Chapter 412: A Gift in Return!

Ye Yuan looked at Xiao Ruyan with some surprise, stammering, "Take you as a disciple?"

"Yes! I'm not forcing you to become my dao companion; just taking me as a disciple isn't too much, is it?" Xiao Ruyan said.

"This..."

Ye Yuan couldn't help hesitating. In his previous life, he had never formally taken a disciple, and he truly lacked the awareness of being a master.

Xiao Ruyan suddenly proposing this condition left him momentarily unable to decide.

Ye Yuan wasn't opposed to taking disciples; it was just that in his previous life, he didn't want to waste time on teaching disciples, so he was too lazy to take any.

Someone like Li Daoheng was lucky enough to follow him and learn the Dao of alchemy.

Even without deliberate teaching, Li Daoheng had only taken a hundred years to advance from an alchemy grandmaster to an alchemy venerable, just one step away from becoming an alchemy emperor.

It could be said that by Ye Yuan's side, even being a mere medicine boy was immensely beneficial.

Seeing Ye Yuan hesitate, Xiao Ruyan grew anxious and said, "Don't say you're too young to teach me; I know the gap between us! Your strength is more than enough to be my master! If you won't even agree to this, I won't ask you to go on the arena. I might as well take another dose of Nine Nether Soul-Severing Powder."

It had to be said that a woman like Xiao Ruyan, once she started acting coquettish, was irresistible to any man.

First crying, then making a scene, then threatening suicide—Ye Yuan was particularly susceptible to this tactic. Helpless, he said, "Fine, disciple it is. But I'll say this upfront: I'll be leaving the royal city in the future!"

Of course, Ye Yuan couldn't stay here long; as soon as he rescued his fellow disciples, he would leave immediately.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ruyan was overjoyed and said, "That's fine; wherever you go, I'll follow! I have a feeling that following you will bring me closer to the great Dao of alchemy!"

"Hmm? What about your parents and elder brother if you leave?"

Xiao Ruyan's expression dimmed as she said, "The Xiao family has regained control of the business; my mission is complete. The Xiao family no longer needs me. As for my parents... they still have my brother and other children. Losing me won't matter."

Ye Yuan's eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

He could sense that this incident had dealt a heavy blow to Xiao Ruyan. The ruthlessness of the Xiao family's elders had made her completely disillusioned with the family.

Staying in the Xiao family would only make her a bargaining chip for their interests; they wouldn't care about her feelings.

For Xiao Ruyan, who had already died once, many things had become clear.

For the past twenty years, she had lived for the Xiao family.

From today onward, she would live for herself, pursuing her own Dao and her own happiness!

Only, Ye Yuan wondered if she would still follow him if he told her he was a person from the Boundless Realm.

...

Leaving the Xiao family with Shi Haoran, Ye Yuan felt a strange unease.

Taking on this female disciple felt somewhat awkward no matter how he looked at it.

Others took disciples to continue their legacy; but taking Xiao Ruyan as a disciple seemed somehow... romantic?

Ye Yuan had nothing to hide from Shi Haoran, so he directly told him about his agreement with Xiao Ruyan.

After hearing this, Shi Haoran first looked at Ye Yuan with a strange expression, then gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, "Little junior brother is truly extraordinary. Others vie to take the Twin Beauties home as dao companions, but you've found a different path—playing at a master-disciple romance!"

Ye Yuan felt like collapsing. Annoyed, he said, "What master-disciple romance! I didn't want to take her as a disciple, but she threatened suicide. What could I do?"

"Ha, little junior brother, don't worry. There's nothing wrong with a master-disciple romance; it has its own charm! Just follow your heart. Master and I have your back, so what's there to fear?" Shi Haoran laughed.

Ye Yuan rolled his eyes, completely exasperated by this old rogue, and simply ignored him.

Returning to Qixia Mountain, Ye Yuan went straight to see Xing Yuan.

Xing Yuan looked at Ye Yuan with equal surprise.

"Even if you were reborn through possession, isn't your cultivation speed a bit too fast?" Xing Yuan remarked.

Ye Yuan didn't want to dwell on this and waved his hand, saying, "Rest assured, I know what I'm doing. I won't kill the goose that lays the golden egg. Did you call me here because you have news?"

Xing Yuan smiled slightly, swept his sleeve, and several figures appeared out of thin air!

So Xing Yuan also had a spatial artifact!

Seeing these figures, Ye Yuan couldn't help trembling slightly.

"Senior Brother Mo! Senior Brother Wuqiu! Senior Brother Tianyu! Senior Brother Du! Senior Brother Chen! It's... it's really wonderful; you're all safe!" Ye Yuan said excitedly.

These people were none other than Mo Yuntian and the others!

Except for Mei Zhen, everyone was here!

Ye Yuan hadn't expected Xing Yuan to make such a grand move, rescuing everyone at once!

However, Mo Yuntian and the others had vacant expressions, similar to Du Cheng when Ye Yuan had seen him earlier, clearly still under soul-sealing restrictions.

"You can undo their soul restrictions yourself; otherwise, it would be hard for me to explain to them," Xing Yuan said.

Ye Yuan took a deep breath and nodded. "You did well. This time... thank you!"

Xing Yuan smiled. "Given my status, asking for a few slaves is no problem. But... the one you mentioned, Mei Zhen, is a bit troublesome."

Ye Yuan frowned. "How so?"

Xing Yuan said, "Among this batch of Boundless Realm slaves, the highest cultivation is the Sea Transformation realm, and those at that level were kept by the imperial family. Since Mei Zhen is a Sea Transformation realm expert, he was naturally detained by the imperial family. As luck would have it, the one who took him in is none other than Seventh Prince Zhao Chengqian! We've just had a falling out with the imperial family, so it's inconvenient to ask for him now; otherwise, it would be too obvious."

Ye Yuan's frown deepened. If Mei Zhen was in Zhao Chengqian's hands, this was indeed difficult.

After a long silence, Ye Yuan slowly said, "This matter is indeed tricky. But... I'll remember this favor! For now, my strength is insufficient to help you much, so I'll teach you a soul-cultivation technique."

Xing Yuan trembled all over, hardly daring to believe it. "Wha... what kind of soul-cultivation technique?"

As the president of the Alchemist Guild, Xing Yuan naturally wasn't lacking in soul-cultivation techniques; otherwise, he wouldn't have become a sovereign.

But Xing Yuan knew that the technique Ye Yuan was about to impart must be extraordinary!

At the very least, given his current status and power, he couldn't obtain it!

Xing Yuan had never dreamed that Ye Yuan's reward would be so generous!

Ye Yuan smiled faintly. "This soul-cultivation technique is called the 'Heavenly Net Soul Refining Art,' a ninth-grade technique."

"Ninth... ninth-grade technique!"

Although he knew Ye Yuan wouldn't fob him off with something common, hearing the words 'ninth-grade technique' still made Xing Yuan's heart pound uncontrollably!