Personnel Changes Make Continued Difficult

One day later.

Xuchunfang, Cuishulou.

Inside the warm and quiet room.

A gilded crane head holds a lamp with a faint flame, while incense smoke from a Boshan censer wafts around the beams. Curtains hang silently in front of the window, and the room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Suddenly, a long, drawn-out breath was heard from the bed.

In an instant, the lights flickered, the cigarette string snapped, the curtains swayed, and the entire quiet room seemed to roll over on the spot.

However, within a few breaths, he returned to normal.

"After six days of hard work, the Liver Shu acupoint has finally been broken open!"

Yan Chen laughed heartily, his eyes sparkling with a sharp light, making the young man appear even more spirited and full of energy!

At this moment, as he calms his mind and carefully perceives, he can become aware of it.

After the "Liver Shu" internal acupoint is opened, the small area where it is located, though seemingly narrow, is like a small "Dantian" with the ability to condense Qi seeds and preserve true Qi.

Everything is now ready.

What needs to be done now is just like when you first set foot on the path of Qi cultivation—

The process involves circulating Qi throughout the body, absorbing Qi into the body, generating true Qi, and ultimately condensing the Qi seed!

After a brief moment of thought, I realized that nothing had been overlooked.

Yan Chen finally exhaled a breath of turbid air and took out the "Qingyuan Chengming Danjue" from his sleeve.

My thoughts naturally settled down.

This "Alchemy Manual" was given to me by Zheng, the head of Danlan Valley, through Senior Sister Zhu.

It seemed like a casual act of helping someone out.

Perhaps I should be complacent and self-satisfied about this.

However, there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world, especially for a righteous sect like the Jade Sleeve Sect.

There are no benefits given without a reason; on the contrary, every gift comes with a hidden price tag.

What's free is often the most expensive!

"Is this a kind of gamble... or more accurately, an investment?"

Thinking of this, Yan Chen suddenly felt a strange heaviness in the "Qingyuan Chengming Danjue" in his hand.

He asked himself honestly, having been in this world for a little over a month, he found that the path of "improvement" was fraught with thorns and difficult to traverse.

Yet they never gave up, their hearts always yearning for the Great Dao!

The only reason I can achieve even a little success is through talent and hard work!

How difficult is it for a person to persevere?

The hardships and bitterness involved are difficult for outsiders to understand!

Therefore, not being in a position of authority, he cannot concern himself with its affairs. With his current limited perspective, he cannot truly see clearly the moves, plans, and strategies of those so-called "upper-level officials."

I might as well stop forcing myself and avoid hurting my feelings.

At least for now, everything I've gained has been beneficial!

As for the future... who will be the one to play the game remains to be seen.

"Enough! The so-called 'lower cultivation' should be accompanied by the awareness of 'lower cultivation,' and we should worry less about the matter of 'upper cultivation.'"

Yan Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, his heart fluttering.

When I opened my eyes again, a golden light shimmered in their depths, condensing into lines of tiny, tadpole-like characters—

[You cleverly employed a strategy of using one enemy to devour another, stirring up Cui Yong's inner thoughts, and then exploiting Cui Yuan's ambition to advance, disrupting the plans of the Zhao and Huang families, causing them to harbor resentment, and thus forging karmic ties with Zhao Qingyun, the head of the Zhao family, and Huang Zaiyuan, the head of the Huang family.]

[Through the harvesting, Cui Yuan reaped considerable benefits, and using this as an opportunity, he broke through a long-standing bottleneck, greatly improving his cultivation. He felt grateful to you, thus forming a karmic bond with Cui Yuan, the supervisor of the Hundred Herbs Academy.]

……

Yan Chen glanced at the scene and immediately had an idea.

"Although what Supervisor Cui cultivates may not be the 'Qingyuan Chengming Danjue,' it is still inseparable from the concept of 'wood element.' His cultivation process can be of great benefit to me!"

"And among the resources I shared with him, there were also many medicinal herbs and other materials for alchemy."

"Perhaps we can take this opportunity to learn some of the techniques of 'alchemy'."

With a thought in mind, Yan Chen asked:

"Imperial Official, please inquire within three days regarding the whereabouts of Cui Yuan, the supervisor of the Hundred Herbs Academy."

[Target of Insight: Cui Yuan.]

[Time required: Three hours.]

……

"That makes everything completely safe!"

Yan Chen stood up, lightly brushed the wrinkles off his robe sleeves, and wanted to leave the quiet room for some fresh air.

The next moment, a knock was heard at the door outside the quiet room.

Yan Chen pushed open the door and came out, only to see Yu Shunan waiting on one side of the corridor. Upon seeing him come out, she immediately said:

"We have informed Senior Brother Yan that Senior Brother Li Xuanyi has arrived and is currently waiting in the main hall."

"Senior Brother Li is here?"

Yan Chen nodded slightly and said:

"Very well, I'll go see him now."

As he spoke, Yan Chen strode towards the council hall and pushed open the door to enter.

Soon, a familiar figure appeared, standing by the window, gazing at the distant scenery.

Upon noticing someone approaching, the figure suddenly turned around, paused for a moment, and then showed a complex expression on their face.

His lips trembled, but he never uttered a sound.

After a short while, his attitude finally became respectful; he bowed deeply and clearly called out:

"Li Xuanyi, a mortal servant of the Forging Institute, greets the manager!"

Yan Chen waved his hand and said seriously:

"A little over a month ago, when my junior brother first entered the Forging Academy, he was confused about many things. Thanks to Senior Brother Li's help and support, he was spared many setbacks and detours."

"Right now, there's no need to worry about any 'order of precedence'; we can continue to address each other as fellow disciples."

Li Xuanyi shook his head in refusal, and said with a wry smile:

"Now that the shopkeeper has reached the second level of Qi Refining, it would be presumptuous of me to still address him as 'Junior Brother,' a major taboo in the Jade Sleeve Sect. How could I dare to offend him?"

After thinking about it carefully, Yan Chen sighed and said:

"Fine! From now on, we'll each go our own way!"

"You call me 'Shopkeeper,' and I'll call you 'Senior Brother,' how about that?"

Unable to refuse, Li Xuanyi could only smile wryly and nod in agreement.

At the same time, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Junior Brother Yan had reached the second level of Qi Refining and become the manager of Cui Shu Lou, his words and manners remained as humble and peaceful as ever, with no significant difference.

Thinking of this, Li Xuanyi couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

The two chatted back and forth, as if they had returned to the scene of eating, drinking and talking freely in the courtyard of Fanyi after work that day.

The slightly awkward atmosphere vanished without a trace.

"Senior Brother Li, I heard that the Li family patriarch was seriously ill. Is he feeling any better now?"

Yan Chen suddenly asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Xuanyi paused slightly, then sighed and said:

"To be honest, shopkeeper, my patriarch Li is not actually ill. The reason he claimed to be seriously ill was a last resort!"

"But is it related to the surnames Zhao and Huang?"

"Exactly."

Li Xuanyi continued:

"The manager must be aware of the dirty dealings of the Zhao and Huang families. The previous manager tried to reverse this situation and therefore intended to unite with my Li family."

"Unfortunately, before he could even unleash his full power, he was tricked and killed. My Li family, isolated and helpless, could no longer muster any will to fight back."

"I thought that by giving up some of the market's profits and swallowing my anger, I could avoid disaster. However, a few days ago, I received a letter from home while I was in the Forging Institute."

"The letter says that the Zhao and Huang families intend to join forces with 'heretical cultivators' to swallow up my Li family's assets in Xuchunfang and turn 'three families' into 'two families'!"

"There was no other way but to lie and say that my patriarch was seriously ill. The purpose was simply to stick together and discuss countermeasures."

Yan Chenxin understood and nodded:

"So, after I weakened the Zhao and Huang families' momentum, the Li family finally had some breathing room, and that's why they've re-emerged, ready to formally confront the other two families?"

"That's absolutely right!"

Li Xuanyi sighed deeply and said with a sigh:

"Speaking of which, the Li family and the Zhao family have been friends for generations. Zhao Dengke and I are childhood friends who grew up together."

"I certainly didn't want things to turn out this way!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Chen silently shook his head.

The world changes easily, and so do people's hearts. There is no reason to continue the relationship. How can a broken mirror be mended?

……

……

Outside Xuchunfang, lies the Qingsheng Sect.

Inside the stilted high-rise building.

"In recent days, I have been busy maintaining Xu Hui's body from decay and have paid little attention to external affairs. I thought I could successfully obtain a batch of pills and spiritual medicines to continue nourishing him."

Zeng Deyan stood with his back to the candlelight, his tall figure obscured, his expression unreadable, only his eyes gleaming with a faint, eerie light.

He stared straight at the two people in front of him and said calmly:

"Now you're telling me things went wrong... is that it?"