NCCnovel Chapter 231 Ping Dong's Patience, Qing Yue's Winning Over
Chapter 231 Ping Dong's Patience, Qing Yue's Winning Over
Chapter 231 Ping Dong's Patience, Qing Yue's Winning Over
Upon seeing Fairy Qingyue's smile, which made the world pale in comparison...
Master Hoshino paused slightly in his teacup, a flash of amazement crossing his eyes before he quickly lowered his gaze back to the tea in the cup.
He knew better than anyone that a fairy like Yue Qingqiu, who bore heavy responsibilities for the sect and possessed an exceptionally noble character, was not someone to be easily approached. Rather than adding to his desires, he should focus on fulfilling his duties as the sect leader.
Ping Dong's reaction was more direct. His eyes couldn't hide his amazement, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly as if he were subconsciously swallowing, before he abruptly lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the blue bricks of the ground, unable to look any longer.
This Daoist partner with whom he had a century-long entanglement now, with the deepening of his cultivation in the "Moon Technique," has a more pure and aloof demeanor in his eyes, and his temperament is even more captivating, like a plum blossom under the moon. The more distant he is, the more his heart flutters.
Only Chen Yi remained unmoved by the beauty; after a brief moment of admiration in his eyes, he regained his usual composure.
A faint smile played on his lips, his tone calm yet brimming with confidence:
"Fairy, during my last training trip, I was fortunate enough to obtain a secret technique, which will allow me to further improve my skills in cooking and puppetry."
Therefore, in the past few years, my understanding of refining has become clearer, and the quality of the finished products has also improved.
"It's just that due to the limited quality of the raw materials, this is the best we can achieve this level this time."
He paused, glanced at the materials on the table, and continued:
"If the sect can find high-grade third-tier beast pill materials, or near-fourth-tier thunder brew materials,
Especially if one of the main ingredients for Thunder Brew reaches fourth-tier quality, then Chen is confident he can attempt to break through to a third-tier superior-grade beast pill, as well as a superior-grade [Azure Sky Thunder Brew].
Chen Yi was always cautious and never addressed Yue Qingqiu as "Senior Sister" in front of outsiders. He deliberately used the word "Fairy" to maintain an appropriate distance, so as not to appear distant and to avoid unnecessary trouble.
"really?!"
Upon hearing this, Yue Qingqiu could no longer maintain her usual composure. She took a step forward, grabbed Chen Yi's arm, and exclaimed urgently.
Her fingers were long and slender like jade, the pads of her fingers carrying a slightly cool temperature, and when they touched Chen Yi's sleeve, they trembled almost imperceptibly.
The delicate touch was faintly felt through the fabric, and the fingertips shimmered with a faint glow, as if they were carved from the finest white jade. Even the nails were trimmed neatly and rounded, with a hint of moonlight.
Chen Yi glanced indifferently at the arm that was being grabbed, his expression unchanged. He neither tried to break free nor made any other reaction.
Yue Qingqiu quickly realized her loss of composure, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. She subtly withdrew her slender white fingers, and as her fingertips left her sleeve, she unconsciously curled them slightly, as if somewhat at a loss for what she had just done.
But the anticipation on her face didn't diminish at all; her clear eyes were fixed on Chen Yi, filled with eagerness.
The sect desperately needs high-quality resources to stabilize the situation, and Chen Yi's words are undoubtedly a ray of hope in this desperate situation. She must confirm the truth of his words.
Ping Dong, who happened to be looking down, saw clearly the scene of Yue Qingqiu grabbing Chen Yi's arm.
His heart skipped a beat, as if he had been stung hard by something. His hands, hanging by his sides, clenched tightly, his knuckles turning white.
Having spent over a hundred years with Yue Qingqiu, he understood this fairy's nature better than anyone else:
She was aloof and dignified, and always kept her distance from male cultivators. She would never take the initiative to get close to them, and even ordinary greetings were tinged with estrangement.
He himself had not touched her hand for decades, but now she had taken the initiative to grab the arm of Chen Yi, this outsider who was being worshipped.
Ping Dong felt as if a damp cotton ball was stuck in his throat, making it difficult to breathe. The jealousy and anger surging in his heart almost burst out of his chest.
He struggled to control the urge to scratch his palms raw, forcefully suppressing the anger within him.
They don't even dare to show excessive emotional fluctuations.
His current status is merely that of an apprentice under Chen Yi, and he has absolutely no right to make any comments.
In this situation, one can only lower their head and hide all emotions deep in their eyes.
[Endurance.]
[I'll focus on developing my strength first. Once I re-form my Nascent Soul, I'll make Qingqiu kneel before me once more!]
Ping Dong repeatedly tried to reassure himself.
He glanced up and saw that Chen Gongfeng's expression remained calm, and Yue Qingqiu had quietly withdrawn her hand, her fingertips hanging at her side still showing a hint of stiffness. Only then did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief, and his tense back relaxed a little.
"Yes, it must be because Qingqiu has been under too much pressure from the sect these past few years that she lost her composure."
He tried to justify Yue Qingqiu's actions in his heart, a self-deceptive certainty flashing in his eyes.
It seems that the pressure I put on her when I failed to form my nascent soul was too great, causing her to lose her usual aloofness and composure!
No, I must improve my cultivation faster and relieve her burdens as soon as possible—how can a sect rely on an outsider to maintain its standing for long?
Ping Dong concealed his emotional fluctuations very well, standing to the side with his head down, only occasionally twitching his fingertips, so that outsiders could not see the turmoil in his heart.
Chen Yi observed Yue Qingqiu's excitement, a faint smile still playing on his lips. He gently tapped the jade table before him with his fingertips, his tone calm and unhurried:
"I wouldn't say I'm 100% sure, but I'm 50% sure it will work."
Of course, if these high-grade materials are too difficult for the sect to obtain, then I will pretend I never mentioned this matter, and you, Fairy Moon, can take charge of everything.
He spoke gently, neither seeking credit nor pressuring the sect, always maintaining a calm demeanor.
"Fifty percent? Even if it's only fifty percent, that's enough to give it a try!"
Yue Qingqiu's eyes lit up instantly; her earlier loss of composure had vanished, replaced by the calm and decisiveness befitting a sect leader.
"After all, the risk of this matter is extremely small. Even if it fails, it will only result in the loss of materials!"
Let me think...
Materials for high-grade Tier 3 beast pills aren't hard to find; the sect's treasury might still have some.
With a little more effort, you can obtain materials for near-fourth-tier Thunder Brew by visiting the merchant guilds in subordinate immortal cities or exchanging them with other sects.
As for the blood essence of a fourth-tier thunder beast…
She paused, her brows furrowing slightly, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the edge of the jade table.
"I need to check what fourth-tier materials are left in the sect's treasury and see if I can use them to exchange for Thunder Beast Essence Blood."
Once Yue Qingqiu calmed down, it transformed into immense motivation, and even her speaking speed increased significantly.
It should be noted that the third-grade high-quality beast pills that Chen Yi mentioned are already scarce in the cultivation world. They are strategic resources that major sects are vying to hoard, and are enough to exchange for most quasi-fourth-grade resources.
The premium [Azure Thunder Brew] is even more precious, and even the Ji family, a top family in Zhongzhou, never sells it to outsiders.
If the Star Moon Sect could produce this item on its own, she could even use it as an entry ticket to the Nascent Soul cultivator trade fair to exchange for the Nascent Soul Transformation Pill materials necessary for breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm!
Thinking of this, Yue Qingqiu's gaze towards Chen Yi grew even more fervent, her voice filled with excitement:
"Master Chen, this matter is of utmost importance to the sect. I will immediately report to the patriarch and do everything I can to help you gather the necessary materials."
If you can truly refine these two items, I absolutely must make sure the Ancestor takes you along to the next internal trading fair for Nascent Soul cultivators in Qingyun Cave Heaven.
"At that time, we might be able to exchange them for the resources needed to form a Nascent Soul, which would be an incredible opportunity for both you and the sect!"
As Yue Qingqiu spoke, her beautiful eyes were fixed on Chen Yi.
The two were about a foot apart; her breath was fragrant, and her expression was vibrant.
This was the best news she had heard since she took charge of the sect's affairs.
"Alright, then I, Chen, will wait patiently for the fairy to prepare the materials."
Chen Yi nodded slightly, his tone remaining calm.
"Master Chen, if this matter succeeds, I will personally apply to the Ancestor for an Elder position on your behalf. At that time, you will be able to receive a fixed share of the sect's profits every year."
Yue Qingqiu leaned forward slightly, her voice full of sincerity, her words resounding with conviction.
"When your cultivation reaches the peak of the mid-stage of Core Formation and you need to break through to the late stage, or when your spirit pet needs to break through to the late stage of Core Formation, the sect will do its best to prepare breakthrough pills for you!"
As for other matters, if you have any needs in cultivating the Star Technique—no matter which sect's female cultivator you fancy, as long as you are interested, Sect Master Xingmu and I can act as matchmakers and provide assistance!"
These words shocked the two people listening in the hall. Although they did not show it on their faces, their eyes were full of astonishment.
The first part about the breakthrough pills was reasonable, but starting with the "application for an elder's position," it completely went beyond the norm.
It should be noted that the position of elder has always been granted only to native sect cultivators, and requires passing numerous tests and obtaining the personal approval of a Nascent Soul ancestor before being officially appointed.
Chen Yi was merely an outsider who had only been in the sect for a little over ten years, yet Yue Qingqiu already intended to promote him to the rank of elder.
Master Xingmu paused slightly in his hand holding the jade cup, thinking to himself: If Chief Pingxingye were still alive, he would definitely not agree to such an exceptional promotion of an outsider, since Pingxingye has always valued the direct lineage of the sect the most.
Ping Dong, sitting to the left, was also filled with turbulent emotions and could not calm down.
The position of elder is already a huge exception, and the fixed share of sect profits is even more outrageous.
What upset him the most was that Yue Qingqiu, in order to win over Chen Yi, was actually willing to bring up the matter of dual cultivation partners.
He knew all too well that Yue Qingqiu had always despised using the dual cultivation of men and women as a means of transaction, yet now she had crossed her bottom line for Chen Yi.
It felt like a needle had pricked my heart, a bitter and resentful feeling welling up inside: Junior sister, you've changed.
Fortunately, Chen Yi's next words eased Ping Dong's tense nerves a little.
"Fairy Qingyue, there's no need to mention the matter of dual cultivation partners again in the future."
Chen's cultivation is still shallow, and he can hardly establish himself in the cultivation world. How can he delay the cultivation path of the sect's immortals?
As for the matter of the elders, we can discuss it again after the materials are finalized.
He did not completely decline the position of elder.
After all, the Star Moon Sect is a major sect with an enormous annual resource output. If one could become an elder and receive a share of the profits,
He would no longer need to expend energy and waste time on ordinary resources for daily cultivation, and could devote more energy to body tempering and improving his skills in several supernatural abilities.
Upon hearing this, Ping Dong felt much of the pent-up frustration dissipate, and even secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
So be it, Elder. As long as Elder Chen focuses on his cultivation, remains uninterested in women, and especially keeps his distance from Qingqiu, that's fine.
It's fine to lend the remaining resources to Chen Yi for now; he'll take them all back when he returns to the Nascent Soul stage!
Moreover, since Chen Yi is not interested in women, then the stunning beauty Hu Mingyue under his command can be left for him to pluck in the future.
Upon hearing this, Yue Qingqiu's eyes once again blossomed with admiration and appreciation, and a faint dimple appeared at the corner of her eye.
She laughed more today than she has in the past few years combined.
"Chen Gongfeng's dedication to asceticism is truly a model for us cultivators!"
Qingqiu felt ashamed of her own inferiority and realized she should learn more from Chen Gongfeng in the future!
She paused, then said,
"Alright, let's leave it at that for today. For the rest, Elder Chen, just wait for my message. I hope we can gather all the materials and refine the finished product before the auction inside Qingyun Cave in ten years."
This meeting came to an end, and after the two left, Chen Yi felt a sense of anticipation.
If Yue Qingqiu can truly find the essence blood of a fourth-tier thunder beast, he will have the opportunity to attempt to break through to the fourth tier of [Thunder Brewed Spirit Essence].
That's a genuine fourth-tier, one-time use Thunder Spirit product. Once refined and consumed, he can use it to break through the barrier of the Hundred Threads of Thunder Crystal Marrow.
Having carefully studied Senior Qi Chongdou's notes, Chen Yi already understood:
For a third-tier body-refining cultivator to break through to the fourth tier, the most fundamental energy core is this type of crystalline marrow.
Only by relying on the pure energy within the crystal marrow can one have a chance to penetrate the body and complete the crucial step of "marrow refining," laying the foundation for subsequent physical cultivation.
……
With a relaxed smile in her eyes, Yue Qingqiu took Chen Yi's finished product and turned to leave Chen Yi's cave.
Her destination was the Immortal City, where she needed to properly store these finished products in shops and personally oversee the subsequent auctions to ensure that each item fetched a reasonable price.
At the same time, as Chen Yi requested, they also had to search far and wide to purchase the core material, the essence blood of a fourth-tier thunder beast, as well as other auxiliary materials.
These complex tasks involve coordination with multiple parties, from contacting auction houses and suppliers to controlling the transaction process; each step requires considerable effort.
A rough estimate suggests that it will take at least several years to complete the task.
The finished product that Chen Yi handed over to the sect this time was only the product he had refined with a normal 40% success rate.
As for the remaining 60% of the materials, he did not waste them, but instead kept them all for his own use under the pretext of "loss".
With the help of these materials, Chen Yi has now added two puppet treasures to his storage bag:
Firstly, it is a large, mid-grade, third-tier tortoise-shaped defensive puppet with clear tortoise shell patterns, mysterious runes, and a heavy defensive aura. It has now been fully crafted and is ready for use.
Secondly, there is a mid-grade, third-tier eagle-shaped puppet. Although it is still in a semi-finished state, it is not something that Chen Yi is unable to complete due to a lack of ability.
In fact, after completing the creation of the tortoise-shaped puppet, he comprehended the profound mysteries of puppet making and his cultivation had already reached the threshold of a third-tier high-grade puppeteer.
With the terrifying ability of his Spirit Eye, Chen Yi's understanding of puppet structure, rune inscription, and spirit core inlay improved rapidly, and his crafting skills advanced by leaps and bounds as if blessed by external forces.
If he can gather enough materials now, he is even confident that he can further refine this half-finished eagle-shaped puppet and try to break through to the third-tier high-grade level, so that it can have a faster flight speed and stronger attack capabilities.
Besides the puppet, Chen Yi also refined two bottles of third-grade high-quality beast pills, which he has now distributed to his two spirit pets.
These two spirit pets have lived an extremely comfortable life for the past ten years or so. They have hardly ever experienced battles, nor have they needed to fight for territory like wild monsters. They only need to silently serve Chen Yi on a daily basis.
One of them transformed into a mount.
On the other side, they stayed near the residence, responsible for digging caves, tending the spirit fields, feeding the spirit fish, and taking care of daily chores.
After the two spirit pets advanced to the third rank, Chen Yi used his superb spiritual cooking skills to specially make beast balls for them. These beast balls contained pure spiritual energy and the essence of demon beast blood, which were far superior to ordinary beast food.
With such nourishment, the spirit pet's growth rate far exceeded that of other demonic beasts of the same period, and even in terms of the improvement of its physical demonic power, it subtly surpassed the speed of its master Chen Yi's magical power cultivation.
After all, the cultivation of demonic beasts relies on bloodline inheritance and the accumulation of demonic power in their physical bodies, and does not require a high level of understanding of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.
There's no need for the meticulous tempering of magical power and refinement of divine consciousness that human cultivators do; it's basically "come and eat, and your cultivation will increase," simple and direct.
Even Chen Yi sometimes felt a little envious of such rapid growth.
But he also knew that this growth model had limitations.
Once you reach a higher level, a deep understanding of the rules of heaven and earth and your own bloodline becomes crucial. The way to improve your spirit pet by simply "eating" will encounter a bottleneck, and its growth rate will slow down significantly.
Aside from the Beast Pill and the puppet, Chen Yi also specially kept two bottles of Tier 3 High-Grade Thunder Brew Essence.
At this moment, his body refinement cultivation had entered the late stage of the third level, and the purification stage was also entering its final sprint. The ninety-nine strands of lightning crystal cores consumed in the previous body refinement urgently needed to be replenished.
This Thunder Brew Essence contains pure Thunder Spirit Power, which can provide him with sufficient energy to support him in completing the final step of the Refinement, allowing his internal organs to reach a new level of strength.
As for the Vajra Skill, Chen Yi temporarily put it aside.
This is because when the Vajra Skill is cultivated to the point of being made into a hundred strands of golden crystal marrow, it will trigger the perception of high-level powerful beings and expose one's whereabouts;
Furthermore, now that he has Thunder Crystals as an alternative energy source for body tempering, he no longer needs to rely on the Vajra Technique for improvement, so he simply put it aside for the time being.
I plan to wait until I advance to the fourth level of Body Refinement and have enough strength to deal with potential risks before deciding whether to pick up this technique again, depending on the situation.
Under such circumstances, the resource supply level of an ordinary sect like the Star Moon Sect could barely support his rapid growth in cultivation.
Of course, he still desperately craved the blood essence of a fourth-tier thunder beast.
Once his body refinement cultivation reaches the late-stage peak of the third tier, he will need to use this as the main ingredient to refine the fourth-tier [Thunder Brew Spirit Essence].
By harnessing the violent yet pure power of the thunder spirit, one can condense the thunder crystals within the body, transforming the scattered thunder crystals into thunder crystal marrow. Only in this way can one officially begin the path of cultivation to break through to the Marrow Refining Realm.
It is also worth mentioning that Hu Mingyue's cultivation progress in the past few years has been remarkably rapid.
In just a few years, she has steadily advanced from the early stage of Foundation Establishment to the middle stage. The sense of solidity in her spiritual energy circulation is significantly stronger than before, which shows that she has never slacked off in her daily cultivation.
Besides Hu Mingyue, there was another person whose cultivation status also surprised Chen Yi, namely Ping Dong, his newly accepted apprentice.
Chen Yi and Ping Dong did not meet frequently, only once every year or two, but each time they met, Chen Yi could clearly sense that the purity of the other's magical power had significantly improved.
Looking back to their first meeting a few years ago, Chen Yi had already noticed that Ping Dong's cultivation had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and he was only one step away from Core Formation.
However, over the past few years, the other party's cultivation level has not broken through as expected. Instead, it often shows signs of regression instead of progress, or fluctuates repeatedly within a certain realm.
Chen Yi understood after a moment's thought.
Ping Dong was clearly using some sophisticated secret technique to actively suppress his cultivation level, refining his magical power through repeated tempering, making every strand of spiritual energy condensed and pure.
This will lay a solid foundation for future Core Formation and strive to improve the quality of Core Formation.
This young man harbors considerable ambition.
Chen Yi silently commented to himself.
Time flies, and another two years have passed.
Chen Yi met Ji Wuchen again. As agreed, they changed into disguises, posing as two inconspicuous Qi Refining cultivators.
The meeting place was chosen to be a small island in the Endless Moon Lake, a town with a cultivation level of Qi.
The saying goes, "The truly wise hide in plain sight." The more bustling and less prestigious a market or neighborhood is, the less likely it is to attract attention.
After entering the market, the two went straight to rent a first-tier cave dwelling, and then joined forces to set up a near-fourth-tier shielding formation inside and outside the cave dwelling.
When the formation was activated, the pale blue light membrane disappeared into the void, completely enveloping the cave.
Unless a Nascent Soul cultivator disregards the risk of revealing their identity and launches a direct attack, there is absolutely no way they could detect what's happening inside the cave.
All of these careful arrangements were proposed by Chen Yi.
Ji Wuchen watched Chen Yi skillfully inspect the array nodes, and couldn't help but shake his head again, his tone tinged with helplessness:
"Brother Chen, your caution sometimes makes me feel... that you're being overly careful."
Chen Yi didn't offer any further explanation, only offering a faint smile.
At this moment, Ji Wuchen put away his joking expression, took out a jade tube from his storage bag, and handed it to Chen Yi:
"Brother Chen, the matter you entrusted to me last time has come to fruition—I finally managed to get you that copy of the 'Refining God Technique' after trying every possible means."
"It's to help my friend," Chen Yi emphasized.
Seeing this, Ji Wuchen rolled his eyes helplessly and added, following his words:
"Okay, okay, I got it for your 'friend'."
But as you know, this cultivation technique is subject to extremely strict scrutiny within the clan. I only wanted to be able to bring the jade slip out intact, rather than having to cultivate it within the clan itself.
He specifically staked his future chance to compete for a spot in the family's secret realm with his ancestor in exchange for permission to take the jade slip out.
At this point, Ji Wuchen's expression became extremely serious, his gaze fixed intently on Chen Yi:
"Brother Chen, if you want to take this jade tube, you must make a solemn oath for your friend."
This technique can only be practiced by him and must never be passed on to any outsider.
Otherwise, once the technique spreads among independent cultivators, not only will I be punished by my family for privately passing on the technique, but both of us will also bear enormous karmic consequences, leading to endless trouble.
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi's expression remained unchanged. He immediately placed his hand on his chest, using his spiritual power as a guide to make a vow, clearly stating:
"I swear on behalf of my friend that the 'Refining God Technique' he obtained today will be cultivated by him alone, and will never be passed on to outsiders."
If, due to my or his fault, the cultivation technique is leaked and falls into the hands of lowly cultivators in the cultivation world, I am willing to take full responsibility. At that time, Brother Ji may make any compensation demands, and I will not shirk my duty.
Even though Chen Yi had made a vow, Ji Wuchen's fingers still gripped the jade slip containing the cultivation technique, and he hesitated for a moment before handing it over.
Seeing this, Chen Yi understood and slowly added:
"Brother Ji, you not only made a special trip this time, but also took such a big risk for my friend. I will remember this kindness in my heart."
Consider this a great favor I owe you. In the future, Brother Ji, if you ever need anything, as long as it's within my power, I will certainly not hesitate to help.
(End of this chapter)