Chapter 170: Chapter 170: Ouyang Chen’s Anger

In the Sword Forest behind Golden Sun Hall, Ouyang Chen sat in the foremost seat, his cold gaze fixed on the figure kneeling before him.

The figure was none other than Xue Gong. Sensing Ouyang Chen’s chilling presence, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he dared not lift his head to meet the gaze of the man in the foremost seat.

"Speak. Explain what happened with Shen Haoran," Ouyang Chen asked calmly.

Today marked the one-month deadline. Xue Gong had promised that Shen Haoran would disappear from the Sect within a month. But now that month was over, and the only news was that Shen Haoran had established the Yao Sect!

"Young Master Chen, don’t you think it would be more satisfying to toy with him and slowly drive him to his death, rather than giving him a quick end?" Xue Gong replied in a low voice.

"Hm?" Ouyang Chen’s brow furrowed at Xue Gong’s words, and he let out a soft sound of inquiry.

"Since he created the Yao Sect, we can just destroy it piece by piece. Making Shen Haoran watch his own hard work turn to dust—that would be far more painful than simply killing him!" Xue Gong explained hurriedly.

At his words, the pressure radiating from Ouyang Chen subsided slightly.

Just as Xue Gong heaved a sigh of relief, sensing Ouyang Chen’s killing intent recede, a dark blur suddenly appeared before him. A deceptively light palm strike landed on his chest. In the next instant, Xue Gong’s body shot backward like a cannonball, skidding for dozens of meters through the Sword Forest before coming to a stop.

The Sword Forest was filled with Spiritual Artifacts Ouyang Chen had collected. As Xue Gong’s body slid past them, countless gashes were torn open, and blood instantly dyed his snow-white robes red!

Ouyang Chen glanced at the downed Xue Gong, lightly dusting off his hands. "What you said made a lot of sense," he said indifferently. "But you still failed your mission. For that, you must be punished."

Seeing Xue Gong’s miserable state, Gou Shi and the others standing behind Ouyang Chen felt their hearts tremble. A chill washed over them, and they dared not even look at Ouyang Chen’s back.

"What is the Yao Sect’s current situation?" Ouyang Chen asked, turning around after an indifferent glance at Xue Gong.

"The Yao Sect is growing rapidly. In just half a month, they’ve recruited over a hundred disciples. However, these disciples aren’t very strong, with most ranging from Spirit Pupil to Tier One Spirit General. The core members are Long Mo, Long Zhen, Zi Mo, and Su Xing. Also..." Gou Shi trailed off.

"Hm? Why did you stop?" Ouyang Chen frowned.

Seeing Ouyang Chen’s displeasure, Gou Shi quickly continued, "Also, the leader of the Ruo Shui Army, Shui Ruolan, gave up her position and went to the Yao Sect to serve as the head of their logistics department!"

BOOM! The moment Gou Shi finished speaking, a terrifying pressure erupted from within Ouyang Chen. Wisps of black energy swirled around him, and the bluestone slabs beneath his feet cracked and exploded!

Feeling the monstrous rage exploding from Ouyang Chen, Gou Shi immediately dropped to his knees. "Young Master Chen, this isn’t my fault!" he stammered. "I’m only reporting the facts!"

Gou Shi was so terrified because he knew Ouyang Chen had invited Shui Ruolan to join the Chen Alliance on several occasions, only to be rejected each time. ’Now she’s abandoned her leadership of the Ruo Shui Army to run errands for the Yao Sect? There’s no way Ouyang Chen will accept this. If he blames this on me, I’m doomed!’

"Shen Haoran. Good. Very good!" Ouyang Chen laughed in fury, his sinister voice sending a shiver down Gou Shi’s spine.

"What else?" Ouyang Chen asked coldly.

"Also, Shen Haoran is an Alchemist. He’s been advertising all over the Sect, and many disciples are going to him for elixirs. He’s stolen a significant amount of business from our Chen Alliance! However, he can only refine Second Grade Elixirs, so he must just be a Second Grade Alchemist," Gou Shi answered quickly.

"Alchemy?" Ouyang Chen snorted softly, then fell silent, lost in thought.

"Go and get Guan Zhi!" A moment later, Ouyang Chen’s voice rang out, startling Gou Shi.

But upon hearing that Ouyang Chen only wanted him to fetch someone, Gou Shi breathed a sigh of relief and hurried out of the Sword Forest.

A short while later, a young man with disheveled clothes and messy hair appeared in the pavilion. He reeked of debauchery, as if he had just been in bed with a woman...

This was Guan Zhi, the Chen Alliance’s chief Alchemist and a Fourth Grade Alchemist!

"Young Master Chen, you called for me?" Guan Zhi asked, straightening his clothes.

Ouyang Chen stared at Guan Zhi, his brow furrowed. "How many times have I told you not to bring the female disciples you lure into the Alchemy Room? Do my words just go in one ear and out the other?"

Guan Zhi gave an awkward laugh. "Young Master Chen, those female disciples are just desperate for it. I’m merely providing them with some relief. I promise, it won’t happen again!"

"Hmph!" Ouyang Chen snorted coldly.

"Young Master Chen, what did you need me for?" Guan Zhi asked. ’Ouyang Chen usually doesn’t care what I do. Why summon me all of a sudden?’

"I have a task for you. Go and completely destroy the Yao Sect’s alchemy operations," Ouyang Chen said in a cold voice.

But Guan Zhi was completely confused. "Yao Sect? What’s the Yao Sect?"

"Go find out for yourself. It’s a new faction that’s popped up recently. Their elixir business is stealing clients from our Chen Alliance. But their alchemist is just a Second Grade Alchemist, so he should be easy to deal with," Gou Shi answered from the side, speaking for Ouyang Chen.

Hearing this, Guan Zhi nodded. "Don’t worry, Young Master Chen. A mere Second Grade Alchemist? It’ll be a piece of cake."

"Hmph. If you can’t handle it, I’ll take your manhood," a cold glint flashed in Ouyang Chen’s eyes. Terrified, Guan Zhi clamped his legs together and fled the Sword Forest.

"Shen Haoran, you can’t afford the consequences of offending me." A cold sneer curled Ouyang Chen’s lips, and his chilling presence caused the surrounding temperature to plummet.

...

Meanwhile, Shen Haoran was walking along a mountain path within the Five Elements Sect, a troubled look on his face.

Over the past few days, by using a mountain of Spirit Medicines, Shen Haoran’s alchemy skills had improved by leaps and bounds. He could now refine Second Grade Elixirs with ease.

However, as everyone’s strength grew, the Cyan Nether Pill was becoming less and less effective. Because of this, Shen Haoran had requested and received the pill recipe for the Rejuvenation Bone Pill from Elder Yan.

The Rejuvenation Bone Pill was a Third Grade Elixir. Shen Haoran made a few attempts and quickly became proficient at refining it. However, mass-producing it was difficult because one of the main ingredients, Blood Flame Reishi, was very hard to find in the Red Flame Mountain Range. After making several inquiries, he finally learned from Elder Huo that the Sect’s Pill Hall cultivated its own Blood Flame Reishi.

However, Elder Huo had warned him that the master of the Pill Hall was ill-tempered. Getting anything from him was next to impossible, and Shen Haoran would have to be prepared to pay a hefty price.

Shen Haoran felt he had no choice. For the sake of the Yao Sect disciples’ cultivation, he could only bite the bullet and head to the Pill Hall.

The problem was, Shen Haoran was completely broke. He had no idea what he could possibly offer to persuade the master of the Pill Hall.

’Whatever,’ he thought. ’I’ll just go and see what happens.’

After a winding journey, Shen Haoran finally arrived outside a grand hall. Looking up at the two large, flamboyantly written words above the entrance, he couldn’t help but murmur, "So this is the Pill Hall?"