Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Taking the Sanqing Spirit Pill

Everyone was startled by the sudden appearance of Elder Song. Ouyang Chen’s expression faltered, and he hastily retreated.

Shen Haoran, on the other hand, let out a long breath. After guessing Ouyang Chen’s ploy, he had sent Long Zhen straight to the Pill Hall to fetch Elder Song. His goal today was to reclaim the alchemy supply channels around the Celestial Essence Hall, not to start a conflict with Ouyang Chen’s Chen Alliance. It was a good thing Elder Song arrived in time; otherwise, a huge battle would have been unavoidable.

"Elder Song!" Shen Haoran said, cupping his fist.

Elder Song nodded at Shen Haoran, then turned to face Ouyang Chen. "Ouyang Chen," he said coldly, "your Chen Alliance lost a bet for half of your alchemy channels to the Yao Sect, and now you’re going back on your word. Do you have any respect for me at all?" As he spoke, a powerful pressure from his Spiritual Thought enveloped Ouyang Chen.

Paling under Elder Song’s pressure, Ouyang Chen cupped his fist and said, "Elder Song, this is a matter between our Chen Alliance and the Yao Sect. It wouldn’t be right for you to interfere, would it?"

"Hmph. Are you unaware that I was the official witness for the alchemy competition between Guan Zhi and Shen Haoran? I naturally have the right to manage this affair!" Elder Song stated lightly.

At these words, Ouyang Chen was left speechless. Elder Song was indeed the official witness, so now that he had spoken up, there was nothing Ouyang Chen could say.

"Shen Haoran, is all you know how to do throw your weight around using other people’s power? If you have any real skill, stop hiding behind someone else’s might and fight me one-on-one!" Ouyang Chen said, his face dark as he glared at Shen Haoran.

However, Shen Haoran just gave him a cool glance and said, "Connections are a part of one’s strength. It’s just that I have them, and you don’t."

BOOM!

Shen Haoran’s few words ignited the fury in Ouyang Chen’s heart. A terrifying aura erupted from him, and faint black qi swirled around his body.

Seeing Ouyang Chen’s grim expression, Shen Haoran suddenly felt a sensation that was both strange and familiar. This aura seemed familiar, as if he had encountered it somewhere before.

"Ouyang Chen!" Elder Song’s sharp cry snapped him out of his furious state. Ouyang Chen instantly retracted his aura. He still couldn’t afford to provoke someone of Elder Song’s standing within the Sect.

"We’re leaving!" Ouyang Chen took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and shot Shen Haoran a cold glare before leaving the Celestial Essence Hall with Xue Gong and the others. With Elder Song involved, there was no point in even thinking about the alchemy channels around the Celestial Essence Hall anymore.

"Young Master Chen, are we just going to let Shen Haoran off that easily?" Gou Shi asked angrily.

"Hmph, let him off? How could I? At the sect competition in three months, I will kill him with my own hands!" A sharp, powerful Qi radiated from Ouyang Chen, instantly severing the branches of the trees lining the path. Sensing the killing intent rolling off him, Gou Shi and the others resentfully shut their mouths, afraid of provoking him.

After Ouyang Chen left, Shen Haoran thanked Elder Song. "Thank you for arriving in time, Elder Song!"

"You brat, you’re always causing trouble for this old man. You’d better repay me double tomorrow!" Elder Song said with a loud laugh.

"Of course! Of course!" Shen Haoran said, cupping his fist.

After seeing Elder Song off, Shen Haoran’s eyes narrowed slightly as he stared in the direction Ouyang Chen had left, lost in thought.

"Boss, what do you think? Ouyang Chen is pretty strong, huh!" Zi Mo asked, sidling up to him.

"Yeah, very strong," Shen Haoran said with a nod.

"So if you were to fight him, what do you think your chances of winning are?" Zi Mo asked curiously.

At that, Shen Haoran fell silent. After a long moment, he finally said, "Twenty percent."

"Only twenty percent!" Zi Mo exclaimed. He had witnessed Shen Haoran’s monstrous abilities firsthand. A Tier One Spirit General who could fight a Tier Five Spirit Beast head-on should have at least a fifty-fifty chance against Ouyang Chen, even if he was strong. Why only twenty percent?

"Are you surprised? Twenty percent is already generous. I can feel an extremely powerful force within Ouyang Chen. He has some very formidable trump cards," Shen Haoran said calmly, an invisible pressure welling up in his heart.

"Then what do we do? The sect competition is in three months. I bet Ouyang Chen definitely won’t let you off the hook then!" Zi Mo said, worried.

"Three months from now..." Shen Haoran mused, then a confident smile returned to his face. "A lot can change in three months. Don’t worry!"

Seeing the confidence on Shen Haoran’s face, Zi Mo could only shake his head helplessly. That was just the kind of person Shen Haoran was—it seemed nothing could ever truly worry him.

Shen Haoran glanced at Zi Mo, then turned and walked back into the Celestial Essence Hall. After his first clash with Ouyang Chen today, Shen Haoran felt an urgent need to increase his strength again. He decided to consume the Three Pure Spirit Pill.

Entering the Celestial Essence Hall, Shen Haoran went straight to Profound Level Cultivation Room number 397. This room originally belonged to Su Xing, but after Shen Haoran defeated him, he took his place as number 397 on the Dragon and Tiger List, and the cultivation room became his.

Pushing the door open and stepping inside, Shen Haoran sensed the richness of the surrounding Spiritual Power and nodded in satisfaction. ’The deeper you go, the denser the Spiritual Power in these cultivation rooms gets!’

After having Elder Yan carve another array, Shen Haoran sat cross-legged within it. He closed his eyes and restored his condition to its absolute peak, then took the Three Pure Spirit Pill with the pill pattern from his Storage Ring. After a deep breath, he tossed it directly into his mouth.

BOOM!

The moment the Three Pure Spirit Pill entered his mouth, it dissolved into a flood of pure energy that surged into Shen Haoran’s body. The tumultuous energy swelled his meridians, causing sharp pain. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans dripped from his forehead.

Shen Haoran hurriedly mobilized his Fire Spirit Black Obsidian and began to refine this energy. ’If this keeps up, I’m going to be torn apart from the inside!’

The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian roared, enveloping the energy that had erupted from the Three Pure Spirit Pill and beginning a frantic refinement. Strands of even purer energy were refined out and sent into the Spirit Crystal within his Dao Dantian.

As it received the infusion of pure energy, the Spirit Crystal began to tremble. A terrifying suction force suddenly erupted from it, and a Spiritual Power vortex formed around Shen Haoran.

RUMBLE... With a great roar, the Spiritual Power in the cultivation room turned into a torrent and surged into Shen Haoran’s body. The energy of the Three Pure Spirit Pill, which had been enveloped by the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, was suddenly infused with this external Spiritual Power. It swelled violently, broke free from the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian’s restraints, and began to run rampant inside Shen Haoran’s body!

The terrifying energy battered Shen Haoran’s meridians. The intense pain almost made his vision go black and caused him to pass out.

Shen Haoran bit the tip of his tongue, forcing himself to endure the pain. The Fire Spirit Black Obsidian rose up once more, transforming into a black Flame Giant Dragon that lunged forward to devour the berserk energy. It then carried this energy and forced it to circulate along the path of the Chaos Heaven-Dominating Technique.

WHOOSH... After being refined by the Fire Spirit Black Obsidian, the berserk energy gradually grew docile. Shen Haoran focused on the pure energy, and with a stir of his Heart Spirit, he guided it toward his Dantian and began infusing it into his Spirit Crystal.

BOOM!

A muffled bang echoed out. Under the impact of this energy, the Spirit Crystal trembled violently. A powerful aura erupted within Shen Haoran’s body, blasting the misty Spiritual Power in the cultivation room away and creating a vacuum in its place.

’He’s about to break through!’ Elder Yan’s brow furrowed, and he watched Shen Haoran with a hint of nervousness.