Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 200: Chapter 200 Jade and Stone Fused Together

Ye Qingchen had never considered that the Fire Poison could open the jade stone. However, since the mysterious woman had said so, there must be a reason. After all, her strength was unfathomable and her origins were a complete mystery. Besides, Ye Qingchen did not feel the mysterious woman had any reason to deceive him. With this in mind, his gaze fell upon the jade stone on the table before him.

He then carefully and slowly dripped the Fire Poison from the vial in his hand onto the jade stone. At first, he only let a single drop fall, wanting to see if there would be any change. To his disappointment, the jade stone remained the same. The moment the Fire Poison touched its surface, it simply dissipated into nothingness.

Frowning, Ye Qingchen activated his Dual Pupil Martial Soul. Staring intently at the jade stone, he once again began dripping Fire Poison onto it. This time, he dripped about ten drops. Although there was no change visible to the naked eye, through his Dual Pupil Martial Soul, he could see that the jade stone was gradually dissolving.

”It really works!”

Ye Qingchen was overjoyed and continued to drip the Fire Poison onto the jade stone. Once he had emptied the entire vial, the jade stone had shrunk by a visible amount. Seeing the change, he no longer hesitated. He took out all the Fire Poison he had collected and dripped it onto the stone. Although the Fire Poison was incredibly useful to him, his stubborn nature won out. After studying the jade stone for so many days, he could not stop himself now that he had finally found a method.

By the time Ye Qingchen had used up all his Fire Poison, the jade stone had eroded by more than half. Although this progress was pleasing, he was still somewhat disappointed.

It seems it’s impossible to extract the Spirit Fire Seed for now. Still, I’ve found the method. As long as I continue to remove the Fire Poison for Qin Zhantian, I’ll eventually be able to dissolve this jade stone completely and get the Spirit Fire Seed inside!

Therefore, Ye Qingchen no longer dwelled on the issue and instead resumed his cultivation. In his spare time, he focused all his energy on elevating his Alchemy Dao Realm.

「Time flew by, and soon, the day of the Alchemy Dao Grand Competition arrived.」

On that day, Vice Pavilion Master Liu knocked on Ye Qingchen’s door early, calling for him to head to the venue. Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s feelings toward Ye Qingchen were a mix of gratification and pity. He was gratified that Ye Qingchen had been in closed-door cultivation day and night; such dedication and passion guaranteed that his future achievements would be limitless. He felt pity because, at seventeen or eighteen years of age, a time when one should be curious about the outside world, Ye Qingchen had ignored the capital’s splendors that so charmed the other Qingyun Sect disciples. Instead, he devoted himself to arduous cultivation, forgoing the pleasures he deserved. How could one not feel for the boy?

Along the way, Vice Pavilion Master Liu constantly inquired about Ye Qingchen’s recent cultivation progress and made sure to answer any questions the young man had about the Alchemy Dao. To the Vice Pavilion Master’s embarrassment, however, despite being a fifth-rank Pill King, he found himself bewildered by some of Ye Qingchen’s questions, unsure how to respond. Fortunately, Ye Qingchen was not without social grace. After receiving a few equivocal answers, he stopped pressing the matter. It was hardly Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s fault. After all, Ye Qingchen possessed the Pill Emperor’s Heart Sutra, and its guidance and annotations were beyond the full comprehension of a mere Pill King.

Soon, the two arrived at the venue for the Alchemy Dao Grand Competition. Outside a pair of towering divine beast statues, two long queues had already formed: one for the various nobles and dignitaries attending as spectators, and the other for the alchemists participating in the competition.

However, under Vice Pavilion Master Liu’s guidance, Ye Qingchen bypassed the long, dragon-like queues. They walked straight down the middle and entered through the main gate, under the watchful gazes of the venue’s guards. This was a privilege exclusive to the disciples of the Qingyun Sect. Although it might have drawn some disgruntled looks, no one dared to say a word. After all, the Qingyun Sect was the number one sect in the Northern Desolate Country.

Afterward, Ye Qingchen followed Vice Pavilion Master Liu to the rest area specially prepared for the Qingyun Sect by the royal family of the Northern Desolate Country, where they regrouped with Pavilion Master Zhang and the others.

Seeing Ye Qingchen arrive, Pavilion Master Zhang nodded. He then gathered the Qingyun Sect alchemists participating in the competition and began to speak in a grave tone.

”You have been in the capital for some time, so I’m sure you have some understanding of this Alchemy Dao Grand Competition. The participants this time are the elites from various sects and clans, as well as the proud disciples of hidden families and expert Loose Cultivators. Compared to them, our Qingyun Sect is indeed insufficiently prepared!”

Pavilion Master Zhang sighed. Vice Pavilion Master Liu knew the worries in his heart, but given Pavilion Master Zhang’s temperament, he could not bring himself to say what needed to be said next.

So, Vice Pavilion Master Liu took over, continuing, ”As the leading sect of the Northern Desolate Country, our Qingyun Sect should be the undisputed number one in both the Martial Dao Realm and the Alchemy Dao. However, this time, the elite alchemists we have sent are all Third-Rank Alchemists. Although you are participating in the sect competition’s youth division, you must know that there are many Fourth-Rank Alchemists who have registered for it this time!”

Vice Pavilion Master Liu had long presided over the Qingyun Sect’s Alchemy Pavilion and thus commanded immense prestige among these alchemists. Hearing his reprimand, they all became deathly silent, none daring to speak.

Even Ye Qingchen felt a sense of urgency. Indeed, although only one rank separated Third-Rank and Fourth-Rank Alchemists, the gap in their Alchemy Dao Realm was like a great chasm, not something easily crossed.

If the Qingyun Sect suffered a complete defeat in the sect competition’s youth division, the humiliation would be immense. The prestige of the Qingyun Sect, painstakingly built by generations of predecessors, would be severely diminished as a result.

This was something Pavilion Master Zhang could not tolerate, and something Vice Pavilion Master Liu could not accept. If the reputation of the Qingyun Sect’s Alchemy Pavilion were to plummet during their tenure, they would consider themselves eternal sinners of the Qingyun Sect.

But things had already reached this point. No amount of motivation could instantly promote these alchemists to the fourth rank. Therefore, Vice Pavilion Master Liu said no more. Instead, both his and Pavilion Master Zhang’s gazes fell upon Ye Qingchen simultaneously.

Among all the alchemists of the younger generation, the only one who could possibly give them a great surprise was undoubtedly Ye Qingchen.