Chapter 236 Prince of Xiyue State

Before the sun even rose, Xiao Chen left the courtyard with all of his savings—three Tier Two Spirit Stones, seven Tier One Spirit Stones, and some coins. Even though it was a pitiful sum, he still came back by noon with packages of all sizes containing ingredients. When he was in the city, he also learned the location of a trading house called the Myriad Immortals Pavilion.

Murong Xian'er, who couldn't find him the entire morning, was angry when she saw him returning. "So annoying! How can you go out and play without me?"

Xiao Chen chuckled and ordered Qingluan and Ziyun'er to take her out to play. He returned to his room, closed the door and windows shut, and placed all the ingredients he bought on the table. He then took out the Wonder Wood Cauldron that had been lying unused in his Divine Vessel for a long time.

The cauldron was a purple-tinted brown color, made from some unknown material. Not only could it keep the spirit energy from leaking during the cooking process, but it could also allow his Divine Sense to roam freely inside the cauldron. It was the mini cauldron that Elder Wu used as his ashtray back in Sunset Peak, Three Pure Sect.

It went without saying that its success rate at producing top-tier magic potions was high as well. Take the Evolution of Tao Pills in his hand for example. Tier Three apothecaries and below had no hope of refining them. However, his Divine Sense was better than most people. He had very firm control over the circumstances inside the stove and the temperature of the fire. He was essentially born with the talent of making medicine.

He then divided the ingredients into ten portions, thinking that it would be a success if he could make five pills out of them. After half a day, the entire room was permeated by the faint fragrance of medicine. Looking at the three pills that were radiating a dim white light in his hand, he shook his head with a smile. He thought he would be able to make five pills and yet in the end, only three succeeded. His previous attempts all failed due to a lack of experience.

Pills were also divided into tiers. Core-forming Pills and the like could only be categorized as Tier Two pills. Nascent Soul Pills were in Tier Three while Nirvana Pills were in Tier Four. The Evolution of Tao Pills were considered to be in top-grade Tier Three. Its faint white glow was characteristic of this.

Chuckling, Xiao Chen placed the three pills in its individual jade bottles. He would ask Qingluan to take them to the trading house tomorrow. He had never sold medicine and didn't know the market price either. He didn't even know if there was a demand for these pills. It would be great if he could make a profit, but he was content with just breaking even. He didn't want to have to spend Muxue and Senior Sister Luo's money when they arrive.

It would be a problem if no one wanted the pills. That would mean that he would have to ask Brother Yifeng for a loan to cover his lodging for the next few months. That would be inappropriate.

When the curtain of the night was about to fall, Murong Xian'er, Qingluan, and Ziyun'er returned. In their hands were all sorts of strange toys.

"How was it? Did you have fun playing with these two older sisters?" Xiao Chen walked over to them with a smile.

"Yeap, yeap!" Murong Xian'er nodded several times.

Xiao Chen caressed her hair with a smile. He turned to Qingluan and Ziyun'er and said, "Thank you." Seeing as he would have to focus on his cultivation now, he wouldn't have much time to keep Xian'er company. These ladies were a great comfort to him. He was very at ease to leave Xian'er in their hands.

"We dare not claim merit for doing our duty," Qingluan and Ziyun'er said in unison.

Xiao Chen said nothing. The next morning, he handed Qingluan three Evolution of Tao Pills. She only returned in the afternoon. He asked impatiently, "How was it?"

Qingluan presented him with an embroidered box. When he opened it, he immediately felt a strong wave of spirit energy. Sitting inside was one Tier Four and two Tier Three Spirit Stones.

"Haha!"

He never thought he would make such a hefty return on his investment of several pieces of Tier Two Spirit Stones and some crudely-made pills. One Tier Four Spirit Stone was equivalent to ten pieces of Tier Three Spirit Stones, one hundred pieces of Tier Two Spirit Stones, one thousand pieces of Tier One Spirit Stones, and one hundred thousand taels.

Suddenly, he felt like he had struck gold.

"Did the staff at the auction house ask you where you get these 'One-day Decade Pills'?"

"They did, but I ignored them and left."

Xiao Chen nodded. The Evolution of Tao Pills were made based on the prescription on the Elixir King Scripture. He couldn't very well sell them under their true name.

"Well done. Later in the afternoon, you and Ziyun'er will join me. We're going to buy some ingredients."

When noon rolled around, the three of them went to the city and went their separate ways to buy the ingredients. They converged at the public square filled with sculptures in Dongcheng district at dusk.

Tianyuan City, as the largest city in the Middle Continent that boasted tens of millions of residents, would surely see a crowd of middle-aged married women gathering in its square and dancing along to the music. Commoners had their way of life, too. This had become a spectacle unique to Tianyuan City.

Yet, many young couples sitting in the shade of trees were confused by what they were seeing. Some even turn up their noses at them, calling it a crowd of dancing devils.

Xiao Chen waited for Qingluan and Ziyun'er in front of a sculpture. It had been nearly an hour and the sun had stretched his and the sculpture's shadow long and narrow.

"Why aren't they back yet? Could they be in trouble?"

Meanwhile, a crowd had formed in a lane nearby. Many were tiptoeing as if they were watching some commotion.

"What's wrong? You're going to leave without even greeting your former master?" The one speaking was a teenager dressed in a brocade suit who held a folding fan in his hand. His gaze was scornful as he stared at Qingluan and Ziyun'er. The sneer on his face never once faded.

Next to him were six guards blocking the ladies from leaving.

"The Crown Prince granted us our freedom that day. Please don't make things difficult for us."

Qingluan's eyes were cold and grave. Ziyun'er trembled next to her, not daring to speak a word.

"Freedom?"

The teenager was the Second Prince of Xiyue State, Chu Xuan. He lifted his head and smiled. Closing the folding fan in his hand, he pointed it at her. "A slave will always be a slave!" he bellowed, his gaze turning cold. "Bring them back!"

Obeying the order, the six guards immediately surrounded the two ladies. Qingluan's face fell. She whipped out her curved blade, which glinted ominously. Not even ten of these imperial guards were a match for her, but in the next second, she lost all courage even to move. Her eyes fell on the jade note that had suddenly appeared in Chu Xuan's hand.

"I dare you to move! Go on! If you dare move, I'll rip this to pieces and have your soul disintegrate into dust!"

"No!" Ziyun'er cried, shocked. Her face turned as pale as a sheet of paper.

Chu Xuan sneered. He said to the guards flanking him in an emotionless tone, "Bring them back."

"Wait!" Qingluan cried, raising her hand. She took out the ingredients that she bought earlier and handed them to Ziyun'er. She said quietly, "Bring these back."

She then turned around to look at Chu Xuan. She said coolly, "Let her go. I'll leave with you." Ziyun'er kept tugging on her sleeve, shaking her head. "No…"

Chu Xuan raised his head and laughed heartily. "Since you share such a touching sisterhood, it's best if you two come with me. If you serve me well tonight, I'll consider sparing one of you!" With a wave of his hand, his six guards immediately had the ladies surrounded.

Right at this moment, a silhouette appeared in front of Qingluan and Ziyun'er.

"What's going on?" Xiao Chen turned around and asked. He had just arrived, so he had no idea what was happening.

"Master…" Qingluan and Ziyun'er relaxed when they saw him.

"Master?" Chu Xuan scoffed. "What, you're serving a pretty boy now? Sure enough, slaves will always be slaves. You're destined to be slaves from the moment you were born."

"Who are you calling slaves...?" Xiao Chen turned his head and glared daggers at him. Those watching the commotion felt a chill run down their spine. His pressure also made the guards afraid to move.

Chu Xuan sneered and pointed to the ladies behind Xiao Chen with his folding fan. "I called them slaves. What are you going to do about it?"

"You're courting death!"

Xiao Chen activated his True Energy and immediately and then a gale rose. In the following second, two swords flew toward Chu Xuan. Chu Xuan sneered and flicked his sleeves. With two clanging noises, he easily avoided the blades.

"Is that all you've got? To think you're foolish enough to try and act like a hero."

Seeing that Xiao Chen wanted to use his Mystic Skill, Ziyun'er hastily tugged on his hand from behind. "Master, don't…"

Xiao Chen turned his head and saw how pale she looked. She must have suffered quite a bit earlier. He said softly, "I'm sorry. I was waiting at the square, not knowing that you two were in trouble."

Ziyun'er shook her head and replied softly, "Let's go back…"

"Go back?" Chu Xuan's eyes turned steely. "Did I agree to let you go…?"

Without waiting for him to finish, Xiao Chen glared at him. "I don't care who you are. You’d better not cause trouble for them."

"Hehe, is that so? What if I kill them in front of you?" Chu Xian chuckled wickedly. Then, an ominous glint flashed in his pupils, and he tried to crush the jade note in his hands. Ziyun'er cried in shock, "No!"

Sharp-minded as Xiao Chen was, he detected the change occurring in Qingluan at this moment. He immediately unleashed his Immortal-override Steps and appeared in front of Chu Xuan like a ghost, grabbing onto his neck.

"If you crush the jade note, I'll crush your neck."

"What the heck?! You're just a Core Forming Realm cultivator! How can you move so quickly?!" Chu Xuan appeared to have not realized how close he was to hell earlier.

Taking advantage of Chu Xuan's lapse in concentration, Ziyun'er moved speedily and snatched the jade note in his hand.

Seeing as the danger was over, Xiao Chen scoffed and threw Chu Xuan to the ground.

Chu Xuan was as infuriated as he was humiliated. He hastily recited a spell and instantly, six Sword Qi of a dazzling gold color charged at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen flicked his wide sleeves backward. Amid a deafening Dragon's Roar, two golden figures of a dragon flew out and rendered the six Sword Qi into nothingness in a flash.

Unable to stabilize his footing, Chu Xuan staggered several steps backward. Shock colored his face as he pointed. "You're… Xiao Chen!"

The expression of those watching the commotion changed after hearing this name and they hastily made their escape. Was he that human-slaying mad Devil that slaughtered in Canglan City just a few days ago?

Thanks to the endless gossiping and evolving nature of rumors, many who didn't know better became fixated on Xiao Chen being a Great Devil who could kill without blinking.