Chapter 404: Sworn to Follow to the Death

Eat some pills, sleep some sleep, and before you know it, your cultivation level rises.

This is the cultivation method that countless martial artists dream of, but even Ye Yuan, whose cultivation has no bottlenecks, could not achieve such a state!

Cultivation is like sailing against the current; if you don't advance, you retreat.

In the matter of cultivation, no martial artist dares to slack off.

But Bai Guang's cultivation method would make any martial artist who saw it want to beat him up, and Ye Yuan was no exception.

Seeing Ye Yuan's gloomy gaze, Bai Guang's fur stood on end.

Suddenly, Ye Yuan's figure flickered and disappeared.

Bai Guang immediately sensed something was wrong, but it was too late; Ye Yuan grabbed him.

“What White Tiger Dark Light Divine Art, what sleeping and still cultivating! You're driving your big brother crazy! How can there be such a perverse divine art in this world?”

Ye Yuan frantically rubbed Bai Guang's tiger head, making him dizzy.

When Ye Yuan stopped, the white tiger's eyes were full of stars.

“Huff, huff…” Ye Yuan was also panting, exhausted.

Fooling around aside, Ye Yuan wasn't actually jealous of the technique; he just felt a bit unbalanced.

The technique Bai Guang had awakened was probably a divine art tailor-made for a divine beast like him. Humans couldn't cultivate it, so even if Ye Yuan asked for it, it would be useless.

“Does that mean I have to keep supplying you with demonic cores for your cultivation from now on?” Ye Yuan shot a glance at Bai Guang.

Hearing this, Bai Guang let out a fawning low growl, rubbed against Ye Yuan's cheek, and said, “Haha, I know big brother is the best!”

“Best my ass! Stop sucking up to me! Who did I offend to become a pill-refining laborer?” Ye Yuan said gloomily.

“Hehe, how can you call it labor? Big brother's alchemy skills are unparalleled, you take joy in it… And I, Bai Guang, do have some abilities; I'll definitely find more treasures for big brother in the future!” Bai Guang flattered.

Ye Yuan said irritably, “I say, how did you know to follow me back then? Did you know back then that I could refine pills?”

“Uh… I don't know why either. When I saw big brother, I felt especially close, so I followed you in a daze.” Bai Guang was stunned.

“Alright, I give up! I'm going into seclusion to cultivate. This time, I'm going to break through to the seventh level of Crystal Formation in one go!” Ye Yuan said.

Bai Guang shuddered and nearly slipped off Ye Yuan's shoulder.

“Se… Seventh level of Crystal Formation! Big brother, are you kidding me? You're only at the second level of Crystal Formation!” Bai Guang was startled.

“No mistake, it's the seventh level of Crystal Formation! That Zhao Chengqian almost killed us last time, and that pissed me off! Everyone bullies me for having a low cultivation level, right? I'll break through and show you!” Ye Yuan said angrily.

All along, Ye Yuan's opponents had been far stronger than him, putting him at a disadvantage in every battle.

Even though his yuan force was much denser than others, the gap in cultivation level was irreparable.

Although Ye Yuan ultimately defeated his opponents, it almost always felt like walking a tightrope.

A few days ago, if Shi Haoran hadn't intervened, he would have been killed by Zhao Chengqian.

Although Zhao Chengqian's strength was decent, he was far inferior to Ye Yuan. What made him formidable was his cultivation level!

With Zhao Chengqian having comprehended true intent, it was too difficult for Ye Yuan to leap an entire major realm to defeat him!

So this time, Ye Yuan made up his mind to go into seclusion for a month, planning to break through five realms in a row!

For others, this was an impossible task, but for Ye Yuan, it was merely a matter of time.

…

The next day, at Ye Yuan's seclusion spot on the back mountain.

Shi Haoran handed a storage ring to Ye Yuan and said, “These are the third-grade herbs you wanted, little junior brother. Everything is ready.”

Ye Yuan cupped his hands and said, “Thank you, senior brother!”

“What's there to thank? Just some third-grade herbs, no big deal. But why did you ask me to prepare so many portions? You're not planning to refine pills all by yourself, are you? Are you going to spend this month refining a batch of third-grade pills?” Shi Haoran asked curiously.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, “Of course I need so many herbs to refine pills, but this time I'm going into seclusion to break through my cultivation level.”

Shi Haoran was greatly surprised: “Even if you refine pills without sleep or rest, you probably can't finish all these herbs in a month. How will you have time to break through?”

“Hehe, I have my own methods.” Ye Yuan smiled faintly, clearly unwilling to say more.

Shi Haoran suddenly remembered his little junior brother's monstrous talent and thought, maybe his pill-refining speed was faster than ordinary people?

Or perhaps he didn't plan to refine all the herbs and would save some for later?

Seeing that Ye Yuan didn't want to elaborate, Shi Haoran naturally didn't press further and took his leave.

…

Ye Yuan waved his hand casually, and the Four Directions Cauldron and Yuan Fei appeared before him.

“Young master!” Yuan Fei bowed to Ye Yuan.

He had followed Ye Yuan for nearly a year, from initial skepticism to now complete admiration.

Over the past year, he had practically eaten demonic crystal pills like candy, and now he was at the peak of the third rank, only one step away from the fourth rank.

A year ago, he wouldn't have dared to dream of this!

Ye Yuan nodded slightly and said, “This time I'm going into seclusion to refine a batch of pills to break through. You're not far from the fourth rank now. Back then, you agreed to follow me for ten years, and I promised to refine a Demon Mansion Pill for you. That promise can now be fulfilled.”

Yuan Fei trembled all over, excited beyond words: “You… you mean it, young master?”

“Have I ever fooled you? The Demon Mansion Pill is not a big deal to me. I can refine it now, but I just never had the time. Hmm… After refining the Demon Mansion Pill, our debt will be cleared. You can choose to leave me and return to the Boundless Forest. Of course, that's assuming I can go back to the Boundless Realm…”

Clearly, Ye Yuan wasn't very confident about returning either.

As time passed, the war between the two realms would draw nearer, and the passage between them would be guarded by stronger cultivators. Slipping through like before would no longer be possible.

But hearing this, Yuan Fei trembled and quickly said, “Is young master abandoning Yuan Fei?”

Ye Yuan smiled and said, “Don't overthink it. You've followed me for a year and should know my temper. Once I consider someone one of my own, I hold nothing back. You've helped me a lot this past year, and in my heart, I've long regarded you as a friend. How could I abandon you? But out of respect, I still have to ask for your choice.”

Without hesitation, Yuan Fei said directly, “If not for following young master, I would still be muddling along in the Boundless Forest, how could I have a chance to advance to the fourth rank? Following young master benefits not only me but my entire clan of Stone Apes! Yuan Fei and my clan are willing to follow young master to the death, never to leave!”