoke, Yun Yun secretly felt fortunate that she had sent Nalan Yanran out to train in advance. Otherwise, she really might have lost to that boy.

"Yes."

Qin Chen nodded decisively. "Xiao Yan's teacher truly is extraordinary. More than half of my alchemy skills were learned from him."

After thinking for a moment, Qin Chen took a silver scroll and several jade bottles from his storage ring.

The scroll was one of those he had obtained from that cave, while the jade bottles contained several fourth- and fifth-tier medicinal pills.

With a chuckle, Qin Chen stuffed them into Yun Yun's arms. "This is an earth-tier wind-attribute cultivation technique. Take it and cultivate it. That way, you'll be better able to deal with what happens that day."

"The jade bottles contain medicinal pills that are very suitable for your disciple's current use. I've written the specific instructions on this sheet of paper."

As he spoke, Qin Chen handed Yun Yun another piece of parchment.

"Xiao Chen..." A moist sheen welled up in Yun Yun's eyes, and her voice carried a barely perceptible tremble.

"Hehe..."

Seeing this, Qin Chen pointed at his own cheek and smiled slyly. "Sister, if you want to thank me, why not show it through some practical action?"

Yun Yun's pretty face flushed at his words. Yet after thinking for a moment, she still closed her eyes and leaned toward Qin Chen.

"Mmph..."

Just as Yun Yun was about to pull away after a brief kiss, Qin Chen unexpectedly wrapped an arm around her slender waist, pulled her into his embrace, and swiftly pressed his lips against her rosy cherry lips.

After a long while, their lips parted.

"You little rascal..." Yun Yun's cheeks were so red they seemed ready to bleed. After holding it in for a long time, she could only utter those three flirtatious words.

Qin Chen wore a mischievous grin and was about to say something more, but his brows lifted slightly and he changed the subject. "It's getting late. Sister, you should go back first. Be careful in everything."

"Mm, I'll be going then..." Yun Yun nodded, then rose and left through the main gate. With a light tap of her toes, she spread her wings and flew back toward the Misty Cloud Sect.

The moment Yun Yun left, Qin Chen's brows furrowed tightly. He slowly rolled up his sleeve.

At this moment, the innocence in Little Swallowing Heaven Python's eyes was gone, leaving only boundless arrogance and fresh red blood on its fangs.

Qin Chen: "..."

That damned woman!

Chapter 67: Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame

Ever since Yun Yun left, Qin Chen had spent most of the following month immersed in alchemy.

During this period, he spent nearly all his time in the imperial palace.

After all, Hai Bodong had already begun secluded cultivation to recover his strength. The imperial palace was heavily guarded, and Jia Xing Tian, that old fellow, was providing free labor. Why not take advantage of it?

Whenever Qin Chen refined pills, Fa Ma would come to visit. Not only would he voluntarily help maintain the formation, but he would also bring plenty of medicinal ingredients from the Alchemist Guild, all so he could watch Qin Chen refine pills up close.

In addition, during Qin Chen's pill-refining period, Hai Bodong had ordered the Mittel Family to send him plenty of medicinal ingredients, all without asking for payment.

He truly deserved to be called an angel investor. Not only was his eye sharp, but he was also exceptionally decisive in his actions.

In return, Qin Chen gave Hai Bodong an Emperor's Extreme Pill and a Sect-Breaking Pill of decent quality, along with a Dou Spirit Pill for Mittel Tengshan.

Treasure-hunting talent like Zi Yan's was not exclusive to the Ancient Void Dragon clan. In fact, some magical beasts with noble bloodlines often possessed similar abilities. They were naturally extremely sensitive to certain heavenly treasures.

After evolving, Medusa also possessed sharp senses for heavenly treasures. Combined with her status as a Dou Zong expert, none of the treasures in the imperial palace could escape her discerning eyes.

Fortunately, Jia Xing Tian had not deceived him. Otherwise, Qin Chen would not have minded ending their cooperation outright and turning the imperial palace upside down after the Three-Year Agreement.

As for whether Jia Xing Tian would become restless after breaking through to the Dou Zong realm?

There was no need to worry about that. Jia Xing Tian had always been a steady and conservative man. Unless he had absolute confidence and sufficient benefits, he would definitely serve obediently.

Furthermore, leaving aside Medusa, who had already advanced to the Dou Zong realm, Qin Chen had absolute confidence in himself. By the time he returned next, his strength would surely far surpass Jia Xing Tian's.

Alchemist Guild Headquarters.

This was an enormous building that towered into the clouds. Sunlight fell upon its surface, reflecting a warm and dazzling radiance. The air around it was filled with a rich medicinal fragrance that refreshed the spirit.

As the alchemy holy land of the Jia Ma Empire, the place was naturally bustling with activity.

Especially now, with the Alchemist Grand Meeting approaching, the entrance to the guild headquarters was packed with people. Every face dressed in splendid robes belonged to an alchemist rarely seen on ordinary days.

The Alchemist Guild was extremely vast, roughly divided into eastern, western, and southern sections.

Standing outside the main entrance, Qin Chen wore an ornate second-tier alchemist robe as he stepped inside once more and headed directly for the eastern trading area.

Qin Chen had already forgotten when Xiao Yan obtained the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame and the specific details. He only knew that before the Alchemist Grand Meeting, Xiao Yan had stumbled upon it through a lucky bargain at these headquarters.

Burning Flame Valley was a faction founded by a peak Nine-Star Dou Saint expert. A special storage method like this might very well possess some effect that blocked soul perception.

Therefore, unless he truly could not leave while refining pills, Qin Chen would personally come here for a walk.

After wandering around the trading area for a while, Qin Chen curled his lips and headed straight toward a corner near a doorframe.

It was at the edge of the trading area, where a somewhat dilapidated stone table stood. Behind it, a rather shifty middle-aged man was selling medicinal ingredients.

Because this thin and withered man was merely an alchemy apprentice, and because the medicinal ingredients displayed on his table were too ordinary, few people visited his stall. Some especially arrogant alchemists even felt that glancing at it was a waste of time.

Seeing someone seemingly approach his stall, the man froze briefly. When he caught sight of the alchemist badge on Qin Chen's chest, his small eyes immediately lit up, and he quickly revealed a fawning smile.

"Master, is there anything you need?"

Seeing Qin Chen stop before his stall, the man hurriedly spoke, afraid that the customer he had finally waited for would leave.

Qin Chen's gaze did not linger on the medicinal ingredients atop the table. Instead, it fell beneath it. At that moment, a thumb-sized black fragment of broken jade was wedged between the table leg and the ground.

The corner of his mouth twitched. The jade fragment containing the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame was being used by an old man from the Northwestern Continent as a table wedge?

If this news made its way back to Burning Flame Valley, Qin Chen had no doubt countless people would want to hack this old man to death.

Seeing Qin Chen staring at the jade fragment beneath the table, the middle-aged man quickly bent down to pick it up and said with a broad smile, "Master, are you interested in this jade fragment?"

"Yes. Do you want to trade it for something, or sell it directly?"

Looking at the sallow-faced, emaciated man with his hunched frame, Qin Chen was not so lacking in morals as to play tricks on him.

If he did not have the perspective of one who knew the future, and if his talent had been ordinary, perhaps this man's appearance would have been an accurate reflection of his own life.

The man scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. "Master, I'd like to exchange it for a third-tier medicinal pill."

"Fine. Here are five Qi Recovery Pills." Qin Chen took an exquisite jade bottle from his storage ring and placed it on the table.

These were pills he had casually refined in preparation for trading for the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame. Yet even so, their quality still far surpassed pills painstakingly refined by some third-tier alchemists.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"

The man was overjoyed. After handing the jade fragment to Qin Chen, he eagerly picked up the jade bottle on the table. After examining it, he hugged it to his chest as if he could not bear to part with it.

Qin Chen put away the jade fragment in his storage ring. Looking at the ecstatic man, he asked, "I'm very interested in this kind of jade fragment. Do you know where you got it?"

"This..." The middle-aged man's smile stiffened, and a trace of hesitation flashed across his face.

There was hope!

Qin Chen smiled lightly and continued, "If you can get me similar jade fragments, I can give you an alchemy inheritance that will take you directly to the second tier."