Qin Chen understood Yun Yun's current feelings. Smiling gently, he said softly, "I think Yun Shan failed to advance to Dou Zong, 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 in a grave voice:
"This secret technique will erode a person's mind, causing the evil thoughts within them to rapidly swell. In the end, they will 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 a grandmaster of a sect. Combined with Yun Yun's image of him, Qin Chen had once believed him to be a righteous and reasonable powerhouse.
Yet in merely three years, he had seemed to become a completely different person. His way of doing things had been reduced to only one principle: those who obey me prosper, those who oppose me perish.
If this continued, who knew what Yun Shan would become in another three years?
"Ah... then... what should we do?" Upon hearing this, Yun Yun's pretty face instantly turned pale, filled with panic.
"Don't panic."
Qin Chen took Yun Yun's fair jade-like hand, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Since I've come to find you, I naturally have a way to help you resolve this."
"Senior Yun Shan only recently broke through to Dou Zong. This secret technique has not affected him too deeply yet. There is still time for everything."
"As long as you cooperate with me fully, we can definitely resolve this matter perfectly."
"Little 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? What should I do?"
"My plan is this. When the time comes..."
Qin Chen chuckled and laid out all his thoughts.
"Yun Leng?"
After listening, Yun Yun furrowed her slender brows and asked for 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 concern appeared between her brows as she asked, "Soul Hall is so powerful. Will doing this invite their retaliation?"
Reasoning with enemies like this was useless. They would only push their luck, and the best method was to eliminate them.
Yun Yun naturally understood this principle, but Soul Hall was no ordinary faction. Even an ordinary protector was so powerful; how strong would their hall master be?
If this brought retaliation upon them, what then?
"Don't worry. This Wu Ying is merely a protector. Even if he unfortunately dies in the Jia Ma Empire, Soul Hall definitely will not make a huge fuss over him."
Qin Chen waved his hand, his tone quite certain. "At most, they will send another protector to investigate. Besides, by then, the methods planted within Senior Yun Shan will have already been removed. They won't do something so thankless."
At the end, Qin Chen silently added in his heart, Unless it is a few years from now, when the millennium-long plan is about to begin.
"This..."
Light flickered in Yun Yun's beautiful eyes. After hesitating for a moment, she ultimately decided to believe Qin Chen's words and nodded heavily.
Although this fellow was usually rather carefree, he had never deceived her. Moreover, Qin Chen had once saved her life.
Seeing this, Qin Chen smiled in satisfaction and reminded her, "After you return, you can probe the people in the elders' council and see whether you can make them reveal any flaws. It doesn't matter if you fail, but remember: do not alert the enemy."
"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 beforehand. Otherwise, she really might have lost to that boy.
"Mm."
Qin Chen nodded firmly. "Xiao Yan's teacher truly is no simple person. More than half of my alchemy skills were learned from him."
After thinking for a moment, Qin Chen took out a silver scroll and several jade bottles from his Storage Ring.
This scroll was one of the ones he had obtained from that cave, while the jade bottles contained several Tier 4 and Tier 5 pills.
With a chuckle, Qin Chen stuffed them into Yun Yun's arms. "This is an Earth Grade wind-attributed cultivation technique. Take it and cultivate it. That way, you can better handle what happens that day."
"The jade bottles contain some medicinal pills. They are very suitable for your disciple's current use. I've written the specific instructions on this piece of paper."
As he spoke, Qin Chen handed another piece of parchment to Yun Yun.
"Little Chen..." A glistening layer of moisture welled in Yun Yun's eyes, and her voice carried an almost imperceptible tremble.
"Hehe..."
Seeing this, Qin Chen pointed at his own cheek and smiled slyly. "Sister, if you want to thank me, why not take some practical action?"
Hearing this, Yun Yun's pretty face reddened. 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 touch, Qin Chen unexpectedly wrapped an arm around her slender waist and pulled her into his embrace. Then he 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 drip blood. After holding it in for a long time, she could only utter those three flirtatious words.
A wicked smile hung on Qin Chen's face. He had originally wanted to say something else, but his brows rose slightly and he changed the subject. "It's getting late. Sister, you should go back first. Be careful in all things."
"Mm, then I'll leave first..." Yun Yun nodded, then rose and walked out through the main gate. With a light tap of her toes, she spread her wings and returned to the Misty Cloud Sect.
The moment Yun Yun left, Qin Chen's brows knitted tightly together as he slowly rolled up his sleeve.
At this moment, the innocence in Little Swallowing Heaven Python's eyes was gone. All that remained was boundless arrogance, along with the fresh red blood on her sharp fangs.
Qin Chen: "..."
That damned woman!
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 entered seclusion to recover his strength. The palace was heavily guarded, and Jia Xing Tian was available as free labor. Why not take advantage of it?
Every time Qin Chen refined pills, Fa Ma would come to visit. Not only did he voluntarily help maintain the formation, but he also brought plenty of medicinal ingredients from the Alchemist Guild, all so he could observe Qin Chen's alchemy up close.
In addition, it was worth mentioning that during Qin Chen's period of alchemy, Hai Bodong ordered the Mittel Family to send him plenty of medicinal ingredients, all free of charge.
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 a fairly high-quality Emperor's Extreme Pill and Sect-Breaking Pill, as well as a Dou Spirit Pill to Mittel Tengshan.
Treasure-seeking talent like Zi Yan's was not unique to the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. In fact, some magical beasts with noble bloodlines often possessed similar abilities. They were born with extremely keen senses for heavenly treasures.
After Medusa evolved, she too gained a keen perception of heavenly treasures. In addition, she was a Dou Zong powerhouse, so none of the treasures in the imperial palace could escape her notice.
Fortunately, Jia Xing Tian had not deceived him. Otherwise, Qin Chen would not have minded ending their cooperation directly 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 Dou Zong?
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 certainly work obediently for you.
Furthermore, leaving aside Medusa, who had already advanced to Dou Zong, Qin Chen had absolute confidence in himself. When he returned next time, his strength would certainly far surpass Jia Xing Tian's.
Alchemist Guild Headquarters.
This was an enormous building that towered into the clouds. Sunlight shone upon its surface, reflecting a gentle yet dazzling glow. The surrounding air was filled with a rich medicinal fragrance that refreshed the mind.
As the sacred land of alchemy in the Jia Ma Empire, this place was naturally bustling with activity.
Especially now, with the Alchemist Grand Meeting approaching, people came and went outside the guild headquarters. The figures dressed in splendid robes were all alchemists rarely seen in ordinary times.
The Alchemist Guild was extremely vast inside, roughly divided into eastern, western, and southern areas.
Standing outside the main entrance, Qin Chen wore a luxurious Tier 2 Alchemist robe as he stepped inside once more, heading straight for the eastern trading area.
Qin Chen had forgotten exactly 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 luckily found a bargain here at the headquarters.
Burning Flame Valley was a faction founded by a Peak Nine-Star Dou Sheng. With such a special storage method, it might well have some effect that blocked soul perception.
Therefore, unless he truly could not leave while refining pills, Qin Chen would personally come here for a visit.
After wandering through the trading area for a while, Qin Chen curled his lips and headed directly toward a corner near a doorway.
That was the edge of the trading area. There stood a somewhat battered stone table, behind which a rather sleazy middle-aged man was selling medicinal ingredients.
Since this gaunt man was only an alchemy apprentice, and the herbs displayed on his table were too ordinary, his stall had very few customers. Some exceptionally arrogant alchemists even felt that sparing it a glance was a waste of time.
Noticing someone seemingly approaching his stall, the man was initially stunned. When he caught sight of Qin Chen's alchemist badge, however, his small eyes immediately lit up, and he swiftly 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, he looked beneath it. At that moment, a thumb-sized, black, broken jade fragment was wedged between one of the table legs and the ground.
His lips twitched. The jade fragment storing the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame was actually being used as a "table wedge" by some old man from the Northwestern Continent?
If this news reached Burning Flame Valley, Qin Chen had no doubt that countless people would want to chop that old man to death.
Seeing Qin Chen staring at the jade fragment beneath the table, the middle-aged man hurriedly bent down and picked it up. Smiling broadly, he said, "Master, are you interested in this jade fragment?"
"Mm. Do you wish to barter it, or sell it directly?"
Looking at the sallow, skinny, hunched man, Qin Chen was not so unscrupulous as to play tricks with him.
If he did not possess the perspective of a god and had only ordinary talent, perhaps this would have been his true appearance as well.
The man scratched his head and said with an embarrassed smile, "Master, I want to exchange it for a Tier 3 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.
He had casually refined these pills specifically to exchange for the Three Mysterious Changes of Heavenly Flame. Yet even so, their quality still far surpassed pills carefully refined by some Tier 3 Alchemists.
"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
The man was overjoyed. After handing the jade fragment to Qin Chen, he impatiently picked up the jade bottle on the table. After examining it, he hugged it tightly to his chest as though it were priceless.
Qin Chen put the jade fragment into his Storage Ring. Looking at the ecstatic man, he asked, "I am very interested in this type of jade fragment. May I ask where you obtained it?"
"This..." Hearing 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 Tier 2."
Before you continue