A ruthless bandit from the celestial realm, he began his cultivation journey after kidnapping the Em

The disciples who had been watching the spectacle gasped, their lips twitched, and their expressions changed...

"That Zhao Jingang really went all out; he smashed Brother Xie's mouth to pieces..."

"You bet he'll lose control of his fists and kill Senior Brother Xie."

"Who told Senior Brother Xie to bully him so much back then, even taking advantage of his beloved junior sister? Now that he's in Zhao Jingang's hands, he's naturally going to beat him mercilessly..."

"Gulp! Never mess with Zhao Jingang again, that big guy is really scary when he attacks!"

...

Everyone was terrified just looking at it...

After a while, Zhao Jingang got tired and gradually stopped. If it weren't for the sect's prohibition against killing someone, he would have wanted to kill Xie Huai'an outright...

Zhao Jingang looked down at Xie Huai'an, who had already fainted beneath him. Xie Huai'an was a bloody mess, lying like a dead dog. If it weren't for the rise and fall of his chest, one would have thought he was already dead...

He snorted coldly.

"Pooh!"

"Xie Huai'an, I'll spare your dog's life today..."

After speaking, Zhao Jingang felt refreshed and clear-headed; all the pent-up frustration had vanished, leaving him feeling more relaxed than ever before...

"call..."

He exhaled a long, stale breath...

Suddenly, his expression froze, and he vaguely sensed signs of a breakthrough in his cultivation level, implying that he would soon reach the Foundation Establishment stage...

Zhao Jingang was overjoyed and looked back at Ye Chen not far away, his eyes filled with gratitude.

If Ye Chen hadn't severely injured Xie Huai'an, he wouldn't have had a chance to take revenge, let alone teach Xie Huai'an a thorough lesson...

He strode over, stood before Ye Chen, and, with an excited expression, clasped his hands in gratitude.

"I am deeply grateful to Senior Brother Xu for his help today, which allowed me to avenge my great grudge and vent my anger..."

"I, Zhao Jingang, will never forget Senior Brother Xu's kindness. From now on, I am willing to go through fire and water for him without hesitation!"

He looked serious; he wasn't joking.

Seeing this, Ye Chen waved his hand dismissively, "Since I accepted your pills, it's only right that I help you. Now we're even..."

After completing the transaction, Ye Chen turned and left...

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Xu!"

Zhao Jingang called out from behind, secretly vowing to repay his senior brother's kindness in the future...

As the competition ended, the disciples who had been watching the spectacle gradually dispersed...

Soon, news of Ye Chen's victory over Xie Huai'an, despite being outnumbered, spread rapidly within the outer sect.

Xie Huai'an was a top ten expert on the outer sect disciple rankings, and possessed peak Foundation Establishment cultivation, which immediately caused a huge uproar...

It's important to know that the Qingyun Sect's outer sect has over 200,000 disciples. Ranking within the top 1,000 is already considered exceptional, let alone being in the top ten...

Many outer disciples found the news unbelievable.

How could an unknown Qi Refining stage disciple defeat a Foundation Establishment stage expert?

At the same time, the methods used by the servants to challenge the cave dwellings also spread...

Some disciples who wanted to enter the inner sect but lacked the strength and confidence to succeed began to consider it...

Ye Chen had barely returned to his cave when a large number of disciples arrived looking for him, forming a dense crowd outside the gate...

At first, Ye Chen was quite happy. With so many disciples coming to his door to deliver pills, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation resources anymore...

When they opened their mouths, everyone's pockets were emptier than their faces; some had ten pills, some had five, and some could only afford a few spirit stones...

Ye Chen's face darkened. Was this some spirit stones and pills meant to appease a beggar?

You have to understand that he previously collected at least fifty second-grade pills with each transaction, so he didn't even bother with these other deals...

To avoid this situation, Ye Chen immediately set a rule: less than fifty second-grade pills would be a no-go, and the higher the ranking of the disciple, the more pills he would receive...

As soon as the news spread, the disciples gathered outside the cave all vanished...

This is, after all, the outer sect, and most disciples are actually quite strapped for cash. Apart from a few disciples from wealthier families who have more money, the other disciples really can't come up with dozens of pills at once...

Seeing this, Ye Chen didn't mind. It was better than fighting for a few pills; otherwise, he'd be busy all day long and would eventually exhaust himself...

After seeing Lü Luo off, Ye Chen returned to his room and eagerly took out the storage bag he had snatched from Xie Huai'an...

Overjoyed, he probed into a wisp of consciousness and poured out everything inside...

"Splash..."

A few bottles of pills and hundreds of spirit stones lay on the bed, along with a long sword with a dim gleam; there was nothing else there.

"That's it..."

Ye Chen was stunned for a moment, even wondering if he had taken the wrong storage bag...

"This kid is way too poor!"

"Why are you protecting this little thing? Why risk your life for it..."

He pursed his lips and couldn't help but complain.

Seeing Xie Huai'an struggling so desperately earlier, I thought there was something extraordinary in this storage bag, but it turned out to be just something ordinary...

However, compared to other outer disciples, these things can be considered quite affluent.

After all, outer sect disciples only receive a few spirit stones a month, barely enough for daily cultivation, let alone saving up so many. This indicates that these are rewards Xie Huai'an painstakingly accumulated by completing sect missions, so it's understandable that the other party would fight desperately...

"Huh!"

"What is this...?"

Ye Chen's gaze fell upon an inconspicuous black box buried in the pile of spirit stones.

He reached out, picked it up, and glanced at it.

Inside the box was a black "pebble," its texture as smooth as crystal. Upon closer inspection, a small opening could be faintly seen, from which a tender, emerald-green sprout was emerging...

"This is... a seed?"

A hint of doubt flashed through Ye Chen's mind. He guessed that it must have been something Xie Huai'an had obtained during his travels. Judging from its slow growth rate, it probably wouldn't take several years to take root and sprout...

"What will grow?"

"A magical herb?"

He couldn't help but become curious...

If it's an herb that can enhance spiritual power, such as a fourth-grade fire spirit herb, then it will greatly help his cultivation...

"I wonder if the elixir will work..."

Ye Chen looked down at the strange seed in his hand, and an idea gradually began to form in his mind...

With a flick of his left hand, he grasped the purple-gold gourd out of thin air; as he shook it, one could clearly feel the abundant spiritual liquid within...

He poured the strange seeds into the box...

A drop...

Two drops...

The spiritual liquid was completely absorbed by the strange seed, and a tender green sprout began to grow rapidly, quickly emerging from the ground...

Ye Chen's eyes lit up, and he poured the spiritual liquid faster and faster, his heart filled with anticipation...

"You mustn't disappoint this great king..."