Chapter 817: Strike the Snake at Its Vital Point

White Martial Domain, Profound Wind Holy Land.

An old man and a youth stood in the air, right above the holy land.

The youth carried a wooden staff on his back, hands clasped behind him, his expression proud.

“Young Master Tong, this is the territory of the White Martial Domain,” the old man said.

“Hmph, this White Martial Domain is mediocre at best. It seems all ninth-grade holy lands—no challenge for me at all!” the youth said with displeasure.

“Over the past year, Young Master Tong’s strength has advanced by leaps and bounds. Your Heaven and Earth Staff Technique has already reached half the mastery of your master. In time, you will surely attain your master’s level,” the old man said.

“Master said there are no shortcuts in the way of the staff—only constant battle after battle. But this past year, I’ve hardly met any real opponents! Uncle Sun, how about we skip this White Martial Domain and head to an eighth-grade holy land instead?”

“According to your master’s instructions, Young Master Tong still has half a year before you can challenge the geniuses of eighth-grade holy lands. This old servant dares not act on his own,” the old man said fearfully.

The youth curled his lip and said irritably, “What a hassle! Lately, my staff technique has been improving more and more slowly. There’s no opponent to be found in ninth-grade holy lands—what’s the point of accumulating further? Forget it, I know it’s hard for you, Uncle Sun. I’ll follow Master’s plan!”

Seeing the old man’s troubled expression, the youth finally stopped being willful.

The old man smiled knowingly, relieved.

Half a day later, the Profound Wind Holy Land was filled with wails of lament.

“What a crappy holy land! The young master’s strength is so weak! A place like this dares to call itself a holy land? Sigh, Master’s rules are such a bother. How many more rookies like this do I have to fight?” The youth put away his staff, sneering.

The old man laughed. “Heh heh, how many people have talent like Young Master Tong? Even your master praised you, saying that at your age, his achievements were not as high as yours.”

The youth waved his hand and said, “Boring as hell. Let’s go, Uncle Sun. We still have to hurry to the next holy land!”

Under the gaze of the crowd, the old man and the youth leisurely departed.

…

In the main hall of the Crimson Cloud Holy Land, Ye Yuan sat in the host seat, while Elder Wu Siyuan of the Wu family sat in a lower position.

“Young Master Ye, previously it was all Jian Tong’s immaturity. Please, a great man does not hold a grudge—don’t be angry with him. I’ve confined him to the house for a year, making him stay home and cultivate in seclusion, forbidding him from causing trouble!” Wu Siyuan said with a flattering smile.

The expression on Wu Siyuan’s face even carried a hint of sycophancy, a complete change from before.

Ye Yuan said impassively, “Elder Wu has come to see me. May I ask what business you have?”

Wu Siyuan continued with a flattering smile, “Young Master Ye is truly a prodigy—a rare genius excelling in both alchemy and martial arts! Not only is your martial skill extraordinary, but you also possess heaven-defying means in the Dao of Alchemy! I believe that under your leadership, the Crimson Cloud Holy Land will surely soar to new heights! My Wu family also firmly supports Young Master Ye!”

Ye Yuan chuckled inwardly. This fellow was beating around the bush, wasn’t he just trying to get him to refine pills?

Wu Jian Tong was also at a critical juncture for breaking through to the Heavenly Enlightenment Realm, and a super-grade Soul Awakening Pill was crucial for him.

Since Ye Yuan inherited the position of young master, the two major families, the Nalan family and the Pei family, had been the first to express their support, making many overt and covert gestures toward Ye Yuan.

But the Wu family and several allied families had been slow to make a move.

The eight major families united were a force not to be underestimated. They were waiting for Ye Yuan to come to them.

Moreover, during this period, the disciples of these families in the holy hall were not very obedient, making the team difficult to lead.

With strong backers like Black Wind and the Grand Elder, Ye Yuan couldn’t be forced by the Wu family and the other major families. So they switched to a soft approach.

In fact, Ye Yuan understood their mentality. They weren’t disloyal to the Crimson Cloud Holy Land; they just wanted to secure greater benefits.

They did this to make Ye Yuan aware of their importance and thus rely on them.

But who was Ye Yuan? How could he be so easily manipulated?

In recent days, Ye Yuan had refined many pills for the Nalan and Pei families that had pledged allegiance to him, and every batch was super-grade!

Between the Alchemy Master and Alchemy Saint realms, there was also a leap from the middle three realms to the upper three realms. After breaking through, one’s soul power underwent a qualitative transformation.

Ye Yuan was now an intermediate Alchemy Master, but his soul power was already comparable to that of a peak Alchemy Master.

However, such soul power still couldn’t allow him to cross this huge gap and refine seventh-grade pills.

But Ye Yuan felt that if things continued this way, when his soul power broke through to the advanced Alchemy Master level, he would definitely be able to refine seventh-grade pills!

Thinking of this, Ye Yuan felt a hint of excitement.

Such heaven-defying soul power was absolutely unprecedented in the Divine Realm!

These days, Ye Yuan had refined many difficult sixth-grade pills for the Boundless Realm geniuses of these two families. Now, Wu Siyuan could no longer sit still.

With Wu Jian Tong’s talent, he would surely reach the level of the Seven Holy Sons in the future.

Thus, the more solid his foundation, the further he could go.

Clearly, the Wu family intended to focus on cultivating Wu Jian Tong.

Unfortunately, Wu Jian Tong had deeply offended Ye Yuan, and Wu Siyuan, by sitting on the fence, had also offended him considerably.

Under such circumstances, how could Ye Yuan possibly help them refine pills?

“Elder Wu, I think you might have misunderstood something. I am the young master appointed by the Holy Lord. You are not loyal to me, but to the Holy Lord! I, Ye Yuan, do not seem to need this declaration from you,” Ye Yuan said indifferently.

“Ha… haha, Young Master Ye jokes. The young master has always been the successor to the Holy Lord’s position. Being loyal to the young master is no different from being loyal to the Holy Lord,” Wu Siyuan said shamelessly.

Ye Yuan smiled. “What you say is not wrong. Well, that’s fine. I know of your loyalty, Elder Wu. I still have many matters to attend to, so I won’t see you out.”

Wu Siyuan was greatly alarmed and quickly said, “Young Master Ye, wait! I… I apologize to you!”

“Oh? For what reason does Elder Wu need to apologize to me?” Ye Yuan said with a half-smile.

“I should not have been blinded by greed and tried to manipulate you! I should not have incited the elders to attempt a change of course! I… I… Sigh! I beg Young Master Ye to show mercy and refine a super-grade pill for Jian Tong!” This time, Elder Wu completely caved.

The super-grade Soul Awakening Pill was extremely important. It could lay a very solid foundation for cultivation in the upper three realms, making the path smoother!

Such a pill was worth ten thousand gold and hard to come by!

The Crimson Cloud Holy Land’s alchemy was not advanced; no one could refine such a pill. Even the high-level alchemists of the two major trading companies couldn’t produce it.

If Wu Siyuan didn’t swallow his pride and risk his old face, Wu Jian Tong would fall far behind his peers from the ten major families!

By then, forget about the Seven Holy Sons—even the Wu family’s position among the ten major families might not be secure.

Strike the snake at its vital point—Ye Yuan’s move was truly ruthless!