Chapter 2703: Two Tigers Cannot Share One Mountain!

The five Half-Step Saint Sovereigns returned to their territories and immediately mobilized their troops to search for the celestial herbs needed for the Qiong Yao Saint Pill.

The celestial herbs on Ye Yuan's list were indeed extremely rare.

Even within this Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, they were not common.

Moreover, gathering many of these herbs required their personal involvement.

Although their territories were vast, compared to the entire Ten Thousand Demon Mountain, they were but a drop in the ocean.

Some herbs had to be collected from other kings' territories, so they had to go themselves.

To snatch the herbs, battles among Half-Step Saint Sovereigns were inevitable.

But Ye Yuan no longer cared about any of this.

His top priority was cultivation.

In truth, thirty years was also a tremendous pressure for Ye Yuan.

His earlier calm demeanor was merely a temporary expedient.

Because in these thirty years, Ye Yuan not only had to break through to the Jade Heaven realm in cultivation but also reach the rank of fourth-grade celestial pharmacist in alchemy!

Thirty years was too short.

Although Ye Yuan's foundation was solid, he still needed systematic study and practice of third-grade celestial pills.

His current strength was insufficient to refine genuine third-grade celestial pills.

Thus, his first request upon arriving at Ten Thousand Demon Mountain was for the five kings to supply him with unlimited third-grade celestial herbs.

At Shuo Yan's strong insistence, Ye Yuan came to the territory of King Huben.

Shuo Yan led Ye Yuan around and said proudly, "Among the five kings, my father is the strongest, so his territory is the largest! Brother Ye Yuan, what do you think? Not bad, right?"

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "Indeed! Along the way, the spiritual energy here is the most abundant, and the vegetation is the richest. I've already seen many rare celestial herbs on this walk."

Ten Thousand Demon Mountain was a vast treasure trove, filled with countless precious celestial herbs.

Some herbs had long gone extinct in the Five Great Heavens but still thrived here.

Along the way, Ye Yuan had seen many precious first- and second-grade celestial herbs, and even some third-grade ones.

Shuo Yan said smugly, "Of course! But Brother Ye Yuan, your skills are truly amazing! The celestial pill you refined is incredibly powerful! If I hadn't deliberately suppressed it, I feel I could have broken through to mid-grade Non-Emptiness Heaven immediately!"

One celestial pill made Shuo Yan regard Ye Yuan as a divine being.

He was now completely in awe of Ye Yuan.

And Ye Yuan also had a good impression of this young friend.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "I can tell your cultivation is very solid! Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to break through to the Non-Emptiness Heaven realm."

The effect of celestial pills varies from person to person.

If one's foundation is unstable, even a genuine celestial pill will have greatly diminished effects.

Not everyone who takes a genuine celestial pill can break through from high-grade Grand Heaven to Non-Emptiness Heaven.

It was precisely because Ye Yuan saw that Shuo Yan's foundation was solid that he allowed him to take it.

Otherwise, how could he have intimidated the five kings?

"Oh, my good brother, back from the campaign with Father? Hmm? You've broken through to Non-Emptiness Heaven?" Two figures suddenly emerged from the dense forest. One young man was startled when he saw Shuo Yan.

Shuo Yan looked a bit awkward when he saw the newcomer, nodded and said, "Yes, Third Brother Hefeng! On this campaign with Father, I met Brother Ye Yuan. His methods are extraordinary; he used a celestial pill to elevate my realm to Non-Emptiness Heaven!"

Hefeng and the person behind him were both greatly shocked.

One celestial pill elevating an entire major realm—that was terrifying!

But Ye Yuan was speechless upon hearing this.

When Hefeng appeared, his tone was sarcastic, hardly like greeting a good brother.

Yet Shuo Yan was clearly simple-minded, not knowing to hide anything, and directly sold him out.

Hefeng's gaze toward Ye Yuan had already turned hostile.

"Is this the human you're talking about?" Hefeng pointed at Ye Yuan.

Shuo Yan nodded and said, "Yes! He is Father's honored guest. He's a great person. Third Brother, would you like to get to know him?"

But Hefeng's face suddenly darkened, and he snorted coldly, "What honored guest? A human, how can he be allowed on Huben territory? Die!"

With a roar, Hefeng threw a punch directly at Ye Yuan, incredibly fast.

Shuo Yan stood there, bewildered and at a loss.

He didn't know why Third Brother Hefeng, usually so amiable, had suddenly become so violent.

Hefeng's punch held nothing back; he intended to kill Ye Yuan.

But mid-strike, he suddenly grunted and collapsed to the ground.

The strong man who appeared with Hefeng changed expression and exclaimed, "Soul attack! You're asking for death!"

With a flicker of his form, the aura of Jade Heaven exploded.

Shuo Yan finally reacted and shouted in alarm, "Mu Zhen, how dare you attack Brother Ye Yuan? He is Father's honored guest!"

Saying this, he even tried to block in front of Ye Yuan.

Mu Zhen sneered, "Humans should not appear on Huben territory! Since Hefeng wants to kill him, I, as a commander, naturally have to act! Get out of the way!"

With a flick of his sleeve, Shuo Yan was involuntarily sent flying.

Ye Yuan looked at Mu Zhen, his gaze turning cold.

This Ten Thousand Demon Mountain truly lived up to its reputation as a place of survival of the fittest!

Here, killing required no reason at all.

Swish!

Without any hesitation, Ye Yuan summoned the Longquan Sword.

A dragon's roar soared into the sky, flying straight at Mu Zhen.

Mu Zhen, about to kill Ye Yuan, never expected such a terrifying strike.

Caught off guard, he spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying, severely injured.

He stared at Ye Yuan in horror, incredulous: "A... a Primordial Supreme Treasure?"

Meanwhile, Hefeng had recovered somewhat from his dizziness and trembled at the name.

Ye Yuan looked at the two and said calmly, "Shuo Yan is under my protection from now on. If you dare to bully him, beware—I'll make an example of you! Get lost!"

Their expressions changed. Knowing they were no match for Ye Yuan, they supported each other and left.

As for Hefeng, Ye Yuan hadn't killed him.

His bloodline was strong, sharing the same lineage as King Huben, clearly a blood brother of Shuo Yan.

After they left, Shuo Yan asked in confusion, "Why did Third Brother Hefeng seem like a different person today?"

Ye Yuan looked at him and chuckled, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'Two tigers cannot share one mountain'?"

"Two tigers cannot share one mountain?" Shuo Yan looked bewildered.

Ye Yuan nodded and said, "Before, you were just a weak, well-behaved child, and no one paid you any attention. But now, you've broken through to lower-grade Non-Emptiness Heaven in one go, so he feels threatened! Understand?"

Shuo Yan nodded half-understandingly, and Ye Yuan was speechless.

This kid was even more naive than that girl Jingfei.

Ye Yuan patted his tiger head and smiled, "In short, you two can no longer be good brothers! Now that you've grown up, only slaughter will remain between you. Alright, that's enough for today. I'll go into seclusion for a while. Come to me in a few days, and I'll help you consolidate your foundation so you can break through to mid-grade Non-Emptiness Heaven as soon as possible!"