The door to the side courtyard opened in response.
Chu Yunfei changed into a clean black robe. The paleness on his face had disappeared, and his aura was calm and restrained. If one did not pay close attention, it would be difficult to detect that he had just broken through to the Heavenly Origin Realm.
Ling Xueyao stood in the courtyard, her gaze lingering on him for a moment.
When Chu Yunfei came out of the Poison Hall last night, his spiritual power and soul were almost exhausted. In just one night, his condition returned to normal, and his aura was even more refined than yesterday.
It seems you're recovering well.
Ling Xueyao's gaze fell on the several array patterns in the training room that had not yet subsided. "How is your training of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword? Lu Shaoyuan has been famous for many years with this sword technique. The first three moves are still easy, but starting from the fourth move, you need to control several sword forces at the same time. If you are not careful, you will injure your meridians."
Chu Yunfei closed the door, his tone casual. "There's been some improvement; you can already barely manage to perform it."
Within his sea of consciousness, Xiaoxiao Dragon chuckled.
Having mastered the first four forms of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword in five days, he was already powerful enough to threaten the Sixth Level of the Heavenly Origin Realm.
If this is considered barely acceptable, Lu Shaoyuan will probably turn to death when he finds out.
Ling Xueyao didn't think much of it.
She assumed that Chu Yunfei had just figured out the spiritual energy pathways of this sword technique.
After all, no one would believe that he mastered the first four moves of Earth Rank Upper Grade sword technique in just one night.
"Last night, I sent people to investigate several merchant guilds in the capital. Tonight, the Pill Pavilion is holding a large auction, and among the last few items up for auction is a sixth-grade pill that can repair the soul."
Chu Yunfei raised an eyebrow. "What a coincidence?"
" The Pill Pavilion started building hype for tonight's auction a month ago, and that Rank 6 pill was originally one of the highlight items."
Ling Xueyao explained, "We just returned to the capital and hadn't paid attention to this matter before. We only found out about it last night after sending someone to investigate."
Chu Yunfei nodded.
"I see."
"I thought Her Highness was so lucky that the Pill Pavilion would deliver pills to her doorstep the moment she needed them."
"If I were truly so lucky, my father wouldn't have been asleep for so many years."
Ling Xueyao ignored his teasing.
"This elixir is crucial to whether Father Emperor will awaken. You know more about elixirs than I do; come with me tonight."
A hint of a smile appeared in Chu Yunfei's eyes.
"Since Her Highness personally invited me, I, Chu, will gladly oblige."
Ling Xueyao recalled the slip of the tongue she had uttered on the palace path last night, and her ears began to burn.
She looked away, her expression returning to its usual cool and aloofness.
"Depart at dusk."
"Stay in the side courtyard to recover during the day; don't force yourself to practice swordsmanship anymore."
After saying those words, she turned and left.
Only after Ling Xueyao walked out of the courtyard gate did Xiaoxiao Dragon chuckle in his mind, "This girl came to see you so early in the morning, yet she still had to pretend to be all business. If you were a little more proactive, the title of 'future prince consort' would be gone sooner or later."
Chu Yunfei closed the courtyard gate again.
Instead of worrying about these things, you should think about how many spirit stones that grade six pill is worth.
Elixirs that nourish the soul are always priceless and unavailable.
Xiaoxiao Dragon said lazily, "If the quality is acceptable, several hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones is just the starting price. If someone really needs it urgently, it wouldn't be surprising if the price increased several times over."
Chu Yunfei glanced at the storage ring.
After deducting the three thousand spirit crystals consumed to activate the time-space, he still had fifteen thousand spirit crystals left.
Spirit crystals can be directly converted into pure Spiritual Qi, making them far more valuable than ordinary spirit stones.
If they were to be exchanged, it would be enough to support an auction.
However, the Soul-Nurturing Pill was prepared by Ling Xueyao for Ling Zhantian.
The royal family would naturally not let him pay for it.
Chu Yunfei returned to the cultivation room and did not continue to attempt the fifth form of the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword. Instead, he circulated the Boundless Creation Scripture to nourish the meridians of his right arm, which had been repeatedly injured the previous night.
It was dusk.
"It's time to go."
Ling Xueyao's voice came from outside the courtyard.
Chu Yunfei finished circulating his cultivation technique. The stinging pain in his right arm meridians had mostly subsided, and the minor hidden injuries left by the Sea-Overturning Ninefold Sword had been mostly healed by his spiritual energy.
When I pushed open the door and stepped out of the side courtyard, it was already dark.
Ling Xueyao changed into a moon-white long dress, put her pale yellow veil back on, and had a golden slender sword hanging at her waist.
Shen Qianyue stood behind her.
After a night of healing, the blood and qi in his chest had calmed down considerably, but his breathing was still slightly sluggish. The damage to his foundation caused by burning his essence and blood could not be recovered by simple breathing exercises.
" Elder Shen going tonight too?"
Shen Qianyue nodded slightly, his voice low. "With a sixth-grade pill appearing in the world, tonight won't be peaceful. My presence will save us a lot of trouble."
Chu Yunfei nodded.
That makes sense.
"However, Elder Shen's injuries have not yet healed. If anyone makes a move, just protect the princess and don't worry about me."
Ling Xueyao glanced over.
"This is the imperial city, who are you trying to mess with this time?"
"Your Highness is wronging me."
Chu Yunfei walked out of the courtyard gate.
"I have always been kind to others. The matters concerning the Azure Mystic Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Blood Baleful Intent Tower's ambush—they were the ones who struck first."
Ling Xueyao remained silent for a moment.
That sounds reasonable.
But hearing it come out of Chu Yunfei's mouth, she always felt that something was off.
Shen Qianyue glanced at the two of them, pretending not to have heard.
The three left the palace without riding in a beast-drawn carriage.
Instead, they headed south along the main street of the imperial city.
The imperial city covers a vast area, and the streets outside the palace gates are wide enough to accommodate more than a dozen beast-drawn carriages traveling side by side. Most of the shops on both sides are equipped with Spirit-Gathering Array, and there are many martial artists with the aura of the Heavenly Origin Realm among those coming and going.
Chu Yunfei walked through several long streets before he finally saw the tall, jade-green building in the distance.
The building has nine floors.
On either side of the main gate stands a bronze alchemy furnace, with pale golden flames rising from its opening, and the aroma of the elixir can be smelled from half a street away.
Several array formations were hidden deep within the wall, two of which had reached the Earth Rank Upper Grade. Once activated, they would be enough to trap a martial artist in the Early Stage of the Divine Sea Realm.
"Is this the Pill Pavilion Headquarters?"
Chu Yunfei sized him up for a moment.
"Compared to it, the Qingyang City branch is indeed just a small shop."
"The daily circulation of pills in the Imperial City Pill Pavilion exceeds that of the Qingyang City branch pavilion by more than ten times."
Ling Xueyao looked ahead.
"There are shops run by other forces in the imperial city, and many alchemists have also set up their own shops, but in terms of the variety and quantity of pills, no one can compare with the Pill Pavilion."
"Are there any sixth-grade alchemists in the main hall?"
"No."
Ling Xueyao answered decisively.
"The current Grand Master is a peak fifth-grade alchemist, and has remained at this level for many years, only one step away from the sixth grade."
Chu Yunfei looked at the bronze alchemy furnace.
"Even the Pill Pavilion Headquarters is only at the peak of the fifth rank, so why are sixth-rank pill masters so rare in the Eastern Continent?"
"In the entire Eastern Continent, there is only one known sixth-grade alchemist."
Ling Xueyao pointed to the top floor of the Pill Pavilion.
"That person spends most of their time at the Jade Firmament Sect and rarely refines pills for outsiders."
" The Jade Firmament Sect is one of the Seven Sects, renowned for its alchemy. While its disciples are not adept at fighting, no one dares to easily offend them."
"The century-old agreement between the Seven Sects and the Royal Family has the least impact on the Jade Firmament Sect. Whether it's the Royal Family or the other six sects, they all have to seek out these elixirs from them."
Chu Yunfei recognized the direction she was pointing.
"Is the Pill Pavilion related to the Jade Firmament Sect?"
Ling Xueyao turned her face to the side.
"It's just a rumor."
What rumor?
Some say the Grand Pavilion Master comes from the Jade Firmament Sect, while others say the Pill Pavilion has close ties with the Jade Firmament Sect in private.
"I haven't investigated this matter; its veracity is difficult to ascertain."
Chu Yunfei did not press the matter further.
The Pill Pavilion was able to expand its business throughout the Eastern Continent and maintain neutrality between various sects and the royal family. If it didn't have a strong enough backing, it would have been divided up long ago.