Chen Ye returned to his room, paused for a moment, and set up a simple sound insulation restriction to avoid disturbing his two apprentices.
He then leaned back against the chair and let out a long breath.
Reflecting on all that had happened this night, it felt as if a lifetime had passed.
Did he really kill Li Guangzong so swiftly?
Without waiting for Li Guangzong to come looking for trouble, or allowing him to continue growing...
After a moment, he calmed his mind and began to inventory his greatest gain from this journey—Li Guangzong’s storage bag.
He poured out all the items from the storage bag, and for a moment, the room was nearly illuminated by various spiritual lights and treasures.
Spirit stones piled up like a small mountain, roughly estimated to be over three hundred pieces!
Beside the spirit stones were several magical artifacts of rather extraordinary quality!
There was also an abundance of pill bottles, among which were some rare ones for healing and detoxifying.
In addition, there was a glowingly faint Soul-Condensing Grass!
"I’ve made a fortune... Indeed, being an alchemist, with so many resources, I can comfortably cultivate to the ninth layer of qi cultivation!"
Chen Ye was astonished.
The ancient alchemy furnace lay quietly to the side, its surface engraved with mysterious runes, indicating its extraordinary tier.
At first glance, Chen Ye couldn’t determine its exact tier.
When he held it, examining it closely, his expression grew more perplexed:
"This furnace seems like a first-tier alchemy furnace, but not quite. If it’s a second-tier furnace, it lacks a bit of spirituality... It seems, it’s just one step away from becoming a magical treasure?"
Chen Ye stored the alchemy furnace, deciding to find someone reliable to appraise it another day.
After all, for an alchemist, the most valuable thing is usually the alchemy furnace!
Besides this, what intrigued Chen Ye the most was a jade scroll that was warm to the touch.
As he infused his divine sense into it, streams of information rushed into his mind.
"Hundred Herbs Pill Scripture"!
This was the very root of the falling out with Li Guangzong, where all paths had severed.
Holding the jade scroll, mixed feelings welled up within Chen Ye. He could feel the remnants of unwillingness, anger, and desolation left in his body’s former self.
Fate played its tricks, and this pill scripture, after decades, finally returned to his hands.
"Li Guangzong, oh Li Guangzong," Chen Ye sighed softly, "No matter how well you calculated, you couldn’t have foreseen today’s outcome."
The "Hundred Herbs Pill Scripture" recorded various alchemical techniques and basic pharmacology.
Besides that, it contained nine first-tier pill formulas and three second-tier pill formulas.
The second-tier formulas included the Foundation Establishment Pill, Concentration Pill, and Evil-Suffering Pill.
The Evil-Suffering Pill is used to cultivate the physique.
The three second-tier pill formulas are comprehensive, addressing cultivation, divine sense, and physique.
The value of this "Hundred Herbs Pill Scripture" is immeasurable in terms of spirit stones!
Chen Ye carefully placed the "Hundred Herbs Pill Scripture" into his storage bag. This scripture played a crucial role for both him and his apprentices’ future cultivation.
"From now on... If I can hone my skill to the peak, I could cultivate with the most superior pills along with my apprentices..."
Chen Ye marveled inwardly, thinking that this way, he could refine superior-quality pills to help his apprentices advance further and more steadily on their cultivation paths.
Having such resources at a young age could potentially lead to achievements beyond those in the original story!
...
The next day.
Chen Ye contacted Hee Qi again, and under his guidance, arrived at an inconspicuous blacksmith shop at a corner of the market.
"This is...the former artifact refiner of the Spirit Treasure Sect, who, due to some reason, was expelled from the sect and forbidden to use the sect’s techniques to refine artifacts for others. If not for his master’s plea, they might have directly crippled his cultivation."
Hee Qi explained.
This person’s surname was Gu; he led a secluded life and rarely met outsiders.
It’s not that he is a recluse, but because of the Spirit Treasure Sect’s prohibition, even at the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, he still dared not show his face.
Chen Ye felt some doubt: "What kind of mistake did he make?"
Hee Qi shook his head: "Master Gu sees it as a disgrace and never speaks of it."
The two arrived at the blacksmith shop. Hee Qi had informed them in advance, and there was already a child at the door welcoming them inside.
Inside the shop, there was a skinny old man, shirtless, forging iron. This was Master Gu.
When he saw Hee Qi, he nodded casually: "Take out the item."
Following the suggestion, Chen Ye took out the ancient alchemy furnace.
Master Gu took the furnace, initially just weighing it casually, but soon, a shocking brilliance burst from his cloudy old eyes.
He turned the furnace over and over, sometimes tapping it with his knuckles, sometimes infusing a trace of spiritual power to investigate, his expression shifting from initial casualness to grave concentration:
"This... This is the alchemy furnace from the old Hundred Herbs Valley!"
Hee Qi widened his eyes:
"Master Gu, could the Hundred Herbs Valley be some ancient legacy? Why have I never heard of it."
Chen Ye’s heart too was filled with joy.
Could it be that someday he might also stumble upon a legendary treasure legacy?
Master Gu looked at them askance:
"Wishful thinking... It’s normal that you haven’t heard about the Hundred Herbs Valley. It was located in Nanyan, a sect from three to four hundred years ago, which was later annexed by Medicine King Valley. The main branch of Hundred Herbs Valley fled with the sect’s legacy to Dongyan, where the Lingyin Sect resides."
"But they were later hunted by the Medicine King Valley people, and the whereabouts of that branch became unknown. The Hundred Herbs Valley was only at Foundation Establishment power... hmm, still a Foundation power, and this Hundred Herbs Cauldron is a damaged second-tier magical treasure; it was likely accidentally damaged during a battle back then."