Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

"Did you think of something, Elder Chen?" the Yan family guards asked, noticing his strange expression.

"No... not at all!" Elder Chen quickly shook his head and smiled. "I've never seen this person before."

The guard captain gave Elder Chen a long, hard look. "If you come across anything unusual, Elder Chen, please let us know."

"We'll be on our way."

"Wait!" Elder Chen called out to them. "Are you certain about this?"

"Absolutely."

The guard captain stated flatly, "That remnant of the Demon Dao was exposed as soon as he came down from the mountain. We've interrogated him several times, but he refuses to talk. Still, we speculate that Ye Chen is most likely somewhere in the city."

With that, the group quickly departed.

But Elder Chen couldn't calm his racing heart for a long time.

'That young man named Ye Chen, the one who's been plaguing the righteous sects, actually came to Luoyun City?'

Elder Chen was stunned. 'Ye Chen's surname is Ye, and so is Elder Ye's! What's more, Elder Ye is dressed mysteriously, refuses to give his name, and has never even shown his face!'

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he grew.

'Could Elder Ye be Ye Chen? After all, his voice does sound very young!'

'No wonder an Alchemist of unknown origin suddenly appeared in the city!'

'But if Ye Chen is just someone who colludes with the Demon Dao, why are his alchemy skills so astonishing?'

Elder Chen mulled it over but couldn't make sense of it. He decided it was best not to tip his hand.

'In any case, Elder Ye's alchemy skills far surpass even those of Liu Yuchan, the number one Alchemist in Lei Province!'

'For the Treasure Pavilion to recruit an Alchemist of this caliber, it's a massive win, regardless of his identity.'

'Besides, what if I'm wrong and Elder Ye isn't actually Ye Chen?'

'If I were to report him, wouldn't I be making an enemy of a top-tier Alchemist?'

'Mending that relationship later would be next to impossible.'

'For now, I'll just have to take it one step at a time.'

Elder Chen shook his head, pushing the thoughts aside.

He was just a businessman. What did the conflict between the righteous path and the Demon Dao have to do with him?

...

Not long after, Ye Chen had finished concocting several types of Fourth Grade pills.

All of them were of superior quality. The rich, medicinal aroma nearly filled the entire private room.

"Elder Ye, you're already finished?"

The Shopkeeper had rushed over as soon as he got the news.

He examined the pills Ye Chen handed him, the look of astonishment in his eyes deepening as his entire body began to tremble slightly.

"This is truly unbelievable!"

"Over a dozen Fourth Grade pills in a single batch, all of them Top Grade! Not a single ingredient was wasted—every last bit put into the furnace was used!"

The Shopkeeper gathered all the pills, his face flush with excitement.

"The pills you've refined, Elder Ye, are the best of the best among Fourth Grade pills! And the quality is extraordinary!"

"Each one is worth fifty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!"

"That adds up to... two million two hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!"

The Shopkeeper couldn't help but gasp as he announced the total.

Even after his many years as Shopkeeper at Luoyun City's Treasure Pavilion, he had rarely seen such a vast sum of Spirit Stones.

And how long had Ye Chen even been in the private room performing Alchemy?

Had it even been four hours?

In that short time, he hadn't wasted a single ingredient. He used everything, and with his sublime technique, he refined every pill to its absolute peak of quality!

'Netting over two million low-grade Spirit Stones in less than four hours?'

The Shopkeeper was completely floored. He knew being an Alchemist was a lucrative profession.

But how many could do what Ye Chen just did?

"Quickly! Take these pills to the treasury and store them safely!"

"No! Never mind, I'll do it myself!"

The Shopkeeper's face was beet red as he eagerly carried the pills to the treasury himself.

It might seem like they were taking a loss by paying Ye Chen the high price of fifty thousand low-grade Spirit Stones for each Fourth Grade pill.

But if the Treasure Pavilion took even one of these to auction...

...it would sell for well over one hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones, easily recouping their costs and then some!

After all, what great clan or noble family that attended the Treasure Pavilion's auctions wasn't filled with magnates who spent money like water?

"Elder Ye, your technique is simply divine craftsmanship! I am left speechless!"

"I'm so ashamed to think I initially believed Master Ye was just boasting!"

The Shopkeeper respectfully presented the two million two hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones.

With a calm expression, Ye Chen swept all the Spirit Stones into his Storage Ring.

"The Treasure Pavilion welcomes you to drop by anytime, Elder Ye!"

The Shopkeeper's smile was as wide as a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Get me more ingredients. I'm going to continue with my Alchemy."

Ye Chen said coolly.

"More Alchemy? Excellent! Whatever you refine, Elder Ye, the Treasure Pavilion will buy it all!"

The Shopkeeper froze for a moment, then became so excited he nearly jumped for joy.

He hastily gathered the ingredients according to Ye Chen's list, then obediently left the private room.

He even tiptoed as he walked, terrified of disturbing Ye Chen.

Inside the private room, Ye Chen paid no mind to the baskets of ingredients.

He simply took the Spirit Stones out from his Storage Ring.

'It's time!'

Ye Chen let out a long breath, a dazzling light flashing in his eyes.

Yes, under the guise of performing Alchemy, he was going to cultivate in this private room and make his breakthrough!

Just moments before, while concocting those batches of Fourth Grade pills, he had also secretly refined the specific pills he needed to form his golden Spiritual Sea.

Now, everything was ready!

It was time to break through to the Spirit Sea Realm!

Ye Chen unreservedly activated the Manual of the World-Astonishing Demon God!

A torrent of Spiritual Power began to flow wildly through his limbs and meridians.

Ye Chen swallowed all the pills he had prepared.

In an instant, mysterious and peculiar waves of energy began to rise from him.

Streaks of brilliant golden light suddenly began to weave and spread out behind him.

'Golden?'

'It's really golden! The legendary golden Spiritual Sea!'

Joy surged in Ye Chen's heart.

As the light interwove, it quickly formed a vast, boundless ocean. Spiritual Qi from the heavens and the earth converged in massive quantities, transforming into golden waves upon this sea.

'Not enough! It's still not enough!'

Ye Chen immediately began drawing upon the low-grade Spirit Stones.

The more than two million low-grade Spirit Stones, piled up like small mountains, were consumed at a frightening rate.

But Ye Chen had no time to feel the sting of the expense.

He was focused on one thing: successfully forming his golden Spiritual Sea!

Since ancient times, the Spiritual Seas of the world have been divided into seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and violet. Of these, violet is considered the strongest.

But Ye Chen's golden Spiritual Sea would reign supreme over all other Cultivators in the world!

He would resurrect the supreme glory of the Demon God of old!