Devouring Soul Emperor

Chu Qingyun gave them a quick check and found no issues.

However, both packages contained some extra Spiritual Medicines—ones he hadn’t written on his list at all.

Picking up two Earth Stone Fruits, Chu Qingyun looked at Qin Ya with a wry smile and said, "I don’t think I wrote these down, did I?"

Qin Ya shot him a look, huffed lightly, a smug expression on her face.

"Chu Qingyun, you’re way too careless. A Pill Formula is so important, yet you wrote it right on a piece of paper. Good thing I’m smart enough to grab a few extra of each herb. That way, the Pill Formula won’t be leaked."

After speaking, Qin Ya’s smile grew even more triumphant as she looked at Chu Qingyun and Elder Qin.

However, upon hearing this, both Chu Qingyun and Elder Qin couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Hey, I just saved you from a potential loss! What’s so funny?"

Qin Ya said indignantly, pouting—a rare sight.

"Hahaha, Ya, do you think an Alchemist performs Alchemy like a cook makes a stew? That you can just throw all the Spiritual Medicines into a Pill Cauldron, boil them together, and get an Elixir?"

"The Spiritual Medicines required for Alchemy aren’t some great secret. What’s truly important is the sequence for combining the various herbs and the control of heat at each stage of refinement."

"Just considering the fusion sequence, for even the simplest combination of three Spiritual Medicines, there are six different possible orders. And that’s not even counting herbs that need to be added in separate portions, which makes it even more complex."

"Therefore, a complete Pill Formula is incredibly complex. If you were to write it all down, each Pill Formula would probably fill an entire book."

"A true Pill Formula is painstakingly branded onto special materials by an Alchemist using their Soul Power. Only Alchemists who have awakened their Soul Power can read one."

"Creating a Pill Formula is extremely troublesome. For someone like me, it would probably take over a month to create just one!"

Qin Ya normally didn’t care about matters of elixirs, so Elder Qin took the time to explain it to her.

After listening, Qin Ya’s face instantly turned an even deeper shade of red...

Chu Qingyun didn’t act coy about the extra Spiritual Medicines or offer to pay. He simply bid farewell to Elder Qin, grabbed the two bags of herbs, and left first.

Qin Ya followed to see him off, and also to take him to get a Pill Cauldron.

Elder Qin had been refining elixirs his whole life, so his home had numerous Pill Cauldrons.

Besides, a Spirit Level Alchemist only refines the lowest grade of elixirs, so there were no particularly high requirements for the Pill Cauldron. As long as it was functional, it would do.

Arriving at the place where Elder Qin usually performed Alchemy, Chu Qingyun picked a black Pill Cauldron that was about half a person’s height. The reason was simple: it looked a bit newer...

After choosing the Pill Cauldron, Chu Qingyun placed both the Spiritual Medicines and the cauldron directly into his Storage Ring.

Just then, Qin Ya sidled up to him, her eyes narrowed slightly as she asked, "Chu Qingyun, just now... did I seem particularly stupid?"

"How could that be?" Chu Qingyun said with a carefree smile.

Hearing this, Qin Ya immediately broke into a satisfied smile.

However, Chu Qingyun immediately added, "Not particularly stupid. Just ordinarily stupid."

Having said that, Chu Qingyun couldn’t help but laugh himself.

Whenever he was with Qin Ya, it seemed he was always the one being teased and played with. This time, Chu Qingyun had finally found a chance to strike back.

Qin Ya was so angry she rolled her eyes and couldn’t help grinding her teeth.

But in the next second, she instantly switched to a seductive look. Her hands gently clasped the back of Chu Qingyun’s neck in a loose embrace. Tilting her head up, her breath fragrant like an orchid, she cooed, "Chu Qingyun... You’re my fiancé, after all. Don’t leave tonight. Stay and keep me company, okay...?"

Chu Qingyun lowered his head slightly, gazing at Qin Ya’s hazy, beautiful eyes, her alluring lips, and the faint, tantalizing cleavage visible at her chest. He couldn’t help but swallow hard. "I..."

But just then, Qin Ya suddenly let go and took a step back. "Hee hee hee, Chu Qingyun, you still can’t resist my charms, can you? Now we’re even. That’s what you get for calling me stupid."

"But... if you can really refine the Spiritual Longevity Pill, it’s not like you won’t have a chance."

After she finished speaking, Qin Ya didn’t forget to shoot Chu Qingyun a seductive wink.

Chu Qingyun was instantly speechless and could only shake his head helplessly.

After returning to the Great Xia Dragon Guards, Chu Qingyun saw Grand Commander Chu Yu and Xia He standing at his door, seemingly waiting for him.

"Grand Commander, Xia He, what brings you two here together?"

Chu Qingyun walked up, greeted them with a smile, and opened the door to invite them in.

"Chu Qingyun, you’ve broken through to Level One Martial Spirit?" After they entered the room, Grand Commander Chu Yu was pleasantly surprised to discover that Chu Qingyun was already a Level One Martial Spirit.

"What? You broke through too?" Xia He couldn’t help but shake his head, muttering in resignation, "I thought I was a step ahead of you, but it turns out you broke through as well..."

"Hehe, just a stroke of luck."

Chu Qingyun smiled and poured tea for the two of them.

The three of them sat down. Grand Commander Chu Yu looked at Chu Qingyun and said, "Chu Qingyun, let me ask you, did you offend the Dong Family, the one connected to the Second Elder of the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower?"

’The Dong Family?’

Chu Qingyun’s brows twitched as he recalled Dong Mingfan.

He didn’t try to hide anything. Nodding, he replied, "That’s right. At the Qin Mansion, I crushed the eyes of a guy named Dong Mingfan. He claimed to be the Second Elder’s grandson. But he was the one who sneak-attacked me with a hidden weapon first, almost blinding me."

"Hidden weapon? A sneak attack?" A flash of anger appeared in Grand Commander Chu Yu’s eyes. His tone turned grim. "That’s not what the people from the Dong Family said..."

"People from the Dong Family? Why did they come? What did they say?" Chu Qingyun asked.

"Hmph. The people from the Dong Family came and claimed that you, Chu Qingyun, forced your way into the Qin Mansion with ill intentions toward Miss Qin Ya. They said their young master tried to stop you but had his eyes crushed by you for his trouble. They wanted the Celestial Wind Army to hand you over."

"In the end, the Lord Military Commander threw them out."

Grand Commander Chu Yu said with a cold snort.

Chu Qingyun scoffed at this disdainfully.

’If the Lord Military Commander actually believed that load of crap, I’d be seeing ghosts for real.’

"However, Chu Qingyun, the Dong Family is completely shameless. They’re now spreading it all over the city that you’ve accepted their family’s life-and-death challenge. A duel to the death in ten days, at the Great Xia Martial Palace in Lianshan County City."

"I couldn’t find you earlier, so I went to look for you at Xia He’s place. I came to let you know that the Lord Military Commander is already aware of this matter. You don’t need to worry about it. We, the Celestial Wind Army, will definitely teach the Dong Family a lesson!"

Grand Commander Chu Yu said, somewhat enraged.

To play such tricks on the Great Xia Dragon Guards—this incident had greatly displeased even the Celestial Wind Army Master.

However, Chu Qingyun’s interest was suddenly piqued. "Sir, this life-and-death challenge the Dong Family mentioned, what exactly is it?"