Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

Watching Ye Chen and the others depart, He Daoyun replayed the events from the Cloud Mist Tower Ship in his mind, his heart filled with emotion.

"Truly, a hero in his youth!"

He shook his head, then glanced helplessly at the pill bottle in his hand.

'I've already said that I've taken a Fifth Grade Realm-Breaking Pill before... Even though it's a gift from young Ye Chen, it's of no use to me. I might as well sell it.'

As He Daoyun pondered this, he opened the pill bottle.

The moment he lifted the cap, a boundless, overwhelming torrent of Spiritual Qi erupted from the bottle, startling He Daoyun.

The Spiritual Qi was like a pent-up flood that had finally found an outlet. It swirled about like an enraged dragon, slamming into He Daoyun and causing the Spiritual Power within his body to circulate noticeably faster.

"Holy crap!"

"This is insane!"

He Daoyun's mind reeled. The man, who was usually so gentle and refined, couldn't stop himself from cursing.

'Is this really just a Fifth Grade pill?'

'Could the Spiritual Qi fluctuations from a Fifth Grade pill be this terrifying?'

He quickly recapped the pill bottle, his gaze on it turning fiery.

'So this is Ye Chen's handiwork?'

'No wonder they call him an alchemy prodigy. He can even put the Hongyu Pill Venerable to shame!'

He Daoyun took a deep breath, barely managing to calm himself down.

He suddenly had a feeling that if he consumed this Fifth Grade Realm-Breaking Pill of astonishing quality, his cultivation might actually advance again!

'If that's true, does this mean Ye Chen has broken the 'one Realm-Breaking Pill per Great Realm' limit with his divine alchemy skills?'

Of course, He Daoyun couldn't have known. The reason Ye Chen could refine a Pseudo-Immortal Grade pill, countless times more potent than even a Top Grade one, was all thanks to the Chaos Suppressing Prison Cauldron.

He Daoyun hastily and carefully put the pill bottle away. A wave of fear washed over him as he recalled his earlier intention to sell the pill.

'It's a good thing I didn't act rashly and opened it to take a look first.'

'Otherwise, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life!'

"We've arrived in Dongxuan Province. Aren't you going to tell me about your grudge with the Song family?"

As Dongxuan City came into view, Ye Chen glanced at Song Yubing, who was sitting beside him with her knees drawn up, and spoke casually.

Song Yubing was born a member of the Song family, yet she left them to join the Cyan Rainbow Hall, a Demon Dao faction!

In fact, it seemed she and the Song family were completely irreconcilable.

'What exactly happened?'

Song Yubing lowered her head, hesitating for a moment before speaking. "It's not exactly a pleasant story, but… there's no reason to hide it either."

"My mother was a servant in the Song family. She was assaulted by my father, and in the end… she had me."

"…" Ye Chen fell silent.

'A tired cliché, but one that's all too common among the great clans. Stories like this probably play out every single day.'

'After all, many of these powerful families had exceptionally beautiful maids among their servants.'

'Though they had low status, their beauty would sometimes inevitably catch the eye of a young master.'

'Not that this meant they were on a path to riches and glory.'

'Most of these young masters and profligate heirs were just using the women to satisfy their lust.'

'Once their desires were sated, the matter was dropped. A servant was still a servant, forced to toil away each day with no change to her circumstances.'

'Of course, there were occasional responsible young masters. If one of them took a fancy to a maid, her status might improve, but such cases were rare.'

Ye Chen finally understood. It was no wonder Song Yubing was always so reluctant to talk about her grudge with the Song family.

'It was a shameful affair, something no one would want to be made public.'

'But if her mother was just an ordinary maid, then in the eyes of the Song family, both of them would have been nothing more than insignificant nobodies.'

'So why did her relationship with the Song family become so irreconcilable?'

'And why was the Song family so fixated on the heirloom her mother left her?'

Jie Ling and Chi Ming just listened quietly, not interjecting.

After a moment, Song Yubing calmed her turbulent thoughts and continued her explanation. "Afterward, my father didn't pay my mother any mind. She remained a servant in the Song family, and her living conditions didn't improve."

Ye Chen nodded slightly. That was more or less what he had expected.

"But then," she said, "after my father found out my mother was pregnant—perhaps out of guilt, a sense of responsibility, or something else entirely—he actually fell in love with her!"

"The two of them decided to break the shackles of convention. My father defied his family's objections, determined to be with my mother no matter what… In the end, it led to tragedy."

What happened next was a familiar story.

The young master of a great house fell in love with a humble maid. To escape the family's interference, they decided to elope, only to be ruthlessly hunted down. They became a pair of star-crossed lovers.

According to Song Yubing, she had no memory of her parents; they had passed away shortly after her birth.

The only heirloom her mother left her was a simple purple jade hairpin.

That purple jade hairpin supposedly holds a world-shaking secret about the Song family!

Song Yubing didn't know the specifics.

But judging by the Song family's determination to obtain the hairpin at any cost, the secret must be of paramount importance—perhaps even a matter of life and death for the entire family!

And now, that very hairpin was in the treasury of the Dongxuan Prefecture, offered as one of the prizes for the winner of the upcoming Peach Blossom Banquet.

"Why did the heirloom your mother left you end up with the Dongxuan Prefecture? And why has it only surfaced now, after so many years?"

Jie Ling, who had been listening from the side, noticed something was amiss and couldn't help but ask.

"No, the hairpin has been in the Dongxuan Prefecture's possession for a long time."

Song Yubing shook her head. "My mother pawned the purple jade hairpin to the Prefecture," she explained. "The term was twenty years."

"Now, twenty years have passed. The hairpin has become the property of the Prefecture, and by some coincidence, it's been chosen as a prize for this Peach Blossom Banquet."

"Is there something special about the hairpin?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. For it to be a prize at the Peach Blossom Banquet, it must be remarkable in some way.

"There's nothing that special about it. It's just said that the material used to make it is very unusual. As for the specifics, I don't know them either."

Song Yubing shook her head.