The difficulty of refining the Five Elements Pill wasn't high, after all, it was just a Qi Refining-level pill. Ye Chen, with his perfected first-grade alchemist skills, found it easy to refine.

  After bidding farewell to Yao Xi, Ye Chen immediately went to buy the necessary ingredients. These days, Ye Chen no longer had to disguise himself like he did in the Silver Moon Market.

  However, when buying the ingredients in the Green Cloud Market, he still included a dozen or so unnecessary herbs in his purchase. Though it meant spending more spirit stones, the improved Five Elements Pill recipe was incredibly precious, and it was worth every coin.

  Ye Chen's name was now well known throughout the sect. His title of "simp direct disciple" was recognized by everyone, and now, with his phrase "I love you, and it has nothing to do with you," it had become even more of a topic of discussion.

  Ye Chen's reputation had already started to spread all the way to Green Cloud City. When he went to buy ingredients, no one found it unusual.

  After all, Ye Chen had been running to alchemy classes every three days just to pursue Senior Sister Yao Xi. It was no surprise that he could refine pills.

  While waiting for the deacon to prepare his materials, Ye Chen suddenly heard an excited voice from behind, "Seventh Brother, we finally meet!"

  Ye Chen turned around and raised an eyebrow. The one calling out to him was none other than Ye Tian.

  Ye Tian, the most talented member of the Ye family in this generation. But just seeing this guy made Ye Chen feel irritated.

  On the very first day he joined the sect, Ye Tian had started spreading nonsense.

  Ye Chen had gone out to buy a dual cultivation technique, and somehow, even the shopkeeper knew that a "simp" had entered the sect.

  Half of Ye Chen's "simp" reputation had been spread by this guy. It was bad enough that Ye Tian didn't run away when he saw him, but now he was even coming over to try and get close.

  Ye Tian didn't notice Ye Chen's cold demeanor and ran up excitedly, "Seventh Brother, I've missed you so much! The family isn't upset with you anymore. They've said to visit more often. But Seventh Brother, Green Cloud Sect is great and all, but the resources here are too expensive. Look at you, a direct disciple already. How about lending me some spirit stones to tide me over? I'll definitely return them to you soon!"

  Ye Chen thought to himself, "This guy talks like the gamblers from my past life."

  Ye Chen, maintaining his composure, began to whistle nonchalantly, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing. This made Ye Tian grit his teeth in frustration.

  Deep down, Ye Tian had always looked down on Ye Chen. With his poor aptitude, low cultivation level, and his reputation as a simp, Ye Tian couldn't understand how such a person could get so lucky. Despite being sent to the Silver Moon Market, Ye Chen had managed to obtain a peak master's token.

  Ye Tian was actually strapped for cash. His family had supported him with plenty of spirit stones, but a recent trip to the market area had initially seemed promising when he found an item worth ten low-grade spirit stones for the price of one. Buoyed by this stroke of luck, he started to believe he might just make it to Foundation Establishment through bargain-hunting.

  Fired up, he frequented the market even more, only to make a series of poor judgments that led to significant losses. Now, not only was he out of medicinal pills, but he also owed the senior brother who had introduced him to the market area over twenty low-grade spirit stones.

  Hence, Ye Tian, suppressing his displeasure, whispered, "Seventh Brother, I know a secret! This secret involves you and your dad. You lend me just one medium-grade, no, one high-grade spirit stone, and I'll tell you!"

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  Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. Honestly, he had long since detached himself from the Ye family in his heart and couldn't care less about its affairs. But a secret involving him and his biological father? That piqued his curiosity.

  "Speak, and if this secret proves useful, I'll give you fifty low-grade spirit stones," Ye Chen responded indifferently.

  Ye Tian was stunned. He'd asked for one high-grade spirit stone, and here was Ye Chen offering fifty low-grade ones. Who taught him to negotiate like this?

  Ye Tian thought bitterly about how generously Ye Chen had tried to give away the Five Elements Cave token, even when it was refused. Wasn't he being a bit stingy with his own family?

  Before Ye Tian could attempt to haggle further, Ye Chen, without even a glance, signaled him to continue.

  Ye Tian, having no choice, spoke softly, "Your dad isn't Grandfather's biological son. My dad said when he was six years old, your dad was suddenly brought home one night by the then family head, our great-grandfather. He claimed that your dad was Grandfather's illegitimate child, but our grandmother, who was known to be quite jealous, didn't utter a single word about it! That means your dad definitely isn't Grandfather's biological child. You're not a true member of the Ye family."

  Upon hearing this, Ye Chen narrowed his eyes. "So, my father's death... is related to your Ye family?"

  Ye Tian jumped back in shock, quickly waving his hands. "No, no! Absolutely not... It really was an accident. Your father was ambushed by rogue cultivators. These rogues even destroyed the body. It wasn't until Grandpa reached Foundation Establishment that he personally went to investigate and found the location of the ambush."

  Ye Chen leaned against the counter, gently tapping his fingers on the crystal surface, his expression thoughtful.

  So, my father wasn't his biological child. That meant I'm not really part of the Ye family. Now, it made sense why the family head didn't want to give me anything valuable. They just wanted me to contribute to the family. After all, there's a clear distinction between insiders and outsiders.

  At this point, Ye Chen started to wonder—what if my father isn't really dead? From what he'd read in novels in his past life, when an outsider is raised in a family, there's often a big background behind it. Could it be that my father was taken in by some powerful family?

  But Ye Chen dismissed the thought quickly. If his father had truly been taken away by a powerful family, why wouldn't they have taken him along? There couldn't be that many coincidences.

  It seemed more reliable to wait until his cultivation improved, use Green Cloud Sect's connections, and personally track down those rogue cultivators to avenge his father's death.

  Ye Chen casually took out fifty low-grade spirit stones and tossed them to Ye Tian.

  Ye Tian quickly caught them, grinning widely. "When it comes down to it, it's still about relying on your own brothers, huh? Seventh Brother, you see, you don't really need that Five Elements Cave spot. Can you give it to me three years from now?"

  Ye Chen smiled back. "If you were really my brother, I'd give it to you, because as you said, I don't really need it. But the problem is, I'm not actually a Ye family member!"

  Ye Tian's smile froze on his face…

  Damn…

  Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh to himself. Since joining Green Cloud Sect, the family head had been sending him letters every few days, saying that the past was in the past and that he should come back to visit more. He even sent him resources generously.

  Ye Chen understood. After all, he was the peak master's direct disciple. Being associated with the peak master was definitely a win for the Ye family. But then Ye Tian went and ruined it all for fifty low-grade spirit stones.

  Ye Chen planned to wait until he reached Foundation Establishment, then go back and inquire about his father's origins. He'd also make sure to tell the family head how he found out about it. He was sure Ye Tian would be the recipient of the family's special care after that.

  After sending Ye Tian away, who looked like he had just realized he made a mistake, Ye Chen found that the spiritual herbs he needed were ready. He immediately made his way back to the Sword Peak, preparing to refine the Five Elements Pills. Two of these pills could rival the accumulation of an entire year's worth of the Five Elements Cave's spirit Qi.

  Ye Chen decided to consume one of them to see how much he could expand his dantian. Opening the dantian further would allow a cultivator's spiritual power to become more robust, and it would enable longer-lasting combat abilities.

  Moreover, the foundation of a Foundation Establishment cultivator was also built through the dantian transformation. Naturally, the bigger the dantian, the better.

  With his third-grade spiritual roots, Ye Chen's difficulty in breaking through to Foundation Establishment was comparable to that of most cultivators who attempted the breakthrough after thirty. The effect of the Five Elements Pill on Ye Chen could be imagined.

  So, upon returning to Sword Peak, Ye Chen rejected Lin Ke'er, who was eager to progress, and focused solely on the task at hand—refining the Five Elements Pills.

  ...

  Meanwhile, beneath the Sword Peak, Sun Ruoxin stood outside the formation, her eyes glistening with tears as she waited. She had so many things she wanted to say to Ye Chen!