Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

The shopkeeper collected himself and said, still somewhat shaken, "Elder Ye, Elder Chen Jue is looking for you."

"Chen Jue? Is that the Elder's name?"

Ye Chen nodded slightly. "Alright."

With that, he took out a bottle of pills he had just finished refining. "Here are the pills I made. See how many Spirit Stones they'll fetch."

"This... This is..."

The shopkeeper's expression changed as he looked at the pills in his hand. "Fifth Grade pills? And Top Grade, no less?"

He never would have imagined that Ye Chen had actually managed to concoct Top Grade, Fifth Grade pills in there!

According to the Treasure Pavilion's acquisition price, these were worth a full three hundred thousand low-grade Spirit Stones!

"Fifth Grade pills? Where are the Fifth Grade pills?"

Just then, Chen Jue's voice rang out.

He rushed over, his eyes immediately falling on the pills in the shopkeeper's hand. His own eyes widened, and he couldn't help but gasp.

"My heavens! To think we still underestimated Elder Ye's alchemy skills!"

"Master Liu struggles immensely just to refine Fourth Grade pills, and he fails repeatedly! Yet Elder Ye can casually produce Fifth Grade pills—and their quality is... Top Grade!!!"

Chen Jue was utterly beside himself with joy!

This time, the Treasure Pavilion had truly struck gold!

"There are... five Fifth Grade pills here!"

"The Treasure Pavilion will acquire them for two million low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Chen Jue declared magnanimously, with a wave of his hand.

"Two million?" The shopkeeper was taken aback. 'Isn't that offer a bit too high?'

But having been the Treasure Pavilion's shopkeeper for so many years, he was a shrewd man. He could see at a glance that Elder Chen Jue was trying to curry favor with Elder Ye.

In the end, including some other miscellaneous pills, Ye Chen came away with a grand total of four million low-grade Spirit Stones!

He had truly made a fortune.

Just moments before, Ye Chen had been left with very few Spirit Stones.

In an instant, he had gone from a penniless nobody to a millionaire!

"Thank you both for your hospitality. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave."

Ye Chen nodded to Chen Jue and the shopkeeper and turned to leave.

But Chen Jue suddenly called out, "Wait, Elder Ye!"

"Is there something else, Elder Chen?" Ye Chen stopped and asked, looking back over his shoulder.

"It's like this! Your alchemy skills are unparalleled in all of Lei Province, Elder Ye. After the Yan family heard of your abilities, they also wish to commission you to refine some pills!" Chen Jue said.

"The Yan family?"

Ye Chen paused. He had killed Yan Qiushi, the third commander of the provincial government, which meant he had already made an enemy of the Yan family.

Although there hadn't been any major conflicts with them since, he had no desire to get too involved with the Yan family.

Therefore, Ye Chen refused flatly. "I'm afraid I must decline. I have urgent business to attend to, so I'll be on my way."

"Elder Ye, just hear me out."

The shopkeeper, stunned by how decisively Ye Chen had refused, couldn't help but interject, "The Yan family is one of the four great families of Lei Province! They're immensely powerful and have a staggering foundation. It is absolutely worth your while to be on good terms with them."

"Besides, if you can help them interrogate someone for information about that Ye Chen, the Yan family will surely reward you handsomely."

"Interrogation?" Ye Chen frowned.

"Yes," the shopkeeper said hastily. "Rumor has it that the Yan family captured a Demon Dao miscreant today who is connected to that Ye Chen."

"The Yan family wanted to interrogate him to get information about Ye Chen, but the man refuses to talk, no matter what they do! He won't say a single word!"

"The Yan family got furious and subjected him to all kinds of torture, but the man is tough as nails and refuses to yield. Now the Yan family is worried they'll go too far and kill him, and they don't want to lose this lead."

"That's why the Yan family wants to ask you, Elder Ye, to refine a Truth-Telling Pill for them."

'A Truth-Telling Pill?'

Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged, but understanding dawned on him.

The Truth-Telling Pill was a Fourth Grade pill. Across all of Lei Province, even if Liu Yuchan himself were to attempt it, his chances of success would be slim.

It was no wonder they had come to him for help.

"And which miscreant did the Yan family happen to catch?" Ye Chen asked coolly.

"A young man! It's said he once went by the moniker Nine-Fingered Demon Slaughter. A frightening name, isn't it?"

'It's him!'

At that moment, Ye Chen's heart skipped a beat. His composure was gone.

He had established the Demon Dao's Elder Pavilion, which was comprised of three Elders.

They were Grand Elder Wushan Old Ghost, Second Elder Nine-Fingered Demon Slaughter, and Third Elder Xuewu Ji.

All three of them possessed cultivation at or above the Spirit Sea Realm. Within Lei Province, they had once been notorious demonic figures, each a hegemon in their own right.

But later, for various reasons, they had been trapped in the dungeons of the Luoyun Sect. They suffered endless torture, but the people of the Luoyun Sect refused to kill them.

Now that they had escaped the Luoyun Sect's clutches, they naturally looked to their benefactor, Ye Chen, for leadership.

'Nine-Fingered Demon Slaughter? Why would he be in Luoyun City? And how did he get captured by the Yan family?'

Ye Chen's brow furrowed in confusion.

He remembered instructing everyone not to leave the sect if at all possible before he departed from the Demon Dao.

Otherwise, without the protection of the sect's grand formation, no one could shield them if people from the Vajra Temple or the provincial government came after them in the outside world.

'Did the Nine-Fingered Demon Slaughter come to Luoyun City alone to find me?'

'Was this a decision made by all the Elders, or did he act stubbornly on his own?'

Ye Chen couldn't understand why the Nine-Fingered Demon Slaughter would be here.

'Could something have happened to the Demon Dao?'

'But the Demon Dao is protected by a dual grand formation. It follows the principles of yin and yang, with each part interdependent and reinforcing the other. Not even a master of the Primordial Mansion Realm should be able to break through it, right?'

"So, he's one of the Demon Dao?"

"No matter. In that case, I'll give it a try."

Ye Chen nodded slightly, accepting the request.

He planned to go see the Nine-Fingered Demon Slaughter and find out what was going on.

Besides, this was one of his own Elders. He couldn't just stand by and let him die.

"Elder Ye agreed? Wonderful! This will also help bring our Treasure Pavilion and the Yan family closer together."

The shopkeeper seemed very excited. He placed great importance on such social connections.

Elder Chen Jue, on the other hand, looked somewhat puzzled.

'Elder Ye seemed so resolute in his refusal just a moment ago.'

'But as soon as he heard it involved someone from the Demon Dao, he immediately agreed.'

'Could it be... that Elder Ye is actually Ye Chen?'

Chen Jue shook his head sharply. 'If that's really the case, then I'll just have to pretend I don't know.'

'Elder Ye is an extraordinary Alchemist capable of refining Fifth Grade pills.'

'If I recommend him to the Penglai Merchant Guild in the future, my own career will soar. My status will rise like a ship with the tide.'

'He couldn't be bothered to get involved in the struggles between the righteous and demonic paths.'

...

"Grandfather, how are you?"

「Within a spacious residence in Luoyun City.」

Liu Yuchan was looking at the old man before him with a worried expression. Beside him, a pretty, cute young woman had her hands clenched tightly, looking just as nervous.