After the ritual, all eight of Chen Chen’s Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters began to carefully scrutinize the pill formulas.
Having received some teaching from Chen Chen, they were not entirely clueless at this juncture, as they would occasionally even exclaim in admiration and applaud after noticing some subtle but amazing details.
As for the other chaperons, they chimed in at the back for the sake of fitting in.
There was peace and harmony in the Cave Abode, full of an academic atmosphere.
About two hours passed.
Yu Huo suddenly took a deep breath and walked towards Chen Chen with a grave expression, seemingly drained and deficient.
“Junior Brother, let’s stop here for today. We’ve already spent the entire time looking at the stone wall and I think that’s enough. If we continue, it will only disrupt my previous thoughts.”
“Is it that serious? Okay, then,” Chen Chen nodded, somewhat agreeing with Yu Huo’s statement.
“Junior Brother, is there a quiet place here? My elixir cauldron cannot wait any longer… There are too many ideas in my head, and I have to put them to practice in order to test my theories.”
Yu Huo kept squeezing his hands, which was an action that he would subconsciously perform whenever he had a strong desire to refine pills.
Chen Chen had been waiting for him to say that. He hurriedly replied, “Yes, yes, yes! I’ve not only prepared a place, I also prepared all the materials for you long ago. Senior Brother, just go ahead and try your hands at it! Don’t stand on ceremony for me.”
“Okay! That’s so thoughtful of you! But I’ve brought a lot of materials with me too. I’ll ask you for some if there’s anything I’m short of later.”
After saying that, Yu Huo left straight away, without mentioning a single word about who the elixirs he refined would belong to.
That made Chen Chen a little dumbfounded, but Yu Huo was obviously too excited and wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to the minor details…
With that thought, Chen Chen hurriedly whispered something to Yuan Qingtian, who was beside him.
Hearing his words, Yuan Qingtian’s body flickered and he quickly flew far away from the ancient Cave Abode.
After saying some polite things to Yu Huo, he took him away too.
As soon as they left the Cave Abode, the sounds of metal clanging attracted everyone’s attention.
The sounds were made by seven or eight scrawny cultivators who were drenched in sweat and digging into the ground.
After painstakingly digging seven or eight times, they finally dug out a piece of low-grade Spirit Stone, which made them burst into tears of joy.
Looking at the low-grade Spirit Stone that was covered in sweat, Yu Huo frowned slightly and asked, “Junior Brother, is the State of Jin in need of Spirit Stones to such an extent?”
Hearing his words, Chen Chen smiled coldly and chastised them furiously, “Didn’t I tell you not to dig here? What if you offend our distinguished guests!?!”
Those people were so frightened that they dropped to their knees and started begging for mercy, their eyes full of panic.
Seeing this, Chen Chen looked at Yu Huo and spoke with an apologetic smile, “Senior Brother Yu Huo, the State of Jin has put in all our resources to build Mount Wufeng… So we’re a little financially poor now, but rest assured, we will absolutely supply you with a sufficient amount of all the medicinal herbs that you need.
“The State of Jin is just a small country. Even if we get exterminated, it won’t affect the overall situation of the human race. However, your research in alchemy can bring endless benefits to the entire human race. I know the priorities.”
Hearing this, Yu Huo was astonished, because no one expected that a small country like the State of Jin would pay such a huge price for them!
‘Yeah… They’re just a small country after all.’
The adviser who was beside him covered his face and started weeping. He murmured, “They’re so small, but they’re taking care of everyone… Lord Chen Chen is really a peerless warrior, I feel so ashamed of myself!”
Chen Chen had a look of bewilderment.
‘I don’t remember hiring this adviser to put on an act with me. Why does he always know how to say the right thing at the right time?’
“Junior Brother, we are too selfish, please don’t blame them. I have some elixirs here, you may take all of them. All the elixirs that we refine during our stay here will be given to the State of Jin too.
“Although these pills can’t repair the damage done to the State of Jin, we alchemists can only do so much. Please don’t mind it.”
“But alchemists have rules to follow too. How can I accept your elixirs for free?” Chen Chen said with a conflicted expression, holding onto several bottles of elixirs.
Hearing this, Yu Huo pretended to be angry.
“Now that the human race is in danger, the State of Jin has already sacrificed everything to help! As an alchemist, how can I have the cheek to be so particular about the rules? Junior Brother, you’re underestimating me! Let’s not dwell on this any further. It’s settled!”
After saying that, Yu Huo left nobly without giving Chen Chen time to respond.
Looking at Yu Huo’s back, Chen Chen was slightly dazed for a moment, but he soon had a heartfelt smile on his face.
Although Yu Huo was honest, he was a man of principle. In short, he was quite adorable, and Chen Chen decided that he would surely take good care of Yu Huo if he became invincible one day.
Thinking of this, he waved his hand and instructed the cultivators, whom he had hired to pretend to dig the soil for Spirit Stones, to leave.
Since Yu Huo declared that all the elixirs he refined during his stay would be given to Chen Chen, the other Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters would naturally follow suit too. If Chen Chen continued deceiving them, he would seem a little mean for doubting their morals.
After the matter of the pills was decided, Chen Chen contacted his master, Xiao Wuyou.
Mount Wufeng was to be kept confidential for now, and most people were unaware of its existence. Hence, both the emissaries of Great Xia and Xiao Wuyou were in the Tianyun Clan at this juncture.
“Master, has the emissary of Great Xia not left yet?”
“Yes, he hasn’t left yet. He even helped drive many demons out of the State of Jin. I feel that they’re being too proactive and kind.”
Even Xiao Wuyou felt it, let alone Chen Chen.
However, no matter what the other party’s agenda was, he still had to meet them.
After all, strictly speaking, the State of Jin was a vassal state of the Great Xia Dynasty.
After pondering over it for a moment, Chen Chen arranged the affairs of Mount Wufeng and flew towards the Tianyun Clan.
An hour later, Chen Chen arrived back at the Tianyun Clan.
The so-called emissary of the Great Xia had been waiting in the Clan Master’s hall for a long time.
When he saw the emissary of Great Xia, Chen Chen got a great shock because the person looked rather familiar, as he felt that he had seen him somewhere before.
“You must be Chen Chen, the successor of the Tianyun Clan who has defeated all the demons, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. My name is Jiang Chu, the Imperial General of Great Xia, and I’ve been ordered to provide aid to the State of Jin, as well as deliver a decree from the higher-ups.”
Jiang Chu was extremely polite, and when he saw Chen Chen, he didn’t put on airs, seeming extremely humble and modest.
That was the proper attitude that a cultivator with an innate spirit body should have.
Hearing this name, Chen Chen came to a sudden realization.
‘No wonder he looks so familiar. It turns out he resembles Jiang Ran, whom I killed back then.
‘If I’m not wrong, they should be brothers.’
However, his identity in the Demon Clan was not exposed, so Chen Chen reckoned that Junior Clan Master probably did not know that he was the Junior Clan Master of the Demon Clan, and also the culprit behind his brother’s assassination.
“Hello fellow Daoist Jiang Chu. During this period of time, I went to the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan and managed to join them. I’ve been learning alchemy, so I haven’t been in the Tianyun Clan. Please forgive me.”
Chen Chen kept a straight face, but his attitude was very polite.
Of course, he was not just being polite but also warning Jiang Chu not to get any funny ideas.
Jiang Chu was shocked to hear his words at first, but he soon smiled and said, “It’s alright. Congratulations on being able to join the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan. In fact, the Great Xia Dynasty values you as much as the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan does.
“I’m here on behalf of the Great Xia, and I would like to officially appoint you as the commander-in-chief of the two states. We are in charge of all human cultivators in the two states!”
Hearing this, Chen Chen was surprised.
That was equivalent to giving him a formal title as an official, just like Hu Xian’er’s identity in the demon clan.
It wouldn’t affect him much, but it was a righteous title.
After all, the State of Zhou had officially come under his rule too.
‘Is it simply because they don’t like Zhou Renlong?’ Chen Chen could not help but wonder.
He knew that the strongest cultivator within the two states should be Zhou Renlong, thus it would only be right to let Zhou Renlong take on that position.
However, they chose Chen Chen instead. If he wasn’t close to Zhou Renlong, the latter would undoubtedly feel uneasy about it.
Although he didn’t understand what they were thinking, there was no reason for him not to accept the position.
“I, Chen Chen, will certainly live up to the expectations of the military of Great Xia and the entire human race!” Chen Chen said seriously, accepting the position.
Jiang Chu was quite pleased to see this. He then very solemnly handed a token engraved with intricate patterns to Chen Chen.
“Fellow Daoist, my main mission has been completed. I will return to the Great Xia Dynasty after exterminating the remaining demons in the State of Jin. If you have any doubts, feel free to come to the military camp to look for me! I have some military affairs to attend to, so I shall take my leave now!”
After saying that, Jiang Chu turned around and walked out of the hall.
The expression on his face changed as soon as he turned around. His gleeful smile turned into a sinister sulk.