In the Ye Lineage's main hall, its head, Ye Xuan, sat in a circle with several elders, while Ye Yan sat farther down.
A storage ring lay neatly on the table.
Inside were the cultivation resources Ye Chen had bought at the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce.
"Yan'er, what's in here?"
Ye Xuan asked curiously.
The elders also cast curious looks his way.
Just moments earlier, Ye Yan had approached them, saying there was good news and calling a meeting to discuss it.
They had no idea Ye Chen and Ye Yan had visited Feng City and bought out the entire Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce's stock of resources.
So they had followed Ye Yan to the main hall, half believing and half doubting.
Ye Yan smiled mysteriously. "Father, elders, take a look and you'll know!"
Seeing him act like this only heightened their curiosity, and they extended their divine senses inside.
!!!
!!!
"Holy shit!"
"What the fuck is this?"
"Heavens! These... these are Mystic Pills!"
"Look here! This is a Mystic Rank cultivation technique!"
"And Mystic Rank spirit artifacts!"
"Hahahahaha! We're rich! We're rich!"
"..."
Watching them rejoice like children several decades old, Ye Yan couldn't help laughing.
"Yan'er, tell us, where did you get these resources?"
After his excitement subsided, Ye Xuan couldn't help worrying about their origins.
The contents were far too precious-not only plentiful, but all of excellent quality. Within a thousand li, only the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce could produce them.
It was hard for him not to suspect that Ye Yan had robbed the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce.
"Exactly, Yan'er, hurry and tell us where they came from. If they weren't obtained legitimately, we can prepare early!"
Understanding Ye Xuan's meaning, the elders' expressions grew somewhat grave as well.
Seeing this, Ye Yan burst out laughing.
"The Ancestor bought all of these at the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce especially for us!"
"The... the Ancestor?"
They exchanged bewildered glances.
"That's right. The Ancestor bought everything. It cost over thirty million low-grade spirit stones!"
Ye Yan explained with a smile.
"Gasp..."
"Gasp..."
"Gasp..."
They sucked in breaths of cold air.
Over thirty million low-grade spirit stones-what did that amount mean?
The Ye Lineage's annual income was only a hundred thousand or so low-grade spirit stones, and each member could receive only a few every month.
Those thirty million-plus low-grade spirit stones were equivalent to over a century of the Ye Lineage's income.
How could they not be shocked?
"Th-this really was bought by the Ancestor?"
An elder asked tremulously.
The other elders also stared at Ye Yan with burning eyes.
"Absolutely. The Ancestor really bought it all!"
At those words, they first grew excited, then elated, and finally embraced one another, weeping streams of tears.
"The Ancestor's return is truly a great blessing for our Ye Lineage!"
"With the Ancestor back, the Ye Lineage has hope!"
"Thank you, Ancestor! Without you, the Ye Lineage might truly have been destroyed in the hands of us old fellows!"
"From now on, the Ancestor is our Ye Lineage's heaven! If anyone dares disobey, I'll hack the bastard to death!"
"That's right! Hack the bastard to death!"
"Boohoo..."
The sight of those old codgers hugging one another and bawling made Ye Yan's mouth twitch uncontrollably. Inwardly, he cried that he couldn't take it.
Without realizing it, Ye Xuan's face was also streaming with tears.
He was afraid. He had always been afraid that the Ye Lineage would meet its end in his hands. Then he would be its sinner, unable to face its ancestors even in death.
Now the Ancestor had descended to the lower realm, giving him hope and giving the Ye Lineage hope as well.
His excitement and gratitude ran deeper than anyone else's.
Only after a long while-who knew how many hours-did everyone calm down.
"Yan'er, we should return the three most precious items in this storage ring to the Ancestor. It would be too wasteful for us to use them!"
Ye Xuan said with a smile.
"Yes, the Ancestor is the foundation of our Ye Lineage. The best things should be kept for him!"
"Right, right! Yan'er, take them back to the Ancestor later!"
They chimed in one after another, refusing to accept the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce's crowning treasures.
Seeing this, Ye Yan smiled. "Father, elders, don't worry. The Ancestor specifically told me earlier that these things wouldn't help him much and he doesn't need them. Just use them to improve your strength!"
Hearing this, they felt like crying again.
Ye Yan hurriedly stopped them; it was far too much of an eyesore. "Father, elders, hurry and distribute the resources! Don't let the Ancestor down."
"Right, hurry and work out how to distribute them. Getting the resources to our members so they can improve their strength is what matters!"
"Indeed, improving our strength is the most pressing matter. We mustn't let the Ancestor's painstaking efforts go to waste!"
"The Ancestor spared no expense, staking his entire fortune just so we could grow. We absolutely cannot slack off!"
In their eyes, Ye Chen must have emptied out all his savings to buy these things.
This left them both grateful and pained for him, while their resolve to grow stronger became even firmer.
With these resources, they could soon break through. Even the Origin Core Realm was no longer something they could only gaze at but never reach.
Meanwhile, Ye Chen was somewhat troubled.
Looking at the mountains of low-grade spirit stones piled inside his storage ring, he couldn't help sighing inwardly.
"I bought so many resources, yet spent so little. What year, what month will I ever use it all up?"
"I can't spend it all. I simply can't spend it all!"
"Is this what troubles rich people?"
Then, thinking of something, he swept his divine sense over Ye Yan and told him to come over.
Ye Yan dared not delay and hurried to the secluded chamber.
"There are some spirit stones in this storage ring. Take them down for the Lineage to use for now!"
As Ye Chen spoke, he tossed him a storage ring.
"Yes!"
Ye Yan respectfully accepted it, then withdrew.
After Ye Yan left, Ye Chen began cultivating the Chaos Dao Scripture.
There had been too much going on these past few days, and he was rather lazy by nature, so he hadn't cultivated much.
His cultivation had only just broken through to the Quasi-Emperor Fifth Heaven.
He had also only barely cultivated the Chaos Dao Scripture to its fifth level.
The Chaos Dao Scripture truly deserved its status as a supreme-grade Dao Venerable cultivation technique. As he cultivated it, Dao sounds swirled, laws intertwined, and Immortal Qi filled the air.
The Power of Chaos cultivated through it was even more terrifying beyond compare. Every wisp contained the might to destroy heaven and earth.
With his current Quasi-Emperor Fifth Heaven strength, thrashing an ordinary Human Immortal wouldn't be a problem.
However, he currently only had the first volume of the Chaos Dao Scripture, containing ten levels.
At his pace, he estimated it wouldn't take long to finish cultivating it.
He still needed to get the second volume as soon as possible.
"A Dao Venerable cultivation technique isn't that hard to cultivate! Why do those patriarchs need over ten thousand years to make even a little progress?"
Ye Chen was puzzled.
If the patriarchs of the upper realm's Ye Lineage learned that Ye Chen had cultivated a supreme-grade Dao Venerable cultivation technique to its fifth level in the time it took to eat and drink, their eyes would pop out in shock.
Dao Venerable cultivation techniques were currently the most powerful techniques in the universe. Normally, only Immortal Kings could begin cultivating them.
Without at least a hundred years, it was simply impossible to get started.
Moreover, the further one cultivated, the harder it became. It was entirely possible to make no progress for over ten thousand years.
At that stage, it all depended on one's comprehension of the laws of the Great Dao.
The deeper one's comprehension, the faster and easier one's progress.
Of course, if they knew what Ye Chen was thinking...
Those men would probably be unable to stop themselves from coughing up several liters of blood, then descending to the lower realm with blades in hand to hack that little bastard to death.
As they hacked, they would shout, "You're a cheater! How can we compare?"
Meanwhile, after leaving the secluded chamber, Ye Yan hurriedly extended his divine sense into the storage ring to inspect it.
By his estimate, this storage ring very likely held hundreds of thousands, or even over a million low-grade spirit stones.
At the thought, his eyes brimmed with hot tears.
This was probably the last of the Ancestor's fortune.
The Ancestor had truly given everything for them!
But when he saw that the storage ring's entire space was packed full of low-grade spirit stones, he felt he was still far too young!