"Qiuyun, please do not misunderstand. I am not trying to use Spirit Stones to buy your favor. I am determined to enter seclusion, and will need you to take care of the two little girls afterwards. Consider it their living expenses, and the remainder as a reward. These thirty Spirit Stones, take them. If any emergencies arise, you will have something to manage the situation."
Li Qiuyun felt the trust in Chen Ye’s words, and her heart warmed. The words of refusal reached her lips, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak them.
Zhiwei also timely pulled the still fuming Qing Jun, whispering in her ear, "Master is asking Sister Qiuyun to help look after us; it’s not given for nothing."
She did... understand Qing Jun.
Master might never understand why Qing Jun reacted so intensely.
But Zhiwei knew that within Qing Jun’s heart, there was already a faint, non-malicious hostility towards Li Qiuyun...
Seeing Master handing over such a large sum of Spirit Stones now, as if not treating Sister Qiuyun as an outsider, made her feel a bit uncomfortable inside.
Upon hearing her sister’s explanation, Qing Jun finally lowered her head in grievance, indicating her acceptance.
Li Qiuyun, observing this, stopped refusing. She solemnly accepted the money bag, bowing to Chen Ye with a firm voice, "Uncle Chen, rest assured. As long as Qiuyun has breath, she will ensure the safety of the two junior sisters."
"Good."
Chen Ye nodded in satisfaction. After giving all instructions, he took one last look at the three girls before turning and striding into the manager’s residence, which had long been cleaned spotless.
"Bang——"
With the slow closing of the wooden door, Chen Ye’s aura was completely isolated from the courtyard.
...
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these seven days, Chen Ye completely cut off all distractions from the outside world, immersing all his mind in the assault on the Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer Realm.
Within the Quiet Chamber, he sat cross-legged, with the bottle of Profound Understanding Pill obtained from Li Guangzong placed before him.
This pill can assist a cultivator in breaking through realms, and in Li Guangzong’s Storage Bag, there was only this one.
Presumably, it was prepared by Li Guangzong for breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer.
After slaying Li Guangzong, another major gain was the numerous pills in his Storage Bag.
Unfortunately, pills of the same grade as the Profound Understanding Pill were very few.
Most were basic pills like the Qi Nourishing Pill and the Qi Recovery Pill.
Chen Ye focused his mind, tilting his head back to swallow the Profound Understanding Pill. The strong and pure medicinal power instantly dissolved in his abdomen, surging through his limbs and bones like a roaring river.
Chen Ye immediately calmed his mind, fully operating the Evergreen Technique, which had reached the Grandmaster realm, guiding the powerful medicinal power to repeatedly assault the invisible boundary of the realm.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Every impact caused his Dantian Energy Sea to tremble violently, sending waves of tearing pain through his meridians.
But Chen Ye gritted his teeth, retaining a calm, unwavering focus, gathering all his thoughts into one point, solely to break through the final shackle.
At first, everything went smoothly.
But when he prepared to take advantage of the residual power of the pill to break the bottleneck in one go, an abrupt change occurred!
He felt that the surging current of spiritual power in his meridians suddenly became sluggish and turbid, as if mixed with mud and sand, obstructing the flow everywhere.
A gray, heavy aura emerged from the depths of his spiritual power, stubbornly entangling his meridians, causing stabbing pain and suffocation.
"It’s the Pill Barrier!"
Chen Ye’s complexion turned pale, his heart suddenly sinking.
Ultimately, he had underestimated the hidden dangers of continuously consuming pills.
Since arriving in this world, in his quest for rapid cultivation progress, he had consumed numerous pills. Although his cultivation advanced swiftly, it also accumulated many difficult-to-refine pill impurities within his body.
These impurities are the Pill Barrier!
Usually, the Pill Barrier remained hidden, but at the critical moment of breaking through the realm, it would transform into the most dangerous roadblock, clogging meridians and muddying spiritual power, rendering breakthroughs futile!
"Pfft—"
After forcibly attempting several times, not only did he fail to move the realm’s boundary even slightly, but he was also counter-attacked by the Pill Barrier, causing his qi and blood to reverse flow, and a mouthful of reversed blood to be spat out, instantly weakening his aura considerably.
"Damn it, it happened at this moment!"
Chen Ye wiped the blood from his mouth, his gaze growing even colder.
He took a deep breath, fully operating the Evergreen Technique.
Fortunately, this technique, being a Wood Series cultivation method, is gentle and rich in vitality, suitable for regaining steady breath and recovering from injuries.
"If it cannot be resolved...then force is the only option! With the help of the Evergreen Technique, there should be no lingering internal injuries."
A hint of fierceness flashed in Chen Ye’s eyes.
The next seven days became the longest and most painful days since Chen Ye’s transmigration.
The only thing he did every day was gather all the spiritual power within his body into one stream, then repeatedly charge at the sturdy realm barrier and stubborn Pill Barrier.
On the first day, he charged more than thirty times, each resulting in churning blood and scattering spiritual power.
The stone walls of the Quiet Chamber were stained with the fresh blood he coughed up.
By the third day, his face was as pale as paper, his lips chapped, but his eyes still gleamed fiercely, like two unyielding flames in the night.
By the fifth day, he could no longer feel the intense pain from his meridians; he was completely numb, driven solely by a relentless determination to charge repeatedly, mechanically repeating the acts of assault.
Evening of the seventh day.
Chen Ye’s consciousness was a bit blurry, only mechanically operating the Evergreen Technique to protect his essence, pursuing another breakthrough.