Chapter 312: An Exorbitant Demand

Hearing the words "Soul Jade," Lin Chao's expression suddenly changed.

But he still put up a brave front: "Heh heh, Junior Brother Ye, I don't know what you're talking about. What Soul Jade?"

Ye Yuan suddenly dropped his smile and said coldly, "Senior Brother Lin, you wanted to use us as a shield and then take the spoils and run, didn't you? Originally, whatever benefits you got had nothing to do with us. Even if I knew you had obtained Soul Jade, I wouldn't have exposed it. But you schemed and put us in danger. My Senior Brother Pang nearly died on the spot. You didn't think this would just blow over, did you?"

The disciples of Nethercloud Sect were somewhat baffled, not knowing why Ye Yuan and Lin Chao were arguing.

While Ye Yuan was unconscious, Lin Chao had already put on a show of humility before Mei Zhen and Pang Wannian, apologizing profusely, and finally won their forgiveness.

After all, the Zichen Sect had lost most of its members, leaving only four.

Anyone in that situation would probably have chosen to drag others down.

Coupled with Lin Chao's offering of numerous rare treasures, the Nethercloud Sect disciples finally agreed to let the matter rest.

But they hadn't expected that the first thing Ye Yuan would do upon waking was to pick a fight with Lin Chao.

"Ye Yuan, what is this Soul Jade you speak of? If it's something trivial, just let it go," Mo Yuntian asked.

"Yes, Ye Yuan. While you were unconscious, Lin Chao compensated us with three fourth-grade herbs, ten quasi-fourth-grade herbs, and many third-grade herbs. That shows his sincerity," Mei Zhen added.

These things certainly couldn't replace Pang Wannian's arm, but since things had come to this, killing the four of them wouldn't help either.

It wasn't that the Nethercloud Sect disciples were all good-natured, but rather that the other side had Lin Chao, a Condensation Crystal eighth-layer cultivator.

With Mei Zhen injured, if Lin Chao was determined to break out, the Nethercloud Sect would find it hard to keep everyone there.

In that case, they would gain nothing and would also offend the Zichen Sect, second only to the Tianqian Sect, which would be troublesome.

And none of the Nethercloud Sect disciples, including Mei Zhen, knew what Soul Jade was.

Without turning back, Ye Yuan looked at Lin Chao and said calmly, "Soul Jade is a very special jade-like mineral, extremely rare. It's called Soul Jade because it has the effect of nourishing the soul! Especially for martial artists at the peak of the Sea of Qi stage, it is an unparalleled treasure, as it can help them break through the bottleneck and charge into the Sea of Soul!"

After Ye Yuan finished, everyone was shocked.

Such a treasure was far more precious than any fourth-grade herb!

Why were there so few Sea of Soul experts in the Southern Domain? Because improving soul power was too difficult!

Martial artists cultivate Yuan power; alchemists cultivate soul power.

Whether to focus on Yuan power or soul power was a paradox.

For most people in this world, cultivating both would ultimately lead to nothing.

In fact, for alchemists, breaking through to the Sea of Soul stage was easier than for martial artists.

But the problem was that alchemists had to spend countless energy on alchemy, mastering an immense body of knowledge.

Just understanding various herbs was a profound discipline that could occupy a martial artist for a lifetime.

Under such circumstances, for an alchemist to also cultivate Yuan power was nearly impossible.

But for martial artists, improving soul power was extremely difficult.

Without a sufficient level of soul power, the soul could not communicate with the Yuan power sea, thus preventing a breakthrough to the Sea of Soul stage!

Because of this, treasures that could help martial artists at the peak of the Sea of Qi stage break through their shackles were naturally extremely precious!

Hearing Ye Yuan's words, the Nethercloud Sect disciples' eyes burned with desire.

What did Soul Jade mean? It meant the sect could gain at least one more Sea of Soul expert!

Lin Chao's face darkened. "Junior Brother Ye is joking. How could we have such a treasure?"

Ye Yuan sneered, "Everyone must pay for their actions! You lured the Bloodthirsty Wolves, causing Senior Brother Pang to lose an arm. Did you think you could fob us off with some herbs? That's too naive!"

"But... this is the first time I've heard of such a divine object. We really don't have it!" Lin Chao said awkwardly.

Ye Yuan pressed on relentlessly: "Enough talk. If Senior Brother Lin wants to prove his innocence, please let us take a look at your storage rings."

Lin Chao's expression changed, and his face darkened instantly: "Isn't Junior Brother Ye's request too much? Although our Zichen Sect has suffered a loss in this secret realm, we are still the second-largest sect in the Southern Domain. Does Junior Brother Ye really want to fall out with us?"

Searching someone's storage ring was a great humiliation for a martial artist, as storage rings often contained many unspeakable secrets.

Ye Yuan said indifferently, "If Senior Brother Lin is confident that the four of you can escape, feel free to try. I am not one to kill indiscriminately. I can understand you luring the wolves to protect yourself, but if you think I'm easy to bully, you're sorely mistaken."

A Liquid Essence eighth-layer martial artist speaking to a Condensation Crystal eighth-layer like this sounded strange no matter how you heard it.

But at this moment, Lin Chao felt immense pressure!

Lin Chao still vividly remembered the scenes of Ye Yuan slaughtering the wolves. Such effortless slaughter—Lin Chao doubted he could do it himself.

Lin Chao suddenly felt an illusion, as if he wasn't facing a Liquid Essence eighth-layer but a Sea of Qi expert!

Lin Chao said nothing, clearly weighing his own strength to see if he could escape.

Finally, he sighed in defeat and said, "Enough, enough. Junior Brother Ye is shrewd and knowledgeable. I admire that! Few people in the entire Southern Domain would recognize Soul Jade. I never expected Junior Brother Ye to guess it without even seeing it."

With that, Lin Chao took out a gray jade piece the size of a goose egg from his storage ring.

But Ye Yuan didn't reach out to take it. He said, "Since Senior Brother Lin has admitted it, why be so stingy? I won't take it all, just half."

Lin Chao's expression changed again, but he took out four more pieces of Soul Jade from his storage ring, similar in size to the first.

"We only obtained ten pieces of Soul Jade on this trip. This is half!" Lin Chao said through gritted teeth.

Ye Yuan smiled but still didn't reach out.

Lin Chao was about to break down. He shook his hand and said angrily, "Junior Brother Ye wouldn't just make up a number out of thin air, would he? This really is half!"

"I know in my heart whether it's true or not. Just take them out, and I won't ask for more!" Ye Yuan said calmly.

Lin Chao considered himself shrewd and intelligent, but facing Ye Yuan, he always felt powerless.

Throughout the conversation, Ye Yuan had been in control. Lin Chao had never felt so stifled!

Gritting his teeth, Lin Chao took out another seven pieces of Soul Jade!

"This is really half now! Not one more piece! If you make another exorbitant demand, we'll fight to the death!" Lin Chao was on the verge of collapse.

But this time, Ye Yuan swept his sleeve and collected the twelve pieces of Soul Jade into his storage ring.