Chapter Thirteen: The Cloud Sea Elixir Hall

“It's good that you're unharmed. Above all, you must protect yourself.”

“By the way, Tianchen, don’t take to heart what happened with Liu Qingxin and the others. Their choice to abandon you now is theirs alone. One day, they will regret it.”

“My grandson’s future will surely be that of a formidable and upright man.”

Thinking of Ye Qingyao and Liu Qingxin, Yuan Minglan still felt a chill in her heart. She comforted him further, worried that Chu Tianchen might dwell too much on it.

“Grandma, that was just their choice. I don’t care, nor do I hold grudges against anyone because of it.”

“There are too many people who kick others when they’re down. If everyone kept score of grudges, I wouldn’t need to cultivate every day, hahaha.”

“But Lin Yourou and Yin Taixu? I will never let them off.”

“They may dare touch me, but if they hurt you, they will surely die!”

Chu Tianchen declared resolutely.

Yuan Minglan did not stop him from seeking revenge, for a man, especially, must have courage and spirit.

One can lack ability, but must possess responsibility and accountability.

A true man knows what to pursue and what to avoid.

...

After finishing his meal, Chu Tianchen prepared some healing elixirs for his grandmother and used silver needles to treat her old ailments.

These techniques were inherited from the Ancient Dragon Sovereign and proved very effective.

Then, he hunted some pheasants and wild rabbits on the outskirts of the Four Directions Forest and brought them back.

Only after all this was done did he leave with peace of mind, heading toward Yunhai Academy.

As his grandmother said, there was no need to worry too much. Though well over a hundred years old, she was after all a Heavenly Gang realm martial artist. With her injuries recovering, taking care of two young children was still manageable.

His task now was to grow stronger quickly, then find his grandfather and the others to uncover the truth behind the Demon Burial Abyss.

Chu Tianchen sensed that his grandmother vaguely knew something. When he mentioned that his grandfather and family might still be alive, she did not show great shock, as if she already suspected it.

But since she said little, he did not press further.

In this continent, strength is the ultimate truth.

Without power, no one listens to your reason.

---

In fact, there were things he had yet to reveal. The moment he stepped into the Land Immortal realm, he sensed not only the presence of his grandfather, father, and mother but also many strong warriors.

These presences were all located around Yunhai Academy and the Great Qian Imperial Family.

Among them were at least dozens of Martial Dao Grandmasters.

It must be noted that records show the Great Qian Empire currently has only twelve Martial Dao Grandmasters. With six of his grandfather’s generation missing, the presence of dozens more indicated something significant.

Chu Tianchen guessed these were people from the Great World his grandparents spoke of.

Their gathering in the Great Qian Empire at this time must have some purpose.

Including the woman who had overthrown him, who possessed the innate spirit of the Nine Heavens Divine Phoenix—her background was far from simple.

So for now, he would heed his grandmother’s advice: first go to Yunhai Academy, cultivate, and discreetly investigate why these people had come to the Great Qian Empire.

...

About a month later, Chu Tianchen finally arrived at Yunhai City.

This city was an affiliated settlement of Yunhai Academy, not under the Great Qian Empire’s jurisdiction, but managed solely by the academy.

Yunhai City was more like a market town for the academy, only about twenty kilometers from Yunhai Academy itself. For a Martial Dao realm practitioner, it would take no more than ten minutes to reach.

Chu Tianchen’s clothes had been torn by Ye Nichang. He wanted to buy new ones, but all the elemental stones he possessed had been swallowed up by the Purple-Gold Threads the night he was reborn—none remained.

Having hurried for a month, he looked every bit a beggar.

Although his meridian wheels had expanded ten thousandfold, making his talent extraordinarily rare, without cultivation resources, even a peerless prodigy could not advance.

Hence, the immediate priority was to earn cultivation materials.

Previously, the best way would have been hunting monster beasts for spirit crystals or gathering medicinal herbs to exchange.

But now, with the Ancient Dragon Sovereign’s soul imprint teaching him the Six Paths, acquiring resources was much easier.

Alchemists and artificers were among the wealthiest professions on the continent, especially alchemists, who practically made money hand over fist.

So Chu Tianchen didn’t hesitate. He inquired about the direction of the Pill Hall and hurried there.

Yunhai City was not large.

It had nine streets, each about a dozen miles long. One street was dedicated to inns for relatives and friends visiting academy disciples.

The other eight streets were clearly divided.

There were streets for food, clothing, and a miscellaneous goods street filled with various rare items.

The Pill Hall was on the fifth street. Upon entering, a strong medicinal fragrance filled the air.

Shops on both sides mainly sold medicinal herbs, mostly from first to third grade.

Fourth-grade herbs and pills were generally available only at the Pill Hall.

This street, along with the artifact refining street and the snack street, was the liveliest.

With only a few coins to his name, Chu Tianchen had no choice but to try his luck at the Pill Hall.

About seven or eight minutes later, he arrived at the Pill Hall’s entrance.

The Pill Hall stood at the center of Pill Street, a nineteen-story pagoda-shaped building.

It was the tallest structure in Yunhai City.

Its exterior was gold-plated and gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight. Truly, alchemists were wealthy beyond measure.

The amount of gold consumed by this single Pill Hall could feed a hundred thousand people for an entire year.

Seeing the gleaming Pill Hall, a faint smile spread across Chu Tianchen’s face.

With the Ancient Dragon Sovereign’s inheritance, his understanding of alchemy far surpassed that of ordinary alchemists.

Soon he would become an alchemist himself.

For now, he needed to gather some resources, as the long journey and cultivation of the Nine Dragons Devouring Heaven Technique made him feel he was about to open his second meridian wheel and reach the second stage of the Martial Dao realm.

Yunhai Academy’s enrollment was scheduled for half a month later.

It was the perfect time to raise his cultivation to the second stage.

“Get out of the way!”

Just as Chu Tianchen stepped into the Pill Hall, he was pushed aside by a palm.

The man, carrying a boy of about fifteen or sixteen on his back, shouted, “Master Mu Ran, please save my young master!”