Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 163: Chapter 163 Great Wilderness Mountain Range

The group quickly left the jurisdiction of the Qingyun Sect. At Pavilion Master Zhang’s request, everyone took off their sect attire and changed into their usual clothes. This was to maintain a low profile; otherwise, the Qingyun Sect’s reputation would attract crowds wherever they went, which would hinder their progress.

Along the way, Li Zongrui was rather well-behaved. Although his gaze toward Ye Qingchen was still filled with animosity, he didn’t resort to verbal assaults. This surprised Ye Qingchen. It seems the Young Sect Master’s temper has cooled considerably during his two months of reflection. In reality, he isn’t inherently bad, just overly naive and thus easily swayed. Li Susu managed to fool me for ten years; manipulating someone as simple as Li Zongrui must have been child’s play for her. Because of this, and especially for Li Qingfeng’s sake, Ye Qingchen decided that as long as Li Zongrui could come to his senses, he wouldn’t mind letting bygones be bygones.

While Ye Qingchen was lost in thought, Elder Wujie approached Pavilion Master Zhang with a puzzled expression. ”Pavilion Master Zhang,” he said, ”this appears to be the path to the Great Wilderness Mountain Range. Wouldn’t the main road to the capital be faster?” Despite being the First Elder of the Qingyun Sect, Elder Wujie spoke with a polite and consultative tone. This only served to highlight the respected status that alchemists enjoyed everywhere.

Pavilion Master Zhang smiled and replied, ”You may not be aware, Elder Wujie, but there’s still some time before the Alchemy Dao competition begins. We can easily make it in time by taking this route.”

After his reply, Pavilion Master Zhang beckoned Ye Qingchen to his side. With a smile, he said, ”Qingchen, I specially chose this mountain path for you. The Great Wilderness Mountain Range is fraught with danger, but it is also rich in various medicinal herbs. Along the way, you must carefully identify and search for them. After all, recognizing herbs is a crucial part of the Alchemy Dao! Don’t waste the opportunity this journey presents.”

Ye Qingchen nodded, deeply moved. This is such an important competition, yet Pavilion Master Zhang deliberately chose this route just to help me improve my Alchemy Dao. His kindness is beyond words. Although I possess the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra, which contains knowledge of countless herbs, reading from a book can never compare to gaining hands-on experience. Moreover, with an expert alchemist like Pavilion Master Zhang there to provide guidance, Ye Qingchen was determined not to waste this chance.

As soon as they entered the Great Wilderness Mountain Range, Ye Qingchen began observing his surroundings and searching for medicinal herbs. He deliberately kept his Dual Pupil Martial Soul inactive. While it would make finding herbs faster and easier, it wouldn’t contribute much to his growth in the Alchemy Dao. Instead, Ye Qingchen focused on analyzing the terrain—sunlight, mountain contours, types of trees and shrubs, locations of lakes, and the distribution of Monster Beasts—to predict where certain herbs might grow. By constantly cross-referencing the records in the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra with his observations, he soon found a rare medicinal herb. However, the Monster Beast guarding it had reached the Fourth-Level, equivalent to a human cultivator at the third layer of the Great Martial Master Realm.

”Zong Rui, go take care of that Monster Beast!” Elder Wujie commanded Li Zongrui in an unquestionable tone.

Li Zongrui grunted in acknowledgment and engaged the Fourth-Level Monster Beast in battle. Ever since Li Zongrui’s defeat at Ye Qingchen’s hands, Elder Wujie had been contemplating how to properly temper his disciple. Although I know Ye Qingchen didn’t rely solely on his own strength to win, for a third-layer Great Martial Master to be defeated by a seventh-layer Martial Master is simply inexcusable. Therefore, Elder Wujie had decided to make Li Zongrui fight more on this trip to hone his Martial Techniques.

Li Zongrui naturally understood his master meant well, so he harbored no complaints and was actually quite pleased. True to his title as the Young Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect, he swiftly defeated the Fourth-Level Monster Beast, which was equal to him in strength. When the battle was over, Ye Qingchen walked over to collect the herb without so much as a glance at Li Zongrui. This infuriated the young sect master. I did all the work, yet he gets to reap the rewards without even a word of thanks!

What Li Zongrui found even more unbearable was what happened next. After Ye Qingchen finished collecting the herb, Pavilion Master Zhang and the other team members heaped praise upon him. Meanwhile, Li Zongrui, who had just defeated a powerful Monster Beast, was being sternly reprimanded by his master, Elder Wujie, for various flaws in his technique during the fight. This stark contrast was more than Li Zongrui could stomach. I was the one who fought! Why am I being scolded while he’s being praised? He couldn’t understand it, and of course, no one bothered to explain.

The group had already moved on under Pavilion Master Zhang’s lead. In truth, however, it was Ye Qingchen who was guiding them, as the entire point of taking this path was for him to practice his Alchemy Dao. Scenes like the last one repeated themselves continuously throughout their journey in the Great Wilderness Mountain Range. Each time, Li Zongrui would fight, Ye Qingchen would collect the herb, and afterward, Ye Qingchen would be praised by the group while Li Zongrui was reprimanded by his master.

”Halt! This mountain is ours, these trees we did plant! If you wish to pass, leave your valuables behind!”

Just as Li Zongrui’s frustration was peaking, a pair of burly men suddenly appeared on the path, blocking their way.

”What rotten luck,” Li Zongrui sneered. ”In this day and age, we still run into common robbers.” As the esteemed Young Sect Master of the Qingyun Sect, not only am I forced to be that brat Ye Qingchen’s personal laborer, but now I’m being held up by these blind fools!

In truth, the bandits couldn’t be blamed. Had they known they were attempting to rob a team from the Qingyun Sect, they wouldn’t have dared to try, not even if they were a hundred times braver. The real reason they were targeted was that everyone was in plain clothes. Furthermore, since they were all alchemists, they appeared scholarly and weak—the perfect targets for opportunistic bandits.

Li Zongrui didn’t waste words on pleasantries; he simply stepped forward and taught the bandits a lesson. What caught Ye Qingchen’s attention was that Li Zongrui only drove the bandits off without killing any of them. So he isn’t a bloodthirsty person after all.

After dealing with the bandits, Li Zongrui’s mood improved considerably. After all, while he was fighting, he had pictured every one of them as Ye Qingchen