Chapter 73: Wen Yueyao's scream!

"Serving as the Herb Garden Elder..."

Jiang Ye's aged eyes lit up slightly.

This leisurely Elder position was indeed suitable for him.

From now on, he would be the top leader in this herb garden; embezzling would be much more convenient than secretly picking a few Tiankui Grasses before.

He only took some Tiankui Grass from time to time; actually, the most expensive thing in the herb garden was the Earth Fire Ginseng guarded by Chen Lili.

A mature Earth Fire Ginseng had a market price of at least several thousand taels of silver, and it was priceless.

He stopped his thoughts in time, his face showing no emotion, just cupping his hands politely at Luo Song: "Thank you for the promotion, Liu Fengzhu."

"Hahahaha, I should be the one thanking you, Little Jiang!"

The old man laughed heartily, the laughter echoing at the peak, shaking the surrounding air slightly.

He patted Jiang Ye's shoulder, that thin, dry palm actually containing astonishing strength, making Jiang Ye's shoulder slightly numb.

"By the way, you've been promoted to Elder, the sect has a reward of twenty thousand contribution points, you can go to the Administration Hall to collect it tomorrow, and by the way, you can change your token and clothes."

Hearing this, a hint of strangeness flashed in Jiang Ye's eyes.

He remembered Wen Yueyao got a reward of thirty thousand contribution points when she broke through to the Embracing the Pill Realm.

It seems the status of a true disciple is still more noble.

However, having twenty thousand contribution points is not bad either.

This means he can soon exchange for another Qi-Nurturing Method.

"Little Jiang..."

The old man wanted to say something else, when suddenly a wave of sleepiness surged, and he couldn't help but yawn.

That yawn was earth-shattering, even making his eye sockets well up with tears.

"Can't do it, I'm old, it's easy to get sleepy."

He rubbed his eyes, and that spirited state instantly withered, as if the excitement just now was just a flash in the pan.

"Little Jiang, let's chat next time."

A hint of obscure astonishment flashed on Jiang Ye's face.

This old man, a second ago he was full of life patting his shoulder, and a second later he was sleepy like this?

He nodded slightly, just about to bid farewell.

Bang.

A soft sound.

The old man had actually laid straight on the scorching ground, eyes tightly closed, breathing evenly, and had actually fallen asleep directly.

The ground was roasted scorching hot by the tripod furnace, yet he didn't notice it at all, even smacking his lips, turning over, and sleeping incomparably peacefully.

"......"

Jiang Ye was slightly stunned.

He looked deeply at this old man who was sleeping soundly—that sparse white hair, those wrinkles like tree bark, that thin, dry body curled into a ball.

Who could have thought that this was the Tianyang Liu Fengzhu, a powerhouse who could be ranked in the entire sect.

He didn't disturb him again, just cupped his hands at that "sleeping corpse," then turned and walked down the mountain at a leisurely pace.

After Jiang Ye returned to the Tiankui Herb Garden, the scene at the peak just now kept echoing in his mind—Luo Song's turbid old eyes suddenly rising with two real flames, burning his eyes until they stung, forcing him to close them.

"Could that be some kind of secret technique..."

He pondered inwardly, those aged eyes narrowing slightly, full of thought.

To be honest, he was extremely interested in this move.

When fighting someone, if he could suddenly do this, making the opponent instantly blind, even if only for a moment, it would be enough to decide life and death.

Moreover, the effect of that secret technique was more than that.

Luo Song could actually see through the Great Sun Heavenly Flame true qi in his body at a glance; this was simply no different from having X-ray vision.

If he could learn this technique, when fighting others in the future, wouldn't the opponent's bottom line be clear at a glance?

"Should have asked that old man before he got sleepy..."

Jiang Ye sighed inwardly, feeling quite annoyed.

Who could have thought that old man could be so outrageous, one moment full of life patting his shoulder, the next moment lying directly on the ground sleeping soundly, not even letting him finish a farewell sentence.

Just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside the herb garden.

Jiang Ye shifted his gaze, only to see Lu Ming and Chen Lili walking toward this side cautiously not far away.

That pace was light, the posture so respectful, simply like walking on the tip of a knife.

It was the first time he had seen these two walk so "obediently."

The two stopped at the entrance of the herb garden, didn't barge in directly like usual, but stood there properly, bowing slightly at Jiang Ye respectfully:

"Old Jiang..."

Jiang Ye looked at their appearance and shook his head with a smile:

"Come in, no need to be so formal."

Hearing this, the two breathed a sigh of relief at the same time, the tension on their faces clearly relaxing a bit, and only then did they step into the herb garden.

"Sit wherever."

Jiang Ye waved his hand casually, pointing to a few blue stones in front of the wooden house.

He himself remained sitting cross-legged in place, not standing up.

After the two sat down, they had a hesitant look, looking at each other, neither speaking first.

Seeing the two who were usually chatterboxes become like this, Jiang Ye smiled helplessly:

"Say whatever you want to say. Why, has this old man become a flood dragon or a fierce beast?"

Seeing Jiang Ye's attitude toward them was still the same as before, without a hint of arrogance or distance, Lu Ming finally set his mind at ease, gave a hehe laugh, and that familiar fawning smile returned to his face:

"Old Jiang, heard you've been promoted to Herb Garden Elder?"

On the side, although Chen Lili didn't speak, she was staring at Jiang Ye with bright eyes, full of curiosity and anticipation.

Jiang Ye was stunned for a moment.

No.

Has this news spread so fast?

He had only just returned from the peak not long ago.

Looking at the eyes full of curiosity and anticipation of the two, he nodded calmly: "Hmm."

Hearing Jiang Ye's confirmed answer, the two took a deep breath, simultaneously took out ten thousand taels of banknotes from their bodies, and handed them to Jiang Ye respectfully, "Congratulations to Old Jiang for being promoted to Herb Garden Elder, this is a little token of our heart..."

Jiang Ye shook his head slightly and pushed the banknotes back directly, "Haven't you already given me your heart last time, take it back!"

Seeing Jiang Ye refusing to accept, the two's attitude was unusually stubborn, insisting on stuffing the banknotes into his hand, muttering "Last time was congratulating you for breaking through to Embracing the Pill," "This time is congratulating you for being promoted to Elder," "It's different."

"Sigh..." Jiang Ye sighed lightly, looking at the stubborn appearance of the two, his tone carrying a bit of helplessness, yet also a hint of seriousness: "Are you trying to use banknotes to stain the friendship between us?"

As soon as these words came out, both were stunned.

Lu Ming was stunned, those small eyes full of disbelief.

Chen Lili was even more emotional; this girl who was usually carefree and would spout fierce words at every turn actually had her eyes slightly red, a layer of thin moisture swirling in her eyes.

They clearly didn't expect Jiang Ye to say the two words "friendship."

Now Jiang Ye was an Elder in the Embracing the Pill Realm, while they were just two Transformation of Force disciples, their strength not even ranking in Tianyangfeng, their status worlds apart.

If it were someone else, they would have long ignored them.

But Jiang Ye not only had the same attitude, but also said there was friendship between them...

The two put the banknotes away somewhat shamefully, the expression on their faces carrying a bit more heartfelt respect on top of the respect from before.

"Old Jiang, if there's anything in the future, just order us!"

Lu Ming said excitedly, his voice louder than usual.

Chen Lili didn't speak with red eyes, but followed by nodding heavily.

Jiang Ye looked at them, a faint smile appearing on his aged face.

He waved his hand:

"Alright, don't just stand there."

"Sit down and chat, I'll inevitably have to trouble you to handle some things in the future."

The two looked at each other, that familiar lively expression appearing on their faces again, and they sat down on the blue stones beside Jiang Ye.

Lu Ming's round face was piled with smiles, while Chen Lili pursed her lips, her eyebrows curved, clearly secretly happy about Jiang Ye's "inevitably have to trouble you."

Afterward, the three chatted, from the recent situation in the sect to cultivation insights, and then from cultivation insights to news in the prefecture city.

Chatting and chatting, the topic turned to herbs.

Jiang Ye said with a headache: "I've always wanted to buy more Snow Yang Grass and Green Water Luo, but I ran to several pharmacies in the prefecture city before and didn't manage to buy much."

Hearing this, Lu Ming on the side suddenly got spirited: "Old Jiang, if you want to buy rare herbs, you can go directly to the Chen family!"

"Oh? Chen family?"

Jiang Ye raised his eyebrows.

Lu Ming knew Jiang Ye came from a small county and wasn't very familiar with the power structure of the prefecture city, so he explained immediately:

"Old Jiang, there are quite a few families with strength in the prefecture city."

"But the truly famous ones with the deepest foundation are only three: the Feng family, the Chen family, and the Yang family."

As soon as his voice fell, Chen Lili's plump, graceful body trembled slightly imperceptibly, that pair of originally smiling eyes flashing with a complex light, her hands subconsciously clenching into fists, her knuckles turning slightly white.

Jiang Ye keenly noticed this girl's abnormality, but he didn't point it out.

Lu Ming didn't notice Chen Lili's abnormality at all, still talking endlessly:

"Among these three families, the Feng family's business involves quite a lot, the Yang family mainly does ironware business, while the Chen family mainly does medicinal herb business."

"Those rare herbs on the market, the Chen family definitely has a way to get them."

"Old Jiang, with your current status, just saying a word at the Chen family, buying those herbs should be a small matter."

Jiang Ye nodded thoughtfully, "Looks like I have to go to the Chen family when I have time."

Immediately, he looked at Lu Ming with some appreciation, "You kid know quite a lot."

"Just some useless information, as long as it can be of value to Old Jiang!"

Lu Ming got praised, his round face smiling even more brightly, and added another sentence: "By the way, Old Jiang, now besides those three families in the prefecture city, Zhang Zhang Shixiong Jin Hai's Jin family from Jin Chen Peak has been very popular recently, quite having the potential to become the fourth largest family."

"Jin family?"

A hint of playfulness flashed in Jiang Ye's aged eyes.

Just then, a burst of urgent and light footsteps suddenly came from outside the herb garden.

The three looked toward the sound, only to see a graceful figure walking quickly toward this side.

That pace was light as the wind, and in the blink of an eye, she had arrived at the entrance of the herb garden.

It was Wen Yueyao.

Lu Ming and Chen Lili looked at each other and tactfully stood up to bid farewell to Jiang Ye: "Old Jiang, Zhang Zhang Shixiong Xu Xu Shijie Wen is here to find you, so we'll take our leave first."

The two walked quickly toward the outside of the herb garden, bowing slightly respectfully when passing by Wen Yueyao, "Greetings, Zhang Zhang Shixiong Xu Xu Shijie Wen."

"Hmm."

Wen Yueyao responded indifferently.

"It's been a while since I've seen Miss Wen."

Jiang Ye stood up with a smile and greeted her.

Wen Yueyao walked quickly to Jiang Ye, felt the scorching aura like a blazing sun around him, and laughed heartily:

"Hahahaha, Old Jiang, you hid it from me so well, I wouldn't have known you had successfully embraced the pill if I hadn't heard those disciples discussing it today!"

She sized Jiang Ye up, her eyes full of amazement:

"It's only been ten days or so since we went to exchange for the Qi-Nurturing Method, right."

"Your talent is not inferior to mine at all."

"This old man just broke through by fluke, how can I compare with Miss Wen." Jiang Ye smiled faintly.

A hint of curiosity appeared on Wen Yueyao's pretty oval face, she leaned closer and asked: "By the way, Old Jiang, which Qi-Nurturing Method did you choose, is it the 'Furnace True Fire Qi-Nurturing Method'..."

Jiang Ye still had a faint smile, "After much consideration, this old man chose the 'Great Sun Heavenly Flame Qi-Nurturing Method'."

"Ah... ah???"

The expression on Wen Yueyao's face froze abruptly, her rosy little mouth opened, full of disbelief and horror.

The young girl was stunned for a good while.

"Old Jiang... you're not joking with me..."

Wen Yueyao's voice was trembling.

"No."

Jiang Ye nodded calmly.

Wen Yueyao stretched her little head in front of Jiang Ye with a "whoosh," opened those pitch-black eyes wide, sized Jiang Ye up carefully, and asked at the same time: "Old Jiang, how did you nurture fire energy???"

The distance was so close that Jiang Ye could even feel the girl's breath.

Jiang Ye stepped back quietly and said: "It should be a fluke."

"Fluke? How is that possible?"

Wen Yueyao shook her head excitedly, her speaking speed becoming faster:

"The Liu Fengzhu once spent three years practicing the 'Great Sun Heavenly Flame Qi-Nurturing Method,' and failed."

"Zhang Zhang Shixiong Zheng Feng also spent more than a year practicing this Qi-Nurturing Method, and didn't even nurture a single trace of yang fire qi."

The more the girl spoke, the more incredible she felt, that pair of eyes full of light where confusion and shock intertwined.

Seeing Wen Yueyao's spirit of getting to the bottom of things, Jiang Ye shook his head helplessly:

"That might be... this old man still has a bit of comprehension..."

Hearing this, Wen Yueyao was silent.

She just looked at Jiang Ye fixedly, her eyes extremely complex, as if looking at a monster.

After a good while, the girl lifted her head abruptly, excitement in her beautiful eyes, "Old Jiang, I want to spar with you, to test the power of this Great Sun Heavenly Flame true qi, can I!"

Jiang Ye originally wanted to refuse; he was afraid that the Great Sun Heavenly Flame true qi would be too strong and hurt the girl.

But before he could speak, Wen Yueyao said first:

"Old Jiang, you just successfully embraced the pill, your application of true qi might not be that proficient yet, it's okay, I'll hold back my strength, I won't hurt you!"

Hearing this, Jiang Ye gave a helpless bitter smile, "Then this old man will accompany Miss Wen for a few moves."

"Okay!"

Wen Yueyao nodded with satisfaction, stepped back a few steps to stand firm, and cupped her hands at Jiang Ye slightly:

"Old Jiang, be careful!"

The moment the words fell, the girl turned her waist and hips, and it was a sharp whip kick toward Jiang Ye's face.

Swish.

This kick was fast and fierce, and a sharp breaking sound even rang in the air.

Fire-red internal energy surged from Wen Yueyao's leg; that was her Furnace True Fire internal energy, condensed and scorching.

Clearly, she wanted to use her own true qi to have a head-on comparison with Jiang Ye's Great Sun Heavenly Flame true qi.

Facing the girl's sharp whip kick, Jiang Ye didn't panic, raised one hand, and met it with a palm.

On his palm, a wisp of red-gold true qi emerged quietly, like the morning sun rising, gentle yet containing astonishing power.

Bang!!!

The moment the sole of the foot and the palm collided, a dull explosion rang in the air.

Immediately after—

Sizzle sizzle sizzle...

The two true qis were like water and fire meeting, crazily eroding and burning each other.

However, what made Wen Yueyao's pupils shrink was that the fire-red internal energy on her foot was like white snow meeting a blazing sun, and in that instant, it was swallowed up completely by that red-gold internal energy!

That red-gold true qi was overbearing, crushing everything in its path without the slightest pause.

"What..."

The pupils in the girl's eyes shrank, a look of horror just emerging.

The next instant.

That red-gold true qi, with undiminished momentum, burned the shoe on the girl's foot into ashes, revealing a...

Then, an indescribable smell drifted into Jiang Ye's nose.

"Ah..."

Jiang Ye was also stunned, a hint of bewilderment rarely appearing on his aged face.

"Ah!!!"

At this time, Wen Yueyao's scream exploded over the herb garden. ===== CHAPTER 74 =====