Chapter 80: 78. Top-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill (2/3)

78. Top-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill (2/3)

In the days that followed.

Chen An left early and returned late almost every day, spending his time in the alchemy room of Zhenbao Hang engaged in high-intensity alchemy.

It was exhausting.

But fortunately, he was able to complete his tasks every day.

He was exhausted but happy.

During this period, Chen An saw the Gang Leader Zhu come to find Shen Qingyi almost every other day; on the surface, he was acting like a sycophant, but in reality, every word and action was an attempt to hint that Shen Qingyi should help him deal with the Black Iron Villa.

However, Shen Qingyi was never willing, refusing quite decisively.

About ten days passed.

Every day was a refusal.

Then, he stopped seeing that Gang Leader Zhu come by.

It seemed he had given up.

Through his observations and hearsay during this time.

Chen An learned that Shen Qingyi was a Foundation Establishment Mid-Stage powerhouse, and her strength was extremely formidable.

But exactly which level of the mid-stage she was at, that was unknown.

Chen An only knew one thing: Shen Qingyi was currently invincible within the Bamboo Leaf Forest.

At the same time, he also learned about the strength of both the Bamboo Leaf Gang and the Black Iron Villa.

On the side of the Bamboo Leaf Gang, the Gang Leader Zhu Tiancheng was a powerhouse with a cultivation base reaching Foundation Establishment Level 3, with seven Foundation Establishment Level 1 Elders under his command.

As for the Black Iron Villa, the Gang Leader Hong Zetian was a powerhouse with a cultivation base reaching Foundation Establishment Level 4, and he possessed ten Foundation Establishment powerhouse Elders, two of whom had reached Foundation Establishment Level 2.

Comparing the strength of both sides, the Bamboo Leaf Gang was completely outmatched by the Black Iron Villa.

Therefore, it was no wonder the Bamboo Leaf Gang was being suppressed by the Black Iron Villa.

The disparity in strength was simply too vast.

In the blink of an eye.

Several more days passed.

This day was the thirteenth day since the test began.

In the afternoon, during the Shen hour.

Chen An finished today's alchemy task and walked out of the alchemy room at Zhenbao Hang.

He went to Shopkeeper Liu, handed the Recording Stone and medicine bottle in his hand to Shopkeeper Liu, and said, "Shopkeeper Liu, this is the 150 Qi Condensation Pills refined today; please keep them safe."

Shopkeeper Liu counted the quantity, and after confirming it was correct, he couldn't help but smile and say, "Alchemist Chen, counting today's 150 Qi Condensation Pills, the total amount you have refined has already reached 1,950. You only need to refine 50 more tomorrow, and this test will be passed. Congratulations, congratulations!"

"This only grants me the qualification for a recommendation; whether I can join or not still depends on the final outcome. Shopkeeper Liu, please don't be happy for me too early."

Chen An was very Wen; he would never jinx himself until the very last moment, fearing he might fail at the final hurdle.

At this moment, Pan Hui walked over from a corner of Zhenbao Hang and said to Chen An with a smile, "Alchemist Chen, I made some spirit bean sweet soup for Qingyi to eat, and I made a portion for you too. Come over with me and have a taste."

"Thank you for your kind intention, Fellow Daoist Pan, but I have urgent business at home, so I will take my leave first."

Chen An politely declined Pan Hui's kindness and left after dropping that sentence.

Now that he knew Shen Qingyi was the fiancée of the Bamboo Leaf Gang's leader, out of concern for his own safety and that of his family, he had to keep his distance from Shen Qingyi.

There were plenty of beautiful flowers in this world; there was no need to fixate on picking a flower with a venomous snake coiled beneath it.

Even if this flower was beautiful, it was not worth it.

"Qingyi, why do I feel like Alchemist Chen has been deliberately distancing himself from us lately?"

Returning to the place where they drank the sweet soup, Pan Hui said with some depression.

Shen Qingyi took a sip of the sweet soup and explained in a flat tone, "Alchemist Chen is wary that I am Gang Leader Zhu's fiancée and is deliberately distancing himself because he doesn't want to offend Gang Leader Zhu. Pan Hui, you should stop bothering Alchemist Chen in the future."

"Alchemist Chen is too cowardly!"

Pan Hui frowned slightly, her tone filled with dissatisfaction.

Because her husband had been taken to the battlefield by people from the Bamboo Leaf Gang and his fate remained unknown to this day, she had always held a strong grudge against Gang Leader Zhu and spent every day thinking about how to set up Shen Qingyi and Chen An, hoping to ruin the engagement between Shen Qingyi and Gang Leader Zhu to achieve her goal of revenge.

However, what she didn't expect was that Chen An would act like a turtle and start distancing himself from her and Shen Qingyi.

This made her feel very dissatisfied.

A moment later, after finishing the sweet soup.

Pan Hui followed Shen Qingyi upstairs to her room and began speaking ill of Gang Leader Zhu.

She said that during the war between the two gangs, Gang Leader Zhu had established all sorts of excessive rules, not treating the residents of the Bamboo Leaf Forest as human beings at all, causing many residents to die miserably.

She said her own husband was taken to the battlefield by people from the Bamboo Leaf Gang, and his life or death remained unknown.

She said that instead of marrying Gang Leader Zhu, Shen Qingyi would be better off marrying Chen An.

She said Chen An was handsome, a Second-tier Alchemist, and full of respect for the wives and concubines in his home, and was famous in the Core Area for being deeply affectionate.

After hearing this, Shen Qingyi said, "Pan Hui, it is fine to say these things to me in private, but do not say them outside. Doing so will not only harm Alchemist Chen but also yourself."

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid; I know what should be said and what shouldn't."

Pan Hui brushed the hair by her ear and asked with a smile, "By the way, Qingyi, what do you think of Alchemist Chen?"

"Handsome, gentle, kind, and talented, but I have no thoughts about him; rather, I have no thoughts about men at all. I only wish to attain the Golden Core."

Shen Qingyi said in a calm tone.

Pan Hui listened and said with envy, "Never mind attaining the Golden Core; if I could attain the Qi Refining Late Stage, I would be willing to live out my life in solitude. Unfortunately, I am just a low-level cultivator and can only rely on men, otherwise, even survival would be a problem."

As she spoke, she added, "If my husband dies on the battlefield and Alchemist Chen doesn't mind me, I would definitely wash myself clean and send myself to him to do as he pleases."

"Pan Hui, there is no need to belittle yourself."

"Qingyi, you don't understand the hardships of us low-level cultivators..."

"..."

While Pan Hui and Shen Qingyi were chatting.

In the guest room next door.

A woman with a slightly charming air was, while engaging in intimacy with her own husband, using the "Art of Walls Having Ears" to eavesdrop on their conversation.

This was a gang member specifically cultivated by the Bamboo Leaf Gang at great cost to serve as a mole; as long as the distance was close enough, her Master-level "Art of Walls Having Ears" could easily break through any soundproofing methods of a Foundation Establishment powerhouse.

This couple had been planted by Gang Leader Zhu in the Zhenbao Hang to serve as moles, and now they could be used to monitor Shen Qingyi.

After a moment, they finished.

The woman could not even be bothered to put on her clothes, immediately taking paper and pen to begin writing a secret letter.

Then she reached out to summon a spirit pigeon to send the secret letter to Gang Leader Zhu.

On the other side, at Green Willow Alley.

Chen An walked into his home and saw a scene he had become incredibly familiar with over these past few days: his daughter Chen Yuejian was being forced by Wen Zhiyun to learn how to guide Spirit Qi into her body, looking miserable.

"Daddy—"

Seeing Chen An return, Chen Yuejian immediately called out to him with a look that suggested she was about to cry.

She dragged out the last "Daddy" for a long time, sounding extremely aggrieved.

"Xiao Yuejian, be good, listen to your Mother Wen."

Chen An stepped forward and patted his daughter's head, telling her to continue learning how to guide Spirit Qi into her body.

Because the sooner his daughter learned to guide Spirit Qi into her body, the sooner he could receive the system's rewards.

In the blink of an eye.

More than half an hour passed.

Gu Xinyue finished preparing dinner and called everyone to the hall to eat.

Chen An sat at the table.

Song Huaying sat at the table.

Wen Zhiyun and Chen Yuejian had not yet sat down.

"Mother Wen, I want to eat."

Smelling the fragrance of food drifting from the hall, Chen Yuejian's little stomach rumbled with hunger, and the expression on her small face was both pitiful and helpless.

However, Wen Zhiyun, who usually doted on her, felt no inner fluctuation and said coldly, "You can already sense Spirit Qi and mobilize the Spirit Qi in the air; you are only one step away from learning to guide Spirit Qi into your body. Grit your teeth and persevere for me; you will eat only when you have learned it today."

"Ugh—"

Chen Yuejian was so aggrieved she wanted to cry, but under Wen Zhiyun's pressure, she could only endure the hunger and persevere.

Half a stick of incense later.

The three people in the hall had finished eating.

Chen Yuejian was still in the courtyard learning to guide Spirit Qi into her body.

Wen Zhiyun was on the side, responsible for supervising.

"Mother~"

"Daddy~"

Seeing her father and mother come out of the room, Chen Yuejian immediately felt so aggrieved she wanted to cry.

Seeing this, Wen Zhiyun glared at her: "It's useless no matter who you call; in this house, even your father has to obediently listen to me. Keep persevering for me!"

Chen An's mouth twitched slightly after hearing this, thinking that this tsundere concubine was becoming more and more arrogant now that she was pregnant; he would have to severely discipline her once the child was born.

"Husband, why don't we let Xiao Yuejian come inside to eat first?"

Song Huaying, who was usually strict with her daughter, felt that her daughter was pitiful and could not bear to see her go hungry, wanting to rescue her from Wen Zhiyun's clutches.

But she did not dare to say it to Wen Zhiyun, only daring to say it to Chen An.

Chen An actually also felt that Wen Zhiyun's actions were not quite appropriate.

If Wen Zhiyun were being this strict with her own daughter, that would be fine.

But the problem was, Chen Yuejian was Song Huaying's daughter.

Just as Chen An was thinking about how to speak so he could maintain the dignity of both his little delicate wife and his tsundere concubine, the surrounding air suddenly flowed noticeably.

He looked in the direction of the air's flow and saw the small figure of his daughter Chen Yuejian with her brows tightly furrowed.

Was the air surging into his daughter's body?

His daughter had learned to guide Spirit Qi into her body!!!

Chen An had just reacted and had not yet had time to get excited and make a sound when a notification message suddenly popped up before his eyes.

【Your daughter Chen Yuejian has mastered the method of guiding Spirit Qi into the body and has taken the first step on the immortal path; reward: one Top-Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.】

PS: Setting out the bowl, begging for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!